What to do if your computer doens't support Hardware Vertex Processing

[ThePentiumGuy]

I have a computer with a 9800Pro, which is great and supports hardware vertex processing. But then again, I'm doign some "beta" testing and came to the conclusion that this HP doesn't support hardware vertex processing....

 

Half the things that I do require hardware vertex processing, and this computer makes me use software veretx processing, dropping my frames per second from 500 to 6 (this is rendering an animated mesh, heightmap and skybox).

 

Is this a common problem? Computers with integrated graphics require software vertex processing?

 

See the reason I'm asking is, I went to dxdiag -> Display -> Test Direct3D and it said it supported "Direct3D 9 Hardware Accellerated Devices." But how come my application doesn't work with Hardware? This computer's only a year old. The computer next to me (another HP) is about 2 months old, has integrated graphics, and STILL doesn't work with hardware. Just that one change from Hardware to Software makes it work.

 

Edit: I just did a test using DeviceCaps and found out that my IGP computer doens't SupportHardwareTransformAndLight or SupportPureDevice.

 

Can anyone explain if I'm doing something wrong? dxDiag indicates that Hardware works, but my applicaiton won't work with Hardware, I have to use Software vertex processing.

 

Thanks,

-The Pentium Guy

Edited August 16, 2005 by ThePentiumGuy

[IngisKahn]

What model exactly is your video card? AFAIK, Radeon 9800 pro isn't an IGP. Anyway, if you have the correct drivers installed and DxCaps says no HTL then there's no HTL. The dxDiag merely indicates that your video card (hardware) is compatable with DX.

[ThePentiumGuy]

Sorry. I should have been more clear - my 9800Pro works on Hardware, but the computer with IGP works only on Software - which seems to make sense.

 

Unfortunately mesh animation (which I got, and adapted a little, from RobyDX) doesn't work on Software - and that is annoying me :).

 

So after asking around GameDev a bit, there's nothing really I can do about this computer supporting only Software, and not hardware. So I guess my new question is how to make this Mesh Animation work on software?

[IngisKahn]

I thought you said it does work . . . at 5 fps. HTL means the vid card does the vertex math instead of the cpu. Unless you can simplify your rendering somehow, then that's all you're going to get.

[ThePentiumGuy]

I thought you said it does work . . . at 5 fps.

This is when I choose not to render the mesh as animated actually.

 

I made a mistake in my first post: the 500FPS on the 9800Pro with Hardware = animated mesh, the 6 FPS on the IGP is with a still mesh.

 

I'll probably switch to TriangleStrips for my heightmap instead of TriangleLists sooner or later. Strips are being a bit buggy.

 

I'll have to figure out some way to get the animated mesh to work though, with hardwarevertexprocessing

[ThePentiumGuy]

Actually, I figured it out.

 

On SoftwareVertexProcessing, right after you render your animated mesh you have to set the dxDevice.RenderState.VertexBlend back to 0. On HardwareVertexProcessing it really doens't matter, but I think it's better practice to reset it back to 0.

 

Hopes that helps people,

-The Pentium GUy