Graphics - Video Cards FAQ

[cal1s]

The listed Video Cards below are officially supported by Neverwinter Nights 2:

Supported Video Cards: (Fastest)
+ Radeon X1950
- ATI Radeon X1900 series
+ Geforce 7950
- ATI Radeon X1800 series
- NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series
- ATI Radeon X850 series
- NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
- ATI Radeon X800 series
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT
- NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ Recommended Video Level (or better, upward)

- ATI Radeon 9800 XT
- ATI Radeon X1650 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS
- ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
- ATI Radeon X1600 Pro
+ ATI Radeon X1300 XT
- ATI Radeon X700 series
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT
- ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
- ATI Radeon 9700
- ATI Radeon 9800 SE
- ATI Radeon 9500 Pro
- ATI Radeon 9600 XT
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
- ATI Radeon X600 Pro
- NVIDIA GeForce 6600
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900
========================= == Low Quality & on downward from here

- NVIDIA GeForce 6500 series
- ATI Radeon X600
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 LE, XT
- ATI Radeon 9500
- ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
- ATI Radeon 9600
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Current FX Minimum
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 LE (Probably should've been removed -- very slow)
- ATI Radeon X550
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = I just can't believe that any of these next EVER belonged on any "supported" list

- ATI Radeon 9600 SE
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 (Probably should've been removed -- very slow, and the 5600 was removed)
- ATI Radeon 9550 (Probably should've been removed -- very, VERY slow, and its twin, the X300, is now gone)
- NVIDIA GeForce 6100 series ** ( Slowest ) **

Suffixes, from Good to Awful

ATI Suffixes: XTX > XT > XL > Pro > GTO > Vanilla > GT > SE > Hyper Anything
nVidia: Ultra > GTX > GT > GS > Vanilla > LE = XT > VE > TC (Turbocache, any variety)

[ddingram]

2 Questions in regards to video cards. 1st one. I didn't see it in the list, but does anyone know if the ATI Radeon 9250 256mb (PCI) Card will work with NWN2?
Question #2. If that one doesn't work, is there an afordable Straight PCI video card that will work with the game?

Let me know.

Thanks.

[lurchman]

To ddingram.

It should work. How well I don't know for sure. You may have to adjust some settings. It also depends on your amount of ram.





------------------------

Asus N2M32-SLI Deluxe MB
AMD Athlon 64 X-62 Dual core 2.9G CPU
2 Geforce 7900GS 512mb 24 pipeline SLI
2G Cosair XMS PC6400 800mhz Dual channel ram
Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme
2 320G Seagate Barracuda SATA II HD
Ultra 7in1 Media Drive
ThermalTake Armor Full Tower

[ddingram]

Thanks.

Still Sitting staring endlessly at the NWN2 box. Some day i'll be able to play it..

(as soon as I get a video card. PCI Video sucks.)

[cal1s]

why dont you just try it out mate?

[lurchman]

Heck yes, I'd give it a try. I played Oblivion for months with a PCI card, beforeI built my new one. Oblivion is more demanding than NWN2. So it should work. Don't deny yourself my good man! Just do it.

[euphoric]

2 Questions in regards to video cards. 1st one. I didn't see it in the list, but does anyone know if the ATI Radeon 9250 256mb (PCI) Card will work with NWN2?
Question #2. If that one doesn't work, is there an afordable Straight PCI video card that will work with the game?

Let me know.

Thanks.

Answer 1. 9250 AGP or PCI will not work with NWN2...

Answer 2. if you meant PCI-E heres a link to a nice affordable one that WILL work http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklin x=42DZ&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,37964 0000,12&InMerch=1

If you did mean a standard PCI let me know

[AuRon Tindarius]

I just got a new laptop with a 256 mb NVIDIA GeForce GO 7400 Turbocache. The game autodetects everything at High, but for some reason everything looks great except I have absolutely no visible sky...just choppy blackness. Any ideas what would cause this?

[dick]

i have a ati radeon xpress 200 (256mb) with intel pentium 4 & 1Gb ddr
nwn2 is slow & jerky despite all settings set to min.

my v/c is not in official list !!! - thought my pc was ok for gaming with 256mb v/c
pc is almost new, do i now have to spend a couple of hundred euros to play
the new version of my fave game or should i wait for some sort of patch?

