Intermittently slow/stuttery/choppy gameplay. Only sometimes

[tfabris]

Okay, the things I tried tonight were:

- Upgrading to the latest Nvidia drivers. Mine were only a month old but I got the latest November 18th drivers and put those in. Problem still occurred.
- Going into Task Manager and killing every process that I didn't think was needed for basic system services and/or playing the game. Some of the processes came back after I killed them so I left those. Problem still occurred.
- Going into Task Manager and killing processes WHILE the problem was happening. Nothing I killed resulted in the problem going away. All that resulted in the problem going away was waiting long enough.
- Looking for scheduled tasks that happen at regular intervals. Couldn't find any that run on hourly or half-hourly schedules like that. There's a lot of scheduled tasks, and I couldn't do a complete search.
- Looking for a scheduled virus scan setting. There isn't one in the Windows Defender UI, and the Task Scheduler didn't have any triggers set for its scheduled scan option (ie that means there is no scheduled scan configured).
- Just to be sure about the virus scan thing, I actually RAN windows defender and made it do both a Quick scan and a Full scann WHILE I was playing the game. The problem did not occur at that time. So I think that pretty well rules out Windows Defender.
- Leaving the game paused (ESC key). The problem still crops up even if the game is paused, I can see the problem happen in GPU-Z, and if I unpause while GPU-Z is showing the clock dip, then the frame rate is still a slideshow until the problem goes away, just like always. So it's not some specific action I'm taking in the game that causes it. I think this also rules out LUA garbage collection since I wouldn't expect it to try to do garbage collection while the game is paused.
- Setting the Priority of Grimrock2.exe to "High" in the Task Manager. Problem still occurred.
- Obtaining running process lists before, during, and after the problem occurred, for later analysis (see below).

Haven't tried creating a fresh power plan, but I'm skeptical of that one. I've gone through my current power plan with a fine toothed comb and made sure all power optimizations are turned off when the machine is on AC power. However it's my next step to try that one.

Below are the process lists. They were obtained before, during, and after the problem. The differences are:

SearchFilterHost
SearchProtocolHost
splwow64

I suspected the two ancillary Search Indexer processes bigtime, but, here's the thing: Though they are missing from the "After" list, they were present on the "Before" list. I think that rules them out. I think they just come and go all the time.

splwow64 is just the 32-bit thunker for the print spooler. And I wasn't printing anything and I don't have any print jobs queued. I don't really suspect that one. But it's weird that it seems to come and go. Don't know why it comes and goes.

In any case, something I'll need to try is disabling the search indexer and the print spooler services while playing the game, and see if those things make the problem go away. But they shouldn't be culprits I don't think. It wouldn't make sense.

Okay, here are the full before/during/after process lists to satisfy your curiosity (you asked for them earlier):

BEFORE THE PROBLEM STARTED OCCURRING:

