Don't buy Morrowind

[Jon P. Inghram]

If you've got a G400, don't bother with Morrowind, it's PAINFULLY slow. On my system:

ASUS CUBX (440BX)
Celeron 850@1050
512 PC133 @ 124 MHz, CAS2
G400 MAX
Win98

It runs like a dog... only time it runs marginally ok is inside a building, but that's only because the interior of most buildings is a seperate "zone", not in the full game environment. If you pull the view distance in ALL the way, it still chokes, and then it feels like you've got cataracts or something. If you get really brave and turn the "real time" shadows on, you'll discover a new and most unfortunate meaning for the term "real time". Worst of all, it doesn't look that impressive! I've seen screenshots where they show the insane polygon count, and it's clear from playing the game that more polygons does NOT equate to better graphics. Kinda like other things in life... it's not how many you have, it's how well you use them.

[TiG]

Well, this is exactly what I didn't want to hear as my system is fairly similar (Duron 900, 384MB Ram, Win98, G400 MAX). I take it you are running the 6.82 drivers? And what graphic/sound settings are you using in Morrowind exactly?

The only positive I can think of is that by the time the game is available here in Australia, (June 14! Accursed EB!), I should have a better card. Something like a GF4Ti4200 sounds the goods. After the performance problems I've had with every new game lately, Jedi Knight 2 and Dungeon Siege in particular, the shock of opengl drivers that work and detail above pitiful will probably kill me.

Thanks for your time.

[Jon P. Inghram]

I just bought a GF4 TI4400, and it runs Ok now... the game is a serious strain on a PC. I was using the latest drivers on the G400, and what few options there were turned down.

[TiG]

Good to hear it runs well for you now, I bet the water is nifty looking also
A pity you had to outlay on a new vid card just to get acceptable performance, but that's progress i guess

Welp, now I spose I've got a good reason to start saving for a gf4. Sigh.

[Kruzin]

Why start saving for a card that will be obsolete within a month or 2?
Start saving for Parhelia. It would be a better investment

[TiG]

Love your optimism Kruzin!

As much as I would love to think I could afford Parhelia, is there anything more concrete on WHEN it might see the light of day? And as for obsoletion/investment, I just want to be able to play games without too many dramas, like my friends do with their "obsolete" GF2MX cards.

[Kruzin]

Just check the crystal ball forum for all the guesses on when it'll be out. Nothing is concrete till Matrox says so.

And although I have not tried this particular game, I play plenty of games on my G400 and G550 without any 'dramas'

[TiG]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check that thread.

I wasn't having too many problems, until the last few games i bought. Or anything using OpenGl. I upraded from a p3450 to a Duron 900 with only slight performance boost. And now that Nvidia have a chipset with dual display capabilities, I can't see the point of sticking with the trusty ol' G400 much longer. I'd buy a 4400 if my fiscal outlook wasn't so bleak, so it's the 4200 for me.

[Belwarrior]

and TiG try replacing your icd with this, supposed to solve a lot of bugs..

http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/files/ftp_util2.cfm

[TiG]

Thanks Belwarrior, but I've just got that one.
It does seem to improve things. I'm still getting the hard freeze in multi JK2, but that seems to be a game issue as people with all sorts of hardware are getting it.

Sorry to everyone if I seemed to be matrox bashing with my earlier posts, but I was just upset to hear that the game I'm most looking forward to wasn't running well on the g400. If I'd posted this on any of the other forums I lurk on I would have been flamed and flooded with nvidia pr. But here people give me tips and point out fixes! If only everyone on the net was so polite and helpful. It's not until I remember WHEN I bought my g400 that I realize how well it's served me.