[euphoric]

do i now have to spend a couple of hundred euros to play
the new version of my fave game or should i wait for some sort of patch?

You shouldnt really have a problem
Try downloading and installing ATI's newest catalyst drivers...
if that fails try Omega's Radeon drivers...

heres an XP version Clicky me (http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/integrated-xp.html)

heres the 64 bit version Clicky me (http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp64/integrated-xp64.html)

Patches wont do anything

[dick]

i tried the new drivers - not helping

ati radeon xpress 200 254mb
shadow options - off
texture resolutons - low
normal mapped terrain - off
point light shadows - off
softer shadows - off
character shadow map size - 512
high res. env. shadow map - 1024
low res. env. shadow map - 1024
bloom effects - off
enable light sources from party members - off
texture min. filtering - point
texture mag. filtering - point
mip-map filtering - none
max. texture anisotropy - low
water relections - off
water reraction - off

these settings are giving me 5fps

any suggestions ?

[McPhearsom]

What resolution are you using? Whatever it is it should be the lowest possible. Also make sure VSync is disabled, that seems to hurt FPS a lot and i've never actually found it's needed for any game anyway (at least for me). The game must look ugly at those settings though :(

I'm an NVidia person so maybe someone else can tell you how to disable VSync using the ATi control panel?

Just curious, what's your CPU?

[dick]

hi i think i have found answers to my questions in regard to the ati radeon xpress 200.

this is not a graphics card but a small integrated graphics solution built into
the motherboard.
i need a new pci-e compatable graphics card if i wish to continue.
i have heard of people playing through 3DAnalyzer with integrated graphics
but the results are still slow ,so why bother.
i'll put nwn2 on the shelf for now,choose a new character and replay nwn.

bye to the more serious gamers out there ,who had the sense not to buy intel

[btcentral]

3D-Analyzer makes Nwn2 perfectly fine for me on my rubishy onboard graphics chip (Intel GMA 950)...

hi i think i have found answers to my questions in regard to the ati radeon xpress 200.

this is not a graphics card but a small integrated graphics solution built into
the motherboard.
i need a new pci-e compatable graphics card if i wish to continue.
i have heard of people playing through 3DAnalyzer with integrated graphics
but the results are still slow ,so why bother.
i'll put nwn2 on the shelf for now,choose a new character and replay nwn.

bye to the more serious gamers out there ,who had the sense not to buy intel

[euphoric]

i have a ati radeon xpress 200 (256mb) with intel pentium 4 & 1Gb ddr
nwn2 is slow & jerky despite all settings set to min.

my v/c is not in official list !!! - thought my pc was ok for gaming with 256mb v/c
pc is almost new, do i now have to spend a couple of hundred euros to play
the new version of my fave game or should i wait for some sort of patch?

Try this semi-fix for the x300...
Might work

Click Start->Run,
Type Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Control \\ Video
In this class,you can find some sub class like {C84A0178 - 28C2- 4D98-ACC1 -486446A5E108}or others.
Don't Worry,Find Binary values named
"HardwareInformation .MemorySize"
Double click it and Mod the Value to:
00 00 00 08(Means 128MB Video RAM).
Do it like this!
You may find some Values also named
"HardwareInformation .MemorySize "
Edit them all!

Then Type DXDIAG in RUN, you can find your Video RAM changed to 128MB!
Then: Insert the disc & Play the Game!

[dick]

hi
current settings

HardwareInformation .MemorySize reads 00 00 00 10

DXDIAG

Card name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Xpress Series (0x5A61)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5A61&SUBSYS_E0171631&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 960 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6648 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/12/2006 02:44:09, 260608 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 10/12/2006 02:43:54, 1777152 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1921-11CF-796C-1DC0A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x5A61
SubSys ID: 0xE0171631
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV8_B ModeWMV8_A ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A

notes no problems found


i can''t play the game at these settings .are you suggesting i reduce ram still?

[euphoric]

Current Mode: 1280 x 960 (32 bit) (60Hz)


I hope u not playing NWN2 with that res.... :eek:

[dick]

no euphoric i'm not playing the game at all,remember?
i'm sorry, i should have written ''i can't play the game
at these settings (even with res. set to min. value).
are you suggesting i reduce ram from 256 to 128mb ?''
i was only asking because i had stated that xpress 200
is 256mb and i am an idiot.

[euphoric]

lol try it... whats the worst that could happen??

you can always change it back...

