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[karmuside]

I just installed Mass Effect 1 (via steam) and thought I'd give it a quick run.

First thing that I notice is my CPU fan's going crazy and I'm only on the title screen. That's strange, me thinks...

So I Alt + Tab to have a gander at my CPU usage and see that it's redline-ing. Very strange, me thinks...

I change all the settings; resolutions, v sync even the film grain. Nothing. Something stinks, me thinks...

After googling and the like I find that I'm not alone. I hear "it's PhysX  running on the CPU" here and "it's the Unreal engine thread gobbler" there. I also heard someone turned off their Intel Speed Stepper to get things shuffling but that doesn't help me cos I don't have one.

But that thread idea does sound interesting. So I crank up my trusty Process Explorer (the best software microsoft ever bought), hunt down the MassEffect clock cycles party crasher and take a gander at his threads and this is what I find:


No image?? Here's the link.

It appears that a SecuROM thread is working just as hard as the game itself!!! 

I Quote Wikipedia

SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection product, most often used for commercial computer games running under Microsoft Windows, developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and attempts at reverse engineering the game. The use of SecuROM has generated controversy due to the fact that it is not uninstalled upon removal of the game. In 2008, consumers filed a class-action lawsuit against Electronic Arts for its use of SecuROM in the video game Spore.

I have two theories.
1)  SecuROM are pissed off about the lawsuit so they're taking it out on our CPU's

or (more likely)

2) The SecuROM copy protection product is not satisifed and is continually attempting to verify the validity of a product that I don't have a CD for (because I bought and downloaded it on steam).

I'd be interested to hear if this problem is only occuring in the downloaded versions or also the boxed retail versions. I have also heard that the high CPU usage problem is seen on Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age. Would someone be willing to check it out?

So, any ideas on how to fix this?

[Aurailious]

That is interesting. Especially considering that I buy all my games off of Steam now.

[karmuside]

At the moment I don't have a huge range of games installed on Steam although I did go a bit crazy with the holiday sale. I just loaded up Jade Empire, Bioshock, Doom 3 and Street Fighter 4 via Steam and they all appear to be working fine. I had a look at the threads and there's nothing out of the ordinary and none of them push more than 60% CPU. Then again I don't think any of them use SecuROM.
It's only Mass Effect that is continually at 99%. I don't have Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age but I have a feeling that both these games use SecuROM and, if they display the same behaviour, it could imply an incompatibility with Steam and SecuROM.
But if there are cases of unexpectedly high CPU usage from the retail box versions of Mass Effect, the problem could be something else entirely.

[Eurypterid]

karmuside wrote... I don't have Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age but I have a feeling that both these games use SecuROM and, if they display the same behaviour, it could imply an incompatibility with Steam and SecuROM.

They don't. BioWare explicitly stated there is no SecuROM on Dragon Age but rather some other disc check mechanism (SafeDisc?). I believe they're using the same thing on ME2.

[Kloreep]

What's especially interesting here is that the Steam version is supposed to be SecuROM-less. The retail version did use it, for on-line authentication, a scheme EA was using across most of their games til recently.



I always figured the de-SecuROMing for the Steam version might have been a bit of a quick hack, but to leave a whole thread in seems quick and dirty indeed. Perhaps they simply couldn't take it out wholesale since it was integrated into things like the Galaxy Map?

[Doofus42]

Both Mass Effect 1 and 2 were designed to fully utilize the 3 core CPU of the Xbox360. This behavior is ported over to the PC versions. If you have a Dual Core CPU EXPECT both ME1 and ME2 to run close to 100% CPU. On a Quad Core they run between 65% and 80% consistently. If you have a Dual Core, your cooling had better be up to snuff or you will have your computer shutting down due to thermal issues.

SecuROM does not significant CPU cycles.

Modifié par Doofus42, 17 février 2010 - 03:29 .

[ejams]

Doofus42 wrote...

Both Mass Effect 1 and 2 were designed to fully utilize the 3 core CPU of the Xbox360. This behavior is ported over to the PC versions. If you have a Dual Core CPU EXPECT both ME1 and ME2 to run close to 100% CPU. On a Quad Core they run between 65% and 80% consistently. If you have a Dual Core, your cooling had better be up to snuff or you will have your computer shutting down due to thermal issues.

SecuROM does not significant CPU cycles.

So they released a faulty product?

[geertmans]

Doofus42 wrote...

Both Mass Effect 1 and 2 were designed to fully utilize the 3 core CPU of the Xbox360. This behavior is ported over to the PC versions. If you have a Dual Core CPU EXPECT both ME1 and ME2 to run close to 100% CPU. On a Quad Core they run between 65% and 80% consistently. If you have a Dual Core, your cooling had better be up to snuff or you will have your computer shutting down due to thermal issues.

SecuROM does not significant CPU cycles.

