Intel GMA 900 seems to need newer driver to address Pixels Shader 1.1

[niggles]

Just posted this in the Notebook section, but realised this is more specifically a Video question. The Base GPU my Inspiron 6000 Notebook comes with is a pretty great offering considering it's low end. My big complaint that I have recently found is that a lot of lower end games that are coming out right now are using Pixel Shader 1.1 which this card can not handle. I'm pretty sure Doom 3 uses Pixel shader 2.0b and Doom 3 will run on it (not well, around 10 - 12 FPS so it's not playable, but it will run), Half Life 2 will not only run, but is playable. Anyway, all I can think is that the Intel driver needs updating. Something that the tech people at Dell don't seem to know anything about. I am going to continue to try and get someone at Dell to address what seems to be a driver issue, and will post back when I have an update. If anyone has any information on the Intel 900 and why it does not support Pixel Shader 2.0 I'd love to hear from them.

 

[hans030390]

Doom 3 uses OpenGL. No pixel shaders involved.

you could go to google and search for drivers. the integrated video should take all drivers despite what kind of computer you have.

 

[niggles]

HL2 uses PS 2.0 and it also runs though, so I still have the same issue.

As for Doom, I think I mistated then. From what I have read it uses pixel shader 2.0b without actually running in it... some kind of tech work that Carmack was playing around with. here's a snippet of info on this "OpenGL is different then Direct3D, so you don't have actually have PS2.0 and PS3.0...you have extensions which are used in the shaders to take advantage of video card features, and a shader programmer can take advantage of PS3.0 effects by using certain extensions. (Although there are some PS3.0 features that would require modification to the engine itself) You'll want to be running in the Arb2 path"
So given the fact that the extensions are in the program and they are supported while not actually being used.

Don't get hung up on Doom 3, as it might be a bit of a red hearing. I'm more interested in figuring out why other Pixel Shader 2.0 games work, while 1.1 doesn't.

 

[hans030390]

Well, I'd suggest getting a video card of some sort.

Always google your problem..."shader 1.1 won't work on intel gma 900" or something"

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts...nal/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=1764
Now, i'm not sure if thats the right drivers or not, but you should be able to find something similar on their website if that's not the correct driver.

see if that fixes it

 

[niggles]

It's a notebook, Inspiron 6000, you can't change the video card.

I did google the problem and didn't find anything, that's why I'm asking here.

To your earlier point I have the following as well:
http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/intel915g/sb/CS-012579.htm

Which actually says that it can use Pixel Shader 2.0

I don't get it! does anyone know anything about the Intel 900 GMAs and why they might be ok with PS 2.0 and not 1.1?

 

[BFG10K]

Most likely it's a driver problem so you'll need to wait for Intel/your notebook vendor to release a driver update.

 

[batmanuel]

Doom 3 is barely playable at 10x7 on my 3.4Ghz P4 with an X300 graphics card, so I really wouldn't work too hard at trying to get it to run on a laptop with integrated video.

The only reason HL2 works is that the game was very well written with a special DirectX 7 codepath that takes away just enough eye candy that even a GeForce 4 MX 440 can get decent frame rates and still look pretty nice.

Unfortunately, Doom 3 not only doesn't have quite as nice support for lower end hardware, so you're likely going to be faced with a slideshow unless you play at VGA resolution (which ought to look pretty nasty on your laptops LCD panel). According to the recent AT integrated graphics shootout, the GMA 950 can only muster 14 FPS in Doom 3 at 800x600, and thats with a 3.6GHz P4 to back it up. With an older graphics chip, a less powerful processor and less memory bandwidth, you'll probably be lucky to break 10fps at 800x600 even if you get it to work.

 

[Munky]

I'm not sure what shaders Doom 3 uses if any, but OpenGL has it's own shader language that can run either on sm2 or sm3 cards.

 

[niggles]

It seems to be a driver issue to me as well, but Intel replied back to my concerns saying that I'd need contact the game companies in question. Having had mainstream video cards for the past 7 years I haven't really had this sort of thing happen before. I think the game companies are going to say go see Intel while Intel tells me go see the game companies.
I feel I am not communicating the issue well as BFG10K is the only one who seems to be understanding the issue. I do appreciate the input, to the rest of you though. I need to stress that the card "does have support for Pixel Shader 2.0 and Intel says as much and also goes on to say that it has support for PS 1.0 to 2.0. To me that says that it should have support for PS 1.1. Don't get hung up on Doom being low on the frame rate. As I mentioned earlier in the thread I cun run it at around 10 to 15 FPS, it's playable, but not fun. It was more a test of what the card could do than anything. As for HL being scalable, I understand, but I can run it with effects turned up and it's slow but it works. If I scale it down it runs around 32 to 35 FPS. For a low end GPU on a laptop I am pretty impressed with what it can do. To the point about it being an older laptop it is actually brand new and has a pretty healthy 1.6M Pentium CPU on it that ranks in around the same as a 2.8 regular pentium class CPU. To the point about Doom being Open GL, yes it is and what I said earlier is that it is PS 2.0b and that it's only the extentions that appear in Doom 3. Apparantly it was a tech test that Carmack left in the game. What I have problems with is that lower end games that it should be able to run without breaking a sweat will not even load. I am getting a message saying that "PIXEL SHADER 1.1 IS NOT SUPPORTED" when Intel says that it is.

 

[blckgrffn]

That blows for you. Dell takes forever to release driver updates, too, if they ever bother... My 600M came all messed up, but I know have that straightened out...

Good luck!

 

[batmanuel]

Have you tried downloading the latest reference drivers from Intel's site?

915GM version

According to Intel the driver was just updated a week ago, so it may fix all your issues. You may get some warnings about the driver not being certified and whatnot, but from the looks of Intel's site you ought to be able to use these files to update your laptop's graphics.

You can wait for Dell to update their version, but ususally they have to validate the new driver on EVERY model of laptop that uses that driver before they put it up on their site (otherwise they get a lot of angry calls to support), so it tends to take quite a while before you see the laptop manufacturer's site get updated.

 

[niggles]

hehe... thanks Funny thing, I did try and update the driver, but it simply wouldn't let me install it. I guess Intel has some agreement with Dell not to allow it to install as I recieved a message advising that I had to contact my vendor.
I found it kind of funny that there is a relativly short compatibility list. Most of the games show as compatible, but it didn't list Act of War which is the game I'm having the problems with. Doom 3 is listed as not compatible but in fact it does run. What I found strange is that when a game doesn't run and you look at the reason it doesn't run it simply says cause: unknown and then refers you to the game manufacturer's site... as if they're going to patch the game for the .5% of the gaming community that would try and run the game on an Intel 900 GMA. Frustrating.

Thanks to everyone for their input, if anyone else has any thoughts it would be appreciated, otherwise I'll go back to playing C&C Generals and HL2 in low resolution.