Tweaks-The Definitive Guide

[Malakai]

For future referance, there is a search button at the upper right corner of your screen. Just use it and you can much more detailed info then what your going to get from me now.

All the AGP aperture size is is how much system (main) memory the computer will use as virtual video memory. I set mine at 128mb, I have 64mb onboard video ram and 512mb of main memory. Usually you can leave it chillin at 128 if you have more then 256m of main ram

 

[Xevuhtess7]

i know its a stupid question, but what are the via 4 in 1 drivers for, and where do i get them?

 

[Maximus Nickus]

They are drivers for Via chipset based Motherboards.
They resolve issues and can improve performance.

Its not a stupid question at all, we all have to learn somewhere!! Please feel free to ask me anything, anytime
M_N

 

[Xevuhtess7]

so would the via 4 in 1 drivers not need to be loaded if i have say.... an intel chipset? cause right now i have an 815e running a 733.

 

[Maximus Nickus]

so would the via 4 in 1 drivers not need to be loaded if i have say.... an intel chipset? cause right now i have an 815e running a 733.

Correct. You only need them if you have a Via Based Chipset.

M_N

 

[Xevuhtess7]

thanks man

 

[Gordon Airport]

Is there a realistic way to rank these setting in terms of performance gain from turning it off?
I know it would be difficult considdering how many card property variables ther are...It might also vary depending on the program you want the gain in.

 

[mundo]

just got ati retail 8500le score 6120 on 3d mark 2001se. what will flashing the bios due and how do you do it. doing the voltage mod on the card will due what to my 3d mark scores. running
dell 4300
p4 1.4
512 sdram

 

[GoingH2o]

Tweak #4 - Setting DMA Mode on IDE Drives

For some reason, Windows XP sometimes sets itself to use a PIO transfer mode on IDE channels instead of the DMA mode. If this is the case, you can manually set the IDE channel to DMA mode, which will reduce the amount of CPU cycles being used on that device. To set this, go to Device Manager (press Windows-Break, or right click 'My Computer' -> Properties, then go to the Hardware tab, then finally click 'Device Manager'), then open up the branch labelled 'IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers'. Now, double click on 'Primary IDE Channel' and go to Advanced Settings.

This does not work for my system
My Primary ide channel is DMA enabled but my secondary does not want to change the setting to DMA.
And PIO mode for a dvd driver and 7200rpm hdd sucks

 

[Maximus Nickus]

just got ati retail 8500le score 6120 on 3d mark 2001se. what will flashing the bios due and how do you do it. doing the voltage mod on the card will due what to my 3d mark scores. running
dell 4300
p4 1.4
512 sdram

Hi Mundo!
I'm not sure what BIOS flash you mean so I'll answer both to make sure!

If you BIOS flash your 8500 it basically will set the card to run at a higher than Default speed, 275/275 instead of 250/250 on most OEM cards. It tricks the card into thinking its something thats its not as a lot of cards are perfectly capable of doing Retail speeds.
However this can be accomplished simply by overclocking the card in Windows, this is the less risky option however the card will only be overclocked in Windows, not when your in the BIOS for instance. (Due to the fact that the latter is software overclocking, a BIOS flash is directly overclocking the Hardware)

As for the Voltage Mod it really depends on what speed your running at now, and what speed you can run at after. It also depends on many variables, if your RAM and CPU aren't up to pushing your Video Card then they will hold it back thus limiting the performance gain.
I can't really give you a straight figure because there are so many variables but I can say that increases of 500-1000 marks aren't uncommon.

Good Luck!
M_N

Tweak #4 - Setting DMA Mode on IDE Drives

For some reason, Windows XP sometimes sets itself to use a PIO transfer mode on IDE channels instead of the DMA mode. If this is the case, you can manually set the IDE channel to DMA mode, which will reduce the amount of CPU cycles being used on that device. To set this, go to Device Manager (press Windows-Break, or right click 'My Computer' -> Properties, then go to the Hardware tab, then finally click 'Device Manager'), then open up the branch labelled 'IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers'. Now, double click on 'Primary IDE Channel' and go to Advanced Settings.

