Vista's Gaming Performance Issues

[Ver!tas]

Ok so I've tried everything to get my games to run smoothly on Vista, and
nothing seems to work very well. Its not so much as my computer sucks, cause
when I downgraded to XP, just to try it out, my games were running perfectly
smooth. And don't say, "Just stick with XP then!" cause I love Vista in its
many other ways.

The only reason I can come up with as to why my games run much slower on
Vista is because Vista is a DirectX10 supported OS, but has a DirectX9
"emulator". And since all my games, and video card are DX9 compatible, it
runs in the emulated mode. Now we all know running emulators makes our
computers run a bit slower, so thats the only solution I can come up with.

Well I know alot of others have had this problem, and Microsoft knows its a
problem, so they have said, and I've been told that Vista SP1 would fix that.
Well I downloaded SP1 RC Refresh, yet nothing seems to have changed at all...

So heres my questions - Do you guys feel that because its a DX10 supported
OS, and im running DX9 software/hardware, that thats a reason why my games
run slower? Also what do you guys think on Vista SP1 RC Refresh? Also any
info on why Vista has such gaming performance issues would be great.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Ok so I've tried everything to get my games to run smoothly on Vista, and
nothing seems to work very well. Its not so much as my computer sucks,
cause
when I downgraded to XP, just to try it out, my games were running
perfectly
smooth. And don't say, "Just stick with XP then!" cause I love Vista in
its
many other ways.

The only reason I can come up with as to why my games run much slower on
Vista is because Vista is a DirectX10 supported OS, but has a DirectX9
"emulator". And since all my games, and video card are DX9 compatible, it
runs in the emulated mode. Now we all know running emulators makes our
computers run a bit slower, so thats the only solution I can come up with.

Well I know alot of others have had this problem, and Microsoft knows its
a
problem, so they have said, and I've been told that Vista SP1 would fix
that.
Well I downloaded SP1 RC Refresh, yet nothing seems to have changed at
all...

So heres my questions - Do you guys feel that because its a DX10 supported
OS, and im running DX9 software/hardware, that thats a reason why my games
run slower? Also what do you guys think on Vista SP1 RC Refresh? Also any
info on why Vista has such gaming performance issues would be great.

Run the download from this website..

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en

It improved my DX9 gaming experience no end. If it works for you too, please
come back to this thread and tell us, or tell us that it didn't do
anything.. ok?

 

[Drew]

That is a crock...I have been running Vista for at least a yr and all of my
games are fast and smooth..Most settings are at max (1920 x 1200resolution &
maxed antialiasing)..Most of my games are at least 3 yrs old...I run several
simulators (either flight or racing)..I believe the only time DX10 is
utilized is if a game and or your graphics card supports it..What kind of
hardware are you running ?? processor power ? Ram amount ?? Graphics card
??.....just my 3 cents

Vista business X86
Intel core duo 6600
4gigs DDR800 Kingston HyperX
Twin Ati 3870s in a crossfire
Twin 160gig Seagate Barracuda's
Thermaltake's Armor case
Saitek's X52 flight system
Logitech's G25 wheel,shifter and pedal combo
Logitech's z5300e 5.1 system
Dell 24" digital flat panel
Razer's death adder mouse
Saitek's gamer keyboard

 

[Mark]

Dear Drew,

I don't know what it is about newsgroups that brings out this response,
"Mine works... you don't know what your talking about." Some machines just
have trouble. Most everything I try on mine works just fine, but
occasionally, I get a few glitches, or poor performance when the emulated
DX9 is required and the game is set to "High" on everything. So far, the
download has been a help to me. (That would be 3 cents change.)

 

[Ver!tas]

Well I DL'ed that, but nothing seems to have changed at all ;(. What im going
to consider is that Vista is just built for more higher end PCs than the one
I am running on, and if I want to be able to play my games to their fullest
potential, then I will either A: have to upgrade to a better PC, or B:
Downgrade to XP. I really don't like the thought of downgrading, and I really
do not have the $80+ to spend on a downgrade. I really wish I could have had
the option of XP or Vista :/

 

[Ver!tas]

Well I did what you suggested and it still runs the same as before. Im just
gonna conclude that Vista is made for more higher end PCs that what I have,
and if I want to use my PC to its fullest potential, then I will need to
downgrade to Xp to do that..Im not sure whats more sad though, forking out
$80+ for a downgrade, or that I need to downgrade in order to upgrade, Lol!
Well thanks for the help.

 

[Drew]

Mark...I am not just talking about my own system although it does look that
way...My point was more aimed at the "It is a DX10 system" argument...I also
have that download and I am sure it might have made a improvement but since
I have been keeping up with the available DX runtime updates since February
07 than maybe that has something to do with it...I had just been reading
various posts and had about had it with people blaming Vista when it was not
necessarily that which caused the problem....I probably jumped a little
harder than I should...Once again just my 3 cents !!

 

[Ver!tas]

To Drew: The system I am running is perfectly fine for the games I run. I
posted above that all of my video games ran perfectly smooth with graphics
turned all the way up when I had XP installed. So then in my second post I
concluded for myself that Vista is just an OS that requires more power.

To Mark: I wish that download helped me out, but it didn't. Maybe I should
just wait for Vista SP1 to have its final release before I just toss Vista
out the window.

To Everyone Else: Please do not post your system specs to show off what you
have, and tell me "Well maybe your system sucks" before you actually read
what I have posted. That does not help me nor does it help anything else.
Please post actuall ideas and not an ego.

