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slow computer
About Truespace Archives
These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
slow computer // Hardware
Post by classic12 // Feb 27, 2007, 6:30am
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classic12
Total Posts: 243
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whats the best graphics card you recomend cos my computer is going very slow!! thank
warby x |
Post by TomG // Feb 27, 2007, 6:53am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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Unfortunately that depends on price. The best at the moment is an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 with 720Mb memory, for around $600 (there are specific workstation cards tailored for specific uses / applications that are better, but not necessarily for tS, home use, games etc).
If you have no limit on your budget, then that's the card to go for. After that, the "best" card depends on just how much you can afford, you'd need to specify your price range, then what applications you need to run on it. It would also depend on what card you have right now :)
Note that many things contribute to a slow computer - if this is slow updates in a 3D application, then the card may be responsible. If it is slow in 2D applications too, then more likely it is memory or processor. So dont dive in and spend money on a graphics card until you are sure it is going to solve your issue!
Share your specs and budget, and people here will be able to advise on a good upgrade path for that budget :)
HTH!
Tom |
Post by classic12 // Feb 28, 2007, 12:54am
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classic12
Total Posts: 243
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when i go onto player mode in true space 7 , it runs really slow is there anything i can do to stop it
??? |
Post by Steinie // Feb 28, 2007, 2:36am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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What card do you have and how much memory on Graphics card? Latest drivers installed on Card? Only way anyone can help you..
What are your system specs too. Post that and you'll get all kinds feedback. |
Post by classic12 // Feb 28, 2007, 4:00am
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classic12
Total Posts: 243
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P4 3 gig
1 gig ram
Nividia Geforce FX 5500
What is the best card to buy to suite truespace ($200 -500)
Cheers |
Post by Steinie // Feb 28, 2007, 5:26am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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First at the low end you could start with an ATI 9700Pro and get great results. Make sure you have a 450 watt power supply.
A Radeon X1650 Pro with 512 mem is only $165 bucks but then you would need a larger power supply (over 450 watts).
I would then spend the left over money on another Gig to bring you up to 2 Gigs. DDR memory for 1 Gig is only 89 dollars. To avoid conflicts make sure both memory modules are exactly the same.
I'm assuming you have an older motherboard with AGP and DDR mem.
If you decide to go even higher end with the Graphics board watch out for fan clearance next to your PCI slots, Heat, and Wattage.
I don't think you need to spend that much money to be using TS from what you already have. |
Post by prodigy // Feb 28, 2007, 7:19am
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prodigy
Total Posts: 3029
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As a nvidia user.
First if you have a 5500.. its because you have AGP Slot..
2nd .. I can recomends you a Gforce 6600 gt or higher..
a 6600 you can use the player side without problems.. and games like doom3 at high -res and full of shaders..
Best Regards.:cool: |
Post by trueBlue // Feb 28, 2007, 7:30am
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trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Hummm...I have GeForce FX 5500 and no AGP only PCI :o |
Post by Steinie // Feb 28, 2007, 7:36am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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Classic12 and trueBlue have the same Graphics board soooo trueBlue is your's running slow too? It might be a different problem. |
Post by trueBlue // Feb 28, 2007, 8:07am
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trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Yes and more so when running Activities and or Large scenes. But thats what you get when you buy a Brand new $400.00 Dell PC. |
Post by prodigy // Feb 28, 2007, 8:14am
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prodigy
Total Posts: 3029
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Hummm...I have GeForce FX 5500 and no AGP only PCI :o
Yea?... wierd..here you cant find less than a 6500 on pci X..
True.. you must buy a better card.. i recomends you too ;)
Other can be the settings on the driver card.. are few settings like antialasingx (set on the drivers no over truespace) that can be slowdown the performance..
But i have a Gf 5 series and its a biiiiiig jump to the 6 series gforce card.. |
Post by trueBlue // Feb 28, 2007, 9:18am
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trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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Unfortunately this is the best I can do without AGP or PCI -E.
Upgrade for me will have to be a new PC. |
Post by TomG // Feb 28, 2007, 11:15am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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Unfortunately the FX5 series of NVIDIA cards are advertised as having DX9 support, but this is only in software and not in hardware. You can test this by running Half Life 2, which will tell you it is switching to DirectX8 mode since the card doesn't truly support DirectX9.
tS7 requires DirectX9.0c to run effectively. It can cut back some features from the real-time and that allows it to run on lower versions of DirectX, so you can look into that by checking the Player Hardware Settings. tS may be trying to use DX9, which will make it run very slowly on the FX5 series.
