rec.autos.simulators

I bought GP4 a couple of days ago, and despite having what I consider
to be a top of the range system, can`t get it to run consistently
well.

My specs:  amd1800+, 512mb ddr, leadtek gf4 ti 4600 ultra, cmedia
on-board audio.

Can anybody offer any tips on how to get this game to both look good
and perform to my satisfaction?  (ie.  Consistent 30fps+, never
dropping below)

It seems to be very cpu hungry, as altering the car and trackside
details (along with resolution) don`t have much effect, as you`d
expect with a cutting edge gfx card.

I can`t begin to imagine how much those who have a machine close to
the minimum specs printed on the box are suffering with this game
right now.

Anyway, all help is appreciated.  Even if it is just to say: "Buy
F12001" ;)

 /
.mitch  -
 \

Made a huge difference to me, in FPS.

Hopes this helps

PJ

SB Live cards are pretty cheap, and with the hardware acceleration selected
in the audio preferrences (why GP4 doesn't do this automatically is beyond
me) you'd likely see something more acceptable given the specs of your
system.

I am allowed to enable hardware 2d acceleration within gp4 - is this
indicative of it actually being used?

The only reason I don`t have a sblive already is because I have
acceptable performance from the fairly well respected cmedia onboard
chipset in *every* other game - and I have a pro-audio card installed
- which has no dx functionality.  (A EWS88MT Terratec if you`re
interested ;)  )

 /
.mitch  -
 \

Oddly enough, some folks report turning off hardware acceleration is the key
for them.

Aside from the SBLive, I also have a Yamaha DSP factory 2416 (basically the
circuitry of a Yamaha 02V Mixing board) I was able to select 2D acceleration
for that but there was no performance increase. Switching to the SBLive for
sound and activating the 3 d acceleration options was the only thing that
got me acceptable performance.

TJ

I`ll give it a shot.

I`ve got an 01V sitting not 3 feet away from me. :)  I think the
pisspoor dx drivers for these cards (the yamaha and the terratec) are
simply software layers run by the cpu to convert the dx streams into
stereo channels to be streamed to the audio hardware.  ie. software
mixing under a different name.

I`ll buy an sblive soon to see if it helps.

 /
.mitch  -
 \

Never had a problem yet - and I use them lots via midi from Nuendo.

Just got me some new cans - beyerdymanic dt770's.  Best headphones
I`ve used in ages.

 /
.mitch  -
 \

I'd have to disagree about the drivers being***poor for the DSP factory.
I'm able to get very good latency under Win XP with both WDM and ASIO
drivers and it's been very stable.

The downside to the DSP factory is that it's a bit clumsy when it comes to
routing, though having said that, once you know your way around it, it is
quite flexible...I've thought about getting an 01v at some point since I've
also got the AX-16 lightpipe card.

TJ

IIRC, the Cmedia has reasonable performance...

If you want to change your sound card though, and don't mind spending a
little, you could try the Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96... it's based on the
EWS88, and has full *** support...

Here is a good tip to do that:

While in the game, do the following:
1) Quit the game
2) Put your F1 2002 CD into your CD drive, replacing your GP4 CD
3) Reload the new CD