Geforce fx 5600 problems

[dm 9]

What you've got to remember, is that the majority of this game was coded in the late 90's (work started on it in late 1997 IIRC)

Now at that time, the top spec PC (the sort of one that cost around Å2000 back then) was "only" operating on 32 MB GFX cards at the most. This means that the developers (in this case BIS) were not assuming that the game would last as long as it has, and hence didnt write the code to support the "mammoth" GFX cards that we have available to us today.

This is very similar to the Win 98/large amounts of RAM issue, where at the time win 98 was coded, the price of RAM meant that very few machines would have had more than around 128 MB at most. This means that M$ didn't code the infrastructure into Win 98 to support large amounts of RAM.

Both of these situations have been addressed, and FIXED with patches (for free I might add)

What you have to appreciate is that the IT industry is one of the most rapidly changing industries there is. I mean in the last year alone we've shot from 64 MB GFX cards, to the 256 MB beasts we have today. Now I cant see that many people would have the foresight, or even the ability to code for things that dont even exist. let alone test how they will function.

The car analogy, I think is a bad one. Since the internal combustion engine has not changed in the way it functions since it was first designed in the late 1800's. Unlike computer technology, which changes on an almost daily basis. Advances like the AGPx slot, a year ago, ALL systems ran on AGPx1. Now, all new systems come with AGPx8 as standard (they may not come with an 8x GFX card, but the motherboard will be capable of running it)

That means an entirely new set of graphics coding language, so different from even the AGPx4, x2 and x1 that you cant put an AGPx8 card into a lesser AGP slot. This means that the more advanced AGPx8 cards have a certain amount of "difficulty" in processing the older AGP formats, as they and their drivers were initially optimised for 8x applications.

However, in this case, both BIS and Nvidia have addressed this issue with their latest patches/drivers.

i now operate OFP 1.94 Beta, and Nvidia 53.03 drivers, on a GeForce FX 5600 card with 256MB of RAM, and it is the fastest, most stable I have ever seen the game operate. I haven't modified the BIOS, I havent modified the card or any of my other hardware in anyway. All you need to do is ensure you have the latest drivers and patches which are designed to solve these issues, and you need not have to even open your PC case.

I'll round up by saying, if you can find a game, which has NO bugs in its graphics handling, uses all the latest hardware to its maximum effect, and runs as stable as OFP, then I'd like to see it...

[Keva 0]

id like to add my name to the list of players with these types of issues with this card. I m currently running the latest drivers and latest patch for ofp and alothugh i have gotten ofp to run it still has framerate issues in the game and randomly crashes to the desktop saying i am out of memory when i have 354 or sommin mb of RAM

[krycek 349]

Damn,same here "cannot memory map o.pbo",it's really bad because I play very much OFP(actually OFP and Deus Ex 1 are my favourite games).Before I had my Fx 5600,I had an Gf 4 Mx 440 and the game was running like a charm.

I know OFP it's a very complex game but I can run Kingpin,System Shock 2 and many more older games with this card and no problems.Hope BIS will fix this.

[bwenke75 0]

Just bought the FX 5600 256MB and got the green screen also. Wish I would have know about this wonderful card before I bought it. Well the only way I could fix it is to uninstall RES and reinstall it with just the original addons. To many addons in the RES addon folder I guess... I made a copy of the original addons so if down the road I get more and the green screen comes back, I'll be able to tell what I need.... hope this helps.

[bwenke75 0]

It's like finding a needle in a stack of needles. Only card that wont play RES right, and the only game that wont play on the card.... Just luck I guess...

[shinRaiden 0]

I too am having random CTD/CTR issues, and most pronounced with OFP.

However, I do not have any video issues associated with it or any other program.

What I have had is that I had to run my CPU up to 1.8v from 1.65 to get XP to come up, and I've had Winamp and Galactic Battlegrounds CTD/CTR as well.

CPU burnin test ran happy for an hour, and no complaints from it.

The CPUv, 12v, and 5v lines were all suspicious though in Asus probe.

Since I have only a 300w (replacement) PSU, I think thats where my issue is. I'll replace that and report back.