I thought the securom on retail versions was disabled after it's patched to 1.02? Anyway, I can agree on the shutting down stuff, my heatsink was filled with dust, so it would've happened eventually anyway. But it was only ME1 that was causing it, other stuff was still running fine.

[ShinsFortress]

Doofus42 wrote...

Both Mass Effect 1 and 2 were designed to fully utilize the 3 core CPU of the Xbox360. This behavior is ported over to the PC versions. If you have a Dual Core CPU EXPECT both ME1 and ME2 to run close to 100% CPU. On a Quad Core they run between 65% and 80% consistently. If you have a Dual Core, your cooling had better be up to snuff or you will have your computer shutting down due to thermal issues.

SecuROM does not significant CPU cycles.

poppycock!  I have a Dual Core and have never had ME1 (will not be buying ME2 so can't comment there) cause CPU or GPU thermal related shutdowns.  Nice theory.  Sounds logical given knowledge of part of the game's developement history.  But not true.

If you have system roll-overs (and I know many people have with ME and DA:O), it's not for this exact reason.  At least, not on all Dual Core systems.

Modifié par ShinsFortress, 17 février 2010 - 12:04 .

[vometia]

Kloreep wrote...

What's especially interesting here is that the Steam version is supposed to be SecuROM-less. The retail version did use it, for on-line authentication, a scheme EA was using across most of their games til recently.

I always figured the de-SecuROMing for the Steam version might have been a bit of a quick hack, but to leave a whole thread in seems quick and dirty indeed. Perhaps they simply couldn't take it out wholesale since it was integrated into things like the Galaxy Map?

I used the same procedure as the OP on my copy of Mass Effect, also purchased from Steam, and had much the same results; the SecuROM wasn't quite as out-of-control, but still shouldn't have been using around 40% of a core constantly.  In fact as you say, it shouldn't even have been there at all.

Eurypterid wrote...

They don't. BioWare explicitly stated there is no SecuROM on Dragon Age
but rather some other disc check mechanism (SafeDisc?). I believe
they're using the same thing on ME2.

I believe so.  Though ME2 and DA:O don't appear to be infected with SecuROM, this Safedisc or whatever's the "only a disc check" is still a menace all in itself and yet another unwelcome intrusion courtesy of EA; I ended up having to get a digital download copy of ME2 thanks to being unable to read the disc half the time and having my DVD player go into spasms.

It'll be so nice once companies like EA take a less hostile view of their paying customers.  That'll be sometime after porcine aviation has been observed.

Modifié par vometia, 17 février 2010 - 12:50 .

[karmuside]

ShinsFortress wrote...
poppycock! 

Excellent choice of word, ShinsFortress.

The fact that code is compiled to be optimized on the Xbox platform does not mean that it cannot be compiled to be optimized on the Win32 platform. Although I don't know much about the development history of ME it should be safe to say that code based on the DirectX libraries used on both the Xbox and Windows it should, in general, be relatively straight forward to port.

But let's not deviate...

Doofus42 wrote...
SecuROM does not significant CPU cycles.

Although it should not, the image in my first post explicitly shows otherwise.

It looks like the general concensus is that this could be a Steam issue with Mass Effect. I might wander over to the Steam forums and see what they have to say.

[Kloreep]

I wonder if someone with a SecuROM-protected version could check it out in the same manner, see if those two threads are running neck-and-neck there too.



(Or wait... is process explorer the prog SecuROM throws a tantrum about sharing its ball with?)

[vometia]

Kloreep wrote...

(Or wait... is process explorer the prog SecuROM throws a tantrum about sharing its ball with?)

That was my experience with the "it's only a disc check, honest" Fallout 3 implementation, but the Steam version of Mass Effect doesn't seem to object likewise, oddly; though that may be taken as another sign of its brokenness.

Modifié par vometia, 18 février 2010 - 07:32 .

[Boilrig]

ME1 was ported over from Xbox, so there would be problems there, but ME2 has its own version for PC not a port and its still running into these High CPU Rates, something is pushing it.

[Au_Xtr3me]

Remember also that ME1 was not ported by EA or bioware but the third party Demiurge. In general third party ports tend to be poorly optimised and quite buggy. If you compare ME1 and ME2, ME2 looks better AND runs better than its predecessor and I'm guessing because Bioware/EA did the optimisation first hand with their experience.

[OneBadAssMother]

Au_Xtr3me wrote...

Remember also that ME1 was not ported by EA or bioware but the third party Demiurge. In general third party ports tend to be poorly optimised and quite buggy. If you compare ME1 and ME2, ME2 looks better AND runs better than its predecessor and I'm guessing because Bioware/EA did the optimisation first hand with their experience.

Now this explains why I always had to PAUSE to aim in ME1

ME2 runs shockingly smooth for reasons I could not understand, using the same engine, yet with superior graphics and details. Ne way around this?

