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Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?

Superman wrote:Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?

*cough* Wrong forum.

And yes, the Geforce 4 card is a 3D accelerator graphics card.

Ooops... Ok, well I have a Geforce 2 in this PC. Are all them 3D accelerated? The reason I am asking is because this demo disk I have is not detecting a 3D card in my computer.

*face turns bright redas he can barely hold in his laughter*

Superman wrote:Ok, this PC does not hace a 3D card. Now, if I buy say, a Geforce 4, will that supply the 3D acceleration or does that require a seperate card? Can you recommend one for me?

I think most newer cards are already 3D-enabled.

Here's an example of where you'd need an accelerator: My old Compaq has an onboard ATI 3D Rage LT Pro AGP chip, but it didn't have 3D acceleration - for that, my brother-in-law got me a Voodoo2 3D accelerator. A cord hooked the onboard to the accelerator, and the monitor was plugged into the accelerator.

If you go for a GF4, get a TI (not MX).

Superman wrote:Ooops... Ok, well I have a Geforce 2 in this PC. Are all them 3D accelerated? The reason I am asking is because this demo disk I have is not detecting a 3D card in my computer.

Bizarre. Geforce chips are graphics accelerator chips and accelerate 3D functions. Just how old is that demo disk anyway? And for that matter, what is it a demo for?

What OS and driver version are you using? Make sure you have the lastest detonator drivers installed.

Grab some new drivers from nVidia along with the latest DirectX drivers and try again. It may simply be that your GF2 is too old to play those demos, but I find that unlikely.

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:*face turns bright redas he can barely hold in his laughter*

Anything constructive to say, Ein?

It's the demo disk that came with the newest PC Gamer magazine.

When I look in my device manager, it says I am using the Geforce 2 and also a S3 ProSavage DDR. What is that?

Bychance do you have integrated video on the motherboard?

Yes, I believe that I do. It takes up some of my RAM too... What does that mean and what can I do about it?

Thanks for the help again...

Figure out how to disable your onboard video (in the BIOS) and switch to your GF2.

Ah! Ok, now we are getting somewhere... So... How do I do that...

Grab your manual and take a look.

OK, we're in business. I got it... I know have 3D acceleration enabled.

One last problem... I cannot turn the shared video memory completely OFF. The most I can do is knock it down from 32 to 8 Megs. Instead of stealing 32 from my RAM, it now takes 8. I can't find this information anywere...

Are you sure its stealing it from your RAM, that doesnt sound quite right....usually these things will have their own memory.

Keevan_Colton wrote:Are you sure its stealing it from your RAM, that doesnt sound quite right....usually these things will have their own memory.

Actually, a lot of cheap boards with on-board video DO have the graphics card use system memory. Nevertheless, it is usually possible to disable the onboard video chip. Are you positive on that being a no-go, Supes?

Positive. It only lets me choose 32 bit, 16, or 8 in the BIOS menu. I knocked it down to 8 and to the proof is this: My computer is running at 504 megs of RAM instead of 512. Stupid shared shit...

Anyone have any ideas on how I can get that 8 megs back?

Check to see if there's a jumper that lets you disable the onboard video.

phongn wrote:Check to see if there's a jumper that lets you disable the onboard video.

Right on. Check to see if there are any dip switches, too (either instead of or supplementing the jumpers).

Further, see if there's a BIOS update available for your board.

You said it's an HP so I assume it's an off-the-shelf system, right?
Genuine HP or Compaq? Got a model number, or maybe motherboard type? I haven't worked on HPs in a long time but I assume they use homebrew motherboards, right?
If NOT, maybe the board manufacturer's got a website?

It is a true HP, model "hp pavilion 553w."

How can I check for a BIOS update?

Superman wrote:It is a true HP, model "hp pavilion 553w."

How can I check for a BIOS update?

I would usually refer you to the manufacturer's webpage but what I've seen of the HP pages so far is somewhat discouraging.
Try their support / download pages for a BIOS update.
I'll look into it when I'm in the office tomorrow, but no promises.
Sorry Clark

HP's website is useless.