CPU Recommendation Sought

I just installed a Voodoo5 in my system. Although I'm very pleased with it's performance, I find that I still cannot max out the graphics settings in GPL at 1024x768 and pin the framerate at the max of 36. My system is a Celeron 566@850, 256 Megs of RAM. I'd be curious to know what CPU would be needed to max out the graphic settings at 1024x768, at 4x FSAA in Glide (or D3D) and still get maximum framerate in a full field race. Any thoughts on this? Thanks. -- Bert

Your problem isn't the CPU. Running a res of 1024X768 with 4XFSAA is the same a running 2048X1536 with no FSAA. Not many video cards can handle that. Try 2XFSAA and see if it helps. "BRH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> I just installed a Voodoo5 in my system. Although I'm very pleased with > it's performance, I find that I still cannot max out the graphics > settings in GPL at 1024x768 and pin the framerate at the max of 36. > > My system is a Celeron 566@850, 256 Megs of RAM. I'd be curious to know > what CPU would be needed to max out the graphic settings at 1024x768, at > 4x FSAA in Glide (or D3D) and still get maximum framerate in a full > field race. > > Any thoughts on this? > > Thanks. > > -- > Bert > > >

2xFSAA definitely runs fine. I was just wondering what it would take to run 4xFSAA smoothly. I thought that I read somewhere that a P3-850 (or thereabouts) gives better performance in racing sims than a Celeron 566 o/c'ed to the same speed....... Kirk House wrote:

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> Your problem isn't the CPU. Running a res of 1024X768 with 4XFSAA is the > same a running 2048X1536 with no FSAA. Not many video cards can handle > that. Try 2XFSAA and see if it helps. > > "BRH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > I just installed a Voodoo5 in my system. Although I'm very pleased with > > it's performance, I find that I still cannot max out the graphics > > settings in GPL at 1024x768 and pin the framerate at the max of 36. > > > > My system is a Celeron 566@850, 256 Megs of RAM. I'd be curious to know > > what CPU would be needed to max out the graphic settings at 1024x768, at > > 4x FSAA in Glide (or D3D) and still get maximum framerate in a full > > field race. > > > > Any thoughts on this? > > > > Thanks. > > > > -- > > Bert > > > > > >

-- Bert

Fillrate is what determines how high a resolution you can run and how high you can set the FSAA. Fillrate is a function of your Video card(Voodoo 5 in you case) not the CPU(Celeron). If your fps are low even at a low resolution, THEN you need a processor upgrade. You might want to look into a Geforce 3 if you want to do 4XFSAA at 1024X768 "BRH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > 2xFSAA definitely runs fine. I was just wondering what it would take torun > 4xFSAA smoothly. I thought that I read somewhere that a P3-850 (orthereabouts) > gives better performance in racing sims than a Celeron 566 o/c'ed to thesame > speed....... > > Kirk House wrote: > > > Your problem isn't the CPU. Running a res of 1024X768 with 4XFSAA isthe > > same a running 2048X1536 with no FSAA. Not many video cards can handle > > that. Try 2XFSAA and see if it helps. > > > > "BRH" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]... > > > I just installed a Voodoo5 in my system. Although I'm very pleasedwith > > > it's performance, I find that I still cannot max out the graphics > > > settings in GPL at 1024x768 and pin the framerate at the max of 36. > > > > > > My system is a Celeron 566@850, 256 Megs of RAM. I'd be curious toknow > > > what CPU would be needed to max out the graphic settings at 1024x768,at

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> > > 4x FSAA in Glide (or D3D) and still get maximum framerate in a full > > > field race. > > > > > > Any thoughts on this? > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > -- > > > Bert > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Bert > > >

On Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:41:46 -0800, "Kirk House" <[email hidden]> wrote: >If your fps are low even at a low resolution, THEN you need a processor >upgrade. You might want to look into a Geforce 3 if you want to do 4XFSAA >at 1024X768 Yep, 4X FSAA should be doable on the GF3 in any game.

