Graphics settings for cheap/old/bad gfx card computers

[eltomito]

I've just discovered that if you're playing on really underdog hardware, such as my 2012 intel i5-2430 with integrated graphics, it really helps to turn off texture compression.
That way, even the Black Forest track works without jitter. No advanced pipeline, of course!

[Auria]

In general, it is recommended in such cases that each player tests various settings. Glad that it worked for you, there are nother lower-end GPUs where compression would probably actually help. So it's really hard to give general recommendations, other than to try various settings and see what is best for you

[QwertyChouskie]

Hmm, weird. I get much better framerates with texture compression on. Texture compression makes textures use less VRAM at the cost of a slightly lower visual quality. Not sure why it'd lower the framerate on your system...

Also, most systems of that age can be upgraded to a 3rd-gen processor, even laptops. My laptop currently runs a i5-3340M, but came with a Celeron 1.7GHz (oof). The upgrade to HD 4000 is totally worth it. Also make sure you are using dual-channel memory, that helps with integrated graphics as it increases the bandwidth.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i7- ... SwkjZcue45 looks quite appealing, especially for compilation (4 cores/8 threads).

[eltomito]

Hi!

I actually followed your advice and looked into how difficult it would be to upgrade the cpu on my notebook but I haven't found a single post from anyone who managed to upgrade it from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge (gen 2 -> gen 3) successfully.

But at least I recalled my notebook also had a discrete gfx card (Radeon HD 6370M/7370M) which I never used, because the Linux drivers always sucked.
So, I thought I'd check if the drivers have gotten any better and thanks to this excellent post https://askubuntu.com/questions/1038271 ... untu-18-04 I can now play stk with the advanced pipeline on at around 35fps even in the black forest! Yay!

[QwertyChouskie]

Congrats on getting your discrete card working! Also, don't expect to find any posts about upgrading the processor in any given laptop. Just find what exact processor you have, look up what socket that model uses (usually Socket G2 for notebooks with 2nd-gen and 3rd-gen processors), and buy a 3rd-gen that uses that socket. Also make sure to update your BIOS before installing the upgrade for the best chance of compatibility. Also, good thermal compound is important, especially if going to a higher TDP processor like an i7, so factor an extra ~$10 into the cost of the upgrade.

[eltomito]

Hmm, weird. I get much better framerates with texture compression on.

So it's even more weird that turning off texture compression gives me a few extra fps even on the discrete gpu. The difference is small but noticeable around the big wheel in The Cocoa Temple.

[QwertyChouskie]

Hmm, I wonder if there's a bad interaction between light scattering and texture compression. Try disabling light scattering and give the results for texture compression on and off.

[Auria]

QwertyChouskie, performance is highly dependent on the specific GPU and driver combination. Maybe your GPU or driver handled compression poorly. This doesn't mean other people will have a similar experience. So just because something helps performance for you, really doesn't mean it will be applicable in any way to someone else. If that other person has a GPU/driver that handle compression well, then compression is generally useful. I don't think that should become your recommendation to everyone.

[fluffrabbit]

Pretty intelligent comments coming from a bunch of adult babies playing a Mario Kart ripoff.

Let me set things straight for you all. STK runs like garbage on 90% of mid-range laptops, netbooks, and older PCs. That's just how it is because you use all these fancypants shaders built on top of Irrlicht. I haven't checked the source code so I don't know how much of Irrlicht's original GL renderer was kept, but it's not the lean mean rendering machine people have come to expect with all the PBR demos and whatnot that run well on a small scale. These tracks are big and use state-of-the-art rendering techniques and lots of models. When I turn my graphics down to nothing it still runs like garbage, plus it looks like garbage too. It's a lose-lose. Maybe if the game were more optimized... But it isn't.

[tempAnon093]

Pretty intelligent comments coming from a bunch of adult babies playing a Mario Kart ripoff.

If the game is for adult babies, then it makes perfect sense that you joined us. Welcome to the community!

Got any recommendations on how to make things better?

[fluffrabbit]

Pretty intelligent comments coming from a bunch of adult babies playing a Mario Kart ripoff.

If the game is for adult babies, then it makes perfect sense that you joined us. Welcome to the community!

I'm not a big enough baby yet to have a rig that can run this properly, but thanks for the invitation!

[Alayan]

STK is certainly not the most optimized game out there, not even close, but this doesn't excuse your language. "adult babies" and "Mario Kart ripoff" cross the line.

Without a dedicated graphics card, the expected resolution to play is 720p. And at 720p graphics 2, a mobile ivy bridge igpu from 2012 can get playable performance. igpu (especially old ones) are ok for video playback and rendering the desktop, but are very weak for games. If you want higher resolution and fancy nice graphics, get a half-decent graphics card.

In the meantime, keep your trolling out of here.

[fluffrabbit]

I think we're both on the same page about STK's performance issues, but don't tell me what I should and shouldn't say in your community.

[GunChleoc]

It's not what you said, it's how you said it.

Of course performance can be better, would you like to help?

[QwertyChouskie]

Not to mention that Antarctica doesn't use Irrlicht's renderer at all, except as a fallback for machines that only support OpenGL 2. The renderer was fully re-built.

[eltomito]

Try disabling light scattering and give the results for texture compression on and off.

I wouldn't even dream of enabling light scattering This is what my current settings look like:

QwertyChouskie, performance is highly dependent on the specific GPU and driver combination. Maybe your GPU or driver handled compression poorly. This doesn't mean other people will have a similar experience.

Thought so. I posted it just to say that it *may* help people with old and not-so-fantastic laptops like mine.

*troll* *troll* *troll*

I'm impressed by your trolling skill level! Especially the bit about a mario kart ripoff shows you've done solid forum research