Noob Questions from GPU Noob :(

MitchRapp · Jan 20, 2005, 05:55 AM

Hey .... I haven't got a clue about video card overclocking .... or anything about video cards for that matter

I bought a Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro 256mb card for real cheap...
what I'd like to know is how to get more than 50 fps in half-life 2 .... been doing eveyrthing possible

in my Asus K8N-E Deluxe bios .... there's no talk of video card overclocking or anything like that

the only settings in there are:

Primary Video: PCI or AGP (set for AGP)
Aperture Size: 64, 128, 256 or 512MB (set for 128 MB)
AGP FW Enable: Auto or Disabled (set for Auto)
AGP Sideband Address: Auto or Disabled (set for Auto)

What I'd like to know is the following (if you guys can be of any help... please)

- Is there a video card BIOS .... and ..... how do I access it on startup
- Is there a BIOS update for the 9600 pro 256mb ... how do I flash etc... etc...
- Are the settings I mentionned above the best ones for me?
- Why is Rage3D Tweaker all messed up on my PC.... I dare not overclock the core/memory through it
- IS THERE A WAY TO CHECK MY VIDEO CARD TEMPERATURE !!! (an application?)

that's about it .... here are my system specs.... please be gentle with your comments about my crappy video card

CASE : DiabloTek Demon ATX Red
POWER SUPPLY : Antec TruePower 480w ATX
MOTHERBOARD : Asus K8N-E Deluxe NForce 3
PROCESSOR : AMD Athlon 64 3400+ K8 Clawhammer 2.4ghz 640k
CPU FAN : Zalman 7000B ALCU
MEMORY #1 : Corsair XMS-Pro PC3200 DDR400 512MB
MEMORY #2 : Corsair XMS-Pro PC3200 DDR400 512MB
VIDEO CARD : PowerColor ATI Radeon 9600 PRO 256mb DDR AGP8X
HARD DRIVE #1 : Western Digital Caviar SE 7200rpm 8mb 120gb ATA100
HARD DRIVE #2 : Western Digital Caviar SE 7200rpm 8mb 120gb ATA100
CD DRIVE : LiteOn CD-RW 40x12x48
DVD DRIVE : LG DVD-+RW +/- 8x8x32
SOUND CARD : Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy 2 6.1 THX
SPEAKERS : Logitech Z-540 4.1 Speaker System & Subwoofer
FANS : 2x Back, 1x Floor, 1x Door, 1x Hard Drive & 1x PCI Exhaust
KEYBOARD : Logitech Internet Navigator Keyboard [USB]
MOUSE : Logitech MX-1000 Wireless Laser Mouse [USB]
WEBCAM : Logitech Quickcam Messenger [USB]
PRINTER : HP Deskjet 5150 Color Printer [USB]
OS : Windows XP Professional SP-2
DIRECT X : Version 9.0c
VIDEO DRIVERS : ATI Catalyst 5.1 Final

MindlessOath · Jan 20, 2005, 06:33 AM

no bios thats worth editing or able to change....
i wouldnt flash the bios...
settings should be fine try agp apriture at diffent rates, try 512 mabe...
rage3D tweeker, hrm, dont use it - i recomend using ati tray tool,orradlinker (i like tray tool better, but chrisW who makes radlinkerisreally cool guy) you can also use modded drivers, like Omega andUnianDrivers.....

no temp check with your pro version unless you put a temp probemanuallyon the GPU, the XT versions are the only ones with a sensor.

not much you can do to increase the rate in hl2, its a powerfullgame,and your card is older, so just set the settings lower to raisetheframe rate, its all a settings game now, the lower the settingtheworse it will get, but higher frames will come, try ATI;sinstaincingand catalyst AI settings (use radlinker/omega or ati traytools toenable these features).

i hope that helps.

edit.... the only other thing could be changing the memory timings onyour actuall corsair ram, and see how it goes, instead of using auto,try some other stuff, but be carefull.

MitchRapp · Jan 21, 2005, 08:00 PM

well i overclocked it to 440/440... seems to work better right now .... at least Chronicles of Riddick isn't choppy anymore ...... just wondering though, what's safer to overclock.... the core or the memory? Also, I have a PCI Exhaust fan right next to the video card ... should I overclock some more ? Aaaaaaaanyways .... i'm such a noob when it comes to video cards

riles9262 · Jan 21, 2005, 09:04 PM

Just overclock both >slowly< until you find the max for each one, then drop them back 10mhz. You should be safe.

