Random lag pockets!

[Dyne]

Grrr... This is really getting frustrating...
I just built a new Athlon 1.33 Ghz System, and whenever I play games, I get random lag pockets. I'll be running perfectly smoothly, then I'll drop to about 5 fps for 6 seconds, and then I'll be normal again. Anyone know what could cause this? My sys. resources are 85% Free, and I have nothing that I know of that could cause this. It's really hurting me in Multiplayer... Someone help!

AMD Athlon 1.33 Ghz
GigaByte GA-7DX Mobo
512 MB PC2100 Crucial RAM
60 GB 75GXP IBM Deskstar HDD
Plextor 16/10/40a CD-RW
SB Live! +5.1
TEAC 1.44 FDD
Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra 64 MB

By the way, I networked this comp with my old one and played some games, and the lag started after that, could that be the cause?

[Xayd]

Lag playing locally or lag playing online?

If online, what kinda connection you have? If modem, what exact brand/model of modem do you have and what ISP?

Xayd

[Dyne]

Well, it lags on both ( I noticed it playing once on practice in Unreal Tournament) I have Time Warner Cable as my connection... I use AOL for e-mail, but it's not open when I play games. Any ideas on how to fix the prob?

[Xayd]

What are you using to share the internet connection first of all. Router or software such as ICS?

Also make sure there's no IRQ sharing going on between devices if these machines are running Win9x/ME. Click on properties on 'computer' in device manager and paste your IRQ assignments here if ya like.

Xayd

[Dyne]

I'm not sharing the connection at all, I networked the computers for a mini LAN party at my house, and to transfer files. If it helps, I'm using a LinkSys Network Everywhere NC-100 10/100 LAN Card, and my Cable Modem is "SurfBoard" SB3100. When I networked the cards, the other comp. had a 3COM EtherLink XL 10BaseT (or whatever) Network Card, and both were connected on a LinkSys "EtherFast 10/100 5-Port Workgroup Switch" Model EZXS55W.

BTW... My USB and 3D Prophet II Ultra IRQs are shared... My Intellimouse Explorer is on the USB, could this be causing it?

[Xayd]

Yeap, very well could be.

If you still have the adapter for your Intellimouse, try it on the PS/2 port and see if the lag goes away. USB devices take some processor cycles to run, and it may be just enough to cause some lag for you in game.

See what it does and let us know.

Xayd

[Dyne]

well... I unplugged the mouse from the USB and it kept going, but I kept the keyboard plugged into the USB... do you really think that this is the problem? I'll try almost anything to get it to work... another thing, there is an IRQ conflict w/ the SB Live and the Network card I think... They both work, but it tells me that there is an error, could this lag it up?

[Xayd]

It's much more likely that the SB Live/NIC conflict is the root of the problem rather than the USB conflict actually.

IRQ sharing on some devices and OS's is ok. For instance Win2k will put virtually all devices on one IRQ if you have ACPI enabled, and though a bit slower it works fine. But for gaming, the three things that need to be on their own IRQs are video, sound, and NIC/Modem depending on which you have.

What you'll have to do to eliminate this is remove the devices from device manager and shut down, then move them into different PCI slots and reboot/reinstall until they no longer share. It may still be the USB keyboard/mouse causing the lag, but eliminating the IRQ sharing between other devices will at least narrow that possibility down.

Xayd

[Dyne]

I tried moving them around, but didn't succeed. The thing is, the hercules card is a bit bulky, and takes up the space that my first PCI slot would use. All the other slots are on their same IRQ. Anything that I can do?

[Dyne]

Well, as odd as it may sound, the pockets dissapeared for some reason. I have no idea what caused it, but the lag pockets seem to be gone for now. I am extremely grateful for all your help Xayd, thanks for everything.

[Xayd]

Welcome, usually the easiest solution is nothing after all .

Happy fraggin'.

Xayd