Re: System for GPL

I used to run with a P2-300 and Voodoo2 and got 36fps except at the start of a race. Is that a Celeron of the first generation without cache (or small cache)? I seem to remember that it was an issue in the early days to have enough cache and the first Celerons didn't have that. If you have installed new wheels or something like that, get rid of it. My 700@840 is struggling at the start of a race with the addons I have installed. A 300 celly should have much more problems with it. Kotten If you have installed new fancy wheels or some other stuff that can be detremental

Quoted text (14 lines)

>I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win >98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the >obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary >windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who >works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games >like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. > >So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can >CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I >can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. > >Cheers, > >DG

I used to have a Celeron 300. When leaving it at 300, the frame rate was too low as GPL is very CPU intensive. After overclocking it to 450 by changing the stock bus speed of 66mhz to 100mhz, GPL ran as smooth as silk. Providing you have PC-100 memory and a motherboard that allows you to change the bus speed, I would bring the bus speed to the next higher speed available, which should be 75mhz, and see the results. If your system can handle it, bring it to 83mhz as your next step. There is always a bit of danger with overclocking, and no garanty it will work. But when it works, its extra power for free. Make sure you have proper ventilation inside your case. My 300a @ 450 has been running great for almost 2 years now. I've recently upgraded to a Celeron 566 for only $135 Canadian and I can overclock this one to 850. Robert In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Disgruntled Goat) wrote: > Hi everyone. > > I've been playing GPL a while now, maybe 18months, and it is perhaps > the most frustrating thing I can think of. Notfor the usual reasons > though. I am fairly sure i have a handle on thedriving technique (I > can get around Monza within 2 sec of Jim Clark - sure it's not > brilliant but I feel like I have the basicsdown). Problem is, I can > do these times in training, once I want to runagainst a full race > grid, forget it. The frame rate drops to singlefigures. I still have > a ways to go, looking at some of theGPLRankings, but I feel actual > racing is the best way for me to advance what Ihave learned running > around empty tracks. More fun, too. > > Now, I understand that if I mess with thegraphics, etc, I can get a > better frame rate. But I have turned off somany options, and set the > resolution as low as I can, and it just isn'tright - it doesn't feel > exhilirating. Of course I have the option ofracing 5 AI opponents but > come on - that isn't why I bought the game. Iwant a decent frame > rate, with enough eye-candy to feel immersed,and enough opponents to > be able to race for position and actually feelthe excitement. > > I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win > 98 and all programs in the background areswitched off (with the > obvious exception of my steering wheel driversand the necessary > windows files). And here's the important part -i'm a student who > works part time - I can't afford an expensivesolution. Also, games > like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer fromthe same problems. > > So, I was wondering if anyoe has somesuggestions for how I can > CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way -preferably legal) fix it so I > can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. > > Cheers, > > DG > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Disgruntled Goat wrote:

Quoted text (8 lines)

> > So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can > CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I > can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. > > Cheers, > > DG

The best thing to to is to go racing online. There are always only 5 (now more with the unofficial tweak) cars shown so the framerates are much better, and it is much more fun racing with real people. On the other hand, the setting that is most important is the detail level slider. Play with that one, I cannot believe that with your system you would be unable to get satisfactory visuals coupled to good performance. -Gregor

I'm not an expert on CPU's, but many of the Celerons are overclockable. I used to have a Celeron 300a running at 450 with a V2, and now have a Celeron 566 running at 850 (and I added a second V2). Im my opinion, the component that really made a difference in GPL performance was the faster CPU. So, I would concentrate on getting the most speed out of your existing CPU (while playing with GPL's detail sliders). Depending on your motherboard, overclocking may be a pretty simple matter. Another option, if you have the right mobo and your Celeron does not overclock well, would be getting a a Celeron 566. They can be had fairly cheap. (I got mine for about $120 about 4 months ago. I'm sure it's a lot cheaper now.) A good source for overclocking info is the following newsgroup: alt.comp.hardware.overclocking If you have an ABIT motherboard, you're in luck. (They're great for overclocking). Here's their newsgroup: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit Both of these NG's will provide you all the info you need to overclock. It's worth looking into. Good Luck. Disgruntled Goat wrote:

Quoted text (35 lines)

