Hi All, Long time ISI Engine games/RF2 user but not posted here under this name before as I can't remember my previous account details Anyway, I will try and keep this as short as I possibly can without missing anything important or relevant. I have often had stuttering issues with rf2 after an update or changing a gfx driver etc but always eventually managed to resolve the problem(s) by simply going back to a previous AMD driver that worked. Before updating to the recent 930 build I had not run rf2 for about 8 months as I was playing other games etc, (I do this sometimes as I have enough driving after a few months and go back to FPS games ). Even though I haven't played it for 8 months or so, I have always kept it updated if I have run the launcher and noticed an update available. Last week I decided it was time to get back into rf2 and as I had updated previously to build 910 I fired her up and all seemed to be fine and smooth. I like to use 3dsimed etc to "convert tracks fro personal use" and to mess around with mods etc. So all is well and I'm having fun with it again. Then along comes build 930. I update it via the launcher and go to run the game and hit a snag straight away as I like to run my windows desktop at 120%. Anyway, that's not important for now as I downloaded the "fix" from this website (Thanks Laza?). The problem is the dreaded old micro stutter is back What have I done to try and get rid of the stutter? EVERYTHING! lol. Too much to go into but I have tried about a trillion different things and nothing works except one. I tried going back to 4 different older AMD Catalyst drivers as this has always worked in the past......not this time so have gone back to latest official 14.12 Cats. Tried loads of res sizes, every gfx setting possible and combos thereof.......nada, still stutters. Between using Hardware iNFO 64bit and MSI Afterburner and rf2's built in CPU monitor I can see that the CPU is "spiking" which is causing the constant stutter so it is core related. I have 4 cores as it's an AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition @3200 or usually @3500 O'Clocked (makes no difference to the stuttering.) RF2 is the ONLY game that has ever done this as I can run battlefied 3 and 4 and all my other FPS's and other Sim's maxed out smooth as silk. What works perfectly I discovered by accident is by going into the BIOS on my ASUS M5A78L/USB3 mainboard and Enabling what ASUS calls UNLEASHED MODE in the CPU settings. I went back to Windows 7 and fired up rf2 expecting nothing. There was something alright! I have never seen rf2 run so smooth since I bought it 1.5 years ago! Most gfx on full or high with 24 AI and the CPU Monitor (the purple bar) stays constantly half way over the graph with not ONE single spike and MSI reports the 4 cores may be at 50%, 40%, 28% and 70% (These constantly change of course and I'm just showing you that they are always nowhere near maximum). So if that fixed the stuttering once and for all, why am I here asking for advice? Well, unfortunately it's not going to be the answer as within about 3 laps on Brianza with the Eve F3+24 AI as usual (I use these for all testing to keep a constant), I get an emergency thermal shutdown as the CPU goes into "crazy heat mode"!!!!! It actually hits the maximum allowed before a thermal shutdown of 90c Yes, I did say 90c The thing is that without using this UNLEASHED mode rf2 "used" to run more or less as smooth anyway with just a quick change of gfx card driver solving any stuttering but, not this time. Obviously I can't correct the problem with Unleashed mode without introducing an even worse issue of emergency thermal shutdown so I have no idea how to stop this stuttering this time I have been working almost constantly on this problem for 5 days now with no luck. In the past I remember a similar problem with rf2 once and it took a new fresh install of Win 7, lates gfx driver and fresh rf2 install to resolve it. I am not prepared to do that this time as there must be another way surely? Anyway, sorry for the long post but I have no idea how to solve this this time..........Any advice etc is welcome, but please remember I have tied a trillion things already and the problem just has to be CPU/Cores/Core usage etc related. Oh, I have tried 910, 930 and even went back to 798 and ALL have this stuttering issue! My system specs just in case they're needed: Windows 7 64bit (Tried rf2 in 32bit but usually use 64bit and makes no difference) AMD Phenom II X4 955 @3200 and at @3500 as I usually run it O'Clocked AMD HD7850 2GB running in Sapphire's Factory O'Clocked mode 8GB DDR3 Ram Mainboard ASUS M5A78L/USB3 Various SATA Hard Drives ETC ETC ETC Not the most amazing system I know, but not that bad either I think, and it has always run everything I play perfectly with no FPS issues or stutter etc with most gfx maxed out.....and was also running rf2 fine until this stuttering problem........again! Again, I apologise for the long winded post! HELP PLEASE before it drives me to despair and back to FPS games only as RF2 is the greatest driving sim EVER!!!! and I just want to enjoy it! Andy
Hi and thanks for replying, but I don't think this can be the reason. As I said in my post, it was all working fine before with build 910 with no stuttering at all. I just installed Windows 7 64 bit on another SATA drive with only the Mainboard/AMD GFX card drivers needed to make everything work and a fresh install of Rfactor 2, build 910. I didn't even install my XBOX 360 driver or my Soundblaster FX driver. This build had none of the CPU Load or stuttering problems with the latest 930 build your link points to and I read that thread yesterday anyway. So with Windows 7 64bit fresh install, Rfactor 2 build 910 fresh install and nothing else, (no firewall, AV software and no drivers except anything vital) I just ran the game with a new player file and all GFX settings, 24 AI etc etc as I usually run them and used the keyboard to drive/test. Unbelievable!!! Still the same CPU spikes which cause the stutter!! I am at a loss. I can only think that something is/has gone wrong with my Phenom x4 CPU (It still runs everything else 100% fine though) and as I have been thinking of moving to an FX with the newer Piledriver core(s) for some time, maybe this is the excuse I need to go and buy one and see if that fixes it. Why should it all work without spikes/stuttering in this "Unleashed" mode, but not in normal mode where it always did before I wonder? I wish it didn't cause severe overheating and a thermal shutdown of the CPU, as otherwise I would just leave it in this unleashed mode as I have never seen RF2 run so smoothly with it on in the 1.5 years I have owned the game. FYI: Apparently "Unleashed" mode is described in the BIOS as running your CPU/cores at full power when you need it. It does mention that it may cause some instability, but Win 7 runs fine and the temps are normal, until I run RF2 and then..............Shutdown at 90c Please also remember that my current spiking/stuttering happens with fresh installs of builds 798, 910 and the latest build 930 and it's only the 930 most people are reporting problems with, and that 910 was working perfectly until I updated it to 930. Anyway, thanks for the reply and the thread you linked to was worth reading Andy
No matter why exactly your CPU reaches these temps, there must be a big issue with your system! What CPU-cooler do you use, and how much core voltage? Try to reset your BIOS and run prime95 for 30mins, and check your temps. A stable system should be able to stay below max. 70°C even under constant high load. I am pretty sure that you could solve your issue by improved cooling and the right BIOS-settings.
