PC Help!

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Superman
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PC Help!

Post by Superman »

Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?
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Re: PC Help!

Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

Superman wrote:Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?
*cough* Wrong forum.

And yes, the Geforce 4 card is a 3D accelerator graphics card.
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Post by Superman »

Ooops... Ok, well I have a Geforce 2 in this PC. Are all them 3D accelerated? The reason I am asking is because this demo disk I have is not detecting a 3D card in my computer.
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Post by Einhander Sn0m4n »

*face turns bright redas he can barely hold in his laughter*
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Re: PC Help!

Post by Dalton »

Superman wrote:Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?
I think most newer cards are already 3D-enabled.

Here's an example of where you'd need an accelerator: My old Compaq has an onboard ATI 3D Rage LT Pro AGP chip, but it didn't have 3D acceleration - for that, my brother-in-law got me a Voodoo2 3D accelerator. A cord hooked the onboard to the accelerator, and the monitor was plugged into the accelerator.

If you go for a GF4, get a TI (not MX).
Last edited by Dalton on 2003-06-02 02:55pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

Superman wrote:Ooops... Ok, well I have a Geforce 2 in this PC. Are all them 3D accelerated? The reason I am asking is because this demo disk I have is not detecting a 3D card in my computer.
Bizarre. Geforce chips are graphics accelerator chips and accelerate 3D functions. Just how old is that demo disk anyway? And for that matter, what is it a demo for?
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Post by Hethrir »

What OS and driver version are you using? Make sure you have the lastest detonator drivers installed.
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Post by phongn »

Grab some new drivers from nVidia along with the latest DirectX drivers and try again. It may simply be that your GF2 is too old to play those demos, but I find that unlikely.
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Post by phongn »

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:*face turns bright redas he can barely hold in his laughter*
Anything constructive to say, Ein?
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Post by Superman »

It's the demo disk that came with the newest PC Gamer magazine.
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Post by Superman »

When I look in my device manager, it says I am using the Geforce 2 and also a S3 ProSavage DDR. What is that?
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Post by phongn »

Bychance do you have integrated video on the motherboard?
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Post by Superman »

Yes, I believe that I do. It takes up some of my RAM too... What does that mean and what can I do about it?

Thanks for the help again...
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Post by phongn »

Figure out how to disable your onboard video (in the BIOS) and switch to your GF2.
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Post by Superman »

Ah! Ok, now we are getting somewhere... So... How do I do that...
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Post by phongn »

Grab your manual and take a look.
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Post by Superman »

OK, we're in business. I got it... I know have 3D acceleration enabled.

One last problem... I cannot turn the shared video memory completely OFF. The most I can do is knock it down from 32 to 8 Megs. Instead of stealing 32 from my RAM, it now takes 8. I can't find this information anywere...
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Post by Keevan_Colton »

Are you sure its stealing it from your RAM, that doesnt sound quite right....usually these things will have their own memory.
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Post by Batman »

Keevan_Colton wrote:Are you sure its stealing it from your RAM, that doesnt sound quite right....usually these things will have their own memory.
Actually, a lot of cheap boards with on-board video DO have the graphics card use system memory. Nevertheless, it is usually possible to disable the onboard video chip. Are you positive on that being a no-go, Supes?
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Post by Superman »

Positive. It only lets me choose 32 bit, 16, or 8 in the BIOS menu. I knocked it down to 8 and to the proof is this: My computer is running at 504 megs of RAM instead of 512. Stupid shared shit...

Anyone have any ideas on how I can get that 8 megs back?
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Post by phongn »

Check to see if there's a jumper that lets you disable the onboard video.
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Post by Batman »

phongn wrote:Check to see if there's a jumper that lets you disable the onboard video.
Right on. Check to see if there are any dip switches, too (either instead of or supplementing the jumpers).

Further, see if there's a BIOS update available for your board.

You said it's an HP so I assume it's an off-the-shelf system, right?
Genuine HP or Compaq? Got a model number, or maybe motherboard type? I haven't worked on HPs in a long time but I assume they use homebrew motherboards, right?
If NOT, maybe the board manufacturer's got a website?
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Post by Superman »

It is a true HP, model "hp pavilion 553w."

How can I check for a BIOS update?
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Post by Batman »

Superman wrote:It is a true HP, model "hp pavilion 553w."

How can I check for a BIOS update?
I would usually refer you to the manufacturer's webpage but what I've seen of the HP pages so far is somewhat discouraging.
Try their support / download pages for a BIOS update.
I'll look into it when I'm in the office tomorrow, but no promises.
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Post by phongn »

HP's website is useless.
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