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  1. #1
    Deleted

    Game stuttering with mid-high end PC fix + question.

    I run this game on a mid range i5 second generation quad core and although i get very high fps, the game "stutters" and i have found a simple fix.

    I read somewhere on these forum boards that the game is not optimised for multiple core usage. It appears to be correct.

    - Load Game
    - ctr+alt+delete
    - show processes from all users
    - right click all swtor.exe, one at a time and set affinity to core 0 only on each


    Now the game is running only on one core and for some reason it now never "stutters". At least for me, the performance gain (by which i mean with "stutters" not fps) is tremendous.

    Strange.


    Anyhow, i have a question.


    Each time i load Star Wars it defaults to using all 4 cores. Is there any way i can default it to using core 0 only without having to ctrl+alt+del each time i load it?

    Thanks for any replies.

  2. #2
    Wouldn't you be better off setting each process to work on different cores instead of the same one?

  3. #3
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by stalkerzzzz View Post
    Wouldn't you be better off setting each process to work on different cores instead of the same one?
    I will try that.

    Do you mean each swtor.exe (of which i had 2) running on different cores?

    So for example

    1. swtor.exe - running on core 0
    2. swtor.exe - running on core 1


    Is that what you mean?

  4. #4
    Define "stutters".

    My game "sutters", but my FPS monitor shows those stutters to be momentary huge drops in FPS.

    Are you saying you have stutters that don't register as FPS drops at all?

  5. #5
    Deleted
    A little Googling and I found:

    http://www.sevenforums.com/general-d...tml#post947102

    Looks like it should work.

  6. #6
    Deleted
    @Gaidren


    Yes they register as fps drop, but it is not because of an excessive load on the GPU it is because of the hyperthreading situation.


    Your "stuttering" from what you have typed i would imagine as being caused by load on the hard drive as you are loading stuff from it.

    That will also cause momentarily excessive fps drop while stuff moves from the hard drive to the RAM.


    I dont get that at all since i installed my SSD drive, but i do get "stutters" when there is alot of stuff being processed. Thats how i know it is a hyperthreading issue.

    ---------- Post added 2012-01-03 at 01:53 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Jinna View Post
    A little Googling and I found:

    http://www.sevenforums.com/general-d...tml#post947102

    Looks like it should work.
    Excellent find thank you, i will try that when i get home from work.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by micmacmo View Post
    I will try that.

    Do you mean each swtor.exe (of which i had 2) running on different cores?

    So for example

    1. swtor.exe - running on core 0
    2. swtor.exe - running on core 1


    Is that what you mean?
    That's what I meant.

  8. #8
    Stood in the Fire Conzar's Avatar
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    Core 0 and Core 1 are probably the same physical core. You *may* get better results by allowing it to run on 0 and 2.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Conzar View Post
    Core 0 and Core 1 are probably the same physical core. You *may* get better results by allowing it to run on 0 and 2.
    Depends if it's a HT processor. If it's the 2600K, they will be the same core. If it's the 2500K, they're seperate.
    5800X | XFX 7900XTX | Prime X570 Pro | 32GB | 990Pro + SN850 2TB | Define 7

  10. #10
    From the link in a previous post here:

    Go to the program location and right click on it, then choose "properties". In the "Target" field, add

    "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start "" /affinity 2 "

    (omit the quotes) in front of what is already there for the program. Your original target will have quotes around it already,... leave them there.

    Note: I want to use CPU 1, so I specified "2". You may specify which CPU to use by substituting for the 2
    1 = use CPU 0
    2 = use CPU 1
    3 = use CPU 1 and 0
    I'm guessing I am supposed to do this with the swtor.exe file in the /swtor/retailclient folder and not the client exe, right?
    I'm not the Devil. I'm much, much older. I watched the Beginning and I will see the End. I am the dark behind the stars. I am the dark inside you all.

  11. #11
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Sethlol View Post
    I'm guessing I am supposed to do this with the swtor.exe file in the /swtor/retailclient folder and not the client exe, right?
    I'm sorry, but I don't know that. Hopefully Micmacmo will try it later and tell us if it works.

  12. #12
    Turning shadows off will greatly increase your performance. My friend literally dropped around $1000 on a new rig for this game, and is unable to play with shadows turned on.

    If it is still choppy w shadows off, then you may want to try the above.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    i take it this wont work with a dual core?

  14. #14
    Deleted
    It should work with dual core too, just get the core numbers right.

    I remember this exact thing happening with WoW, (which is also not optimised for multiple cores) and there's a way to edit a config file to make the game load onto one core. When I get home from work I'm going to look at the config file and see if there is a way to mimic the same with swtor's config.ini file. I'll report back in about an hour

    Thanks for this reminder will have to go to a co-worker of mine who reminded me of it. Both ways may work, but I would expect that a change to the config file would be the better way to do it, as changes to the launcher or shortcut might (_MIGHT_) get removed after a patch (though they shouldn't) while config files definitely shouldn't unless it's an expansion or something mega.

