Help Needed

I am using a P4 3GHz with 512 ram. I have a Nvidia Geforce2 MX200 video card and a 1MBit ADSL connection. Until recently I could play the game just fine. For the last couple of weeks I have terrible lag and it makes the game unplayably. I am thinking of upgrading my video card. I am between
MSI ATI RX9250 T128MB Graphics Card w/ TV Out
and MSI GeForce FX5700LE-TD256MB AGP8x w/ TV Out, & DVI Graphics.

I have read about problems with Geforce cards and so I am thinking of buying the ATI one instead. I tried turning of my antispyware and antivirus but it does not help. Even if I set the game to play at minimum resolution, although it seems to help a bit, it's still not playable. I checked my connection and it seems fine and I am not through a router or firewall.

My question would changing the video card solve the problem or it may be something else?

A lot of people would just go right ahead and say change your video card. The only downside to that is, unless you have a friend who can lend you a better card to test in your machine before doing so, you won't know for sure if it's a video issue or something else.

Post all your system specs, ADSL/Router/Modem details and which OS, Firewall and Virus Software you are running.

It may just be a simple matter of a conflict somewhere with one of the drivers on your machine or possible hardware issue.

Anyway, wait until we see your specs so any Techie here can try and help you out.

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System Information
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Operating System: Windows 2000 Professional (5.0, Build 2195) Service Pack 4
Language: English (Regional Setting: Greek)
System Manufacturer: INTELR
System Model: AB60
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 212MB used, 1035MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINNT
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: /PackageInstall
DxDiag Version: 5.03.0001.0904 32bit Unicode

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Display Devices
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Card name: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 100/200
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce2 MX 100/200
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0111&SUBSYS_000110B0&REV_B2
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.7189 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 4/1/2005 16:16:00, 3980288 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes

I use the Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition (2002) and the Microsft spyware. These do not seem to be the problem since the problem exists even after shutting them down.

I dont use any firewall or router. My connection is 1Mbit ADSL and after testing it on various bandwith tests I get an avergage of 400Kbits download. Testing on my ISP's site gives me a 925Kbits.

Thanks for the fast response.

Ok. Try this option first.

Completely uninstall Nortons. Personally, I think it's a dreadful package and you are using a 2002 version. The older versions were a lot more troublesome on XP and 2000 as they are both pretty much the same OS.
I used to have a 2002,2003 and 2004 version and they are very resource hungry. I've only just recently moved over to Zone Labs Security Suite. It's a fantastic product and doesn't appear to be anywhere near as resource hungry.

Give that option a try first. It could well be that Nortons has got a corruption somewhere and you are getting a hit from the program.

Get back if you are still having problems.

Yep definitely agree with Dirkiess about Norton, such a cpu hog, if your worried about security, try sygate personal firewall and avast antivirus, both are free and work exceptionally well and don't hog cpu resources...

Either of those graphics cards would be good, I have no problems running an nvidia card though I do have a 6800gt, if I had to choose between the two you've given, it would have to be the ati card, the 5700le is just a bad card in my opinion....

Just out of intrest, you say you have no firewall, have you ran a virus/spyware scan, this could be the cause of your problems..maybe worth a shot

I check the computer every other day and is fine. No threats or viruses. Why would the problem be from the antivirus? I have the game since February Beta. It was running fine. The problem started somewhere around 8-10 Jun 2005. I don't remember doing any updates on my computer during that period. The pc is only used for Guildwars and internet browsing, so there are no other programs taking memory ot processing from it. The only things that I can think that may have happened is either there was a change in the game that conflicts with my video card or my ISP did something.

It won't hurt to uninstall Nortons, and if the problem is still there then you know you need to look at something else. I've found Nortons is very easy to get corrupted, whether it's been updated or not. Other programs can cause it just as much of a headache.

With regards to no firewall though, do you have a ROuter/ADSL modem that has a built in Firewall? If so, I would check the Routers Firewall to see if the GW Ports are located in there.

With regards to your graphics card, what is your Budget?

Also, you can try an uninstall of the graphics drivers, use driver cleaner and then install the drivers again. If you are using the latest drivers, I would suggest going back to an earlier version of drivers incase you have a problem with the drivers you are using.

Well regarding norton, although you've shut it down(did you just right click in your system tray and select disable?) it still runs activley in the background which can cause higher cpu usage and could cause the problems your having, to be sure of this put your pc into a clean boot using the msconfig utility and then try GW again, if the problem is still there then it's not that....

Saying that it could be that an update done for GW has caused this, try a driver upgrade/rollback for your graphics/motherboard..good luck


EDIT Dirkiess, your a dam fast typer..........

I uninstalled Norton Antivirus but it did not help. I got an ATI 9250 from a friend but I still have the same problem. I run the game using the -perf option and noticed that the maximum downloads that I get are around 2Kbytes and 30 fps.

Who is your Braodband Provider and have you ever reset your Modem/Router?

And did you uninstall the Drivers, use driver cleaner and then install the new card and it's drivers?

Another thing I would recommend is a good clean up off your PC. Delete all temporary files, Temporary Internet Files, run a check disk and scandisk on your PC and do a double check for any Spyware and Adware that may have snuck onto your PC and may not be able to be detected. Which Spyware checkers are you using?

I would highly recommend getting a Firewall installed though, no matter how much checking you do on a regular basis.

Do you download other files of the Web, get attachments in emails from mates, and even browse websites that you may not normally go for, or may have popped up without you wanting them too? Do you get any annoying popup adds appearing even though you are not currently browsing the web?

Also, which Nvidia Driver release are you currently using?

Does Avast do a better job than Norton 2004? Regarding virus protection?

Also, the 9250 is a budget card. Get a Sapphire 128mB 9600 from Newegg.com for 50 bucks. Its just better than a 9250. Numbers prove it.

Not saying Norton doesn't have good protection, but there are better products out there that give just as good or better protection but don't hog all the resources or cause conflicts or crap out more often that Nortons does.

Trust me, I have had 4 versions of it, and the 2005 version was the last i ever used. I uninstalled it after 4 weeks of use and went over to Zone Alarm Security Suite.
The protection is way better, there Firewall is top notch and they don't suck up the resources. I just wish I had checked out Zone Alarm sooner.

Oh, and as far as I can remember, I think Nortons bought up Dr Watson Virus Software and have inherited there bad resource hogging techniques. We used to have untold amount of problems with that program when we were running it on earlier versions of windows when I was in IT support.

I put my old hard disk back (I was using it until March) and now it works very well. I must have forgotten that I installed some "fixes" from microsoft for Windows 2000 on my pc. I am guessing that this may be the reason why it caused all these problems. Now it runs very well even with Norton antivirus and Microsft antispyware running at the back. I put a the ATI 9250 (got it for 20 pounds) and even on the highest details it works very well.

I can now see the aura of the bosses.

Thank you all for the replies. I love these forums.

Well done Necroth, glad you got it sorted