Low FPS on netbook:

J

jread

New member
Low FPS on netbook:

Just wondering if any of you playing D2 on your netbook have any advice on how to make it run better....

I installed it on my Acer Aspire One today (Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz, 2GB RAM, Windows 7 32-bit) and can't seem to get D2 to run better than 11-12 fps on 800x600 mode, with all graphics settings on "low" or "off". Then, if I go anywhere where there are more than 2 or 3 monsters, it drops to about 4 fps which is pretty much unplayable.

If I switch to 640x480, it went up to about 23 fps or so, which is great, but I can't stand playing it at that resolution anymore.

What can I do to improve the performance of the game? It just really frustrates me that I used to play this game at 800x600 on an old Pentium 3 at 800mhz with zero issues, so I don't know why in the hell it runs so terribly on my netbook.

Any and all advice is most-appreciated!
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

Have you tried different video modes? That might make a huge difference, especially with glide wrapper (a tool with allows you to play the game with glide video mode, a mode for which the game was designed for in the first place).

Another thing which might work: have you tried different combability modes?
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

I have D2 on a minilaptop and it runs well with over 40 fps(can drop to 20 with baal's minions). Maybe upgrade your drivers?
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

I got an Acer aspire one but run it through XP and it runs great Ive got 1.5 Gig memory(1.6 GHz Atom though).Your not using a SS Harddrive are you as I know there can be issues with them and a NTFS formatted harddrive(Fat 32 works better)and virtual memory(mines switched off).
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

The game works well on my Windows 7 PC with a SSD.

As said, try the glide wrapper.
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

sahlakh said:
Have you tried different video modes? That might make a huge difference, especially with glide wrapper (a tool with allows you to play the game with glide video mode, a mode for which the game was designed for in the first place).

Another thing which might work: have you tried different combability modes?
Click to expand...

I tried the glide wrapper 1.4d but it crashed when I ran it (the tool). I ran the D2 video test anyway and it found it and used it as an option, but it still doesn't work when I try to launch the game (error is something about 6-pixel mode or something like that). Does the glide wrapper not work on Windows 7?

I did try different compatibility modes... everything from Windows 95 - Windows XP SP3 and the game didn't seem to want to start up. It would just sit at a black screen forever. It only started working again when I turned off compatibility mode.

DrMiikai said:
I have D2 on a minilaptop and it runs well with over 40 fps(can drop to 20 with baal's minions). Maybe upgrade your drivers?
Click to expand...

I have the latest driver I could find (Dec. '09) for my netbook's graphics processor (GMA 500).

kavlor said:
I got an Acer aspire one but run it through XP and it runs great Ive got 1.5 Gig memory(1.6 GHz Atom though).Your not using a SS Harddrive are you as I know there can be issues with them and a NTFS formatted harddrive(Fat 32 works better)and virtual memory(mines switched off).
Click to expand...

Not using a SS HD... just the regular old HD in the netbook.



 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

glide wrapper + intel video cards = problems

even new intel cards dont support everything ancient ati/nvidia cards do

if it has an ati or nvidia card glide will work fine

if its intel, try ddraw (2d) mode
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

Thanks for the advice (I figured it was Intel... it has given me problems on so many games).

Now, how do I run it in ddraw 2D mode? I don't have that option when I run the D2 Vid Test... I only get:

1. Direct 3D (runs like crap)
2. 3dfx glide (doesn't work at all).

BTW, the error I was getting with glide is "Setpixelformat Failed".
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

not all intel cards support 2d mode correctly

go to intels site and download the latest driver for the card

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx
graphics -> laptop imbeded graphics -> find the best match for your card

restart

run D2VidTst.exe from your d2 install folder
run tests then select ddraw (2d)
if its grayed out you cant run 2d, use 3d instead
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

Downloaded the driver (found one a little newer than the one I had), ran D2VidTst, but ddraw was still not an option. Selected 3D instead and the game still runs horribly.

