Fantasy Grounds and micro pc (intel atom)

[graziano.girelli]

one of my players would like to purchase a micro PC with an Intel Atom processor to connect to the TV.
The pc is equipped with Windows 10, so no problem to install the FG client... but can someone tell me if this solution works? Loading time, response time, etc.? Can you play or is the system not suitable for this purpose?

[Trenloe]

If you're just displaying a map and moving tokens around then you're probably OK - but it will still be slow.

You'll probably find it won't be very good if you're using it as a full player resource (opening reference manuals, running PCs, rolling dice, etc.).

[notrealdan]

Hi!

Do you have a link to specs of the system you're considering? I think the short (and probably not so helpful) answer is YMMV. Would your player be able to return the system if it turns out not to be suitable?

My guess is that PC will have an Intel GPU driving the graphics, and those have performance issues with Fantasy Grounds Classic. In my experience it's usable, but fairly annoying. However, for display on a TV it may not matter, since the performance issues are most noticeable when a lot of text is on the screen. Maps had less of an effect, and will probably be most of what you use it for in this case. It generally doesn't matter if framerate is low when displaying an image that will not be moving for the most part.

But, my experience is based on Intel GPUs on a system with a more traditional Intel CPU (Core i5, for example). You may run into other problems. Off the top of my head, my other concern would be memory. FGC is 32-bit, so is limited to a little over 3GB of RAM, but of course you need to account for the OS and anything else running on the system. 4GB is typically the minimum you'll want to run comfortably, and a lot of the lower-powered systems may not come with even that much. I would recommend 8GB if practical, especially when thinking forward. If you're planning to move on to FG Unity someday, the requirements will be different, and are not well defined yet, since the software is still in beta. FGU may run better than FGC on that hardware, or it may run worse.

Here's a thread about performance on Intel GPUs:
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?43743-Graphical-performance-hit-when-drawing-text

[graziano.girelli]

Thanks for the answer Notrealdan.
I already have FGU (i was a backer), but it's still to slow to load table, items, creature, etc. At the moment i prefer stay on FG classic.
Regarding the micro pc, here you are the link:

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07H884WQT/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_u7.mEbWGEZ5VR

My friend must choose between Steam Link, so he still use the pc in the bedroom and stream everything on tv in livingroom, or buy this micro pc.
I suggest Steam Link (the hardware, not the app), but he wait to know if the micro pc is good or not.

[Trenloe]

What will your friend be using it for - just displaying a map, or using FG as a full player?

[graziano.girelli]

What will your friend be using it for - just displaying a map, or using FG as a full player?

full player. We play 2 sessions a week, one using MoreCore and custom d20 ruleset, other with AD&D ruleset by Celestian.