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View Full Version : Distorted tables when using hud and TN



Jaybear
03-13-2011, 10:50 PM
When I am playing I keep getting these distorted screens where portions of the screen or block or have images mixed in. I am running both HEM hud and TN when this happens and I am playing up to 22 tables. The table will pop up and look likes the example below.

http://img858.imageshack.us/img858/2933/screen1m.jpg




http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/3240/screen2wf.jpg



http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2200/screen3xf.jpg

Patvs
03-14-2011, 04:21 AM
Which Operating System, Firewall, and Anti-Virus are you using?
What are your computers stats (CPU, RAM, harddisk, videocard, etc.)

Run a manual Windows Update and install ALL updates, especially all .net framework updates. Update your videocard driver with the latest AMD Catalyst, Nvidia beta driver.

Read:
http://forums.holdemmanager.com/manager-general/11194-top-10-hem-performance-increase-tips.html

Jaybear
03-14-2011, 09:48 AM
Which Operating System, Firewall, and Anti-Virus are you using?
What are your computers stats (CPU, RAM, harddisk, videocard, etc.)

Run a manual Windows Update and install ALL updates, especially all .net framework updates. Update your videocard driver with the latest AMD Catalyst, Nvidia beta driver.

Read:
http://forums.holdemmanager.com/manager-general/11194-top-10-hem-performance-increase-tips.html

Vista is the OS and I use Trends Micro for Anti -Virus.

3070MB RAM,

AMD Atholn 64 X 2 Dual Core Processor 4400 +(2 CPUs)~2.3GHz

Vision Tek HD 5570/5550 series ( brand New not even 4 days old)


I just installed a new Video Card for my PC and added one stick of ram so I have 3GB, but I had this problem with the screen being distorted before the new video card and was kind of hoping the new card would take care of it. The new video card has taken away a lot of the LAG when I multi-table using HUD, before I could only do about 18 - 20 tables before the LAG became too much, now I had up to 30 tables with no LAG after the upgrade.

Also I did a windows update 4 days ago after installing the video card.

netsrak
03-14-2011, 10:26 AM
Please try without Table Ninja for a test.


Are you using any desktop themes?

Jaybear
03-14-2011, 10:54 AM
I will play a session without TN and update here with the results. Also I don't have any desk top themes only my icons

Jaybear
03-14-2011, 12:35 PM
I played a session with HUD on and with & without TN running. The problem is happening only when I have HEM hud and TN running at the same time.

olliepower
03-14-2011, 01:19 PM
Hi,

From the looks of your screenshot, it looks like you may be using Aero with vista.

Disable it and test please.

Disable Aero on Windows 7 or Vista - How-To Geek (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-aero-on-windows-vista/)

Jaybear
03-15-2011, 01:40 PM
ok Thanks that seem to work, but I seem to have another problem


Ok it seems for some reason my system can’t handle running HEM and TN at the same time. I tried upgrading the hardware by installing a new graphic card and adding more RAM. But it still seems to LAG if I run both at the same time. If I turn one or the other off, my system works great as long as I just run one of them. I have Updated windows and vacuumed my data base. I would love to run both at one time any suggestions?

My computer stats are in post #3 in this thread

Veteran68
03-15-2011, 03:18 PM
Have you checked your CPU utilization on one or both cores? Both the HUD and TN by themselves can be quite CPU intensive when running many tables (20+), let alone together. I expect you're starving your CPU, in which case more memory and a video card upgrade won't help. Crank up a CPU meter -- Vista should have one built-in I believe, but I prefer the All CPU Meter from AddAGadget.com. See if it's only 1 CPU core that's being pegged. If the other core is under-utilized, then TN and the HUD are fighting for a single core's resources, in which case you can try assigning CPU affinity in Task Manager for one of them to always use the other core. Sometimes apps and/or the OS don't do a good job handling CPU affinity automatically.

If both cores are being pegged, then the only recourse short of the software being optimized to use less resources is to upgrade to a faster CPU and/or one with more cores. You can try to lighten the CPU load in the meantime by disabling any non-necessary services, background AV processes, music players, etc.

Jaybear
03-15-2011, 05:45 PM
Ok so I took the CPU usage using the CPU gage and these are the results

with no tables just HEM and TN open:
core 1=20% core 2 = 10% RAM = 48%


With 20tables and HEM and TN running:

core 1= 72% to 100% core 2 = 70% to 100% RAM = 58%

Also My memory in task manger had these number also while playing 20 tables

HEM - 80K

HMImport.exe - 80K

TN - 12K

Poker Stars - 116K

HUD - 55K


I not sure what these numbers mean, but it looks like I am maxing out my CPUs while playing 20 tables and using both programs. Any suggestions?

Veteran68
03-15-2011, 07:56 PM
As I expected, you're maxing both cores of your CPU. Nothing to do there but play less tables or upgrade. Multi-tabling can be taxing, adding HEM and TN into the mix is especially so.

Your RAM utilization seems fine, but you need a CPU upgrade. Of course I'm not sure how much more of an AMD CPU you can install in that socket -- if your X2 motherboard isn't compatible with the newer Phenoms you may need to upgrade motherboard and possibly RAM as well, or just buy a new PC if you're not into upgrading. Intel i7-series CPUs offer more performance than similarly spec'ed AMDs, albeit at a slightly higher cost.

