List of CPU speed sensitive games
From Vogons Wiki
This is a list of games that do not run properly in some ways on CPUs faster than what was common than at the game's release. 1990+ for the most part, since before that, this was more often the case than not: As a general rule, games for IBM XT computers require a 8088 4.77 MHz to play right.
Some CPUs, for example AMD K6-2 and earlier Pentium IIs have selectable multipliers, which may help with achieving the lower speeds recommended for some of the games in this article. Additionally, disabling L1/L2 caches will slow down the processor as well, e.g. a Pentium III with disabled caches will be comparable to a 386. Setmul is a software utility by forum member gerwin that allows multipliers and caches to be changed/disabled and enabled without a reboot. For certain P54C Pentiums, it also allows manipulating Test Register options for further speed control.
Also, it is possible to use a slow 3D card to slow some of the games down, especially with the early proprietary APIs; a special case here are Rendition Vérité cards, since their slow VGA performance will also bottleneck DOS games using these modes. Finally, as a last resort one may try slowdown utilities such as CPU Killer and Mo'Slo.
For games with unlisted optimal CPU specs refer to the minimum requirements published by the developers.
DOS
| Game title | Symptoms with faster CPUs | Recommended CPUs | Fix available? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alien Carnage (1993) | Runs too fast? | ? | ||
| Alien Trilogy (1996) | Runs too fast on higher P3s | ? | ||
| Bubble Ghost (1987) | Runs too fast/slow | 386SX 16 | ||
| Carmageddon (1997) | Runs too fast | ? | ||
| Day of the Tentacle (1993) | No sound with >P166MMX | ? | ||
| Descent (1994) | Runs too fast with ~higher PIIs | Pentium 233 MMX | Increase resolution | |
| Descent II (1996) | Normal game speed, but mouse sensitivity drops down on high framerates | Pentium II 300? | ||
| Double Dragon (1988) | Locks up before final battle and player 2 will have fewer moves | 8088 4.77 MHz | ||
| Hi-Octane (1996) | Speed problems | Pentium 90 | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure (1989) | With Adlib sound on 486 or later: "Run time error R6003 - integer divide by zero" | CPUs without cache (up to 386DX-40) | For the the 256 color VGA version: "486 Upgrade" patch. For 16 color EGA version, on older CPUs with integrated L1 cache you can turn off the L1 cache to avoid the problem. | |
| Jazz Jackrabbit (1994) | Doesn't start (error message "Runtime error 200") with about PII 233 | plays fine with patch | TPPATCH (3rd party) | |
| King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (1994) | Speed bug with one or two puzzles | ? | ||
| Knights of the Sky (1990) | Runs too fast at 386DX-25 and higher | 386SX-20 or slower | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Lemmings 2: The Tribes (1993) | Requires HDD smaller than 504 MB (CHS limit) or else the copy protection checksum calculated by the installer is wrong | ? | ||
| Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge (1992) | Crashes with invalid opcode error | Pentium II 350 or slower | ||
| Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament (1996) | ? | ? | ||
| The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) | With Adlib sound on 486 or later: "Run time error R6003 - integer divide by zero" | CPUs without cache (up to 386DX-40) | For the the 256 color VGA version: "486 Upgrade" patch. For 16 color EGA version, on older CPUs with integrated L1 cache you can turn off the L1 cache to avoid the problem. | |
| Garbled MT-32 music with fast CPUs | ? | |||
| Sid Meier's Colonization (1994) | Crashes with Integer Divide by Zero error with Pentium 200MMX | P166 or slower | Reduce clock speed or disable cache | |
| Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and The Time Rippers (1991) | Bugs every time a sequel police is on the screen | 386? | ||
| Star Control II (1992) | ? | ? | ||
| Syndicate (1993) | Crashes at startup with glass breaking sound (5x86 133/P166 and Sound Blaster) | ? | ||
