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My old PC is:

  • CPU: 2x AMD Opteron 270 (so, 4 cores @2GHz total)
  • RAM: 3.25GB DDR400
  • VGA1: AMD HD6870
  • VGA2: nVidia GT620 (for Physx)
  • HDD: 15kRPM SCSI
  • OS: Windows XP 32bit (hence the 3.25GB RAM)

Borderlands 2 runs quite well on this PC with 1920x1200 resolution and some settings set to highest (physx medium or low, no AA because I don't like it). It also runs quite well with just the AMD card, just that I do not get any physx effects.

Later I decided to build a new PC with Windows 7 so I could play newer games like Bioshock Infinity that did not work on XP). Since dual CPU worked very well for me previously (I built that system almost 7 years ago and since then have added a bit of RAM and upgrade the video card from 2900XT), I decided to get a dual CPU system again. So, my new PC is:

  • CPU: 2x AMD Opteron 4238 (so, 12 cores @3.3GHz)
  • RAM: 32GB DDR3
  • VGA: the same HD6870 (later nVidia GTX780)
  • HDD: SAS 15k
  • OS: Windows 7 64bit

New games like Infinity run great. After I bought the GTX780 even Watch dogs runs OK. However, Borderlands 2 lags so much that it is barely playable (I sometimes get single digit FPS). It does not matter whether the graphics settings are high or low, it is slow. Much slower than with the 7 year old PC. Setting Affinity to less cores does not help. It even takes a couple of minutes to start compared to seconds on the old PC.

So, why is it so slow? Is it because of Windows 7? Because there are 12 cores now? Is there a way to make it run good on my new PC?

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  • Why are you playing games on a server? Are you still using it as a server while doing so?
    – Dispenser
    Jul 15, 2014 at 13:28
  • Does this new PC by any chance have an on-board GPU? Might it be that your primary monitor is connected to it rather than the GTX?
    – DrFish
    Apr 25, 2019 at 18:38

3 Answers 3

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Try setting FPS caped inside borderlands. V-sync off, 60hz.

"Verify integrity of game cache" if running from Steam.

Run the Direct-X redistributable that came with it.

Run Physx redistributable or update.

Disable your sound card to rule that out.

Try your AMD video card.

Get a KVM switch or make a dual boot. How were you planing to play old x32 games anyway?

Have a look here: http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=148479 for manually editing the display ini.

Takes a long time to start,eh? Anti-virus throttling you? Try putting Borderlands on a secondary hard drive or being disconnected from the internet (are auto updates killing you?). Device manager shows no conflicts or lack of drivers?

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  • I have a KVM switch because I have multiple PCs and will use my old PC to play BL2 (and an even older PC to play Win98 games). I did try with the AMD card - exactly the same result (I got the GTX only recently). FPS capping at 60FPS does not help since the FPS is 5-20 usuaylly. I am more interested as to why this game would not work on a better PC. Too many cores I guess.
    – Pentium100
    Jun 15, 2014 at 7:02
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It might be the reason that since you have so many cores they get downclocked. But borderlands is single cpu game and thus will use total of 1 cpu only. Problem is that 1 cpu usage divided by 12cores will make windows think that more cpu power it not needed thus reducing clock speed. Setting windows power management to high performance of disabling cool 'n quiet in bios or whatever opteron cpus use for automatic cpu speed change should fix the performance issues.

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-2

2 CPUs may be the problem, try removing one. Sorry for my earlier post, misread. Also set your PhysX processor to you GPU and not your CPU. Should help. Getting Nvidia GeForce Experience and optimising your games also sounds like a good plan. If this doesnt work, try posting [here], great community. also, why do you have a server CPU?(I'm assuming its a gaming rig) Its not meant for gaming or graphic rendering. I STRONGLY suggest getting an i5(given you have the budget, since you'll need a new mobo as well) The i5/i7s are great for gaming. (i7 4770k is a beastt) And with that config you'll run ANY game at ULTRA 60+ FPS on a single monitor (less than 1080p, heck even upto 1560p) 1 enter image description here

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  • I have a server motherboard because it supports ECC RAM (the PC crashes less often). Also, my previous server-grade gaming rig worked perfectly for 7 years - with only a video card upgrade and some additional RAM I could play all games that ran on Windows XP - still can. Therefore, I decided to get a dual CPU system again, so it would last me a long time. Also, it supports a lot of RAM and in the future I might need more than 32GB.
    – Pentium100
    Jun 15, 2014 at 15:48
  • Did the other thing i said work? Idk, you can always try tomshardware.com/forums , you'll get real answers there.
    – t3hCrush3r
    Jun 16, 2014 at 12:48
  • Physx was already set to the nVidia card.
    – Pentium100
    Jun 16, 2014 at 19:58

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