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Liquidity X · Jun 26, 2002, 09:42 PM

Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?

Millennium · Jun 26, 2002, 10:16 PM

Most games don't take advantage of multiple processors very well. Most can only "see" one chip, so in essence you're running them on a single-chip 450MHz machine.

That seems to be the most likely cause of the trouble. Unfortunately, there's not much that can he done about it. Multi-chip PC's are usually affected by this too; it's not a bug per se but just the way games tend to be dsigned.

Norm1985 · Jun 26, 2002, 11:45 PM

Yet isn't it true though that games now a days depend more on the graphic chipset/graphic card then the actual processor? If that's the case, he should still see a significant performance increase.

I'd love to know!

[ 06-26-2002, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: Norm1985 ]

Liquidity X · Jun 26, 2002, 11:59 PM

thats whjat i hught to.i was starting to tink its that alot of games r ported to make and optimized to nvidia card, not ATI, could his be the case?

TheMosco · Jun 27, 2002, 12:49 AM

Doesn't your computer only have an AGP 2x? or is 4X? If it only has a 2X, that might also be a problem. The difference between 2X and 4x might not seem like alot but 2X is 533MB/sec while 4X is 1066MB/sec so there really is a huge difference.

fulmer · Jun 27, 2002, 12:53 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Norm1985:
Yet isn't it true though that games now a days depend more on the graphic chipset/graphic card then the actual processor? If that's the case, he should still see a significant performance increase.

I'd love to know!<hr /></blockquote>I wouldn't be too sure. I saw a recent episode of the screen savers (techTV) and one of the guys said that a gpu was too fast for him--he said his processor was too slow. He was talking about the high-end titanium card, and said that folks should have a min. 1.5 GHz P4 or Athlon (XP?).

My guess is that the same would apply to macs. fast gpu paired with a slow processor might not bring up the performance like we'd hope.

TheMosco · Jun 27, 2002, 02:07 AM

yeah, i saw that episode. He only had a P3 1 Ghz and sad you need atleast an Athlon XP or P4.

I dont know how true his statement was though. Gotta love that gaming box he made though.

<a href="http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/supergeek/story/0,24330,3381725,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/supergeek/story/0,24330,3381725,00.html</a>

The following systems are installed in the Boxx:

* Atari 2600
* Nintendo Entertainment System (8-bit)
* Microsoft Xbox
* Nintendo GameCube
* Sony PlayStation 2
* A custom PC (here's the parts list)

Hornet · Jun 27, 2002, 02:26 AM

Tried turning on MP in Q3A and RTCW? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

/r_smp 1
or something
then
/vid_restart

now it uses both processors. it doesn't otherwise

iPad · Jun 27, 2002, 03:47 AM

Your CPU is bottlenecking your Radeon 8500, therefore you shouldn't really expect huge improvements.

For example, although not with the mac platform, my friend last year had a 366 Celeron with Geforce DDR. It was good, I was jealous *of his gfx card, not the processor*, etc (with my G3/400 Rage 128, the PC killed my comp in every game). He then upgraded to a Duron 850, his fps increased by at least 30%.

Nebrie · Jun 27, 2002, 04:01 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by iPad:
Your CPU is bottlenecking your Radeon 8500, therefore you shouldn't really expect huge improvements.

For example, although not with the mac platform, my friend last year had a 366 Celeron with Geforce DDR. It was good, I was jealous *of his gfx card, not the processor*, etc (with my G3/400 Rage 128, the PC killed my comp in every game). He then upgraded to a Duron 850, his fps increased by at least 30%.<hr /></blockquote>Yep, if you look at pc benchmarks or just the fps, a pc with a top of the line processor and crappy video card will perform just about the same as a pc with a crappy processor and a top of the line video card. Needs balance.

Cipher13 · Jun 27, 2002, 04:45 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

CharlesS · Jun 27, 2002, 04:51 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

<hr /></blockquote>Y ask y? Abrvs dnt mk i tht hd 2 rd, d thy?

-Chrls

Cipher13 · Jun 27, 2002, 04:53 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by CharlesS:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

<hr /></blockquote>Y ask y? Abrvs dnt mk i tht hd 2 rd, d thy?

-Chrls<hr /></blockquote>No, but you look fairly stupid.

undotwa · Jun 27, 2002, 05:36 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

<hr /></blockquote>To things more difficult to read.

starman · Jun 27, 2002, 08:53 AM

Macs suck for games. I don't buy games for the Mac anymore. I use my PC for gaming now. Besides, you get MUCH better performance and more titles for the PC.

Mike

Millennium · Jun 27, 2002, 11:02 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Norm1985:
Yet isn't it true though that games now a days depend more on the graphic chipset/graphic card then the actual processor? If that's the case, he should still see a significant performance increase.

I'd love to know!<hr /></blockquote>To some degree. But even the best graphics cards reach a point where they can only process graphics as fast as the processor can send them instructions. If the processor isn't fast enough to keep the graphics card happy, you'll see skips, not because the card can't process the information fast enough, but because it has no information to process.

Detrius · Jun 27, 2002, 11:22 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by starman:
Macs suck for games. I don't buy games for the Mac anymore. I use my PC for gaming now. Besides, you get MUCH better performance and more titles for the PC.

Mike<hr /></blockquote>Why not buy an Xbox or a PS2?

starman · Jun 27, 2002, 11:32 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />
Why not buy an Xbox or a PS2?
<hr /></blockquote>I have those, and a GC. There are games that just don't exist on every platform.

Try playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.

