SwKotor 1 problem

[Dilbert]

Hello all,

I love to play Star Wars games (I'm a real sucker for them.) I have played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the minimum video card. It was an Nvidia GeForce MX with 64 MB of Video RAM. The graphics were poor, but framerate was OK. Now, I have another Nvidia, this one with 256 MB of Video RAM. Now, graphics are better, and frame rate is excellent.

EXCEPT...

SwKotor 1 players will surely recognize the planet Dantooine. Well, on this planet, I get frame rates so bad, the game is unplayable. But, since I installed the Video card after this point in the game, I know I get perfect play everywhere else. Why do I get worse framerate in one spot AFTER I upgrade!?! Is there anyone who can help me?

P.S. I've tried other games, and there aren't any problems on those games.

P.P.S. I've made sure I meet the Recommended requirements, and I've also contacted LucasArts.com.

[Raptor]

Why do I get worse framerate in one spot AFTER I upgrade!?! Is there anyone who can help me?

• Nvidia is pap
  
• You may try to play with settings that are too high for the videocard
  

The first is self explanatory, the second may be due to a change in the game enviroment. E.G: A lot of open space with smog or other effects that require a lot of processing power.

P.P.S. I've made sure I meet the Recommended requirements, and I've also contacted LucasArts.com.

If I were to contact technical support of each game that slowed down at a sudden point, they'd sue me for harassment.

Also, meeting the minimum requirements doesn't really mean a lot. It's great when you do, but that doesn't mean the game will not run without hickups.

[Hopester Doofus]

What is pap? I have an nVidia.

That's not good, is it?

[Raptor]

ATI rules.  

The mainboard in the gamer computer next to me has an Nvidia chipset. Nothing but problems... The name Nvidia must be jinxed.

I prefer  ATI over Nvidia. Probably because all the cards that I have bought/obtained lately are ATI. And they all deliver excellent performance.

[Flame]

What is pap?

Depends on how you translate it... Pap = Poop, crap, junk, etc.  

That's not good, is it?

Bingo  

ATI rules.  

Agreed  

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[Dilbert]

Hey,

I looked at ATI Radeons, but I don't have an AGP driver. I can only play PCI video cards. (AGP'S don't fit in my computer)

[Raptor]

Hey,

I looked at ATI Radeons, but I don't have an AGP driver. I can only play PCI video cards. (AGP'S don't fit in my computer)

That may also explain why you notice a drop in performance.

The AGP slot is entirely dedicated to videocards, and has twice the amount of bandwith as the PCI slot does.

Your computer is not very suitable for gaming if it does not have an AGP port or PCI-E port. You should not expect too much of it.

[Dilbert]

But it worked fine with my smaller PCI Nvidia! At least the game was playable! Now, almost everything's perfect. It's this one spot that WAS playable, and now isn't. And this problem-having video card is DOUBLE the recommended system. (Recommended is 128 MB.)

By the way, I DO have an AGP slot, but it's the card that came with the computer, and cannot be removed, as far as I can tell. Also, does the brand name of a computer have anything to do with it? I have a rather... obscure name of computers. (It's an E-Machine.) I've invested $1,000 into this machine, so please don't tell me It's the brand name! (Unless that really is the problem.)

[Raptor]

But it worked fine with my smaller PCI Nvidia! At least the game was playable! Now, almost everything's perfect. It's this one spot that WAS playable, and now isn't. And this problem-having video card is DOUBLE the recommended system. (Recommended is 128 MB.)

A function may now be unlocked that your previous videocard was not capable of.

The function now unlocked may be too heavy for your current videocard or computer.

The amount of megabytes actually means very little when it comes to videocards. Having 256MB RAM video memory is nice, but if the videocard is too slow to make good use of it, it will still be a low-end card and the 256MB RAM will be in vain.

What is more important is the amount of pipelines, RAM and processing speed. These are often displayed on the box, but in very small letters or not at all. So that people will be mislead and think that their 256MB RAM card which only costed $ 50 will be better than the 128MB RAM card which costs $ 100.

By the way, I DO have an AGP slot, but it's the card that came with the computer, and cannot be removed, as far as I can tell. Also, does the brand name of a computer have anything to do with it? I have a rather... obscure name of computers. (It's an E-Machine.) I've invested $1,000 into this machine, so please don't tell me It's the brand name! (Unless that really is the problem.)

If it is onboard, you can only disable it.

If it is an expansion card, you can remove it whenever you feel like doing so.

[Dilbert]

Hold on, I may have some jargon mixed up.

I am under the impression that the 256 MB was the video card. The memory chips I have are 512 MB. The 256 MB is with my card, and the 512 is the memory add-ons. I thought this was a great machine. So what can I do about this problem? Buy yet another video card? Or just go buy a new computer?

[Flame]

Ok. Your video card is 256 MB, right? That's GREAT! Your system memory or RAM is 512... As long as your computer can handle more RAM, you can add more... Cheap too... Are you sure about how much memory you have here?

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[Raptor]

Hold on, I may have some jargon mixed up.

