I've read the previews for Little Big Planet and I can't understand what the big attraction is to it. The only game I'm looking forward to before Christmas is Fallout 3. I may get Bioshock towards the end of the year as I've heard the story is worth the price of admission. LPB just looks like a typical party game you'd find on the Wii with the exception of being able to create your own content. Is it safe to assume that the sort of people who are going to be buying LBP will be people who enjoyed games like Lemmings, BUZZ, Worms, The Sims, Spore etc..?

At the moment I'm playing Oblivion on the PC. The only game I own on the PS3 is GTA4, which I thought was a masterpiece. I'm surprised LBP gets so much hype - maybe its something you have to see running or play yourself to understand.

Your motherboard (M2N8-VMX) does not support the 6000+.

I'm guessing that could be the source of your constant stutters. Try lowering both the core clock AND voltage of the CPU, such that you can run it at around 2.00GHz. Remember, you need to lower the voltage enough so that the 6000+ goes from consuming 125w to at least or below 95w.

Wesker776

That seems to have fixed it, thanks Wesker. I'll keep testing it to see if its a long term fix. I went into the AMD overclocking section and adjusted the multiplier to 2.00GHz with the voltage at 1.4. So far, the game has run for around 20 mins without the usual stutter I'd expect. Strange how lowering the speed actually improves the performance.

I went to the ASUS forums to search for my problem and found out that several other people have the same problem. They all came from Australia as well and it appears that it could be a voltage issue, as suggested above. I've gone into my BIOS to try and lower the voltage but now I'm stuck again.

I'm using an AMI BIOS utility. Under the Advanced Tab it reads as such:

CPU Configuration

Module Version: 13.13

AGESA Version: 02.08.07

Physical Count: 1

Logical Count: 2

______

AMD Athlon 64 x 2 Dual Core Processor 6000+

Revision: f3

Cache L1: 256KB

Cache L2: 2048KB

Speed: 3000MHz

Current FSB Multiplier: 15x

Maximum FSB Multiplier: 15x

Able to change Freq: Yes

uCode Patch Level: None Required

*all unchangeable (greyed out)

___

GART Error Reporting [Disabled]

Microcode Updation: [Disabled]

Secure Virtual Machine Mode: [Disabled]

Cool 'n' Quiet: [Disabled]

___

>AMD Overclocking Configuration

- Processor Frequency Multiplier [Auto]

- Processor Voltage [Auto]

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

Under the AMD Overclocking section I have the option of changing the Processor Freq to the following:

x5.0 1000MHz

x6.0 1200MHz

x7.0 1400MHz etc.. up to x15.0 3000MHz

Also, under Processor Voltage I have the following options:

1.450V

1.425V

1.400V

Apart from this area I see no other area where I can lower the voltage and processing speed of the CPU. What is your advice in regards to setting it to something that might work? Do you still recommend against flashing the new BIOS version (1202)? Surely the newer version would have corrected the non compatibility of the CPU and Motherboard? The ASUS tech support services are crap and the forums there seem to go unanswered - there wasn't a single response from the developers in regards to other people who had this issue. Once again, I take your advice seriously and I'm willing to try anything that might correct my problem (preferably without buying new parts!). Thanks in advance.

When I Alt-Tab and CTRL-ALT-DEL to the task manager in the middle of the game no other processes seem to use the RAM. I have 36 applications running in the Task manager. I had memtest run all night, it reached over 1000% check on the RAM with zero errors. I'm ruling out a memory leak.

I do think it's to do with the BIOS now. According to this site: http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M2N8-VMX I think I need to update my BIOS from version 1004 to either 1107 or 1202. Version 1107 has the following comment attached to it:

That specifically refers to my AMD chip, the 6000+. On their other site of supported chips (here: http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M2N8-VMX ) it lists my chip as being supported with the BIOS version I have now, the 1004.

Therefor, should I update to the 1202 or the 1107? Can someone with detailed knowledge of the process of flashing a BIOS please give me some guidance here, I don't want to break my computer. What programs should I use to update the BIOS and what is a step by step guide on how to do so? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I unchecked indexing service for both partitions on my hard drive - the sluggish gameplay is still there every five seconds.

