altuim 3D problems  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ebez2010
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:45:08 pm
content: I keep getting a error in altuim that says the my graphics card is not direct x 9.0 compatable.what do I do.ebez2010p.s. no altuim 3D for me

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 09:59:59 pm
content: that means you get no 3d. it's as simple as that.they have a list of graphics cards on their website. any fairly new graphics card will work fine

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:50:31 am
content: Have you installed the latest DirectX ?Also, what videocard do you have?

author: ebez2010
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 04:45:25 am
content: how to you install directX

author: ebez2010
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 04:55:48 am
content: i'm not sure what video card i have but i'm using a toshiba satellite A105 but the monitor is 1280X800

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:05:41 am
content: That's a laptop. Won't work. You need a real graphics card and not an integraded graphics in the chipset.

author: _Sin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:29:55 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 05, 2012, 05:05:41 amNonsense.DirectX9.0 is about 10 years old. Almost any integrated chipset within that timeframe should run software which needs it. The Toshiba a105 looks to be 6 years old, and has an Intel chipset. Ought to be quite capable.Latest DX can be obtained from Microsoft:http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35You will possibly also need up to date drivers for the laptop - look on Toshiba's site for those, you'll need to full model number of the laptop (there appears to be more than 1 A105).

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:32:47 am
content: That laptop has Intel 945GM Express graphics.The 945GM is DirectX 9 compatible, but not entirely DirectX 9 compliant.There is a chance it may work once you install DirectX but i wouldnt hold your breath.DirectX can be downloaded herehttp://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

author: _Sin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 06:05:05 am
content: The 945M is a DX9.0c part. It runs vertex shading in software, which will have a performance impact, but should otherwise run anything that needs DX9.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 08:33:56 am
content: There are a few optional dx9 calls it doesn't support.No idea if Altium uses them though.Game makers test their code on many hardware configurations and include checks to automatically turn off optional features if the hardware doesn't support them. That way they maximize the number of PCs able to run the game.When programming professional graphics software they don't bother with that. Anyone with enough money to buy the $1k+ software package is expected to run it on a proper graphics card.(proper graphics being any semi-modern card from nvidia or ati, or the few specialized CAD type videocards out there)Even the cheap $60 nvidia/ati cards available today support DX10+

author: PedroDiogo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 09:38:46 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 05, 2012, 05:05:41 amHave been using Altium for the past 6 months on a virtual machine and even though my graphics card is integrated, 3D mode works like a charm.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 03:24:55 pm
content: Let me rephrase what i said ...That's an OLD laptop. It won't work. You need a recent graphics card to run the 3d mode in altium. And there is other limits as well. It needs true directx9 in hardware. The emulation mode will not work.If the card doesnt have a lump of memoryit will also not work.Altium has a document about it that lists graphics cards that work fine. Any graphics card younger than 2 years will work fine.Cards that share memory with the processor in general do not work.We had 3 year old hp business laptops. Won't run.My laptop runs altium fine. But it has a true graphics card with dedicated 1Gb of ram.

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 03:56:20 pm
content: Quote from: _Sin on July 05, 2012, 05:29:55 amAltium uses shader programs for rendering 2D and 3D. If the card doesn't have hardware shaders it renders 2D more conventionally and won't do 3D.The exact requirements will be documented somewhere but basically it won't do 3D and does 2D slower on low end cards.

author: _Sin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 04:44:00 pm
content: I didn't say it would work well!But the Altium requirements are DX9.0c and Shader Model 3.0 - which even that old Intel chipset ought to support, assuming drivers are available for the laptop in question.In practice, memory may be an issue, and performance certainly will be, but in terms of basic capabilities, I can't see what would be out-right missing.Performance will also scale with the complexity of the PCB design - for simple boards, frankly it shouldn't be particularly taxing.I mean sure, if the OP can get their hands on something a little less... antique... they will have a better experience. But if that's all they have, it's worth a shot. At least until Altium throws out a less useless error message.

author: flodins
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 10:57:08 pm
content: install thishttp://transgaming.com/swiftshader/You will get full 3d in altium on ANY card, there will be some watermark in 3d window but at least works (:

author: ebez2010
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 26, 2012, 06:09:57 am
content: swiftshader does not install!!I can't find the .exe installer files