CONFUSED! What GF driver should I use? What should this be set to?

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 03:24 PM

Hello,
This is my first day/post on the forums, so I'll try not to look like an idiot. I just need some help!

First of all, I think I'm informed enough to realize that you guys will probably need my system specs to answer these questions. Here they are (some of them, atleast):

Win98se
P3 800mhz
ASUS P3V4X
384MB PC-133
Geforce2 Ti200 32MB (Chaintech)
Shamrock 17in (about a 4 year old monitor)

FYI: I play Half-Life, and all questions are asked with the intention of getting the absolute fastest performance out of the game, disregarding image quality.

I have 3Dmark 2001 SE (Build 330). My score was 2976. I ran all of the tests.

Nvidia driver version 40.72 WHQL Cert, (just upgraded from some unknown older version). The date on the driver in System Proporties was 9/27, but on the Nvidia site, the date on the driver is 11/11. Weird.

Now, for my questions:

I) Do you guys have any advise/links in the mobo tweaks department?
a) What should my AGP Aperture Size be set to?
b) Should I enable Fast Writes?

II) What Geforce drivers should I be using? There are so many. I'm very confused about this. Latest WHQL? Latest leak? Some old 30.xx that is espicially good for GF2? What about Omega?

III) Are my 3Dmark scores acceptable for my system? Is there anything I can do to improve?

IIII) What tweak tools should I use? Any hidden settings that I need to adjust? What about the settings in the Nvidia drivers? What should I turn on/off?

IV) When I use HzTool 1.4, it says I have too many driver files. How can I get rid of some old drivers I no longer use? What program should I use to do this. I've already used DD.

I think thats it. I'll let you guys know if I think of anything else.

Thanks! Jake

WarGun · Dec 2, 2002, 04:50 PM

Well i can help you on one or two of you questions....
the rest-- maybe someone else can help

Drivers.. go down to the 29.42 set, they are the fastest for the G2
and also Whol sert for DX8.1

Use fast writes if you have no probs.. if you do, go back to default.

Also go to your cards direct3d settings and use( blend) for your mipmap settings...if you go to low on this your games will look awfull.

And set your Antialiasing to off

Later

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 04:58 PM

Thanks. I'm about to go download those drivers and record changes in 3DMark. Anyone else with input?

WarGun · Dec 2, 2002, 05:11 PM

ohh AGP Aperture Size 128

just read a post on this. you have enough ram so bump it up

digitalwanderer · Dec 2, 2002, 05:21 PM

Wargun is entirely correct, although I sort of prefer using the latest drivers on me GF2 MX400. ( No real reason, I'm just silly that way.

)

WarGun · Dec 2, 2002, 05:24 PM

Ya but your a tweeker and a modder... im just a simple guy lol

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 06:06 PM

WITHOUT changing Fast Writes and AGP Apurture Size (forgot about it until half-way through my test), I scored:

Driver: 40.72 WHQL
Score: 2976

Driver: 29.42 WHQL
Score: 3133

... on 3DMark. I'm too lazy to run the test again, but I'll go change those two BIOS settings now.

Thanks guys! (Anything else?)

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 06:21 PM

... I couldn't resist. I changed the two BIOS settings and redid the test. Here's what I found:

Previous settings:
- AGP Ap Size: 64MB
- Fast Writes: Off
- 3DMark Score: 3133

New settings:
- AGP Ap Size: 128MB
- Fast Writes: On
- 3DMark Score: 3127

Results:
The two settings resulted in a decrease by 6 points! AHHHH!!! =P

Thoughts? Reflections? Ideas? Explainations?

digitalwanderer · Dec 2, 2002, 06:24 PM

...for straight speed I'd also use RivaTuner to kill off your w-buffer & anisotropic filtering...but I tend to just leave them alone anymore.

Nice scores BTW, you beat Boomer's best with the 29.42 set.

WarGun · Dec 2, 2002, 06:54 PM

Run 3dmark twice (you know that setting for how many times it will run on a single bench) so you get a better idea of the margin of error....yes there is a margin of error, 6 points is not much

ok what res do you use for gaming?...800x600x16 is what i use
if i want more speed.... but 32bit looks a lot better

anyway run your desktop at 800x600 16bit color.

also run 3dmark at this res... then you know what your getting for the way you game. that mark is pretty good for your system
IMO

i think the only way to get more would be to overclock

thats another story.

ohh and if them bios settings arnt giveing you more points.. go back to default

later

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 07:03 PM

I don't know who Boomer is (sorry, I'm new to the board), but thats sweet! I win

I don't know what W-Buffer is, but I know I have Anisotropic Filtering off.

