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[resolved] Game Lag: Common Causes and Solutions

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Topic Starter
mm201
Simply telling us that you are experiencing "lag" is very unhelpful. "Lag" could be used to describe one of many possible symptoms, each having many different possible causes. Here are some of the different kinds of lag you might encounter:

  1. The game's behaviour (either audio, video, or both) is delayed from realtime.
    This could be a result of input lag--your mouse's actions are delayed. Possibly there are too many devices on your USB channel? If the lag is system-global, this is probably the case.
    It could also be a result of output lag. Check that your video isn't set to prerender too many frames, and that there aren't too many filters, splitters, etc. between your PC and your monitor. Also, some HDTVs add a frame lag to perform dejuddering and such. Make sure any such filters are turned off.
  2. The game's performance is choppy.
    This might simply be a result of low machine specs. Go into options and enable the FPS counter. If it's a value below 60 and the frame limiter is off, your graphics card might not be powerful enough to handle the game. Also check that other 3d apps in the background aren't eating up some of your precious graphics performance. If this is not enough, try checking the Low End PC option. DO NOT try switching to OpenGL to improve performance! At present, osu!'s OpenGL engine is neither as optimized nor as feature-rich as the Direct3D renderer. It is there for compatability reasons.
  3. Occasional momentary freezeups.
    Check if another background process is monopolizing your system for brief moments. This could be caused by other games, web browsers, or server apps (including file sharing/torrents). Close all other background programs and tray icons and see if the problem persists.
  4. FPS drops sharply after an update.
    This is known to happen to some users after some updates. Restart your PC to fix it in 99% of cases.
Some other quick solutions to improve performance.

-You can get higher FPS by having a fullscreen window open behind osu! when you're playing in windowed. Running the game in full-screen will also increase FPS usually.

-Certain resolutions automatically set the game up to use High Definition textures. Set LowResolution to 1 in the config to force the game to use the normal resolution textures for any resolution. Do this by turning off osu! and opening your .cfg file with a text editor. It will be the name of your computer in your osu! folder. Save changes.


Please discuss any issues related to any kind of lag in this topic.
Randy96
Oh awesome topic

<integrated into OP>
Randy96
Private (lol) message by teteu28
Hello, I read the topic but I do not quite understand ... how can I know:
" Check that your video isn't set to prerender too many frames, and that there aren't too many filters, splitters, etc. between your PC and your monitor."

sorry for the inconvenience ...
Topic Starter
mm201
Maximum prerendered frames (Nvidia):

ATI should be something similar.

Video processing devices should be pretty uncommon unless you're hooked up to an HDTV or projector. Look for media center type boxes and digital repeaters between your computer and the display.
_Angel

MetalMario201 wrote:

  1. The game's behaviour (either audio, video, or both) is delayed from realtime.
    This could be a result of input lag--your mouse's actions are delayed. Possibly there are too many devices on your USB channel? If the lag is system-global, this is probably the case.
    It could also be a result of output lag. Check that your video isn't set to prerender too many frames, and that there aren't too many filters, splitters, etc. between your PC and your monitor. Also, some HDTVs add a frame lag to perform dejuddering and such. Make sure any such filters are turned off.
Changing priority of the Osu.exe in task manager from "normal" to "low" is helped me to avoid delay with tablet.
You can add this to the list :3
Jodyza
Hello, I'm playing osu! for a couple of months now and since a month or so, osu! starts to lag every 7/8 minutes while in-game. After 2 minutes it's gone. But after another 7 minutes it starts to lag again. The framerate drops from 149 FPS to 15-30 FPS. There are no other programs or processes running. Only Windows itself and the necessary processes. I've scanned my whole computer 3 times for trojans and viruses. All my drivers are up to date. I'm using Direct 3D. Resolution is 1920x1080, but lower gives the same effect. I've already read some other topics but I couldn't find an answer. I've no idea what to do, can someone please help me with this.

System specs:
Windows 7 64x
8 GB Ram
NvidiA 120 GT 1GB
AMD 2,63 Ghz Quadcore

My PC is a year old now and it's quite fast. It can run games like GTA IV, but why can't it run osu! ?