    ---------------------------

    Just did more Googling, and what WoW had was a way of getting the game to run when you had quad core

    Add one of these lines your Config.WTF file:
    For a Dual Core Processor:
    SET processAffinityMask "3"
    For a Quad Core Processor:
    SET processAffinityMask "15"
    and so on, so there's probably a way to force the game to THINK you only have a single core, and thus force it to behave as such.

  15. #15
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewdrumpslap View Post
    i take it this wont work with a dual core?
    I believe it will work better with a powerful dual core because the game doesnt seem very optimised to run on any more cores.

    Heres my findings - (I have an Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2410M Laptop processor btw @ 3ghz)

    1. Both swtor.exe processes running on all 4 cores = High FPS but the game "chops" in certain places, normally large open areas.
    2. Both swtor.exe processes running on Core 0 only = High FPS and very smooth gameplay
    3. One swtor.exe running on core 0, the other on core 1 = High FPS but the game "chops" in certain places, normally large open areas.
    4. One swtor.exe running on core 0, the other on core 2 = High FPS and very smooth gameplay, but sound stutter
    5. One swtor.exe running on core 0, the other on core 3 = High FPS and very smooth gameplay, but sound stutter
    6. Both swtor.exe processes running on Core 3 only = High FPS and very smooth gameplay


    Letting both processes run on only one Core definatley seems best for my machine. It really smooths the "choppy" areas out for some reason.


    Quote Originally Posted by Jinna View Post
    I'm sorry, but I don't know that. Hopefully Micmacmo will try it later and tell us if it works.
    I tried the command at the end of the desktop launcher .exe which works. Unfortunately the game .exe isnt the same as the launcher file and once again defaults to 4 cores when i click "play".

    I'm uncertain how to force the game to run on only one core because you need to initally run the launcher to input your username and password. I guess you would need a modified launcher to set this up.

    For now i am stuck with running the game, then ctrl+alt+del and changing the affinity in the task manager. But hey, at least i can get a completely "choppy" free game experience now.

    I'm willing to bet this would solve "choppy" gameplay for alot of people.

    ---------- Post added 2012-01-03 at 04:55 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Jinna View Post
    It should work with dual core too, just get the core numbers right.

    I remember this exact thing happening with WoW, (which is also not optimised for multiple cores) and there's a way to edit a config file to make the game load onto one core. When I get home from work I'm going to look at the config file and see if there is a way to mimic the same with swtor's config.ini file. I'll report back in about an hour

    Thanks for this reminder will have to go to a co-worker of mine who reminded me of it. Both ways may work, but I would expect that a change to the config file would be the better way to do it, as changes to the launcher or shortcut might (_MIGHT_) get removed after a patch (though they shouldn't) while config files definitely shouldn't unless it's an expansion or something mega.

    ---------------------------

    Just did more Googling, and what WoW had was a way of getting the game to run when you had quad core



    and so on, so there's probably a way to force the game to THINK you only have a single core, and thus force it to behave as such.


    I do this with WoW and forcing it to run on 4 cores makes Wow run better for me.

    I can onlly find 2 "config" files for SW:ToR -

    1) client_defaults.ini <----- Header tells you not to alter this at all or your game will corrupt
    2) launcher.settings


    Those are the only 2 i found, and i really dont want to start playing around with them tbh.

  16. #16
    Deleted
    ill give it a try but its only a e8400 at 3ghz showing its age :P

  17. #17
    I am Murloc! Conscious's Avatar
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    Running it on an AMD FX8120 8 Core (3.10) and seeing no such issues here >.>;

  18. #18
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by micmacmo View Post
    I can onlly find 2 "config" files for SW:ToR -

    1) client_defaults.ini <----- Header tells you not to alter this at all or your game will corrupt
    2) launcher.settings


    Those are the only 2 i found, and i really dont want to start playing around with them tbh.
    There is a config file that people have been using to force vsync and certain other graphical settings, I'm hoping (guessing) it's the same for core management. I won't know until I get home and can look at the files myself. I'm leaving for home now, should have more info in 30min.

  19. #19
    Although yes, Swtor is not optimized for multi-core processors max-out usage, it is in the same boat as 99.999 of all other software. So, no real shocker there. The issue is that Swtor continues to draw objects that are outside your DrawDistance, even when logic dictates that they shouldn't be.

    In Wow, for instance (sorry for the pun), what isn't inside a building you walk into is unloaded from memory. Swtor has a flaw in that those pixels are still being drawn.

    For I found two work-arounds, somewhere in your User folder is an AppData folder (now before I get flamed ymmv, since you have a different set-up than me, but it's App-something Data-something), you'll have to find out exactly where this is, but it's there. Inside that folder is SWTOR, inside is swtor, inside is settings, inside that is clientsettings.ini

    Above PlantDensity = 0 add this line...
    FarclipScale = 0.1371195
    save that, then make the file-read-only.


    Another thing I did was use download Memcleaner- it will automatically remove old pieces of info from system memory periodically.

  20. #20
    Deleted
    Well, I've had a look at my client settings file (it's in the location the above poster described) and it's not of the same type/format as the WoW config WTF. So the current commands known for selecting cores for WoW won't work for SWTOR. I hate to inflict this on anyone, but I do suggest you ask on the official forum...

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