WOW huge performance boost!!!

[JackHorner 0]

I have been doing everything I could possibly think of to get this game stutter free and running smoothly. I have spent hours upon hours trying and trying as I know many of you have. Well tonight I found something that genuinely boosted my game performance.

I had played this CTF map last night with lowest settings, stutters and crashes. Tonight I played it at medium settings with zero stutters and at 40 fps!!! I had to wipe the tears from my eyes in order to see the fps counter lol. I was amazed.

Whats more amazing is that the fix I found was so easy. Many of you will blow this off when finding out what I did, and so did I many times.

The program is called SystemBooster.

http://www.disktrix.com/systembooster/systembooster.htm

I know that these kind of fixes are hocked around gaming forums like potions from the middle ages. Whenever I saw people talking about it I just said bs no way it could work. Tonight out of my desperation I decided to try it and I was seriously amazed.

Heres how it works. You install it and set up an ARMA profile. The program will then use some of your cpu to preload files that are used often in the arma directory, so that when the game needs them it has them faster than before.

quote from the help file:

Quote[/b] ]SystemBooster improves performance by helping to reduce the hard disk bottleneck burden that slows your PC. Disk Time is the amount of time your hard disk is working - SystemBooster has been demonstrated to reduce Disk Time by up to 50% - therefore improving performance of virtually every software application including disk intensive applications, games, simulators and including Windows XP itself.

SystemBooster really works! It is based on proven computer performance optimizing theory of opportunistic prefetching. You will see it give you immediate results as your programs launch in record time almost as if they were already cached and you'll see all aspects of your Windows performance increase dramatically.

The game still lags in forests of course but much less

[Marines 0]

Using Fraps to gauge how it was working, I saw no preformance improvement what so ever. However, I did notice it took well over two minutes to load the main menu, when it normally takes ten seconds.

[JackHorner 0]

Using Fraps to gauge how it was working, I saw no preformance improvement what so ever. However, I did notice it took well over two minutes to load the main menu, when it normally takes ten seconds.

I have heard it works different on certain machines. For me it really boosted everything by a huge amount. Sorry to hear that it didn't for you.

After I installed this I also got ultimate defrag from them. Its cool because you can tell it what files to put on the physical outer edge of the hard drive disk for faster read times. Now I have all of the arma files in the fastest section of the disc, seems to run great now in combination with systembooster. In places where I was getting 20 fps I now get 45. I still say the game is unoptimized because the trees still reduce performance but it runs so much better now. Hopefully others will share in my luck.

[Jack-UK 0]

Its only a trial, waste of time for me even if it does work, i aint paying out on another expense if i've already gotta buy a top of the range pc to play this game...

[RN Escobar 0]

don't confuse unoptimised with the fact that trees are made up of vertices, your standard gfx card has pixel shaders and vertex shaders

most games are pixel shader heavy so Nvidia and ATI rightly put more pixel shaders on their cards than vertex shaders, this is fine for most games, but when u hit a game made up of many vertices u have a problem.

the same issue was seen in Oblivion, people could play the indoor sections fine, but when they went outside and entered a vertex haevy environment there frame rates plummeted.

it isn't a bug with the game, its the way your card was designed

Quote[/b] ]x1900 series

Up to 48 pixel shader processors

8 vertex shader processors

x1800 series

16 pixel shader processors

8 vertex shader processors

x850

Up to 16 parallel pixel pipelines

6 parallel vertex processing engines

x800

Up to 16 extreme parallel pixel pipelines

6 programmable vertex shader pipelines

7800gtx

24 pixel pipes

8 vertex pipes

7600 GS has 12 pixel pipes.

7600 GS has 5 vertex shaders.

6600GT

8 pixel-pipelines,

3 vertex engines

i'm bored now of gathering info, but there u go, its all about shaders

[Killbert 0]

So what's the explanation for poor performance indoors in ArmA? The indoor areas look really bad, but run very poorly, compared to the looks at least.

I think that program might boost performance for low memory systems, not sure... Sounds like it has something to do with manipulating virtual memory, making sure that ArmA files are loaded in physical memory instead of virtual.

