To play 32-bit games, desktop must be 32-bit?

[antdude]

Is this true? I dislike changing my color depth even if I can change it instantly. My refresh and center gets changed. My DVD player has to be in 16-bit colors, and my desktop is faster in 16-bit than 32-bit colors. I would like to play games in 32-bit colors, but this is a hassle.

I have a Matrox G400 32 MB. Thank you in advance for replies.

[Caprice]

It doesnt matter whether your desktop is in
16/32 bit...it all depends on what you choose
in the game options.

[antdude]

I forgot to mention that sometimes I get user.exe IPF after a video change that failed. Isn't this weird?

[Wombat]

Caprice is a little off. I know it definitely matters for GLQuake, and I think Quake2. I've had problems with HL if the bpp didn't match. I can't speak for anything else.
However, with PowerDesk it's really easy to switch resolutions/bpp.

[Gurm]

It depends on the game. If the game is well-written (in terms of mode switching code) then it doesn't matter, except that there is more memory reserved for the back buffer that holds the desktop.

If the game is poor at switching resolutions (and Quake1 is VERY poor at this!) then it matters quite a bit.

Now, with TurboGL, there are a few glitches that demand that you start it, at least the first few times, in 800x600. Why? Who knows.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[nehalmistry]

caprice dude, it DOES matter what your desktop is in... there is no option in UT OR HL that can change 16/32 bit... you gotta change from dekstop..

[bigluker]

No sir, YOU are on crack. There is on option to switch color depths in UT right in the preferences window. I used it all the time when testing the new 5.5 beta drivers for like 6 hours.

I keep my desktop at 32 bit. I dont see how it can slow it down; it's just the damn desktop! It's not exactly Q3 crusher benchmarking. Can opening folders really be that slow over 16-bit???

[antdude]

nehalmistry: Q3A and UT will let you change the color depth in the game.

[Gurm]

Bigluker,

The only issue with desktop color depth and resolution is that Windows keeps the icons and other shit like that in a back buffer. It sucks up a bit of memory. How much? Depends on the game. If the game has good graphics code it can make Windows flush most of the crap to disk. If it has lousy graphics code (again, Quake is a prime example here) then you can end up with a couple megs sucked up by back buffer.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.