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Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0     7:16:37.406     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 124 1000    112     0:01:17.203     1:58:10.024
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     1:58:10.008
csrss               424  13   9  315   1772     0:00:00.531     1:58:02.190
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     1:58:01.716
csrss               544  13  12  408   2768     0:00:15.546     1:58:01.716
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     1:58:01.601
services            640   9   1  217   2688     0:00:01.156     1:58:01.417
lsass               648   9   6 1058   5232     0:00:03.281     1:58:01.386
svchost             720   8   7  400   4656     0:00:01.156     1:58:01.151
svchost             748   8   7  438   4000     0:00:02.140     1:58:01.073
dwm                 904  13  11  253  22404     0:01:24.328     1:57:59.422
svchost             924   8  23  850  16876     0:00:04.296     1:57:59.390
svchost             992   8  37 1125  17876     0:00:15.171     1:57:59.359
svchost             300   8  46 1807  29808     0:00:26.171     1:57:59.344
svchost             548   8  20  787  11876     0:00:01.859     1:57:59.297
svchost            1444   8  36  846  10864     0:00:01.421     1:57:58.829
wlanext            1588   8  15  440   3884     0:00:00.171     1:57:58.691
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     1:57:58.691
svchost            1748   8  23  648  20176     0:00:03.687     1:57:58.597
dasHost            1056   8   5  436   5396     0:00:00.406     1:57:58.144
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:00.609     1:57:58.128
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     1:57:58.003
MsMpEng            2204   8  22  482  91040     0:01:23.906     1:57:57.988
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     1:57:57.832
unsecapp           2704   8   1   81   1152     0:00:00.015     1:57:57.832
WUDFHost           3028   8  17  393   5448     0:00:01.500     1:57:57.707
svchost            2244   8  32  667   8844     0:00:02.453     1:57:57.628
NisSrv             3260   8   9  275   6304     0:00:00.609     1:57:56.988
svchost            3296   8   7  392   5244     0:00:03.734     1:57:55.066
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     1:57:54.347
taskhostex         4472   8   9  250   3740     0:00:00.218     1:57:52.144
explorer           4648   8  71 1938 146528     0:00:55.250     1:57:51.862
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   5  421   4464     0:00:00.218     1:57:48.150
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     1:57:41.204
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     1:57:40.048
wmpnetwk            568   8   7  379   5772     0:00:00.218     1:55:56.948
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     0:49:51.758
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     0:49:51.743
GPU-Z.0.8.0        3668   8   1  281  20280     0:00:29.781     0:12:21.346
Steam              1764   8  22  565  47256     0:00:05.250     0:10:53.237
steamwebhelper     5488   8  15  256   6176     0:00:00.156     0:10:41.094
audiodg             180   8   2  147   6504     0:00:03.015     0:10:40.063
grimrock2          4848   8  13  302 1169932     0:03:20.484     0:10:34.761
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  40  791  10440     0:00:00.281     0:06:26.133
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.078     0:06:26.037
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     0:06:24.875
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   7  161   2732     0:00:00.171     0:05:41.475
spoolsv            1972   8  18  488   5040     0:00:00.156     0:05:26.120
SearchIndexer      5532   8  11  564  16956     0:00:00.484     0:05:11.382
SearchProtocolHost  6044   4   4  305   1608     0:00:00.046     0:02:53.286
SearchFilterHost   3696   4   1   92    928     0:00:00.015     0:02:53.268
cmd                2008   8   1   29   1600     0:00:00.000     0:00:00.104
conhost            5708   8   2   62    976     0:00:00.015     0:00:00.099
pslist             1500  13   1  170   2028     0:00:00.078     0:00:00.067

DURING THE PROBLEM WHILE IT WAS ACTIVELY OCCURRING:

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Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0     7:29:56.687     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 124  995    112     0:01:20.109     2:02:12.211
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     2:02:12.195
csrss               424  13   9  312   1772     0:00:00.531     2:02:04.377
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     2:02:03.902
csrss               544  13  12  411   2768     0:00:16.062     2:02:03.902
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     2:02:03.788
services            640   9   5  225   2896     0:00:01.156     2:02:03.604
lsass               648   9   5 1060   5156     0:00:03.343     2:02:03.573
svchost             720   8  10  403   4824     0:00:01.203     2:02:03.338
svchost             748   8   8  427   4036     0:00:02.203     2:02:03.260
dwm                 904  13  11  253  22476     0:01:27.937     2:02:01.609
svchost             924   8  27  867  18828     0:00:04.359     2:02:01.577
svchost             992   8  37 1125  17236     0:00:16.046     2:02:01.546
svchost             300   8  45 1768  23580     0:00:26.218     2:02:01.530
svchost             548   8  20  806  11488     0:00:02.140     2:02:01.484
svchost            1444   8  36  847  10868     0:00:01.453     2:02:01.016
wlanext            1588   8  14  439   3856     0:00:00.171     2:02:00.878
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     2:02:00.878
svchost            1748   8  22  645  20148     0:00:03.734     2:02:00.784
dasHost            1056   8   5  436   5396     0:00:00.406     2:02:00.331
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:00.687     2:02:00.315
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     2:02:00.190
MsMpEng            2204   8  21  476  91148     0:01:24.515     2:02:00.175
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     2:02:00.018
WUDFHost           3028   8  16  392   5420     0:00:01.500     2:01:59.893
svchost            2244   8  29  658   8460     0:00:02.531     2:01:59.815
NisSrv             3260   8   7  272   6200     0:00:00.609     2:01:59.175
svchost            3296   8   7  392   5244     0:00:03.796     2:01:57.253
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     2:01:56.534
taskhostex         4472   8   9  250   3756     0:00:00.234     2:01:54.331
explorer           4648   8  71 1938 146276     0:00:56.218     2:01:54.049
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   5  421   4464     0:00:00.218     2:01:50.337
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     2:01:43.391
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     2:01:42.235
wmpnetwk            568   8   7  379   5772     0:00:00.218     1:59:59.135
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     0:53:53.945
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     0:53:53.930
GPU-Z.0.8.0        3668   8   1  281  20332     0:00:36.140     0:16:23.533
Steam              1764   8  21  560  47028     0:00:05.281     0:14:55.424
steamwebhelper     5488   8  15  256   6176     0:00:00.156     0:14:43.281
audiodg             180   8   2  147   6504     0:00:04.109     0:14:42.250
grimrock2          4848   8  13  302 1197624     0:05:44.328     0:14:36.948
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  39  791  10416     0:00:00.296     0:10:28.319
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.078     0:10:28.224
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     0:10:27.062
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   7  161   2732     0:00:00.250     0:09:43.662
spoolsv            1972   8  18  486   5040     0:00:00.156     0:09:28.307
SearchIndexer      5532   8  11  564  16964     0:00:00.500     0:09:13.568
splwow64           3388   8   3   84   1164     0:00:00.046     0:03:58.818
SearchProtocolHost  2688   4   6  308   1768     0:00:00.015     0:01:04.614
SearchFilterHost   1256   4   4  103   1092     0:00:00.015     0:01:04.599
cmd                5944   8   1   29   1604     0:00:00.015     0:00:00.239
conhost            4828   8   2   76   1044     0:00:00.046     0:00:00.234
pslist              732  13   1  170   2028     0:00:00.187     0:00:00.171

