Background CPU usage with InnerSpace

[Krustov]

Hi,

First some background information... I had been dual-boxing EQ with WinEQ2 with great success. My computer is fast, so when I switched between instances, the background session continued to run smoothly.

This changed when I bought a Pro subscription. All of the sudden switching away from the EQ instance made that instance crawl (about 5 FPS). Finally I figured out that the Lite version didn't seem to properly enable EQPlayNice, which must have been "enabled" when upgrading to Pro. Whether that's actually the case or not, when I DISABLED EQPlayNice, the problem went away. EQ sessions in the background were smooth as butter again.

When I started using IS, the problem came back. I have turned off the FPS limiters, have used the console to set MaxFPS for both FG and BG to 100, and even 999. Nothing helped. Even running a single instance of EQ, the client FPS will slow to a crawl when I switch away from the app. For example, if I autorun I can get 60 FPS, but setting focus on my web browser (I run in windowed mode) will cause the frame rate to fall to 5-10 FPS. As a side note, I notice that the CPU usage in task manager drops from 90% to about 5%.

I'm stuck. Again, EQ runs flawlessly both alone and under WinEQ2 with EQPN turned off. But under IS, switching away from the EQ instance slows the framerate and drops the CPU usage.

Any hints? Has anyone experienced this problem before?

Thanks,
K

[Krustov]

BTW... Max Frames per Second in the EQ client is set to 100.

[eolewis]

Sweet Mother of Mary! Someone else with the same problem I'm having! I bet if your on one character, the one that autofollows in the background lags behind and eventually stops autofollowing, huh. See Lax, another one just like me! I knew there had to be more. Hopefully this guy explains it way better then me, cuz I know sometimes its hard to follow what I type.

[Krustov]

Sweet Mother of Mary! Someone else with the same problem I'm having! I bet if your on one character, the one that autofollows in the background lags behind and eventually stops autofollowing, huh.

Yeah, it's unusable now. I've had to switch back to WinEQ2 which is terribly disappointing. There should be a fix somehow thoug, since you have to search long and hard to find anyone else with this problem.

The symptoms are interesting, it really seems there is some sort of EQPN running even though it isn't, and I've got what I think is all of the equivalent functionality in IS turned off.

[Lax]

I'm adding some diagnostic features to IS similar to what is in WinEQ 2. It'll be a day or two, and there wont be EQ-specific information without loading ISXEQ, and you'd have to load that to get the full info from EQ.

[Krustov]

I'm adding some diagnostic features to IS similar to what is in WinEQ 2. It'll be a day or two, and there wont be EQ-specific information without loading ISXEQ, and you'd have to load that to get the full info from EQ.

Thanks, Lax.

I have ISXEQ installed, let me know if you want me to do any specific tests.

[eolewis]

Lax, Im not sure, but I think my last post could be take the wrong way... I was just happy to learn that it wasn't just me with the problem and means that it gets elevated from a prolem on my PC to probably being something else

Will look forward to the diag features cuz even if I don't use the isxeq and scripts, I do prefer the feel of IS to WinEQ 2

[Krustov]

Lax,

I found some information which points to the fact that the EQ client may be throttling back the CPU usage when it detects it's not the foreground app.

Link

and

Link

The second link mentions changing the Windows XP performance profile, but like one of the respondants, it didn't help me either.

Is WinEQ doing something to compensate for this that InnerSpace could do too?

Off to do more testing...

[Lax]

I found some information which points to the fact that the EQ client may be throttling back the CPU usage when it detects it's not the foreground app.

Thats what "Max Frames per Second in the EQ client" is. When EQ goes into the background, that kicks in.

Is WinEQ doing something to compensate for this that InnerSpace could do too?

Absolutely nothing.

The only difference here between WinEQ 2 and Inner Space is with dual core (dual core, dual cpu, or hyperthreaded P4) processors. WinEQ 2 rotates each session between the available cores. Inner Space always sets the affinity to the first core. If you have a dual core system, you may see an improvement by manually setting every other session to the 2nd core. You can do this by entering the command "proc 2 only" in the console for that session, or through the Windows task manager.

[Krustov]

Thats what "Max Frames per Second in the EQ client" is. When EQ goes into the background, that kicks in.

OK, that makes sense. I have it maxed, so that's not my issue.

The only difference here between WinEQ 2 and Inner Space is with dual core (dual core, dual cpu, or hyperthreaded P4) processors. WinEQ 2 rotates each session between the available cores. Inner Space always sets the affinity to the first core. If you have a dual core system, you may see an improvement by manually setting every other session to the 2nd core. You can do this by entering the command "proc 2 only" in the console for that session, or through the Windows task manager.

I do have a dual-core system, but this problem manifests itself even with a single instance of EQ running. When I switch away from that single instance the frame rate and CPU usage always drop off when running under IS. They do not drop off running stand-alone or under WinEQ2.

I'm going to try running it on another system to try to isolate the problem.

[Krustov]

Just tried it on a second machine, with the same results. Max FPS in EQ is set to 100 and both FPS limiters in IS are disabled.

