what is your average PC?
category: general [glöplog]
hi, sitting on the design of a new engine i was wondering,
what to aim for.
since i myself might not be the best best case to look at for average hardware. ( i have 2 machine, one with nv quadro and one with nv 6800 )
i was wondering, wich targetmachine should a demo nowadays aim?
so, any clues/hints welcome :)
p.s.: maybe it is a good idea to add to your personal data some specs of your machine ( like graphics hardware/cpu/native screen resolution ) that is now publicly viewable per person, but a table showing the average/ anyonmized list.
p.p.s.: watching a demo that only supports 1024x768 on a 1920x1200 display sux.
what to aim for.
since i myself might not be the best best case to look at for average hardware. ( i have 2 machine, one with nv quadro and one with nv 6800 )
i was wondering, wich targetmachine should a demo nowadays aim?
so, any clues/hints welcome :)
p.s.: maybe it is a good idea to add to your personal data some specs of your machine ( like graphics hardware/cpu/native screen resolution ) that is now publicly viewable per person, but a table showing the average/ anyonmized list.
p.p.s.: watching a demo that only supports 1024x768 on a 1920x1200 display sux.
wow a coder that gives a shit? let's not ruin the moment here folks!
Problem with PC is that the platform is highly dynamic and mostly defined by the party you're working for. I recall that the (then) insanely high SM3.0 requirements for Fairplay to the Queen were basically a matter of trying to make a great demo that would work best on the compo machine. On the other hand, the latest MFX demo was actually their first with shaders to begin with.
It's pretty fluid and no doubt somebody'll get pissed about the specs whatever you do. I say go with your gut feeling, compo specs or whatever people using dead platforms say.
for useful info: my demo/on-the-road machine is an Athlon XP 2800+ / 1Gb RAM / 6600GT. Smash considers me low-end, no doubt ;)
Problem with PC is that the platform is highly dynamic and mostly defined by the party you're working for. I recall that the (then) insanely high SM3.0 requirements for Fairplay to the Queen were basically a matter of trying to make a great demo that would work best on the compo machine. On the other hand, the latest MFX demo was actually their first with shaders to begin with.
It's pretty fluid and no doubt somebody'll get pissed about the specs whatever you do. I say go with your gut feeling, compo specs or whatever people using dead platforms say.
for useful info: my demo/on-the-road machine is an Athlon XP 2800+ / 1Gb RAM / 6600GT. Smash considers me low-end, no doubt ;)
well, you'll likely do pretty well with the 6800. some demos like deities by MFX require pretty fast cards, so if you plan on watching newer demos at your monitor's native resolution, you'll want something newer like geforce 7600 or higher, plus the transparency AA would be sweet for demos :) i'm fine with a geforce 6600GT and A64 3000+ and 1GB RAM, but i have to run some newer demos as low as 640x480.
well, you'll likely do pretty well with the 6800. some demos like deities by MFX require pretty fast cards, so if you plan on watching newer demos at your monitor's native resolution, you'll want something newer like geforce 7600 or higher, plus the transparency AA would be sweet for demos :) i'm fine with a geforce 6600GT and A64 3000+ and 1GB RAM, but i have to run some newer demos as low as 640x480.
Suport for multiple screen ratios and odd resolutions is a must. On my laptop, I have a 1280x800 screen, and far from a majority of all demos run allows me to use it. Far too many times I am forced to watch a demo in 1024x768, 4:3, instead of 1280x800, 16:10.
The machine is one year old, and has 768 MB RAM, a 1,6 P-M CPU, and a GeForce 6600Go with 128 MB RAM.
The machine is one year old, and has 768 MB RAM, a 1,6 P-M CPU, and a GeForce 6600Go with 128 MB RAM.
shifter: thanks for the info.
ese/Lord gaga:
i'm also quiet interested in the native screen resolution, since especialy on a tft using not the native res looks sucky.
ese/Lord gaga:
i'm also quiet interested in the native screen resolution, since especialy on a tft using not the native res looks sucky.
Lord Graga:
yes, supporting multiple res is important, no question. but the other question is if the hardware(read: fillrate) is capable of delivering.
yes, supporting multiple res is important, no question. but the other question is if the hardware(read: fillrate) is capable of delivering.
you're actually looking at more than the resolution game -aspect ratio matters even more.
It irks me to run demos that assume 4:3 aspect ratio even on 5:4 displays, let alone 16:9, 16:10 etc. It becomes even trickier to assume composition/design layout implications for each format. pan & scan for demos isn't invented yet :)
It irks me to run demos that assume 4:3 aspect ratio even on 5:4 displays, let alone 16:9, 16:10 etc. It becomes even trickier to assume composition/design layout implications for each format. pan & scan for demos isn't invented yet :)
just gotta do everything in 2.35:1 and scale the black borders to match the actual screen dimensions :-)
as for my machine: hp/compaq nc8000 laptop with mobility radeon 9600 and 1gb of mem (screen is 1400x1050). Fore reference deities runs like 10-20fps on this in 640x480 resolution without AA.