I'm very reluctant to flash the bios, I've experienced trouble with that in the past - so it would be a last resort. It very well could be the bios though. My mobo is the M2N8-VMX, I use an AMI BIOS. I went here: http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M2N8-VMX to get the latest BIOS, and according to an article I read I need to go to the AMI website to get the Flash utility? http://www.ami.com/support/bios.cfm

Is this right? I don't have a lot of experience with this. The new updated BIOS does say it has a patch that will fix my particular CPU, and it feels like a timing issue could be causing this problem. Is the chipset relatively easy to upgrade? I'll run memtest overnight and try orthos, prime64 and everest tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help so far. At this point I'd rather invest my energy into a trip to the local store to buy a PS3 version of the game, but I figure if I can get it working right for Oblivion it might encourage me to buy other PC games later on.

I appreciate your replies. I ran memtest for around 20 mins, it had 0 errors - I might run it over night to completely rule out the memory problem.

I downloaded the latest video drivers:

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8800 GTS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0193&SUBSYS_042010DE&REV_A2
Display Memory: 320.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 720 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0011.7519 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail

That made no difference. The game will run really well for the first 2-3 minutes, then regardless of what zone/area I'm in or what I'm doing (could be standing still in a deserted cave entrance) the game begins to stutter. Chugs might be a better word. This happens routinely, every five seconds for approximately five seconds. I've switched off all background applications - nothing is running that I think could cause this. As I mentioned before, it did it with EQ2 on a fresh install with no other applications running with it.

There appears to be a lot of similar issues with dual core processors and 3D games. Is there anything in the BIOS I could turn off that might interfere with the game running every five seconds?

Greetings potential helpers,

I am having a great deal of trouble with my computer. My system specs are as follows:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 9/17/2008, 20:43:51
Machine name: ####
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/28/07 13:42:20 Ver: 08.00.12
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 468MB used, 3472MB available
Windows Dir: C:WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8800 GTS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_10DE&DEV_0193&SUBSYS_042010DE&REV_A2
Display Memory: 320.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 720 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0011.6375 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/**** 10/4/2007 16:14:00, 5783424 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 10/4/2007 16:14:00, 6854464 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-42D3-11CF-896B-2B2403C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0193
SubSys ID: 0x042010DE
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Revision ID: 0x00A2
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_B ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
Deinterlace Caps: {6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: SB Live! Audio [DC00]
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCIVEN_1102&DEV_0002&SUBSYS_80271102&REV_08
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0252 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and **** 7/19/2002 09:47:52, 837548 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Creative
HW Accel Level: Full
Cap Flags: 0xF5F
Min/Max Sample Rate: 4000, 191999
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 32, 30
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 32, 30
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: Yes
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No
Registry: OK
Sound Test Result: Not run

______________________________________

Now for the problem. I bought this build in November of last year to give Everquest 2 a graphical boost. It slowed my game down every five seconds, for five seconds. I haven't used my computer for gaming at all this year but I decided to play Oblivion and I'm finding its the same thing there as well. I've downloaded a lot of patches to help run the game better, such as the latest Oblivion patch, an AMD patch for optimising game performance, a Service pack 2 patch that was suppose to utilise dual core machines more effectively for Windows XP - the list goes on. I've followed numerous guides on how to improve the quality of the game but even on the absolute lowest setting possible with all graphical features switched off the game still runs the same - it lags every five seconds for around the same amount of time. The game runs fine the five seconds prior to this lag. (I know lag isn't the right word here)

I've overclocked the CPU so it ran at the maximum speed (3200) but I dropped it back to 2400 and then just enabled Auto management in the bios as none of the aforementioned attempts rendered any changes to the game. When EQ2 had the same problem I got the latest bios installed, latest drivers, turned off all virus protection, had a fresh install of Windows XP, fresh install of the game, latest patches on the game and still it lagged every five seconds for five seconds. I do not have cool and quiet enabled.

Now I'm starting to think it could be a hardware issue, such as a memory leak in the RAM or bad sectors on the hard drive. Is there anything else I can do to make this thing play Oblivion properly before I just buy a copy of it for my PS3 and give up on the PC version?