> Yep, 4X FSAA should be doable on the GF3 in any game. Take ANY feature with a grain of salt. If 4xfsaa is what you want, the GF3 'should' be able to do that...but there will be SOME performance hit. It is still too early to tell how much. Certainly the GF3 will outperform the GF2 with current games, but by how much? Will it be worth 5 to 6 hundred dollars for a 5-10% gain? GF3 will begin to shine when games include code specifically written for it...however this will most likely be a double edged sword...To run the game you'll need a gf3...but if you turn on those features, you will sacrifice fps for graphics. Even a GF3 will not produce in the 60fps range when a program is making use of all it's features. If you don't have a mega cpu...don't plan on a GF3 magically turning your system into Speedy Gonzales. dave henrie

...in any game *except* GPL I think. The D3D renderer for GPL just isn't anything like production quality. Compared to the Glide renderer it's months of testing and optimizing short. A GF3 won't run GPL in 1024*768 with 4X FSAA at 36 fps because a GF2 can't get this performance *even without any FSAA*. "Jagg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:41:46 -0800, "Kirk House" > <[email hidden]> wrote: > > > >If your fps are low even at a low resolution, THEN you need a processor > >upgrade. You might want to look into a Geforce 3 if you want to do4XFSAA > >at 1024X768 > > Yep, 4X FSAA should be doable on the GF3 in any game.

Oh how odd, my computer a P3-850 with GeForce2 GTS 32MB runs 1280*1024 with everything on except arms, and the detail slider all the way to the right, at a constant 36FPS, without FSAA. So what are you talking about? SLG "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>...in any game *except* GPL I think. The D3D renderer for GPL just isn't >anything like production quality. Compared to the Glide renderer it's >months of testing and optimizing short. A GF3 won't run GPL in 1024*768 >with 4X FSAA at 36 fps because a GF2 can't get this performance *even >without any FSAA*. > >"Jagg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> On Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:41:46 -0800, "Kirk House" >> <[email hidden]> wrote: >> >> >> >If your fps are low even at a low resolution, THEN you need a processor >> >upgrade. You might want to look into a Geforce 3 if you want to do >4XFSAA >> >at 1024X768 >> >> Yep, 4X FSAA should be doable on the GF3 in any game. > >

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)

Go run a race start at the Ring with 19 opponents from in-car view at the back of the grid and see if the frame rate stays at 36 fps for the whole race start, including just after the flag drops. I'd really like to know. "Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Oh how odd, my computer a P3-850 with GeForce2 GTS 32MB runs 1280*1024 > with everything on except arms, and the detail slider all the way to > the right, at a constant 36FPS, without FSAA. So what are you talking > about? > > SLG

Does this a Monaco! I have never worried about the Ring. What can I say, or was that on the 1GHz, anway it was either on the 850-P3 or 1GHz-P3 with the same video card. One would run 1280*1024 at Monaco with full 16 cars, every single option on except arms, detail full to right and an Act Labs Force RS with no drop in frame rate at start of race. Only use in-car view. The past month I have been running GPL on my other slower computer and it does very poorly. I will be swapping the computers really soon. SLG "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Go run a race start at the Ring with 19 opponents from in-car view at the >back of the grid and see if the frame rate stays at 36 fps for the whole >race start, including just after the flag drops. I'd really like to know. > >"Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> Oh how odd, my computer a P3-850 with GeForce2 GTS 32MB runs 1280*1024 >> with everything on except arms, and the detail slider all the way to >> the right, at a constant 36FPS, without FSAA. So what are you talking >> about? >> >> SLG > > >

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)

