Running Oblivion With A Less-than-Par Video Card

I eventually ran into the guys at Oldblivion and found my solution.

A few days ago, I purchased Oblivion. (Props, Walmart) I eagerly installed the game, and then tried to run it. The game started to launch, a little black square appeared in the top left corner, and then I saw the classic Windows XP error reporting tool. Oh how I love seeing that tool...

Here is a brief summary of my hardware:

Pentium D 805 2.67 GHz
1 GB DDR2 667 RAM
250 GB HDD
Asus P5L-MX Motherboard
Intel 950 Integrated Graphics

The biggest thwart in my computer's side is the Intel integrated graphics chip. The video card is great for normal Windows use; it is even Windows Vista ready. But for gaming, this card does the bare-minimums. It can run older games fine, but when it comes to the more modern games that require DirectX 9.0C to run, this card is horrible.

But back to Oblivion, I could not get the game to start due to my Intel graphics chipset. Oblivion did not even recognize the card to run. Apparently, Oblivion will only run if a video card can support hardware Transform and Lighting 2.0, which rules the Intel 950 out. I eventually ran into the guys at Oldblivion and found my solution.

I downloaded the Oldblivion tool and found their latest version only worked with Oblivion up to version 1.1.511, so I patched the game up to that version with the patch I found here.

Oldblivion installs with a configuration tool, and here is the screen you would see:



To even run the game, you must have the following checkboxes checked:

However, I strongly recommend you upgrade your video card to something that will play this better. Some video cards will cost you an arm and a leg, but if you play your cards right, you'll find a good deal on a decent video card.

Here is the card I'm going to be buying from Newegg:

If you do not know which card to get, I suggest you do your research. The articles at Guru3d have proven to be invaluable, as well as the advice from the users at the Guru3d forums. Make sure you know what your motherboard can support and how much many watts your power supply can provide - factors that involve whether or not you can even use a particular video card.

Engineered

If somebody asked my why I thought Mac's were good, I would sum it up in one word - engineered. Sure OSX is a sweet operating system on the Mac's. Sure everything runs smooth.

But why?

Apple doesn't just sell an operating system. They don't just sell sexy looking computers like the Macbook, they sell computers (including iPods, iPhones, and so on) that are designed for their operating system. (Hence why you can't buy it by itself or easily put it on another computer.)

In previous blog about Dell and Ubuntu, I mentioned that on Dell's site, you can now buy a machine that comes preloaded with my personal favorite operating system. The preloaded PC's ship with the latest version of Ubuntu on the machine, ready to fire away.

Dell PC's with Ubuntu is like an Apple. It's smart. It's engineered.

I have nothing against Windows - it's a great operating system and will continue to be for a long time. Windows is serving businesses worldwide and always will be, but it Windows is on a huge hardware market. New types of processors, new hardware, and even the no-name branded hardware is always being released everyday. Microsoft has a huge race that only Microsoft could run. It's doing well to accommodate for the hardware it can be put on.

Instead, Apple went a different route. They went for specific hardware that only Apple decides can be used, and now Dell makes PC's tailored to best run Ubuntu, with room to tweak some hardware peripherals.

Ubuntu has been evolving like a baby, and over the past couple years, I have witnessed it firsthand growing and becoming more user-friendly and more compatible with certain hardware (like the Dell Inspiron 6000 I'm using right now). Now, I can pop the Ubuntu install CD in my computer and in 15 or so minutes, everything is working as it should, with no drivers to install or anything. It just works.

Engineered for greatness, tailored for speed.

Dell + Ubuntu = Smart

As I'm sure many of you already know, Dell is releasing PC's with Ubuntu pre-loaded on the PC. Purchasing a new notebook or desktop has always been an easy process while shopping with Dell, but they just made it a lot easier for the Linux enthusiast and the overall wiser crowd.

Ubuntu is free. It always has, it always will be - just read the logo that appears on the back of the CD case:

"Ubuntu is software libre. You are encouraged and legally entitled to copy, reinstall, modify, and redistribute this CD for yourself and your friends. Share the spirit of Ubuntu!"

Therefore, since Ubuntu is most definitely free, why wouldn't you purchase a PC from Dell with this operating system already installed. If the price doesn't move you enough, would knowing that Ubuntu is the best operating system (and Linux distribution) available? I'm sorry all other Linux OS'es, but Ubuntu has it all.

Additionally, as I type this, I am using a Dell Inspiron 6000 with a Pentium M, Intel Graphics Board, and the Intel wireless card. I have found no hardware that is not working the way it should with Ubuntu installed. If I could some it up in one word, it would be seamless. It's smooth.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox, but for real, Dell's selling PC's with Ubuntu already loaded up, so if you are looking for a new PC and don't want to fight the battle of "I wonder if this wireless card will work in Linux", then stop by Dell's site and treat yourself. Get a new PC with Ubuntu.

Amarok Music Manager in Feisty

Now that Ubuntu Feisty (7.04) has been released to the public and Ubuntu's famed ShipIt program, several major improvements have occurred.

No longer does a man or woman's fingertips have to sweat from minutes of typing relentless commands to build, make, make install (or checkinstall) their favorite music manager. No longer does mankind have to wish they knew what "make install" or "checkinstall" meant and what language it comes from...

...at least when it comes to installing Amarok with MTP and all the other cool bells and whistles, the installation is so easy, a caveman with a PC can do it.

Here goes.


1) Let's install.

sudo apt-get install libmtp5 libmtp-dev amarok

2) Connect. Play. Enjoy. (step 2 is all up to you)

Rhythmbox Music Manager

Well, Nic has brought it to my attention of the new capability to install Rhythmbox with PlaysforSure support. Anybody with Ubuntu (not Kubuntu) will already have Rhythmbox installed. It is the default music manager for Ubuntu, and is full of features. The latest version has even more features.

The rest of this post will explain how to install the latest and greatest RB with MTP (PlaysForSure) support and all the other goods.

Here's a quick run-down of the improvements on MTP in Rhythmbox:

• It works. (awesome enough)
• There is not much lag when it is scanning the device (maybe 15 seconds at the longest)
• You can play straight from the device
• You can send/recieve from device

This guide is for Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty).

1) Let's make sure we have the goods needed

sudo aptitude purge rhythmbox

sudo apt-get install build-essential gnome-common subversion libmtp5 libmtp-dev

sudo apt-get build-dep rhythmbox

2) Now we need to get the latest version of Rhythmbox

svn co http://svn.gnome.org/svn/rhythmbox/trunk rhythmbox
cd rhythmbox

3) And now the install

./autogen.sh --with-mtp
sudo make
sudo make install

4) Plugin your player, run your new Rhythmbox for the first time, and make sure you go to Edit > Plugins and enable "Portable Players - MTP"

5) Enjoy.