oddity

[ABBAFAN]

i have run the programe on the sh3 disk that tests wether the computer has the correct specifications for the game and was told i had only one MB of video memory but my pc hasd a 256MB fx6200 agp card why would it tell me this

and also whats pixel shading all about?is that a graphics card thing too?


other than that it should run.
here are my specs

cpu-AMD XP3400 64 BIT
512 MB DDR(400) HARD DISK
256 MB FX6200 AGP GRAPHICS CARD
16X CDROM
WIN XP PRO

IT SHOULD RUN IN THEORY

[HunterICX]

The Detection tools in game are alway a bit strange to me

mine says the 511 Ram doesnt comply with the minimal.
but I run the game and it goes fine

Mohaa has also an detection tool and it says i have
-1488 Mhz procesor
yest thats correct MINUS 1488 mhz
and I have an 2.8 Ghz procesor

the Detection tools arent really 100% correct what u have
thats why just run the game and see what it does.

[Respenus]

Never really relied on those proggrames. You're never sure and they usually mass up your whole computer thinking something completely different then what really is happening. We'll just have to live with it. As long as you can install the game and run it, everything is more then fine :p

[Oldgamer48]

i have run the programe on the sh3 disk that tests wether the computer has the correct specifications for the game and was told i had only one MB of video memory but my pc hasd a 256MB fx6200 agp card why would it tell me this

and also whats pixel shading all about?is that a graphics card thing too?


other than that it should run.
here are my specs

cpu-AMD XP3400 64 BIT
512 MB DDR(400) HARD DISK
256 MB FX6200 AGP GRAPHICS CARD
16X CDROM
WIN XP PRO

IT SHOULD RUN IN THEORY

I can tell you about pixel shading, because I am "in the same boat", so to speak (alhough I'm getting a new video card next week). I can run the game, but there is no water, and crewman, below decks, have strange color combinations to them, or are missing bodies. Also, crewman on the bridge act as if they have binoclulars, but the binoculars don't show up.

Pixel shading is being used more and more by game manufacturers (for example, Medieval II Total War, which comes out next month, requires it). I can't tell you for sure exactly what it is, because I'm not technical, but SH3 requires PS 1.1. Pixel shading in some of the newer cards goes up to PS 1.4.

When I first ran the game on my machine, I failed the Pixel Shading test. It said, "No PS 1.1". You should check the specifications for your card, and find out if it even has pixel shading. If it doesn't, you're going to have to buy a new video card, I'm sorry to say.

[Potoroo]

A shader defines the material of and is attached to a 3D object. Uboats use metal shaders, a crewman's face uses a skin shader, and so forth. Shaders can be implemented in many ways. Two of the most common are vertex shaders and pixel shaders.

Pixel shaders ultimately boil down to answering the question, "given the locations of lights and objects in this scene, what colour should this pixel be?" This question is well suited to massive parallelism and all current model video cards accordingly have hardware pixel shader support. Pixel shaders are well suited to simulating multi-layer surface properties such as water.

The Geforce 6200 supports Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 (including Pixel Shader Model 3.0). However, it is an older card (it was introduced toward the end of 2004) and has only 4 pixel shader processors. By way of contrast, the 6800GT has 16 pixel shader processors, the 7800GT has 20 and the 7900GT has 24.

[ABBAFAN]

what is the best card to get for this game?if i also upgrade the processor to say 3000mhz will that be ok without changing any other parts of the computer?it wont cause some weird sort of conflict will it?

[Oldgamer48]

A shader defines the material of and is attached to a 3D object. Uboats use metal shaders, a crewman's face uses a skin shader, and so forth. Shaders can be implemented in many ways. Two of the most common are vertex shaders and pixel shaders.

Pixel shaders ultimately boil down to answering the question, "given the locations of lights and objects in this scene, what colour should this pixel be?" This question is well suited to massive parallelism and all current model video cards accordingly have hardware pixel shader support. Pixel shaders are well suited to simulating multi-layer surface properties such as water.

The Geforce 6200 supports Microsoft's DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 (including Pixel Shader Model 3.0). However, it is an older card (it was introduced toward the end of 2004) and has only 4 pixel shader processors. By way of contrast, the 6800GT has 16 pixel shader processors, the 7800GT has 20 and the 7900GT has 24.

Thanks for your information, Potoroo. Now, I understand why I didn't have water before I got my new card (working great, at this moment). Also, my crewmen now use "visible" binoculars!

[Potoroo]

what is the best card to get for this game?
The best available video card for an AGP system is the Geforce 7800GS (US$250-US$300). However, the 7600GT AGP (US$180-US$200) and 7600GS ($US125-US$150) would run SH3 comfortably.
if i also upgrade the processor to say 3000mhz will that be ok without changing any other parts of the computer?it wont cause some weird sort of conflict will it?
Assuming your motherboard and BIOS will support the faster processor then any upgrade should be transparent (overclocking your existing CPU is a different story).

However, I don't understand where you get "3000mhz" from. The fastest Athlon XP was the 3200+ (Barton), which runs at 2200Mhz. Since the Athlon XPs use Socket A you'd have to also replace your motherboard to upgrade to a later, faster Athlon 64 (whether Socket 939 or AM2).

Aside from upgrading your video card you'd do well to at least double your DDR from 512MB to 1GB for SH3. 2GB would be better still, but you'd notice the difference even going to 1GB.
Now, I understand why I didn't have water before I got my new cardAs a side note on pixel shaders and water, check out the example images at http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/13/new_3d_graphics_card_features_in_2006/page3.html.

[ABBAFAN]

what about using a pentium card instead?
the spec checker on the game said my card was only 1005mhz??

[Potoroo]

what about using a pentium card instead?
the spec checker on the game said my card was only 1005mhz??
Look, comparing raw CPU frequencies between different architectures is meaningless. You're comparing apples to oranges. Throw that worthless spec checker in the bit bucket.

If you have an Athlon XP 3200+ 2.2Ghz Barton (there never was an XP 3400+) then it's roughly equivalent to a P4 2.8GHz Northwood.

If you're unsure what you have then download CPU-Z from http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz. When you run it it will take several seconds before the window shows as it gathers system information, but the CPU tab will tell exactly what you've got and how it is running.

[Oldgamer48]

what about using a pentium card instead?
the spec checker on the game said my card was only 1005mhz?? Look, comparing raw CPU frequencies between different architectures is meaningless. You're comparing apples to oranges. Throw that worthless spec checker in the bit bucket.

If you have an Athlon XP 3200+ 2.2Ghz Barton (there never was an XP 3400+) then it's roughly equivalent to a P4 2.8GHz Northwood.

If you're unsure what you have then download CPU-Z from http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz. When you run it it will take several seconds before the window shows as it gathers system information, but the CPU tab will tell exactly what you've got and how it is running.

Once again, thanks for the information.

I downloaded CPU-Z, and it showed my system to be exactly what I thought it would be ... a Pentium 4 (no hyperthreading) running at between 1600.2-1600.5 mghz. Exactly as adverstised. In spite of a CPU speed under 2000mghz, this computer runs SH3 with no lag at all, with particle density set to 100. I have 1gig of RAM, and decided the other day to go with a $125 US nVidia GeForce 6600GT. I couldn't be more pleased with the way this system is operating.

Also, with Pixel Shading 3, I'm no longer "flying" my Type VII through space!