AFTER THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY ON ITS OWN:

Code: Select all

Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0     7:38:41.468     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 120  992    112     0:01:22.250     2:04:49.500
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     2:04:49.484
csrss               424  13   9  304   1772     0:00:00.531     2:04:41.666
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     2:04:41.191
csrss               544  13  12  408   2768     0:00:16.187     2:04:41.191
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     2:04:41.076
services            640   9   3  221   2792     0:00:01.156     2:04:40.893
lsass               648   9   5 1057   5156     0:00:03.343     2:04:40.862
svchost             720   8   7  400   4660     0:00:01.203     2:04:40.627
svchost             748   8   7  416   3976     0:00:02.203     2:04:40.549
dwm                 904  13  11  253  22348     0:01:29.593     2:04:38.898
svchost             924   8  23  844  18620     0:00:04.359     2:04:38.866
svchost             992   8  37 1124  17228     0:00:16.046     2:04:38.835
svchost             300   8  40 1719  23288     0:00:26.218     2:04:38.819
svchost             548   8  21  794  11552     0:00:02.312     2:04:38.773
svchost            1444   8  36  847  10868     0:00:01.453     2:04:38.305
wlanext            1588   8  15  441   3884     0:00:00.171     2:04:38.167
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     2:04:38.167
svchost            1748   8  22  644  20156     0:00:03.750     2:04:38.073
dasHost            1056   8   5  436   5396     0:00:00.406     2:04:37.620
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:00.765     2:04:37.604
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     2:04:37.479
MsMpEng            2204   8  20  468  91088     0:01:24.625     2:04:37.464
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     2:04:37.307
WUDFHost           3028   8  17  393   5448     0:00:01.500     2:04:37.182
svchost            2244   8  28  646   8408     0:00:02.546     2:04:37.104
NisSrv             3260   8   7  273   6200     0:00:00.609     2:04:36.464
svchost            3296   8   7  392   5264     0:00:03.890     2:04:34.542
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     2:04:33.823
taskhostex         4472   8   9  250   3760     0:00:00.250     2:04:31.620
explorer           4648   8  70 1933 146088     0:00:56.406     2:04:31.338
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   5  421   4464     0:00:00.218     2:04:27.626
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     2:04:20.680
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     2:04:19.524
wmpnetwk            568   8   7  379   5772     0:00:00.218     2:02:36.424
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     0:56:31.234
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     0:56:31.219
GPU-Z.0.8.0        3668   8   1  281  20396     0:00:44.343     0:19:00.822
Steam              1764   8  20  547  46836     0:00:05.296     0:17:32.713
steamwebhelper     5488   8  15  256   6176     0:00:00.156     0:17:20.570
audiodg             180   8   2  147   6504     0:00:04.734     0:17:19.539
grimrock2          4848   8  13  302 1197812     0:07:11.468     0:17:14.237
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  40  793  10436     0:00:00.296     0:13:05.608
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.109     0:13:05.513
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     0:13:04.351
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   7  161   2732     0:00:00.250     0:12:20.951
spoolsv            1972   8  20  491   5544     0:00:00.203     0:12:05.596
SearchIndexer      5532   8  13  547  17068     0:00:00.500     0:11:50.857
cmd                5260   8   1   29   1604     0:00:00.000     0:00:00.095
conhost            5644   8   2   61    980     0:00:00.000     0:00:00.091
pslist             3488  13   1  170   2024     0:00:00.062     0:00:00.060