Sorry for my English, it's not the best. :)
Axel
Try putting Frame Limit on 60.
awp
Do you have an antivirus installed on your machine? AVG in particular tends to do this.
Jodyza

bRiGhT wrote:

Try putting Frame Limit on 60.
I will try it tomorrow, my mother is a bit angry now because it's 00:18 here. :)

Yes, I have an antivirus program on my computer. Microsoft Security Essentials, which also up to date.
Fabi
Try running the game with only 1 core processor.
Ibuki Suika
same to you
Topic Starter
mm201
Jodyza

Ever17 wrote:

Try running the game with only 1 core processor.
How can I do that?

The 60 Frames Limit didn't help, when I turned it on the mouse was slower, so I clicked everything miss :(. Unlimited gives me 500 frames. so I switched back to 120

EDIT: If I change the number of maximum prerendered frames, to which number must it be set? It's now 3.
My brother just said it also happens to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on this computer.
Fabi
Task Manager > look for osu.exe > right click establish affinity > 1 core.
Topic Starter
mm201
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. I've merged your thread into the correct place. Please continue discussion here.
Jodyza

Ever17 wrote:

Task Manager > look for osu.exe > right click establish affinity > 1 core.
I tried it and it starts to lag again. But not as much as before. The framerate when it lags is now 40-45. It's still not playable because it skips frames and the mouse moves too slow.

I don't know why it lags because the computer is fast enough...
It even runs on my grandma's old computer!

I will continue in this topic.
Fabi
Re do it again, but now with just the necessary windows process and osu! AMD processors x2 x4 or more than 2 core don't" sympathize" with nvidia graphic card.

EDIT: By the way, graphic card temperature while playing osu! ? You can use HWMonitor to check max temp.
Jodyza
I made this screen of HWMonitor.



At 115 °C it starts to lag, I think the temperature is way too high!
Osu! is running on 1 core, there are no other processes running.

EDIT: I just went to a computer shop and they told me that my graphic card is dying :(
So I need to buy a new one... Maybe a GeForce GT 220 or a GeForce GTS 250.
Natteke
Also when you spend too much time mapping, osu starts lagging like hell. Highlighing a single circle takes 2 seconds and same goes to applying a hitsound and adding sliders/circles and so on.

Restarting osu! helps, however, if you turn osu! off, it's still turned on if I check the task manager. So I need to kill osu! task and then run osu! again to continue mapping.

WTF?
Sushi
For information. (kind of hint for complementing MM's Post)

If you have occasionally freezes, you can use Windows' tool to see "what's happening on your disk"

If you're on Win7 (I know for XP the tool is lol), go to Execute (Windows + R) and enter "perfmon /res".


The performance monitor will open (sorry french screens)


Access the Hard drives tab (or whatever it's called), then sort everything by writing

let it cool down for a second, don't mind the "System" accesses.

Play osu!, and when you get a freeze, check the perfmon to see what may cause it (this is how I found out that chrome was occasionally writing stuff)

There you go o/

This post was for everyone
Natteke
Hm, how about this:
I might get a freeze in one map at exact time everytime I play it. This happens a lot recently. I make a beatmap, submit it etc. Then I play it and I get a freeze. I re-downlaod the map / change notes etc etc and still get that freeze.
Sushi
Does the map have a SB? Video? special thing happening?

Those are the first questions you have to answer
Natteke
I had that freeze with both storyboarded maps and just clean maps with no special features.
Ibuki Suika
I hope I can use my poor English to understand what we tell you and ppy problems encountered :cry:

First, plz remember:
1.when we encountered a LAG, we have reduced the system processes as much as possible
2.Even did a client only store one song
3.This is not an individual problem, I have encountered at least 10 people appeared in this issue

OK,Our problems is: instant LAG
Can be understood as fps dropped in a flash,When viewing the Task Manager, you can see the CPU at that moment a sudden increase occupancy
Of course, this is just a moment, about 0.1-0.3 seconds, fps back to normal, CPU returned to normal occupancy