Oh well, fair enough :) I'm hoping to get a P3-1000 next week so I'll be able to see if I get the same. My current CPU is a P3-650, but I'd still expect to be closer to the performance of your PC, particularly if yours is a P3-850. Based on my 3dmark 2000 score I think my system is setup pretty good (plus a friend with a GF2/Athlon700 gets the same numbers I get). Is there anything you can think of that might explain the difference, like have you changed the mip-map LOD bias, or changed the d3d v-sync setting? Also which Det3 drivers are you using (I use 6.50) ? I guess if your other machine was a P3-1000 that might explain it, since that is 44.5% faster than a P3-650, which is really quite a lot. The Ring is surprisingly slower than Monaco for race starts. Running the test I described I get 20/21 fps at Monaco and 17 fps at the Ring. Anyway, the point still stands, that when I upgraded from a V3 3000 AGP to a GF2 GTS (32MB), GPL definitely got slower, whereas every other game got considerably faster. Since N4 runs like a dream under D3D on my system, the poor performance of GPL would have to be down to the D3D renderer for GPL. You're lucky enough to have a system that can cope with it I guess. Needless to say, you don't need a P3-1000 to guarantee 36 fps with Glide. "Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Does this a Monaco! I have never worried about the Ring. What can I > say, or was that on the 1GHz, anway it was either on the 850-P3 or > 1GHz-P3 with the same video card. One would run 1280*1024 at Monaco > with full 16 cars, every single option on except arms, detail full to > right and an Act Labs Force RS with no drop in frame rate at start of > race. Only use in-car view. > > The past month I have been running GPL on my other slower computer and > it does very poorly. I will be swapping the computers really soon. > > SLG > > "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >Go run a race start at the Ring with 19 opponents from in-car view at the > >back of the grid and see if the frame rate stays at 36 fps for the whole > >race start, including just after the flag drops. I'd really like to

know.

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> > > >"Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > >news:[email hidden]... > >> Oh how odd, my computer a P3-850 with GeForce2 GTS 32MB runs 1280*1024 > >> with everything on except arms, and the detail slider all the way to > >> the right, at a constant 36FPS, without FSAA. So what are you talking > >> about? > >> > >> SLG > > > > > > > > > (All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new > and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are > due to too many English classes/teachers) > >

I think it was the P3-1000 that did this. I am using it to respond and it is running a TNT2 now, not the GeForce 2. I think that it will do 36 at most tracks, just went in and checked it (with Outlook 2000, Free Agent, & ICQ running). Went to the Ring with 19 cars, full everything (no arms) at 1280*1024 and with a TNT2 I got a drop to 28 that went up to 36 as soon as I got to T1. I would think it would be more than capable with a GF2. . . but maybe I am just on crack. :-) I am using the Det 3 6.31 drivers here at work (1GHz & TNT2) with the V-sinc always off in the advanced properties with the coolbits registry fix available here: http://3dchipset.com/utilities/nvidia/overclocking/coolbits/index.html I found that GPL is more responsive to CPU upgrades than just video upgrades, but then again, that experience is mainly with Nvidia adapters the only Voodoo I have used it with is a Voodoo2 and it has problems with lockups/Heat! SLG "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Oh well, fair enough :) I'm hoping to get a P3-1000 next week so I'll be >able to see if I get the same. > >My current CPU is a P3-650, but I'd still expect to be closer to the >performance of your PC, particularly if yours is a P3-850. Based on my >3dmark 2000 score I think my system is setup pretty good (plus a friend with >a GF2/Athlon700 gets the same numbers I get). Is there anything you can >think of that might explain the difference, like have you changed the >mip-map LOD bias, or changed the d3d v-sync setting? Also which Det3 >drivers are you using (I use 6.50) ? > >I guess if your other machine was a P3-1000 that might explain it, since >that is 44.5% faster than a P3-650, which is really quite a lot. > >The Ring is surprisingly slower than Monaco for race starts. Running the >test I described I get 20/21 fps at Monaco and 17 fps at the Ring. > >Anyway, the point still stands, that when I upgraded from a V3 3000 AGP to a >GF2 GTS (32MB), GPL definitely got slower, whereas every other game got >considerably faster. Since N4 runs like a dream under D3D on my system, the >poor performance of GPL would have to be down to the D3D renderer for GPL. >You're lucky enough to have a system that can cope with it I guess. >Needless to say, you don't need a P3-1000 to guarantee 36 fps with Glide. > > >"Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> Does this a Monaco! I have never worried about the Ring. What can I >> say, or was that on the 1GHz, anway it was either on the 850-P3 or >> 1GHz-P3 with the same video card. One would run 1280*1024 at Monaco >> with full 16 cars, every single option on except arms, detail full to >> right and an Act Labs Force RS with no drop in frame rate at start of >> race. Only use in-car view. >> >> The past month I have been running GPL on my other slower computer and >> it does very poorly. I will be swapping the computers really soon. >> >> SLG >> >> "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote: >> >> >Go run a race start at the Ring with 19 opponents from in-car view at the >> >back of the grid and see if the frame rate stays at 36 fps for the whole >> >race start, including just after the flag drops. I'd really like to >know. >> > >> >"Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >> >news:[email hidden]... >> >> Oh how odd, my computer a P3-850 with GeForce2 GTS 32MB runs 1280*1024 >> >> with everything on except arms, and the detail slider all the way to >> >> the right, at a constant 36FPS, without FSAA. So what are you talking >> >> about? >> >> >> >> SLG >> > >> > >> > >> >> >> (All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new >> and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are >> due to too many English classes/teachers) >> >> > >

