Getting weird results with Powertools...

Killa Class1 · 01-28-2012, 04:53 PM

Hey guys. I'm playing Saints Row 2 on Windows 7 with a 2.4GHz processor (Intel Core2 CPU), and as expected, I'm experiencing the speed-up glitch. So I installed Powertools, as well as the stopwatch test, to try and fix it.

At 1.0 speed, I ran the stopwatch test and got a time of 1:29. Fast, as I expected. So I set it to 0.84, usually sited as the highest value any user has needed to put in to fix the glitch, and got a time of 1:56.

(I didn't record these as I did them, so I'm going by memory here, but the values I'm giving should be in the right ball park.)

I set the value to 0.94, and got a time of 1:51 or something. So I set it to 0.97, and got about the same time. I did that right up to 0.99, at which point I was STILL getting times higher than 1:50.

Setting it to 1.0 still resulted in 1:29. So I started adding decimal places. I tried 0.999, 0.9999, and so on, adding one 9 to the end of the decimal. But no matter how fine I went, I still kept getting times around 1:50. That is, until I got to the hundred-millions place (eight 9s), at which point it shot back down to 1:29.

So to recap. Speed set to 0.9999999, time 1:50 (abouts). Speed set to 0.99999999, time 1:29. This is at decimal places that should be infinitesimal. Which means something's not working right here. But I have no idea what that could be.

Also, none of these tests resulted in the game running any smoother. No matter where I set the speed, it was all choppy, all the time. This is with the graphics set to medium.

Can anyone offer some help?

IdolNinja · 01-29-2012, 01:25 PM

Those odd speed differences are usually an indication that you've got something strange going on with your cpu frequency changing dynamically with speedstep or some kind of cpu monitoring app. One of the common causes is MOM.exe that's part of the catalyst control center suite of utilities. Try ending those processes and seeing if you get better results.

I would also suggest trying the latest beta of Powertools linked in the FAQ that attempts to automatically calculates the sync value for you on the fly.

If the above doesn't work for you then I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with using cheat engine instead.

Killa Class1 · 01-29-2012, 08:41 PM

Thanks, but now I'm really confused...

So before I read your reply, I had no knowledge of dynamic scaling frequency for CPU. But I did some investigation (including consulting with my more tech-savvy friend), found the SpeedStep option in my BIOS and disabled it. I have no CPU monitoring programs that I know of, and I don't have an ATI graphics card, so no Catalyst Control Center, so I thought by disabling SpeedStep I had finally solved this problem.

However, after doing so and running the tests again, I got... the same results. 0.99 speed still resulted in a time of 1:50+, while 1.0 speed resulted in 1:29. My tech-savvy friend is at a loss for why that could be. My processor is ostensibly running at a smooth and constant 2.4GHz, so what could be causing these weird results?

Thank you

IdolNinja · 01-29-2012, 08:48 PM

Did you try the newest beta that attempts to automatically calculate timescale?

Killa Class1 · 01-29-2012, 08:59 PM

Not yet... Would the beta compensate for all this and give me the correct game speed automatically? I kind of wanted to figure this out because (no offense) I got the impression that the beta version is kind of unreliable. But I could probably give it a shot if this doesn't work.

IdolNinja · 01-29-2012, 09:27 PM

If the beta works correctly (and it seems to for over half the people who try it) then it will just automatically work without having to mess about with stopwatch tests or the ini. If it does not work correctly, then the game will be much too slow using the "auto" setting and you would need to adjust the value in the ini manually just like rev5.

The beta should be no less reliable, and I would definitely recommend trying it.

Unfortunately, if it still does not work correctly, then you will be stuck with using Cheat Engine instead.

Killa Class1 · 01-29-2012, 09:47 PM

*Sigh*

I installed the beta, checked to make sure all those files got made (they did), and ran the test. I got a time of 2:03 (this isn't the first time I've gotten a time higher than two minutes, but usually it floats around 1:50).

I e-mailed my data files to the address in the FAQ. Does this mean it's officially failed for me, and my only options now are to use Cheat Engine or play it at "normal" fast speed?

EDIT: I played around with the game after applying Powertools beta, and it actually seems to work alright, even though the stopwatch test said otherwise. It doesn't feel slow, cars are much easier to handle, and while it's still pretty choppy, it's far less so than it was before (though I guess that's the best one can hope for with this game). So I suppose I could leave it like this, trusting myself to the auto timescale. Though it leaves me confused as to why the stopwatch race gave me that result.

EDIT 2: No, the game's definitely going slower than the "correct" speed, and I'd like to know why, and what I can do about it, if you can figure anything out by looking at the data I sent you.

This game sure has been a headache >_< But thanks for all your help, IdolNinja. And of course, thanks for making these handy tools.

IdolNinja · 01-30-2012, 12:07 AM

If you're getting that time then the auto value is not working correctly for you. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that it's definitely something software based rather than hardware on your system. We've had users with the exact same hardware config with one working and the other not. We've also had users with this same problem reportedly wipe and reload their OS and it works fine after that.

It seems to be only a small amount of users that have this issue, and we honestly have no idea why it happens despite our best efforts.

Unfortunately, your only options at this point would be to either use Cheat Engine, or live with it being the wrong speed. I'm sorry, but I just don't have any other answers for you.

Killa Class1 · 01-30-2012, 09:42 AM

So I'm just one of the really unlucky ones, eh? Heh. Well, thanks again for all the help you DID give me.

