Help with Oblivion!!!

[farlex85]

So I just recently put together my first PC and the day after putting it together went out and bought oblivion (god I've been waiting so long). Popped it in and everything ran smoothly for about a week on medium settings. Then things started to go haywire. I started to get really bogged down in towns. A 20 seconds or so smooth and then about 10 of herky-jerky movements at about 5-10 fps. I uninstalled and re-installed everything to try to get it to work again but to no avail. Now it only runs smooth for about 5-10 seconds and then lags horribly for about 20-30 sec. I tried tweaking the .ini file a little. I've also tried installing new drivers but the same problems persist. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let me know. Thanks.

[tony929292]

it your 700x video card (just a guess)

[TUngsten]

x700 series won't run it very well at all. Try low settings @ 800x600, turn off bloom and no AA/AF and it'll be playable, if not a bit unappealing.

Your system is based on parts that are about 3 years old, so it should be no surprise that it struggles to run what is essentially the most graphically demanding game of the last few years.

I play Oblivion at work occasionally ( :pimp: ) on a p4 2.4c/ati9550 and it runs fine on those low settings. It's actually not too unattractive either, but compared to my main PC it's like a complete different experience visually.

[baz55]

hi folks! just passing through...interested in anything about oblivion 'cos i've not long been in to it myself...beautiful game and without a doubt a graphics card killer!!!
i wouldn't argue with tungsten and tony that the x700 is going to restrict the 'candy', but i am a bit suspicious that having just built a new system (i assume all new components) AND, having run the game at the appropriate settings with no issues, that after a first week (intensive no doubt) of its being solid, all of a sudden something changes drastically.
i have no answers that others are not better qualified to offer, but as an observation i am wondering if something is prematurely failing. a 450watt psu might be pushing it a bit - what is it?
can you swap out the card and see if the same thing happens?
have you tried your system for stability with benchmark progs?
tried any other high-demand games?
i'd be interested in the outcome...

[farlex85]

Thanks for the replies, baz especially. Unfortunately, I am not very technically experienced, this is my first pc and i am learning but I will try to answer those questions a little bit. I'm not quite sure what exactly sure what my power supply comes from, but its a xion gaming case with green lights if that helps. I'm not totally sure what benchmark progs are, but i have got a few monitoring programs, although i'm not entirely sure what to do with them. My dual-core center that came with the motherboard seems to say everything is running fine, although my processor has been getting a little hot lately. I idle at about 60 and have gone over 80 celcius with a mediocre load. I recently got half-life 2 with the notion that should run smooth as silk on my system. Low and behold, the same problems keep coming up. I ran the steam test and it told me that everything was running fine, only I was getting an average of 13 fps. I'm glad you noticed that it was working fine in the beginning (not very high settings) and half-life 2 should definately run on this card even though its old. I'm currently thinking maybe installing xp instead might help. I'm also not sure if the processor getting over 80 could make games this unbearable. Please let me know more about benchmarks and tell me if you think I might be on the right track.

[farlex85]

Also I dont have any other card to swap it out with at the moment, and I have tried tuning down the settings to the lowest of the low and the same fps still prevail.

[overclocker]

its b/c you are running vista and you only have a x700 i loss 20% fps in games becouse of vista great OS but it slows every thing down a lot :) hope this helps

[farlex85]

Yea I was thinkin that might be the case, but still I had it running fine at the beginning. I also tried to run fresh benchmarks and my cpu shut down from overheating, I think I need to reseat it.

[baz55]

....hi again...lots of possibilities here. what overclocker says is better knowledge than i have. could try xp, but this still begs the question about why it ran ok in the beginning. here's a link (there may be plenty of others) about vista and oblivion:
http://help.lockergnome.com/vista/oblivion-vista-ftopict40652.html

i know that the prescotts were very warm chaps!! but your idle temps are too high i should say; need looking into; definately before any more benchmarks...well-ventilated case and well-seated h/s and fan should keep your idle temp below 50 max i'd have thought, but i never used prescotts for that reason..see if you can google some answers about yours
compatibility with drivers too; i understand that there are still probs
i think that an x700 should give you an enjoyable experience at acceptable settings and frame rates with your rig; it's a pretty game anyway:)
no more time at present...work to do..keep us posted

[Alcpone]

If it ran (ok) in your eyes for a week, something else must be running in the background to chew up resources! I would check you aint got spyware or something silly along those lines, if its your first rig im guessing you been looking to see what "delights" you could download ;)

[erocker]

So I just recently put together my first PC and the day after putting it together went out and bought oblivion (god I've been waiting so long). Popped it in and everything ran smoothly for about a week on medium settings. Then things started to go haywire. I started to get really bogged down in towns. A 20 seconds or so smooth and then about 10 of herky-jerky movements at about 5-10 fps. I uninstalled and re-installed everything to try to get it to work again but to no avail. Now it only runs smooth for about 5-10 seconds and then lags horribly for about 20-30 sec. I tried tweaking the .ini file a little. I've also tried installing new drivers but the same problems persist. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let me know. Thanks.