This does not work for my system
My Primary ide channel is DMA enabled but my secondary does not want to change the setting to DMA.
And PIO mode for a dvd driver and 7200rpm hdd sucks

Hi GoingH2o!

I'm not sure what you mean by Windows not allowing you to change it but I'm sure there is a way around it.
First try going into your BIOS and under one of the Menu's will be a HDD section where you can set your PIO Modes, set them to 4 (highest) and select the other options to enable faster transfer rates.

Is Windows simply blacking out the Box to change the PIO to DMA?
Is it happening on all devices?
Or is it just your Secondary channel?

I would also go into the individual properties tabs for your DVD and HDD and try setting the DMA mode from there, this can fix the problem sometimes.

Let me know how it goes!
Good Luck!
M_N

 

[Xevuhtess7]

Hi Mundo!
I'm not sure what BIOS flash you mean so I'll answer both to make sure!

If you BIOS flash your 8500 it basically will set the card to run at a higher than Default speed, 275/275 instead of 250/250 on most OEM cards. It tricks the card into thinking its something thats its not as a lot of cards are perfectly capable of doing Retail speeds.
However this can be accomplished simply by overclocking the card in Windows, this is the less risky option however the card will only be overclocked in Windows, not when your in the BIOS for instance. (Due to the fact that the latter is software overclocking, a BIOS flash is directly overclocking the Hardware)

As for the Voltage Mod it really depends on what speed your running at now, and what speed you can run at after. It also depends on many variables, if your RAM and CPU aren't up to pushing your Video Card then they will hold it back thus limiting the performance gain.
I can't really give you a straight figure because there are so many variables but I can say that increases of 500-1000 marks aren't uncommon.

Good Luck!
M_N





Hi GoingH2o!

I'm not sure what you mean by Windows not allowing you to change it but I'm sure there is a way around it.
First try going into your BIOS and under one of the Menu's will be a HDD section where you can set your PIO Modes, set them to 4 (highest) and select the other options to enable faster transfer rates.

Is Windows simply blacking out the Box to change the PIO to DMA?
Is it happening on all devices?
Or is it just your Secondary channel?

I would also go into the individual properties tabs for your DVD and HDD and try setting the DMA mode from there, this can fix the problem sometimes.

Let me know how it goes!
Good Luck!
M_N

is there a gain from ocing using a bios flash rather than software ocing?

 

[Maximus Nickus]

No there isn't. It simply fools the card into thinking it is something else.

If your card overclocks to retail speeds for instance it can be worthwhile BIOS flashing it, simply because you don't have to worry about configuring software.

M_N

 

[asw7576]

frame rates problem

Max... I have problem with my GF4 Ti4200-8x, everytime I play games ( F1 2002, GTR 2002 ) , the frame rates are inconsistent. Sometimes smooth and most of the time not smooth. You may call it stuttering / jittering for the frame rates.

Eventhough I don't overclock my VGA, the problem still there. Right now I am using Nvidia Detonator 42.01, Direct X8.1, with 1024 x 768 @ 100 Hz.

I don't notice frame rates problem when benchmarking with 3DMark 2000 SE.

Can you help Max?

 

[Maximus Nickus]

Re: frame rates problem

Max... I have problem with my GF4 Ti4200-8x, everytime I play games ( F1 2002, GTR 2002 ) , the frame rates are inconsistent. Sometimes smooth and most of the time not smooth. You may call it stuttering / jittering for the frame rates.

Eventhough I don't overclock my VGA, the problem still there. Right now I am using Nvidia Detonator 42.01, Direct X8.1, with 1024 x 768 @ 100 Hz.

I don't notice frame rates problem when benchmarking with 3DMark 2000 SE.

Can you help Max?

Hi asw7576!
Of course I can help you, however because its not a problem with one answer, I would appreciate it if you could give me some more information on your system specification.

