Video Distortion on Laptop

Post » Sun May 27, 2012 10:09 pm

I installed Skyrim through Steam on my Dell Vostro 1710 laptop. The initial startup set the video at low quality. When I tried to play the game the loading screens were clear; but when the game finished loading the screen image consisted of moving, triangular bands of various shades, radiating from the center of the screen, with only small sections of the scene visible between some of the bands. The Skyrim title in the middle of the opening scene showed clearly over the distorted image. Is there any way to eliminate the distortion, or is the game unplayable on that computer?
User avatar
Ilona Neumann
 
Posts: 3308
Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:30 am

Post » Mon May 28, 2012 2:07 am

You don't really think you bought such a popular PC that everyone here has one did you?

Basic Hardware Specification Chart (Empty so far)

Processor Manufacturer: AMD / Intel
Processor Name / Type: Athlon X2 / Pentium D / C2D / dual core / quad, etc.
Processor Speed: ?.? Ghz
Operating System / Service Pack: WindowsXP with SP #?, Win7, Vista ?
System RAM: ? ? GBs (MBs, if less than 1024 ? )
Video (GPU) Manufacturer: ATI / Nvidia (only those two are supported, PERIOD, so please answer which of them you have)
Video Card Model: (examples) Radeon HD 6670 / Geforce GTS 450
Video Card Driver Version: Catalyst ?.? / Nforce ??.??
. . (please use the numbers, and dates, *not* the word "latest")
Video display's default screen resolution
Video Card onboard RAM: ? ? ? MBs
Sound Card Manufacturer:
Sound Card Driver IDs:
Sound Card Model:

(And this is only for the raw hardware & driver variations. Potential software conflicts are far more likely to be game play problems, and developers cannot test for all possible program loads.)
User avatar
Vicki Blondie
 
Posts: 3408
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:33 am

Post » Mon May 28, 2012 5:41 am

I know the system is, at best, underpowered for the game. I was wondering why the loading screens displayed relatively normally while the game screen was so distorted. Here are the system specs:
Spoiler


System Summary

Product Vostro1710
BIOS Version String A12

Operating System

Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional (32-bit)
Service Pack Service Pack 3
Build Number 2600
DirectX Version 9.0c (4.09.00.0904)

Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU T5670 @ 1.80GHz (CPU:0)

Name Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU T5670 @ 1.80GHz
Cores 2
Threads 2

System Memory

Total Physical Memory 3.00 GB
Maximum Supported Memory 4.00 GB

Battery - Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

Type LION - Lithium Ion

Hard Drive - ST9250320AS

Vendor Seagate
Model Number ST9250320AS
Serial Number 5SW10GAN
Marketed Size 250.1 GB

Optical Drive - Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-7640A

Model Number Optiarc DVD+/-RW AD-7640A
Drive Serial Number CN0F968D6886589M0110
Firmware Revision JD06



Operating System

Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional (32-bit)
Service Pack Service Pack 3
Build Number 2600
DirectX Version 9.0c (4.09.00.0904)
Windows Directory c:\windows
System Directory c:\windows\system32
System Name LAPTOP
User Name Cecil

Windows Update

Automatic Updates Automatic download and install
Last checked 2011-12-28 08:05:08



Security

Windows Update

Automatic Updates Automatic download and install
Last checked 2011-12-28 08:05:08

Firewall - ZoneAlarm Firewall

Product Name ZoneAlarm Firewall
Program Enabled No

Firewall - Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall Enabled Yes

Virus Scanner - avast! Antivirus

Company Name AVAST Software
Product Name avast! Antivirus
Version Number 5.0.100664663
Program Up To Date Yes
On Access Scanning Enabled Yes



Motherboard

System Board

Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Product 0Y183C
Chipset Intel GL960/GM965/PM965
Southbridge Intel 82801HBM (ICH8M)

BIOS

Vendor Dell Inc.
Release Date 03/18/2009
BIOS Version String A12
ROM Size 64.00 kB

SMBIOS

Version 2.4



Processors

Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU T5670 @ 1.80GHz (CPU:0)

Name Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU T5670 @ 1.80GHz
Cores 2
Threads 2
Signature 6FDh
Family 6h
Model Fh
Revision M0
Technology 65 nm
Performance
Max Qualified Speed 1.80 GHz
Current Speed 1.80 GHz
Multiplier x 9.0 (6 - 9)
FSB Speed 798.01 MHz
Bus Speed 199.50 MHz

Features MMX, PSE36, EM64T, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, IDA, XD
Cache Summary
L1 Instruction Cache 2 x 32.00 kB
L1 Data Cache 2 x 32.00 kB
L2 Cache 2.00 MB

