I originally posted this on the Steam messageboards, as this is a STEAM version of the game. The original thread can be found here: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=...posted=1#post8653927

Hello, I've been experiencing a very annoying problem in Prince of Persia (2008), and I'm mostly curious if any one else has -- although a fix would be fantastic.

The Problem
No matter where I am in the game, or what I'm doing, at every two minutes the video simply freezes for about 1 or 2 seconds. The time interval is constant. However, the game and its audio continue, so I come back into the world a second or two after I left it. Needless to say, besides being VERY annoying, it has also led to me dying innumerable times. This has nothing to do with intense graphics load on my CPU, GPU, RAM, etc, as this happens even when I stand completely still, staring at a wall, getting around 80 FPS.

Attempts at a Solution
Knowing that this game is built on the same engine as Assassin's Creed, I took a look around the internets. The most helpful information was my first check: TweakGuides.com. Under the Assassin's Creed TweakGuide, the author wrote this information.
Freezing/Stuttering/Crashes: For users experiencing noticeable freezing/stuttering or odd crashes, you should keep in mind that Assassin's Creed is very stressful on most every system ... However there is one specific fix you can try which may help - it appears that preventing the game executable from regularly (and unnecessarily) accessing the Internet can help stability and performance.
The full article text can be found: http://www.tweakguides.com/AC_3.html

Alright, so that sounded sound. Wouldn't be the first time I've been screwed by DRM. I loaded up PeerGuardian 2 to monitor (and block) all unwanted internet connections, and then I fired up PoP08. At exactly the same time that PeerGuardian2 showed unwanted connections from and to Ubisoft Entertainment, my game lagged as I described above.

I then deactivated my Wireless connection in hopes for a cure. However, instead of receiving crippling video lag every 2 minutes, I was treated to video lag that occured every 2 seconds, yet only lasted.. guessing here.. 0.1 seconds? It was much more annoying than my original problem, so here I am, back on the internets, fixless.

I normally run the game at 1440x900, Highest Quality, 2x AA, v-Sync on, etc. I've tried setting all settings to lowest possible, yet the problem was still present.

My only guess left is it is because my video card is not officially supported. I run a GeForce 260 GTX.

My Specs:
Windows XP 32-bit, 1440x900 resolution on my primary monitor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+
3582 MB RAM (really 4 gigs, but 32-bit OSs don't support it)
DirectX 9.0c (4.09.000.0904)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (896 MB VRAM, driver version 180.48 official)
bluegears b-Enspirer 7.1 24 bit 192KHz sound card

Is anyone else experiencing this problem and just hasn't posted about it? Or does someone have a miracle workaround for me? Thank you very much for your time.