ATTENTION

This FlexSim Community Forum is read-only. Please post any new questions, ideas, or discussions to our new community (we call it Answers) at https://answers.flexsim.com/. Our new Question & Answer site brings a modern, mobile-friendly interface and more focus on getting answers quickly. There are a few differences between how our new Q&A community works vs. a classic, threaded-conversation-style forum like the one below, so be sure to read our Answers Best Practices.


flexsim.com

Go Back   FlexSim Community Forum > FlexSim Software > Wiki Articles
Downloads

Wiki Articles Instructional documents authored collectively by the Flexsim community

  #21  
Old 07-21-2008
Lin Jincong Lin Jincong is offline
Flexsim User
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 7
Downloads: 15
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 7
Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts
Rep Power: 0
Lin Jincong is on a distinguished road
Default

I hope you guys can improve your compatibility/performance with the major manufacturers (ATi, Nvidia and Intel) since many students like me can't afford a extra high end graphics card for the sole purpose of running flexsim. Also, this problem was not well documented in the readme/help file which cause me to take some time to fix my problems. Maybe you guys can at least make this page more prominent because I'm sure that a lot of people besides me are facing this problem. Lastly, I hope my test results prove to be useful for many Ati users out there, I'll be adding in results of my old Redeon 9600 soon.


My desktop specs are as follows:
Core2Duo 6300
ATi Redeon X1950 Pro


Tested using official Catalyst driver 7.11-8.5
Compatibility mode off

- Only 7.11 works perfectly without compatibility mode. All newer versions exhibit artifacts and distortions.
- Apparently, the same artifacts were observed through all the newer catalyst, therefore I think if you guys manage to solve the bugs in 7.12, it should work fine all the way to 8.5.
- Strangely the "high performance" setting runs slower than "best quality".

Compatibility mode on

- Runs fine on all drivers but extremely laggy



Tested using Omega driver based on catalyst 7.12
Compatibility mode off

- Similar distortion problems as with catalyst 7.12

Compatibility mode on
- Runs fine but extremely laggy




Laptop specs as follows:
Thinkpad T61
Core2Duo 7300
Intel X3100

Tested using latest drivers from lenovo (as of 21 July 2008)
Compatibility mode off

- All objects displayed correctly with no artifacts but unable to click and select any of them.

Compatibility mode on
- Runs fine but extremely laggy
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Lin Jincong For This Useful Post:
Phil BoBo (05-01-2009)
  #22  
Old 07-22-2008
Jason Lightfoot Jason Lightfoot is offline
Flexsim Consultant
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Somerset, UK
Posts: 719
Downloads: 20
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 123
Thanked 953 Times in 446 Posts
Rep Power: 773
Jason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond reputeJason Lightfoot has a reputation beyond repute
Default

You could try dropping the hardware acceleration gradually if you have mouse problems. Run desk.cpl and go to the settings tab, then click the advanced button and go to the troubleshoot tab. There you will find a slider which can be adjusted to disable certain accelerations. We've had some success on some non-nVidia machines with this method - albeit trial and error.
  #23  
Old 07-22-2008
AlanZhang's Avatar
AlanZhang AlanZhang is offline
Flexsim Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 289
Downloads: 64
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 88
Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts
Rep Power: 225
AlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the rough
Default

Hi Jason

I've haven pains trying to make ATI cards working properly with Flexsim. Here and there I encountered problems as mentioned in your post. And from version to version Flexsim may break compatibility with ATI cards as I noticed the latest Flexsim version won't work but previous version of Flexsim works fine using same graphic drivers and settings.

I am thinking to change my ATI card (a fine FireGL V3400) to a NVidia card although I agree with you Flexism should not rule out major video card vendors like ATI. I also find sometimes ATI card has hard time with AC3D program, which is used by many Flexsim modelers for creating 3D objects.

As a small tip, you may try to change all 3D settings in Catalyst Control Center to "Use application settings". That solves my compatibility problem of ATI card with Flexsim v4.32, although the graphic quality is not very good.
__________________
Best,
Alan
  #24  
Old 07-25-2008
Goksin Yilmaz's Avatar
Goksin Yilmaz Goksin Yilmaz is offline
Flexsim User
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: ON, Canada
Posts: 21
Downloads: 11
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 23
Thanked 13 Times in 6 Posts
Rep Power: 213
Goksin Yilmaz is a jewel in the roughGoksin Yilmaz is a jewel in the roughGoksin Yilmaz is a jewel in the rough
Default Question about a specific GPU

Hello,

Does anyone have any Flexsim experience with: NVIDIA QUADRO FX 360M 512MB Turbo Cache Memory (256 dedicated)?


