Using 3D accelerated applications such as the Urban Engine with laptops can yield poor performance if a low powered graphics device is selected.
High performance laptops may contain two graphics devices – a low powered integrated graphics device built directly into a CPU (Typically Intel) and a high powered dedicated graphics device (Typically Nvidia)
First, determine if your laptop has a dedicated graphics device that meets the Urban Engine System Requirements. If your laptop only contains an integrated graphics device built into the CPU, it will not be sufficient.
If your laptop has a high powered dedicated graphics device, perform the following steps to verify if it is being used:
- Start the Urban Engine
- Load a model, and take note of the frame rate
- Close the Urban Engine
- Click Start->Programs->Urban Circus 64->UC Data, this will open Windows Explorer
- Enter the logs folder
- Sort logs by the latest date, and open the most recent log in notepad.
- Search the log for the words “Rendering Device”, it should take you to a line that displays the following:
- D3D9 : RenderSystem Option: Rendering Device = Monitor-1-NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- If the Rendering Device displays your graphics card, it is being used correctly. Poor performance may be indicative of insufficient specifications for running your model. Ensure your laptop meets the Urban Engine System Requirements.
- If it displays an Intel Graphics Device, the Urban Engine is using the integrated graphics built into your CPU, rather than a dedicated graphics card. This will result in poor performance. Check your graphics card settings to see that High Performance Graphics are enabled, then re-test your models frame rate in the Urban Engine.
- If the device reported does not match the laptops specifications, this may be causing poor performance. Contact your IT support for further troubleshooting.
- Poor performance can also be experienced when utilising Laptop Docks or Remote Desktop.
Resolution – NVIDIA Graphics Cards
If your laptop contains an NVIDIA graphics card, you can force it to run in high performance mode.
Click Start, and search for NVIDIA Control Panel
Click on Manage 3D Settings. Under Preferred graphics processor, choose High-Performance NVIDIA processor.
Click Apply and close the NVIDIA control panel. The Urban Engine should now run with your NVIDIA graphics card.