Very Computer

> Harware is Dell Inspiron 8200, about 2.5 years old. 2GB RAM. Fedora
> Core 2 OS. I'm getting some inconsistent performance running Flightgear
> flight simulator, and am wondering if the 28MB NVIDIA GeForce2 card
> that came with my system is causing some problems with memory access.
> Here's what happens:  In the past week, with a few windows open on my
> KDE desktop, the planes engine would sound like it sputters, and
> there's a discontinuity between input of my joystich which affects the
> plane (it pitch up or down). I just noticed that if I click on the red
> hat on tool bar when plane is on runway, I hear the discontinuity
> (memory access delay?) as menu options open up.  It's as if as images
> appear on my screen, there's an effect on flight simulator performance.
>  I know flightgear is pretty graphics intensive.

> I'm using a ViewSonic 1600x1200 external LCD monitor.

> Is there any way I can tell if the NVIDIA card is not robust enough to
> run the simulator?  I don't want to spend big $$$ on a better video
> card without being sure that's the problem.  The video driver was
> updated recently for the latest kernal release.

> TIA,
> Mike

> > Harware is Dell Inspiron 8200, about 2.5 years old. 2GB RAM. Fedora
> > Core 2 OS. I'm getting some inconsistent performance running
Flightgear
> > flight simulator, and am wondering if the 28MB NVIDIA GeForce2 card
> > that came with my system is causing some problems with memory
access.
> > Here's what happens:  In the past week, with a few windows open on
my
> > KDE desktop, the planes engine would sound like it sputters, and
> > there's a discontinuity between input of my joystich which affects
the
> > plane (it pitch up or down). I just noticed that if I click on the
red
> > hat on tool bar when plane is on runway, I hear the discontinuity
> > (memory access delay?) as menu options open up.  It's as if as
images
> > appear on my screen, there's an effect on flight simulator
performance.
> >  I know flightgear is pretty graphics intensive.

> > I'm using a ViewSonic 1600x1200 external LCD monitor.

> > Is there any way I can tell if the NVIDIA card is not robust enough
to
> > run the simulator?  I don't want to spend big $$$ on a better video
> > card without being sure that's the problem.  The video driver was
> > updated recently for the latest kernal release.

> > TIA,
> > Mike

> Video cards with shared memory can have pretty lacklustre
performance, so
> that could be your issue. Is it possible to turn down the detail
settings
> in the game? If you turn down the detail and get a big performance
> improvement it's a good sign that your card is causing problems.

> Harware is Dell Inspiron 8200, about 2.5 years old. 2GB RAM. Fedora
> Core 2 OS. I'm getting some inconsistent performance running Flightgear
> flight simulator, and am wondering if the 28MB NVIDIA GeForce2 card
> that came with my system is causing some problems with memory access.

>>> Harware is Dell Inspiron 8200, about 2.5 years old. 2GB RAM. Fedora
>>> Core 2 OS. I'm getting some inconsistent performance running Flightgear
>>> flight simulator, and am wondering if the 28MB NVIDIA GeForce2 card
>>> that came with my system is causing some problems with memory access.

> Are you using Nvidia's proprietary (accelerated) driver or the
> open-source (unaccelerated) driver?

> Do you really mean Dell Inspiron (that's a laptop line from Dell) or is
> this a desktop system (maybe Dell Dimension)?
> Sorry, its a _32MB_ driver.

> [When replying to a newsgroup posting, please quote the relevant part
of
> the message to which you're replying.  Context restored.]

> >>> Harware is Dell Inspiron 8200, about 2.5 years old. 2GB RAM.
Fedora
> >>> Core 2 OS. I'm getting some inconsistent performance running
Flightgear
> >>> flight simulator, and am wondering if the 28MB NVIDIA GeForce2
card
> >>> that came with my system is causing some problems with memory
access.

> > Are you using Nvidia's proprietary (accelerated) driver or the
> > open-source (unaccelerated) driver?

> > Do you really mean Dell Inspiron (that's a laptop line from Dell)
or is
> > this a desktop system (maybe Dell Dimension)?

> > Sorry, its a _32MB_ driver.

> You mean 32MB graphics card.  The driver is a piece of software.
What
> is the output of 'glxinfo | grep renderer'.  That'll provide useful
> information about the driver you're using.