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)

Ok, thanks for the info, and the link. I tried disabling v-sync and reducing the number of sounds heard, but it made no difference. I think GPL runs with v-sync auto disabled anyway (the programmer has the ultimate control over v-sync), since I've always been able to see tearing in GPL whether v-sync is on or off. Based on your results I'm *really* looking forward to getting a P3-1000 next week :) Just for reference, when I upgraded from a V3 3000 AGP to a GF2 GTS the frame rate during a full race-start at Monza dropped from 27 fps to 21 fps. Clearly the D3D renderer isn't release quality, which is fair enough since it was only written by one papy employee in his spare time. "Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> I think it was the P3-1000 that did this. I am using it to respond and > it is running a TNT2 now, not the GeForce 2. I think that it will do > 36 at most tracks, just went in and checked it (with Outlook 2000, > Free Agent, & ICQ running). Went to the Ring with 19 cars, full > everything (no arms) at 1280*1024 and with a TNT2 I got a drop to 28 > that went up to 36 as soon as I got to T1. I would think it would be > more than capable with a GF2. . . but maybe I am just on crack. :-) > > I am using the Det 3 6.31 drivers here at work (1GHz & TNT2) with the > V-sinc always off in the advanced properties with the coolbits > registry fix available here: > http://3dchipset.com/utilities/nvidia/overclocking/coolbits/index.html > > I found that GPL is more responsive to CPU upgrades than just video > upgrades, but then again, that experience is mainly with Nvidia > adapters the only Voodoo I have used it with is a Voodoo2 and it has > problems with lockups/Heat! > > SLG

One of the best prices I have seen on the 100MHz FSB Retail SEC2 1GHz chips is here: http://www.accessmicro.com/productinfo.php3?ProductId=CPIII1000ECOSECRTL If you are getting a 133MHz FSB then ignore this! :-) SLG "Simon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>Ok, thanks for the info, and the link. I tried disabling v-sync and >reducing the number of sounds heard, but it made no difference. I think GPL >runs with v-sync auto disabled anyway (the programmer has the ultimate >control over v-sync), since I've always been able to see tearing in GPL >whether v-sync is on or off. > >Based on your results I'm *really* looking forward to getting a P3-1000 next >week :) > >Just for reference, when I upgraded from a V3 3000 AGP to a GF2 GTS the >frame rate during a full race-start at Monza dropped from 27 fps to 21 fps. >Clearly the D3D renderer isn't release quality, which is fair enough since >it was only written by one papy employee in his spare time. > >"Steve Garrotto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> I think it was the P3-1000 that did this. I am using it to respond and >> it is running a TNT2 now, not the GeForce 2. I think that it will do >> 36 at most tracks, just went in and checked it (with Outlook 2000, >> Free Agent, & ICQ running). Went to the Ring with 19 cars, full >> everything (no arms) at 1280*1024 and with a TNT2 I got a drop to 28 >> that went up to 36 as soon as I got to T1. I would think it would be >> more than capable with a GF2. . . but maybe I am just on crack. :-) >> >> I am using the Det 3 6.31 drivers here at work (1GHz & TNT2) with the >> V-sinc always off in the advanced properties with the coolbits >> registry fix available here: >> http://3dchipset.com/utilities/nvidia/overclocking/coolbits/index.html >> >> I found that GPL is more responsive to CPU upgrades than just video >> upgrades, but then again, that experience is mainly with Nvidia >> adapters the only Voodoo I have used it with is a Voodoo2 and it has >> problems with lockups/Heat! >> >> SLG > > >

(All spelling errors are intentional and are there to show new and improved ways of spelling old words. Grammatical errors are due to too many English classes/teachers)