[tfabris]

Okay, I did the following:

- Created a fresh brand new power plan for maximum performance as instructed via the link earlier in this thread, and double checked that all settings in that power plan were set to maximum performance, even the battery power settings.
- Disabled the Microsoft Search service and the Print Spooler service.
- Problem still occurred.

Again, I got before/during/after process lists, and this time, without the Search Indexer and the Spooler to act as red herrings, the list of process names is the same for all three:

BEFORE

Code: Select all

Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0    11:12:13.593     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 122  967    112     0:01:56.718     3:01:56.375
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     3:01:56.359
csrss               424  13   9  297   1772     0:00:00.531     3:01:48.541
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     3:01:48.067
csrss               544  13  12  408   3016     0:00:24.578     3:01:48.067
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     3:01:47.952
services            640   9   3  210   2852     0:00:01.828     3:01:47.768
lsass               648   9   6 1049   5376     0:00:05.765     3:01:47.737
svchost             720   8  10  409   4948     0:00:01.593     3:01:47.502
svchost             748   8   8  407   4196     0:00:02.906     3:01:47.424
dwm                 904  13  11  255  21788     0:02:12.984     3:01:45.773
svchost             924   8  24  845  18784     0:00:04.968     3:01:45.742
svchost             992   8  39 1128  17740     0:00:20.609     3:01:45.710
svchost             300   8  43 1830  24000     0:00:26.718     3:01:45.695
svchost             548   8  21  766  12068     0:00:02.500     3:01:45.648
svchost            1444   8  38  860  10460     0:00:01.828     3:01:45.180
wlanext            1588   8  15  441   3916     0:00:00.203     3:01:45.042
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     3:01:45.042
svchost            1748   8  23  644  20308     0:00:04.109     3:01:44.948
dasHost            1056   8   7  455   5588     0:00:00.468     3:01:44.495
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:01.375     3:01:44.480
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     3:01:44.355
MsMpEng            2204   8  25  477  91128     0:01:35.609     3:01:44.339
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     3:01:44.183
WUDFHost           3028   8  16  392   5420     0:00:02.406     3:01:44.058
svchost            2244   8  30  657   8564     0:00:04.609     3:01:43.980
NisSrv             3260   8   7  264   6528     0:00:00.921     3:01:43.339
svchost            3296   8   8  398   5308     0:00:05.328     3:01:41.417
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     3:01:40.698
taskhostex         4472   8   9  257   4020     0:00:00.281     3:01:38.495
explorer           4648   8  71 1959 147656     0:01:11.140     3:01:38.214
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   7  562  21068     0:00:04.468     3:01:34.501
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     3:01:27.555
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     3:01:26.399
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     1:53:38.110
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     1:53:38.094
Steam              1764   8  20  567  46132     0:00:08.437     1:14:39.588
steamwebhelper     5488   8  19  287   6556     0:00:00.171     1:14:27.445
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  39  791  10484     0:00:00.390     1:10:12.484
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.531     1:10:12.388
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     1:10:11.226
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   7  161   2736     0:00:00.656     1:09:27.826
devmonsrv          2008   8   5  158   2620     0:00:00.156     0:51:22.646
grimrock2          4176   8  13  298 1141120     0:01:40.093     0:03:40.592
audiodg            2340   8   2  145   6380     0:00:00.796     0:03:40.327
GPU-Z.0.8.0        5756   8   4  282  20544     0:00:03.296     0:03:20.365
cmd                3924   8   1   29   1608     0:00:00.015     0:00:00.090
conhost            2848   8   2   62    980     0:00:00.015     0:00:00.087
pslist             2824  13   1  170   2024     0:00:00.062     0:00:00.063

