Any game may run extremely too fast with an X2 processor. Even Far Cry was excessively fast, but I'm a genius (sooo samrt )


the fix for ALL games (apparently) is:


Run the game

Alt+Tab or Ctrl+Alt+Del


Locate the process

Right mouse button, click "Set Affinity" and set it to either the first or second core or for HT people logical cores.



click OK


basically i think its because its designed to run flat out on a single processor, but because its forced to run on 2 because of windows xp, it runs approx 2x as fast or 8Tx if you play far cry. It work so far with Galciv2, AvP2, FarCry, and NFSU2. Good luck.

Have you tried again using the activation prompt when the game attempts to start? So long as the machine GC2 is on is up and online with no problems, it was probably only a temporary issue with the server.

There is also a command line way of telling windows what CPU to set the tasks affinity to. I just forgot it heh. Anyway, not only did the AMD Drivers fix my problem they also fixed what seemed to be a memory leak.

ok not the topic I was trying to post in sorry

The command for starting a program with affinity to a single core is "start /affinity 1 (executable name)".

As for what the actual problem is, it's really a bug in *all* the games that have this problem. They use the instruction "RDTSC" to read the timestamp counter on the current CPU and use that to figure out how much time has passed in order to throttle the graphics display. When you are on a multicore system, the RDTSC instruction returns the timestamp counter for the *current* core, which may not be the same as the counter for the other core due to all sorts of things happening, usually involving clock throttling from Cool'n'Quiet or something else similar. So, when the game reads the counter first from one core then another, the calculations it makes to determine how much time has gone by get messed up, so you see strange artifacts on the screen.

To whoever said Cool'n'Quiet wasn't for reducing your electrical bill, you're nuts. It reduces the energy used by the CPU (which results in the CPU running cooler). Enabling Cool'n'Quiet on my system drops the energy usage by about 100W, as measured by the UPS, so it's about the same as turning off a couple of lights in energy savings. Well written games should never require you to have this turned off, but I agree that many do.

Hey the download worked I can play more GC2. Thank you CariElf.

I have my new dual core pc on its way to me next week. Are there any oustanding issues with a dual core pc that i should worry about?

Specs: -

# Intel core 2 Duo E6300, I.86Ghz 2Mb cache processor
# Microsoft Windows XP Home
# Sony 19in LCD flat panel screen
# 2048Mb DDR RAM
# 200Gb hard drive
# DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW dual layer
# NVIDIA GeForce 7300 graphics with 256Mb RAM
# Open office suite

No ship textures. Help?

I just upgraded to an AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 and saw the symptoms described. I downloaded the AMD Dual Core Optimizer from the site Cari cited, and it fixed the problem for me. Thanks, Cari!

I'm buying a new laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor but haven't yet decided on what speed I'll need to run GalCiv2, esp. if I have to set the affinity to a single processor... which should effectively cut-in-half what my processor speed is?

From what I've read, most games these days are not able to take advantage of the dual-cores, so I'm leaning towards getting just the low-speed Intel Core 2 DUO 1.66GHz (T5500) Processor (Merom / 2 MB L2 Cache / 667 FSB).

BUT, if I need to run GalCiv2 on only 1 processor, wouldn't that cut my effective speed to .83 Ghz? Should I therefore get a faster clock speed?

I'm not sure if this issue arises with the Intel Core 2 Duo processors-- much of this thread is regarding issues with the AMD dual-core offerings, so please feel free to correct me! I'm actually buying a new laptop just so I can fully enjoy GalCiv2 at the highest settings... but I don't want to pay extra for components (faster processor, etc.) that the game won't actually be able to utilize.

I'm not sure if this issue arises with the Intel Core 2 Duo processors-- much of this thread is regarding issues with the AMD dual-core offerings, so please feel free to correct me!

AFAIK yes, the problem only applies to AMDx2 CPUs. I don't recall anyone reporting this issue with Core Duos.

BUT, if I need to run GalCiv2 on only 1 processor, wouldn't that cut my effective speed to .83 Ghz?

No. Even if you have one core turned off, you've still got the other running full speed. Most generally you're only going to be using one anyway unless whatever program you run is specially designed for multithreading (I believe the AI in GC2 will run multithreaded when possible, but I'm not a dev so don't quote me on that ).

The majority of the performance improvement between the Core Duo series and Pentium 4 is due to architectural improvements (they redesigned the processor to do more at a slower speed like AMD CPUs do rather than sacrifice everything just for more MHz), rather than the second core, which most current games don't fully leverage to begin with.

Not sure if anyone said this, but you could try... ctrl alt del...,*this brings up the task manager*, go into processes find galciv2.exe and right click set its affinity for 1 core. This usually fixes errors i have detected in a lot of games and dual cores without having to read too much into what causes the issue.

As soon as I try to open a saved game it crashes. Here is the debug file:
Debug Message: Version v1.4x last updated on: Mon Oct 23 17:43:56 2006
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 1/7/2007, 15:20:59
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: HOME-DUAL-CORE
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Physical Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 331MB used, 1248MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce 7600 GT
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0391&SUBSYS_C5533842&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9147
Driver Date: 8/11/2006 20:42:52
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Realtek AC97 Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0059&SUBSYS_812A1043&REV_A2
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ALCXWDM.SYS
Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version: 5.10.0000.5950
Driver Date: 10/26/2005 02:08:26
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0



Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Going Fullscreen
Debug Message: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_4_SAMPLES
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1280 x 960
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 60
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: A full-color cursor is supported in hardware at high resolution modes.
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: Error flipping back buffer to primary buffer.
Debug Message: Device lost
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Chris\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Logos\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Chris\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Metaverse\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Chris\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Portraits\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Chris\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Chris\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\temp\*.sav
Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Loading
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.

Cari, I have a x2 4400 processor with 2x 1MB cache. I have ntoiced some crashes and many reboots of the system with this processor only with Galciv2 specifically with the Dark Avatar beta. I had the latest AMD driver but that has not helped. I just installed a hotfix ,mentioned on this forum, from Microsoft. No reboot yet. The AMD driver and website you mentioned downloads at dial-up speed when I have a 30Mb/ second connection so I gave up on it. I am running XP MediaCenter 2005 with all fixes. The occasional crahes without reboot point my Nvidia dirver. I have a GeForce 7800GTX not the 7900 hardware that you cited for a driver problem. Do you feel the system reboots are most likely due to my x2 processor. Will I need more than the Microsoft hotfix to correct it?

Reply • Quote (Citizen)IAmGoryFebruary 23, 2006 16:28:12Reply #22
Ah but no, you misunderstand! Cool'n'Quiet isn't for lowering your electrical bill; It throttles your PC in idle times to a lower clockspeed for temperature reasons (and often to lower your cooling system - especially in shuttle PC's and laptops). it is however not supposed to happen during 100% CPU useage, which it *was* doing, usually mid-game while I was playing Half-Life2, Civ4 and whatnot. Technically changing your power management to "Desktop" obliterates this problem but it did no such thing for me and Acer tech never replied to my emails (and im not rining a premium rate number for first line tech that im more qualified than) so I just removed the AMD driver from windows and it's all good

I had similar issues and had to disable CnQ on my system because it uses an approximation for cpu temperature which is normally 10 degrees celcius too high. MY case cpu is air cooled with a cpu fan that has 6 copper heat pipes and dumps 200Ws of heat(thrust master). I know my temp was a rock solid 33 celcius - it never changes, even with my 8800 GTX video card toaster oven