> Hi everyone. > > I've been playing GPL a while now, maybe 18 months, and it is perhaps > the most frustrating thing I can think of. Not for the usual reasons > though. I am fairly sure i have a handle on the driving technique (I > can get around Monza within 2 sec of Jim Clark - sure it's not > brilliant but I feel like I have the basics down). Problem is, I can > do these times in training, once I want to run against a full race > grid, forget it. The frame rate drops to single figures. I still have > a ways to go, looking at some of the GPLRankings, but I feel actual > racing is the best way for me to advance what I have learned running > around empty tracks. More fun, too. > > Now, I understand that if I mess with the graphics, etc, I can get a > better frame rate. But I have turned off so many options, and set the > resolution as low as I can, and it just isn't right - it doesn't feel > exhilirating. Of course I have the option of racing 5 AI opponents but > come on - that isn't why I bought the game. I want a decent frame > rate, with enough eye-candy to feel immersed, and enough opponents to > be able to race for position and actually feel the excitement. > > I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win > 98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the > obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary > windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who > works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games > like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. > > So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can > CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I > can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. > > Cheers, > > DG

Quoted text (10 lines)

> I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win > 98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the > obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary > windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who > works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games > like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. > So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can > CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I > can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release.

You could try overclocking the cpu and graphics card? Is your cpu a 333A celeron or the older Celeron? (with no cache) Details on my webpage (go to the overclocking section) you could go up to 375 (5 x 75Mhz) or try 415 (5 x 83 which is unlikely to work) or even 500 (5 x 100). And overclocking a V2 card is easy, just change one setting! Or buy a V3 card (now pretty cheap) and overclock that! Upping the ram to 128 will also help. 8-) *Peter* - http://www.cix.co.uk/~peterpc/home.html

You have a Voodoo2 Try adding the following to your Autoexec.Bat file: SET FX_GLIDE_NO_SPLASH=1 SET SSTV2_VIDEO_FILTER_DISABLE=1 SET SSTV2_FASTMEM=1 SET SSTV2_FASTPCIRD=1 SET SSTV2_VIDEO_24BPP=0 SET FX_GLIDE_SWAPINTERVAL=0 SET SSTV2_SWAP_EN_WAIT_ON_VSYNC=0 SET FX_GLIDE_SHAMELESS_PLUG=0 SET SSTV2_TRIPLE_BUFFER=0 SET SSTV2_MEMFIFO=1 SET SSTV2_FORCE_TRILINEAR=0 I beat my brains out for a solid week when I was unemployed deducing all of these settings for optimal performance. They *really* help. Also, there's a Glide Patch around that, for us Voodoo2 users has the principle utility of letting you set how often the mirrors get refreshed. I have mine refreshing every 6th frame. Make sure you are doing "Cars Only" in the mirrors because anything more will bring a Voodoo2 to it's knees. Good luck, Brett C. Cammack brettDOTcammack@worldnetDOTattDOTnet (remove the DOTs from my return address to reply privately)

Hi everyone. I've been playing GPL a while now, maybe 18 months, and it is perhaps the most frustrating thing I can think of. Not for the usual reasons though. I am fairly sure i have a handle on the driving technique (I can get around Monza within 2 sec of Jim Clark - sure it's not brilliant but I feel like I have the basics down). Problem is, I can do these times in training, once I want to run against a full race grid, forget it. The frame rate drops to single figures. I still have a ways to go, looking at some of the GPLRankings, but I feel actual racing is the best way for me to advance what I have learned running around empty tracks. More fun, too. Now, I understand that if I mess with the graphics, etc, I can get a better frame rate. But I have turned off so many options, and set the resolution as low as I can, and it just isn't right - it doesn't feel exhilirating. Of course I have the option of racing 5 AI opponents but come on - that isn't why I bought the game. I want a decent frame rate, with enough eye-candy to feel immersed, and enough opponents to be able to race for position and actually feel the excitement. I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win 98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. Cheers, DG

Disgruntled Goat wrote:

Quoted text (35 lines)

> Hi everyone. > > I've been playing GPL a while now, maybe 18 months, and it is perhaps > the most frustrating thing I can think of. Not for the usual reasons > though. I am fairly sure i have a handle on the driving technique (I > can get around Monza within 2 sec of Jim Clark - sure it's not > brilliant but I feel like I have the basics down). Problem is, I can > do these times in training, once I want to run against a full race > grid, forget it. The frame rate drops to single figures. I still have > a ways to go, looking at some of the GPLRankings, but I feel actual > racing is the best way for me to advance what I have learned running > around empty tracks. More fun, too. > > Now, I understand that if I mess with the graphics, etc, I can get a > better frame rate. But I have turned off so many options, and set the > resolution as low as I can, and it just isn't right - it doesn't feel > exhilirating. Of course I have the option of racing 5 AI opponents but > come on - that isn't why I bought the game. I want a decent frame > rate, with enough eye-candy to feel immersed, and enough opponents to > be able to race for position and actually feel the excitement. > > I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win > 98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the > obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary > windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who > works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games > like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. > > So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can > CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I > can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. > > Cheers, > > DG

