My computer hates GZDoom

[Tristan]

So everytime I try to run GZDoom on my computer, it starts to load then crashes, bringing up the option to send an error report.



I don't know why it does this, but I'm going to hazard a guess I have a bad OpenGL renderer. 'Tis a shame, I see a lot of awesome mods that are GZDoom only, and I'm stuck on ZDoom >.>

Anyone know a way of fixing this?

[Maes]

Posting your computer specifications is generally more helpful.

[Tristan]

OS: Windows 7
Processor: Intel­­ Core i3 CPU M370 @ 2.4GHz
RAM: 4GB

Ugh...that's not helpful is it? I have no idea what GPU is in this laptop...

[Gez]

Get this if you want to know your specs:
http://www.ozone3d.net/gpu_caps_viewer/

[Maes]

The GPU is the single most important cause of OpenGL failures. What chipset? What drivers?

However, chances are that you have some Intel integrated crud...sorry, but those things have abysmal performance, and compatibility is a crapshoot: the most common problem is some games playing apparently fine, and others not starting at all.

[Tristan]

Gez said:

Get this if you want to know your specs:
http://www.ozone3d.net/gpu_caps_viewer/

Well that thing just crashed as soon I opened it O_o

I think...next time I get a new computer, I should actually know what's good and what isn't, rather than just pretending to.
I'll try GZDoom on a different computer tomorrow, see how that works out.

[Gez]

Well I guess we can safely say that your computer hates OpenGL in general, rather than just GZDoom.

This means that the drivers are probably crap.

[Tristan]

Gez said:

Well I guess we can safely say that your computer hates OpenGL in general, rather than just GZDoom.

This means that the drivers are probably crap.

It refused to load Doom 3 too. Could not initiate OpenGL I think were the exact words.
Well. That sucks :P

[GreyGhost]

What's the make and model of your laptop?

[Tristan]

GreyGhost said:

What's the make and model of your laptop?

Toshiba Satellite C660-22V.

[GreyGhost]

Found it and I might have found your problem - good old Intel GMA, everyone's least favourite graphics chip.

[Maes]

GreyGhost said:

good old Intel GMA, everyone's least favourite graphics chip.

Heh, it never fails, it never fails.

Not-so-ninja edit: it's about time the Intel GMA issue gets a permanent FAQ entry or at least a sticky thread. E.g. "Help! My crappy $200 laptop/netbook/$50 mobo won't play GZDoom or glBoom!".

[<inactive>Player Lin]

Maes said:

Heh, it never fails, it never fails.

Not-so-ninja edit: it's about time the Intel GMA issue gets a permanent FAQ entry or at least a sticky thread. E.g. "Help! My crappy $200 laptop/netbook/$50 mobo won't play GZDoom or glBoom!".

Or he/she just forgot install the proper driver for that Intel GMA.

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/download_drivers_bios.jsp?service=UK

http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/display-20120314134234.zip

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&ProductFamily=Graphics&ProductLine=Laptop+graphics+drivers&ProductProduct=Intel%C2%AE+Core%E2%84%A2+Processors+with+Intel%C2%AE+HD+Graphics&ProdId=3231&LineId=1101&FamilyId=39

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21778&lang=eng&OSVersion=Windows%207

For the records, if user didn't install the driver then the OpenGL supports doesn't exist in his/her system at all, Windows default drivers sucks.

[Maes]

playerlin said:

Or he/she just forgot install the proper driver for that Intel GMA.

Fair point, but there still will be a fairly lengthy list of "no go" games and application, latest driver or not. Unlike a low-end (but otherwise current-standards compliant) "normal" videocard, Intel crap will just bomb out on game startup, rather than running poorly.

[<inactive>Player Lin]

Maes said:

Fair point, but there still will be a fairly lengthy list of "no go" games and application, latest driver or not. Unlike a low-end (but otherwise current-standards compliant) "normal" videocard, Intel crap will just bomb out on game startup, rather than running poorly.

Yeah, I forgot even latest Intel GMA models still not enough to works with many games.

But I think many of user doesn't care and just want play games with their shitty Intel GMA laptop. :\

[Maes]

playerlin said:

But I think many of user doesn't care and just want play games with their shitty Intel GMA laptop. :\

That's why I never get tired of saying this: if you want to play GAMES, and I mean GAMES on your laptop, don't cheapen out on the graphics card when choosing it. Sacrifice some CPU, RAM or HDD power/size if necessary. Becayse CPU, RAM and HDD you can (almost) always replace and upgrade, but an integrated graphics card...nope.