Thanks in advance.
  #25  
Old 07-26-2008
Lars-Olof Leven Lars-Olof Leven is offline
Flexsim Distributor
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sweden, Borlnge
Posts: 312
Downloads: 278
Uploads: 2
Thanks: 300
Thanked 256 Times in 139 Posts
Rep Power: 330
Lars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to beholdLars-Olof Leven is a splendid one to behold
Default

Hi Goksin,

I have been using a DELL Precision M4300 since February and that one have a Quadro FX 360M graphic card.

It have work good for me, I am using High Quality for Flexsim.
Have not seen any problems.

Lars-Olof
The Following User Says Thank You to Lars-Olof Leven For This Useful Post:
Goksin Yilmaz (07-26-2008)
  #26  
Old 07-29-2008
AlanZhang's Avatar
AlanZhang AlanZhang is offline
Flexsim Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 289
Downloads: 64
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 88
Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts
Rep Power: 225
AlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the rough
Default

I am thinking to replace the ATI card with NVidia card on my desktop. I am thinking NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX or GeForce 9800 GX2. Anyone has experience with these two cards? What is your suggestion? Thanks.
__________________
Best,
Alan
  #27  
Old 07-30-2008
Kenny Macleod's Avatar
Kenny Macleod Kenny Macleod is offline
Flexsim Australia
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 136
Downloads: 114
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 86
Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
Rep Power: 176
Kenny Macleod will become famous soon enoughKenny Macleod will become famous soon enough
Default Nvidia G9500M GS

Has anyone experience of the Nvidia Geforce 9500M GS?

I bought a new laptop with a decent but ATI graphics card, just before starting to use Flexsim - I've given up runing even medium sized models so it's time to buy another laptop!!

Obviusly I'm slightly paranoid that the next laptop runs Flexsim well.

Cheers

Kenny
  #28  
Old 07-31-2008
AlanZhang's Avatar
AlanZhang AlanZhang is offline
Flexsim Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 289
Downloads: 64
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 88
Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts
Rep Power: 225
AlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the rough
Default

There are some tips in this post for making Flexsim working with ATI cards. Do you use ATI Catalyst Control Center? I found that if I change all 3D setting options to "Use application settings", at least I can run and edit model smoothly even the graphic is not very good. Another thing I found is the latest ATI driver may not work good for Flexsim. So you can also try old ATI drivers.
__________________
Best,
Alan
  #29  
Old 08-03-2008
Kenny Macleod's Avatar
Kenny Macleod Kenny Macleod is offline
Flexsim Australia
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 136
Downloads: 114
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 86
Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
Rep Power: 176
Kenny Macleod will become famous soon enoughKenny Macleod will become famous soon enough
Default

Thanks Alan,

I got an Asus gaming laptop - G1S / Core2Duo T7500 / 4GB Ram / Nvidia G8600M GS / Vista Ultimate / 1680x1080 screen

- WOW! What a difference to ATI-based Laptop - Toshiba A200 / Core2Duo / 3GB Ram / ATI Mobility Radion HD 2600 / Vista Home ATI

The Asus runs smoothly in best qual and full screen. The Tosh couldn't even see some 3D models on high comp.


FYI -
According to the guy in the shop, the 9 series is pretty much the same as the 8 series but uses less power and it's the second number that indicates the power of the card. The benchmark results tend to agree.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html

Kenny
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Kenny Macleod For This Useful Post:
RalfGruber (08-17-2008)
  #30  
Old 09-24-2008
Kris Geisberger Kris Geisberger is offline
Flexsim Canada, Forum Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 209
Downloads: 54
Uploads: 1
Thanks: 99
Thanked 389 Times in 133 Posts
Rep Power: 451
Kris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud ofKris Geisberger has much to be proud of
Default

Is anyone currently using or have the ability to test any ATI graphics cards in the Mobility Radeon HD line-up with Flexsim?

Mobility Radeon HD 2600, 2700, 3650, 3670, 3850, or 3870 ?