[dan9of9 0]

some tips for perfomance:

put terrain on very low (after all,the AI is set to this,so dont blind yourself with extra bumps in terrain then wonder why you got shot)

turn shadows off.

this allows you to run most other settings on anything

another tip,if your game is running ok,then you start getting fps slow down,

change your AA from like normal to low,then back again,(or just alt tab at risk of a ctd)

this allows another 10fps ontop of what you have

enjoy

[JackHorner 0]

So what's the explanation for poor performance indoors in ArmA? The indoor areas look really bad, but run very poorly, compared to the looks at least.

I think that program might boost performance for low memory systems, not sure... Sounds like it has something to do with manipulating virtual memory, making sure that ArmA files are loaded in physical memory instead of virtual.

Well I dont know really. I have a pretty decent system. P4 3.4 ghz, 4 gigs of ram, x1950xtx pcie with 512.... and arma ran like utter crap before using ultimate defrag (to place all the arma files on the outer edge of the hard disk) and systembooster. Seriously before systembooster and the special defrag I got 20 and below in cities, now I get 45 to 35 with almost zero loading stutters. Don't know how it works exactly just that it did.

[KeyCat 131]

put terrain on very low (after all,the AI is set to this,so dont blind yourself with extra bumps in terrain then wonder why you got shot)

This is not true! The higher terrain level you set the more places you got to find cover! Was the same in OFP btw and personally I prefer to run terrain detail at high both in OFP and ArmA.

If you are expeiencing that the AI is to good for you try adjusting the skill level slider instead, currently my recommended settings are between 0.0-0.45 but I'm still testing...

However high terrain settings may affect your performance.

/KC

[Marines 0]

don't confuse unoptimised with the fact that trees are made up of vertices, your standard gfx card has pixel shaders and vertex shaders

most games are pixel shader heavy so Nvidia and ATI rightly put more pixel shaders on their cards than vertex shaders, this is fine for most games, but when u hit a game made up of many vertices u have a problem.

the same issue was seen in Oblivion, people could play the indoor sections fine, but when they went outside and entered a vertex haevy environment there frame rates plummeted.

it isn't a bug with the game, its the way your card was designed

Quote[/b] ]x1900 series

Up to 48 pixel shader processors

8 vertex shader processors

x1800 series

16 pixel shader processors

8 vertex shader processors

x850

Up to 16 parallel pixel pipelines

6 parallel vertex processing engines

x800

Up to 16 extreme parallel pixel pipelines

6 programmable vertex shader pipelines

7800gtx

24 pixel pipes

8 vertex pipes

7600 GS has 12 pixel pipes.

7600 GS has 5 vertex shaders.

6600GT

8 pixel-pipelines,

3 vertex engines

i'm bored now of gathering info, but there u go, its all about shaders

That is worthy of an extended discussion.

[l etranger 5]

I won 10 fps today.

I have updated my directx9c with the december update (this month old directx build).

http://www.clubic.com/telecharger-fiche10906-directx.html

[-CS-SOBR-1st-I-R- 0]

I have to admit that I never put trust into programms like the one suggested above.....

They promise just to much that the sound human mind knows, it cant be ...

But I also have to admit that this one helped indeed

I ran everything on low around 15-20 fps

Now I run on normal on 20 fps

[NeMeSiS 11]

I won 10 fps today.

I have updated my directx9c with the december update (this month old directx build).

http://www.clubic.com/telecharger-fiche10906-directx.html

That gave me a few extra FPS aswell, and grass doesnt seem to have a big impact on my FPS as it used to

About the program above..

I doubt that it would have a big impact on the performance, ArmA isnt (or shouldnt) be constantly loading from the HD while playing, so ive no idea how it could have a positive impact on your FPS (it may improve loading times a bit though).

[troop 0]

3 words, why these 2 little progs are *most* useful for ArmA:

Instant Map Load and *no* delay (loading bar! )

while returning to game!

One of the major differences against OFP is the really

annoying/distracting loading screen when returning from map to game

(especially while flying [into some damn hill, because of that!])

I highly recommend to at least try it. I did. While I gained no significant

increase in FPS (still; smoother here as well) the instant return from map

definetely is worth it!

Recommendation:

If you want the maximum, use the UltimateDefragger prog to move the ArmA folder to outer area of HDD. Your choice.