I am under the impression that the 256 MB was the video card. The memory chips I have are 512 MB. The 256 MB is with my card, and the 512 is the memory add-ons. I thought this was a great machine. So what can I do about this problem? Buy yet another video card? Or just go buy a new computer?

Now, how can you confuse RAM with video memory?
You have:

512MB RAM memory
256MB RAM videocard memory.

The videocard memory is dedicated entirely to the videocard. This can not be accessed by other applications. It will not add to or substract from the "mainboard" memory.

1. Buy yet another video card?
2. Or just go buy a new computer?

1. Only if you are dissapointed by the results of this videocard. Personally, I would return the videocard, demand a refund and choose a good AGP card in the same or higher price range. But then again, I would never have bought a PCI card if I had a free AGP slot.

Can you list your system specifications and name of the videocard ? Perhaps it is best if you simply looking into finding the correct configuration for your game. We can help you with that.

2. Not quite necessary!

[Dilbert]

Here are the requirements:

Computer: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible computer
Operating Systems: Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Intel PIII 1 GHz or AMD Athlon 1 GHz required
Memory: 128 MB RAM required for Windows 98, 256 MB RAM required for Windows ME/2000/XP
Graphics Card: 32 MB OpenGL 1.4 compatible PCI or AGP 3D Hardware Accelerator with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability required
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible Audio Device required
CD-ROM: Quad Speed CD-ROM drive required
Input Device: Keyboard and mouse required
DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0b is included on this CD. NOTE: DirectX may require the "latest" drivers for your particular hardware.
Installation: 4.0 GB of free hard drive space required
Supported Chipsets at the time of release:


ATI Radeon 8500/9000/9200

ATI Radeon 9500/9600/9700/9800

NVIDIA GeForce 2/3/4 family

NVIDIA GeForceFX family

Additional Chipsets supported. For a complete list of supported 3D cards, please consult the Troubleshooting guide, or visit the Technical Support section of the LucasArts Website at www.lucasarts.com.

Recommended Specifications:


CPU: 1.6 GHZ AMD or Intel processor

Video Chipset: ATI Radeon 9200 or better, NVidia GeForce4 Ti or better

RAM: 512 MB RAM
 
I have an Nvidia GeForce FX with 256 MB Video memory, and 512 MB of RAM. Sadly, I originally DID buy an AGP card with 256 MB, but there are NO SLOTS for an AGP video card. Now, I am certainly thrilled by the difference between 64 MB and 256 MB, but are you saying that If I either

A) Bought an AGP-compatible computer, or
B) Had a computer tech install an AGP slot, and bought an AGP,

I would get proper performance? Because most of my games (all but this one) DO now have perfect performance. It's just this one spot on this one game that experiences about 3 Frames Per Second. (With a 64 MB card, I'd have about 19-20 FPS in this spot.) Now, Lucasarts.com told me that some ATI Radeons had a problem naturally in this spot (called the Dantooine courrtyard, for SwKotor fans) where there was a complete slowdown. Now, here are the settings I had the game on for each video card:

64 MB Nvidia                                        
------------------                                    
640 X 480 Resolution                          
Texture level: LOW                            
Shadows: NONE                                
Grass: NONE
V-SYNC: OFF (Refresh rate 60 MhZ)
Frame Buffer effects: Off            
Sound: Stereo                                                  
---------------------------
Average FPS: 20-25                        


256 MB Nvidia
------------------
1024X768 Res
Tex. Level: HIGH
Shadows: NONE
Grass: NONE
V-SYNC: OFF (Refresh rate 60 MhZ)
Frame Buffer Effects: On
Sound: EAX 2
---------------------
Average FPS: 28-37
EXCEPT DANTOOINE

Hope this helps. I need help (a shrink, by now)

[Raptor]

I would get proper performance? Because most of my games (all but this one) DO now have perfect performance. It's just this one spot on this one game that experiences about 3 Frames Per Second. (With a 64 MB card, I'd have about 19-20 FPS in this spot.) Now, Lucasarts.com told me that some ATI Radeons had a problem naturally in this spot (called the Dantooine courrtyard, for SwKotor fans) where there was a complete slowdown. Now, here are the settings I had the game on for each video card:

Hello, Dilbert.

Based on the following statement:

Now, Lucasarts.com told me that some ATI Radeons had a problem naturally in this spot (called the Dantooine courrtyard, for SwKotor fans) where there was a complete slowdown.

and

ecause most of my games (all but this one) DO now have perfect performance. It's just this one spot on this one game that experiences about 3 Frames Per Second.

I would say that this is a bug which could affect all lower (and perhaps higher) end videocards. Apparantly, not just ATI.

The only thing that you can do about it is to make sure that the latest drivers and patches for both videocard and game are installed.

As for changing your hardware? Do not bother. It seems like your system meets your demands and expectations. However, I would not try to play games such as Battlefield 2 or more demanding on the computer as you could turn out to be very dissapointed.

Should you ever decide to upgrade, it may be wise to look directly into PCI-E and ignore AGP as it seems to become outdated rather rapidly.

[Dilbert]

So, there's nothing I can do? Not what I wanted to hear...

Of course, If SwKotor has a bug, then I'll just not play it.