Sorry for my first post being a necro (of sorts), but I was googling this problem and found this quote from the thread

Version 1.52 is dead because version 1.53 is out



I would like to add that on my XP machine, version 1.53, when switching to Direct Draw, gives me significant screen tearing. It has an integrated graphics card, which I know is both bogus and sad. It's really no big deal, as my laptop has a Radeon, and I can always play on that. Just thought I'd get this information out there as well.

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do you have the latest drivers for your video chipset? also, do you have the latest dx updates?

there may be no change, but there *could* be an improvement.

If I had to guess, I'd say no. Worth a shot, I suppose!

EDIT: No change. Thanks for trying.

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If you're having trouble with tearing, have you tried turning on vsync?

You know, I get email notifications of new posts in reply to my topics on this forum, and I subsequently have sms notifications sent to my cell phone. I was in the middle of playing Dracula X on my laptop when I got this one, and I immediately said to myself, "ah, probably just somebody telling me to turn on vsync."

So, I'm just saying, "called it!"

Yes, I had vsync on the whole time. I think this is an indispensable feature of any good emulator. I do appreciate the thought, of course.

And I do want to say that v1.53 runs even late-release games like Dracula X to absolute perfection on my (admittedly high-end) laptop. No frameskipping, no screen tearing, nothing.

Just in case you're wondering, it's a 1.4 GHz Quad Core processor. It has an AMD Radeon Graphics Card and 4 GB of physical ram, not to mention a fully-featured can of whoop ass.

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You can have my cigarettes when I'm dead from lung cancer

So if I understand your first post correctly you cannot switch to Direct3D or OpenGL? Do other Direct3D Apps/Games run at all? S9X doesn't really require that much from D3D.

VSync in DirectDraw may or may not work - in your case it obviously doesn't.

Does switching to OGL give you any additional error messages?

No, that's not it. I was unable to run it in Direct3D, and OpenGL's video quality isn't where I want it to be at all, so I'm running it in DirectDraw.



Obviously.



No, but that has its own host of video problems.

Just for the record, I'm currently settled on v1.52 fix 4 (I understand it's no longer supported), which gives me a less significant screen tear than 1.53. I may try a few other v1.52's to see if the screen tearing can be neutralized, but I'm just happy the versions past 1.52 fix the sound emulation, being the audiophile I am.

UPDATE: I've tried every version of 1.52 I could find, and had to switch to DirectDraw on all of them. The only reasonable conclusion I can come to at this point is that my integrated graphics card sucks big floppy donkey dick.

When I run DX Diag it passes all tests (version 7, version 8, version 9), and spits this monster out at me for the graphics card:

[Intel (R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family]

And since it's integrated, I'm stuck with it until I can afford a new computer. So thanks you guys for trying to help, but this one's a non-starter.

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yes, 915G is horrible.

do you have no open expansion slots? even a PCI video card would be better than 915G, although it's possible for you to have a PCIe slot.

if you don't know, please provide either the computer make/model (if it's a name brand) or the motherboard make/model.

Not unless THIS:



Happens to be what you are talking about.

As to the make/model stuff, the computer is a Gateway 842GM, and I'm currently unable to determine the motherboard make/model.

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You can have my cigarettes when I'm dead from lung cancer

yes, that is a PCI slot.

and above it is a black PCIe x16 slot (although it's mostly obscured in that photo, you can see the very front of it and the catch tab at the rear).

a card like this AMD/ATI or this Nvidia would do nicely.

going any higher-end is not worth it on an old P4 system.

oh, and your motherboard is an Intel D915GAG with a custom BIOS (Gateway p/n 103390).

You, mister, have some sharp fuckin' eyes! You're, in fact, correct, as I discovered just now. Cool beans!

Note: Red = PCI slot, Green = PCIe slot (right?)

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You can have my cigarettes when I'm dead from lung cancer

that is correct.

and, in case it wasn't clear above, a PCIe video card is far superior (the two I linked you are PCIe).

I have one question: it says the Graphics cards you linked above are "64-bit," but I'm running on a 32-bit machine. Am I missing something here? Will the linked graphics cards work on a 32-bit machine?

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You can have my cigarettes when I'm dead from lung cancer

apples and oranges. that is referring to the width of the memory bus on the card itself, and does not affect compatibility )high-end cards from that era had up to a 256-bit memory interface).

and memory bus width can have a fair amount of impact in other emulators

After obtaining a new PCIe Graphics Card and installing it, the issue is resolved. It's an Nvidia Geforce 7300 LE, IIRC.

Epicness.

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You can have my cigarettes when I'm dead from lung cancer