rec.autos.simulators

by **Michael E. Carv** » Mon, 23 Dec 1996 04:00:00

: Your DMA rate could be the problem. A good score should be in the 50+
: range. See if Tyan has a BIOS upgrade for your MB.
:

There are some new ones out now, but I can't guarentee that they will
affect the PCI DMA issue. Tyan has been very reluctant to issue BIOS
fixes for known problems with their boards. They may make one of the
fastest boards around, but their customer support "sucks".

Check http://www.racesimcentral.net/ for BIOS upgrades.

Also all Tyan board owners with similar problems please post your status
in the newsgroup alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.tyan and hopfully we can
draw some attention to this issue.

Thanks

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

by **Hen** » Mon, 23 Dec 1996 04:00:00

> Your DMA rate could be the problem. A good score should be in the 50+
> range. See if Tyan has a BIOS upgrade for your MB.

> > I found that the 8-bit versus 4-bit objects really slows the
> > Reactor frame rate down. I'm running a Tyan TitanIII MB with a
> > 256K cache, 32MB RAM, Pentium 166, and an Intergraph Reactor card.
> > My DMA rate using DMADIAG is 13.1. Running RENDDMA worked ok, but I
> > couldn't run Martinsville without turning off the Objects. As a test
> I
> > created a 16MB Ramdisk to make N2 see only 16MB of RAM. Now when the
> > 4-bit images load, I can run Martinsville at a full 30fps with all
> items
> > turned on.

DMADIAG reports 99.1 MB/s for DMA on my system, but Martinsville really
is choppy. It's weird because Bristol gives me 30fps w/ everything on,
but Mville doesn't ... I have 32MB memory so I'm using 8-bit graphics.
I'll try with 4-bits ...

--
Henrikki (Hena) Hakkanen Tel. +358-(9)0-345 5538

--------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are mine and do not
necessarily reflect those of my employer

by **Eric T. Busc** » Mon, 23 Dec 1996 04:00:00

Martinsville is choppy for everyone.

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/

by **Jeff Vince** » Mon, 23 Dec 1996 04:00:00

Have you tried the latest beta (10?) of VQuake? I hear its
significantly faster (double speed?) than what's included on the
Reactor CD. Available on either the Rendition or Intergraph web sites
(maybe both).

Also, some quote TIMEREFRESH values while others quote frame rates
from elsewhere in the game (which are usually higher), so its hard to
compare (and of course screen size makes a difference). Then again,
I'm no Quake expert... ;)

RENDDMA should give you a substantial increase in speed with N2.
Have you used DMADIAG to test your machine's DMA performance?
(Available on David Sparks' or Eric Busch's web sites). Maybe a
motherboard BIOS upgrade might help you?...

Good luck!

Pick one or more: Model Rockets (competition-NERCB) / PCs (even Atari!) /
Papyrus ICR-ICR2-NCR / Who needs a life when you have multiple non-lives?

by **Mark and Cheryl Ferr** » Tue, 24 Dec 1996 04:00:00

>:>I got this card, followed installation instructions, and it runs quake at
>:>15-19fps. I heard guys running at 40fps. Yes I'm using vquake and copied
>:>the two files from the cd. I am NOT impressed with it's poor performance
>:>in N2. My number nine 771 was just about the same, with much better
>:>color than the reactor. If anyone has any suggestions please help
>:>me!!!!!!! :)

>First, you haven't mentioned your motherboard/bios/memory/cpu configuration.
>If you're running these games from Win95, you need at least 24mb of memory to
>make them run well (this is more true for NCR2 than for Quake). Whether or
>not your motherboard and its BIOS allow you to make good use of DMA is also
>essential to good performance.

Are they any benchmarks or test programs that would allow me to
determine if my system is making good use of DMA?

From the home of Mark and Cheryl Ferris

by **simrac..** » Tue, 24 Dec 1996 04:00:00

>I was suspect about that card all along.
>When you go to their web sight, they
>show you a car with all the graphics turned
>off then show you a car with all the graphics
>turned on and the lead you to believe that
>the car with all the graphics turned on
>is the car shown with the reactor card. I did
>not see a bit of difference in the actual
>graphics of the car. check out their sight
>and you will see what i mean. Any company
>that tries to insult my intelligence like that
>will never get my business.
>Wally

There is no attempt to mislead the consumer - what the two screen
shots illustrate is that with most systems, you'll get more graphics
with the same (or better) frame rate.