Core : 0

Temperature 62 C
Threads 1

Core : 1

Temperature 62 C
Threads 1

L1 Data Cache

Quantity 2
Level L1
Type Data
Size 32.00 kB
Associativity 8-Way Set-Associative
Line Size 64 bytes

L1 Instruction Cache

Quantity 2
Level L1
Type Instruction
Size 32.00 kB
Associativity 8-Way Set-Associative
Line Size 64 bytes

L2 Cache

Quantity 1
Level L2
Type Unified
Size 2.00 MB
Associativity 8-Way Set-Associative
Line Size 64 bytes



Memory

System Memory

Total Physical Memory 3.00 GB
Maximum Supported Memory 4.00 GB

Page Files

Total Size 2.00 GB
Recommended Total Size 4.00 GB

Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Location C:\pagefile.sys
Size 2.00 GB

2048 MB DDR2-SDRAM (PC2-6400 / 800 MHz)

Source SPD
Memory Size 2.00 GB
Memory Type DDR2-SDRAM (PC2-6400 / 800 MHz)
Memory Manufacturer Samsung
Memory Manufacture Date Week 39, Year 2008
Memory Part Number M4 70T5663RZ3-CF7
Memory Serial Number 93497FF0
Memory Revision Code 5233

1024 MB DDR2-SDRAM (PC2-6400 / 800 MHz)

Source SPD
Memory Size 1.00 GB
Memory Type DDR2-SDRAM (PC2-6400 / 800 MHz)
Memory Manufacturer Samsung
Memory Manufacture Date Week 44, Year 2008
Memory Part Number M4 70T2864QZ3-CF7
Memory Serial Number 85809E7A
Memory Revision Code 5133



Batteries

Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

Manufacturer Name Dell
Type LION - Lithium Ion
Designed Capacity Percentage 91
Current Charge Percentage 100
Current Charge 52.11 Wh
Full Charged Capacity 52.11 Wh
Designed Capacity 57.72 Wh
Voltage 12.41 V



Communications

Network Card - Dell Wireless 1395 WLAN Mini-Card

MAC Address 00:22:5f:49:7b:25
Adapter Connected Yes
Current Speed 36.00 Mbps
IP Address 192.168.10.103
IP Mask 255.255.255.0
Gateway IP Address 192.168.10.1
DHCP Server 192.168.10.1
Adapter DHCP Enabled Yes
Driver Provider Broadcom
Driver Version 4.170.77.3, 3-21-2008

Network Card - Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC

MAC Address 00:21:70:cb:f5:f8
Adapter Connected No
Current Speed 0 bps
IP Address 0.0.0.0
IP Mask 0.0.0.0
Gateway IP Address
DHCP Server 10.90.24.1
Adapter DHCP Enabled Yes
Driver Provider Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version 5.686.103.2008, 1-3-2008



Hard Drives

ST9250320AS

Vendor Seagate
Model Number ST9250320AS
Serial Number 5SW10GAN
Firmware Revision DE05
Size 232.9 GB
Marketed Size 250.1 GB
Cache Size 8 MB
Sector Information
Physical Sector Size 512 B
Logical Sector Size 512 B
Logical Sector Count 488397168

Supported Standards ATA8-ACS, ATA/ATAPI-7, ATA/ATAPI-6, ATA/ATAPI-5
Supported Transports SATA Rev 2.6
Total Data Read 103.66 GB
Total Data Written 479.19 GB
Temperature Information
Minimum Temperature (Power Cycle) 18 C
Minimum Temperature (Lifetime) 17 C
Maximum Temperature (Lifetime) 39 C
Maximum Recommended 55 C
Maximum Temperature Limit 60 C
Minimum Recommended 14 C
Minimum Temperature Limit 10 C

SMART Attributes
Power Cycles 320
Power On Hours 297
Load Cycle Count 461
Reallocations 0
Pending Reallocation Count 0
Offline Scan Uncorrectable Errors 0
Ultra DMA CRC Errors 0
Start Stop Count 321

Security Information
Status User password not set, Security is unlocked, Security is frozen
Master Password Capability High Security
Erase Time 78 minutes
Excessive Password Attempts No

OS - C:

Drive Letter C
Volume Name OS
Volume Serial Number 32EA-35E2
File System NTFS
Volume Capacity 223.05 GB
Volume Free Space 184.27 GB
Volume Used Space 38.78 GB



