GPA 3.0: Release Notes say we should use a driver version that is not available

[Neal_Pierman]

(creating a new thread from a post that was attached to another thread)

[Amir_Ebrahimi]

Hi Neal,

I think part of the issue is that the drivers cited in the release notes for GPA 3.0 are not available for download. How come?

::Amir

[Neal_Pierman]

Thanks for pointing this out... this is an error in the documentation.

The Release Notes currently state: "Specifically, the Windows graphics driver must be..."; instead, the wording should be: "Specifically, the Windows graphics driver must be at least..."

In particular, note that some of the graphics drivers were updated on March 4th, so a later version than the release notes state are now available, and should be used.

I will document this change in various places to be sure that users know about the change.

Again, thanks for pointing this out!

Regards,

Neal

[Amir_Ebrahimi]

I don't see a March 4th driver. When I go to the downloads section the latest driver is:

2/28/2008

14.32.4.4926

[Amir_Ebrahimi]

So, it seems that you are referring to the desktop graphics drivers. Does GPA not support mobile chipsets, specifically the Mobile 945 Express Chipset? I noticed in the release notes that the Mobile Intel GM45 Express Chipset is supported. Is GM45 the same as 945 Express?

[Neal_Pierman]

Hello,

Thanks for clarifying your question, as I apologize that I missed the context in your original posting -- namely, that you are using the Mobile 945 Express Chipset, and that the documentation was telling you that you needed a particular driver version, which is not available.

I've done some additional research, and as you suspect the 945 and the GM45 are different graphics chipsets -- each has different capabilities and therefore requires a different graphics device driver.

The main difference between the 945 and the GM45 is that the GM45 has hardware support for GPU metrics, and therefore Intel GPA System Analyzer is able to provide a more detailed view of your game for each of the following system components: the CPU, the DX software stack, the graphics driver, and the GPU. However, Intel GPA will still do the best it can when analyzing a game running on the 945 and other non-supported graphics devices.

So the documentation in the Release Notes should state that the device driver requirements apply to the support graphics devices, which are the following:

• Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500
• Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500HD
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
• Intel HD Graphics
• Intel G45 Express Chipset
• Mobile Intel GM45 Express Chipset

Hopefully this helps -- please let us know if there's more information or assistance that we can provide.

Regards,

Neal