----------------------------------------------------

Specs:

Asus A7N8X DLX 2.0 (1007 bios)

Athlon Barton 2500 (11x200, yes I was too late.)

2x 512mb DDR400

MSI GFX 5600 VTD 256mb

2x CTL 910tf 19" @ 1280h x1024v x32b x75hz each

SB Audigy 2 Platinum

20GB Maxtor IDE

120GB WDC IDE

16x Samsung DVD

And a lowly 300mhz Fortran PSU.

[shinRaiden 0]

Just picked up the new PSU, no change. Found this link from nForcersHQ.com, may be applicable to other boards as well.

Outstanding A7N8X bugs

Basicly, the motherboard does not supply sufficient power to the AGP slot. Asus has confirmed that this is an issue, and has corrected it in the A3 and A1/C1 north bridges, according to that FAQ.

So, I need to confirm that I have this chipset revision, but I highly suspect I do.

This means new Mobo time, as it is not a software/bios issue, rather a VRU issue. But, I needed that PSU anyway.

Thanks.

---edit---

Also noting that P4 boards are more common to have the 4-pin extra CPU power capacity, the CPU and AGP don't have to contend for power as much as AMD boards, which 'normally' do not utilize that plug.

[Guest]

I have the same graphics board, a 3.00GHz comp with 512Mb and I've experimented alot of problems:

Green screen: I've fixed this one by selection 3D Acceleration with T&L support

1.94BETA Fade to desktop (out of memory?): No, it was not out of mem, just couldn't handle more than 256Mb (I've checked that through the Task Manager). Instead I use the 1.91 version.

Now, my problem, which I've been unable to solve:

When flying above big and laggy islands (GAIA, TONAL, etc) my computer gets really slow (!) - 3GHzHT? - and crashes to desktop suddently. And it happens also with Nogova! What shall I do?

Note: It crashes with about 400Mb of memory usage. My system is only using 10Mb of it (WinXP Pro without network or net processes.). The graphical settings are set to the maximum, but I can't enable the Hard. W Buffer and can't use more than 2000m eyeview otherwise it crashes (even with helicopters or tanks or whatever...)

I know our computers are good enough to handle all of these. Maybe all the problems are due to the fact of the game engine being too old...

BIS! We need a better game engine!

[shinRaiden 0]

In the link I posted above, there are some notes elsewhere in the thread detailing a possible workaround. It appears to work so far, but I have not had a chance to really peg it yet.

Basiclly, I have to drop the FSB from 200 to 166mhz to stabilize it, and depending on the load, possibly as low as 133mhz. And, since I am now the dubiously proud owner of a uber-locked Barton 2500, it's stuck at 11x. So my Flashpoints mark is down to 5000 (166mhz) from 6000 (200mhz), but that's still better than 4000 (133mhz).

The main test I've been using is flashpointbeta.exe -nosplash -nomap -mod=RHS, which includes only the crew and t55 pbo's, and loading the intro mission. 200mhz crashes in the first cam shot, 166mhz goes all the way through. I need to load it up further to confirm the workaround.

@Konuma - what's your viewdistance and terraingrid settings?

@BIS - The preferences app allows you to adjust memory available to OFP all over the board. How/does this relate? Is it just the limiting mechanism?

Also, I set that limit to 864mb, but things freak out long before I get anywhere close to it.

Thanks all.

[Guest]

First of all, sorry guys: I didn't read the whole thread - didn't think it was so big.

Now, my prob:

Besides "flashpointbeta" (aka 1.94BETA) limitations (or ilimitations such as no cd requirement ), I can't play for long as the game quits by crash - in spite of having enough memory and a nice graphics board (see: topic subject).

I belive, as I've posted, that such problem is caused by limitations of poseidon's graphical engine. If I'm right, then I'm doomed.

I would like to enjoy the game at 100% of my computer's abilities (already did it with my 400MHz wreck). Therefore I tend to define the settings manualy (flashpoint.cfg in the root directory of flashpoint and User.cfg - right designation? - at the users folder. Eventhough, the same problem is always happening when I fly or travell long distances along the map.

