Note:  RacerMate does not usually provide video card technical support.  If your system appears to meet our current minimum system requirement and you are encountering video problems,  please check for updated video drivers (these are usually found on the card manufacturers web site) and/or contact the card manufacturer for technical support before contacting RacerMate Technical Support.

Times Change and your PC has to change with it...

In the beginning... development of CompuTrainer 3D began with the use of 3Dfx Voodoo video cards.  At the time, this was considered the quintessential video card, and all was good.  As the PC world evolved, this video card choice, though good in the beginning, was not so good any longer.  We then switched to what was, and still is for the most part, the industry standard for gaming graphics; DirectX.  Thankfully, this meant we no longer had any special video card requirement (apart from the need to meet minimum requirements, of course) because most cards, including 3Dfx cards, ran DirectX.

What Bus to take...

When it comes to upgrading video cards, there are 3 options currently available.  In other words, on all PC's built from the Pentium 1 computer to the fastest computers built to date, you basically have 3 architecture configurations:

Video Cards in Laptop and some Proprietary desktop Computers.  - All Laptop computers and some desktop computers incorporate their video card as an integral part of the computer’s main board.  This is commonly known as "On-board Video".  Laptop computers to date have never been after-market upgradeable in this area.  With some on-board video desktop computers, your on-board video card can be configured to borrow more video RAM from system RAM if required, or the on-board video can be disabled all together to allow the installation of a newer, faster, third party video card.  Checking to see if you can increase the shared memory (if this is an option) on this type of computer can help eliminate the need to replace the computer or video card if it does not meet minimum system requirements

PCI (Personal Component Interconnect) bus video card  - PCI bus architecture was first introduced in the later stages of the 486 computer and is still a standard used today for many peripheral "add-ins" such as sound cards, modems, network cards and so on.  With the advent of AGP, PCI video card choices are becoming more and more limited.  Thankfully, due to the continued development of low cost computers, which incorporate the video "on-board" (as noted above) we have found a resurgence of PCI cards in the marketplace. The problem is you can still find some of these older type PCI video cards for sale.  Close attention needs to be taken as to what Video Chipset is being used when buying a PCI video card to verify whether the card is still being supporting with new video drivers etc.  Most of the time they aren't.  Buying a PCI video card in a major computer store is your safest bet.  They will more likely only stock current cards.  Buying over the Internet is an option, but do your research.  This is where all the old cards are cleared out.  You can usually check with the maker to see what support is offered before buying.  Also, don't buy a video card just because it is cheaper on the Internet.  Bottom line: Make sure it is not a card where support for it ended years ago.

AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus video card - AGP was first introduced with the Pentium II computer.  Typically the computer main board incorporates an AGP slot to plug in this type of card. AGP provides the fastest video frame rates due to its direct link to the main PC CPU.  AGP is the foundation for all video cards being produced today, and may, in some cases, be the only way to get the latest and greatest video chipsets built today.

Also, AGP has changed over the years and some newer AGP card will not work in older computers even if an AGP slot exists.  This is determined by checking the multiplier used in the description of the card.  AGP was released at 1X speeds and are now exceeding 8X speeds and different bus voltages.  You may find you can't buy the latest and greatest card because your motherboard does not meet the video card minimum requirements.

Another problem, when upgrading, is that just because the PC you own, or are about to buy, states it has AGP video, this does not guarantee the presence of an AGP slot to plug in a newer, or different, AGP video card should that some day be required.  Many low cost computers do NOT have an AGP slot and are similar to the first type of computer mentioned having the video card integrated into the main board. You should check what your computer currently has before you lay down your hard-earned cash for any new video card.

So, can you use your currently owned video card...

If your current video card appears to meet the current Minimum System Requirements, it will most likely run our CompuTrainer software. If oddities in the graphics display occur, you should ALWAYS look to the video card manufacturer for current and/or updated video drivers before calling RacerMate for Technical Support.  You may also download a demo version of CompuTrainer 3D version 3.0 here to verify whether your current PC can run it.  It may help determine if you will need a video card upgrade. 

*Known Video Card Issues for CompuTrainer 3D v3.0

• If you have trouble running CompuTrainer 3D v3.0 Software, set your Windows display properties to "(High Color) 16-bit".

• If you have any graphic troubles, try changing from "Window" to "full-screen mode", or vice versa.  Use F12 to switch between the two modes.

*Note From the original CompuTrainer 3D software programmer:
Video cards and drivers typically can be a headache with Microsoft DirectX, but there can also be problems running CompuTrainer 3D software with other programs that are running silently in the background and stealing clock cycles etc. Programs, such as anti-virus, DLL's, and TSR's can all steal system resources that are needed for CompuTrainer 3D. Some computer manufacturers install a huge number of these "resource-stealers". The user can check for the presence of most (not all) of these by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL once to open Task Manager.  If problems are being experienced, "End Task" on every item listed except for "Explorer", and "Systray".

Thanks, J.D. Sachs