Optical Drives

Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-7640A

Model Number Optiarc DVD+/-RW AD-7640A
Drive Serial Number CN0F968D6886589M0110
Firmware Revision JD06
Supported Standards ATA/ATAPI-7, ATA/ATAPI-6, ATA/ATAPI-5, ATA/ATAPI-4
Drive Letter D
Readable Media CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW,
DVD-R DL, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL
Writable Media CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R DL, DVD+R,
DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, CD-RW HIGH SPEED
Write Strategy TAO, SAO, RAW, RAW-MS



Multimedia

Video Card - Mobile Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family

Video Card Chip Type Mobile Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family
Video Card Memory 256.00 MB
Video Card BIOS Intel Video BIOS
Driver Provider Intel Corporation
Driver Version 6.14.10.4926, 2-15-2008

Video Card - Mobile Intel® 965 Express Chipset Family

Driver Provider Intel Corporation
Driver Version 6.14.10.4926, 2-15-2008

Display - Plug and Play Monitor

Mode 1440 x 900 (32-bit) (60 Hz)
Preferred Mode 1440 x 900 (60 Hz)
Signal Type Digital

Sound Card - Realtek High Definition Audio

Driver Provider Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version 5.10.0.5512, 11-14-2007



USB Devices

USB Receiver

Manufacturer Logitech
Device Version 70.0.0
USB Version 1.1.0
USB Device Speed Low-speed USB 1.1 compliant
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\usbccgp.sys
Driver Provider Microsoft
Driver Version 5.1.2600.0, 7-1-2001

Integrated Webcam

Manufacturer SONiX Technology Inc
Serial Number M09-001
Device Version 132.2.3
USB Version 2.0.0
USB Device Speed High-speed USB 2.0 compliant
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\usbccgp.sys
Driver Provider Microsoft
Driver Version 5.1.2600.0, 7-1-2001



Input Devices

Keyboard - Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard

Manufacturer (Standard keyboards)
Driver Path c:\windows\system32\drivers\i8042prt.sys
Driver Version 5.1.2600.5512, 7-1-2001

Mouse - Dell Touchpad

Manufacturer Alps Electric
Driver Provider Alps
Driver Path c:\windows\system32\drivers\i8042prt.sys
Driver Version 7.1.102.7, 8-24-2007

Mouse - Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse

Manufacturer Logitech
Driver Provider Logitech
Driver Path c:\windows\system32\drivers\mouhid.sys
Driver Version 4.82.4.0, 6-17-2009



Printers

Microsoft XPS Document Writer

Model Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Path Microsoft XPS Document Writer

HP Color LaserJet 2605dn_2605dtn PCL 6

Model HP Color LaserJet 2605dn_2605dtn PCL 6
Path HP Color LaserJet 2605dn_2605dtn PCL 6
Default Printer Yes



Product Version: 3.1.5907.16

User avatar
Albert Wesker
 
Posts: 3499
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:17 pm

Post » Sun May 27, 2012 9:47 pm

The only thing I can tell you with certainty is that the video solution is an extremely old and obsolete one that has no business at all being in the same village with a real game, let alone with said game in the same PC's storage system. It has zero RAM of its own, taking what it uses away from main memory.

The central processor has a base core speed a half GHz lower than the actual, practical minimum, and the report you offered doesn't name any Turbo Mode for it.

Corrected Skyrim Minimum Requirements

* Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
* Processor: Dual Core 2.3 GHz C2D or equivalent CPU
* 2GB System RAM
* 6GB free HDD Space
* Direct X 9 compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM (and
sufficient performance to actually put that VRAM to use)

* DirectX compatible sound card
* Internet access for Steam activation

A video card is a separate circuit board device that plugs into a connection on the system board; Intel has not made one of those in thirteen years now.

This game really needs a real gaming computer, not an elderly business notebook PC.
User avatar
sarah simon-rogaume
 
Posts: 3383
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 4:41 am

Post » Mon May 28, 2012 6:42 am

This site and its modded drivers and software are probably your best bet getting it working -- http://intel9xx.moonfruit.com/

We really can't help you any further. Good luck!
User avatar
Manuela Ribeiro Pereira
 
Posts: 3423
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:24 pm

Post » Mon May 28, 2012 3:28 am

This site and its modded drivers and software are probably your best bet getting it working -- http://intel9xx.moonfruit.com/

We really can't help you any further. Good luck!


I followed the link, and attempted to see any list of the games they named as being playable. The list itself never did anything. The balance of the page remained blank. I think the place is half dead now.
User avatar
Lil'.KiiDD
 
Posts: 3566
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:41 am

Post » Mon May 28, 2012 8:02 am

This site and its modded drivers and software are probably your best bet getting it working -- http://intel9xx.moonfruit.com/

We really can't help you any further. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to find out whether the drivers offered on that site are compatible with my system.
User avatar
Gavin boyce
 
Posts: 3436
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:19 pm


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