- Nov 6, 2003
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If you want to run the Steam Network on any Nvidia graphics cards at the moment the only driver supporting that software is the 81.84 xp drivers package. Located for download at the Nvidia website.
If you cannot get the splash screen to start... right click on the game in question and set it to -window mode Properties/launch options..
Even if your card supports DX9.0c it probably cannot run the Steam Source engine correctly in that format as the cards were manufactured prior to the Source Engine release.
Use -dxlevel 81 as an alternative and then perhaps you will be able to run without the -window mode and in full screen. Alternatively to get a slight performance increase from the Games recommended settings change them all to lowest settings. There is really nothing much to look at in the source engine interesting in DX9.0c other then the BLOOM effect Steam is trying. Very nice looking at things such as sunlight coming down through rafters in HL2 with dust particles in it. Or running from a dark area into a lighted area where your eye's so to speak must adjust. Blooming effect.
Both ATI and Nvidia had corruption problems more so with the Nv4.dll drivers, and ATI although ran from day one on the source engine gamers online all complain that their frames per second is very poor on ATI.
Nvidia cards right up to the top of the line versions are all running poorly in the Steam Source Engine environment. This is indicated by the fact that a AGP BFG 6200 OC 256MB graphics card will produce the same fps as a BFG AGP 6800 OC. Everyone runs around at about 24 fps in combat regardless of what manufactures card you are using, with an average fps of 50 to 80. You can see fps +100 if you walk up close to a wall and stare at it....hardly usable in a first person shooter.
Steam will produce updates to patch the datacache.dll error as soon as possible however the only fix right now you can do is to DELETE the "Materials" folder out of the DoD or CS or HL folder if that game is causing the issue. Basically what the datacache.dll error is, is not a fault of the Graphics card or your computer. It is a Server problem or more to the point the server you are trying to connect to has not properly updated THEIR software and they are in conflict with your full and complete steam install.
After you delete the Materials folder and gain access to the server in question it will cache information into your .dll files that will remain. Later you can re-make a Materials folder and not see the reoccurrence of the datacache.dll error on that particular server. Repeat if necessary for other servers or as I do delete the Materials folder as it is empty or not present at Steam Installation.
If you are running an nForce motherboard or VIA chip-based motherboard and you AUTO RE-BOOT trying to launch any of the Steam games running the Source Engine Half Life2; Day Of Defeat or Counter Strike the problem is yet again not a Software problem with your operating system or your graphics card hardware.
XP has a built in protection system that auto re-boots your OS if it comes across a complete hardware/software conflict. In the past you would sit there staring at a blue screen in Win98 or 2000 and the OS would simply wait for you to hit the re-set button. You can disable this auto re-start in XP but I am not going to mention how to everyone. If you need it bad PM me. Besides any information displayed on a blue screen is reported in the XP Error reporting service verbatim so if you miss what is displayed because of the auto re-boot just open that service up and read the crash information there. Error reporting in XP will also give a detailed description of a blue screen until you close that application.
The Source Engine conflict that causes the XP auto re-start is solved simply by installing the 81.84 xp Graphics drivers that has a workaround for the problem.
For ATI users you do not have a end user workaround yet and are stuck trying the -window option in the games launch properties.
If you play on Steam do not purchase any graphics card currently available as NONE of them have the chips on them to render the source engine. We will all have to wait for a next generation graphics card from both ATI and Nvidia that are supplemented in order to address the demands of the Steam source engine. P.S SLI technology (PCIe) currently available do not have the hardware on chip either so don't go there.
2006 Cards will be delayed I am sure as both ATI and Nvidia deal with this issue. Steam remember released their source engine to the world without even testing it with Nvidia and ATI cards in whole or there would not have been 10 thousand WTF is going on posts at the Steam forums.
|(\__/)
|(='.'=)
(")§øÐ(")
<font color=green>So far</font color=green> <font color=blue>God has missed</font color=blue> <font color=red>Canada.</font color=red>
If you cannot get the splash screen to start... right click on the game in question and set it to -window mode Properties/launch options..
Even if your card supports DX9.0c it probably cannot run the Steam Source engine correctly in that format as the cards were manufactured prior to the Source Engine release.
Use -dxlevel 81 as an alternative and then perhaps you will be able to run without the -window mode and in full screen. Alternatively to get a slight performance increase from the Games recommended settings change them all to lowest settings. There is really nothing much to look at in the source engine interesting in DX9.0c other then the BLOOM effect Steam is trying. Very nice looking at things such as sunlight coming down through rafters in HL2 with dust particles in it. Or running from a dark area into a lighted area where your eye's so to speak must adjust. Blooming effect.
Both ATI and Nvidia had corruption problems more so with the Nv4.dll drivers, and ATI although ran from day one on the source engine gamers online all complain that their frames per second is very poor on ATI.
Nvidia cards right up to the top of the line versions are all running poorly in the Steam Source Engine environment. This is indicated by the fact that a AGP BFG 6200 OC 256MB graphics card will produce the same fps as a BFG AGP 6800 OC. Everyone runs around at about 24 fps in combat regardless of what manufactures card you are using, with an average fps of 50 to 80. You can see fps +100 if you walk up close to a wall and stare at it....hardly usable in a first person shooter.
Steam will produce updates to patch the datacache.dll error as soon as possible however the only fix right now you can do is to DELETE the "Materials" folder out of the DoD or CS or HL folder if that game is causing the issue. Basically what the datacache.dll error is, is not a fault of the Graphics card or your computer. It is a Server problem or more to the point the server you are trying to connect to has not properly updated THEIR software and they are in conflict with your full and complete steam install.
After you delete the Materials folder and gain access to the server in question it will cache information into your .dll files that will remain. Later you can re-make a Materials folder and not see the reoccurrence of the datacache.dll error on that particular server. Repeat if necessary for other servers or as I do delete the Materials folder as it is empty or not present at Steam Installation.
If you are running an nForce motherboard or VIA chip-based motherboard and you AUTO RE-BOOT trying to launch any of the Steam games running the Source Engine Half Life2; Day Of Defeat or Counter Strike the problem is yet again not a Software problem with your operating system or your graphics card hardware.
XP has a built in protection system that auto re-boots your OS if it comes across a complete hardware/software conflict. In the past you would sit there staring at a blue screen in Win98 or 2000 and the OS would simply wait for you to hit the re-set button. You can disable this auto re-start in XP but I am not going to mention how to everyone. If you need it bad PM me. Besides any information displayed on a blue screen is reported in the XP Error reporting service verbatim so if you miss what is displayed because of the auto re-boot just open that service up and read the crash information there. Error reporting in XP will also give a detailed description of a blue screen until you close that application.
The Source Engine conflict that causes the XP auto re-start is solved simply by installing the 81.84 xp Graphics drivers that has a workaround for the problem.
For ATI users you do not have a end user workaround yet and are stuck trying the -window option in the games launch properties.
If you play on Steam do not purchase any graphics card currently available as NONE of them have the chips on them to render the source engine. We will all have to wait for a next generation graphics card from both ATI and Nvidia that are supplemented in order to address the demands of the Steam source engine. P.S SLI technology (PCIe) currently available do not have the hardware on chip either so don't go there.
2006 Cards will be delayed I am sure as both ATI and Nvidia deal with this issue. Steam remember released their source engine to the world without even testing it with Nvidia and ATI cards in whole or there would not have been 10 thousand WTF is going on posts at the Steam forums.
|(\__/)
|(='.'=)
(")§øÐ(")
<font color=green>So far</font color=green> <font color=blue>God has missed</font color=blue> <font color=red>Canada.</font color=red>
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