In the long suffering, I found a rule
Each LAG will appear in a fixed time
I did a lot of try, test out the time of the first LAG appears at about 1:36
Of course, this is the time game time rather than song time
So I guess the first time LAG from loading the game until the moment of 100 seconds

like this:

Why is GAME TIME:
If you select the 1 minute 50 seconds of the song, coupled with DT, it will not appear LAG
If you have time in the game to be pause in about 1:20,and wait 20 seconds, it will not appear LAG(but in this 20 seconds will appear lag,But it will not affect the actual game)

Therefore, the second time is fixed LAG
Although I have no energy to do another experiment, but can understand a little more than 3 minutes in the office
may be is 200 seconds :O

Well, now the important thing finished,
I talk about my situation encountered:
After the great start the game very smooth about 30 minutes
About 30 minutes later, when I choose a song, playing to a 100 second place, the mouse will LAG the moment (if CTB, is the key to LAG), if the song more than 3 minutes, also at the event in 200 seconds To the 2nd moment of LAG
Each song will be chosen in such a problem, unless the actual game time of less than 100 seconds
The beginning is a very short experience of the moment, when continuing the game down (do not turn off or restart the game), LAG will be growing, even up to 0.5 seconds

If you restart the game, as if the load is cleared of the same
Re-time 30 minutes

PC Information:
CPU:8750
GPU:7900GTO
HD:7200rpm 500Gb
Memory:DDR2 1066 2G
Game:
OpenGL: ×
DirectX: √
Limited: all try
resolution: 1024x768/800x600
fullcreen: ×
settings: low-end PC
[deleted user]
Hello, I just downloaded osu! and I'm already experiencing lagging, not in gameplay though. I've been stuck on the part before the menu, where you have to shake to activate. I've been shaking for a while now, and it's still not taking me to the menu. :?

EDIT: Okay, I've gone past the shaking, but I had to use a really slow motion.
Basically, it takes the cursor a second or so to follow my motion. Is there anything I need to adjust on my mouse?
storm704
click your mouse on the ous writing. It will take you to the menu. If it still lags go to the menu and put it to low end pc and limit your frames.
[deleted user]

storm704 wrote:

click your mouse on the ous writing. It will take you to the menu. If it still lags go to the menu and put it to low end pc and limit your frames.
I've changed the setting to Low End PC and kept the Frames to 60fps, but it's still lagging. /: Thanks for your help though.
[Sean]
This should be a doozy for everyone, as I've got no clue what's going on.

Today, I upgraded GFX cards... I went from a 256mb Radeon x800 XT, to a 512mb Sapphire HD 4350, again, an AMD card. Before upgrading, my frames, just on the osu! menu was around 300-400. Now, they're 70-120. In-game, Catch the Beat performs fine. Taiko I don't care about, and then osu! standard... Lags like a jew.... I used to hit around 1.2k FPS when in the options menu, but now I'm down to 250.

In-game is just horrid... There's mouse lag, and then the frame lag as the map continues to play. It's becoming annoying... Theoretically, upgrading GFX cards should IMPROVE performance... not decrease it... Anyhoo, information:

CPU: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5400 @ 2.70GHz
3.00 GB of RAM
GPU: Sapphire HD 4350 512mb
Windows XP 32bit Service pack 2
Razer DeathAdder Mouse
Razer Arctosa Keyboard

Now, before any jew comes and tells me to do low-end PC and check the frame limitter, they can go kick them selves in the face. I'm not a retard...

What I've done:

Framelimitter on 60/120/Off, no change in mouse/frame lag
Changed skin to default, no change in performance
Turned every, single, setting, in the Catalyst Control Center (CCC), down to absolute bare minimum, otherwise known as Performance and not quality.
Restarted my PC
Re-installed osu!
Checked BIOS for HyperMemory to enable it (Although XP doesn't actually have the setting... :<)


Now, here's the funny thing:

Before: Borderlands runs on Pixel Shader 3.0, I put in an x1300 256mb into my PC and it ran choppy as hell, but osu!, and Counter-Strike: Source still ran fine. Now, with the HD 4350, Borderlands runs a lot smoother, Counter-Strike: Source is still perfectly fine, but osu! has gone to shit.

