The Official DOOM 3 [H]ardware Guide thread.

pcfountain said:
"Otherwise, all of the lines in DOOM 3 really aren’t noticeably aliased due to the darkness and shadows of the game"
I think the aliasing is visible, right where you would expect it. Yes, the game is very dark, and this helps to some degree, but I was still noticing the lack of AA all over the place. Of course I don't want to turn it on due to the performance hit, but I think it is definitely noticable, just as much as it would be in any other game.
QUOTE]

I have to agree with that. I was really pumped about not having to turn on AA at 1024x768 HQ, but in the game I am noticing jaggies all over. Still a great game and tons of fun but just a thought.
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Scar1.8T said:
pcfountain said:
"Otherwise, all of the lines in DOOM 3 really aren’t noticeably aliased due to the darkness and shadows of the game"
I think the aliasing is visible, right where you would expect it. Yes, the game is very dark, and this helps to some degree, but I was still noticing the lack of AA all over the place. Of course I don't want to turn it on due to the performance hit, but I think it is definitely noticable, just as much as it would be in any other game.
QUOTE]

I have to agree with that. I was really pumped about not having to turn on AA at 1024x768 HQ, but in the game I am noticing jaggies all over. Still a great game and tons of fun but just a thought.
Click to expand...

1600x1200, and I notice them.
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Any og you try this tweak found Here ?? I did it with my Desktop machine and it did improve my frame rate, but on my laptop it dosent do much. It says to change this line seta image_cacheMegs "20" found in your DoomConfig.cfg file to something like seta image_cacheMegs "256" or what ever number you want. Does anyone know what the line above does though? this line------> seta image_useCache "0" will turning that to a "1" enable the Cache??? ohhhhhhhh we have so much to learn about doom 3 :p

sorry if this was posted already, i didnt feel like reading 40 pages to see if it was, lol


EDIT: I changed seta image_useCache "0" to "1" and Doom 3 crashed, so i don't recommend you guys do it, lol.
 
T8000 said:
When you mention 64 bit, note that it is not supported on any mayor gaming OS and that is not likely to change before current CPU's are outdated anyway.

Besides, that raw power you mention does not seem to help in this article, as the 3000+ lags below a real 3 Ghz CPU. Its cache does not seem to help either.

For overclocking, most Northwoods, including mine, seem to be capable of at least 25% overclocks, more then any Athlon 64 I know off. Since the memory and the FSB raise with the clockspeed, the P4 also scales better, performance-wise.

When you compare prices, you usually compare CPU + MB bundles, and since i875 and i865 are around longer then KT800, you can buy better boards for less money. Since both bundles are about $300, I think you only need to look at the performance figures, where a stock P4 seems to match an overclocked A64 setup.
Click to expand...

Everything you said is about the opposite from the truth.

Read this.
 
Mookers said:
Any og you try this tweak found Here ?? I did it with my Desktop machine and it did improve my frame rate, but on my laptop it dosent do much. It says to change this line seta image_cacheMegs "20" found in your DoomConfig.cfg file to something like seta image_cacheMegs "256" or what ever number you want. Does anyone know what the line above does though? this line------> seta image_useCache "0" will turning that to a "1" enable the Cache??? ohhhhhhhh we have so much to learn about doom 3 :p

sorry if this was posted already, i didnt feel like reading 40 pages to see if it was, lol


EDIT: I changed seta image_useCache "0" to "1" and Doom 3 crashed, so i don't recommend you guys do it, lol.
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It allows for use of your RAM in processing graphics instead of your video card's memory. Don't just set "256", while running Doom 3, go to the taskmgr and check how much memory you have availble system wide. If you have a machine with 512 megs, you may only have 100 or so available, in which case you'd want to use "96." However, if you have 1 gig RAM, you might have 400 or so megs available to use, in which case you'd want to use "256."

Don't allocate more RAM than what you have to use...the performance could actually be detrimental.
 
