Greetings and a Graphics Question

[Legacy_Yendor_Trawz]

               Salutations to all fellow NWN afficionados.

Long time player here who after a brief hiatus is hopping back into my NWN DE Collection and this time around with a better IC, I'm finally going to indulge in some mods and add ons.

Firstly, goodbye Old Forum, I hardly knew ye ( I guess we lose our original join date huh '> )

Second, I've initially loaded the Critical Rebuild patch and just to observe any new features I've started a SoU campaign but seem to now be plagued with a flickering to black screen, although the actual text and dialogue and graphics (when I see it) seem to be fine.

I almost named this post - "You're going to tell me it's my Graphics Card, aren't you?"  Was I right? I would think it's looking kinda primitive after all these years, though it always played the game perfectly for me.
 
I like to play my NWN on an old Dell desktop running XP (and my NWN2 onwards on my newer lappy).

Before I fiddle with my system or game setup I thought i'd ask around...

Many thanks for any help.

Specs below.

Processor]
Type=              Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Vendor=GenuineIntel
NumCPUs=255
Speed=2992
Result=2
Skip=0
[RAM]
RAM=1022
Result=2
Skip=0
[Video Card]
Type=Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller
VRAM=128
Desktop Resolution=1024x768
Desktop Color Depth=32

Ooh I guess a subsidiary question if anyone knows, is - will this clunky old system still be ok for most of the mods available?

Cheers.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Yendor_Trawz, 24 février 2011 - 11:30 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               At first glance, if that is the true vram on the card, that would probably cause a digestion problem.  I also have an ancient cheapie card but with 4 times the vram and have no significant issues running on XP.  Whether it is the vram or the inability of your intel card to dissipate heat fast enough (a clean card is happy card) would be my main concerns.  Otherwise, the boilerplate of your system seems more than capable of running NWN and all its flavors just fine.

BTW, did you try running just the OC?  I believe the expansions are more demanding video-wise, than the OC.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 24 février 2011 - 06:25 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Yendor_Trawz]

               Hi Hip.

Yes, while waiting for a response here I started an OC campaign and it's better. One thing that happened is that after the post Prelude movie the screen remained black while Fenthick starts his whining. I <Esc> ed out and resized the minimization and got a paused game screen.

I think I was sailing close to the wind graphically with my ancient card and the CR has tipped it near the edge. I can usually play with a couple of things in the background but I guess maybe not any longer.

Meh, I've had a good life out of it and it's my 3rd string machine so c'est la vie.

When you say 'clean card' do you mean clean of heat, or that you can literally take the card out and clean it? Me no techie with the hardware as you can tell.

Thanks.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               Definitely turn off all other applications including any security or virus software while playing.

If that machine has been laying idle, the fan hasn't been circulating air so all the dust will settle on the components possibly creating hotspots on the boards.  A nitrogen blowout wouldn't hurt, at minimum an inspection and perhaps even re-seating (just pull out and re-insert) the boards again.  If the machine is in good working order otherwise, another slightly better low-end card may resurrect the Phoenix.

The card would probably cost less than what the recyclers will charge you to haul it away.'>  I just hate the thought of parting with old friends.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 24 février 2011 - 09:38 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Yendor_Trawz]

               Hi Hip,



I won't be junking it just yet. It's still the machine I use for my DVD copying, if nothing else. Just sometimes sounds like a jet taking off but that's the old Dells for you. Upgraded card may be the way to go.



Is there an easy way to know which cards this rig is capable of running? The only thing I've ever done to it is drop some extra RAM in.



Thanks
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

Yendor_Trawz wrote...
Is there an easy way to know which cards this rig is capable of running? The only thing I've ever done to it is drop some extra RAM in.

The Dell configuration is pretty adaptable to just about any model.  That's what this machine is right now and I exchange parts all the time without ever an issue.  I am also not much of a techie either, just a reader and mimic.

I would peruse the Tech Forum both here and and on the legacy forum here and read up on the various vcard models and the comments of the community about their performance and issues.  You should be able to get a good deal on some of those older cards today if you can still find them.

Then, when you are ready to swap, be sure to uninstall both the old driver and remove the card ID from the system specs.  Windows should recognize the new one immediately upon boot and install a suitable driver or you might want to scan the manufacturer website to see which legacy drivers are still available for particular models in case you run into a graphics problem running games.

BTW, the Dell website should have pictorial tutorials about replacing components that you can read about for your model machine.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 26 février 2011 - 12:06 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Yendor_Trawz]

               Thanks for all your help, Hip.



I have noticed in my forum readings that some of the newer cards and NWN don't necessarily see eye to eye so I think a better low end card is the go.



Cheers.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Gorath Alpha]

               Not merely Low End, really.  It's been several years now since AMD / ATI had cards / drivers that are complementary to the KotOR/ NWN1 pair (the X1n00 generation in 2005 was the last definite such), and Geforces past the 9n00s started being hinky, as well (2009, I think, maybe 2008). 

Also, if you have AGP or worse, for a video bus, nVIDIA stopped supporting AGP back in their 7n00 generation. 
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Yendor_Trawz]

               Ok - thanks for the info, Gorath.



From what I've seen on the forums, if there's something to be known about graphics/video cards, then you will know it. Maybe at some point I can pick your brain on a card choice.



I'm about to get my 'next' laptop and do some research on one now. I know that for gaming a desktop is superior, but by necessity I have to go the laptop route. From what you're saying it seems like having a card that meets or exceeds requirements for later games will be problematic for NWN. There is no cake and eating it too.



Hmmm, I have some reading to do.



Thanks again.