Bill Z Bubba's Performance Guide Rev 2.0
By
Bill Z Bubba,
Posted on: 2006-03-10 11:24 in Player Guides
Hmmm, I'd contend that 3DMark would be classed as a "low memory usage condition" rather than COH's "high memory usage condition" and as such performance info mignt not be transferable.
I'll check out the actual "Virtual Bytes" usage during COH/COV sometime If its over the my actual memory then some paging _must_ happen, and in that case it would be best to make it the most efficient paging available.
If letting windows manage your pagefile on your boot drive crashed 3DMark BiilZ I think you have larger problems with your pagefile (IMHO)
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If letting windows manage your pagefile on your boot drive crashed 3DMark BiilZ I think you have larger problems with your pagefile (IMHO)
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I was pondering the same, but seeing as how I have zero issues with anything else, and I didn't patch 3dmark05 after installing it, I'm betting that it was a problem with their app, and nothing else. I do agree, however, that 3dmark isn't a very good test for testing out VM regardless.
By the by, I've been running back and forth between no VM and VM on 2nd partition, and the one item that sticks out at me most is that with VM enabled, movement in zones and zoning between zones FEELS more choppy and slower respectively.
Be well, people of CoH.
Question about the swap file in virtual memory. I have 2 gigs of ram and I usually run teamspeak and possibly internet explorer in the background, would it cause problems turn of the swap option for my virtual mememory?
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Question about the swap file in virtual memory. I have 2 gigs of ram and I usually run teamspeak and possibly internet explorer in the background, would it cause problems turn of the swap option for my virtual mememory?
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You'll never know until you try. My guess? No. But I have no idea what kind of memory usage teamspeak has, so the answer could just as easily be yes.
Be well, people of CoH.
Hey Bill...what about frequent Losses of Connection to Mapserver?
I dont know whether it's my graphics card, my NIC or the COX servers? 
Any suggestions? Or should i just give my wife this old gamer pc and build a new one?
"Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves" - Jesus the Christ
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Hey Bill...what about frequent Losses of Connection to Mapserver?
I dont know whether it's my graphics card, my NIC or the COX servers?
Any suggestions? Or should i just give my wife this old gamer pc and build a new one?
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I was afraid that this question would be raised...
Networking can be a pain in the tush. Frequent disconnects can be caused by:
Your network card and/or drivers
Your router
Your cable/dsl modem
Your ISP
The server you're connecting to
Backbone issues between you and the server
Sunspot activity
Coronal mass ejections
It's Tuesday
Basically, ANYTHING between your chair and the server can cause disconnects. It's one of the reasons I avoid posting in tech threads on this issue. There's simply too many variables for me to test over a forum.
As you are having these problems consistently, the first step is to make sure that your software firewalls aren't causing you problems. My advice is not to run them in the first place. Next is to update all drivers and firmware for your NIC, router, cable/dsl modem. Make sure that all of your cabling is in good working order. Still having problems? Get with your ISP's tech support and with NCSoft's tech support and open dual tickets.
Good luck.
Be well, people of CoH.
I found Black Vipers site extremely helpful when tweaking my system for performance using services.msc. Though the site is down, someone hosted a bit of his information.
Great guide, Bill!
I was wondering if you recommend any specific programs for running manual virus scans. My experience leads me to agree with your assertion that most virus solutions are bloated, but I am not familiar with what other options are out there.
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Great guide, Bill!
I was wondering if you recommend any specific programs for running manual virus scans. My experience leads me to agree with your assertion that most virus solutions are bloated, but I am not familiar with what other options are out there.
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Yeah, this has been bothering me too ever since I foolishly upgraded my Norton AV from the 2002 version to the 2006 version. I'm horrified at how much has changed, and wish to dump it ASAP.
I gather both Microsoft and Avast make solutions that passively scan for the worst offenders, and Avast also make a free active scanner that many of my friends use. However, I'm sure there are others out there, and would love to hear about other solutions, and some pros and cons of them.
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someone hosted a bit of his information.
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thanks for this!
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Great guide, Bill!
I was wondering if you recommend any specific programs for running manual virus scans. My experience leads me to agree with your assertion that most virus solutions are bloated, but I am not familiar with what other options are out there.
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Yeah, this has been bothering me too ever since I foolishly upgraded my Norton AV from the 2002 version to the 2006 version. I'm horrified at how much has changed, and wish to dump it ASAP.
I gather both Microsoft and Avast make solutions that passively scan for the worst offenders, and Avast also make a free active scanner that many of my friends use. However, I'm sure there are others out there, and would love to hear about other solutions, and some pros and cons of them.
