Video card memory too low
I've a friend who is trying to play a game that requires a 16 MB video
card but he only has 8. His video card is a sis 6326. Yes, we all know that is an old card but he doesn't plan to upgrade his computer, he's just looking to play that particular game (GTA 3). I don't know if his video card is an onboard one.. if it is, I was going to suggest him to try to change the frame's buffer size at the BIOS (or something like that, I can't remember it well - I don't buy onboard mobos anymore). Another way it would be to emulate a video card with a higher memory with some of those virtual PCs programs like vmware, but that seems to complicated to him. So I ask you guys to give me some suggestions on how to try to run this game on his video card. Thanks in advance, -- BuDMaN E-Mail: budmanpe at yahoo dot com dot br |
On 11 Sep 2003 01:44:13 GMT, BuDMaN wrote:
I've a friend who is trying to play a game that requires a 16 MB video card but he only has 8. His video card is a sis 6326. Yes, we all know that is an old card but he doesn't plan to upgrade his computer, he's just looking to play that particular game (GTA 3). I will speculate that the rest is his system is as old and slow as the video card, and suggest a newer system. If you feel the system IS otherwise capable of the game, you might confirm it by running 3DMark 99Max, not 3Dmark2000, '01, or '03, since any newer version requires more video memory, then note the scores. If it can't even do very high framerates in that old benchmark... I don't know if his video card is an onboard one.. if it is, If it is, then I know the relative performance of the motherboard and STRONGLY suggest you just give up because that SIS chipset on a motherboard is incredibly slow, enough so to make ANY CPU and video card perform far worse than in any other contemporary chipset (like a 440BX or anything else, newer). I was going to suggest him to try to change the frame's buffer size at the BIOS (or something like that, I can't remember it well - I don't buy onboard mobos anymore). It doesn't really matter, that onboard video would be slow with a 128MB onboard frame buffer. If you turned off all detail and ran the game at 640x480x16bpp, it might run, but I couldn't even guess if it'd be playable. Sis also used to "cheat" at benchmarks, incrementing the frame counter without drawing the frame, as it was the only way to get the chipset to look anywhere near competitive, even during that era when cards were so much slower than today's budget cards. Another way it would be to emulate a video card with a higher memory with some of those virtual PCs programs like vmware, but that seems to complicated to him. There is no trick to wringing performance out of a platform that can't deliver. THIS is exactly why people buy new PCs, because the old one was too slow. So I ask you guys to give me some suggestions on how to try to run this game on his video card. Thanks in advance, I'm not trying to knock his system, it's just that sometimes it's better to spend the time where it's useful, and in this case I believe the time best spent on upgrading and/or replacing the system... even if not to a modern high-performance PC, a slighlty newer (say 2 year old) technology will be a lot faster and good bang for the buck. Dave |
"BuDMaN" wrote in message
... " Yes, we all know that is an old card but he doesn't plan to upgrade his computer, he's just looking to play that particular game (GTA 3). " From the back of my GTA3 case, it gives the following minimum hardware spec: 450 Mhz Intel pentium III or AMD Athlon processor 96 MB of RAM 4x speed CD / DVD drive 700 MB of free hard disk space 16 MB video card with DirectX 8.1 compatible drivers DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card Keyboard Mouse The recommended hardware spec is as follows: 700 Mhz Intel pentium III or AMD Athlon processor 128 MB of RAM 8x speed CD / DVD drive 700 MB of free hard disk space 32 MB video card with DirectX 8.1 compatible drivers DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card with surround sound Gamepad (USB or joystick port) Keyboard Mouse I expect he already has the CD drive, the keyboard and the mouse. |
kony wrote in
: If you turned off all detail and ran the game at 640x480x16bpp, it might run, but I couldn't even guess if it'd be playable. You're right, I forgot about the resolution. I'm not trying to knock his system, it's just that sometimes it's better to spend the time where it's useful, and in this case I believe the time best spent on upgrading and/or replacing the system... even if not to a modern high-performance PC, a slighlty newer (say 2 year old) technology will be a lot faster and good bang for the buck. You bet, that's the smartest solution, no doubt about it, but the problem is he's only 11 and his parents already got two computers, one of them got a better video card but he (the kid) can't use it, so he's left with the old computer. :) Anyway, thanks for your post and I'm going to suggest him to change the resolution. -- BuDMaN E-Mail: budmanpe at yahoo dot com dot br |
BuDMaN wrote:
You bet, that's the smartest solution, no doubt about it, but the problem is he's only 11 and his parents already got two computers, one of them got Hmmm, I don't think the problem is with the computer ... it's with the user. He's 11 and he wants to play Grand Theft Auto? That game is rated M for a reason ... I really don't think it's appropriate for an 11-year-old to play it. |
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