DURING

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Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0    11:52:18.687     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 122  965    112     0:02:05.390     3:13:42.789
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     3:13:42.773
csrss               424  13   9  299   1772     0:00:00.531     3:13:34.955
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     3:13:34.481
csrss               544  13  12  408   2876     0:00:26.000     3:13:34.481
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     3:13:34.366
services            640   9   7  218   3060     0:00:01.843     3:13:34.182
lsass               648   9   5 1044   5296     0:00:06.515     3:13:34.151
svchost             720   8  11  400   4988     0:00:01.609     3:13:33.917
svchost             748   8   5  395   4024     0:00:02.921     3:13:33.839
dwm                 904  13  11  255  21532     0:02:21.468     3:13:32.187
svchost             924   8  27  861  17284     0:00:05.000     3:13:32.156
svchost             992   8  36 1111  17552     0:00:21.406     3:13:32.125
svchost             300   8  39 1747  23672     0:00:26.734     3:13:32.109
svchost             548   8  19  733  11964     0:00:03.015     3:13:32.062
svchost            1444   8  36  853  10356     0:00:01.843     3:13:31.594
wlanext            1588   8  14  439   3888     0:00:00.203     3:13:31.456
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     3:13:31.456
svchost            1748   8  22  641  20444     0:00:04.125     3:13:31.363
dasHost            1056   8   5  447   5532     0:00:00.468     3:13:30.910
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:01.453     3:13:30.894
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     3:13:30.769
MsMpEng            2204   8  24  485  91252     0:01:37.359     3:13:30.753
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     3:13:30.597
WUDFHost           3028   8  16  392   5420     0:00:02.406     3:13:30.472
svchost            2244   8  25  639   8408     0:00:04.703     3:13:30.394
NisSrv             3260   8   7  258   4808     0:00:00.937     3:13:29.753
svchost            3296   8   8  398   5328     0:00:05.578     3:13:27.831
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     3:13:27.113
taskhostex         4472   8   9  253   3956     0:00:00.296     3:13:24.909
explorer           4648   8  72 1956 147856     0:01:13.203     3:13:24.628
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   7  562  21068     0:00:04.468     3:13:20.916
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     3:13:13.970
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     3:13:12.813
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     2:05:24.524
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     2:05:24.508
Steam              1764   8  19  559  46532     0:00:08.531     1:26:26.002
steamwebhelper     5488   8  19  287   6556     0:00:00.171     1:26:13.859
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  40  793  10508     0:00:00.390     1:21:58.898
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.546     1:21:58.803
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     1:21:57.641
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   8  162   2816     0:00:00.734     1:21:14.240
devmonsrv          2008   8   5  158   2620     0:00:00.156     1:03:09.060
grimrock2          4176   8  13  299 1289344     0:07:04.468     0:15:27.007
audiodg            2340   8   2  146   6380     0:00:02.875     0:15:26.741
GPU-Z.0.8.0        5756   8   1  277  20484     0:00:13.984     0:15:06.780
cmd                5448   8   1   29   1604     0:00:00.015     0:00:00.242
conhost            2784   8   2   75   1052     0:00:00.046     0:00:00.235
pslist             3940  13   1  170   2028     0:00:00.203     0:00:00.176

AFTER

Code: Select all

Process information for MONKEYFLIP:

Name                Pid Pri Thd  Hnd   Priv        CPU Time    Elapsed Time 
Idle                  0   0   4    0      0    11:56:48.421     0:00:00.000
System                4   8 119  968    112     0:02:06.859     3:15:08.236
smss                320  11   2   44    276     0:00:00.656     3:15:08.220
csrss               424  13   9  299   1772     0:00:00.531     3:15:00.402
wininit             536  13   1   77    732     0:00:00.125     3:14:59.928
csrss               544  13  12  408   2760     0:00:26.390     3:14:59.928
winlogon            588  13   2  152   1220     0:00:00.234     3:14:59.813
services            640   9   3  212   2852     0:00:01.890     3:14:59.629
lsass               648   9   7 1050   5444     0:00:06.593     3:14:59.598
svchost             720   8  12  406   5140     0:00:01.671     3:14:59.364
svchost             748   8   7  404   4164     0:00:03.109     3:14:59.286
dwm                 904  13  11  255  21400     0:02:23.140     3:14:57.634
svchost             924   8  24  853  18308     0:00:05.140     3:14:57.603
svchost             992   8  38 1124  17704     0:00:21.484     3:14:57.571
svchost             300   8  43 1830  23992     0:00:26.796     3:14:57.556
svchost             548   8  27  788  12268     0:00:03.390     3:14:57.509
svchost            1444   8  37  856  10412     0:00:01.859     3:14:57.041
wlanext            1588   8  14  439   4096     0:00:00.203     3:14:56.903
conhost            1604   8   1   41    560     0:00:00.000     3:14:56.903
svchost            1748   8  22  645  20448     0:00:04.234     3:14:56.809
dasHost            1056   8   5  447   5532     0:00:00.468     3:14:56.356
MDM                 900   8   3  116   1764     0:00:01.468     3:14:56.341
svchost            2176   8   6  142   2008     0:00:00.093     3:14:56.216
MsMpEng            2204   8  24  475  91300     0:01:37.921     3:14:56.200
WUDFHost           2692   8   6  209   1380     0:00:00.015     3:14:56.044
WUDFHost           3028   8  16  392   5420     0:00:02.406     3:14:55.919
svchost            2244   8  29  712   8588     0:00:04.906     3:14:55.841
NisSrv             3260   8   9  272   6492     0:00:01.156     3:14:55.200
svchost            3296   8   8  398   5328     0:00:05.609     3:14:53.278
svchost            4116   8   3  100   1228     0:00:00.140     3:14:52.559
taskhostex         4472   8   9  256   3924     0:00:00.312     3:14:50.356
explorer           4648   8  73 1970 148280     0:01:14.687     3:14:50.075
SettingSyncHost    2700   6   7  562  21068     0:00:04.468     3:14:46.362
dllhost            5372   8   3  114   1464     0:00:00.000     3:14:39.416
rundll32           5480   8   2  195   2772     0:00:00.093     3:14:38.260
nvvsvc             4864   8   2  151   1976     0:00:00.281     2:06:49.971
nvvsvc             4996   8   4  235  19960     0:00:01.640     2:06:49.955
Steam              1764   8  19  559  46532     0:00:08.546     1:27:51.449
steamwebhelper     5488   8  19  287   6556     0:00:00.171     1:27:39.306
DisplayLinkManager  5872   8  40  793  10512     0:00:00.390     1:23:24.345
DisplayLinkUserAgent  1040  13   8  180   3040     0:00:00.546     1:23:24.249
DisplayLinkUI      2520   8   5  122   1584     0:00:00.046     1:23:23.087
AppleMobileDeviceService  2732   8   8  162   2816     0:00:00.734     1:22:39.687
devmonsrv          2008   8   5  158   2620     0:00:00.156     1:04:34.507
grimrock2          4176   8  13  299 1290368     0:07:55.703     0:16:52.453
audiodg            2340   8   2  146   6380     0:00:03.156     0:16:52.188
GPU-Z.0.8.0        5756   8   1  277  20504     0:00:18.390     0:16:32.226
cmd                5660   8   1   29   1604     0:00:00.031     0:00:00.085
conhost            5508   8   2   62    976     0:00:00.000     0:00:00.083
pslist             5388  13   1  170   2032     0:00:00.062     0:00:00.066

[Dr.Disaster]

Below are the process lists. They were obtained before, during, and after the problem. The differences are:

SearchFilterHost
SearchProtocolHost
splwow64

splwow64 does all the print jobs. It should not run unless there is still a job queued for printing. Is one left in your Printer queues?

[tfabris]

Nothing is in my print queues. Right click on each printer and select "see what's printing", and all print queues are empty. Seems that program sometimes runs even when nothing is printing. In any case, it's moot because on my next attempt (the next message in the thread), print spooler was disabled and I still got the problem even without the print spooler executables in memory.

