SCGT FF frustration

Hello, I have just got a new PIII 450 system from my emplyer, and used the whole yesterday evening to install all my racing sims (GPL, Mgprs2, Toca2, SCGT, CPR) SCGT does still have jerky graphics with my MSFF wheel. I can't believe it. The funny thing is that when i turn FF off, not only do i get much better framerate, as discussed here a lot earlier, but it also seems like the car is handling much better. This of course might me a result of the better frame- rate. Guess I have to race without FF, the FF effects in SCGT aren't that great anyway. I just love to feel the kerbs shake my wheel. I currently have a Vodoo2 card, but I am looking very hard at the Voodoo3 2000 PCI card (My silly Compaq Presario doesn't have a AGP port). How much improvement is there with such card ? -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

>SCGT does still have jerky graphics with my MSFF wheel. I can't believe it. >The funny thing is that when i turn FF off, not only do i get much better >framerate, as discussed here a lot earlier, but it also seems like the car >is handling much better. This of course might me a result of the better frame- >rate. That is weird. I don't see any difference with my Logitech FF USB wheel... FF, no FF it is all the same on my P2-450 as far as I can tell. -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

> >SCGT does still have jerky graphics with my MSFF wheel. > That is weird. I don't see any difference with my Logitech FF USB > wheel... Recall my recent ramblings about the number of CPU cycles it takes for GPL to send its force commands to some of the different wheels. The Thrustmaster Force GT was worst, taking about 3.5 million CPU cycles (on a PII 400), the MSFF wheel was next, taking anywhere from 0.5..2.0M cycles (generally around 1.5M), and the Logitech wheel in serial mode took about 0.05M cycles. Randy

Wouldn't know about FF, I've tried it in the shops, but for me it doesn't warrant throwing away a TM F1 - besides, more to go wrong. As for the card... Try to find out if it's your processor that's the bottleneck - these modern 3D cards can throw around an -awful- lot of scenery If you do buy another gfx card, buy something that will suit what you play. I play papy sims mostly, so I always had rendition cards - my new pc will have a V3 3000 for the same reason (Glide in GPL and N3 - and SCGT come to think of it - and is Viper Glide? dunno). Search for banchmarking sites - I'm sure you'll find plenty places comparing V2 to V3 2000. How about a second V2 and SLI mode? V2s are getting mighty cheap now. No help, I know, but food for thought maybe... Mark Reading, UK Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

Quoted text (20 lines)

> > Guess I have to race without FF, the FF effects in SCGT aren't that great > > anyway. I just love to feel the kerbs shake my wheel. > Wouldn't know about FF, I've tried it in the shops, but for me it doesn't > warrant throwing away a TM F1 - besides, more to go wrong. > > I currently have a Vodoo2 card, but I am looking very hard at the > > Voodoo3 2000 PCI card (My silly Compaq Presario doesn't have a AGP port). > > How much improvement is there with such card ? > As for the card... Try to find out if it's your processor that's the > bottleneck - these modern 3D cards can throw around an -awful- lot of scenery > If you do buy another gfx card, buy something that will suit what you play. > I play papy sims mostly, so I always had rendition cards - my new pc will > have a V3 3000 for the same reason (Glide in GPL and N3 - and SCGT come to > think of it - and is Viper Glide? dunno). Search for banchmarking sites - I'm > sure you'll find plenty places comparing V2 to V3 2000. How about a second > V2 and SLI mode? V2s are getting mighty cheap now. > No help, I know, but food for thought maybe...

Thanks for the info, I forgot to mention that I have a PIII 450, so i guess it's not the prosessor. I have thought about a second V2, but the main problem is that there distance betweed the default monitor output (ATI Rage LT Pro) and the extension card slots are to large for the standard pass-thru cable. So i had to get a longer one, and after strolling around about every computer shop in town i finaly got one, but it has poor quality, and as a result of that I get that mirror effect or whatever it is called in Windows. -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

FF does use additional CPU power but the % it uses is minimised with PII 450's and the like. Also the FF drivers have a big influence on this as well as the efficiency of the port that is feeding the FF information to the wheel/joystick. The Logitech drivers are very efficient and the use of the serial of USB port instead of a joystick port also helps. I have seen FF slow frame rates visibly with slower CPU and/or bad drivers. On your PII 450 with the Logitech you are lucky not to see the difference.

Quoted text (16 lines)

> >SCGT does still have jerky graphics with my MSFF wheel. I can't believe it. > >The funny thing is that when i turn FF off, not only do i get much better > >framerate, as discussed here a lot earlier, but it also seems like the car > >is handling much better. This of course might me a result of the better > frame- > >rate. > That is weird. I don't see any difference with my Logitech FF USB > wheel... FF, no FF it is all the same on my P2-450 as far as I can > tell. > -- > Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. > cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com