Games Lagging with Direct X Update

[Fynl]

Hello,

I've been playing PC games on my new laptop for a few months now, all of which can run on Direct X 11. Two games, Saints Row the Third and Civilizations V I run using Direct X 9 mode, which helps me keep my laptop temperature down.

Recently, however, I have bought and downloaded a few games via Steam that are older, that only use Direct X 9.0c. When I run any of these games for the first time, Steam will start "installing Direct X...". After that, all of my games run with very noticeable lag. I will lose FPS (going from 70+ to about 20-) every 20 seconds or so. If I perform a system restore to the moment before Steam installed the Direct X, everything starts running fine again.

Does anyone know why this is happening or how I could fix this? This has rendered half of my games on Steam unplayable because they all need to install Direct X before playing. The only topic I could find with a similar problem to mine was an unanswered thread here: link .

I'm running a 3610QM core, GT 650m graphics, and 8 GB RAM.

Thanks in advance.

 

[smarteyeball]

Tbh, I'm not sure why it'd would be causing lagging. I personally haven't encountered it.

Perhaps after installing the game, run the DirectX End User Runtime to see if removes the lag. (It's at least worth a try).

 

[Fynl]

I will give that a try, but I'm not sure of how it will work. I've tried using the installer for Direct X (the one that's 286 KB or so) and it's always told me that my Direct X is up to date, etc.

 

[DanRex]

If the solution stated above doesn't work; Remember to check if your drivers are up to date!

 

[Fynl]

Well I ran the file listed in the link and it downloaded what seems like every update for Direct X in the past 5 years or so. I'll have to sort it out to see which I should run.

I've tried updating my drivers but the nVidia website says that there are no new drivers for my GT 650m. I'm tempted to try some of the beta drivers, but I'm not sure how risky that is.

 

[Maguscreed]

Find the program executables and set them for xp comaptibility and make sure scaling for high resolution displays is disabled.

This fixed some issues I was having with older games on steam.

 

[Fynl]

Find the program executables and set them for xp comaptibility and make sure scaling for high resolution displays is disabled.

This fixed some issues I was having with older games on steam.

Well it's not the older game that's causing suffering from the lag, it's the Direct X installation that Steam performs while starting the older games that ends up lagging my new games.

A slight workaround that I found was to say "No" when Steam asks if I allow permission to run the installation. I would definitely prefer a solution as to the lag as opposed to remembering to hit no every time I load an old game.

 

[AstaLaVista]

Find the program executables and set them for xp comaptibility and make sure scaling for high resolution displays is disabled.

This fixed some issues I was having with older games on steam.

Well it's not the older game that's causing the lag, it's the Direct X installation that Steam performs while starting the older games that ends up lagging my new games.

Who is the one having a problem? you have asked for help but you are unwilling to try (more so for a free advice that won't cost you a penny?) and it won't cost you much time to do. Do you know for a fact that IT WON'T help?

All I'm saying is... take the free advice, waste the 10 mins of unharmful time this will take. Besides, its not like doing will hurt any of the games or the laptop in any way!

 

[Fynl]

Find the program executables and set them for xp comaptibility and make sure scaling for high resolution displays is disabled.

This fixed some issues I was having with older games on steam.

Well it's not the older game that's causing the lag, it's the Direct X installation that Steam performs while starting the older games that ends up lagging my new games.

Who is the one having a problem? you have asked for help but you are unwilling to try (more so for a free advice that won't cost you a penny?) and it won't cost you much time to do. Do you know for a fact that IT WON'T help?

All I'm saying is... take the free advice, waste the 10 mins of unharmful time this will take. Besides, its not like doing will hurt any of the games or the laptop in any way!

Already did that before I came here. I was clarifying that it's the newer games that end up lagging, rather than the older ones.

Although, looking at the passage you quoted, I mistyped. I meant to say, it's not the older games suffering from the lag, it's the newer ones.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I'm thankful for any replies that I receive.

 

[Maguscreed]

Well here is the thing though the direct x install that steam is attempting is identical to the directx redistributable you would get directly from microsoft.

I'm not doubting your word or anything here I'm just saying it's not some weird version of direct x they set up themselves or anything.

 

[sygnus21]

Well here is the thing though the direct x install that steam is attempting is identical to the directx redistributable you would get directly from microsoft.