CPU, Motherboard, RAM and Windows version would be most appreciated.
I would also recommend you download 3DMark 2001SE, 3DMark 2000 is out of date now and 3DMark 2001SE will certainly tax your system a lot more, and allow me to diagnose the problem quicker. However if you cannot download it for any reason thats ok, it may take longer to find out the problem thats all.

Let me know and I'll reply ASAP, if you wish to contact me via PM as well feel free to do so

Good Luck,
M_N

 

[asw7576]

Thanks for quick response Max buddy...

Here is my office computer's details:

Intel Celeron 1A @ 1450 (temp. 40C Max. loads)
ECS P6IPAT with Intel 815 chipset
Mushkin 512MB PC133 CL2
Generic 400 Watts PSU
Windows ME + MS Office + Norton Anti Virus
Intel LAN PCI card + TV PCI Card
Maxtor 40GB ATA 100 7200 RPM x2
PixelView GF4 Ti4200 128MB 8x @ 300/560
Nvidia Detonator 42.01 + Direct X 8.1
SONY 17" monitor CPD240 @ 1024 x 768 @ 100MHz
3 times Formatting + Clean Installed

No Stability problems (at all) during benchmarking: SiSoft Sandra 2002, 3DMark 2002SE, Vulpine GL Mark, etc.

No Heat problems since they are open casing.

The jittering / skipping problems occured after I replaced my previous card GF3 Ti200 with GF4 Ti4200.

I have two exactly the same PixelView GF4 Ti4200 128MB 8x, and I did switch over both cards between my system at home and in the office. The VGA is working fine with my comp. at home while working badly in office.

I'm almost give up.....

Sometimes the frame rates is okay and most of the time is not okay. Geezz...... anyway...... BIG thanks Max !!!

 

[Maximus Nickus]

Sorry you've got me a tad confused.

You have two identical cards and two PC's, do both cards have the problem? If not does it happen on both PC's?

Let me know and I'll see if we can solve this problem.

M_N

 

[asw7576]

Max:

Confused? I have 2 computer system: Asus P4PE + P4 at home, and ECS P6IPAT + Celeron at office. Both computers use identical VGA cards: GF4 Ti4200 8x.

What I meant: I switched over the card to see whether one of the card is bad. And both cards are actually okay, except if I use the VGA with my comp. in the office.

I don't have refresh rates / skipping problems with GF3 Ti200 before.

One thing that could interest you: If I play the game long enough, let say 20 minutes, the refresh rates / skipping problems gradually disappear. What is this maannn???

 

[Maximus Nickus]

Max:

Confused? I have 2 computer system: Asus P4PE + P4 at home, and ECS P6IPAT + Celeron at office. Both computers use identical VGA cards: GF4 Ti4200 8x.

What I meant: I switched over the card to see whether one of the card is bad. And both cards are actually okay, except if I use the VGA with my comp. in the office.

I don't have refresh rates / skipping problems with GF3 Ti200 before.

One thing that could interest you: If I play the game long enough, let say 20 minutes, the refresh rates / skipping problems gradually disappear. What is this maannn???

I may have an answer. go into your Display Properties tab and click on settings; advanced, and look for an item called 'Vertical Sync'.
Make sure it is enabled!
You see what it does it sync your FPS with your Monitors refresh rate, if it is off then jittering can occur at high frame rates.
If this doesn't work try setting a different refresh rate as well.

You may also wish to try the following:

Uninstall all the Graphics Drivers and load Windows PCI/VGA Adapter Default (this allows you to toally remove the old driver traces > you may also wish to use Detonator Destroyer), I would then recommend trying a different set of drivers to the ones you are already using and update all the other system drivers to the latest versions.

Let me know how it goes,
Good Luck
M_N

 

[asw7576]

Do you have a gun ? I'm going to blow up the card.....

 

[Maximus Nickus]

Guess its not going to well eh?
Like I said let me know how it goes, if it works in one system there must be reason its not working in the other, I'm starting to think that you may wish to RMA the card, it could well be faulty.

Good Luck,
M_N