[ragothrynx]

Hi, I also have a question regarding a video card.
I recently bought NWN2 (3 days ago) and while i play my computer keeps getting frozen (after 5 to 10 minutes of play), and I have to reset it.
The video card I have is a XFX nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB video RAM,
I've tried playing the game with lower graphics, but the problem persists.
I haven't installed any amd x2 dual core patches nor tried to launch the game (i'm going to try it later on today when i get home) with the _amd.exe shorcut, only from the autorun, but i don't think it's from the processor as the load is somewhere around 34%, and the temprature is around 35 degrees C.
same with the video board , the GPU load is around 40% with full graphics, and temprature normal.
Also sometimes it dosn't freeze the computer and i can play it for quite sometime (around 30 minutes) but after that the sounds keps getting distorted and only safe solution is to restart the computer (exiting and entering the game dosn't work).
The only other games I have played on the system are Unreal Tournament 2004 and Sacred + Sacred Underworld (both games played at full graphics) and I don't run into any of the above problems while playing.
I have also run the stabily test that camed with the lates nVidia drivers and again after 2 hours of testing still no problem.

If you have any ideeas i apreaciat it, thanks.


L.E. :
Well i installed patches for the amd x2 core and also launched the game with the _amd.exe same problem, also run a few benchmarks on my system like memtest to see if there is any problem with the ram - no problem there.
Finally i set the game in window mode so i can see the temperature and load of both the cpu and the gpu and to my suprise 2 hours+ of gaming without and sound distorsions or any system crashes. After that i tried it again in full screen, again it crashed. Currently i'm playing it in window mode and i'm thinking that there must be some problems with the game and the geForce 8800 video boards.

Until any patch or solution is found anyone else with the same problem can play the game in window mode.
Good luck and have fun.

[Bindragon]

Hi, I also have a question regarding a video card.
I recently bought NWN2 (3 days ago) and while i play my computer keeps getting frozen (after 5 to 10 minutes of play), and I have to reset it.
The video card I have is a XFX nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB video RAM,
I've tried playing the game with lower graphics, but the problem persists.
I haven't installed any amd x2 dual core patches nor tried to launch the game (i'm going to try it later on today when i get home) with the _amd.exe shorcut, only from the autorun, but i don't think it's from the processor as the load is somewhere around 34%, and the temprature is around 35 degrees C.
same with the video board , the GPU load is around 40% with full graphics, and temprature normal.
Also sometimes it dosn't freeze the computer and i can play it for quite sometime (around 30 minutes) but after that the sounds keps getting distorted and only safe solution is to restart the computer (exiting and entering the game dosn't work).
The only other games I have played on the system are Unreal Tournament 2004 and Sacred + Sacred Underworld (both games played at full graphics) and I don't run into any of the above problems while playing.
I have also run the stabily test that camed with the lates nVidia drivers and again after 2 hours of testing still no problem.

If you have any ideeas i apreaciat it, thanks.


L.E. :
Well i installed patches for the amd x2 core and also launched the game with the _amd.exe same problem, also run a few benchmarks on my system like memtest to see if there is any problem with the ram - no problem there.
Finally i set the game in window mode so i can see the temperature and load of both the cpu and the gpu and to my suprise 2 hours+ of gaming without and sound distorsions or any system crashes. After that i tried it again in full screen, again it crashed. Currently i'm playing it in window mode and i'm thinking that there must be some problems with the game and the geForce 8800 video boards.

Until any patch or solution is found anyone else with the same problem can play the game in window mode.
Good luck and have fun.
I am having a very similar problem, and I suspect that it may be because I'm using the onboard sound instead of an appropriate sound card. The common symptoms seem to be that the game starts running at lower fps and the sound is lost or never starts. I was thinking my problem was video card related, but I'm now suspecting it to be possibly sound. I completely reinstalled the game, but eventually the same problem. NWN2 is the only game so far that I'm having this problem. Are you using the onboard sound, and does this seem likely to anyone else?

[ball lightning]

NWN2 doesn't even work because our graphics card (Radeon 9600) is to bad for it. I'm not sure about your problem, but i do use the sound card.

[Liso]

My computer has on board sound as well ( Realtek AC'97 Audio ) Is what it says in the Device Manager. Using Lagacy Audio drivers. I have no sound problems at all. Unless, I click to speed up the dialog in a cutsceen. (only because this is not my first run of the game) then some times it will either cut out or keep going even after the sceen has finished. I would assume it is b/c I hurried it along.