Xrave said:
It allows for use of your RAM in processing graphics instead of your video card's memory. Don't just set "256", while running Doom 3, go to the taskmgr and check how much memory you have availble system wide. If you have a machine with 512 megs, you may only have 100 or so available, in which case you'd want to use "96." However, if you have 1 gig RAM, you might have 400 or so megs available to use, in which case you'd want to use "256."

Don't allocate more RAM than what you have to use...the performance could actually be detrimental.
Click to expand...

the only problem is system memory is WAY slower than card memory...guess that slipped by ya..
 
theelviscerator said:
the only problem is system memory is WAY slower than card memory...guess that slipped by ya..
Click to expand...


True..but I don't think you are reading into that properly.

Most of the time when applications cache data it isn't necessarily to make the task easier on the video card. It is used to help eliminate random hard drive seeking,

Ever been playing a game and it paused momentarily due to the system having to load data from the hard drive? Hence the caching of data to system memory to help alleviate (that spelled right?) that. :p

System memory is a heck of a lot faster than your hard drive. So if the game can cache data to the system memory then it makes more sense it would run faster that way as it doesn't have to pull as much data from the hard drive since X amount of data has been cached.

I hope this helps clear this up. :)

Kevin
 
theelviscerator said:
the only problem is system memory is WAY slower than card memory...guess that slipped by ya..
Click to expand...

Yes it's slower, but allocating that extra space helps a good deal.

On my laptop, I could increase the detail level from low to medium and get an increase of about ~10 FPS across the board from giving it "256."
 
I only have 512 MB, and I set it to 512. I get more smoothness of play compared to when it was set at 96 or 128. At those lower settings, the game would occasionally stall (half-second or so) when accessing new areas, but with 512, I don't have that problem again.

BTW I play at 1280x1024, High settings. (Reduced AF in DoonConfig to 2, instead of 8)
 
Xrave said:
It allows for use of your RAM in processing graphics instead of your video card's memory. Don't just set "256", while running Doom 3, go to the taskmgr and check how much memory you have availble system wide. If you have a machine with 512 megs, you may only have 100 or so available, in which case you'd want to use "96." However, if you have 1 gig RAM, you might have 400 or so megs available to use, in which case you'd want to use "256."

Don't allocate more RAM than what you have to use...the performance could actually be detrimental.
Click to expand...


Oh ya ram is not an issue with my machine. I have 1 gig in my machine :p

I just checked and it says i have 700megs free, only useing 300 meg of the 1 gig :)
 
Xrave said:
Everything you said is about the opposite from the truth.

Read this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for backing me up on this. Cache makes a HUGE difference in CPUs, this is an area that, IMO Intel has had problems with since the late P3 and early P4 chips. I rememeber the last good P3 chips that has 1MB of cache on them that went up to about 1.5Ghz or so were some serious performers, but the P4 in general up until recently has been lackluster due to its somewhat poor cache next to the current AMD chipsets. I wasn't talking about it actually doing anything in 64bit, as we know it's not doing much there currently, as he suspected I said, what I meant was it's still performing faster and OCing well due to it's cache and handling, not even taking into account HyperTransport and such. (Or Intel's Hyperthreading)

Edit: What I meant to say isn't the AMOUNT OF CACHE it's the on-die memory controller COUPLED with more cache. It's not so much the change from 512KB to 1024KB. Though if you have less than 512KB on a chip (early P4) it's a good idea to move on.
 
Doom 3 has proven my overclocks to be stable.

Athlon XP 2100+ @ 2074MHz, PC2700 @ 380MHz, Ti4200 @ 290/600. No problems, aside from the fact that 256MB of RAM definately is not enough...

It is playable, however occasionally it snags when you go through a door into a large, detailed room. If you take it slow, it runs fine.
800x600 low detail until I get my 512 stick.

More RAM on the way this week. :)

Has anyone managed to get to the console yet?
 