I`ve played GPL for 2 years now, on a variety of machines, and you clearly need more CPU power. Try overclocking, as some other replies suggested, or a newer Celeron if you can. I also suggest, as an upgrade list, in that order: 1st: CPU 2nd: More RAM 3rd: Faster Graphics board This suggestion is valid for GPL use only. DF

On Thu, 16 Nov 2000 18:34:45 +0000, Daniel Frois <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted text (57 lines)

>This is a multi-part message in MIME format. >--------------A993120F4DED4F3ECF303088 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > > >Disgruntled Goat wrote: > >> Hi everyone. >> >> I've been playing GPL a while now, maybe 18 months, and it is perhaps >> the most frustrating thing I can think of. Not for the usual reasons >> though. I am fairly sure i have a handle on the driving technique (I >> can get around Monza within 2 sec of Jim Clark - sure it's not >> brilliant but I feel like I have the basics down). Problem is, I can >> do these times in training, once I want to run against a full race >> grid, forget it. The frame rate drops to single figures. I still have >> a ways to go, looking at some of the GPLRankings, but I feel actual >> racing is the best way for me to advance what I have learned running >> around empty tracks. More fun, too. >> >> Now, I understand that if I mess with the graphics, etc, I can get a >> better frame rate. But I have turned off so many options, and set the >> resolution as low as I can, and it just isn't right - it doesn't feel >> exhilirating. Of course I have the option of racing 5 AI opponents but >> come on - that isn't why I bought the game. I want a decent frame >> rate, with enough eye-candy to feel immersed, and enough opponents to >> be able to race for position and actually feel the excitement. >> >> I have a Celeron 333 with 98MB of RAM and a 12MB Voodoo 2. I run Win >> 98 and all programs in the background are switched off (with the >> obvious exception of my steering wheel drivers and the necessary >> windows files). And here's the important part - i'm a student who >> works part time - I can't afford an expensive solution. Also, games >> like Nascar 3 and GP3 don't seem to suffer from the same problems. >> >> So, I was wondering if anyoe has some suggestions for how I can >> CHEAPLY (for free if you know a way - preferably legal) fix it so I >> can race without feeling like i'm playing a pre-alfa release. >> >> Cheers, >> >> DG > >I`ve played GPL for 2 years now, on a variety of machines, and you clearly >need more CPU power. Try overclocking, as some other replies suggested, or >a newer Celeron if you can. > >I also suggest, as an upgrade list, in that order: > >1st: CPU >2nd: More RAM >3rd: Faster Graphics board > >This suggestion is valid for GPL use only. >

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I tweaked my autoexec.bat some (as suggested) and that has already got me running in a field of 15 with a steady framerate. I'll look into overclocking when time allows (uni exams in a few weeks) so I can run with, maybe, a full field. In any case, i'm prety happy with how it hums along now. Once I start to get comfortable overtaking, etc, i'll see you guys online! DG

On Mon, 13 Nov 2000 18:44:54 GMT, [email hidden] wrote:

Quoted text (7 lines)

>Providing you have PC-100 memory and a >motherboard that allows you to change the bus >speed, I would bring the bus speed to the next >higher speed available, which should be 75mhz, >and see the results. If your system can handle >it, bring it to 83mhz as your next step. >

Thanks to all who offered advice in this thread. I've upped the multiplier from 5 to 8, giving me 550Mhz (I think - it's something like that). I also changed my V2 settings, and it's humming along beautifully now. Only worry I have is heat - I checked in the CMOS settings and it said it was running at 45 degrees - up from 41 before I overclocked. Should I worry about this? From the reading i've done, excess heat can cause some processor errors, but I presume you would have to have it running hot for some time to cause significant problems. Is this right? I could cool it down with fans, new heatsink, etc... but I coudn't be bothered unless I have to. Thanks again for the help... oooo GPL is good, isn't it? :-) DG