I just updated my bios, vid drivers, Mother board drivers, and win XP updates. I fear loading the game now! LOL "wish me luck"


Liso

[Bindragon]

My computer has on board sound as well ( Realtek AC'97 Audio ) Is what it says in the Device Manager. Using Lagacy Audio drivers. I have no sound problems at all. Unless, I click to speed up the dialog in a cutsceen. (only because this is not my first run of the game) then some times it will either cut out or keep going even after the sceen has finished. I would assume it is b/c I hurried it along.

I just updated my bios, vid drivers, Mother board drivers, and win XP updates. I fear loading the game now! LOL "wish me luck"


Liso

OK, that's interesting. I too have the Realtek AC'97 Audio with standard legacy drivers, BUT what strikes me here is that you say you have problems only when clicking through cut screens. I click to get past all intro screens and many times that is where the game will freeze or I'll lose sound. Even then, the game will show some lag until it eventually dies in most cases. A layman's stab, maybe the onboard sound cannot handle the abrupt transition between cutscenes? Anyone else with a similar problem?

[ball lightning]

- ATI Radeon 9600
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Current FX Minimum
- NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 LE (Probably should've been removed -- very slow)


The 5700 was better then the 9600. I've got 2 computers and the 5700 is better then teh Radeon 9600.

[ragothrynx]

@Bindragon: I too use the onboard sound card (Realtek ALC885 @ nVIDIA nForce 590 SLI), but i don't have problems with sound between cutscenes, or when i cut through cut scens. I'm gonna try and put the sound card from my other computer in this one and use that. I let you guys know if that changes anything.

[Liso]

@Bindragon: I too use the onboard sound card (Realtek ALC885 @ nVIDIA nForce 590 SLI), but i don't have problems with sound between cutscenes, or when i cut through cut scens. I'm gonna try and put the sound card from my other computer in this one and use that. I let you guys know if that changes anything.

Shamed as I am, I went and flashed my bios, updated my motherboard drivers which included the sound drivers. (built the pc a year ago and haven't updated drivers since) :o I have absolutely no sound issues now. So for thoughs of you that have the "on board or the Realtek AC'97 Audio like me", go make sure your drivers are up to date. This fixed issues I never even noticed before, LOL


Regards
Liso :santa:

[Bindragon]

Shamed as I am, I went and flashed my bios, updated my motherboard drivers which included the sound drivers. (built the pc a year ago and haven't updated drivers since) :o I have absolutely no sound issues now. So for thoughs of you that have the "on board or the Realtek AC'97 Audio like me", go make sure your drivers are up to date. This fixed issues I never even noticed before, LOL


Regards
Liso :santa:
Guess what, I too did not have the latest audio drivers (shame on me). I updated and (cross my fingers) am much better now. Thanks Rago and Liso for your input and Merry Xmas. I have some lag during loud battle scenes sometimes, so Rago I imagine you will get better performance during intense audio moments. Please do let us know how that goes.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid =1&PNid=14&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

[Liso]

Guess what, I too did not have the latest audio drivers (shame on me). I updated and (cross my fingers) am much better now. Thanks Rago and Liso for your input and Merry Xmas. I have some lag during loud battle scenes sometimes, so Rago I imagine you will get better performance during intense audio moments. Please do let us know how that goes.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid =1&PNid=14&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

Lag during loud battle scenes. I turned down my effects sounds some. This helped me greatly. Not to mention they get REALLY loud some times. hehe I have them set just below the half way mark. I hope this can help others as well :)


Liso

[lurchman]

I think there is an issue here with the sound that happens no matter what you have. I read quite a few posts on it, and have experienced it myself. Here's my specs.

N2M32 - SLI Deluxe MB
AMD Athlon 2.9Ghz Dual core CPU
2 Geforce 7900GS video cards 512mb vid ram, 24 pipeline
2 Gigs Corsair XMs Dual channel 800mz PC6400 Ram
Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme - Gaming vers.
Seagate Barracuda SATA II 320G HD.

Still I have issues occasionally when I do something in the middle of a sound byte, music or effects. And no matter how high or low I put the settings, it still happens once in a while. I think the game just doesn't like being interupted when certain sounds are being played. By running a slightly lower setting on my sound playback, I've decreased the number of times. But I can't stop it entirely.