0ldman said:
No problems, aside from the fact that 256MB of RAM definately is not enough...
Click to expand...

Ouch. :(

wel l since I am 99% sure the box say 384MB is the minimum I can say I am not suprised, and I appluade your courage for undertaking such a feat. ;)

Oh, and were you referring to the "in game" console?

If so it's just "Ctrl + Alt + ~"

Kevin
 
Just wanted to throw my two cents in on the minimum system requirements. But first off, excellent article. The detail allowed me to make a few assumptions, namely that I'd be able to get acceptable gameplay on a 2+ year old system. Glad I tried, see why later.

The setup
Abit KT7A-Raid (100MHz CPU FSB but allows 133 Ram)
Amd Athlon 1.2GHz/100MHz FSB
512MB Micron 133Mhz CL 2 Ram
Asus V8420 (Ti 4200 128MB DDR)

Installed the game with system running defaults. Fails on load. Started to think my $50 had been wasted. I'm a firm believer in buying good hardware rather than overclocking cheaper components, but I'd just read an awesome article, the stores were all closed (not that I would have had $) and I was needing a fix. 3 hours of tweaking yielded these results:

CPU running at 1357 (CPU FSB @ 118MHz [11.5 Multiplier] and PCI bus @ 36MHz)
Ram stable at PCI+Host Clock (154MHz) and still CAS 2.
Asus V8420 latest reference drivers from asus, not based on latest detonators.
Used riva tuner to allow low level OC.
Core running at 295MHz. (Up from 250) Memory Running at 525MHz (up from 446)
(Values seem off because rivatuner aparently scales them automatically)

Doom 3 runs STABLY on medium quality with specular disabled (thanx guys) 1280x1024.
Frame rates are a decent 45-50 with no fog present, more than three character models and it starts to get choppy at 12-15 FPS. I would say averaging 30-40FPS while exploring rooms, looks beautiful and is VERY playable. Obviously, no AA. Did notice something odd, seems that at 640x480, frame rates are higher (as expected) until multiple demons show up, then it tends to act as slow as the higher resolutions. Any hints as to what might cause this inconsistency? Kudos to you guys for the article, and Kudos to ID who must have tweaked the crap out of this game for it to play so well on such a dump system.
 
One Mans Trash said:
long, good post.
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Probably the CPU limiting you at that point. 640x480 -> many monsters == a lot of AI, physics calculations that have to be done. And thus, it slows.

Nice work, by the way.
 
good call and thanx lopoetve.

a few other things i noticed.

Disable all a/v (especially symantec) from Task Manager when playing. CCApp.exe runs at close to 10000KB. (yes, im willing to take the risk. do your damn winupdates.)

Doom 3 boots for me with explorer.exe unloaded (17000KB). Just kill it, then Task Man-new task-c:\prog...\doom3.exe Helps alot as i run windowsblinds as well (wbload,2000KB)
(note: explorer tweak consistently locked a friends sys, haven't figured out why yet)

The guys were dead on in the article where resolution is concerned. My suggestion is to run lowest quality with minimum aa and af and get your resolution/framerate ratio happy first. Then slowly add the other features till you've bottomed out the FPS at an acceptable level (i would be happy with a SOLID 45-55. i guess i'm not very picky). I see no real difference in med vs high. I know what specular is supposed to do, I guess I just can't see it. 86 it.

have yet to try the seta_cacheblah tweak from the other thread. Tips should help those systems out there that are better than mine yet reporting poorer benchmarks. Sorry if this should have been in the tweak thread, but I 'm a newb.
 
hello i am a nub and have a question or two on a video card for doom 3

i dont have a ton of money and was looking to stay under the 200$ plateau for a vid card. i currently have a p4 1.6ghz with 512mb ddr ram and a geforce 5200fx 128mb.

