Try to test with Voodoos removed. Maybe D3d mode use Voodoos, not the Gf.
Tested the game with my WinME PC (P4 3.0 GHz, X850 PE Agp). Working perfectly.

the game definitely uses the gf4 because it is running at 1280X1024/32bit color... and is way smother than glide renderer... plus the same happens with glide, the problem lies elsewhere... but just to be sure I tried it with v2's disabled, still the same... also tried with EAX off, no change....

If it runs fine on the other machines it can only be a buggy driver, I think. Or a compatibility issue with the gf4.

I payed attention the the character's movement, the frames are there but are executer very slowly, like the book pages...
Dominus, the same thing happens with glide rendering , the game natively supports it and you get the 3dfx logo too... do you thing the gf4 has anything to do with glide rendering?

I don't know but it has something to do with your system 😉
Tinker, pull the V2 out, replace the gf4 (if you can). Try different drivers... Try the different stages of hardware acceleration in the directx control panel

The SBlive has always been a headache for me in several aspects. Try different drivers for it or replacing with a different soundcard.

sblive problem? the game's sound runs perfectly...?

I will try it witn the onboard sound , just to be sure 😊

edit: completely removed sblive and drivers and using onboard ac'97 audio: still the same but with worst sound quality 🤣 and awful (software) EAX implementation

Maybe you should try updating DirectX.

Ever thought that it's because Ultima IX is just very buggy? 😀

One thing that'll help is turning off compressed textures - the GF4 can handle it, but U9's implementation in the loader seems to be broken

You might also try forcing Vsync in the video driver, perhaps U9 doesn't know what a framerate of 67fps is.

using either compressed/uncompressed textures makes no difference... or 8/16bit ones... remember the same problem happens with the native glide renderer... Also tried forcing VSYNC with rivatuner, still the same...
I captured a vid with fraps, it shows better what is wrong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdgAnyrsaXs

Try upgrading every driver you can (except for video ones, proven that it's not their fault). Maybe chipset drivers will do the trick. and remember to use dxwebsetup.exe to keep directx with the latest update. I remember getting some jerkiness on some setups without the chipset drivers. Try dual-booting the machine with WinXP if you can and see if the game runs with the same problem. What gives if you enable Hyper-Threading?

just a wild guess try a slowdown utility

I did slow down the cpu to 1.2ghz Davros... also I doubt this matters because it runs almost fine on my i7/3.4ghz pc...
The webmaster of ultimaaiera was kind enough to make a news item of my experience, maybe some dedicated Ultima fans have faced this before... check it here: http://www.ultimaaiera.com/blog/a-curious-ultima-9-issue/

Can you try ripping out both graphic cards?

yes I can, tomorrow when I get back to my stash in my office... what do you recommend Dominus? A voodoo3/5, GeForce2, TNT1/2 ?
for now I am installing win98SE, just to be sure...

Back then I had a Voodoo 5, I think. I'm prejudiced against Nvidia 😉 never owned one 😉

Well... I got it running fine... 😁
The solution was to install win98SE. Same hardware, driver versions, and SP2. The game just worked almost OK, except when you opened a book the game would freeze, sound would loop and it would continue after 4-5secs (same as on my i7)
The solution to this problem was to grab Ultima 9 Extended Setup , load the “geforce user” profile and save settings. Then the book problem disappeared!

After that I am changing my views on winME, it could be my hardware combo or some random bug but I am finished messing with them for my retro needs. Back then I was using them without probs (even u9 run OK but my hardware was weak for it) but things and hardware changed now and I am not going back to a p3/500 with a s3/v2-sli setup to stay compatible with ME 🤣
It all seems fine now!

Great! Congrats and have fun playing U9 😉

Oh and take a look at beautiful Brittania project

I'm glad you sorted this out. Have fun!