DOSBOX output method & scalers \ VOGONS

DOSBOX output method & scalers

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First post, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-06-30, 10:43

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Hello all

I'm using dosbox 0.73 (windows 7 RC1), and I've some questions:

1) DirectDraw output seems to work right, but... Isn't supossed to be a Direct3D output method? Is it available in CVS compiles for 0.73? I've only found 0.72 with Direct3D...

2) Is SVGA_S3 more cpu-intensive than VGAONLY for PLAIN VGA games? (320x200@8bpp)
What about vesa_nolfb? Is it slower than VGAONLY for those plain vga games?
It's because those machine modes give different video modes in 320x200 for wich my monitor works better (strange, but true)

3)Are normal2x and normal3x scalers working on software or hardware??
I need every cycle, so I need this informatioin.

4) I read there are hardware2x and hardware3x scalers.... are those present in any 0.73 CVS?

Thanks!

Reply 1 of 17, by DosFreak

Posted on 2009-06-30, 10:53

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DOSBox doesn't have D3D support. Only unofficial builds like gulikoza's do.

The video modes aren't processor intensive. (at least on the C2D's I test DOSBox on.....)

All scales are software scalers. (See Robertmo post below)

What is a hardware2x or 3x scaler?

Last edited by DosFreak on 2009-06-30, 12:02. Edited 2 times in total.

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Reply 2 of 17, by wd

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:06

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vgaonly is (much) more cpu demanding as it provides line-wise emulation
for special effects. The vesa_? modes simply disable some vesa features,
otherwise they are equal to svga_s3.

Reply 3 of 17, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:08

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Hardware2x and hardware3x are scalars only present in Direct3d builds by Gulikoza. That's what they are.

Do you mean svga_s3 mode isn't more intensive than VGAONLY?

Can you point any unofficial 0.73 build with D3d and/or MT2 support, please? I can't find it...

Thanks, DosFreak and Wd!

Reply 4 of 17, by DosFreak

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:20

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I think Gulikoza is working on a new build based on 0.73. AFAIK, there isn't one available currently.

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Reply 5 of 17, by Kippesoep

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:31

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gaula92 wrote:
Do you mean svga_s3 mode isn't more intensive than VGAONLY?

Quite the reverse, in fact.

Reply 6 of 17, by robertmo

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:38

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svga_s3 mode is less cpu intensive than vgaonly (unless you are using high resolutions not available in vgaonly 😉 )

Reply 7 of 17, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:39

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So...should SVGA_S3 with scaler=normal3x LESS COU INTENSIVE than
VGAONLY with scaler=none ?

Aren't software filters like normal3x CPU-intensive?

It's my last question. Thanks guys!

Reply 8 of 17, by robertmo

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:46

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gaula92 wrote:
So...should SVGA_S3 with scaler=normal3x LESS COU INTENSIVE than VGAONLY with scaler=none ? […]
Show full quote
So...should SVGA_S3 with scaler=normal3x LESS COU INTENSIVE than
VGAONLY with scaler=none ?

Aren't software filters like normal3x CPU-intensive?

It's my last question. Thanks guys!

1. SVGA_S3 with scaler=normal2x is faster than vgaonly

2. normal3x (and also aspect=true) are software upscaled with output surface - cpu intensive
normal3x (and also aspect=true) are hardware upscaled with output ddraw/opengl/nb/overlay

Reply 9 of 17, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-06-30, 11:52

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So normal3x is hardware scaled in ddraw mode..ok,ok, that's what I needed to know.

Thanks!!

Reply 10 of 17, by robertmo

Posted on 2009-06-30, 12:16

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although for fullscreen scaling it is better to use fullscreen=your max resolution

Reply 11 of 17, by HunterZ

Posted on 2009-06-30, 15:22

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I've found that I don't need to use the normalXX scalers with output=opengl because it will scale the window to whatever resolution I set DOSBox to use. I don't like any of the other scalers, so I don't use them :p

Reply 12 of 17, by gulikoza

Posted on 2009-06-30, 17:11

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robertmo wrote:
2. normal3x (and also aspect=true) are software upscaled with output surface - cpu intensive
normal3x (and also aspect=true) are hardware upscaled with output ddraw/opengl/nb/overlay

No, this has been changed (before 0.70 I think) NormalXx scalers always run in software, that's why I have hardwareXx, which work exactly like normalXx except use hardware scaling.

edit: actually I am slightly wrong. AR correction is hardware scaled, but 2x (3x) upscaling is done in software with normalXx

http://www.si-gamer.net/gulikoza

Reply 13 of 17, by robertmo

Posted on 2009-06-30, 23:34

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gulikoza wrote:

No, this has been changed (before 0.70 I think)

😳 Why it has been changed?

Reply 14 of 17, by Qbix

Posted on 2009-07-01, 05:59

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easier to maintain code wise (with the dirty buffers)
and the normal 2x scaler doesn't use much power with the dirty buffer method

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Reply 15 of 17, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-07-01, 06:56

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So let's resume:

Is Aspect Ratio correction done in HARDWARE in 0.73 on DirectDraw??

Reply 16 of 17, by gulikoza

Posted on 2009-07-01, 07:12

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yes

http://www.si-gamer.net/gulikoza

Reply 17 of 17, by gaula92

Posted on 2009-07-01, 13:02

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Thanks gulikoza!

I can't wait for a 0.73 version with MT32 emulation, BTW! 😁

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