Mike

dbergstrom · Jun 27, 2002, 01:21 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by starman:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />
Why not buy an Xbox or a PS2?
<hr /></blockquote>I have those, and a GC. There are games that just don't exist on every platform.

Try playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.

Mike<hr /></blockquote>You spend WAY too much time and money on computer games. Take a hike. Go kayaking. Play a round of golf. Read a book. Start a relationship with another human being.

I love my iBook, and I've got an N64, but I'd rather be in in an alpine meadow on a sunny day than playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.

itistoday · Jun 27, 2002, 01:32 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by dbergstrom:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by starman:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />
Why not buy an Xbox or a PS2?
<hr /></blockquote>I have those, and a GC. There are games that just don't exist on every platform.

Try playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.

Mike<hr /></blockquote>You spend WAY too much time and money on computer games. Take a hike. Go kayaking. Play a round of golf. Read a book. Start a relationship with another human being.

I love my iBook, and I've got an N64, but I'd rather be in in an alpine meadow on a sunny day than playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.<hr /></blockquote>

Nicely put. Somtimes computers/tv/consoles interfere with the quality of our lives.

starman · Jun 27, 2002, 02:31 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />
You spend WAY too much time and money on computer games. Take a hike. Go kayaking. Play a round of golf. Read a book. Start a relationship with another human being.

I love my iBook, and I've got an N64, but I'd rather be in in an alpine meadow on a sunny day than playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.
<hr /></blockquote>I'll tell my wife (of 10 years) and kids you said that.

You do realize what a HOBBY is, don't you? Try being a little more open-minded.

Mike

CharlesS · Jun 27, 2002, 03:01 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by CharlesS:
 Y ask y? Abrvs dnt mk i tht hd 2 rd, d thy?

-Chrls<hr /></blockquote>No, but you look fairly stupid.<hr /></blockquote>Hey, at least I try to have a sense of humor sometimes. Some people take everything way too seriously. Apparently it wasn't that funny, probably due to the fact that I wrote it at 4 AM, but I at least tried...

Hugi · Jun 27, 2002, 03:18 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Hey, at least I try to have a sense of humor sometimes. Some people take everything way too seriously. Apparently it wasn't that funny, probably due to the fact that I wrote it at 4 AM, but I at least tried...<hr /></blockquote>�

But you still have to admit it made you look really, really stupid. In fact, I found myself wondering how someone could be so utterly amazingly earthshatteringly stupid.

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

CharlesS · Jun 27, 2002, 03:27 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by hugi:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Hey, at least I try to have a sense of humor sometimes. Some people take everything way too seriously. Apparently it wasn't that funny, probably due to the fact that I wrote it at 4 AM, but I at least tried...<hr /></blockquote>�

But you still have to admit it made you look really, really stupid. In fact, I found myself wondering how someone could be so utterly amazingly earthshatteringly stupid.

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>As bad as this thread?

The DJ · Jun 27, 2002, 04:28 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by dbergstrom:
You spend WAY too much time and money on computer games. Take a hike. Go kayaking. Play a round of golf. Read a book. Start a relationship with another human being.

I love my iBook, and I've got an N64, but I'd rather be in in an alpine meadow on a sunny day than playing Neverwinter Nights on an XBox.<hr /></blockquote>The fun is that all these activities are available as games by now. Even the last one (Sims). Not that I think they are even close to the real thing.

DJ

WombatPredator · Jun 27, 2002, 04:29 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by starman:
I'll tell my wife (of 10 years) and kids you said that.

You do realize what a HOBBY is, don't you? Try being a little more open-minded.

Mike<hr /></blockquote>I'm with you on that one. I took that comment personally as well. There is something infuriating about being patronized by someone who believes that they hold the key to YOUR happiness and that computers and games are not a part of it. I'd play Neverwinter Nights over dilly-dallying in the lush alpine landscape, a book on kayaking in my hand any day.

Stop pigeonholing people. Stop assuming that "computer-related=nerdy and antisocial". You are not cool or superior because you like golfing (look! I'm an athlete!) over computer games. You have different hobbies.

And the whole "get a girlfriend" shtick just has to go. If those people are so in touch with the real world, they probably know by now that their assumption that girls are not interested in gamers is not only false, it is also sexist.

(gee, that tickled me good!)

iamnid · Jun 27, 2002, 04:49 PM

seriously though -- back to the original topic.

Why do games such as Quake III and RTCW run SOOOO much better in OS 9 than OS X? It sucks that I have to reboot in OS 9 if I want my games to give me great performance.

benschilke · Jun 27, 2002, 04:51 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by CharlesS:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

<hr /></blockquote>Y ask y? Abrvs dnt mk i tht hd 2 rd, d thy?

-Chrls<hr /></blockquote>Chrls - thts prtty cool. Yu cn rlly abbrvt t hll out of sm wrds.

Cipher13 · Jun 28, 2002, 11:24 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by benschilke:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by CharlesS:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Cipher13:
 <blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Liquidity X:
Ok have a DP 450, and a ati 8500, 760 megs of ram. and most of my games still play liek they are back on my old radeon? i should have plenty of speed to play games such as RTCW, Undying, Medal Of Honor :AA, any ideas y my system skips ou t alot?<hr /></blockquote>Dude, seriously, why abbreviate a monosyllabic, three letter word?

<hr /></blockquote>Y ask y? Abrvs dnt mk i tht hd 2 rd, d thy?

-Chrls<hr /></blockquote>Chrls - thts prtty cool. Yu cn rlly abbrvt t hll out of sm wrds.<hr /></blockquote>Then you look even dumber when you abbreviate something as ambiguously as "t", as opposed to something as unambiguously as "Yu", when it could easily have been made simply "U".