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Issues, Workarounds & Localization

 
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Dual Graphics problem

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Primarch Apocalypse
Adeptus Imperium
#1 - 2015-06-01 11:07:42 UTC
I have two graphics cards :

#1 an Integrated Intel 4000 HD

#2 a dedicated Nvidia GeForce GT 740M

EVE can't detect the GeForce card despite , drivers reinstall , software reinstall & registry hive maintenance. The machine in question is a Asus laptop with a 18.4" screen , Intel i7 & 8 GB RAM running Windows 8.1 Pro. The device is well maintained & it was able to flawlessly run other games such as Mass Effect 3 , Far Cry 4 , Skyrim or Fallout New Vegas.

I have already sent a support ticket ~ 24 hours ago but CCP seems to need days to respond to what they probably see as a low priority issue. Preferably I'd like to solve this on my own so I can take this matter off the queue.

Please advise.
Detritus Thermopyle
#2 - 2015-06-01 14:12:52 UTC
Right click on your desktop, go to the Nvidia control panel, manage 3d settings.
Select program settings tab and then from drop down menu (1) select Eve Online(eve.exe)
and under 2 select your Nvidia processor - add/ save - that should do it.

"A lie can travel half-way across the universe whlie the truth is undocking."   ~ Mark Twain (paraphrased)
Primarch Apocalypse
Adeptus Imperium
#3 - 2015-06-02 04:57:46 UTC
Detritus Thermopyle wrote:
Right click on your desktop, go to the Nvidia control panel, manage 3d settings.
Select program settings tab and then from drop down menu (1) select Eve Online(eve.exe)
and under 2 select your Nvidia processor - add/ save - that should do it.


Quite literally the first thing I've did when I've noticed the problem. Short of a OS reload I've done all my usual IT tricks.
CCP Savior
C C P
C C P Alliance
#4 - 2015-06-02 11:16:24 UTC
Hi guys,

I've suffered from this issue at home with my own laptop for other games, from what I can tell the Intel GPU is used to channel all video data to your laptop screen meaning that it is the primary GPU, while the Nvidia card does all the leg work in the background. If i plug in a HDMI and connect a second screen it then shows the Nvidia card as primary as its sending the video data out to a separate screen.

Now I could be wrong but if anybody does know of a way to getting the Nvidia GPU to show as the primary device in games without plugging in a second screen I would love to hear it :)

Graphical QA Analyst | EVE Quality Assurance | Team TriLambda
Primarch Apocalypse
Adeptus Imperium
#5 - 2015-06-02 11:28:38 UTC
CCP Savior wrote:
Hi guys,

I've suffered from this issue at home with my own laptop for other games, from what I can tell the Intel GPU is used to channel all video data to your laptop screen meaning that it is the primary GPU, while the Nvidia card does all the leg work in the background. If i plug in a HDMI and connect a second screen it then shows the Nvidia card as primary as its sending the video data out to a separate screen.

Now I could be wrong but if anybody does know of a way to getting the Nvidia GPU to show as the primary device in games without plugging in a second screen I would love to hear it :)


Thank you for the response. There seems to be some back & forth between the two. I doubt the Intel 4000 would have been able to run EVE in all it's glory. So it is possible to speculate that the Nvidia GPU does the heavy lifting. However in environments that make heavy use of fog / smoke effects there is noticeable lag which in my experience is the trademark of Intel GPUs. So far I've been content to run EVE as it is no changes , no nothing. I'm afraid that if I set it too max details it will become a lag fest.

What does surprise me is the CCP & Nvidia haven't got a partnership or something akin since EVE isn't on their supported game list.
This type of problems will most likely go away when EVE finally makes the jump to DX12 but until then this problem alienates anyone with a workstation/gaming laptop.

I don't think the fix is something major. There's just a gremlin in the logic of the graphic select function. Perhaps EVE is trying to use both cards & gets stuck waiting for Intel while Nvidia has done the job & has gone out golfing.
CCP Savior
C C P
C C P Alliance
#6 - 2015-06-02 11:50:59 UTC  |  Edited by: CCP Savior
Looking at the specs of your machine, they aren't too dissimilar to what i'm running on but I've not suffered from much slow down in EVE, but I would also remind anyone using a laptop that you're never going to get the same performance you would see out of a desktop, but I'm kinda impressed you're able to run Farcry 4 with ease, my machine coughed and chugged along when I tried to play that.

But I would definitely recommend that you shy away from the high settings, the 740m just doesn't have the horse power to get a good frame rate with high settings.

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-560-vs-GeForce-GT-740M

Am I right in saying that the Nvidia supported games list you mention is the list of games that their 'Gerforce Experience' will automatically calibrate the settings for? If so I'll pass this information up the line and see what can be done about that.

Graphical QA Analyst | EVE Quality Assurance | Team TriLambda
Mr Mac
Dark Goliath
#7 - 2015-06-02 15:51:56 UTC
Just disable Integrated Videocard in CMOS/BIOS.
GeForce will be primary forever
Primarch Apocalypse
Adeptus Imperium
#8 - 2015-06-02 19:45:53 UTC
CCP Savior wrote:

Am I right in saying that the Nvidia supported games list you mention is the list of games that their 'Gerforce Experience' will automatically calibrate the settings for? If so I'll pass this information up the line and see what can be done about that.


You're quite correct. The whole idea is that it calibrates the settings to the exact system specifications including CPU , RAM , HDD speed & so on. Usually they sacrifice 5 - 10 % quality for FPS but that's quite alright in my book.
CCP Vertex
C C P
C C P Alliance
#9 - 2015-06-03 21:17:55 UTC
We do support multiple cards but I'm afraid this is the way DirectX and our graphic engine interact, when the device is created on game start up the first GPU that is detected (in this case the Intel one) is the card that is reported in the settings menu. However the actual GPU is use is the NVIDIA card.

This has been confusing for many people on many different game platforms, NVIDIA made a tool a long time ago to confirm that your GPU is active. I believe it was called the 'Nvidia Optimus GPU State Viewer', a quick Google search and you should be able to find it.

**CCP Vertex  |  Senior Development Manager ** | @CCP_Vertex