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So I just decided to try out Extreme Tux Racer on Dongwa to see what the SLIed 260GTXes are actually able to kick out under Ubuntu. Given that OOLite only kicks out mostly simple polygons and GLXGears doesn't really prove how well the cards will perform under Linux. Wine? Well, TF2 was rather playable at 1920x1080. And it was smooth tho not liquid smooth. And when action builds up, it starts slowing to a crawl.
Impressive. ETR performs liquid smooth 3D at 1920x1080 (then again, this rig is a quad-core Phenom II 965. The CPU's slightly faster than Edison, but offset by the slightly slower GPUs: GTX260-SP216 vs GTS450). Looks like I'll be able to kick some arse when Steam for Linux comes out, if it comes out...
The Best Medicine > Magic. Because SCIENCE! can prove the former.
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Looks 'swell dude. I guess that'll be perfect especially if you're playing emulated games on your PC.
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So the old Biostar 8400GS in Clementine has bit the bullet last evening. I did replace the card with a GeForce 210, but that card is semi-bricked and for some reason suffers from an identity crisis (are you a GeForce G210 or a GeForce 210? Make up your mind!) and will also cause the system to hang when I try to use it with drivers newer than 197.45.
Instead of buying another Biostar card through the internet (they only sell Biostar motherboards over here for some reason), I bit the bullet of stability and just replaced it with a Leadtek GT520. Hope nothing bad comes out of this mismatch- Clementine's motherboard is a Biostar, and my experience tells me to match the brands and chipsets for best compatibility...
The Best Medicine > Magic. Because SCIENCE! can prove the former.
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Speaking of Nvidia cards...
Greta is the first computer system I have with an Nvidia GPU since I tried running an Nvidia graphics card in Jasper a few years back while at DSU. For some reason, Jasper did not like the GeForce 6200 I got him, as well as the RIVA TNT2 that came with him. Each card was unstable....play Chuzzle Deluxe for awhile and it would either lock him up completely or there would be graphical artifacts. The two cards seemed to work fine under Linux though, but I didn't thoroughly test that out.
Stability returned only when I got an ASUS Radeon 9600XT...but I had to stick to an older driver. Newer drivers caused artifacting again...but I digress.
So far, Greta's "Optimus" technology is working like it should. Most of my games that use DirectX do use the GeForce 610m, while OpenGL ones (Angry Birds, Secret Maryo Chronicles) tend to default to the Intel HD Graphics 3000. The latter games work fine with the Intel HD Graphics anyway. Heck, I think Project Eden runs off the Intel HD Graphics...I have to double check on that since some DirectX programs that do use the Nvidia GPU still report the graphics card name as "Intel HD Graphics Family".
EDIT: I was right....the little Nvidia GPU Activity icon in the tray doesn't light up when Project Eden runs. Surprising how far the Intel GMAs are coming along. They are still nowhere near dedicated GPUs, but they are somewhat decent if your gaming isn't too demanding or consists of older DX8 games. Project Eden runs smoothly.... at least in the beginning cinematic and first level.
I also checked her BIOS, and it seems that you can actually force Windows to use either the HD Graphics 3000 or the GeForce 610m. Default graphic mode is "Switchable", so I left it at that.
I love foxes, especially the one in my avatar.
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Ordered pizza. Hungry.
For some odd reason I felt like ordering 5 boxes of Lasagna instead. But I thought it over and ordered just one box with a pizza.
The Best Medicine > Magic. Because SCIENCE! can prove the former.