now doom 3 stutters a lot in action sequences like the imps throwin fireballs etc. now i was looking at this card here ATI RADEON 9600XT 256MB and was wondering if this card would stop the stuttering and allow me to play on a higher level than medium at 640 x 480. it doesnt have to be like super high level as i know what cards can attain those graphics. any tips on some good cards that are in the 200$ range will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
sqfuzzy said:
hello i am a nub and have a question or two on a video card for doom 3

i dont have a ton of money and was looking to stay under the 200$ plateau for a vid card. i currently have a p4 1.6ghz with 512mb ddr ram and a geforce 5200fx 128mb.

now doom 3 stutters a lot in action sequences like the imps throwin fireballs etc. now i was looking at this card here ATI RADEON 9600XT 256MB and was wondering if this card would stop the stuttering and allow me to play on a higher level than medium at 640 x 480. it doesnt have to be like super high level as i know what cards can attain those graphics. any tips on some good cards that are in the 200$ range will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...

Best card for $200 would be the 128mb 9800 Pro. Get that over the 9600. If you're willing to wait, you could also get the 6800LE, but God knows when that'll hit retail.
 
well the 6600gt (nv43) should be out soon, and should perform close to the 6800 le, and that should be right around the 200 buck range too. This card was made for retailers.
 
Update.

AXP @ 2074MHz + 256MB + Ti4200 64MB plays damn near perfect at 640x480. Dropped from 8x6 and no further hang ups.

id is looking out for a good minimum system, 256 will do it, but 384 I'm sure does better. Load time sucks with 256, but the game doesn't snag anymore at 640x480.
 
Anyone else running Doom3 in an odd resolution?

I like 800x600 medium quality performance on my laptop, but that leaves ugly borders (16:10 widescreen) or an even uglier stretched image. I'm running at 840x525, 1/2 the dimensions each way of the screen's native 1680x1050 resolution. It's about 8% fewer pixels than 800x600 but it looks and runs about the same and has no more borders. :D

I asked because I think several people could run slightly better at non-standard resolutions than trying for the next whole mode up (i.e. 640x480->800x600->1024x768 etc). Or users of 5:4 LCDs can run at other 5:4 resolutions besides 1280x1024 if their cards aren't fast enough (i.e. 1024x820 or 960x768 or 640x512). It's easy:

in your DoomConfig.cfg (in "\program files\doom 3\base" by default), change the 3 lines:
r_customWidth "xxx"
r_customHeight "yyy"
r_mode "-1"

where xxx is the new width and yyy is the new height. Then add that new custom resolution with rivatuner or your favorite tweak program. It's really simple in rivatuner for nvidia cards.
 
0ldman said:
Update.

AXP @ 2074MHz + 256MB + Ti4200 64MB plays damn near perfect at 640x480. Dropped from 8x6 and no further hang ups.

id is looking out for a good minimum system, 256 will do it, but 384 I'm sure does better. Load time sucks with 256, but the game doesn't snag anymore at 640x480.
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Oh thank god. Now all I have to do is get a better video card to play with a memory upgrade after.
 
thanks for the advice

i ended up going with the Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb card for 266$ at newegg.com

just a little too much but what the heck lol

slap that baby into the 2.4 P4 and i'll be off and running!
 
pxc said:
Anyone else running Doom3 in an odd resolution?

I like 800x600 medium quality performance on my laptop, but that leaves ugly borders (16:10 widescreen) or an even uglier stretched image. I'm running at 840x525, 1/2 the dimensions each way of the screen's native 1680x1050 resolution. It's about 8% fewer pixels than 800x600 but it looks and runs about the same and has no more borders. :D

I asked because I think several people could run slightly better at non-standard resolutions than trying for the next whole mode up (i.e. 640x480->800x600->1024x768 etc). Or users of 5:4 LCDs can run at other 5:4 resolutions besides 1280x1024 if their cards aren't fast enough (i.e. 1024x820 or 960x768 or 640x512). It's easy:

in your DoomConfig.cfg (in "\program files\doom 3\base" by default), change the 3 lines:
r_customWidth "xxx"
r_customHeight "yyy"
r_mode "-1"

where xxx is the new width and yyy is the new height. Then add that new custom resolution with rivatuner or your favorite tweak program. It's really simple in rivatuner for nvidia cards.
Click to expand...