-

Then, create new profile in System Booster for the ArmA folder only. Very important;..set 'refresh rate' to 'normal'

Thats it!

All thanks to JackHorner for mentioning this little gems!

Edit:

Quote[/b] ]I doubt that it would have a big impact on the performance, ArmA isnt (or shouldnt) be constantly loading from the HD while playing

ofpforum, you got that one wrong. OFP/ArmA are *continiously*

streaming all kind of data from HDD while you are moving.

(obviously, no move = no streaming)

Other games got small enough maps/data, to load everything

upon game start/level load, but ArmA is dependant from

streaming data. (good choice! )

Thus, slow/fragmented HDD, or say, ArmA installed on an already

full HDD (= inner tracks = slowest read performance) will

*greatly* hurt streaming and in the end, your experience.

ArmA though seems to do it way more efficient, than OFP did.

Less studder overall, even with increased viewdistance.

Ok, up to an point, where even the fastest HDD cant stream

any faster (RAM Drive needed for that)

And this is also an major reason for those hefty LOD errors.

If ArmAs streaming cant keep up due to above reasons, you will

see textures loading *last* of all data.

You can easily check this: Run an excessive defragging tool

on the drive ArmA is installed on and then (test)-play an

chopperflight or walk through an big city.

(hehe;..anyone remembering playing GTA 3? same streaming,

but very very bad texture loading problems)

Edit2: Sorry, still need to add more info. I do hope, this is for you guys benefit

My ArmA installation is on the second partition D: on

an Raptor 150GB 16MB cache (just info, no brag)

On this partition, I moved the ArmA folder to the outermost

tracks using Ultimate Defragger tool.

Still, this is *not* optimal, since on an partitioned drive

(50/50 distribution) the 'outer' tracks are in reality in

the middle of the platter, thus I do only get 50% read

performance out of possible 100% !

-

Is this important? Imho, very much so, yes!

I will move ArmA to an *unpartitioned* drive and there,

to the outermost tracks. You should consider this.

(Check Ultimate Defragger documentation, where all of this

is explained exceptionally well! )

[Guest]

if arma is just another passing game, then i dont recomend this soultion. But if you are considering playing this for awhile and want good fps then install a RAID 0. Research it before you buy the hardware needed. Basically a RAID 0 is striped set of drives which has the info spread over two drives meaning almost a double in performance.

[Preacher1985 0]

I will post this here as I found it looking for the systemboost.

Ultimate Defrag made by the same company is also pretty sweet. It defrags the HDD's properly unlike the built in windows defrag.

I suggest reading the help file as it tells you how to defrag a gaming system - basically putting you window folder and allows you to select all your games folders seperately and individually puts them on the outter tracks of the HDD. And packs the other folders of no great imports to the inside tracks.

That way your HDD's dont need to work so hard to find the software for games etc

I suggest leaving your system on all night while you sleep as this takes a while.

Preach

[-CS-SOBR-1st-I-R- 0]

I am running 2x 80GB Hitachi 7200 disks on SATA1 on RAID0 and I can tell you: SWOOOOOOOOOOOSH !!

Average of 100 MB/s !!

Its like a dream, I think thats the reason why I can run ArmA still that good with a xp2000+

[NeMeSiS 11]

Edit:

Quote[/b] ]I doubt that it would have a big impact on the performance, ArmA isnt (or shouldnt) be constantly loading from the HD while playing

ofpforum, you got that one wrong. OFP/ArmA are *continiously*

streaming all kind of data from HDD while you are moving.

(obviously, no move = no streaming)

Other games got small enough maps/data, to load everything

upon game start/level load, but ArmA is dependant from

streaming data. (good choice! )

Oh, you are right that ArmA is loading parts of the map from the HD, i was confused with OFP (OFP didnt, they implented this in OFP:E). Im going to test how much it acces the HD, i have the feeling that it cant be much as i never hear my HD spinning while playing, even when im flying very fast (very fast movement = alot of loading?).

I already have (almost) instant map load (only the first time that i acces the map and go back to the game it loads).

However im going to try this, i just installed it and i selected the ArmA folder, now how do i know when its done optimizing?

[troop 0]

Quote[/b] ]Im going to test how much it acces the HD, i have the feeling that it cant be much as i never hear my HD spinning while playing, even when im flying very fast (very fast movement = alot of loading?).