I'm clueless... Anyone have any ideas?
storm704
To be honest, that graphics card isn't really meant for gaming. Its more of a HTPC card. I am very skeptical of how long you can actually play any decent game on average settings since it only has a passive heat sink and would probably overheat really fast. In my opinion the 256mb radeon was better.
Also did you try juggling the openGL and DirectX?
And try lowering the screen resolution in osu.
Kert
Probably I should repost here
I always have a HUGE lag spike when the online scoreboard appears (after loading) when I'm already playing the map..
My only workaround is to switch to a local one.. Or sometimes I'm lucky and scoreboard loads fast, before notes appear
Can some optimization be made on this?
Natteke
Oh sup!

I noticed everytime I play a map in taiko for the first time after the map processing, I get a lag at very first note. I restart the map and it's fine from now on. I open new map up and it lags on the first note again and so on. It can't be my Chrome or any other app that runs on my pc. I'm fairly sure it's the problem with osu! itself.
Topic Starter
mm201
Happens to me on all modes. Seems to be related to changes in the online score retrieval.
Mismagius
Yeah, I had to format my computer because it crashed and shiz, now I have a Windows Vista Starter (don't blame me, it was the only CD I had here and I'm getting a new computer very very soon). The problem is, when I'm playing osu! standard, when I'm doing spinners and they finish, I get a lag that almost always make me combobreak. Pausing the game when the spinner ends I get 30-40fps on the pause menu (being the normal 55-60fps). Sometimes, because of this lag, some ninja spinners don't even work, and I miss all of them and occasionally fail (look at Bowling for Soup - 1985 map). So, is there any kind of solution for this?
Fabi
You play on directx or opengl? with vsync on? computer spect?
Mismagius

Ever17 wrote:

You play on directx or opengl? with vsync on? computer spect?
DirectX, though playing on openGL makes the spinner lag even worse.
Yes, VSync on, because without it, the approach circles start getting a bit crazy (they stop sometimes) and constant lag without it.
1GB ram, Celeron, integrated graphics card.

BEST COMPUTER EVER.

Even though, it worked fine when I used Windows XP. Why does it lag every spinner on Vista, being the same exact computer, just a different OS? :|
Kert
This is not a joke.. I have the same exact problem as wuliang described a page before
I always have a lag spike on Banned Forever at 01:36:327
The same goes for Yakety Sax somewhere at 01:39:360 and at 03:19:317 maybe a bit later.
I believe it's not these maps' problem
As I said the lag always happens. I don't know what's causing this, but it's very annoying and practically always leads to a miss.

I tried just every possible configuration in osu! (openGL, dx, low spec e.t.c.) and nothing helped
Ibuki Suika

CracK wrote:

This is not a joke.. I have the same exact problem as wuliang described a page before
I always have a lag spike on Banned Forever at 01:36:327
The same goes for Yakety Sax somewhere at 01:39:360 and at 03:19:317 maybe a bit later.
I believe it's not these maps' problem
As I said the lag always happens. I don't know what's causing this, but it's very annoying and practically always leads to a miss.

I tried just every possible configuration in osu! (openGL, dx, low spec e.t.c.) and nothing helped
Actually I many friends met the same problem
:roll:

Maybe system closed, some key service
Or in particular circumstances program code appeared BUG
:cry:
Fabi

Blue Dragon wrote:

Ever17 wrote:

You play on directx or opengl? with vsync on? computer spect?
DirectX, though playing on openGL makes the spinner lag even worse.
Yes, VSync on, because without it, the approach circles start getting a bit crazy (they stop sometimes) and constant lag without it.
1GB ram, Celeron, integrated graphics card.

BEST COMPUTER EVER.

