Research / UI windows drastically reduce framerate

The game runs very smoothly, even at high settings - however, when I open any of the larger UI elements (Diplomacy / Pirates window, but particularly the Research window), the framerate slows to an absolute crawl, and the mouse lags along with it.

The Research window is the worst by far - while there is noticeable slowdown with the other elements open, it's still not very difficult to click on what's needed. When the Research window is open, however, the framerate slows to something like one frame every 2 or 3 seconds, which makes selecting research items incredibly difficult. (It's a testament to how fun this game is that I keep at it, though!)

Here is my very abridged Dxdiag info (Full version sent to [email protected], with a link back here):

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System Information

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Time of this report: 2/6/2008, 10:40:38

Machine name: JASON

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: ALIENWARE

System Model: M5700I-R2

BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T5600 @ 1.83GHz (2 CPUs)

Memory: 2046MB RAM

Page File: 511MB used, 3426MB available

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode



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Display Devices

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Card name: ATI Mobility Radeon X1800

Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.

Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x7102)

DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_7102&SUBSYS_23421584&REV_00

Display Memory: 256.0 MB

Current Mode: 1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Monitor: Default Monitor

Monitor Max Res:

Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll

Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6764 (English)

DDI Version: 9 (or higher)

Driver Attributes: Final Retail

Driver Date/Size: 12/20/2007 20:08:18, 272384 bytes

WHQL Logo'd: Yes

WHQL Date Stamp: n/a

VDD: n/a

Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys

Mini VDD Date: 12/20/2007 20:53:20, 2843136 bytes

Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-3242-11CF-586C-4803A1C2CB35}

Vendor ID: 0x1002

Device ID: 0x7102

SubSys ID: 0x23421584

Revision ID: 0x0000

Revision ID: 0x0000

Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV8_B ModeWMV8_A ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A

Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

{3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive

{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch

Registry: OK

DDraw Status: Enabled

D3D Status: Enabled

AGP Status: Enabled

DDraw Test Result: Not run

D3D7 Test Result: Not run

D3D8 Test Result: Not run

D3D9 Test Result: Not run