2nd Machine config:

• AMD 3000+
  1GB RAM
  ATI Radeon 9800 PRO
  ATI Catalyst 6.5 (D3D driver version: 6.14.10.0399)

For comparison, the specs on the machine used to make my earlier observations:

• Intel Pentium D 805 Dual Core, 3.6 GHz
  2GB RAM
  ATI Radeon X1900XTX
  ATI Catalyst 6.5 (D3D driver version: 6.14.10.0399)

Perhaps if those others who are having the same problem can post their hardware specs, we can isolate the problem?

[eolewis]

Cuz Krustov asked...

Old System

Intel P4 1.6ghz
1.5gb ram
GeForce 5200 256mg
84.21 Forceware driver Version 6.14.0010.8421 (english)
Win XP Home


New system

AMD 3200+
1.5gb ram
GeForce 6600GT 128mg Version 6.14.0010.8421 (english)
84.21 Forceware driver
Win XP home

Never used a dual core system, so that couldn't be my problem

[Krustov]

Looks like we couldn't be running more different setups, eolewis. I'm even running XP Pro, not that that matters.

I'm bummed that I can't get this to work, as I really want to use IS. I'm all ready to write a plugin for it, but as EQ is what I'm playing right now (again! how does that keep happening!) I guess I'll have to use WinEQ2 and MQ2. That's definitely a shame as I think IS is a great product and am excited about the possibilities it offers.

I'll keep playing with it and watching this discussion to see if any progress is made. Lax, I'm happy to help you debug anything if you decide this issue warrants your time. I used to be a professional Windows/C++ developer so I'm comfortable compiling and debugging in an effort to help get to the bottom of this issue.

[Lax]

It does warrant my time, I just have to work on a lot of different things at once, and it's kind of a pain. You can update IS to build 4010, launch an EQ session, and type "diag" in the console in the EQ session. This will do the equivalent of WinEQ 2's sysinfo.txt. I wont be able to verify information about your EQ settings without adding support to ISXEQ for the diagnostics, but this will at least give some useful information

[Krustov]

Here's what I get when running one instance of EQ:

Code: Select all

Inner Space Kernel 1.07 Build 4010

System:
-----------------------------------
Windows Version: Microsoft Windows XP/Service Pack 2/2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519
Process Memory Usage: 243MB
System Physical RAM: 1095/2047MB
Page File: 3044/3943MB
Virtual Memory: 1175/2047MB (Extended: 0MB)
CPU 1:              Intel(R) Pentium(R) D  CPU 2.66GHz @ 3606MHz
CPU 2:              Intel(R) Pentium(R) D  CPU 2.66GHz @ 3606MHz
CPU Affinity Mask: 0x1
Video 1: \\.\DISPLAY1/Radeon X1900 Series
Video 2: \\.\DISPLAY2/Radeon X1900 Series Secondary
Video 3: \\.\DISPLAYV1/NetMeeting driver
Video 4: \\.\DISPLAYV2/RDPDD Chained DD
Sound: ¨
DirectX: 4.09.00.0904
Internet Explorer: 6.0.2900.2180