Does the game support 20xx X 15xx?
 
kcthebrewer said:
Does the game support 20xx X 15xx?
Click to expand...
You mean 2048 × 1536? Try it :p

IIRC Kyle mentioned playing it in that resolution.
 
Yeah I tried setting it to r_mode 9 but that apparently isn't valid...
Will try the custom one when I get home.
 
It seems like any odd resolution will work as long as it shows up in the list of display modes in display properties. I have 768x480, 960x600 and 840x525 widescreen modes on my laptop set up and working full screen in Doom3.
 
CrimandEvil said:
Oh thank god. Now all I have to do is get a better video card to play with a memory upgrade after.
Click to expand...
Glad to know it helped *somebody*.
:)

I'm about to go nuts, I need more RAM. The system barely drops below 60fps @ 800x600, in on large room it dropped to 35fps, that is a rare thing in this game tho. I want to crank the details, but I know it will be slow as hell until I get more RAM.
 
I am running 1920 x 1200 with the custom settings and it works great. As far as the custom resolutions showing up in the list... mine don't.

Running high detail with 2x AA and my imagecache set to 256 and the game plays super smooth.
 
Anyone know why its very choppy graphics. Not low FPS but choppy. Like if I look sideways the graphics is not 'sync'

if I look up and down its smooth as butter, I'm running at 800x600 LOW details.

thanks :(

I have a GF4 Ti4200 64MB
 
options, system, advanced.

What you are describing is called tearing. Basically the image isn't refreshing on the monitor at the same speed it is output from the card. Turn on Vsync and it will synchronize. The framerate will drop on occasion, so if you drop under 30fps without vsync, you're probably better off leaving it alone.
 
Another little tid bit of testing...
the Omega 45.xx drivers are not noticeably slower with the Ti4200 than the 61.77s, the Geforce 4 MX 440 ran poorly with the Omega's, nearly double the framerate with the 61.77s, but somewhat poorer IQ.

At least the game was playable, whether Mars in the menu looked as good or not...
 
i did not read the 40 some pages of posts but my system does not perform in mulitplayer. multiplayer is much more demanding then single player for frames per second. i have played through the whole single player (amazing) but when i go to play multi some parts are extreamly crappy FPS. if 2 guys are fighting over mega health on d3dm2 your fps are go to almost nothing.

Im running all settings at low or off, 640x480. and all settings on my vid card are at performance or off. i have the lastest drivers. i dont over clock. and im getting 10 fps at times :(

my system: AMD 2500+, 1.5GB of RAM, and a Geforce4 Ti 4800. so in other words if you are planing on playing mulitplayer at any competive level you will need top end hardware (because stable 60 FPS matters a lot)
 
yeah this sounds alot like me. Even though I got a nice CPU, my 8500 is completely getting obliterated by any kind of MP.

Hell, I would say its safe to say that you must drop an entire level in resolution to get good FPS (excluding you top-end guys with the 6800's)...so if you can run it in 1024, then go to 800. Of course if you are already having to run @ 640...you are screwed -_-.
 
wow.
I'm going to have to try that tomorrow.

Single player averages 45fps, rarely ever drops below 30fps... generally is pegged @ 60 with my Ti4200...
 
So i am having performance hits when i first get the level loaded, everythings choppy till i suppose things get all cached up. When i enter new rooms performance drops and it also does when i get in a fire fight with multiple zomb-marines or imps. I beleive that the amount of ram i have could be the culprit but i am unsure. Any advice for what i should upgrade? video or ram first?

specs:
Xp 2500+
Radeon 9700 pro
gigabyte 7n400 pro2
512 TwinX corsair 3700
 
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