Even though, it worked fine when I used Windows XP. Why does it lag every spinner on Vista, being the same exact computer, just a different OS? :|
Because of the visual requirements. You have to go back to Windows XP, 1GB ram is not enough to handle that OS. You may want to scroll up or down while you are on firefox watching a video, for sure it will move slowly with freeze.
Randy96
but if you must stay on Vista, I recommend you turn off visual effects
Fabi
Do as Randy96 say! It may help for sure! Principally the aero style.
Kert
Many people as I know have this kind of problem and in every mode
So, this is the research I made on the issue of "Lag spikes at the exact times"

This is crazy. But there is some logic
I tested all this either by playing myself (osu! standart) or watching auto doing this.
Numbers indicate my tries
Times indicate where I have a lag spike
Sonic Heroes [Insane] - 1. 01:41:131 2. 01:39:216 3. 01:40:093
Banned Forever [Nogard] - 1. 01:35:714 2. 01:36:054 3. 01:35:918
Yakety Sax:
First spike - 1. 01:39:301 2. 01:38:884 3. same as 1.
Second spike - 1. 03:19:674 2. 03:19:436 3. same as 2.

Power of Dream [DaRRi MIx] - 01:43:358

Rock Club [Supreme Master] - 1. 01:38:110 2. 01:37:810 3. 01:37:360

Ventil of Nightmare [Insane] - 1. 01:46:828 2. 01:47:349 3. 01:46:958

Beautiful day - V3 [Impossible] - 1. 01:39:036 2. 01:39:318 3. 01:38:943

Shanghai Tea House [Lunatic] - from 01:53:369 to 01:53:615
First timing section is at 15 seconds! 1.53 - 15 = 1.38 !!

Agony - 1. 02:02:096 2. 02:01:528 3. 02:01:869
First timing section is at 25 seconds! 2.02 - 25 = 1.37 !!

Taihen na Mono no Shoushitsu [Lost] 02:02:780-02:03:030
First timing section is at 27 seconds! 2.02 - 27 = 1.35 !!
Also 2peppy: this post (in case you missed it) provides some more information about this problem.
peppy
Can you check whether these spikes occur in the editor, and also with autoplay mod enabled?
Kert
Yes, they appear in editor too.
But I tried starting Yakety Sax at 10second and I got a spike at 1.48 not at 1.38 as before
When I started Agony at the very beginning and haven't skipped the intro the lag was at 1.39
The same goes for Shanghai Teahouse. I didn't skip the intro and the lag was at 1.39-1.40
So it most definently not timing section, that causes this, but Game Time ~ 100 seconds
Yu Zero
I've followed what you guys saying it's a lot of helps, thanks! It's lagless when I playing Osu! now.
Eventhough I have 1.5G ram on my laptop :lol:
SapphireGhost
Help please :P

I'm getting "Type 3" lag: occasional momentary freezes. Sometimes when I'm playing a map (usually around one and a half minutes in) it'll just go "OH HEY IMMA FREEZE AND BREAK YOUR COMBO OKAY" and then I'm like "UH NO" so I have lots of A-Ranks because of that problem. I'm hoping someone has a way to fix it.

I'm not running an anti-virus or any programs in the background (sometimes a browser window) and I don't have multiple processor cores.
peppy
This will be improved in the next osu! release. Until then, consider upgrading to a multi-core cpu if that is a possiibility.
VelperK
Hey there.

well I have a annoying problem with lag; it freezes me the game AND the song in random moments.

I've a nVidia 9400 GT and multiple CPU cores so it isn't the problem, also, in the last public osu! build i didn't have this problem.

help please :?
Randy96
And you've tried all the solutions offered in this thread?
akrolsmir

VelperK wrote:

Hey there.

well I have a annoying problem with lag; it freezes me the game AND the song in random moments.

I've a nVidia 9400 GT and multiple CPU cores so it isn't the problem, also, in the last public osu! build i didn't have this problem.

help please :?
I think I have the same problem, kinda described here.

Specs:

Windows 7 64-bit

Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T6600 @ 2.20GHz

4.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 398MHz (6-6-6-15)

LP156WH2-TLQ1 @ 1366x768
Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family

IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
VelperK

Randy96 wrote:

And you've tried all the solutions offered in this thread?
Yes I did, but is a update's problem.
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