I just got a TNT2 and wanted to see the difference between 16 and 32 bit color on my own system. I've got the Kingpin and Quake III demos. How can I switch between 16 and 32 while playing them? (Can't seem to find anything under "Options" or "Visuals").
In Kingpin, Quake2, Halflife, Sin, or any other Quake2 engine game... you need to set your desktop display depth to 32bits before you run the game. If its set to 16bit, the game will run 16bit, if its set 32, it'll run 32bits.
Quake3:Arena Test can change the display depth in the menu's.
------------------ Collin J
HWC Administrator
Moderator: Support and General discussion.
Okay, within Display Properties I changed from 16 bit High Color to to 32-bit True Color. But when I ran the Kingpin Demo I couldn't tell the difference. What's up? I've got a V770 and am using Diamond's newest drivers. Shouldn't I be able to see the difference between 16 and 32 in this demo?
Kingpin uses the Quake2 engine, which doesnt fully support 32bit color. None of the textures or art in Kingpin are in 32bit color, but the lighting effects are, so all of the lighting effects will be smoother and more true with less dithering.
You need to run a game that fully supportd 32bit color (such as Q3Arena Test, Expendable, etc) to be able to see the full difference between 16 and 32bit. The TNT and TNT-2 chipsets render very vivid color for 16bit with very little dithering, so the difference to 32bit is not as profound as other cards are.
Sorry to break the news to you but you can't see 32 bits unless your monitor supports it. Most monitors only show a max of 24bits. So your display will not look much different because of the monitor. Some people claim different because its set in thier minds that they can see 32 bit because their card supports it and its set at 32. Beleive me the mind can be tricked in many ways. Thats my story and im stickin to it.
Wondering where you got your info Jeff, most displays,
at least the ones we are talking about here, are analog devices..?
(The new LCD screens are digital, but require a special ouput
port on the video card...)
The ‘bit’ information has to be converted to an analog signal
in the video card before being passed to the Monitor..
It is true that 32 bit color only contains 24 bits of color information;
8 bits each, for red, blue and green. This gives you 16 million variations
versus only 65 thousand and change, with 16 bit...
This is somewhat simplified, but I have a lot more if you are interested..
_______________________
A preacher will shout at you, what you must believe,
while a Teacher will reveal the truth that they have
come to believe...
I have explained this one to you before Jeffy79. There is no point arguing about it further. 32bit is 24bit RGB and 8bit ALPHA. 24bit and 32bit are both called TRUE COLOR, which is 16.7million colors. 16bit is 65k colors, there is a big difference.
Directing my comments to MikeD, who posed the original question...
Keep in mind, you ‘can’ create a more vivid/complex image with
32 bit versus 16... However, it doesn’t mean it is going to
happen. The computer axiom of garbage in/garbage out still
applies here.. Also, some rendering chips can take great
video information and turn it into garbage..
You will be hard pressed to find a legitimate critic of the rendering
capabilities of the TNT2 chip... it is a matter of what you want, and
what you are willing to pay for..
If you can find some good screen shots that were created in 32 bit
color, and compare them side by side with 16 bit, it is no contest.... If you
want to look at some real garbage, take something like a photo quality
picture that has been created using 32 bit color, and view it in 16 bit mode.
_______________________
Of course, I do not personaly recommend, that you modify
any equipment, other than as recommended by the manufacturer..
I ran the Quake III Arena Test in both 16 and 32 bit color and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. It this because:
A) The TNT2 produces such vivid 16-bit color that its 32-bit color isn’t huge improvement? (And does that mean that if I ran the Quake III on a V3 in 16 bit then on a TNT2 in 32 bit I could see the difference?)
B) Quake III Arena Test doesn’t take full advantage of 32-bit color and that’s why there is no great difference between 16 and 32. (And does that mean that in some future game the difference between 16 and 32 bit may be quite pronounced?)
C) I need to get upgrade to next generation eyeballs?
Your answers to this pop quiz would be greatly appreciated.
Frankly I couldn't tell the difference either. Except for a slight dithering decrease in smoke effects. Most of my friends who own TNT2's agree the difference is small and play in 16bit mode for better performance.
As for the V3's 16bit mode in Q3. The drivers are very beta and need work. With that in mind, the V3 displays a fairly good image in Q3test.
If you use a TNT2 or TNT to view 16 bit then 32 bit, of course there is not going to be much difference, especially when 32 bit game support is in its early stages. Try comparing a v3 in 16 bit and the TNT2 card in 32 bit, then you will see an extremely noticeable change.
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