I find Kenny's story interesting because the two graphics cards he compared are supposed to be direct competitors. Does anyone know a technical reason why Flexsim always seems to run better with Nvidia?

Is it the shader speed and memory speed that make the difference?
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...00.3771.0.html

Kris
  #31  
Old 09-24-2008
AlanZhang's Avatar
AlanZhang AlanZhang is offline
Flexsim Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 289
Downloads: 64
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 88
Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts
Rep Power: 225
AlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the rough
Default

I got my Nvidia Geforce 9800 GX2 (the highest end Geforce card in the market now) working finally. It requires a lot of power and I have to replace my old one in order to make it work. Also the motherboard BIOS needs to be refreshed with the newest driver to be compatible with this new card. I also have the lastest graphic driver downloaded from the Nvidia website.

I do get better quality and performance than my old ATI FireGL 3400 card. However, it is not better than NVIDIA Quado FX 3500 card on my other computer. When I open a big model (say with more than 500 objects under the model tree), pan and zoom operation is not smooth. I expected a better result.
__________________
Best,
Alan
  #32  
Old 10-01-2008
Kenny Macleod's Avatar
Kenny Macleod Kenny Macleod is offline
Flexsim Australia
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 136
Downloads: 114
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 86
Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
Rep Power: 176
Kenny Macleod will become famous soon enoughKenny Macleod will become famous soon enough
Default

Hi Kris - I'm happy to test/compare your models using both laptops mentioned above (ATI HD 2600 & Nvidia G8600M GS)

Won't be till end of October though as I'll be at Flexsimposium and then a wee holiday in Hawaii on the way back to Melbourne.

Kenny
  #33  
Old 10-22-2008
AlanZhang's Avatar
AlanZhang AlanZhang is offline
Flexsim Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 289
Downloads: 64
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 88
Thanked 91 Times in 47 Posts
Rep Power: 225
AlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the roughAlanZhang is a jewel in the rough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nico Zahn View Post
Hi,
I am mostly working on Desktop with a Nvidia 7900 GTX Card. Also this card has some 512MB of memory I experience some delays (in big modells with a lot of drawings) when clicking in the model space(sometimes it takes up to 5s). Once it snapped in I can move around quiete smoothly.
It seems the Geforece 9800 GX2 (a very powerful graphic card) has the same issue although the delay is only 1 or 2 seconds but it makes you not comfortable. Anybody has solved the issue? I've tried to download the newest driver and adjusted a couple of settings but got no changes.
__________________
Best,
Alan
  #34  
Old 10-23-2008
Anthony Johnson's Avatar
Anthony Johnson Anthony Johnson is offline
Manager of Product Development
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 440
Downloads: 86
Uploads: 4
Thanks: 171
Thanked 899 Times in 288 Posts
Rep Power: 735
Anthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond reputeAnthony Johnson has a reputation beyond repute
Default

The slowness in clicking in the model is caused because many OpenGL graphics drivers don't provide hardware acceleration when drawing in GL_SELECT mode (GL_SELECT mode is used to figure out where the mouse is clicking), so when you click, the processor is doing all the work as opposed to the graphics card, hence the slow-down. It is dependent mostly on the graphics card/driver configuration, so you can try installing older drivers to see if it fixes the issue, but it's really just trial-and-error.

In doing further research on this problem, it appears that the GL_SELECT mode is a "legacy" technology, and that OpenGL plans to phase it out with its next major version in favor of other, developer-implemented picking models. We therefore plan on re-implementing the selection mechanism in Flexsim for the next major release (5.0).
  #35  
Old 11-12-2008
Carsten Seehafer's Avatar
Carsten Seehafer Carsten Seehafer is offline
FlexSim Geek
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Ritterhude, Deutschland
Posts: 230
Downloads: 45
Uploads: 1
Thanks: 474
Thanked 320 Times in 143 Posts
Rep Power: 379
Carsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud ofCarsten Seehafer has much to be proud of
Default NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT

The NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT in my laptop works fine, no problems at all.