Thank you for your help, but it looks like I'm just not going to be able to play D2 :(


The thing that really pisses me off is that Direct Draw Acceleration is shown as "Enabled" when I go into dxdiag. If it's enabled, then why in the hell does the D2VidTst not see it?
 
Last edited:
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

Well, I found something that works, though I wouldn't call it "ideal" in any way: I just went to the shortcut properties and added a "-w" in the application target to make D2 run in windowed mode.

This boosted my fps up to around 60, which definitely makes the game playable for the most part. Now, windowed mode on a netbook is damn near microscopic, but at least it works for now.

I still need to find a way to force it to use Direct Draw (if that is possible).
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

you can change the setting manually

start -> run -> regedit

navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Diablo II\VideoConfig
change renderer to 0

0 = ddraw (2d)
1 = d3d
2 = opengl (unsupported and buggy)
3 = glide

it might not work tho

you can also try disabling windows themes, use classic style
and on the compatibilty tab for your d2 shortcut, use xp sp2 and disable visual themes
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

ffejrxx said:
you can change the setting manually

start -> run -> regedit

navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Diablo II\VideoConfig
change renderer to 0

0 = ddraw (2d)
1 = d3d
2 = opengl (unsupported and buggy)
3 = glide

it might not work tho

you can also try disabling windows themes, use classic style
and on the compatibilty tab for your d2 shortcut, use xp sp2 and disable visual themes
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will give those methods a shot when I get home from work today :)



 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

ffejrxx said:
you can change the setting manually

start -> run -> regedit

navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Diablo II\VideoConfig
change renderer to 0

0 = ddraw (2d)
1 = d3d
2 = opengl (unsupported and buggy)
3 = glide

it might not work tho
Click to expand...

Changing the registry settings did get the video test to recommend directdraw, but it wasn't available as an option that I could check (even though it tested just fine). My settings did not match exactly what you typed above, so let me just tell you what I did in VideoConfig for Diablo II:

render = 0
TestDDraw = 0
TestD3D = 1
opengl (not available from the list I'm looking at)
TestGLIDE = 3

Also, what are "DeviceDDraw" and "DirectDrawDevice0"? What should their values be? As of now I can't play the game at all :(

you can also try disabling windows themes, use classic style
and on the compatibilty tab for your d2 shortcut, use xp sp2 and disable visual themes
Click to expand...

Tried this too and it just caused D2 to hang in the black screen before the "Blizzard" logo is displayed. I had go to the Task Manager and kill the program eventually.



 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

if that didnt work it wont
delete all entrys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Diablo II\VideoConfig
then run D2VidTst.exe again

then and add -w to your shortcut again
with 1.13 you can hit the maximize button to make it bigger, but it wont capture the mouse or fill the whole screen
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

ffejrxx said:
if that didnt work it wont
delete all entrys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Diablo II\VideoConfig
then run D2VidTst.exe again

then and add -w to your shortcut again
with 1.13 you can hit the maximize button to make it bigger, but it wont capture the mouse or fill the whole screen
Click to expand...

Thanks, I went back and fixed it later yesterday and played it in windowed mode. It's small, but I'm getting used to it now and can at least play the game at a decent frame rate. Will just have to adjust to it and wait for D3 to come out :)

I appreciate the time you took to try to help me!



 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

Can I ask exactly what the Glide wrapper is, and what it does? Is there a guide for it? Any time someone has a question about FPS or graphics, ffejrxx tells them to use the glide wrapper.

How do I know if the Glide wrapper will benefit me? Thanks!
 
Re: Low FPS on netbook:

the glide wrapper converts the d2 glide engine to use opengl

glide is native for the old 3dfx cards, but not supported by any ati/nvidia cards, but opengl well works on them

intel video cards dont fully support all opengl features, it can work with them, but often slower than ddraw/d3d modes



if you have an ati/nvidia card the wrapper will work better than d3d
it gives the preformance of ddraw with the colors/lighting visuals of d3d

more info here
http://www.svenswrapper.de/english/index.html
 
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top