# RTS Gaming Problems (Flickering Screen)



## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

Ok this will be a large 1st post.

I love RTS games from WarCraft II right through to StarCraft II. Now I should mention ALL the games I have tried run smoothly & at good speeds, it is the flickering over my screen that is driving me crazy. Here is my system:

Dell Inspiron 6400 Notebook
Windows 7 Home Premium (32bit)

Mobile Intel 945 Graphic Media Accelerator Driver (<-- I feel this is the problem)

List Of Games Tested:

Age Of Empires (perfect)
Age Of Empires II + Expansion (perfect with the Aero disabled)
Age Of Mythology (random screen flickering throughout game)
AoM The Titans - (random screen flickering throughout game)
WarHammer 40k Dawn Of War - (random screen flickering throughout game)
WarCraft III + Frozen Throne - (screen only flickers in menus, not in-game)
Empire Earth - (random flickering throughout game, but very minimal)
Rise Of Nations - (perfect)
Diablo II + Expansion - (perfect)
Red Alert 1 - (perfect)
Command & Conquer 1 - (perfect)
StarCraft I - (perfect, with the Aero disabled)

Having Windows 7, many of these games need various adjustments in the Compatibility tab, such as disabling certain visual elements (I hate you Windows 7 Aero) and running them in XP or Win95 modes. However the flickering remains, and the games that are cool and not cool do not make sense to me. Is it the lame graphics accelerator driver? How can I tell what future games may work? Is there a solution, and can a shiny new graphics card be installed into a Dell Notebook? Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
:grin:


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

You really should post a full DXdiag when asking for help so people know your exact hardware.

I can simply tell you now that notebooks are simply not supported for gaming, and depending on the model and make of your notebook, the amount of ram often sold with them bundled with a hungry OS like windows 7 is often inadequate to do anything other then light computing.

That being said, based on the games you're listing here only newer titles are giving you the screen flickering, but I need to know what you mean by flickering? Is your screen going black from time to time? Or is it lagging in terms of frame rate and you see the game flicker as if you see screen tearing and choppy rates.

The obvious things to do are going to your manufactures website and ensuring all of your video related drivers are up to date. You might also try adjusting resolutions to lower settings to see if that does anything for you.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

Not sure what a full DXdiag is my friend, but I only posted what I thought was relevant. As I said, frame rate, screen tearing, choppy rates as you say are not an issue. ALL these games run smooth as silk, and rightly so...they are ancient.

Flickering, I'm not sure how else to describe it, just random flashes I suppose...like an old-skool television with bad reception, except instead of static noise it is just brief flickers.

Yes the first thing I did was check all relevant drivers and update if required, lower resolutions make no difference. If you need to know more info on my monitor please tell me how...all I know is that it is a widescreen Generic PnP.

I have also just noticed that the games that receive the flickering all use 3d sprites, except for WarCraft III which is only affected in menu screens.

Can anyone else help me out solving this problem please.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

what MasterKnives said is 100% correct. Notebooks are not designed for gaming even gaming laptops are not designed for gaming because they truly cannot handle the games and the power and heat associated with gaming.

You should also follow his advice by making sure your drivers are up to date and try running the games at lower resolutions.

Your system only comes with 512MB RAM which is no where near good enough in to days standards. From what I can see the most you can upgrade to is 1GB (2x512MB) which is a slight improvement but in gaming terms the system will never cut it so you will always get flickering etc,


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

Is it possible for you to to hook the laptop up to another monitor around the house? If you can hook that sucker up to any other monitor (even a tv) and still experience the flicking effect we can rule out the display built into your laptop as a whole. If you still experience the game graphic distortion then chances are it's going to be related to the physical limitation of the laptop. Ram can help in some cases but there simply isn't enough physical video processing in notebooks to play modern games.

So if you got the cables laying around, give that a shot.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I highly doubt you have an inverter problem with the screen but from what I have read about your system is that screen design is no where near perfect and slightly grainy looking which wouldn't help.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@greenburly buddy I have followed his advice, that was the first thing I did and YES they are up-to-date and NO lower resolution does not make a hint of difference.

Also, I am well aware the Notebook is almost 2 years old now...but I'm not exactly trying to run Modern Warfare or Diablo 3 here...most of these games ran fine on my very first Desktop, granted the frame rate was not the best and detail settings were on low.

Come on I was told this site was full of brainiacs, you are not even reading my posts properly...did I post in the wrong section?


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@Masterknives that is a good idea...THANK YOU for the quick replies!