as for my machine: hp/compaq nc8000 laptop with mobility radeon 9600 and 1gb of mem (screen is 1400x1050). Fore reference deities runs like 10-20fps on this in 640x480 resolution without AA.
laptop, 1.8ghz (i think), r9600 mobility, 1gb ram, 1400x1050 resolution. i also have an external LCD at 1680x1050, but almost no demos allow me to use it :(
fuckings to lameass coders.
fuckings to lameass coders.
hmm, average pc.. you guys use that?
my desktop machine is a duron 1300, 512mb ram and a radeon X1600pro.
native resolution is 1280x1024
I didn't consider real problems running all the latest demos, although my cpu is rather outdated I admit.
and abductee: are you sure the viewing experience on TFT's running at non-native resolutions is that worse? I never thought so, as of moving images it's quite hard to spot such details.
of course, depends alot on the type of demo and your personal perception :)
native resolution is 1280x1024
I didn't consider real problems running all the latest demos, although my cpu is rather outdated I admit.
and abductee: are you sure the viewing experience on TFT's running at non-native resolutions is that worse? I never thought so, as of moving images it's quite hard to spot such details.
of course, depends alot on the type of demo and your personal perception :)
a lama laptop with a lame gfxcard, a poor cpu and few memory. demos from 2002 run slow...
Well, to get an average, you have to add up all the PCs in the world and then divide by the number of PCs.
So, I think we should glue all the PCs in the world into a giant cube, and then saw it up into equal chunks. Then everybody can have an average PC.
So, I think we should glue all the PCs in the world into a giant cube, and then saw it up into equal chunks. Then everybody can have an average PC.
code for them MPC Level-19 specs and you be fine. (warning: MPC is a trademark of the Multimedia PC Marketing Council )
my current machines (not astonishing):
desktop:
P4 2.8 2Gb RAM
nV FX5700
19" CRT monitor
&
AMD XP2400+
1Gb RAM
nV FX5200
laptop:
AMD Turion64 1.8
1Gb RAM
ATI Xpress 200M
desktop:
P4 2.8 2Gb RAM
nV FX5700
19" CRT monitor
&
AMD XP2400+
1Gb RAM
nV FX5200
laptop:
AMD Turion64 1.8
1Gb RAM
ATI Xpress 200M
p4 2.4ghz 1.5gb ram, radeon 9600pro, and a 1280x1024 native resolution tft.
soon to be replaced by something with 64bit and dualcore. :)
soon to be replaced by something with 64bit and dualcore. :)
Sempron 3000+, 1.5GB ram, radeon x800 pro 256MB, sb audigy 2ZS.
I don't have (almost) any problems running latest demos and I don't have any money to buy myself new HW for a year, so target your productions to this platform, please :-)
I don't have (almost) any problems running latest demos and I don't have any money to buy myself new HW for a year, so target your productions to this platform, please :-)
Even today, I have no speed problems with most of my demos in my AthlonXP 2600+, Radeon9600 Pro, 512MB Ram. 2 years since I got this PC and it still works fine with several demos and games (maybe only if I changed the gfx card it would be perfect?). Strange..
athlon XP 2500+, 1 GB, radeon 9600xt 128mb, 1280x1024 LCD, NV soundstorm
i don't care what platform you aim for, as long as you provide a video.
ooh, I forgot, I use 21" trinitron CRT (Dell P1110), 'cos I just don't like LCDs at all....
p4 3.2ghz 1gb ram, nv 6600gt, 1600x1200 20.4" samsung syncmaster 204ts 4:3
laptop: sony vaio
pentium-m 1.7ghz, nv 6400tc, 512mb, 1280x800 13.3" 16:10
i don't really run pc demos, i just kkapture them and watch them on my 32" 16:9 CRT TV :)
laptop: sony vaio
pentium-m 1.7ghz, nv 6400tc, 512mb, 1280x800 13.3" 16:10
i don't really run pc demos, i just kkapture them and watch them on my 32" 16:9 CRT TV :)
IBM PC 5150
4.77Mhz 8080
64K RAM
Text graphics
4.77Mhz 8080
64K RAM
Text graphics
A64 (socket 754-slow by today's standards) 3000+ 2.0 GHZ OC to 2.2
Geforce 6600GT 500/900 oc to 570/1.1GHZ custom-modded cooling
1GB PC-3200 Single channel (slow) 400MHZ OC to 440MHz
21" CRT (i prefer CRT to LCD) 2048x1200@85Hz
SB Audigy 2 (sux i only have 2 speakers and subwoofer)
Wireless KB
1600DPI wireless mouse (i think)
500-Watt X-connect
24 issues of MAX pc :-P
Geforce 6600GT 500/900 oc to 570/1.1GHZ custom-modded cooling
1GB PC-3200 Single channel (slow) 400MHZ OC to 440MHz
21" CRT (i prefer CRT to LCD) 2048x1200@85Hz
SB Audigy 2 (sux i only have 2 speakers and subwoofer)
Wireless KB
1600DPI wireless mouse (i think)
500-Watt X-connect
24 issues of MAX pc :-P