I use 1024x768x16bit for gaming, and I used that for all of the 3DMark tests. I run my desktop at 1280x960x16bit (or something like that). I just did a play test of Half-Life with the new drivers and it's noticably faster, definitely. I already get 99fps in HL, so now its just a quest to find out which driver keeps my game at a consistant 99fps, without all of the fluctuation.

I don't want to get into OC'ing.

Anymore answers to the other questions that I had?

Thanks for the help.

WarGun · Dec 2, 2002, 07:11 PM

ya well if you want more speed lower the res.

ok your almost at 10 post.. dont forget to join the contest!!

and welcome to DH

RIV@NVX · Dec 2, 2002, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
I don't know who Boomer is (sorry, I'm new to the board), but thats sweet! I win

Boomer is digitalwanderer's third computer (check his sig).

illustrious666 · Dec 2, 2002, 11:44 PM

Thanks WarGun... what contest?

Wow... I scored higher than Boomer? Not bad at all considering its specs.

Shaith · Dec 3, 2002, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RIV@NVX
Boomer is digitalwanderer's third computer (check his sig).

yeah, dig named all his computers and treats them like they're his girlfriends.

digitalwanderer · Dec 3, 2002, 12:19 AM

Friends who are girls, there's a big difference.

WarGun · Dec 3, 2002, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
Thanks WarGun... what contest?

Wow... I scored higher than Boomer? Not bad at all considering its specs.

This onehttp://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...&threadid=7371

But you need 10 post

Now dont go spaming on me.

Good luck

Chaos · Dec 3, 2002, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
Friends who are girls, there's a big difference.

Time to come out of the closet and get Giggy with it oppps i meant get Digi with it.

illustrious666 · Dec 3, 2002, 09:00 PM

Nice. Thanks. I sure could use that CPU/Mobo.

Also, its "Jiggy", I believe.

(This post totally WASN'T spam!) =D

Ryoko · Dec 3, 2002, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
I) Do you guys have any advise/links in the mobo tweaks department?
a) What should my AGP Aperture Size be set to?
b) Should I enable Fast Writes?

i would say overclock and/or set your ram timings (cas, ras, blah blah) to their lowest but if you're not in the mood to overclock, don't worry about that.

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
II) What Geforce drivers should I be using? There are so many. I'm very confused about this. Latest WHQL? Latest leak? Some old 30.xx that is espicially good for GF2? What about Omega?

the 29.xx set is the best, but you've already got them

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
III) Are my 3Dmark scores acceptable for my system? Is there anything I can do to improve?

acceptable yes, not exceptional though. usually, 3dmark scores are obtained at default settings (1024x768x32bit)... run it at that and see what you get... that should determine where you stand amongst everyone else.

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
IIII) What tweak tools should I use? Any hidden settings that I need to adjust? What about the settings in the Nvidia drivers? What should I turn on/off?

rivatuner is the tweaker's tweaker. just make sure that you write all the default settings down

Quote:

Originally posted by illustrious666
IV) When I use HzTool 1.4, it says I have too many driver files. How can I get rid of some old drivers I no longer use? What program should I use to do this. I've already used DD.

if your games/benches work, then excessive driver files are not an issue.

illustrious666 · Dec 4, 2002, 07:42 PM

Ok, thanks Ryoko.

I upgraded Mobo drivers, BIOS, AGP drivers, and some other things. My new best score on 3DMark (using the settings I usually do) is 3147. A little bit better than before I got the new drivers.

Dec 2, 2002, 03:24 PM	#1
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	CONFUSED! What GF driver should I use? What should this be set to? Hello, This is my first day/post on the forums, so I'll try not to look like an idiot. I just need some help! First of all, I think I'm informed enough to realize that you guys will probably need my system specs to answer these questions. Here they are (some of them, atleast): Win98se P3 800mhz ASUS P3V4X 384MB PC-133 Geforce2 Ti200 32MB (Chaintech) Shamrock 17in (about a 4 year old monitor) FYI: I play Half-Life, and all questions are asked with the intention of getting the absolute fastest performance out of the game, disregarding image quality. I have 3Dmark 2001 SE (Build 330). My score was 2976. I ran all of the tests. Nvidia driver version 40.72 WHQL Cert, (just upgraded from some unknown older version). The date on the driver in System Proporties was 9/27, but on the Nvidia site, the date on the driver is 11/11. Weird. Now, for my questions: I) Do you guys have any advise/links in the mobo tweaks department? a) What should my AGP Aperture Size be set to? b) Should I enable Fast Writes? II) What Geforce drivers should I be using? There are so many. I'm very confused about this. Latest WHQL? Latest leak? Some old 30.xx that is espicially good for GF2? What about Omega? III) Are my 3Dmark scores acceptable for my system? Is there anything I can do to improve? IIII) What tweak tools should I use? Any hidden settings that I need to adjust? What about the settings in the Nvidia drivers? What should I turn on/off? IV) When I use HzTool 1.4, it says I have too many driver files. How can I get rid of some old drivers I no longer use? What program should I use to do this. I've already used DD. I think thats it. I'll let you guys know if I think of anything else. Thanks! Jake