System: Laptop from Cyber Sytem, Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 @ 2.53GHz with 4GB, Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit and NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GT with 512MB
  #36  
Old 12-02-2008
Kenny Macleod's Avatar
Kenny Macleod Kenny Macleod is offline
Flexsim Australia
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 136
Downloads: 114
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 86
Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
Rep Power: 176
Kenny Macleod will become famous soon enoughKenny Macleod will become famous soon enough
Default Mmmm...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Macleod View Post
I got an Asus gaming laptop - G1S / Core2Duo T7500 / 4GB Ram / Nvidia G8600M GS / Vista Ultimate / 1680x1080 screen

- WOW! What a difference to ATI-based Laptop - Toshiba A200 / Core2Duo / 3GB Ram / ATI Mobility Radion HD 2600 / Vista Home ATI

The Asus runs smoothly in best qual and full screen. The Tosh couldn't even see some 3D models on high comp.
After such a promissing start - Although still WAY better that my previous laptop, i often can't see 3D images - eg the ASRS demo sometime shows me the 3D pallets and scenery. I might see the 3D images after a reboot and on high compatibility but i can't garantee it.

Can anyone suggest how i might tune the system to work better with Flexsim?

Thanks

Kenny
  #37  
Old 12-03-2008
Tom David's Avatar
Tom David Tom David is offline
Flexsim User
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Schwaebisch Gmuend, Germany
Posts: 430
Downloads: 157
Uploads: 47
Thanks: 486
Thanked 450 Times in 233 Posts
Rep Power: 520
Tom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant futureTom David has a brilliant future
Default

Kenny,

I am not sure if this might be your problem, but I figured out that after install the v4.50beta and switch between the two Flexsim Versions I need to compile the entire session, before starting to work with it.

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9950 @ 2.83 GHz
4,00 GB RAM
Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit
nVidia Geforce 9800M GTX 1GB

Looks like Flexsim works fine on my above system.
__________________
tom the (A)tom: "We have solved our problems ... now we have to fight the solutions."
  #38  
Old 12-03-2008
Kenny Macleod's Avatar
Kenny Macleod Kenny Macleod is offline
Flexsim Australia
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 136
Downloads: 114
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 86
Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
Rep Power: 176
Kenny Macleod will become famous soon enoughKenny Macleod will become famous soon enough
Default

Thanks Tom - I'm just using the the old version and the 3D objects often just don't appear - eg - i rarely see he 3D graphics in that presentation model you sent me. Even the Flexsim rendering on your spinning 3D boxes is usually missing.

I'll install Visual Studio Express and try compiling; however as it is an intermittent thing, I suspect it's a graphics card issue.

Kenny
  #39  
Old 03-31-2009
JMEngelhart's Avatar
JMEngelhart JMEngelhart is offline
Flexsim User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 44
Downloads: 9
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 1
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Rep Power: 148
JMEngelhart is on a distinguished road
Default Nvidia Quadro FX 2700M

We are using the HP Elitebook 8730W with the NVidia Quadro FX 2700M. Performance is definitely better than the ATI cards available from HP but there are still issues.
If you run in dual monitor mode, Flexsim will eventually start showing the background through windows. The only solution is to stop and restart Flexsim. It seems to occur faster the higher you have the the external monitor resolution set. Going to single display on the lapto seems to eliminate it. I suspect it may be due to the system running out of video memory. We are using the version with 512M VRam. Things might be better with 1G VRam
The Following User Says Thank You to JMEngelhart For This Useful Post:
Jörg Vogel (09-21-2013)
  #40  
Old 03-31-2009
Steven Hamoen's Avatar
Steven Hamoen Steven Hamoen is offline
Talumis, Flexsim Distributor, The Netherlands
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Soest, NL
Posts: 854
Downloads: 43
Uploads: 0
Thanks: 391
Thanked 661 Times in 379 Posts
Rep Power: 684
Steven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond reputeSteven Hamoen has a reputation beyond repute
Default

I have the Quadro FX 2500M and I have experienced the same issues as mentioned (background coming through in the windows). You don't have to restart flexsim, if you recompile (F2 shortcut key) it is also over.

After I installed the latest drivers (about a year ago there was a new update for my card) most of the problems where gone, especially the background problem was solved. So try getting the latest driver and recompile instead of restarting (saves at least some time)

Steven
The Following User Says Thank You to Steven Hamoen For This Useful Post:
Jörg Vogel (09-21-2013)

Tags
optimus, sli



All times are GMT -6.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2020, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 1993-2018 FlexSim Software Products, Inc.