I'm not doubting your word or anything here I'm just saying it's not some weird version of direct x they set up themselves or anything.

Agree.

And be aware that "lag", a loose term, can happen for a myriad of reasons, to include the game, system specs, internet connection, drivers (especially video), and even Windows updates (lack thereof), so trying to narrow the causing issue down it basically trial and error.

Anyway you can look through my troubleshooting tips guide to see if there's anything in there that might help.

Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

Good Luck.

 

[Fynl]

Well here is the thing though the direct x install that steam is attempting is identical to the directx redistributable you would get directly from microsoft.

I'm not doubting your word or anything here I'm just saying it's not some weird version of direct x they set up themselves or anything.

Is there some way to reinstall Direct X 11?
I'm not sure, but maybe my Direct X 11 was corrupted somewhere along the way.

Agree.

And be aware that "lag", a loose term, can happen for a myriad of reasons, to include the game, system specs, internet connection, drivers (especially video), and even Windows updates (lack thereof), so trying to narrow the causing issue down it basically trial and error.

Anyway you can look through my troubleshooting tips guide to see if there's anything in there that might help.

Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

Good Luck.

I guess rather than lag, I'd say stuttering or jerking. Everything would run fine, freeze for half a second, then be fine again. Repeat.

I will read more thoroughly through your guide after I get out of work. Skimming through, 5, 6, and 8 look like something I'll definitely have to try.

 

[Fynl]

Well here is the thing though the direct x install that steam is attempting is identical to the directx redistributable you would get directly from microsoft.

I'm not doubting your word or anything here I'm just saying it's not some weird version of direct x they set up themselves or anything.

Agree.

And be aware that "lag", a loose term, can happen for a myriad of reasons, to include the game, system specs, internet connection, drivers (especially video), and even Windows updates (lack thereof), so trying to narrow the causing issue down it basically trial and error.

Anyway you can look through my troubleshooting tips guide to see if there's anything in there that might help.

Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues

Good Luck.

To update, I've gone through the guide and done/checked the tips. Nothing seems to have made a difference yet.

 

[sygnus21]

I don't know what else to tell you; as I said before dealing with lag is a trial and error thing. It could be the game itself. Skyrim (as well as other Bethesda games) for example is known it's micro-stuttering.

If the issue is bad enough though it needs to be dealt with… that’s the trial and error thing as only you know how bad it is. A lot of people who have lag or stuttering problems play around with various driver versions for their video card. Example, some people find that older drivers may perform better on a particular game over the newer ones. However it’s always best to have the latest but…???

That said be aware that older (pre vista) games may struggle on newer (Windows 7) systems depending on the age of the game. That’s why it’s ALWAYS best to have the latest patches for any game out.

And, just to mention it, pirated games will almost always be problematic at some point, especially if they aren’t patched. I’m not saying you are or aren’t, I’m just mentioning another possibility.

Good luck.

 

[Solarstarshines]

I doubt it has anything to do with direct x at all

It is probally a steam issue have you checked you ping while gaming also

Im experiencing lag on some of my games due to having new video cards micro lagg and choppy play

I can almost say it would be more of steam then your system try running a non related steam game and see what happens

 

[Fynl]

I don't know what else to tell you; as I said before dealing with lag is a trial and error thing. It could be the game itself. Skyrim (as well as other Bethesda games) for example is known it's micro-stuttering.

If the issue is bad enough though it needs to be dealt with… that’s the trial and error thing as only you know how bad it is. A lot of people who have lag or stuttering problems play around with various driver versions for their video card. Example, some people find that older drivers may perform better on a particular game over the newer ones. However it’s always best to have the latest but…???

That said be aware that older (pre vista) games may struggle on newer (Windows 7) systems depending on the age of the game. That’s why it’s ALWAYS best to have the latest patches for any game out.

And, just to mention it, pirated games will almost always be problematic at some point, especially if they aren’t patched. I’m not saying you are or aren’t, I’m just mentioning another possibility.

Good luck.

Thank you for the well wishing. I don't have any pirated games on my laptop and unfortunately, my video card only seems to have one driver that I can locate.