[tfabris]

And another factoid: the problem isn't limited to just Grimrock. It's just that I only noticed it on Grimrock because it's more graphically intensive and its frame rate can't keep up if the GPU gets throttled. On other simpler games, the dip isn't noticeable.

I was just playing Marvelous Miss Take (great game BTW), and it's simple enough that it performs the same whether I use the Intel GPU or the Nvidia GPU. Just for ha ha's, I set it to be forced to use the Nvidia GPU. Then I ran GPU-Z while I played it in another window, and sure enough, after about 20-30 minutes, I got the problem: I could clearly see the same telltale dip in the GPU cycles as I had seen with Grimrock. The difference is that Miss Take is not as graphically intensive as Grimrock, so I don't see a framerate hit.

The prior game I played on this PC was Transistor, also not as intensive as Grimrock, but I don't clearly remember if that one slowed down or not. I didn't know about GPU-Z at that time.

[Dr.Disaster]

So we are looking at a general non-game related problem. Intriguing.

I did a bit more digging regarding "SearchFilterHost" and "SearchProtocolHost". Both are part of the optional "Windows Desktop Search" service which replaces the regular "Windows Search" service on install. I've seen reports that this service can cause both disk and cpu slowdowns; can't tell from experience 'cuz i never installed this optional service.

My take: disable "Windows Desktop Search" service, check if the problem persists and in case it's gone uninstall it.

[tfabris]

I'll try looking for that service, but I don't recall seeing two search services. Also, those executables weren't present on my second run, IIRC. I'll double check when I'm back at the pc.

Some googling shows that I'm not the only gamer with this problem. Other folks are reporting similar things with various games and various GPU chipsets. It's usually suggested that temps are the culprit but they are usually talking about temps in the 100c+ range, and GPU-Z isn't showing me anything nearly that high. Still, I'm going to look much closer at temps and see if I can find a commonality.

[tfabris]

Yeah, it turns out that "Windows Desktop Search" is just the older name. It's now called just "Windows Search" in Windows 8, and that's the thing I disabled last night... and I still got the problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Search

Today I tried to narrow it down to temperature or GPU loading. I ran two copies of a graphics demo program side by side. The programs maxed out the GPU and memory controller (GPU Load: 99%, Memory controller load: 100%), and this kept the GPU temperature in the 65c-66c range for minutes at a time. The system fans were running at full speed. I couldn't get the GPU temp to climb over 66c no matter how hard I tried. The "dip" never occurred. So if this test is any indication, GPU temperature and GPU load aren't the thing that triggers the issue... I pushed the GPU to the max and that didn't make the problem occur. I'll try again this evening to see if Grimrock can make the temperature get any higher than 66c, but I doubt it will: Grimrock didn't max out the GPU load the way the graphics demo did.

Edit: I looked back in this thread, at the first screen shot I posted of GPU-Z showing the problem. And in that case, the problem occurred at what appears to be 59c or very close to it. So if temperature was the issue, then it certainly would have triggered at 66c when I did my graphics demo run just now. Googling about voltage drops on Nvidia GPUs, it is true that sometimes the voltage will go down if the temp goes up, but the things I read seem to suggest that the voltage cut should only happen if you hit 70c or so. In my case the problem occurred at temps much lower than that.

[tfabris]

Okay, over on another forum, someone with a GTX460 is showing a screen shot of GPU-Z that looks identical to mine:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threa ... ps.203498/

The difference is that his card is very clearly showing the PerfCap kicking in very clearly. He seems to think that PerfCap is throttling his card when it hits 77c temp. Which would make sense. But that's not what's happening on mine. In my case, I'm getting the "dip" when my GPU is not at maximum load and my temperatures are much much lower. And deliberately making the chip hit high temps does not induce the problem because I can't even make it go that high.

I still agree that it looks like it's kicking in the PerfCap feature for some reason. I just can't fathom why.

[tfabris]

Aha. Aha Aha.

Reading the TechPowerUp forums, it turns out that I need to install GPU-Z and/or do some sort of tweaking to make the PerfCap reason appear. I can't just do the unzip-n-run version. I shall do the necessary steps to get PerfCap to appear and then test again.