Member Avatar for buddylee614

I do graphics, so i know a thing are two about graphic cardz, i'm also into gaming so i know about my graphic cardz!!!!! but a few days back i got the splinter cell chaos theory, i played pandora tommorrow fine, but when it was time to run this new one i got a D3DDrv.dll error, i seen this error back when i used my sister's old PC to run Unreal, but i never got this error before on my Navi!!
I researched the error and it said my graphic card doesn't have enough support for pixel shading, lieeeeeeeesss!!!! :mad: i got a ATI RADEON™ X700 Pro PCI Express 128MB that i installed just recently, so i'm certain there is a problem with the game itself!!!

can some1 share there ideaz about this....... :mrgreen:

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by goaliemike

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Pixel shaders are small programs the GPU runs to calculate per-pixel lighting and effects; games require a minimum shader model (SM) or Direct3D feature level to run those effects. If a title fails with a Direct3D-related complaint it usually means either the driver/DirectX runtime is not exposing the GPU capability, or the GPU truly lacks the required shader level. A short primer is available at Pixel shader (Wikipedia).

A practical diagnostic checklist that complements the replies already posted:

  1. Confirm the game's stated minimum shader/Direct3D requirement (publisher/patch notes).
  2. Capture current system/driver/Direct3D details using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (dxdiag) and inspect the Display section; Microsoft docs for dxdiag are here: .
  3. Verify the GPU's supported shader model from the vendor spec page or with a utility such as GPU-Z. If the required shader model is not listed, the hardware cannot be forced to provide it.

Driver/runtime and patch steps that follow from and :

  • Do a clean driver removal (standard uninstall, then a safe-mode cleanup tool if problems persist), then install the latest vendor-supplied driver from the GPU maker. Vendor driver pages: or NVIDIA download pages.
  • Install/update the DirectX redistributable the game requires (use the official Microsoft runtimes).
  • Make sure the game is patched to the latest official build (many rendering bugs and compatibility fixes are fixed in patches).

If the GPU truly lacks the required shader model, the viable options are to run any software fallback the game includes (very slow), install an updated GPU that supports the required shader level, or look for a community patch/compatibility wrapper for that specific title. The posts from , and point toward the correct areas to check: bus/slot confusion is less likely the cause than drivers, DirectX/runtime, or an unsupported shader level.

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Member Avatar for billenium_uk

Dude

why r u using a PCI card? surely if u know anything about graphics u'd be using an AGP card??

Member Avatar for Coconut Monkey

Dude

why r u using a PCI card? surely if u know anything about graphics u'd be using an AGP card??

Umm, billenium_uk, that's a PCI-Express card he's using. You could say it's better than an equivalent AGP model. ;)

buddylee614, is this a new card you've just installed? Do other games work fine? Do you have the latest drivers for the card (make sure you uninstall any previous drivers properly before updating)?

Member Avatar for goaliemike

hmm, try to update the game maybee ?

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