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

frazzz619 said:


> @greenburly buddy I have followed his advice, that was the first thing I did and YES they are up-to-date and NO lower resolution does not make a hint of difference.
> 
> Also, I am well aware the Notebook is almost 2 years old now...but I'm not exactly trying to run Modern Warfare or Diablo 3 here...most of these games ran fine on my very first Desktop, granted the frame rate was not the best and detail settings were on low.
> 
> Come on I was told this site was full of brainiacs, you are not even reading my posts properly...did I post in the wrong section?


"Sometimes we must learn to just accept hardware limitation" - Me trying to run DooM3 on a 800mhz pentium3 with 512 SD RAM.

I've been there and done that. What you have to understand is that 3D gaming has a lot more processing requirements then your older 2d sprite based games. These processing requirements are also met with higher RAM requirements to move more data around faster.

Just for the sake of ruling things out, I would still rule out your laptops built in display. It's a shot in the dark but if you can identify a display issue with the laptop itself you can send it in for repairs.

Okedoke

When you're playing the 3d intensive games, do they run smooth as silk regardless of the flickering?

Oh and for ****s and giggles, try making sure Vsync is always on, and make sure your monitor is running at 60hz refresh rate.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

frazzz619 said:


> @greenburly buddy I have followed his advice, that was the first thing I did and YES they are up-to-date and NO lower resolution does not make a hint of difference.
> 
> Also, I am well aware the Notebook is almost 2 years old now...but I'm not exactly trying to run Modern Warfare or Diablo 3 here...most of these games ran fine on my very first Desktop, granted the frame rate was not the best and detail settings were on low.
> 
> Come on I was told this site was full of brainiacs, you are not even reading my posts properly...did I post in the wrong section?


we must go over things even if it seems obvious to you that these things must be done. You would believe how many times people say they have done things when infact they havent or havent done them properly this is why questions like I asked have to be asked.

I know your situation will be frustrating to you but as MasterKnives has said there will be hardware limitations and even though you have tried running some of these games in compatabilty mode they will still struggle either because the hardware is too old to handle the newer games or in cases of newer machines that the hardware is too good to run older games.

I tried to run Hitman 1 the other day on my system whilst it worked it was actually too quick even on the slowest settings. Sometimes we just have to accept that some things will work and some wont.

BTW my favorite RTS of all time is world in conflict unfortunately I dobut it would be workable on your system but you should check it out sometime.

Try different refresh rates and make sure none of your games have anti alaising enabled and also mess about with v sync on and off an see if that helps.

BTW I wouldn't be running windows 7 on your notebook not with 512MB RAM I am very suprised your system actually boots. I would be running xp home at the very most.

Since you system is two years old do dell have all the drivers for it for windows 7?


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@Masterknives I like your suggestion and I will try it when able to...the reason I thought it was a monitor problem was for that EXACT fact...the games play smooth and fast...the flickering seems more like something OVER THE TOP of the games, rather than the product of a processor struggling to fill my screen with archers and charging cavalry.

Secondly, call me old-fashioned but are we really calling these games I have listed '3d intensive?' I think the most recent one is WarCraft III (2002?) but that one actually has very minimal screen flickering (only in menu screens.)

If you also tell me how to view my RAM and other details that may help I shall post them...it might also be worth pointing out that my Notebook's battery is FUBAR...I need it plugged at an outlet or it will die in under 4 minutes...


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

frazzz619 said:


> @Masterknives I like your suggestion and I will try it when able to...the reason I thought it was a monitor problem was for that EXACT fact...the games play smooth and fast...the flickering seems more like something OVER THE TOP of the games, rather than the product of a processor struggling to fill my screen with archers and charging cavalry.
> 
> Secondly, call me old-fashioned but are we really calling these games I have listed '3d intensive?' I think the most recent one is WarCraft III (2002?) but that one actually has very minimal screen flickering (only in menu screens.)
> 
> If you also tell me how to view my RAM and other details that may help I shall post them...it might also be worth pointing out that my Notebook's battery is FUBAR...I need it plugged at an outlet or it will die in under 4 minutes...


Right click on my computer and go to properties, windows should list major hardware components right away. I did some reading and believe I read your machine came with 512 mb of memory by default. Which I seriously hope that isn't true because it would be murder. Windows 7 uses a gig by itself, in some cases more. Windows 7 is an ugly operating system for laptops, downgrading to windows XP will make a massive difference when you're trying to squeeze power for gaming.

Honestly windows 7 is just built for looks, and the features really are garbage. When I build a computer I want something that works, and something that is utilizing all my hardware to the fullest extent. 

Store bought PC's and laptops especially come loaded with garbage bloatware that takes time to remove, and often don't feature the ability to selectively upgrade components.