01-28-2012, 04:53 PM	#1
Killa Class1 Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 54	Getting weird results with Powertools... Hey guys. I'm playing Saints Row 2 on Windows 7 with a 2.4GHz processor (Intel Core2 CPU), and as expected, I'm experiencing the speed-up glitch. So I installed Powertools, as well as the stopwatch test, to try and fix it. At 1.0 speed, I ran the stopwatch test and got a time of 1:29. Fast, as I expected. So I set it to 0.84, usually sited as the highest value any user has needed to put in to fix the glitch, and got a time of 1:56. (I didn't record these as I did them, so I'm going by memory here, but the values I'm giving should be in the right ball park.) I set the value to 0.94, and got a time of 1:51 or something. So I set it to 0.97, and got about the same time. I did that right up to 0.99, at which point I was STILL getting times higher than 1:50. Setting it to 1.0 still resulted in 1:29. So I started adding decimal places. I tried 0.999, 0.9999, and so on, adding one 9 to the end of the decimal. But no matter how fine I went, I still kept getting times around 1:50. That is, until I got to the hundred-millions place (eight 9s), at which point it shot back down to 1:29. So to recap. Speed set to 0.9999999, time 1:50 (abouts). Speed set to 0.99999999, time 1:29. This is at decimal places that should be infinitesimal. Which means something's not working right here. But I have no idea what that could be. Also, none of these tests resulted in the game running any smoother. No matter where I set the speed, it was all choppy, all the time. This is with the graphics set to medium. Can anyone offer some help? Last edited by Killa Class1: 01-29-2012 at 07:56 AM.

01-29-2012, 09:47 PM	#7
Killa Class1 Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 54	Sigh I installed the beta, checked to make sure all those files got made (they did), and ran the test. I got a time of 2:03 (this isn't the first time I've gotten a time higher than two minutes, but usually it floats around 1:50). I e-mailed my data files to the address in the FAQ. Does this mean it's officially failed for me, and my only options now are to use Cheat Engine or play it at "normal" fast speed? EDIT: I played around with the game after applying Powertools beta, and it actually seems to work alright, even though the stopwatch test said otherwise. It doesn't feel slow, cars are much easier to handle, and while it's still pretty choppy, it's far less so than it was before (though I guess that's the best one can hope for with this game). So I suppose I could leave it like this, trusting myself to the auto timescale. Though it leaves me confused as to why the stopwatch race gave me that result. EDIT 2: No, the game's definitely going slower than the "correct" speed, and I'd like to know why, and what I can do about it, if you can figure anything out by looking at the data I sent you. This game sure has been a headache >_< But thanks for all your help, IdolNinja. And of course, thanks for making these handy tools. Last edited by Killa Class1: 01-29-2012 at 10:21 PM.

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01-29-2012, 01:25 PM	#2
IdolNinja Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 468 Posts: 1,068	Those odd speed differences are usually an indication that you've got something strange going on with your cpu frequency changing dynamically with speedstep or some kind of cpu monitoring app. One of the common causes is MOM.exe that's part of the catalyst control center suite of utilities. Try ending those processes and seeing if you get better results. I would also suggest trying the latest beta of Powertools linked in the FAQ that attempts to automatically calculates the sync value for you on the fly. If the above doesn't work for you then I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with using cheat engine instead.

01-29-2012, 08:41 PM	#3
Killa Class1 Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 54	Thanks, but now I'm really confused... So before I read your reply, I had no knowledge of dynamic scaling frequency for CPU. But I did some investigation (including consulting with my more tech-savvy friend), found the SpeedStep option in my BIOS and disabled it. I have no CPU monitoring programs that I know of, and I don't have an ATI graphics card, so no Catalyst Control Center, so I thought by disabling SpeedStep I had finally solved this problem. However, after doing so and running the tests again, I got... the same results. 0.99 speed still resulted in a time of 1:50+, while 1.0 speed resulted in 1:29. My tech-savvy friend is at a loss for why that could be. My processor is ostensibly running at a smooth and constant 2.4GHz, so what could be causing these weird results? Thank you

01-29-2012, 08:48 PM	#4
IdolNinja Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 468 Posts: 1,068	Did you try the newest beta that attempts to automatically calculate timescale?

01-29-2012, 08:59 PM	#5
Killa Class1 Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 54	Not yet... Would the beta compensate for all this and give me the correct game speed automatically? I kind of wanted to figure this out because (no offense) I got the impression that the beta version is kind of unreliable. But I could probably give it a shot if this doesn't work.

01-29-2012, 09:27 PM	#6
IdolNinja Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 468 Posts: 1,068	If the beta works correctly (and it seems to for over half the people who try it) then it will just automatically work without having to mess about with stopwatch tests or the ini. If it does not work correctly, then the game will be much too slow using the "auto" setting and you would need to adjust the value in the ini manually just like rev5. The beta should be no less reliable, and I would definitely recommend trying it. Unfortunately, if it still does not work correctly, then you will be stuck with using Cheat Engine instead.

01-30-2012, 12:07 AM	#8
IdolNinja Join Date: Feb 2010 Reputation: 468 Posts: 1,068	If you're getting that time then the auto value is not working correctly for you. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that it's definitely something software based rather than hardware on your system. We've had users with the exact same hardware config with one working and the other not. We've also had users with this same problem reportedly wipe and reload their OS and it works fine after that. It seems to be only a small amount of users that have this issue, and we honestly have no idea why it happens despite our best efforts. Unfortunately, your only options at this point would be to either use Cheat Engine, or live with it being the wrong speed. I'm sorry, but I just don't have any other answers for you.

01-30-2012, 09:42 AM	#9
Killa Class1 Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 54	So I'm just one of the really unlucky ones, eh? Heh. Well, thanks again for all the help you DID give me.