What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?

General Questions, answers and information related to the release of the msmac3D program.
MSI
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What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?

Post by MSI »

Q: What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?
A: Aside from our not wanting to deal with windows XP* most modern computers (win7/8/10) will be able to handle the program and graphics.
  • I recently on a whim bought Ray a $300 computer from the local Staples store which was some random ASUS Laptop with 4 Gigs, 64 bit win 8.1, Celeron N2830 @2.16 GHz and msmac3D performs and works great!
The software and graphics are not too demanding given the extraordinary capabilities of modern day computers and laptops.
  • Minimum requirements:
    • Windows 8/10**
      Minimum of 2GB RAM
      Video Card with minimum 512MB of Dedicated Video Memory
We also hoping to develop a server side version where you will also be able to run from your phone or ipad...stay tuned!

*(XP is currently not supported since then we'd have to get into dot.net and DirectX version fun and games)
**(removed Win 7 since no longer supported
MSI
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Re: What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?

Post by MSI »

Q: I am about to spec out a new computer for msmac3D. Will I notice a difference with a more powerful machine? I don’t like waiting but if it is 3 seconds for a run or 6 seconds for a run no sense spending $1000 more for it. Your thoughts?

A: It is amazing that today a $1000 machine is so fast and capable. A year ago we upgraded to a Lenovo Y50 notebook for $1000 and it was exponentially faster than my prior computer, for all tasks. (think we got one off the shelf at a local Tiger direct outlet)
With computers we get used to something I call the cadence of response:
  • We get used to a certain time lag to doing things and then you upgrade your computer everything happens so much faster you develop a faster cadence.
Six months or so ago I changed my hard drive on the Y50 to an SSD drive which improved on the 3X real time response of the msmac3D benchmarks.
I had heard it made startup and shutdown almost instantaneous (no more disk I/O time, it was all memory!)
And it did!
So shutting down/starting up/anything than had to do disk I/O was 30% or more faster.
Point of all this is that no matter what you change to the speed change will be a pleasant surprise.
So look around since there are a lot of great deals out there and you will be pleasantly surprised at the advance of technology!
Below are two graphs of the performance measures of computers, AMAZING!
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MSI
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Re: What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?

Post by MSI »

Q: I’m looking to get a new laptop or desktop computer that can run MSMAC (2D and 3D) and just wanted to confirm I have the right information.
As for the requirements, I found this thread on the forum, do those “Minimum Requirements” still stand?
I don’t always see the “Dedicated Video Memory” spec listed on sites where I’m currently looking for a computer, but hopefully either there or if I buy in store I can confirm that requirement, though it sounds as if most computers that fit the other reqs should also match the video memory needs?

A: Anything you buy today should handle things and i thought the video memory is normally listed.
However just now checking I see they don’t list it on a lot of sites. This appears to be because they use INTEL HD Graphics which appears to make use of system RAM for video memory.
So then the question is:
  • how much system RAM do you need?
    I would check with the mfg on the computer to see if any dedicated video RAM and if not, be sure to consider an additional gig or two of system RAM for the graphics.
    We may have to up the minimum system memory suggestion to 4 gig min when INTEL HD Graphics is included.
I will look into this further so check back in a week.
Found this Comparison of laptop Graphics Card which i will delve into and let you know what i find.
MSI
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Re: What are msmac3D minimum computer requirement?

Post by MSI »

Added a link to this thread since it can be used to determine the capabilities of your computer:
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