Mythruna

(I moved the "Why does Mythruna require superior graphics cards" discussion to here because it got really off topic)

I need a good insight from Mythruna players with OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics cards to tell me what range of G.Cards I should look at.

My HP Pavillion has 512 MB of RAM, and for some reason the G.Card must have 2 GB of space because I've seen my memory peak at 2.14 GB when attempting to run a PS2 Emulator. I'll also respect insight about that, because that if I really don't have 2 GB's of space, then I may end up overpaying.

It's whether this, or swindling one of my friend's graphics cards, he doesn't really use his laptop much and his memory is like, 4 GB, but I digress... ;)

Your computer seriously only has 512 MB or RAM?

...problematic.  A graphics card is only going to go so far, I think.

You're either behind with computer tech these days... Or you're just busy these days. Haha. The cheapest card I can think of in our house that can run Mythruna is an Intel HD card. Or an Nvidia GTX 7500 that can barely run it. (you have to type /flora low to get it from 2 fps to 40 fps.

Are you saying you want to replace your laptops graphics card?
Anyway if it is a desktop PC I recommend going to Newegg and looking for graphics cards on sale or something. I got a fanless 2 gig GTX Geforce 610 for $25 after a rebate for my server PC.

So, does that work well with Mythruna?

P.S. I have an HP Pavilion A1020N with a 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family.

A GTX 610 should be way fast.  I run 460s and they are great.

It does, but as Paul said, the graphics card only goes so far. 512 mb of RAM is never good for java VM applications.

Correction on my part, it is a Geforce GT 610. Made for HTPC's mostly but the one I bought is what ASUS considers a 'corporate stable model'.

It's fine for Java... but not fine for Mythruna.  Average running size for Mythruna at default clip is over a gig.  If you tweak your start up settings then you could get it down to 512 if you keep the clip at 64 meters... but now your OS (which is already taking a good deal of your 512) won't be very happy.

If you can upgrade the RAM then you should try... it's pretty cheap, relatively speaking.  2 gig would be pretty comfortable.

Ah, that makes a bit more sense.  The GTX cards are really good.  I don't know about the GT level.

How is it running for you?

I'll look into that, thanks for the info.
Here is why I am confused about my RAM.

Edit: I am trying to post a desktop printscreen of task manager, how do I post images?

Step 1: Go to http://imgur.com
Step 2: upload your image there.
Step 3: post the link here

(http://i.imgur.com/J3uxymi.png?1)
1.56 GB is being used... where is that coming from?

Swap.  Uses the file system to store what it can't in RAM.  Your hard drive is probably churning constantly under this load.

Imagine if you could pop a couple 1 gig chips in how much easier your machine would breathe. :)

Its decided. I'll invest in a Geforce GT 610 and a couple of 1 gig RAM chips, because my memory idles over 512MB. As I type, its using 759 MB due to Google chrome. Then, i'll finally run Mythruna and love my life.  ;)
Thanks for the info, it helped alot. ;D

I personally haven't tried any games on it.  The reason why I bought it in the first place is because the onboard radeon graphics were too glitchy with the open source drivers so I got the GT 610 which runs XFCE like a dream. ;D
But the card is actually pretty good. It's capable of running Battlefield 3 on medium to give some perspective.

Well, you might wait to hear back on how well the GT610 runs.  Maybe it ends up being worth a couple extra bucks for something a little better.  I don't know what your budget is, but if you can find a way to get in on a GTX then you might be happier... if your machine can accept it.

I guess the GT is safe and cheap... since it sounds like it's fanless and probably doesn't require an extra power feed to be plugged in.

Saw this on one discussion thread:

And this is a deeper review:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5845/nvidia-launches-fermi-based-geforce-gt-610-gt-620-gt-630-into-retail

But in the end, it would be a huge upgrade for you over what you have now.  With that and the new RAM, you'll feel like you have a new computer.

Still, I do hope Sean responds with what kind of Mythruna performance he gets with it.

It would be nice in general to get some more rows in this spreadsheet: http://mythruna.com/forum/index.php?topic=1183.60

I'll try to PM him if he hasn't yet, but yeah, that sounds fit.  ;)

The card I got is fanless, but most that are available are the traditional fan/heatsink setup.
But it isn't very feasible to test how Mythruna runs because it's a headless Debian Linux server, it doesn't run Windows, it doesn't have proprietary drivers installed, and the biggest reason, or else I would have tried with the proprietary drivers is because I'm leaving home tomorrow for 10 days and I have to get off after I type this. :p
Really installing the drivers isn't an issue, it's just that I don't want anything breaking before I leave.
With that said, this card does support OpenGL 4.2 (Mythruna only needs OpenGL 2.0) so my guess is I would be able to get ~40 fps+ with my clip at 160m.
Although I am unable to test it myself, I have full confidence it would be able to play Mythruna.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the card doesn't need any external power.
oh and make sure you have a PCI Express x16 slot before you buy.

Thanks, I am being really choosy in what graphics card i'm choosing, and it all helps. ;)

If you get it, I'm curious how it runs.

The card is cheap enough and new enough that I may get one for testing if it makes a decent "bottom end but thoroughly playable" card.  Some other cards there is no hope for. :)  It would be nice to have an inexpensive place to send the non-laptop users who were looking to upgrade with confidence.

I'll be more than happy to test in 10 days  :D

Works for me, thats when i'll begin my investment. I hope my HP Pavilion has a PCI Express x16 slot, i'll upload a picture of the back of the tower once I can.

It does have the required slot. Ok, everything is set, and I know how to do everything. Thank you all for your help. I'll be playing Mythruna in no time.

 :) ;) :D ;D

Crossing my fingers that nothing goes wrong. :)

It has OpenGL 4.2, so that includes support for all previous models, so thats all I need! I'm getting a 1gb version of the G10, and two 1GB RAM chips. My CPU has the required slots, and I have internet connection to connect to Youtube to find out what to do. ;)

I got the video card, and a power supply to support it, and ram chips to increase my ram, and now need a Motherboard to fit the video card. At this point I need help finding out what motherboards will fit an HP Pavilion A1020N case with the following specifications:

Socket: LGA775
Supports processor up to 3.4 GHz
Supports Intel Pentium 4 HT processors

Any help at this point will be highly appreciated, because I have found myself upgrading the entire computer.

The motherboard might be some proprietary, non-ATX board so unless the motherboard is in fact ATX I don't know how much help I can be.

My Motherboard:
------------------------------------
Manufacturer: Asus
Motherboard Name: PTGD-LA
HP motherboard name: Goldfish3-GL8E
------------------------------------
The problem is that I do not have the required slot like I thought I did. I need a dual-width PCI Express slot. Another weird thing is that the video card will have to go in upside-down, but will still work, as the slot will be in the proper position, and the VGA cord will plug into the card. All I need is to find a motherboard that will support the specifications listed previously and I'll finally be good. I'll need help with that.  :-\

The form factor is Micro ATX, which is a good thing.
I was able to find only one Micro ATX board with DDR2 support and it comes with one PCI express x16 slot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157337&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Hopefully the RAM you bought will be supported by the motherboard.

You just saved my investment. Thank you, because this is exactly what I'm looking for. From my knowledge, the only difference between RAM chips is the kind of CPU they go into, and all memory types are supported, (DDR2, DDR3, etc) and do not need to match. Best of all, its only 60$, and not super expensive. I see it has some cons, but I am not looking for perfection.

Hopefully this thread will help others in need.

Thanks!

You're welcome!

so is your PC complete? o:

As soon as I order and install the new motherboard it will be. Then, I'll be playing Mythruna non-stop.  ;)