Dec 2, 2002, 05:21 PM	#5
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, what he said. Wargun is entirely correct, although I sort of prefer using the latest drivers on me GF2 MX400. ( No real reason, I'm just silly that way. ) __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Dec 2, 2002, 06:24 PM	#9
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Well, ...for straight speed I'd also use RivaTuner to kill off your w-buffer & anisotropic filtering...but I tend to just leave them alone anymore. Nice scores BTW, you beat Boomer's best with the 29.42 set. __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Dec 3, 2002, 12:19 AM	#16
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Not girlfriends. Friends who are girls, there's a big difference. __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Dec 2, 2002, 04:50 PM	#2
WarGun DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	Well i can help you on one or two of you questions.... the rest-- maybe someone else can help Drivers.. go down to the 29.42 set, they are the fastest for the G2 and also Whol sert for DX8.1 Use fast writes if you have no probs.. if you do, go back to default. Also go to your cards direct3d settings and use( blend) for your mipmap settings...if you go to low on this your games will look awfull. And set your Antialiasing to off Later

Dec 2, 2002, 04:58 PM	Thread Starter #3
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Thanks. I'm about to go download those drivers and record changes in 3DMark. Anyone else with input?

Dec 2, 2002, 05:11 PM	#4
WarGun DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	ohh AGP Aperture Size 128 just read a post on this. you have enough ram so bump it up

Dec 2, 2002, 05:24 PM	#6
WarGun DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	Ya but your a tweeker and a modder... im just a simple guy lol

Dec 2, 2002, 06:06 PM	Thread Starter #7
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	WITHOUT changing Fast Writes and AGP Apurture Size (forgot about it until half-way through my test), I scored: Driver: 40.72 WHQL Score: 2976 Driver: 29.42 WHQL Score: 3133 ... on 3DMark. I'm too lazy to run the test again, but I'll go change those two BIOS settings now. Thanks guys! (Anything else?)

Dec 2, 2002, 06:21 PM	Thread Starter #8
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	... I couldn't resist. I changed the two BIOS settings and redid the test. Here's what I found: Previous settings: - AGP Ap Size: 64MB - Fast Writes: Off - 3DMark Score: 3133 New settings: - AGP Ap Size: 128MB - Fast Writes: On - 3DMark Score: 3127 Results: The two settings resulted in a decrease by 6 points! AHHHH!!! =P Thoughts? Reflections? Ideas? Explainations?

Dec 2, 2002, 06:54 PM	#10
WarGun DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	Run 3dmark twice (you know that setting for how many times it will run on a single bench) so you get a better idea of the margin of error....yes there is a margin of error, 6 points is not much ok what res do you use for gaming?...800x600x16 is what i use if i want more speed.... but 32bit looks a lot better anyway run your desktop at 800x600 16bit color. also run 3dmark at this res... then you know what your getting for the way you game. that mark is pretty good for your system IMO i think the only way to get more would be to overclock thats another story. ohh and if them bios settings arnt giveing you more points.. go back to default later

Dec 2, 2002, 07:03 PM	Thread Starter #11
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	I don't know who Boomer is (sorry, I'm new to the board), but thats sweet! I win I don't know what W-Buffer is, but I know I have Anisotropic Filtering off. I use 1024x768x16bit for gaming, and I used that for all of the 3DMark tests. I run my desktop at 1280x960x16bit (or something like that). I just did a play test of Half-Life with the new drivers and it's noticably faster, definitely. I already get 99fps in HL, so now its just a quest to find out which driver keeps my game at a consistant 99fps, without all of the fluctuation. I don't want to get into OC'ing. Anymore answers to the other questions that I had? Thanks for the help.

Dec 2, 2002, 07:11 PM	#12
WarGun DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	ya well if you want more speed lower the res. ok your almost at 10 post.. dont forget to join the contest!! and welcome to DH

Dec 2, 2002, 11:44 PM	Thread Starter #14
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Thanks WarGun... what contest? Wow... I scored higher than Boomer? Not bad at all considering its specs.

Dec 3, 2002, 09:00 PM	Thread Starter #19
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Nice. Thanks. I sure could use that CPU/Mobo. Also, its "Jiggy", I believe. (This post totally WASN'T spam!) =D

Dec 4, 2002, 07:42 PM	Thread Starter #21
illustrious666 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0	Ok, thanks Ryoko. I upgraded Mobo drivers, BIOS, AGP drivers, and some other things. My new best score on 3DMark (using the settings I usually do) is 3147. A little bit better than before I got the new drivers.