@shinRaiden

Sorry mate : I meant "viewdistance" and not "eyeview" in my first post. It's set to 2000, indeed. However, even if I fly with a 500m view distance, low visual quality and faster frame rate (lower quality), it will crash after a certain time. that's the reason why I consider that the problem dwells on the game engine.

I hope I'm wrong and expect that you, guys, will lead me to a solution... Otherwise, we'll need another patch (If so, then let this patch extend the "Dammaged" event handler to every hit LOD selection, so that I can finish my new "mutilatable" model).

CU

[shinRaiden 0]

The comment I made regarding the workaround for 256mb cards without auxilary power-in may be applicable for all graphics cards, Nvidia, Radeon, etc. BTW, does anyone have a spare Matrox Parhelia PH-A256 laying around that I can test?

I've heard that there is a limit of 256 viewable objects, and I think that elevated viewdistances degrade OFP's ability to cull objects to view dramaticly, sometimes resulting in CTD's.

Other issues I've seen sound similar to what you've described, Komuna. Mainly seem to be variations though of the known 3rd-person view CTD's.

I am often inclined to think that there might be a subtle memory leak in a sub-buffer for rendering, but that would be difficult to track and prove. What I do believe is that in general, OFP's buffer overrun code is generally set to trigger a CTD, rather than recover. This could be either a lack of an appropriate handler, a broken handler, or just a minimal response.

Seriously though, to echo what Deadmeat stated, I don't think that BIS likely imagined the incredible work that has done by the mod community when they designed the game. Further more, this engine has been in development since (97?), and that was before Quake3 and everything else had come out. The fact that Posiden has somehow managed to put up with the immense terrains and rounds of ammo is a testament to its capability.

[Guest]

[...]

I've heard that there is a limit of 256 viewable objects, and I think that elevated viewdistances degrade OFP's ability to cull objects to view dramaticly, sometimes resulting in CTD's.

[...]

I am often inclined to think that there might be a subtle memory leak in a sub-buffer for rendering, but that would be difficult to track and prove. What I do believe is that in general, OFP's buffer overrun code is generally set to trigger a CTD, rather than recover. This could be either a lack of an appropriate handler, a broken handler, or just a minimal response.

Seriously though, to echo what Deadmeat stated, I don't think that BIS likely imagined the incredible work that has done by the mod community when they designed the game. Further more, this engine has been in development since (97?), and that was before Quake3 and everything else had come out. The fact that Posiden has somehow managed to put up with the immense terrains and rounds of ammo is a testament to its capability.

Indeed, the community is very large and prestable to hard work . Let's look at ECP [OFPEC - @ECP] mod, for example. After "spitting" 200 bullet's from a SAW, 200 cartridges will lie on the groud and such fact contributes for harder object handling/management by the game engine. Besides, particle systems seem not to be very developed in OFP and the "effects revolution" we've been watching in many mods - along with ECP - holds the community's intention of improving OFP to the limit.

However... OFP seems not to be enough good to satisfy the consumers that have very nice computers - now that the prices are quite low, of course .

I'm going to leave now and follow the last patches and news about the game engine, but I really need a solution to play with quality (and most of all EDIT/CONTRIBUTE-FOR-THE-COMMUNITY with quality!), without crashing.

Thanks in advance guys.

MorMel

[Claymore 0]

I just got me a GeForce 5600XT with 256Mb ram and I'm using it with Windows 98SE. What is the best driver for my card?? Thanks in advance for the advice!

[shinRaiden 0]

Nvidia reference only. Allways higher spec than the versions rolled by the manufacturer.

Iirc, there were some rumors that the new 5x.xx series has some tunings for HL2/D3, that adversely (but not majorly) impacts performance.

You're more than welcome to try it though. I use it on one machine, and the other is still using a 45.xx detonator just fine. Your real problem is going to be Win98 and its woeful memory handling.

[Claymore 0]

Ahum but what do you mean with HL2/D3?

I never had any problem with WIN98SE and (or) memory, but I'll keep an eye on it, thanks.

My system is a P4 2.4Ghz with 512 RAM, Aopen AX533 mobo (very good I always use Aopen, very stable when one wants to overclock!), Creative FX5600XT vidcard with 256 Mb ram and a Creative SB Live 1024 (no crackling sound problem, works just fine)

Greets.