If you're 20 tabling successfully then I assume such an upgrade would be an easy purchase for you. :)

Jaybear
03-15-2011, 09:19 PM
As I expected, you're maxing both cores of your CPU. Nothing to do there but play less tables or upgrade. Multi-tabling can be taxing, adding HEM and TN into the mix is especially so.

Your RAM utilization seems fine, but you need a CPU upgrade. Of course I'm not sure how much more of an AMD CPU you can install in that socket -- if your X2 motherboard isn't compatible with the newer Phenoms you may need to upgrade motherboard and possibly RAM as well, or just buy a new PC if you're not into upgrading. Intel i7-series CPUs offer more performance than similarly spec'ed AMDs, albeit at a slightly higher cost.

If you're 20 tabling successfully then I assume such an upgrade would be an easy purchase for you. :)

Thanks man, I just don't get why it is maxing out my CPUs other then updating the CPU is there something I can do to make HEM more efficient? I should be able to multitable with HEM and TN running without it maximizing my CPUs. I know a lot of players who play as many tables as I do and don’t have this problem and I know they don’t all have Intel i7- series CPUs. I need a MOD to walk me thru this because it has to be the programs. Thanks you have been very helpful.

Patvs
03-15-2011, 10:28 PM
When you 20 table + HoldemManager + TN.... in TaskManager, which program exactly is causing the 70% CPU activity


Update Vista to Service Pack 2, run an additional Windows Update to install ALL updates

For W7 and Vista you must set \holdem manager\dbcontrolpanel.exe, holdemmanager.exe and hmhud.exe are started as administrator. Run the windows explorer and navigate to your Holdemmanager installation directory. Right click the executables and select properties... then select "Run as admin" from the compatibility tab.

Turn off User Account Control. And reboot.

Add exceptions to the windows firewall for those files, including for postgres.exe and port 5432, even if it is turned off.

As a test uninstall the antivirus program. And turn off Windows Defender.

Veteran68
03-15-2011, 11:56 PM
Thanks man, I just don't get why it is maxing out my CPUs other then updating the CPU is there something I can do to make HEM more efficient? I should be able to multitable with HEM and TN running without it maximizing my CPUs. I know a lot of players who play as many tables as I do and don’t have this problem and I know they don’t all have Intel i7- series CPUs. I need a MOD to walk me thru this because it has to be the programs. Thanks you have been very helpful.
I would be highly surprised though if they have your level of CPU and are playing 20+ tables and using HEM's HUD and using TN. Because I know from experience when I 16 tabled that even without TN (which is widely reported to be a resource hog) that my CPUs were near capacity and my tables would occasionally lag, and I'm running an i7 quad core overclocked to 3.4Mhz with 8GB of RAM and a high-end Nvidia gaming card.


with no tables just HEM and TN open:
core 1=20% core 2 = 10% RAM = 48%
20-30% at idle? What else are you running?

I don't run TN but as I'm typing this, with HEM running, FT and Merge (Lock) poker clients open, as well as NIS 2011, Chrome with 5 tabs open, and numerous background services and task tray icons loaded, all 4 of my CPU cores are idling at 0%. Every few seconds some unknown process tickles one core to 2-3% for a couple seconds before settling back to 0%. So either TN is consuming 20% of your CPU on it's own (30% if you consider both core's total usage) or you've got an underpowered CPU and/or other stuff sucking CPU cycles. What is your CPU usage without HEM+TN running? Try running TN without HEM and see what it registers, likewise HEM without TM. Try to narrow it down by app. And when you open 20 tables, check to see where all that CPU is being used.

Also, I'm running Windows 7 which is more resource efficient than Vista. I don't think that can explain that much CPU usage but I can definitely vouch for Win7 running snappier overall than Vista on the same hardware. That would be a cheaper upgrade to try.

Most of what Pat recommends, other than possibly disabling AV and other background processes and adding exceptions to your AV scanner so it isn't constantly scanning HEM and poker client folder, is not going to affect CPU utilization enough to notice IMO. Perhaps if you had a really old and not-updated version of Vista, which really did run like a dog. But assuming you're up to date, I honestly don't see your CPU utilization at 20 tables as being a big surprise, especially given your idle usage. If you're seeing consistent CPU usage above 70% with frequent spikes to 100%, especially if you only have 2 cores, then your system is going to lag and not much can be done about it.

Jaybear
03-16-2011, 11:48 AM
So either TN is consuming 20% of your CPU on it's own (30% if you consider both core's total usage) or you've got an underpowered CPU and/or other stuff sucking CPU cycles.

FML So last week installed a new graphics card right, did not read thru the total system requirements, which called for 300 watts or greater PSU, I have a 250W PSU. I think this may be the problem since CPUs usage was never a problem to after I installed the Graphics card.

Veteran68
03-16-2011, 11:59 PM
FML So last week installed a new graphics card right, did not read thru the total system requirements, which called for 300 watts or greater PSU, I have a 250W PSU. I think this may be the problem since CPUs usage was never a problem to after I installed the Graphics card.
You definitely need a new PSU, no question, but a PSU doesn't contribute to CPU utilization. ;)

And wow, I'm surprised a 250w even runs your system reliably before the upgrade. I haven't bought anything smaller than a 450w in probably close to 10 years (the rig I mentioned above is running a 1000w PSU).