In the Player Hardware Settings, you can turn down to below Pixel Shader 2.0 and try that - you may need to restart tS. You will find you lose quality, eg the realtime shadows, some of the shaders, but you should gain speed.
Any card more recent than the FX5 series will do fine, from an FX6200 upward, as they have genuine DirectX9 hardware support. This means for tS you will see a bigger jump in speed than for other 3D applications like older games say (ie the fact that you are really using DX9 in hardware will make a bigger difference than the clockspeed of your card might suggest). Of course newer games like Half Life 2 that also require DX9 will show the same very large difference!
The 7x00 series cards are now very affordable, you should be able to get one for around $100 or so for the starting range, but true enough, not on PCI, only AGP or PCI-E. Anyway, I got great performance from a 7600GS, which was around $130 when I bought it, but is around $100 or so now.
Anyway, while waiting for the new machine, try your Player Hardware Settings and keep yourself running at a reasonable rate, even if the quality is lower!
HTH!
Tom |
Post by prodigy // Feb 28, 2007, 2:14pm
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prodigy
Total Posts: 3029
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Tom.. the GF 5 series, is DirectX 9.. but are a problem.. Have the technology of a GF 4.. but with the new directx9 rutines..
There's a problem.. DX9 games overcharge the gpu process with more graphic effects but doesnt use on a better procesor.
The Next GF6 series is a consolidated version of a full dx9 procesor..
And the GF7 series, its the same as the GF6 but with more effects like bouncing lights and others preaty effects..
As allways recomends you wait, and you can buy a better vga later..
If you wait a year, you can buy a DX10 GC arround 170$ ~ 240$ i bet for that.. |
Post by TomG // Feb 28, 2007, 4:54pm
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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You can get a DX10 for $290 or so now with an 8800 card - cut down memory of 320Mb, but for some that's still an upgrade from 256Mb anyway.
In a year though I would imagine the 512Mb 8800's will be down around the $200 mark.
The thing about waiting is then there is always something better out that is still cutting edge and too expensive :) So its always a matter of paying sensible money for something that will be out of date in 12 months, or crazy money for something that will be sensible money in 12 months. (or inexpensive cost for something that is already surpassed, which is actually not a bad way to go sometimes).
This is especially true of graphics cards, more so than processors (though it happens there too). I did go for one of the cut down memory 8800s though when building my new system, the one "extravagant" part of the machine, and it is a very nice card (stepped up from a 7600GS which was no slouch to my mind).
HTH!
Tom |
Post by Alien // Mar 7, 2007, 4:34am
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Alien
Total Posts: 1231
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First at the low end you could start with an ATI 9700Pro and get great results.
I doubt he'd find a 97xx series card anywhere except perhaps ebay. The 9xxx range are 2 generations old, & even within that generation the 98xx cards replaced the 97xx models. |
Post by Steinie // Mar 7, 2007, 7:26am
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Steinie
Total Posts: 3667
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Good point.
Ps can you tell I'm cheap too. People going out and spending hundreds and hundreds on Water cooled graphic cards (embellishment added for impact) are not the norm. I wanted to show a beginning purchase point with an ATI card. Until you mentioned it I forgot it is already a dino.:o |
Post by Alien // Mar 7, 2007, 7:58am
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Alien
Total Posts: 1231
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Good point.
Ps can you tell I'm cheap too.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alien42/smilies/lol.gif
People going out and spending hundreds and hundreds on Water cooled graphic cards (embellishment added for impact) are not the norm.
You're right, Norm has a great big card that won't even fit in his case! :D [which is why he's using a different 1 instead]
I wanted to show a beginning purchase point with an ATI card. Until you mentioned it I forgot it is already a dino.:o
Well, classic12's options are rather limited, given that he doesn't have a PCI-E slot. For his sake I hope he at least has an AGP slot. Like Prodigy, I thought the FX5500 only came in an AGP variant, but trueBlue said he's got a PCI [not PCI-E] version of an FX5500, so it's possible that's what classic12 has as well. If that's the case, then I think his only option for a more powerful card is to upgrade the motherboard as well [or if he's not too familiar with putting computers together, a whole new ready-made computer]. If he does have an AGP slot, then there are still some cards available that are faster than what he's currently using. Given the price range he mentioned, I'd recommend an X1950 Pro.
Classic12: if you aren't sure whether you have an AGP slot or not, have a look at the slot your current card is in. If it starts further back from the edge of the motherboard than the other card slots then it's an AGP*, if it's the same length & starts at the same distance from the edge of the motherboard as the other card slots then it's a PCI.
*This applies to older, pre-PCI-E boards - just incase anyone else reads this & wonders. PCI-E slots are different matter altogether. |
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