What is my biggest pc problem? Dual boxing graphics issue

[js6534]

Problem, a little slow but not un livable. The issue is the graphics on one of the screens almost always have lines or color blank spots in the graphics

PC:
HP/Compaq OEM AMD system with nVidia 6150LE chipset
2GB DDR2-667 memory
nVidia 7900gs PCI express Video Card with 256-mddr3 memory
Seagate 120-GB SATA-300 HardDrive


whats the biggest need of upgrading?

[Aldercy]

I assume from your post that your running duel monitors on this rig. There are several issues here, and a few things I need cleared up before I can really address your question properly, but I will try.

A key item here is your OS. From memory (and it’s been quite some time since I played with duel monitors from one rig) I think Windows XP had some overhead issues, especially when running two DirectX programs on different monitors. You will find that running those same two programs on the one monitor (being careful not to overlap any part of them) would run far better then on a duel configuration. I believe this was fixed, or at least fine tuned more in Vista (anyone able to confirm or correct?) I do doubt though that you’re running Vista on that rig, so likely this may be a large part of your problem.

Second thing that stands out to me is the lack of video memory. Though you don't mention your processor speed, at this point I would personally be looking at upgrading the video card to something with at least 512mb and (assuming your using the integrated 6150LE for one monitor, and the 7900gs for the other) disabling the integrated video all together. Not only is the 6150LE quite underpowered, but it's also sucking on your 2gb of system memory.

I don't believe your going to see this configuration ever run two WoW clients without slowdowns and if you can I would advise moving them onto one screen instead of two, but I feel that if you address the video cards first, especially from what you’ve said about the anomalies on one screen, then you will likely see some improvement (though I really cant say how much)

- Aldercy

[turbonapkin]

whats the biggest need of upgrading?First priority would be your memory. Your memory capacity is too low by a factor of 2. 4GB would suffice for dual boxing.

The next priority would be your graphics card, not because of its age but because it also has a rather low memory capacity.

HTH

[js6534]

Sorry, i should clarify, i am only running one monitor, using keyclone to split that screen...no overlapping

i think its amd athlon 64 and Window Xp on the OS



*edit for correction

[Khatovar]

OS stands for Operating System. Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, etc.

[Aldercy]

whats the biggest need of upgrading?First priority would be your memory. Your memory capacity is too low by a factor of 2. 4GB would suffice for dual boxing.

The next priority would be your graphics card, not because of its age but because it also has a rather low memory capacity.

HTHActually with XP 2gb of ram would suffice. Although he did mention that the system did not run as well as he would like his main issue was with artifacts appearing on one of the screens. This is more likely to be an issue with the graphics card not being able to keep up with drawing the two windows at the same time. With the price of the 9 series of NVIDIA cards I would suggest looking into them as a first upgrade. The 9600 and 9800 would be a significant improvement over what you’re currently running. I am curious about your current graphic settings in game; are they all set to the lowest? What's your current screen resolution?

You can try adding to your memory as suggested, though if it was a memory issue it would not be affecting the drawing of the screen to the point of causing artifacts as the OP described. I would only do so in this case if you could afford both the upgrade of memory and video card at the same time, and if your going to do that I would check if your main board supports DDR2 800 and replace what’s in there completely (that is if the main board supports 4gb, which will depend on its age). And even if you do upgrade to 4gb, unless you’re running XP 64 then you’re not going to see all of it anyway. There is not enough address spacing in a 32 bit OS to fully use 4gb of memory meaning that you can only address 3gb of the memory you’ve installed. Many uninformed people will try to tell you that it still uses the 4gb even though it doesn’t report more then 3gb, but this is simply not true; you cant use memory space that you cant address through the OS.

You really do need to be careful with the overlap; even 1 pixel of overlap can throw your performance out the window.

I hope this clears some things up for you, good luck on your upgrades.
- Aldercy

[Owltoid]

2 GB of RAM should be enough for dual-boxing.

[F9thRet]

not sure if this is even relevant, But wasn't there an issue with seagate drives? Linkie to barracuda bios failure ('http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/01/21/seagate_firmware_fix_breaks_barracudas/')

Not sure if his Seagate was a barracuda, but It might be causing him some trouble,Although it is a very small chance of that.

Stephen

[Aldercy]

2 GB of RAM should be enough for dual-boxing./agree



not sure if this is even relevant, But wasn't there an issue with seagate drives? Linkie to barracuda bios failure ('http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/01/21/seagate_firmware_fix_breaks_barracudas/')

Not sure if his Seagate was a barracuda, but It might be causing him some trouble,Although it is a very small chance of that.

StephenI would say this is unlikely. First off it’s a firmware upgrade that has caused the issue, hence OP would have had to deliberately upgrade the drives firmware. Second it seems that in doing so you would cause the drive to completely fail. Besides these points the OP is not complaining about slow performance (it’s only mentioned in passing), but rather the artifact and video glitches on the screen which is still most likely linked to a video card issue.

I really should ask if you’ve upgraded your video card drivers at all. Give www.nvidia.com a shot and download a set of reference drivers for the card, also if you know how I would make sure that the integrated video card is disabled in your BIOS. This will prevent it from setting aside any of your system memory for its own use (as integrated video cards do not have their own).

I still feel that your issue is caused by a lack of video memory however and my advice here remains the same.

- Aldercy

[js6534]

Thanks for all the advise

is a video card difficult to install ?

[dbick]

"You really do need to be careful with the overlap; even 1 pixel of overlap can throw your performance out the window."

This brings up a question I have had since I tried to use the 3 client maximizer layout through keyclone. I noticed that all of the layouts do not overlap and it got me asking why? I have been 2 or (now 3) boxing for over a year with major overlap on all three clients. (2 slaves stacked up on the left side of the screen, the main overlapping all except the last few inches of screen on the left side.)

What performance issues should I be experiencing with my screen set up like this?

[robtest]

whats the biggest need of upgrading?First priority would be your memory. Your memory capacity is too low by a factor of 2. 4GB would suffice for dual boxing.

The next priority would be your graphics card, not because of its age but because it also has a rather low memory capacity.

HTH



I agree ... I recently upgraded from 2mb to 4mb (actually to 6mb with a $49 4gb kit, but OS won't use), and it made a world of difference for me as far as lag and poor video frame rates. Although I think the video issues you mentioned will probably be ultimately be solved by a better graphics card. I didn't have any of that, but I am running an 8800GTX.

As far as installing one, they are not too difficult. Be careful, some PCI-E video slots have a locking mechanism that you need to release before pulling the card out.

[js6534]

would this be ok? or does it mismatch my system?



PNY - Verto NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card ('http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8968101&type=product&id=1217029964838')

[Sam DeathWalker]

thats a solid good video card, more then what you need for 2 accounts (I box 5 accounts with a 9600 512M). without looking it up if your motherboard is pci-e it will work. Get 4G there is no reason not to ram is running $12/G dirt cheap.