FG Freezing! Unloading a Module?

[Odeatho]

I'd recommend at least having a look at what I mentioned in post #27 above. We haven't identified exactly what the issue is. A laptop with 8GB of memory and a CPU/GPU pairing released in 2020 should be able to run FG Classic.

When I checked the last time it froze there was only 1 entry under CPU. I did return my laptop this afternoon. I’m going to try and get something better.

[Odeatho]

It looks like you have an AMD Raven 2 GPU in your laptop. It doesn't look like a very strong graphics card; and might just not be strong enough for processing all the graphics that FG throws at it (especially for larger maps).

The RAM looks fine. This seems to be more of a GPU bottleneck scenario.

Regards,
JPG

Can I ask how you determined it’s an ‘AMD Raven 2 GPU’? I’m absolutely clueless with computers. I’d like to avoid buying another PC/laptop that’s insufficient for Fantasy Grounds, as I use it mostly for running FG. As far as I could tell, the last laptop I purchased met the recommended requirements, but I had no way of knowing a Raven graphics card might not cut it. Is there anything in particular I should be asking for when I go shopping for a new PC/laptop? I’d like to hopefully avoid going through this again. I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[Moon Wizard]

I guessed that it was a Raven 2 GPU by the graphics chipset and BIOS part number in the information you posted earlier. Also, when I searched on the BIOS part number the Raven 2 came up. There's not a lot of information, so some of it is guesswork. That's why Trenloe was suggesting getting to the bottom of the issue. Plus, the system specifications are not an exact science, and issues can vary by machine. However, in general, we have not been receiving specific reports of hangs like you originally reported (except for in cases of too many assets or too much data, which is not the issue in your case).

In general, laptops that are targeted as thin-and-light options will vary quite a bit on their ability to handle demanding applications. I have a 3.5 year old Dell XPS 15 that does okay; but I know some of the really lightweight ones tend to have lower end graphics to reduce power consumption/heat/noise and/or will share system memory with CPU. The named NVidia GeForce and AMD Radeon chips tend to do pretty well in general (as opposed to integrated graphics options).

Regards,
JPG

[Odeatho]

I guessed that it was a Raven 2 GPU by the graphics chipset and BIOS part number in the information you posted earlier. Also, when I searched on the BIOS part number the Raven 2 came up. There's not a lot of information, so some of it is guesswork. That's why Trenloe was suggesting getting to the bottom of the issue. Plus, the system specifications are not an exact science, and issues can vary by machine. However, in general, we have not been receiving specific reports of hangs like you originally reported (except for in cases of too many assets or too much data, which is not the issue in your case).

In general, laptops that are targeted as thin-and-light options will vary quite a bit on their ability to handle demanding applications. I have a 3.5 year old Dell XPS 15 that does okay; but I know some of the really lightweight ones tend to have lower end graphics to reduce power consumption/heat/noise and/or will share system memory with CPU. The named NVidia GeForce and AMD Radeon chips tend to do pretty well in general (as opposed to integrated graphics options).

Regards,
JPG

I’m not opposed to getting a desktop PC. Would that likely perform better with FG, as long as it meets the recommended requirements? I’m not sure exactly what you mean by integrated graphics options. Thanks.

[Sulimo]

Integrated vs discrete graphics.

Basically think of it this way, integrated graphics are integrated (a part of) the chipset. The chipset is the part of the system that handles communications from the CPU to the rest of the system (RAM, hard drives, USB ports, keyboards, mice, touch screens, etc.).

A discrete GPU is a discrete (separate) chip on the motherboard that is usually something like an Nvidia or AMD Radeon chip (I mention Radeon specifically because AMD also makes CPUs(Ryzen)).

Integrated would mean something like Intel IRIS (forget all the names Intel has used over the years), which are typically lower performing graphics chips. They are low power (like Moon Wizard mentioned) and are designed for battery life, not necessarily performance. Integrated GPUs typically are good for things like web browsing, office apps, and streaming, but may not necessarily do well with games (depends on the chip). Depends on the game though, something like Candy Crush may run fine, but you would not play something like Doom on it.

Typically integrated graphucs chips will use some of the RAM for graphics memory, taking that away from the total. So if for instance, a computer had 4GB of RAM, and an integrated graphics chip, it might use 512MB (1/2GB) of the RAM for the Graphics chip, leaving the computer with 3.5GB left over for applications. This could cause issues if you barely meet the min spec called for by an app. Say an app says it needs 4GB RAM, technically the computer has 4GB, but 1/2GB is being used for Video memory, so it actually does not meet the minimum spec any more. This is one of the reasons Moon Wizard mentioned that it is not an exact science, there are a lot of variables that could change things.


To throw a wrench into it all, AMD does integrate Radeon graphics directly onto the CPU (instead of the chipset) package as well, and those are very good chips, still not the caliber of a desktop card, but they work very well for laptops and most games (they probably won't play the latest high end games). Intel just never had a great GPU team (that may have turned around with the new Tiger Lake CPUs, but time will tell).

It's not an easy thing to say what will work for you, there are a lot of factors that play into how a computer performs.

[Odeatho]

Thank you for that explanation and taking the time to do so.