Unusual performance issues

Hi, all.

Sorry if this has been asked before, I browsed around for a while and didn't see anything that was quite the same.

I haven't been a member of Second Life for very long, so I can't tell if this problem has occurred recently, or if it has been there right from the start.

Basically, even though my average performance is quite respectable, sometimes it seems to... well... pause. I'll be at a reasonably busy shop or event, and after a few minutes of around 20-25 frames per second, my computer will virtually seize up. My frame rate will decrease to about 30 seconds per frame, and it'll stay that way while the disk drive thrashes around for several minutes. Sometimes I have to quit (which takes about a minute and a half as the game is just that unresponsive) and restart before it settles down.

I'm sure it's the Second Life process that's using the system's resources, not a third party anti-virus application, or anything like that. I don't think it has anything to do with my graphical preferences, as the game runs fine right up until this freezing begins to occur. I can report, however, that it only seems to happen in busy areas, as I can spend hours building things on my own land (in a relatively quiet sim) without experiencing these issues.

Could it have something to do with the cache? Has anyone ever had their system slow down so much for seemingly no reason during a game? Is it better for performance to have more or less space reserved for cache? Can other settings cause such an insane drop in frame-rate?

Remember, everything is perfectly fine right up until a spontaneous moment, so changing my graphical settings down a notch or two probably isn't going to help at all. I think this is something much more fundamental than my computer trying to draw too much to the screen. When it does speed up again (if I wait long enough), it runs fine again, even though there are no less people in the area than there were during the slow-down.

Sorry for the long post, but I like to be as descriptive as I can when it comes to technical issues.

Thanks for any advice you may have.

Ath.

I'm not sure if that means that you're not using an anti-virus proggie, or if you are? I remember a few blog comments about it, but never read them too closely since it didn't apply to me.

If you have one, try turning it off/disabling it altogether and see if that makes any difference. From what I can recall, the issue was that the anti-virus was constantly rescanning the SL cache, causing lock-ups until that folder was exempted from scanning.

yes, it could be your anti-virus program deciding to download the latest updates. Or it could be a windows update.
The wonderful thing about both of those ~rolls eyes~ is that they download first and THEN ask you if you'd like to install the updates.
hehe

OR it could be that you have the minimum amount of RAM. I used to get this issue when I only had 512Mb of RAM. the freezing would sometimes be followed by crashes, but not always.
How much RAM do you have?

To rule out Norton conflicts, make sure you exclude the cache directory from its auto-scanning. I can't offer a step-by-step process on this, but hopefully you're more familiar with that interface than I was when I did it.

One very good way to optimize your SL performance is to have at least 1gb of RAM; 2gb is ideal.

Update your graphics drivers.

Defrag your hard disk.

Clear your cache every so often.

This routine maintenance will eliminate the most common source of potential problems and make further trouble-shooting more focused.

I had that happen the other night. I updated McAfee and it set my preferences to default. Auto scan kicked in and give SL fits.. I keep all my AV Options off, scan, do updates all manually.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I have 1gb of RAM, and my machine easily meets the requirements for the game. I'm hesitant to believe that it has something to do with my hardware, as for the most part, the game runs very well. Even in crowded areas, or showrooms with thousands of objects on display. The problem I'm having strikes without warning, and doesn't seem dependent on the complexity of the scene around me, or on the number of people in the vicinity. That's why I'm so puzzled about it.

I defragged my drives last night, but it's hard to tell if the strange pauses were any shorter during my brief test ('twas past my bed time). I also disabled my anti-virus software (AVG Free, not Norton), though I'm sure I tried that earlier when I first noticed the problem. I haven't had a chance to test it fully after making these changes, but I'll certainly do so when I get home from work. The reason I don't suspect AV as the culprit is because when I bring up the task manager during one of these crazy moments, it's the SecondLife.exe process that's using 99% of my CPU, not the AVG process.

Just a quick question... should lowing my cache size prevent the game from stalling like this? I realize it would also be more demanding on the bandwidth, as I'd have to redownload textures and objects much more frequently, but I'd consider that a very worthwhile trade-off. It's extremely hard to play as it is.

In case I wasn't clear in the original post, the problem is as follows. Everything will be fine for twenty or so minutes, then all of a sudden, the game will freeze. The process will start using 100% of my system resources, and the screen will be lucky to update more than twice per minute. By the time I see another frame, I've probably walked a hundred or so meters away! It settles down eventually, but then it'll happen again after another fifteen or twenty minutes. Part of me thinks it might be the Second Life application doing something extremely intensive with the cache, but only because I can't think of anything else that might be causing it.

Thanks again for the suggestions. If I locate the cause of the problem, I'll be sure to post it.

I noticed since the last version update to 1.13 the regular viewer kinda regulary "freezes" for about 4 seconds when I am busy building or scripting or w/e.

The First Look viewer however does not do this at all.

And no there is nothing wrong with my PC

4 gig DDR-2 533 Corsair
3.2 ghz Prescott (Intel)
2x256mb Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT SLi

And I have no viruses or spyware, except for the un-avoidable tracking cookies

Nope, there's definitely nothing wrong with your PC, WannaPiEcE. Where's the green smiley when you need it?

This is probably a silly question, but I've heard of this "First Look" viewer a number of times recently, and I still have no idea what it actually is. I assume it's an application that's totally separate from the Second Life client, right? Does it allow you to view the world without actually controlling your avatar, or something like that? I know it's a little off-topic, but I don't seem to be able to find a straight forward explanation of what it is.

Thanks again.

First Look is pretty much the same as the regular viewer except it is faster in overall FPS (frames per second). It uses a altered render pipeline to maximize performance.

http://secondlife.com/community/firstlook.php

Interesting. Just from the name, I figured it was some kind of basic viewer tool that allowed you to peek into the SL world without actually being logged in or having an avatar to control. But if it provides all the same functionality and is geared towards better performance, then I'm certainly keen to give it a try. It might even solve the crazy problem I'm having with the normal client.

Cheers, guys.

This is the way it is for me, and has been for some time. My virus programs have nothing to do with it, and First Look only makes it worse (though updating video drivers did help).

It's just the way it is for me.

coco

Hi,
i've the same problem of Atheist.
It started after upgrading to new version client.
The system seems to hang and disk start to working heavy.

If anybody can suggest a solutions...thanks.

CPU: Intel core2 T7200 2.00 Ghz
RAM: 1 Gb
Video: Ati mobility radeon X1400 512mb

News...
i've reduced cache dimension to 250mb and fixed xp windows swap file...
disk now seems to be quite and everything is working normally.

To me it sounds like an over heating issue with the sudden freeze ups. Check your cpu and graphics card cooling systems, case fans and things of that nature.

Double check all drivers for any hardware/software. Close any file sharing programs that might be in use.

Hope it helps,

Phil