When you say it cant be much;..is this with the System Booster program active or without it? Because that is exactly what it should do;..preload (predicted) data into RAM for minimized HD access. If you noticed this 'not much' without the program running, you probably have an very fast system already and wont need the prog. And yes about 'go fast' > 'much loading'

Quote[/b] ]

I already have (almost) instant map load (only the first time that i acces the map and go back to the game it loads).

See? For me, this only happens, when this prog is loaded.

Without, even the Raptor cant provide the data fast enough;..I get the loading bar.

(RAID 0 users; can you confirm no loading bar when returning from map to game?)

Quote[/b] ]

However im going to try this, i just installed it and i selected the ArmA folder, now how do i know when its done optimizing?

Just wait.. No, it tells you an percentage in upper left corner,

when drive is completely defragged.

-

Its a bit weired defrag program but once every tickmark

found, its cool. Very powerful too. shortcut/operation:

-

In the prog, select drive where ArmA is

Defrag method: tick Folder/Filename and then > Options...

Tick 'Respect high performance' and click 'Ok' (important, or it wont work as expected)

Choose 'tools' and Options.

Select drive where ArmA is and in the 'High Performance' box, tick 'Custom'

Select files...navigate to and tick the ArmA folder.

Once ticked, add it to the left side window and hit 'Ok' and again 'Ok'

Now 'Start' the defrag. It will completely rearrange your files on that

drive and put ArmA to the outer track

(remember 'Respect high performance' tickmark before;..without it,

the drive will 'only' be defragmented normaly! )

Depending on your drive size/speed this can take an serious amount of time.

[NeMeSiS 11]

Quote[/b] ]When you say it cant be much;..is this with the System Booster program active or without it? Because that is exactly what it should do;..preload (predicted) data into RAM for minimized HD access. If you noticed this 'not much' without the program running, you probably have an very fast system already and wont need the prog. And yes about 'go fast' > 'much loading'

Its without the program, im still figuring out how it works, are we even using the same program? All i got is a small icon next to my clock, i can click on it and define some folders, and i have a boosting priority and refreshrate option, and thats it.

Note my my system isnt really fast:

Amd x2 4200+, 1,5gb ram, x1600XT. (it is very optimized and clean though)

Quote[/b] ]See? For me, this only happens, when this prog is loaded.

Without, even the Raptor cant provide the data fast enough;..I get the loading bar.

(RAID 0 users; can you confirm no loading bar when returning from map to game?)

How much ram do you have (free, before you start the game)?

My HD isnt that fast and im not using a RAID setup, still, only loading once.

[troop 0]

1.6GB; (2GB total)

starting up with -maxmem=768 (more=unstable; crashing soon)

Quote[/b] ]Its without the program, im still figuring out how it works, are we even using the same program? All i got is a small icon next to my clock

For System Booster, its an small circular icon, yes. Green point top, yellow, orange, red points clockwise. If this icon is present,

the prog is already running (Auto profile), no more left to do.

[NeMeSiS 11]

Well i played around with it for a while, and i wrote down the FPS i got in certain places before and while using this program..

There was almost no difference in the overall FPS, i got 1-2FPS extra in some places, but that may be caused by other factors (ArmA, just as OFP, is quite inconsequent when looking at the FPS, going to the same place multiple times results in different FPS every time (+-1FPS difference)).

What i did notice that when i was zooming out using scoped weapons without this program gave me a 0.5second 'hang', like it had to load. With this program that hang seemed to have disappeared. Also, the loading times decreased by a few seconds.

Ill leave it running, as it does nothing bad, but IMO it isnt a miraculous FPS gainer.

[Lepardi 0]

I use that ultimatedefrag... but I don't know where I should put pagefile.sys, to the archive or high perfomance in my hdd? or just leave it there?

Oh, and merry christmas!

Edit: Also should I tick the put directories close to MFT or just tick the two 'respect archive' and 'respect high performance?'

[G3pard 0]

put it close to mft, and if you got windows and arma on the same HD, don´t forget to put both of them to the outter rings

[S.O.S 0]

put it close to mft

where did u read that crap?

if u dont have a clue about computers consider a computer technican.