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Problems with my laptop, any help appreciated


superlativequip

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I have read over all of the stickies and have followed the advice given here on this forum. However, I feel as if my laptop should be able to run the game, even though the configure option says it has a warning on the video card option.

 

My specs:

AMD Athlon 64, 3200+

ATI Radeon Xpress 200

512MB RAM

 

I understand that my RAM is a little low, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It seems, however, that upon closer inspection the configure option is telling me that my processor is not fast enough to handle the game as it is clocked at a "real frequency" of 997.06 MHz on the system bus. However, as you may know AMDs are stock like this, and it is running at its full 3200+ speed, so there should be absoultly no problem there whatsoever.

 

I think the main problem is the video card, which baffles me. It seems to have more than enough memory and the specs say it is capable of handling the game. However, the game is very laggy and I often am unable to move my character although I am able to move the camera. It seems as if he is getting stuck inside the 3d world. Here are the specs of my video card (from PC Wizard 2006):

 

General Information :

Manufacturer : ATI Technologies Inc (Hewlett-Packard Company)

Model : Mobility Radeon XPRESS 200

Bus Type : PCI

Total Memory : 128 MB

Texture Memory : 245 MB

Processor : ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M Series (0x5955)

Converter : Internal DAC(400MHz)

Refresh Rate (min/max) : 60/200 Hz

 

GPU Information :

Number of GPU : 1

Codename : RS480M

Memory Type : DDR-SDRAM

GPU Frequency : 300.72 MHz

DirectX Support : 9.0

 

GPU Configuration :

CAS Latency (tCL) : 3 clocks

RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 10 clocks

RAS Precharge (tRP) : 3 clocks

Cycle Time (tRAS) : 6 clocks

 

Video Bios Information :

Date : 05/03/03

ID : BK-ATI VER008.025I.004.000

ATI Catalyst : v 6.20

 

General Features :

Width : 384 mm

Height : 240 mm

Pixel per inch : 96x96 dpi

bits per pixel : 32

Colour Bits/Planes : 1

Brushes : 4294967295

Pens : 4294967295

Markers : 0

Device Fonts : 0

Device Colours : 4294967295

Clip Output to Rectangle : Yes

Hardware Acceleration : Yes

 

Blend and Shade Capabilities :

GradientFill Rectangle : No

GradientFill Traingle : No

Per Pixel AlphaBlend : Yes

Premultiplied Alpha : No

 

Raster Capabilities :

Banding : No

Transfer Bitmaps : Yes

Bitmap >64 KB : Yes

Fonts larger than 64 K : Yes

DIBs : Yes

DIBTODEV : Yes

Flood Fills : Yes

Scaling : No

StretchBlt : Yes

StretchDIB : Yes

 

Curves Capabilities :

Chord Arcs : Yes

Circles : Yes

Elipses : Yes

Interiors : Yes

Pie Wedges : Yes

Rounded Rectangles : Yes

Styled Borders : Yes

Wide Borders : Yes

Wide, Styled Borders : Yes

 

Lines Capabilities :

Interiors : Yes

Markers : Yes

Polylines : Yes

Polymarkers : Yes

Styled : Yes

Wide : Yes

Wide, Styled : Yes

 

Polygonal Capabilities :

Interiors : Yes

Alternate Fill Polygons : Yes

Winding Fill Polygons : Yes

Rectangles : Yes

Scan Lines : Yes

Styled Borders : Yes

Wide Borders : Yes

Wide, Styled Borders : Yes

 

Text Capabilities :

Stroke Precision : Yes

Stroke Clip Precision : Yes

90° Character Rotation : No

Any Angle Character Rotation : No

Independant X-Y Scaling : No

Double Weighted Characters : No

Italic : No

Underline : Yes

Strikeout : Yes

Raster Fonts : Yes

Vector Fonts : Yes

 

Color Management Capabilities :

CMYK : No

Gamma Ramp : Yes

ICM Device : No

 

 

Does anyone see why this card might have a problem running a game such as KotR2? I have had some problems with other games as well and have had to set everything down to the minimum settings. I have updated my catlyst drivers.