If you just purchased the system, I would try to return the graphics card and the CPU and try to get something better, if possible of course.

[Garb3]

you might want to try http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_1.html as they have really good suggestions on twaeking the ini. file

[ADV4NCED]

Beware I had a prescott 2.8ghz CPU that was damaged when it hit around 83 degrees. It was still running stock speeds and stock cooler. I hated the prescott!

Anyway you definetly should get an aftermarket cpu cooler, look at the latest Zalman coolers, they're pretty good.

afaik the tuniq cooler is also very good

[baz55]

...there is nothing to say that your chip is not damaged. it happens as adv4ced pointed out. that is why we get a guarantee from the wonderful intel company:)
as regards heat; all pentiums since northwood have had a thermal throttling ability that prevents burn out; have a look:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/p4-throttling/index.html

if this is happening to yours, it would cause a dramatic slowdown according to my logic anyway!!!
you mention that you are using arctic silver. the intel hs/fan provided with a new chip is more than capable of keeping a standard (not overclocked) cpu at a safe temp. you have removed the thermal pad and added a thermal compound; i assume that you have not spread it on like cream cheese between two crackers; having filled the porous metal of the heat sink it should be almost invisible. the best contact is metal to metal..if in doubt, find a tutorial and check your work.

if your graphics card has gone bad, i think that it would be obvious in other progs, but always a possibility. welcome to the world of DIY mate!
dowload and use MBM5 (motherboard monitor). should still be available and compatible with your chipset. gives a constant update on system hardware and voltages; and will also write a log to (say) desktop
just for the crack, i have tested oblivion with an old 3.2 northwood and a radeon 9600pro..nowhere near as capable as your stuff but runs fine at 8x6 at about 18-32fps; average 25, lower settings available. i reckon that 35+ is acceptable for this game...what does everybody else think?

to garb3: excellent link to tweakguide list. thanx.

[farlex85]

Well, simple enough. The damn heatsink was just loose. Secured it back into place and away I went. Fairly decent settings (although I will upgrade in a couple of months to see its full splendor) and smooth as silk. I should have checked that immediately when I was getting readings like that but like I said I'm learning. I now idle at about 35 C and only get up around 50C at the highest loads. Thanks for all the help I appriciate it. Now if I could only get my internet to work.........

[theonetruewill]

If it ran (ok) in your eyes for a week, something else must be running in the background to chew up resources! I would check you aint got spyware or something silly along those lines, if its your first rig im guessing you been looking to see what "delights" you could download ;)

We're not all perverts Alcpone! ....Oh don't worry I'm not saying I'm not a pervert, I am:D

For the purpose of this thread though, with my laptop (X600se!) I can run it at 800x600 with everything at low with no visible lag (no aa/af), so he should not be having problems. Have you tried uninstalling and then removing all the registry items concerning oblivion, then reinstall + patch and then as Alcpone sai, run every antivirus, antispyware tool you can find. Also make sure you've got all security programs off while running the game, I know its obvious but just in case. If you're anti virus doesn't find anything may I recommend the NOD32 trial, I do it for my mates all the time, it most of the timefinds a virus if your normal one hasn't and you think you've got one. Easy to install/uninstall, so no hassles there.

[baz55]

ok farlex; away you go...good gaming!

[Joshmcmillan]

Can someone here email the original non patched oblivion.exe that comes with the game? IT is either on the root of the cd or in program files/****/obliivon, I won't say why I need it I just do. lol. Email is josh0079@gmail.com or if u wanted to send with msn my msn is joshmcmillan@hotmail.com.

[inachu]

Beware I had a prescott 2.8ghz CPU that was damaged when it hit around 83 degrees. It was still running stock speeds and stock cooler. I hated the prescott!

Anyway you definetly should get an aftermarket cpu cooler, look at the latest Zalman coolers, they're pretty good.

afaik the tuniq cooler is also very good


good reply and also check for fragmentation.

I bought the ANTEC 900 case($120) it was well worth the money invested to keep things cool.