| Terminator: Future Shock (1995) | too fast on high P2 | ? | SkyNET version | |
| Test Drive III (1990) | Runs too fast | 386 | ||
| Theme Park (1994) | Runs too fast | 486 DX2/66? | ||
| Toonstruck (1996) | Speed bug with one or two puzzles | ? | ||
| Ultima Underworld (1992) | Keyboard movement too fast on fast Pentiums | 486SX-25 | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Ultima Underworld II (1993) | Keyboard movement too fast on fast Pentiums | 486DX-33 | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Ultima VI (1990) | Runs too fast, music distortion even at 486SX-25 | 386DX-25 or slower | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992) | Runs too fast | up to 486DX-33 | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) | Scrolls too fast, water animations cycle too fast, somewhat playable | 386DX-33 | ||
| Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995) | Scrolls too fast with PIIs, but playable | Pentium 133? | Battle.net Windows version works fine | |
| Warlords II Deluxe (1995) | Crashes on startup with fast CPUs | 486DX2-66 | ||
| Wing Commander (1990) | Runs too fast | max. 386DX-33 | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (1992) | "Divide Overflow Flaw/Reboot" on Pentium processors | ? | Pentium reboot patch | |
| Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams (1991) | Runs too fast | 386DX-25 or slower | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire (1990) | Runs too fast | 386DX-25 or slower | Try Setmul to disable caches | |
| X-Com UFO Defense (1994) | Scrolls too fast/ Shots fired very fast, Still very Playable | Pentium 166? | Adjust fire/scroll speed to your liking, not always effective | |
| Zool (1992) | ? | ? |
Windows
| Game title | Symptoms with faster CPUs | Recommended CPUs | Fix available? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betrayal In Antara (1997) | Day/Night transitions + movement too fast | Pentium MMX 233 | GOG.com version works fine |
| Cossacks: European Wars (2001) | Runs too fast in multiplayer? | ? | |
| FIFA Football 2002 (2001) | Crashes to desktop with >2 GHz | <2 GHz | |
| Gex: Enter the Gecko (1998) | Lack of framerate limiter may cause the game to play too fast in certain situations | ? | |
| Grand Prix Legends (1998) | Runs too fast with >1.7 GHz | plays fine with patch | CPU patch for version 1.2 |
| Havoc (1995) | Too fast on late PII and above | Pentium II 300? | |
| Hexplore (1998) | Crashes after a minute on fast P4 and above | Pentium III 500? | Fix for Modern Systems |
| Imperialism (1997) | World map scrolls too fast | plays fine with patch | Patch 1.1 (slight scrolling delay added) |
| Interstate '76 (1997) | Broken physics? | ? | |
| Jane's US Navy Fighters 97 (1996) | Runs too fast | ? | Increase resolution; Jane's Fighters Anthology version works fine |
| Master of Orion II (1996) | Battle screen scrolls too fast, minor issue | Pentium 166? | |
| Monaco GP Racing Simulation 2 (1999) | Runs too fast at >2.0 GHz | <2 GHz | |
| Pro Rally 2001 (2000) | Hangs at >2.0 GHz | plays fine with patch | Install with [1], update to 1.1, [2], may not work with AMD FX CPUs |
| Sega Rally Championship (1997) | Direct3D version plays too fast | ? | |
| Silver (1999) | Timing issues with a certain bell puzzle on fast Pentium 4 and above CPUs | PIII/Athlon 1GHz and below | GOG.com version works fine |
| SimCopter (1996) | Runs too fast/glitchy and crashes on P4 3.2 GHz/98SE | K6-2 350 | |
| Speed Busters (1999) | Crashes at >2.0GHz | <2 GHz | GOG.com version works fine |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen (2000) | CPU throttling issues | ? | Use Direct3D renderer |
| Star Trek Generations (1997) | Runs too fast | ? | |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard (1998) | Crashes to desktop in the "Advanced Options" menu, CPU throttling issues | ? | |
| Streets of SimCity (1997) | ? | ? | |
| TNN Outdoors Pro Hunter (1998) | ? | ? | |
| Unreal (1998) | ? | ? | |
| Unreal Tournament (1999) | CPU throttling issues | ? | See main article for details |
| Wipeout 2097/Wipeout XL (1997) | Runs too fast | ? | supposedly available |