 

Any help would be a godsend. Thanks in advance.

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My appologies.

 

[sWKotOR]

ReportDateTime=3/9/2006 4:44:59 AM

SysInfoVersion=v1.00.60

GameExists=1

GameVersion=v2.00.424

GameInstallLocation=C:\Program Files\SWKotOR2\

 

[OS]

Name=WinXP

Version=Windows XP v5.1 build 2600 Service Pack 2

Service Pack=Service Pack 2

Status=Pass

 

[swapFiles]

C:\pagefile.sys=768

 

[CPU]

CPUCount=1

CPUSpeed=997

CPUFamily=15

CPUModel=15

CPUStepping=2

CPUVendor=AMD

CPUName=AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+

Status=Fail

 

[Memory]

RAM=512

Status=Pass

 

[Disk Free Space]

C: (NTFS), UNICODE=18.27GB

Status=Pass

 

[CD-ROMs]

DriveLetters=D:\,E:\

Drives=MAT****A UJ-840D

 

[Video]

Video Card Name=ATI MOBILITY RADEON XPRESS 200

Video Memory=256

Desktop Resolution=1280x800x32 @ 60Hz

DirectX=DirectX 9.0c (4.09.00.0904)

OpenGL Version=1.4.5646 WinXP Release

OpenGL Vendor=ATI Technologies Inc.

OpenGL Renderer=RADEON XPRESS 200M Series SW TCL x86/MMX/3DNow!/SSE2

ATI Driver=6.14.10.6599

Vid Card Status=Warning

Vid Card Driver Status=Pass

GL Status=Pass

DX Status=Pass

 

[Audio]

Sound Card Name=Conexant AC-Link Audio

Status=Pass

 

 

;Game Options from swkotor2.ini

 

[Display Options]

FullScreen=1

Disable Movies=0

Disable Intro Movies=0

Sort Modules=1

Width=640

Height=480

BitsPerPixels=32

RefreshRate=60

 

[sound Options]

Music Volume=85

Voiceover Volume=85

Sound Effects Volume=85

Movie Volume=85

Number 3D Voices=32

Number 2D Voices=32

2D3D Bias=1.00

EAX=0

Sound Init=0

Disable Sound=0

Force Software=0

 

[Graphics Options]

Anisotropy=0

Frame Buffer=0

Grass=0

Soft Shadows=0

Shadows=0

Brightness=55

EnableHardwareMouse=1

FullScreen=0

AllowSoftShadows=1

RefreshRate=60

Width=640

Height=480

V-Sync=0

Texture Quality=0

Anti Aliasing=0

 

[Game Options]

UnlockedPlanetSongs=3

Enable Tooltips=1

Keyboard Camera Deceleration=2000.000000

Keyboard Camera Acceleration=500.000000

Keyboard Camera DPS=200.000000

TextureVariation=1

BodyVariation=0

AppearanceType=168

PCGender=0

GameCompleted=0

CurSithLord=0

Hide InGame GUI=0

Use Small Fonts=0

Hide Unequippable=0

Tutorial Popups=1

Subtitles=1

Mini Map=1

Floating Numbers=1

Status Summary=1

Enable Mouse Teleporting To Buttons=1

Mouse Sensitivity=44

Difficulty Level=1

Auto Level Up NPCs=0

Mouse Look=0

AutoSave=1

EnableScreenShot=0

Reverse Mouse Buttons=0

Reverse Ingame YAxis=0

Reverse Minigame YAxis=0

Combat Movement=1

TooltipDelay Sec=1

Disable Movies=0

 

[config]

firstrun=0

 

[Keymapping]

