ATI Mobility 9000 - my issues so far.

[Al Fredo]

Yo yo. So 1.7Ghz, 512Mb, ATI mobility 9000 32mb, WinXpSp1

Game installs! Game loads! (intro movie choppy....)
Game plays....full terriain view. ah ha!
Laggy game play...everything happens a half second after i choose it.
Founded Hindumism...got movie. Didn't crash, but didn't see the table the statue was resting on. hmmm.

Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6392

So this is my office computer (laptop)...and the odds of me upgrading to a GB of memory, - (I'd have to bribe someone in IT).

So I'm going to get the updated ATI driver. I hope it works. I also noticed that my system resouces are running near or at 100%. What can I do (noting I'm on a work computer)...to help out. Boost virtual mem? Will the driver thing work/? I'm hoping not to F up my system.

Anyway, didn't see much talk of laptops and this card, so I though I'd share.

Comments, suggesztions? and I will keep y'all posted if something works.
CIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV





------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/27/2005, 16:53:38
Machine name:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 1 (2600.xpsp2.050301-1526)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: IBM
System Model: 23739FU BIOS: Phoenix FirstBIOS(tm) Notebook Pro Version 2.0 for IBM ThinkPad
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1700MHz, ~600MHz
Memory: 510MB RAM
Page File: 612MB used, 635MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.0001.0904 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: MOBILITY RADEON 9000 AGP (0x4C66)
DAC type: Internal DAC(350MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4C66&SUBSYS_05311014&REV_02
Display Memory: 32.0 MB
Current Mode: 1400 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6392 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 11/20/2003 23:25:24, 369664 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes

 

[Raezal]

I'm getting ok performance with a laptop using a 32MB M-Radeon 9000 and 1GB of system RAM. I'm not experiencing completely fluid transitions or instant selection of units, but it isn't a half second pause. I'm running the game at 1024x768 with medium quality on the system. The additional 512MB of RAM may make the difference as the CPU is actually a bit slower than the one in your laptop (1.5GHz vs. 1.7GHz). That is unless your CPU is a Mobile P4, in which case my 1.5GHz Pentium M would be faster and may account for the performance difference.

 

[Al Fredo]

It's a pentium M. What driver verison are you using and how did you update...I can't get at the updated drivers on the ATI site?
Thanks

 

[Al Fredo]

So...it's working...but it seems slow. Issues I've found:
Zooming all the way in produces ficker on terrian.
City screen...imprv. that you're building is flickering.
My diplo screen is fine.
Wonder movies...no prob.
Religion movies..PROBLEM. Mostly are black. Can only see the candle.

Can someone direct me to where the good drivers are? I'm using: 6.14.0010.6392 , went toATI...it didn't want to update my machine. I'm hoping the update driver will solve the problem.
Thanks

 

[Al Fredo]

Update: (Love posting to my own thread!)

Got the omega drivers. Install was rewriting my system essentially. At the last second I chickened out, and said stop. But I was half installed. Now, at this point, I had an "unknown" video card. I couldn't even scroll the Civforums without problems. Ugh! So, reinstalled omega drivers...still time I chose "Sure, overwrite anything...even if you think it my blow me up". Video card came back online...omega installed. Whew. Now on to Civ....

Upon loading, the intro movie still had the same choppiness. But in game I noticed:
Much smoother zooming from map and unit to unit.
Zooming all the way in...there was no flicker (I used the America Rev scenerio, to check built up cities)
Religion movies...saw one...saw the table...looked ok!
I only played for 20 minutes, but it was an improvement. The game seems slow, but it is playable. Also, it may just BE slow. I used to play Civ3 with the unit animations OFF, so may i have to get used to non-instant movement.

I'll put some solid hours in this weekend. Hope all goes well