Best Regards,

Marc J. Nelson
Sim Racing News - USA
http://members.aol.com/simracing/index.htm

by **simrac..** » Tue, 24 Dec 1996 04:00:00

>Martinsville is choppy for everyone.

Not me...and I have only a P100, run with everything on (no grass/
asphalt), and I get about 18-20fps.

Best Regards,

Marc J. Nelson
Sim Racing News - USA
http://members.aol.com/simracing/index.htm

by **Michael Bar** » Tue, 24 Dec 1996 04:00:00

> I was suspect about that card all along.
> When you go to their web sight, they
> show you a car with all the graphics turned
> off then show you a car with all the graphics
> turned on and the lead you to believe that
> the car with all the graphics turned on
> is the car shown with the reactor card. I did
> not see a bit of difference in the actual
> graphics of the car. check out their sight
> and you will see what i mean. Any company
> that tries to insult my intelligence like that
> will never get my business.
> Wally

> > I got this card, followed installation instructions, and it runs quake at

> > 15-19fps. I heard guys running at 40fps. Yes I'm using vquake and copied

> > the two files from the cd. I am NOT impressed with it's poor performance

> > in N2. My number nine 771 was just about the same, with much better
> > color than the reactor. If anyone has any suggestions please help
> > me!!!!!!! :)

> > Sean Higgins

The ad you are refering to is representative of a 30 fps frame rate. It
is not possible without the Verite'. You should read more carefully.

by **Joshua Wals** » Tue, 24 Dec 1996 04:00:00

> >Martinsville is choppy for everyone.

> Not me...and I have only a P100, run with everything on (no grass/
> asphalt), and I get about 18-20fps.

> Best Regards,

> Marc J. Nelson
> Sim Racing News - USA
> http://members.aol.com/simracing/index.htm

Me either.....also P-100, and I get between 21-30 fps with EVERYTHING on.

Josh Walsh (sirlglock on $$$Hawaii$$$ and TEN)

by **dhen..** » Wed, 25 Dec 1996 04:00:00

writes:

Hi Mike, Glad to see more support on this newsgroup. I have a question
for ya.
What Motherboards bring to best out in a Rendition card??? I know it
needs to be DMA compliant, but what brands seem to be the hottest??
Thanks!
Dave Henrie

by **c..** » Wed, 25 Dec 1996 04:00:00

Hey

I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem. I just installed my
Reactor card and can not start windows. If I put my old card back in it
works fine but with the Reactor it just frezzes. Please e-mail me at

Thanks,

John

by **Hen** » Thu, 26 Dec 1996 04:00:00

> > >Martinsville is choppy for everyone.

> > Not me...and I have only a P100, run with everything on (no grass/
> > asphalt), and I get about 18-20fps.

> > Best Regards,

> > Marc J. Nelson
> > Sim Racing News - USA
> > http://members.aol.com/simracing/index.htm

> Me either.....also P-100, and I get between 21-30 fps with EVERYTHING on.

> Josh Walsh (sirlglock on $$$Hawaii$$$ and TEN)

How can that be? I have a P200 (oc'd to 2.5x83MHz=208MHz) and
Mville is choppy as hell compared to every other track. I get around
30fps, even at SearsPoint and Bristol w/ everything on. Well, there's
is little stutter when exiting T4 at Phoenix, but other than that ...
You guys must have super-P100's ...
--
Henrikki (Hena) Hakkanen Tel. +358-(9)0-345 5538

--------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are mine and do not
necessarily reflect those of my employer

by **Hen** » Thu, 26 Dec 1996 04:00:00

> Hey

> I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem. I just installed my
> Reactor card and can not start windows. If I put my old card back in it
> works fine but with the Reactor it just frezzes. Please e-mail me at

Go get the VGA fix from intergraph's web site and follow the
instructions
in the zip file. I had the same problem and vgafix solved it ...

--
Henrikki (Hena) Hakkanen Tel. +358-(9)0-345 5538

--------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are mine and do not
necessarily reflect those of my employer

by **Eric T. Busc** » Sat, 28 Dec 1996 04:00:00

18-20 fps IS choppy, at least to me.

--

Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~ebusch/