Action286B=8

Action286A=7

Action285B=10

Action285A=9

Action284B=54

Action284A=51

Action283B=54

Action283A=51

Action282B=69

Action282A=73

Action281B=0

Action281A=0

Action280B=69

Action280A=73

Action268=52

Action265=58

Action264=57

Action263=43

Action262=85

Action261=84

Action260=83

Action259=82

Action258=81

Action257=80

Action256=79

Action255=78

Action254=77

Action253=31

Action245=75

Action244=55

Action243=67

Action242=74

Action241=87

Action240=56

Action239=68

Action238=82

Action236=83

Action234=81

Action232=80

Action230=79

Action228=78

Action226=77

Action225=70

Action224=90

Action223=31

Action222=25

Action221=24

Action220=29

Action219=28

Action218=42

Action217=87

Action216=65

Action215=63

Action214=60

Action213=62

Action212=61

Action211=66

Action210=59

Action209=71

Action208=89

Action207=72

Action206=30

Action205=55

Action204=67

 

[Autopause Options]

End Of Combat Round=0

Mine Sighted=0

Enemy Sighted=1

Party Killed=1

Action Menu=0

New Target Selected=1

 

[Movies Shown]

Movie10=0

Movie 9=0

Movie 8=0

Movie 7=0

Movie 6=0

Movie 5=0

Movie 4=0

Movie 3=0

Movie 2=0

Movie 1=0

Movie 0=12

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I never played with that video card but some other people who have that card have problems too. I don't know how to fix this.

 

Try at least disabling soft shadows (not supported by your card anyways) and in your swkotor2.ini files, under [Graphic Options], add the line

Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1

 

If it doesn't work, you could try to the Omega Drivers.

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Well as far as I understand the Omega drivers were not designed for ATI. Also, I seem to have a problem with all games across the board. So I wonder if it is a problem with the actual card, ie if it is setup correctly. Or if there might be perhaps an issue with it creating 3d objects via the OpenGL.

 

I have problems testing it when I try to do so, which leads me to believe that mabye ATI rolled out a product that just has poor performance versus its specs. It's hard to say though.

 

If you might know anyone who has had this card in the past and knows of a way to fix it or bring it up to its full potential I would be in heaven. I have been waiting to play Kotor 2 for a few months now and havn't had the time until now. I'm really bummed that it's not working out correctly.

 

I also tried to lower the display settings to a lower reso but it seems that this game runs in a default 800x600, which is kind of a bummer.

 

PS - I did change the shadows and turned off all unnessecary objects etc and still had a problem. =/

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I also tried to lower the display settings to a lower reso but it seems that this game runs in a default 800x600, which is kind of a bummer.

 

PS - I did change the shadows and turned off all unnessecary objects etc and still had a problem. =/

 

Yep, low resolution is the price to pay for having a game you can take anywhere and play anytime. At least they're starting to come out with gaming laptops now. :D

It's still a good story in any resolution.

Keep trying things--eventually you'll get it going well. I ended up turning everything graphics intensive off and added each one back in one by one. Changing the resolution out of 800x600 never worked for me, but I have a 32mb video card. Omega drivers helped a lot, but I have an nVidia card, not ATI, so I can't say how much they'd help in your case.

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@superlativequip-

The odd thing about those specifications is the fact that your CPU should be running at 2.0 Ghz, not 997 Mhz... try disabling whatever 'Cool & Quiet' software you may have running, it saves power and keeps your CPU cooler, however it causes problems with some applications.

 

 

Cool and Quiet software? I'm not sure I have anything to that effect on this computer. At least not running in XP. Might it be something I need to set in the BIOS?

 

I completely agree with you, a 3200+ AMD chip should not be running at such a low variable speed. Any other suggestions here would be great!

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Yep, low resolution is the price to pay for having a game you can take anywhere and play anytime.

 

 

Is there a way to lower the resolution via the ini file? As you can see from my settings I have tried to lower the resolution via the ini to 640x480, without running ANY type of additional settings. I mean this game is on the lowest settings possible.

 

Yet it seems as if the game is still running in 800x600. Is it possible that my video card is rejecting a lower reso for this game? In the configure settings 800x600 is the lowest possible setting, thus the suspicion.

 

I'll be downloading OMEGA drivers now, hopefully they do something for me.

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Cool and Quiet software? I'm not sure I have anything to that effect on this computer. At least not running in XP. Might it be something I need to set in the BIOS?

If you didn't install the Cool 'n Quiet software (cleverly named the "AMD Processor Drivers"), then it's a setting in your BIOS. Where the setting is depends on the motherboard though.

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