Loaded Modules:
-----------------------------------
Module 0x00320000-0x00334000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\DSETUP.dll (Wed Dec 11 09:58:30 2002)
Module 0x00400000-0x00A1E000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\eqgame.exe (Thu Jun 15 18:25:41 2006)
Module 0x00A20000-0x00C80000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3dx9_30.dll (Fri Mar 31 19:32:20 2006)
Module 0x01A50000-0x01A71000: C:\Program Files\InnerSpace\IS-D3D9.dll (Tue May 09 19:34:02 2006)
Module 0x01A80000-0x01CCF000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3dx9_27.dll (Sat Jul 23 00:23:46 2005)
Module 0x01CE0000-0x01D07000: C:\Program Files\InnerSpace\IS-VirtualInput.dll (Wed May 31 19:31:28 2006)
Module 0x02160000-0x022E8000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\EQGraphicsDX9.DLL (Thu Jun 15 18:22:57 2006)
Module 0x022F0000-0x02348000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\dpvs.dll (Fri Nov 12 09:16:21 2004)
Module 0x03000000-0x0311F000: C:\Program Files\InnerSpace\IS-Kernel.dll (Wed Jun 14 16:06:53 2006)
Module 0x04000000-0x04048000: C:\Program Files\InnerSpace\InnerSpace.dll (Wed Jun 14 15:41:53 2006)
Module 0x05000000-0x0512F000: C:\Program Files\InnerSpace\ISUI.dll (Wed Jun 14 15:41:33 2006)
Module 0x10000000-0x1001E000: C:\WINDOWS\Lavish.dll (Thu Mar 23 17:53:23 2006)
Module 0x21100000-0x2115F000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mss32.dll (Tue Jul 09 21:33:51 2002)
Module 0x22100000-0x2211F000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssa3d.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:33:54 2002)
Module 0x22200000-0x22219000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssds3d.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:33:56 2002)
Module 0x22300000-0x22329000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\msseax.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:34:03 2002)
Module 0x22400000-0x22417000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\msssoft.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:33:58 2002)
Module 0x22600000-0x2261C000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssdx7.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:34:00 2002)
Module 0x22700000-0x22764000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssrsx.m3d (Tue Jul 09 21:33:57 2002)
Module 0x24100000-0x2411C000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssdsp.flt (Tue Jul 09 21:34:17 2002)
Module 0x26400000-0x26436000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssvoice.asi (Tue Jul 09 21:34:13 2002)
Module 0x26F00000-0x26F2A000: C:\program files\sony\everquest\mssmp3.asi (Tue Jul 09 21:34:05 2002)
Module 0x4FDD0000-0x4FF76000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3d9.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:03 2004)
Module 0x5AD70000-0x5ADA8000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\uxtheme.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:43 2004)
Module 0x5D090000-0x5D127000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\comctl32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:31 2004)
Module 0x662B0000-0x66308000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\hnetcfg.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:16 2004)
Module 0x688F0000-0x688F9000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\HID.DLL (Wed Aug 04 07:56:12 2004)
Module 0x6CE10000-0x6CE48000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DINPUT8.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:32 2004)
Module 0x6D990000-0x6D996000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\d3d8thk.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:02 2004)
Module 0x71A50000-0x71A8F000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mswsock.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:59:20 2004)
Module 0x71A90000-0x71A98000: C:\WINDOWS\System32\wshtcpip.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:49 2004)
Module 0x71AA0000-0x71AA8000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2HELP.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:39 2004)
Module 0x71AB0000-0x71AC7000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2_32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:38 2004)
Module 0x71AD0000-0x71AD9000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WSOCK32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:51 2004)
Module 0x71BF0000-0x71C03000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SAMLIB.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:29 2004)
Module 0x72D10000-0x72D18000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msacm32.drv (Sat Aug 18 05:33:30 2001)
Module 0x72D20000-0x72D29000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\wdmaud.drv (Wed Aug 04 07:56:54 2004)
Module 0x73EE0000-0x73EE4000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\KsUser.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:29 2004)
Module 0x73F10000-0x73F6C000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DSOUND.DLL (Wed Aug 04 07:57:08 2004)
Module 0x74D90000-0x74DFB000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\usp10.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:42 2004)
Module 0x76390000-0x763AD000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMM32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:30 2004)
Module 0x76B40000-0x76B6D000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINMM.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:10 2004)
Module 0x76BF0000-0x76BFB000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\PSAPI.DLL (Wed Aug 04 07:56:58 2004)
Module 0x76C30000-0x76C5E000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINTRUST.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:41 2004)
Module 0x76C90000-0x76CB8000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMAGEHLP.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:25 2004)
Module 0x76D60000-0x76D79000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\iphlpapi.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:10 2004)
Module 0x76F20000-0x76F47000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DNSAPI.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:45 2004)
Module 0x76F60000-0x76F8C000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WLDAP32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:43 2004)
Module 0x76FB0000-0x76FB8000: C:\WINDOWS\System32\winrnr.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:35 2004)
Module 0x76FC0000-0x76FC6000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\rasadhlp.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:24 2004)
Module 0x77120000-0x771AC000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\OLEAUT32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:39 2004)
Module 0x771B0000-0x77259000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\WININET.dll (Wed May 10 05:25:22 2006)
Module 0x773D0000-0x774D2000: C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.2600.2180_x-ww_a84f1ff9\comctl32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:55:56 2004)
Module 0x774E0000-0x7761D000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ole32.dll (Tue Jul 26 04:39:47 2005)
Module 0x77690000-0x776B1000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\NTMARTA.DLL (Wed Aug 04 07:57:02 2004)
Module 0x77920000-0x77A13000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SETUPAPI.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:32 2004)
Module 0x77A80000-0x77B14000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\CRYPT32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:01 2004)
Module 0x77B20000-0x77B32000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSASN1.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:23 2004)
Module 0x77BD0000-0x77BD7000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\midimap.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:25 2004)
Module 0x77BE0000-0x77BF5000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSACM32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:57:03 2004)
Module 0x77C00000-0x77C08000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\VERSION.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:39 2004)
Module 0x77C10000-0x77C68000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcrt.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:59:14 2004)
Module 0x77D40000-0x77DD0000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\USER32.dll (Wed Mar 02 18:09:29 2005)
Module 0x77DD0000-0x77E6B000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ADVAPI32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:23 2004)
Module 0x77E70000-0x77F01000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\RPCRT4.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:30 2004)
Module 0x77F10000-0x77F57000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\GDI32.dll (Thu Dec 29 02:54:35 2005)
Module 0x77F60000-0x77FD6000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHLWAPI.dll (Wed May 10 05:25:21 2006)
Module 0x7C800000-0x7C8F4000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:36 2004)
Module 0x7C900000-0x7C9B0000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntdll.dll (Wed Aug 04 07:56:36 2004)
Module 0x7C9C0000-0x7D1D5000: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll (Fri Mar 17 04:03:51 2006)


Display
-------------------------------------
Adapter resolution: 1680x1050
Current display mode: 1680x994 (windowed)
Window viewable size: 1680x994
Display Scale: 100.0%x100.0%, Distortion: 0.0%
MaxFPS Foreground: Disabled
MaxFPS Background: Disabled