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I'm rather hoping someone else pipes in on this as I've used housecall.antivirus.com in the past, but was hoping to move to something else. Something Free and non-intrusive, of course.
Be well, people of CoH.
Hello again, BillZBubba!
I am considering (done-deal, really) a gaming only system! Hubby has one (that I bought for him), now it is my turn!
I see your specs. Money is a factor, but not a huge issue since I sold some things I don't need on eBay so I could have this, WHICH I DO NEED! LOL
I am getting a 32" monitor for my B'day Friday, we almost share a b'day!
So, what should I get, and where should I get it? You've been a life-saver in the past, and I look forward to your recommended specs!
EDIT: I am very comfortable with building my own system.
Thanks! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
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Great guide, Bill!
I was wondering if you recommend any specific programs for running manual virus scans. My experience leads me to agree with your assertion that most virus solutions are bloated, but I am not familiar with what other options are out there.
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Yeah, this has been bothering me too ever since I foolishly upgraded my Norton AV from the 2002 version to the 2006 version. I'm horrified at how much has changed, and wish to dump it ASAP.
I gather both Microsoft and Avast make solutions that passively scan for the worst offenders, and Avast also make a free active scanner that many of my friends use. However, I'm sure there are others out there, and would love to hear about other solutions, and some pros and cons of them.
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I'm rather hoping someone else pipes in on this as I've used housecall.antivirus.com in the past, but was hoping to move to something else. Something Free and non-intrusive, of course.
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AntiVir from Avira. Get it here. Not only in my professional opinion as a virus removal expert is AntiVir the best Free for Personal use Antivirus software, it is also extremely efficient, and unlike the better known name brand AV packages, it doesn't slow your PC down much at all. It isn't the only Free option out there, but I don't much care for the others.
Concerning my skill level with virus removal: I have yet to format a PC because I couldn't kill a virus. I have formatted a couple PC's 'cause it was easier to do so, or the PC was brought to me well after the virus had done too much damage. There are viruses out there that, at the moment, no AV software can kill, primarily due to Microsoft allowing certain third party application extensions to run even in safe mode. I can kill all of these viruses. If there were a Certification for Virus Removal on Windows machines, I'd not only have the Cert, I'd probably also be an Instructor.
Note, if you happen to also use your gaming PC for business, there is a legal technicality, I'm sure, that makes doing so illegal. But I'll leave that legal/ethical question to others. I am not a Lawyer, so don't blame me if you do run AntiVir on a commercial PC. 
I'd also suggest Grisoft AVG free, though I really don't know how good it is. I do know that it's not as invasive as McAffee, and it's free, so...
Anyway, page files. My version of XP can't boot without a page file. At all. It requires a minimum of 7MB in order to boot, otherwise it'll crash and reboot with windows managed settings.
As for bios updates, how would you go about finding out what your board is if you don't have the packaging? I know it's an MSI, and a socket A, but beyond that, no idea.
The board's model number will be printed on the circuit board itself, usually near the processor, but I've seen it printed in lots of places so look around.
Be well, people of CoH.
OK, I got a question for ya, when ever I turn on CoH, the updater has frozen and all it says is "Connecting.."
And instead of having the usual background with the links at the top and the sort-of news section in the center, it has the picture it shows when you first install the game and it (the updater) does absolutely nothing.
I went thru the page this one is linked from and tried all of the things it said to do. Nothing worked.
When I clicked on the link for the "ftp updater" and all that stuff, my computer doesnt go to it. It gives me an error mesg. asking if I have permision to open that page and at the bottom says "Details: Operation timed out"
I have no clue what do!
Any help would be apreciated.
Stabbing in the dark, but have you disabled any and all firewalls (be it norton, mcafee, zonealarm, hardware, windows) you have running and tried like that?
Be well, people of CoH.
Yea, I have. What's really ticking me off is that, I went and bought another modem last week (old one was going out), and that's when it started doing this. My modem is wireless/regular DSL, and it doesnt work either way, but when I use the regular internet, thats fine. And whats really weird is that on the tips page that Visceral started I tried everything, and then I saw the tip that said to make a shortcut of the program and in the target box put in " -project coh" so I did it, and it opens up the regular CoH program but doesnt give any of the servers. 
I cant figure out what's wrong.
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"Windows XP has better support for games and comes with more games than Windows 2000." What does this mean? Why does it have better game support? Both OSes can run DirectX9.0c, so what is 2K missing? In my quick search this morning, I'm not finding much. The funny part of it is, by doing the work to yank all of XP's bells and whistles, you end up with a slightly updated, retooled Win2K.
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Yup, just cuz Bill Gates keeps saying it doesn't make it true. I mean, don't they use most of the same drivers, even?