[Placebo 29]

Ahum but what do you mean with HL2/D3?

Half Life 2 and Doom 3?

[Claymore 0]

Yup, probably, did not see that one comming

[Powerslide 0]

1.95 Beta has fixed my green screen problems without having to run -nomap in target line. Thanks BIS. I have Geforce 5600 256 MB card.

[Brian Smith 1]

Anyone else have this problem fixed with 1.95 beta? I'm itching to get a 256mb Geforce5600...

smith

[JnH 0]

hi, hope im not reviving a too old topic, but i thought it was pointless creating a new thread for something that has been pretty well covered right here. ive read all 12 pages and not found the answer im looking for, nor have i found it anywhere on the net so here it is:

i have this olive-green screen problem with my FX5950 Ultra (latest drivers) and it seem pretty obvious what is causing the issue... patches. i have the origional Cold War Crisis, got it the day it was released and found it to have all the content i could ask for in this type of game and never really felt the need to get the expansion packs (i think you can see where this is going)... so i ask, how on earth do i patch higher than 1.46 without spending more money? i know i know, "the expansions are cheap now, so is goty edition" blah blah blah, but as someone who bought the game when it was just that, a single game priced Å29.99 at my local GAME store i dont see why i should HAVE to pay more money just to be able to get this game working again. i dont play it online, but i would like to have some of the nice single player campains that are now available. im just hoping now that i have missed an additional patch that will allow the higher patches to install or something... i just find it to be very odd that patches would just stop like that without having to spend more money on the game...

[BraTTy 0]

Your getting the green screen with version 1.46? I am not aware of an overabundance of non-res addons,so you shouldn't be running out of memory cause of too many addons.

In the same sense,you would have to be careful what addons that you install for a installation of OFP that isn't Resistance

edit: to help you with your green screen (and your running 1.46)

Only thing I can think that may help is lowering your agp aperature in bios,because you don't have the -nomap command that has helped others that get the green screen

[Placebo 29]

What are the rest of your system specs?

As someone who paid full retail price for Opf, Red Hammer & Resistance I can in a way understand where you're coming from, however the fact that you can get Opf GOTY which includes everything for only Å7.99 delivered is a hard bargain to ignore, in fact such a bargain that I bought two copies to give to friends so they could experience what they were missing out on

[shinRaiden 0]

Update. I replaced my A7N8X-DLX rev 2.0 with a A7N8X-E. And... same result.

I went back and ran a heavy run of Memtest86 on each stick in each slot ramped up to 2.8v on the DDR lines. No problems at all, and I've run the two sticks at 200mhz before on another system.

Additional searching suggests that the problem may be more memory related, rather than AGP, or maybe there were more power issues. Another forum suggested that the Nforce2 chipsets have weak drive on the memory as well on larger dual channel amounts of RAM. The BSOD's in XP seem to suggest this based on the stop codes being the dear old "PGF in non-paged area".

So to summarize, I upped the power supply to a solid 530w, replaced the mobo for an AGP slot power issue, memtest86-ed both sticks of 512mb PC3200, and still bsod's constant at 200mhz. 166mhz does seem to be a bit more stable.

@JnH: Look online for used ones. You can get it way cheaper than that.

[JnH 0]

What are the rest of your system specs?

full spec:

p4 2.8ghz (800mhz fsb) running at 3ghz

asus p4p800 motherboard

1024MB pc400 ddr

SB Audigy

OS:Windows 2000 sp4

DirectX: 9.0b

drivers up to date and system genrally working fine, apart from this green screen. can hear the music and all the usual symptoms. i do not have a huge amount of addons, infact at the moment i have none running. i completely uninstalled and reinstalled the game and tried 1.00, 1.10, 1.20, 1.30 and 1.46 without addons to see if it would work. i was either getting green or black screens for all of them. i have tried lowering my agp in bios to as low as 32mb, and im still getting this green screen issue. things are not looking good it seems

[BraTTy 0]

So you didn't lower your agp aperature? I would still try that...btw agp aperature setting is how much system ram it will use to buffer video,so yes its memory related item and is responsible for lockups on many machines,not saying its your problem

edit: i see your new post and appears you have tried own to 32ram