A good one (a mobility Radeon or GeForce M) will give your laptop a far longer useful life and much more versatility, especially if it has support for GPGPU processing and PhysX acceleration. A non-existent one (such as Intel stuff), will just leave you with a CPU attached to a screen buffer. Quite the difference.

[Agentbromsnor]

Funny enough, my computer has a ATI Radeon videocard and I run GZDoom smoothly without any hassle.

[printz]

Maes said:

That's why I never get tired of saying this: if you want to play GAMES, and I mean GAMES on your laptop,

And not just games. Stuff like Autodesk model editors also run poorly or are unsupported.

[<inactive>Player Lin]

printz said:

And not just games. Stuff like Autodesk model editors also run poorly or are unsupported.

Maes said:

Fair point, but there still will be a fairly lengthy list of "no go" games and application, latest driver or not.

But, if you want use some professional applications like that, even those high-end graphic cards for gaming isn't enough too.

[Maes]

playerlin said:

But, if you want use some professional applications like that, even those high-end graphic cards for gaming isn't enough too.

Huh? Most cards designed for actual gaming easily exceed any "professional" requirements, at least in terms of 3D graphics. Rendering a static scene or an interactive workbench is not quite as hard as running a series of 3DMark benchmarks as fast as possible.

The only cases where you need special video hardware is if you need extended color depth (e.g. 10 or 16-bit grayscale for medical imaging, but then you also need special monitors) or dedicated hardware for video processing with real-time effects. Otherwise, even the most complex modeling program or CAD package ain't nothin' on a game like Rage or any other current AAA title.

[DaniJ]

Agreed. If you honestly have use for what classes as "professional" render hardware today then you most probably mean buying processing time from computation/render farm(s) and not local rendering (this use case is served admirably by consumer equipment).

[Lippeth]

I had the same problem with GZdoom as well as running Zandronum in openGL, so after digging around my computer I updated my graphics card and it all runs without a hitch. And by update, I mean software, I never replaced my actual graphic chip.

[Maes]

Lippeth said:

And by update, I mean software, I never replaced my actual graphic chip.

Would you mind telling us what you graphic card was?

[Agentbromsnor]

Lippeth said:

I had the same problem with GZdoom as well as running Zandronum in openGL, so after digging around my computer I updated my graphics card and it all runs without a hitch. And by update, I mean software, I never replaced my actual graphic chip.

Same here.

[Lippeth]

Maes said:

Would you mind telling us what you graphic card was?

It's a stock chip in my Asus laptop called "Intel HD Graphics Family" and after the update it's now called "Intel HD Graphics 3000". I've never heard of it until I bought this laptop. It's a surprisingly decent chip, but very difficult to find information on.

[Gez]

Lippeth said:

Intel HD Graphics

Say no more. Intel is only good for CPUs; on the GPU front they are a disaster. No matter how many X-Trem HD Pro Gamers Hi-Fi Ultra Mega qualifiers they put in their brand names, these components are always worse than an ATI or Nvidia chipset from ten years ago.

[Maes]

Lippeth said:

It's a stock chip in my Asus laptop called "Intel HD Graphics Family" and after the update it's now called "Intel HD Graphics 3000".

Finally, a wikipedia article that puts it all into persective.

So, if you have anything older than third gen (Intel GMA and below), forget about playing most games: they don't even have hardware vertex shaders (!), and OpenGL support is limited to v1.5 tops. Of course you cannot play stuff like Doom 3 or GZDoom!

The 3000 and 4000 lines actually belong to the 4th gen (after 2010) and they DO have some hardware pixel/vertex pipelines in the traditional GPU sense. But the older stuff still continues to curse owners of budget mobos, netbooks and laptops....

[Lippeth]

It's weird that all it needed to run OpenGL was a software update.

[Maes]

Lippeth said:

It's weird that all it needed to run OpenGL was a software update.

If the previous driver was broken and/or misreported the OpenGL version, it's entirely possible.

It's also possible that it simply added a software emulation mode, which makes possible using software requiring a higher version of OpenGL than the hardware can really handle (similar to how DirectX 9.0 was supported only via software emulation in older Intel crap). Expect reduced performance and/or missing visual features when such tricks are used, though.

[Lippeth]

Maes said:

Expect reduced performance and/or missing visual features when such tricks are used, though.

I knew it was too easy. So far it runs smoothly with virtually no issues, although I do have OpenGL rendering quality set to speed rather than quality. Laptops are obviously not ideal for gaming, but for what it is, It handles the old games I play with no problem. Thanks for the info!