[hpxe]

There is nothing wrong with a game using up 100% CPU time (if it uses all cores). Other games do give up control of the CPU every now and then, lowering their CPU usage. ME apparently does not, which many other games do as well.
If 100% CPU causes overheating, then the CPU cooling is insufficient.

Modifié par hpxe, 18 février 2010 - 07:50 .

[StrikeSaber47]

vometia wrote...

Kloreep wrote...

What's especially interesting here is that the Steam version is supposed to be SecuROM-less. The retail version did use it, for on-line authentication, a scheme EA was using across most of their games til recently.

I always figured the de-SecuROMing for the Steam version might have been a bit of a quick hack, but to leave a whole thread in seems quick and dirty indeed. Perhaps they simply couldn't take it out wholesale since it was integrated into things like the Galaxy Map?

I used the same procedure as the OP on my copy of Mass Effect, also purchased from Steam, and had much the same results; the SecuROM wasn't quite as out-of-control, but still shouldn't have been using around 40% of a core constantly.  In fact as you say, it shouldn't even have been there at all.

Eurypterid wrote...

They don't. BioWare explicitly stated there is no SecuROM on Dragon Age
but rather some other disc check mechanism (SafeDisc?). I believe
they're using the same thing on ME2.

I believe so.  Though ME2 and DA:O don't appear to be infected with SecuROM, this Safedisc or whatever's the "only a disc check" is still a menace all in itself and yet another unwelcome intrusion courtesy of EA; I ended up having to get a digital download copy of ME2 thanks to being unable to read the disc half the time and having my DVD player go into spasms.

It'll be so nice once companies like EA take a less hostile view of their paying customers.  That'll be sometime after porcine aviation has been observed.

I think your DVD-ROM is failing. The disc checks they instated are like in the old days where nearly all PC Games just needed to the disk popped in the drive and play. There is no situation where I think this method is intrusive or annoying at all. I believe the problem is not the disc check's fault at all, but it is your DVD-ROM drive not working right.

[Mole267]

Holy moley, I just checked my task manager for the first time, and ME2 is using 100% of my CPU! Doesn't seem to be a problem though, I can still multitask just fine. I also bought my copy on Steam.

I agree, it's probably SecuRom.

I also bought Company of Heroes on Steam, which also uses SecuRom... After a while it started asking me to insert the disc (which would just bypass by clicking OK), and then stopped working all together. I had to re-download it from Steam. I am 99% sure that SecuRom was to blame.

Modifié par Mole267, 18 février 2010 - 06:50 .

[Gebut]

Mole267 wrote...

Holy moley, I just checked my task manager for the first time, and ME2 is using 100% of my CPU! Doesn't seem to be a problem though, I can still multitask just fine. I also bought my copy on Steam.

I got the digital version of ME2 from eastore, and my 3 cpus are averaging maybe 80%, but almost never at full load.
Maybe you are playing at a higher resoultion, im playing at 1280x1024

[Chromie]

I play at 1920x1200 and I'm getting 54-68% sometimes 70% max on my cpu.

[Dr Bob UK]

I thought the Steam versions don't contain 3rd-party DRM like SecuROM?



Maybe it's your processor? How many cores are there? Dual-core processors don't perform that great with Mass Effect for some reason.

[WhiteEclipse]

I have the disc based version of ME1 that gets authenticated. I never hit 100% on either core (dual, not tri or quad). It has nothing to do with xbox.

[vometia]

StrikeSaber47 wrote...

I think your DVD-ROM is failing. The disc checks they instated are like in the old days where nearly all PC Games just needed to the disk popped in the drive and play. There is no situation where I think this method is intrusive or annoying at all. I believe the problem is not the disc check's fault at all, but it is your DVD-ROM drive not working right.

The DVD drive is almost brand new.  Whilst this doesn't completely discount the possibility of a hardware problem, the fact remains that the only DVDs it has trouble with are ME2 and DA:O, which have been widely reported as problematic; the disc check (if I understand correctly, SafeDisc) goes somewhat further than the basic "is the correct disc in the drive?" using the normal DVD protocols.

I think one should avoid being too quick to assume it's a hardware fault as this may cause some people to unnecessarily replace perfectly good hardware when the fault is with a badly implemented DRM system.  Which, if the number of complaints is anything to go by, is most of them, at least to some extent.  Unfortunately, it's often difficult to tell since they tend to be rather inconsistent in terms of apparently working for one user whilst cause problems for the next.

[AIGlitch]

I have a Phenom II @ 4Ghz, ME2 only uses 70% max on all the cores. Maybe it's your time for an upgrade. Every system has some bottleneck. Mine is the dual HD3870s in crossfire. I can't wait for the 6 core processors to come out and the prices of the 5870s to go down ;-)