[IOCCyb3r]

i can post a faq here about how to edit everything needed to optimize NWN II for nvidia cards (works on all btw) i will only do this if i get enough pm's for it in my inbox (cause i'm allready to bussy but i'm willing to do it if there is enough support for it) (i'm in the hardware bussiness for 7 years now and i have seen alot by now)

[FaTul]

i can post a faq here about how to edit everything needed to optimize NWN II for nvidia cards (works on all btw) i will only do this if i get enough pm's for it in my inbox (cause i'm allready to bussy but i'm willing to do it if there is enough support for it) (i'm in the hardware bussiness for 7 years now and i have seen alot by now)


I will plug my vote for a guide for nvidia cards. On this note, I am having a slight problem with running NWN2.

While playing the game the inhabitants of the game develop spikes out of their bodies. I have tried to slow my video card (by upping the detail in game)down to the refesh rate for my LCD monitor but that did not help. Other than this the game runs fine
My spec are:

P4 2.4
Asus P4P 800 deluxe w/ on- board sound (SoundMax)
nvidia 6800 GS (with latest drivers)
1.5 G corsair Ram
Samsung Synchmaster 930B

Any help would be appreciated; thx!

[Sicar Eneco]

I'm everything but a hardware specialist, but I'm ignorant enough to add my 5 cents to this.

P4 2.4
Asus P4P 800 deluxe w/ on- board sound (SoundMax)
nvidia 6800 GS (with latest drivers)
1.5 G corsair Ram
Samsung Synchmaster 930B
Those specs are mostly about the same, or even better, than my PC. Only the GFX card is somewhat lower, but as you have the latest drivers installed I don't see the problem. 6800 Series are supported by NWN2, according to NWN2 Vault (http://nwvault.ign.com/faq/index.php?category=8#8_2_ 3).

Another possibility might be a wrong DirectX version. Do you have 9.0c installed?

I would like to ask you to run THIS (http://www.systemrequirementslab .com/referrer/srtest) test on your computer, it will completly scan your computer and compare your specs with the required ones. Very usefull. It'll help you find any possible problems with your specs, or even your drivers.

Also, count me in for the FAQ. Would be very interesting.

[Kiwi]

The 5700 was better then the 9600. I've got 2 computers and the 5700 is better then teh Radeon 9600.

Not really. In addition to the pinned message about System Requirements on the Official Forums, I also authored a Rankings thread there, while I was actively participating, in spite of the lack of assistance received from lackadaisical moderator quality.

Your list of cards is a lift from one of my pre-release threads. I should be getting authorship credit, and BioWare's Forums should be getting original publication credit. It happens to be badly out of date now, since as of the release date, the Radeon 9700 Pro was the oldest and slowest card officially supported (according to the Readme on the DVD).

All of the FXes were elimninated. They are all broken, on purpose, by nVidia's poor design decisions. The least powerful nVidia card that is officially supported is the Vanilla Geforce 6600.

Here's the real list I last published there:

Supported Video Card Chipsets:

ATI X1950 series
ATI X1900 series
ATI X1800 series
ATI X1650 series
ATI X1600 series
ATI X850 series
ATI x800 series
ATI x700 series
ATI x600 series (Ouch - the Vanilla card is very slow)
ATI Radeon 9800 series (Amended) 9800 Pro, 9800 XT only
ATI Radeon 9700 series (Amended) 9700 Pro only
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series (Ouch - the Vanilla card is very slow)

In case you've skipped right past it, only ATI and nVidia GPUs/ VPUs are on the list, no others.

[craig123]

2 Questions in regards to video cards. 1st one. I didn't see it in the list, but does anyone know if the ATI Radeon 9250 256mb (PCI) Card will work with NWN2?
Question #2. If that one doesn't work, is there an afordable Straight PCI video card that will work with the game?

Let me know.

Thanks.

i don't know about the ati 9250 card but the ati x800xl runs nvwn2 very good and you should be able to get this card cheap and the one i had before i built my new pc was a agp slot card. don't get mad at pci that is the way to go. if you can afford it.

[Epirote]

Regarding ATI cards, I had an unsupported X300 and could play the game quite well although with every setting on low. Meanwhile I acquired an X 1950 pro and it plays really well. :D