rec.autos.simulators

Well I have an Ensoniq Soundscape (ISA) and was almost going to
get the PCI. The old Soundscape cards have an onboard Motorola
68K processor (yes a CPU) so I don't notice much of a slowdown.
You might want to check the Ensoniq www site and see if the new
card also has a similar CPU.

--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

IF the sound card drags so much processing power that it slows the game
down (i still get times when the commentator causes the sim to almost
stop for a split second) how about using these new Ensoniq or any other
make for that matter PCI sound cards?

Has anyone got one who uses F1RS? the processor load should be less on
the pci bus straight away.

Comments anyone?

Mike.    

--

   00:00  on  01/17/98
   From sunny Herne Bay, Kent.UK.
   mailable also at

   remove NO-SPAM to mail me.

I have just ordered an s3 pci sound card so i will find out next week
just how much difference it makes.

Mike.

Anyone else have any info on sound card performance with F1RS?  I have
an old SoundBlaster 16 and get noticeable pauses whenever the announcer
starts chatting.  Not to mention the dreaded stepping of the engine
sound when engine rpms change quickly.  If a new sound card will fix
these problems, I'll likely go for one.  

On Fri, 16 Jan 1998 18:30:56 -0600, "Greg Cisko"

Remove the spam blocker NOSPAM to email me.
http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~alison

I notice that when I am qualifying I will get a slight pause for the first
announcement that I have the pole. But no pauses for subsequent
pole records. I never get any pause at all for quick engine rpm
changes. Mostly just the announcer. I am thinking that going from
32MB to 64MB will fix it. It seems to be a soundfile caching issue.

--
Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Well, getting closer. Why people would seem to think that pauses like
these are inevitably related to sound playback taking up huge amounts CPU
resources, simply beats me. Next time you're about to experience these
pauses, keep an eye out for some disk activity. Don't blink yer eyes
though, otherwise you'll miss that brief but revealing moment, it might
only be a tiniest flash of the HD light. I've got a basic Vibra-based
SB16 myself, coupled with a Yamaha SW60XG wavetable standalone for MIDI
sounds and I've never experienced even a slightest pause that could've
been attributed to the sound hardware doin' it's job.

As for the 32Mb->64Mb upgrade, that's always useful in Windows, but it'll
hardly do anything for the pauses. I've seen several systems with 64Mb or
more RAM which still occasionally suffer from these fraction-of-a-second
pauses described in this thread. And those pauses occured because of disk
activity. The soundfile still has to be loaded the first time its played.

---
Antti Markus Peteri

      "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster."

                               Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
                               Polite Conversation, Dialogue I

I have an Ensoniq PCI and don't seem to have any trouble with the game
stopping because of sound.  That could just be the rest of my system as well
though.  I'd be interested to see how it works on a P120 or something like
that.

----------------------------------------------------------
If You think health care is expensive now, wait till it's free!

RR #3 Box 96
Williamsport, Pa. 17701
(717) 745-7697

On Sat, 17 Jan 1998 08:43:23 -0600, "Greg Cisko"

I have an Ensoniq PCI and It does absolutely nothing for the trouble you
talk about.  I just yanked a AWE32, a Yamaha OPL3 card, and an ESS-1868.
Actually, I liked the ESS the best, just the card's sound quality ($20)
card, was not up to what I was looking for.  All of them did the same thing.
I also bought into the PCI speed bullshit.  Sound requires CPU.

----------------------------------------------------------
If You think health care is expensive now, wait till it's free!

RR #3 Box 96
Williamsport, Pa. 17701
(717) 745-7697