 

[Drew]

It was not my intention to as you stated "show off"..nor was it my intention
to take a "shot" at you for your post..I simply stated what I believe and
that is DX10 should not interfere with your games as you stated...I have no
idea what you are running for a system and for all I know your system might
make mine look lame !! It does help to post your specs as this clearly helps
others help you..Apologies if you were offended by my posted response !!

 

[Mark]

That, I would agree with.
While I too get tired of the Vista this, Vista that ranting, I do believe
that the DX9 that is contained with the installation of Vista is a scaled
down version of the original DX9. Emulation? Maybe. But, performance issues
abound. Some games actually refuse to run due to the lack of files (and/or
functionality) in this version of DX9 that are sought by those programs and
the vendors, including MS simply call it compatibility issues. When the full
DX9 files are put in place, the games run just fine. (It's not a
compatibility issue with these games and Vista... it appears to be a failure
to incorporate all the DX9 functionality from the original.) I would have to
state this is a Vista issue that the download seems to fix. Those few games
that make use of the new DX10 functions usually have the same performance
issues not because of the DX10 functions, but due to the same missing DX9
functions. So, there's my 2 cents (which brings us to a plug nickel.)

That said, I rarely see any performance glitches since I installed the full
DX9 files about one year ago. The only game I've played that seems to have
an issue is Guitar Hero III for the PC, but then it specifically states on
the specs that it's not supported with x64 or Nvidia 8600. (Which I have
both and it does lag occasionally when everything is set to high. But, I
believe this is because: They didn't even try to make it compatible for the
PC. It runs a full Xbox emulator, which as stated before, "emulators" are
typically performance hogs.) I wonder what it would be like without the DX9
files?

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Well I DL'ed that, but nothing seems to have changed at all ;(. What im
going
to consider is that Vista is just built for more higher end PCs than the
one
I am running on, and if I want to be able to play my games to their
fullest
potential, then I will either A: have to upgrade to a better PC, or B:
Downgrade to XP. I really don't like the thought of downgrading, and I
really
do not have the $80+ to spend on a downgrade. I really wish I could have
had
the option of XP or Vista :/

What is the spec for your system?

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

To Drew: The system I am running is perfectly fine for the games I run. I
posted above that all of my video games ran perfectly smooth with graphics
turned all the way up when I had XP installed. So then in my second post I
concluded for myself that Vista is just an OS that requires more power.

To Mark: I wish that download helped me out, but it didn't. Maybe I should
just wait for Vista SP1 to have its final release before I just toss Vista
out the window.

To Everyone Else: Please do not post your system specs to show off what
you
have, and tell me "Well maybe your system sucks" before you actually read
what I have posted. That does not help me nor does it help anything else.
Please post actuall ideas and not an ego.

Specification is important. My computer is nothing special but it does have
the basics to run Vista reasonably well. It is a single core AMD 64 3500, 2
gb RAM and a DX9 nVidia 256mb graphics card. All of it is at the lower end,
but I can run Halo, CFS3, AoE III and Fable with the detail maxed out and
still get decent performance..

 

[Ver!tas]

My computer is a Gateway MT3423. It has a duel core AMD 64 TL-56 running at
1.8 GHZ per proccesor. I have 2 gigs of ram and a Vista Index Score of 3.0.
The only thing that sucks on this laptop is my video card which is a Nvidia
geforce Go 6100.

Now before you guys tell me that my video card is the problem, please
remember that I have already said that with XP installed I could play
everything perfectly with graphics turned up. Yes my drivers are up to date.
Yes Windows is up to date. Yes i turned off all of the special Vista things
that slow it down, but nothing seems to work. Yes my games do support Vista.
I installed SP1 RC Refresh for Vista and that didn't even help. That DirectX
download you mentioned before didn't help. I just wish I knew why my computer
is doing this with Vista, but works perfect with XP. I like knowing answers
and it sucks not knowing ;(

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

My computer is a Gateway MT3423. It has a duel core AMD 64 TL-56 running
at
1.8 GHZ per proccesor. I have 2 gigs of ram and a Vista Index Score of
3.0.
The only thing that sucks on this laptop is my video card which is a
Nvidia
geforce Go 6100.

Now before you guys tell me that my video card is the problem, please
remember that I have already said that with XP installed I could play
everything perfectly with graphics turned up. Yes my drivers are up to
date.
Yes Windows is up to date. Yes i turned off all of the special Vista
things
that slow it down, but nothing seems to work. Yes my games do support
Vista.
I installed SP1 RC Refresh for Vista and that didn't even help. That
DirectX
download you mentioned before didn't help. I just wish I knew why my
computer
is doing this with Vista, but works perfect with XP. I like knowing
answers
and it sucks not knowing ;(

My motherboard has integrated 256mb 6100 video and under XP, my games were
close to unplayable at anything above 50% detail. The computer would just
shut down with no warning at all. If there is one thing the 6100 isn't, it
is a gaming card.

I upgraded to a 256mb 6600 MSI video card, and I gotten to run more detail
but still the occasional crash.

Vista coped much better than ever XP did, and I could run with 99% detail
settings. The DX9 install added more sparkle.

I think that maybe you should look at power settings, especially re the CPU
which may well be running half speed..

 

[Ver!tas]

Im sorry, but what did you say about my CPU running at half speed? If there
is a way to make it run at full speed plase let me know. I like to get the
most out of my computer. As for upgrading from my "Video Card", if you can
call it that, I wish I could, but I am using a laptop so upgrading is kinda
impossible.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Im sorry, but what did you say about my CPU running at half speed? If
there
is a way to make it run at full speed plase let me know. I like to get the
most out of my computer. As for upgrading from my "Video Card", if you can
call it that, I wish I could, but I am using a laptop so upgrading is
kinda
impossible.

Control Panel > Power Options..