FPS *drop* after GF3 install

[celeritas]

I run a Half-Life dedicated server on my PC, and according to the console window the frame rates have always been ~90-99 -- with a TNT1 Diamond Viper V550 video card installed. Yesterday, I installed a VisionTek GF3, and with nothing else changed (Nvidia 12.60's still, etc.) the reported FPS is now down to 50-60. HL is running the exact same server version, game, and with the same number of bots as when it was 90-99FPS. Nothing else is running on the PC. Yes, the 4in1's, AGP miniport, etc. are installed.

How is the video card a factor in dedicated server FPS? I'm not in the game, so how is video even involved in the equation? Thanks.

 

[dfloyd]

90-99 with a tnt 1? Never heard of a TNT-1 going anywhere near that fast on Half Life. As far as speed now do you have Vsync disabled? Also what resolution are you using?

 

[celeritas]

It's a dedicated server, so I'm not in the game. Resolution, vsync, etc. shouldn't be a factor. I'm watching the reported FPS in the &quot;DOS&quot; window where you see server messages/errors, etc. If I was actually playing, my client FPS with a TNT1 would probably be <40.

 

[Rage187]

go to display properties and then click on the the Geforce 3 tab..


go to the advanced prperties, and make sure tha FSAA is on none..



But even w/ it running FSAAx4 it should not be that low..

 

[celeritas]

It's a dedicated server, and I'm not in the game -- so how would GF3 settings change anything? There's no video being displayed...

 

[SirAllen]

> ? There's no video being displayed...

I don't understand. If there's no video being displayed, how can it be a graphics card issue?

 

[vss1980]

Try playing with the font options available in the Dos box. Or run it full-screen (ie. press Alt + Enter together) so that the program output doesn't have to be processed as 2D graphics through the standard windows GDI, and uses the standard DOS text mode. That is the only way to really see how high the dedicated server FPS is.

 

[celeritas]

SirAllen: That's my point exactly. How would changing the video card make any difference at all? But that was the *only* thing changed...

 

[SirAllen]

Well, the only thing I can think of is that the server is basing FPS off of the refresh rate of your monitor. Maybe when you reinstalled your card it went back to 60Hz, if that's the case up it and try again.

Otherwise, I see no way this is graphics related.

 

[celeritas]

My monitor has been at 85hz when with the TNT1 HL reported 90+ FPS and with the GF3 it reported ~60FPS. As a player in my dedicated server games, I see ~40-70FPS with Nvidia 12.40's and 12.60's. I thought it would be much higher (30-60FPS more) with the GF3. Any other ideas? TIA.

 

[gramb0]

The FPS you see in HLDS is some strange measure of performance, I forget how it works. It doesn't mean frames per second in the normal sense. Don't worry about it, HLDS will not be affected at all by a video card change.

 

[celeritas]

I wonder what it really does measure, then. And why would the &quot;FPS&quot; indicator thingie drop 30-40 points after a MAJOR hardware upgrade? Any ideas where I can find more info on HLDS FPS? Thanks.

 

[celeritas]

I reformatted, reinstalled Win2k, and re-applied Nvidia 12.60's -- without running the 4in1's, AGP miniport, etc. HLDS now reports 80-99 &quot;FPS&quot;. That's what I want to see. I won't be able to see if it makes a difference in my HL client games, because some annoying &quot;unreliable datagram&quot; errors recently popped up (before I reinstalled Win2k). Has anyone seen them? My sound stutters and screen freezes less than 30secs into the game.