A buddy of mine had a dell with the parts welded together in the box. **** like that should be illegal.

Anyway, warcraft 3 although aged is still far more advanced then starcraft. And from a laptops point of view streaming flash is considered a heavy load in many cases.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@greenburly yes I totally understand that...I think the frustrating part of this particular problem is that all these games DO work at the correct speeds and at perfect frame-rates...it is the eye-jerking nausea-inducing FLICKERING that is driving me bananas.

If they stuttered and choked I would say 'Well I guess that is that...' but this is different...the games I want to play are playable (minus the obvious exception already stated.)

Oh and I went into my settings for the V-Sync and what-not...tried a few different options and patterns but to no avail...I did notice my only option for Refresh Rate was 60htz, big problem?


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

No, no problem, 60htz is easier on the eyes anyway. 

Hey, run the game in XP SP3 compatibility mode and disable desktop composition. 

And as a general rule of gaming on Vista and 7 both, always run the games in administrator rights.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@Masterknives HaHa you sound like my dad...and I agree, if down-grading were as easy as up-grading I would be back on XP. Here are the full system specs of my Notebook for you:

Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @ 1.66GHz 1.67GHz
Installed Memory (RAM): 1.00GB

System Type: 32bit System
Computer: ACPI x86-based PC

Display:  Mobile Intel(R) 945 Express Chipset Family
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor

Hope that helps you...and the fact that the battery is permanently flat, it needs replaced so I just keep it socketed.


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

frazzz619 said:


> @Masterknives HaHa you sound like my dad...and I agree, if down-grading were as easy as up-grading I would be back on XP. Here are the full system specs of my Notebook for you:
> 
> Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @ 1.66GHz 1.67GHz
> Installed Memory (RAM): 1.00GB
> ...


Yep, your operating system is crapping all over your ram. Try those settings I posted in the above post, it may alleviate some of the flickering in warcraft 3. 

What you're going to want to be doing is making your *** hog of an operating system less demanding on your ram. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if all application processing on your computer is being done with a paging file. Which is simply no way to compute man.

10 More Ways To Increase Windows 7 Performance -- Technomaly

There are articles like this plastered all over the web. Alternatively you can buy more ram for the machine, I recommend 3 gigs. However laptop ram is a little bit more expensive then desktop ram. And quite frankly you're better off building a 400 dollar desktop.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

like I said earlier your system shouldn't be running windows 7 for the reason I and masterknives stated and I agree most things going on will be using the page file because of how much ram your system has and the speed of the processor.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

And yes that's what I meant in my first post about disabling the Aero...Age Of Empires II only worked with Desktop Composition and Visual Themes disabled, and both Command & Conquer games only launched when I switched to Win95 Compatibility mode.

Believe me I had exhausted all options on that front with the Compatibility tab, and regardless of the screen turning some funky disco colours before launch, the flickering persisted in all the games I mentioned.


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

frazzz619 said:


> And yes that's what I meant in my first post about disabling the Aero...Age Of Empires II only worked with Desktop Composition and Visual Themes disabled, and both Command & Conquer games only launched when I switched to Win95 Compatibility mode.
> 
> Believe me I had exhausted all options on that front with the Compatibility tab, and regardless of the screen turning some funky disco colours before launch, the flickering persisted in all the games I mentioned.


I cannot believe they would ship a laptop with only 1 gig of ram using windows 7. Luckily laptop ram is easy to install, you simply have to unscrew a panel on the flipside of the laptop and snap it in, if you need help purchasing ram let me know.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

LOL what is a page file? So the flickering is most definately memory-based and not a monitor problem? I think I will still try that idea you mentioned earlier to see if it gets the same result on another monitor...

How hard will it be to down-grade back to XP? Thanks for all your advice guys.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

the page file is an area reserved on the hard drive that emulates RAM so when apps are using all of the ram and need more they use this area of the hard drive to work. also remember that because you have onboard graphics that some of your ram is also reserved for the graphics card and therfore not useable by any applications.


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

frazzz619 said:


> LOL what is a page file? So the flickering is most definately memory-based and not a monitor problem? I think I will still try that idea you mentioned earlier to see if it gets the same result on another monitor...
> 
> How hard will it be to down-grade back to XP? Thanks for all your advice guys.


No, there simply is no guarantee what is causing the flickering. That's why when you're trying to resolve issues with a computer you always rule things out one at a time.

I'm complaining about the ram because it's murder. I can guarantee you though that tripling your ram would help ALOT with performance.

A paging file is a portion of your hard drive used to substitute for memory.