I doubt it has anything to do with direct x at all

It is probally a steam issue have you checked you ping while gaming also

Im experiencing lag on some of my games due to having new video cards micro lagg and choppy play

I can almost say it would be more of steam then your system try running a non related steam game and see what happens

My ping is usually fine, ~30 ms or so. Basically after Steam runs the Direct X installation (and in the System Restore menu, the event is Installed Direct X), all of my games made probably 2010 and onward start getting stuttering during gameplay, whether it be Steam or non-Steam. It's such a weird problem.

If it helps, I can list the games that I'm trying and the ones that end up lagging.

The ones that I try to play which trigger the Direct X installation on Steam are:
Transformers: War for Cybertron
Galactic Civilizations II

The ones that end up lagging are:
Assassin's Creed 2
Saints Row the Third
Borderlands
Vindictus
Batman Arkham City
World of Tanks (non-Steam)

I assume more would lag, but I haven't gone through my entire library yet.

 

[Solarstarshines]

What kind of card and what PSU ?

Also have you tryed re installing your video card sometimes reseating it
might help

 

[sygnus21]

Thank you for the well wishing. I don't have any pirated games on my laptop and unfortunately, my video card only seems to have one driver that I can locate.

If this is a laptop you're having the lag with, therein lays the problem. Laptops aren't exactly gaming systems per se won't run nearly as smoothly as a desktop, mainly because the desktop is usually more powerful than the traditional laptop.

And if your video card isn't up to the task, and you can't find driver updates, I truly suspect that is the issue for your "lag".

Bottom line is you need to figure out what video card you have and find updated drivers for it.

Thanks.

Edit....

I'm running a 3610QM core, GT 650m graphics, and 8 GB RAM.

Seems the card is decent enough though not ground breaking.

- NVIDIA GT 650M Benchmarks
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - Games

I seriously suggest you try to get the latest drivers for your card. You'll have to go the laptop's manufacturer's site to get the drivers for your laptop.

 

[Fynl]

What kind of card and what PSU ?

Also have you tryed re installing your video card sometimes reseating it
might help

Video card is GT 650M. I'm not sure what the PSU is in the laptop.

Thank you for the well wishing. I don't have any pirated games on my laptop and unfortunately, my video card only seems to have one driver that I can locate.

If this is a laptop you're having the lag with, therein lays the problem. Laptops aren't exactly gaming systems per se won't run nearly as smoothly as a desktop, mainly because the desktop is usually more powerful than the traditional laptop.

And if your video card isn't up to the task, and you can't find driver updates, I truly suspect that is the issue for your "lag".

Bottom line is you need to figure out what video card you have and find updated drivers for it.

Thanks.

Edit....

I'm running a 3610QM core, GT 650m graphics, and 8 GB RAM.

Seems the card is decent enough though not ground breaking.

- NVIDIA GT 650M Benchmarks
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - Games

I seriously suggest you try to get the latest drivers for your card. You'll have to go the laptop's manufacturer's site to get the drivers for your laptop.

It's not the greatest card in the world (it is a laptop after all, like you said) but it was fine with these games before hand. Only recently have I had issues. It is specifically after the Direct X installation that I get this problem. I say its due to the installation because when I do a System Recover to the moment right before the Direct X installation (that's the name of the event), everything is fine again. The laptop itself is only 3 months old.

I've tried getting the latest drivers, but when I do a search on the nVidia site, all I get is something along the lines of "there are no new drivers for your card". I assume that means there either aren't any drivers besides the initial release or I already have the latest ones. I DID try using the latest beta version of the driver, but that hasn't had a noticeable effect. I will try searching HP's site later and see if I can find any sort of drivers.

Again, thank you for all of your posts. Hopefully I can either get this straightened out or at least fix up my desktop so I don't have to worry about gaming on my laptop anymore.

 

[sygnus21]

I've tried getting the latest drivers, but when I do a search on the nVidia site, all I get is something along the lines of "there are no new drivers for your card".

As I said earlier, because you have a laptop, you have to get the drivers from the laptop manufacturer, not NVidia. Laptop manufacturers tweak their drivers for their notebooks/laptops, that why you have to get them there and not NVidia. That's also probably why you can't find them on NVidia’s site.

As to whether there is a new release or not is a different story, you still have to get your drivers from them (the manufacturer).

Good luck.