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Re: Why are iTools so slow? [message #41109] Fri, 01 October 2004 10:25 Go to next message
Rick Towler is currently offline  Rick Towler
Messages: 821
Registered: August 1998
Senior Member
Mark Hadfield wrote:

> For the record, I have a Pentium 4 2.67 GHz machine running Windows 2000
> with an ASUS display adapater using a GeForce4 MX 440 graphics processor
> with 64 MiB RAM. I "upgraded" to this adapter shortly after I got the
> machine and was disappointed with the lack of any improvement in Object
> Graphics speed.

As you found, the Geforce "MX" cards, ummm, stink. I have had great
luck buying mid-level gaming cards in the $200-250US range (latest is
the Geforce FX 5900XT). Check out the reviews on the geeksites
(arstechnica, ace's hardware, anand...) to see how they do in openGL
benchmarks. There's always a number of cards in this price range so
you'll have to look for the value.

-Rick
Re: Why are iTools so slow? [message #41116 is a reply to message #41109] Thu, 30 September 2004 17:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Mark Hadfield is currently offline  Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
Senior Member
David Fanning wrote:
> Marshall Perrin writes:
>
>
>> On my 1.25 GHz 15" Powerbook, it's not nearly that slow.
>> Both isurface and fsc_surface redraw many times per second and
>> are very usable. fsc_surface does feel a bit smoother and faster,
>> but it's more like a factor of 2-3. Certainly not a factor of 20!
>
>
> Could this be a hardware/software issue? My iTool image is
> slower, but not unusable, certainly.

You mean a hardware/software *renderer* issue. Yes. I changed the
default object graphics renderer in File/Preferences from Hardware to
Software, restarted IDL and, voila, the iSurface display is much faster.

For the record, I have a Pentium 4 2.67 GHz machine running Windows 2000
with an ASUS display adapater using a GeForce4 MX 440 graphics processor
with 64 MiB RAM. I "upgraded" to this adapter shortly after I got the
machine and was disappointed with the lack of any improvement in Object
Graphics speed.

I will have a look in the iTools code at the keywords it uses when it
creates and draws to its IDLgrWindow objects and report back if I found
out anything interesting.

--
Mark Hadfield "Ka puwaha te tai nei, Hoea tatou"
m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Re: Why are iTools so slow? [message #41121 is a reply to message #41116] Thu, 30 September 2004 12:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
David Fanning is currently offline  David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
Senior Member
Marshall Perrin writes:

> On my 1.25 GHz 15" Powerbook, it's not nearly that slow.
> Both isurface and fsc_surface redraw many times per second and
> are very usable. fsc_surface does feel a bit smoother and faster,
> but it's more like a factor of 2-3. Certainly not a factor of 20!

Could this be a hardware/software issue? My iTool image is
slower, but not unusable, certainly.

Cheers,

David

--
David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http:/www.dfanning.com/
Phone: 970-221-0438, IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
Re: Why are iTools so slow? [message #41123 is a reply to message #41121] Thu, 30 September 2004 11:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mperrin+news is currently offline  mperrin+news
Messages: 81
Registered: May 2001
Member
Mark Hadfield <m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz> wrote:
> Is it slow for you too?

On my 1.25 GHz 15" Powerbook, it's not nearly that slow.
Both isurface and fsc_surface redraw many times per second and
are very usable. fsc_surface does feel a bit smoother and faster,
but it's more like a factor of 2-3. Certainly not a factor of 20!

- Marshall
Re: Why are iTools so slow? [message #41291 is a reply to message #41109] Sat, 02 October 2004 11:08 Go to previous message
Randall  Skelton is currently offline  Randall Skelton
Messages: 31
Registered: October 2004
Member
I agree with the above... I think you have a hardware problem.

For the record, I don't recommend any ATI cards for linux these days.
When they work, the drivers give 30-50% of the performance as their
windows drivers. When they don't work, well, they *really* don't work:

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/03/1313221&am p;tid=152&tid=106

I'm planning to replacing my defunct Radeon 9600Pro with a 6600gt:

http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q3/geforce-6600gt/index.x ?pg=25
http://usalug.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3989&start=15
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