? For Schrullenhaft

[Panzertruppe]

Hi.....my buddy just bought a used computer that has.. (we believe) an Intel 82815 graphics card. I'm unfamilar with this integrated card. Do you know how much memory it has....if it can run CMBB? I would try my CMBB in his computer if he wasn't 2000 miles away!

Thanks!

PS I enjoy all your tech information!

[WWB]

i815 can run cmbb, IIRC, albeit without some advanced effects. Also from memory, it has as much memory as you assign it from the BIOS, up to 32mb. Some advanced effects will not work and it will be generally slow.

WWB (schullenhaft's less able proxy)

[Panzertruppe]

Thanks for the info WWB! Guess we will have to see if he has an open AGP or PCI slot for another card.

[Schrullenhaft]

I've been screwing around all day trying to install CMBB on a machine with an Intel 815 (not that it is a problem with CM working with it, just other issues).

I ran CMBB v. 1.03 on a computer with a 4Mb video cache and an Intel 815 chipset. Both the v. 6.6 and 6.7 drivers (which are the last ones for this chipset) worked, but there were some problems.

1) Fog doesn't work. This is true of all but the latest Intel chipsets (865 and maybe the 845).

2) There are some transparency problems that result in 'clipping' of background textures. In other words a tree or smoke will have a 'square background' to it that will make the background textures (often other trees or smoke graphics) appear invisible in this 'clipped' section. Both 6.6 and 6.7 do this.

I haven't seen any other problems off hand, but there may be a few. Alpha-blending does work (transparent buildings and high-quality smoke).

Generally the faster the CPU the better (especially concerning 'front side bus' speed - i.e. - 66MHz, 100MHz or 133MHz). I'm not sure how much of a load the 815 graphics place on the CPU, but it is probably much higher than most AGP video cards.

The drivers actually allocate most of the video memory that is necessary for an application (the BIOS may not have much in terms of video memory settings for some 815 motherboards).

As you've suggested, a separate video card would be the best bet. Most 815 motherboards have AGP slots (though an occasional few don't - usually small form factor computers). The 815's support AGP 4X, which means almost any video card will work (though there may be an occasional caveat for certain motherboards - check the motherboard manufacturer's website or do a search for possible details).