The thing is it never reaches these crazy high temps in other games, only when unleashed mode is used with rf2. Also, using unleashed mode or not using it, when I monitor the core usage in MSI Afterburner/HWinfo64, the cores never get anywhere near maximum load of 100% so there is plenty of cpu power available. It can't be a serious system problem of hardware or software as ALL other games run perfectly fine without any problems whatsoever and they run smooth and fast. Battlefield 3, known to be system demanding with highest GFX settings @1920x1200 on my 28" 2ms LCD Monitor runs with no FPS loss (60-70+) or stutters even with loads of explosions etc on screen. I have looked into the AMD FX Piledriver CPU and decided NOT to get one as most of the forums are saying that the difference between my AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and the Newer FX Piledrivers core is so small a gain it's a waste of money to upgrade. In other words, my phenom II should be good for quite a while yet Spent a load of time on this all day yesterday again as I have for most of this past week and I still can't resolve these CPU Spikes causing the stutter no matter what I try. I give up for now and will just have to put up with it until a new release of rf2 or something. Thanks anyway for the reply. Andy
According to my research, ASUS's "Unleashed Mode" is unlocking 1 core (X3) or 2 cores (X2) that your CPU was originally designed to use. AMD locks 1 or 2 possibly unstable cores on X4 chips and sells them as X2 or X3 chips. AMD may also lock perfectly working cores in order to sell more of the reduced-core chips (X2 and X3) if demand calls for it. You may try unlocking these cores by using ASUS's "Unleashed mode". Some users will have stable cores, some won't. You could also try upping the voltage or downclocking the frequency in order to achieve stability if it's not stable with stock voltage and/or frequency/ source: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=298669
Hi, I appreciate your help and all advice is welcome, but if you have a look at my original post you will see that I already have a x4 (Quad core) CPU, which is a fully working AMD Phenom II X4 955 @3200 and at @3500 The Unleashed mode states in the BIOS that it "Gives FULL power to all cores when needed for maximum CPU power but that it *may* cause instability issues and should not be used all the time". Also, I now know exactly what was causing the CPU to spike and RF2 to spike/stutter and it is now thankfully resolved!!!! It was something I had suspected for some time but kept thinking nah, surely not so did nothing about it. Turns out that thanks to another poster here it was the answer all along and you can read the answer to this problem in the post below this where I will be thanking him for his great insight Sorry I haven't been back to this thread for a while as I thought it wasn't going to get anymore replies. Thanks anyway for trying to help! Andy
Great insight and the CORRECT answer to the problem!!!!!!! Yep, that's all it was all along. I have 3 cats and one of them is a long haired furry coated male that sheds long and short hair everywhere and it is a constant battle to keep my place clean and tidy Add the usual "Dust Bunnies" we all get in out homes and it can cause the CPU Fan, Case fans (I have 2 large ones, GPU fan, PSU Fan(s) (I have 2), heatsinks and all circuit boards including mainboard to gather dust and cause extreme heat build up. General Windows useage won't see a problem apart from much higher idle temps but as soon as you play a game the much higher CPU temp causes the CPU to attempt to keep within heat specs and causes spikes on power until eventual thermal shutdown I can't believe I let it go that bad and the poor CPU must have been trying desperately to stay cool lol. It was running all the way up to 90c and then poof, emergency thermal shutown!! The fix: Get out my trusty and powerful Vacuum cleaner with the pointy tool and thorougly vacuum everything "very carefully and gently" inside the case including all fans etc. A load of *stuff* came out of the CPU fan and heatsink in particular, oops Later that day I fired up RF2 and thought ah well, here we go again, but then I suddenly realised that with CTRL+C in use there was no spiking at all from the CPU! I thought wow, is it fixed? Got out on track with 25 AI and OMG! no stuttering, or spiking, just perfectly smooth, flowing graphics with nice high FPS just as it always used to be And now HWinfo shows an average temp of 60c to 65c (acceptable with AMD's standard fan and heatsink and well withing heat specs), with an idle temp in Windows 7 of between 40-47c. Excellent and much better than 90c hmm? Thanks MystaMagoo for the great insight/guess. Much appreciated and now my beloved RF2 is as enjoyable as it always was. This Sim is superb by the way and a credit to ISI. There are no AI in any racing sim ever made that can touch RF2's AI in my opinion! Hope this may also help some other users. It may be worth a try if you're having similar problems to the ones I had. Andy