Think of ram as super fast highway. The computer dumps data in the ram to shift it around when you're using it for gaming. 

Now think of a hard drive as a dirt road, with pot holes, and a mine field.
When all of your ram is being used, the operating system uses the hard drive to substitute for ram. This portion of the harddrive reserved for these "emergency" situations is called a paging file or swap file. Well the hard drive is MUCH slower at moving this data around. So performance drops significantly when the hard drive is having to pretend it's RAM. Mainly because the hard drive has to spin to write data like a disk. You ever burn music? Takes a long time doesn't it? You ever put it on a flash drive? Takes about 2 seconds.

And downgrading to XP isn't hard at all. You simply save what you want to take with you, format the partition and install windows XP.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

@Masterknives WOW following those settings on that link has made an incredible difference on performance using Windows 7, much faster now thank you.

Unfortunately it didn't fix the flickering issue, I will try running through my Desktop monitor later today and post the outcome.

Oh and this Notebook originally came with Vista not Windows 7.


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## MasterKnives (Aug 22, 2011)

Windows VISTA is often considered the over priced beta to 7. In fact it's much worse. Vista is the reason why a lot of computer nerds like me kept XP for years after it's release, and I still dual boot into it today because some of the pain from vista translated to 7.

Windows XP SP3 is the best for that laptop. Let me know how that monitor test goes.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

MasterKnives said:


> Windows VISTA is often considered the over priced beta to 7. In fact it's much worse. Vista is the reason why a lot of computer nerds like me kept XP for years after it's release, and I still dual boot into it today because some of the pain from vista translated to 7.
> 
> Windows XP SP3 is the best for that laptop. Let me know how that monitor test goes.


agreed. Your system even if windows 7 or vista is dumbed down to as basic as you can make them is no where near good enough to run either of them.

I wouldn't trust vista at all but windows 7 is a different story but you still need a capable machine to run it well.


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

Ok the Desktop monitor showed the exact same flickering when connected through the Laptop, so I guess that solves that.

Which brings me to my next question:

What is the best Gaming Laptop you guys recommend? Keeping in mind I don't want a 4 and a half grand Alienware monstrosity...just something that will play RTS games from the last 10 years.

Oh, and maybe it wouldn't hurt if it could run something new like StarCraft II...I kind of like the specs on the Metabox P150HM

(please tell me if this should be a new thread, thanks guys.)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I would never recommend any laptop for gaming because they get too hot. What is your budget?


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

Not much more over 2 thousand...the flashy Alienware Gaming Laptops don't interest me, unless you guys know otherwise? Still, 4 thousand is a hell of a price-tag.

I've heard much complaint over so called 'Gaming Laptops' in the past, but recently I have been led to believe they are much more like the reliable gaming machines they claim to be.

Is cooling still a big issue for them then? I only use my Xbox in 3 hour sessions, would a custom-built gaming Laptop need the same attention?

Here are the specs of the one I was interested in:

*Metabox P150HM (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M)*

Intel Core i7-2720QM (2.2GHz) <-- apparently it now ships with something more recent
8GB of RAM
Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 (increase in speed to 3.3GHz)

It also had this paragraph which you might find helpful:

"A sacrifice needed for such awesome performance specs is the 500GB hard disk drive, which while sufficient for normal use will still require some discipline with storing large files and programs. Portability isn’t that great, but gaming notebooks are always heavier than normal due to the cooling required for the graphics card. In the P150HM’s case, it weighs 3.3kg and is 42.9mm thick."


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yes the problem with small powerful system like latops and xboxes is the fact that there is not enough room for good airflow so things inside get very hot. Unless treated well i.e blowing out any dust on a regular basis and keeping fan speeds high they will always get a problem with heat at some point.

If you really want a gaming laptop something like this would do for gaming MSI GX660R 15.6" WLED TFT Intel I7-740QM, 6GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, ATI HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 Graphics, Win7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Black/Red **£50 CASHBACK** [GX660R-646UK]


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## frazzz619 (Aug 22, 2011)

Yea that looks sweet, and I don't mind taking the extra care to look after such a fine piece of technology. I have a few more questions though if you don't mind! 

*NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M* vs. *ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870*

Is there much difference? Is one more compatible with games than the other? Another Laptop I was interested in, the ASUS G74SX-A1, has a GeForce GTX *560M*. Again, is there much difference when compared with the *580M*?

Basically I want a Laptop that will run Windows 7 at good speed, Pioneer ProDJ and other music-based programs, and StarCraft II at full quality. Oh and Diablo 3 when it eventually arrives!


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

no there isn't much difference both will do fine for any of the games you mentioned.


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