MindlessOath · Jan 22, 2005, 06:21 AM

their is an overclocking tool out their that does really good to find artifacts when overclocking tooo high, i forget what its called mabe its ATI TOOL search for that on google mabe.

and you should definatly monitor a temperature when overclocking, this can be done using some kind of sensor manually placed on the GPU core... abit overboard for some, but it will tell ya alot of info.

i wouldnt overclock a gpu much because its going to void your warrantee!!!!! so watch out.

MitchRapp · Jan 22, 2005, 06:28 AM

well the max is 480/480 before it gets sketchy ..... i think i'll set it to a default of 430/430 on startup and play at 450/450 (half life 2 and riddick.... those are the only demanding games i have ...... max payne 2, dod and cs are flawless without overclocking)

now to see about my ram .... i have that PC3200 CMX PRO C2 DDR400 ram from Corsair (2 times 512mb) .... the default latency on my system is 3-3-3-8 but on the corsair site it says it's 2.5-3-3-6 ...... should I set em myself in the bios??

cswiger · Jan 22, 2005, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepiman

now to see about my ram .... i have that PC3200 CMX PRO C2 DDR400 ram from Corsair (2 times 512mb) .... the default latency on my system is 3-3-3-8 but on the corsair site it says it's 2.5-3-3-6 ...... should I set em myself in the bios??

If you know your RAM can go faster, try setting it directly. You might also check to see whether a BIOS update is available, as newer BIOSes may support faster timings and/or better recognition of the SPD in your RAM (SPD == Serial Presence Detect?, it's how the RAM tells your MB what speed(s) it can run at).

Wander by http://www.cpuid.com/, run it, and check out the SPD tab. That'll give you the whole scoop.

--
-Chuck

MitchRapp · Jan 22, 2005, 08:08 PM

the SPD tab says 3.0-3-3-8 but the Corsair website says 2.5-3-3-6 ..... i set em to the corsair values and upped the voltage and everything seems fine now ....

one thing from the CPU-Z family .... the Clockgen says my AGP is at 75 ??? ain't it supposed to be at 66 or 67-ish .... i didn't touch that..........

cswiger · Jan 22, 2005, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepiman

the SPD tab says 3.0-3-3-8 but the Corsair website says 2.5-3-3-6 ..... i set em to the corsair values and upped the voltage and everything seems fine now ....

one thing from the CPU-Z family .... the Clockgen says my AGP is at 75 ??? ain't it supposed to be at 66 or 67-ish .... i didn't touch that..........

If you wanna be sure, try running memtest.org's checker overnight and see whether it finds any problems. Your AGP freq sounds like it is off, there should be a BIOS option called "autodetect PCI/AGP clock" or some such, see whether that is set OK.

MitchRapp · Jan 22, 2005, 09:21 PM

well the AGP frequency in the bios is 66 ..... but everytime i open ClockGen it puts it at 75 for no reason whatsoever....... thats the end of THAT little program.

MindlessOath · Jan 24, 2005, 05:43 AM

just for future buys... i would suggest a case latency of 2
yours is 3 as default, but rated at corsair as 2.5

the lower the case latency the better, my memory is rated at 2-2-2 @ 3500 which is suppor fast, it however uses some older chips that are not being made anymore

i cant find annother one which i need. but theirs a huge differnce in performance from 3 to 2 and their usually is a differnce be it small from 3 to 2.5

enjoy the info and if u want more info try going here: http://www.adriansrojakpot.com/Speed...uide_Index.htm

http://www.adriansrojakpot.com

MitchRapp · Jan 24, 2005, 06:03 AM

hmmm well it's set at 2.5-3-3-6 .... what do u recommend? 2-....-....-...? ... and what voltage?
btw.... how the hell do i overclock these babies ?

Jan 21, 2005, 09:04 PM	#4
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	Just overclock both >slowly< until you find the max for each one, then drop them back 10mhz. You should be safe. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Jan 22, 2005, 06:21 AM	#5
MindlessOath DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,121 Rep Power: 0	their is an overclocking tool out their that does really good to find artifacts when overclocking tooo high, i forget what its called mabe its ATI TOOL search for that on google mabe. and you should definatly monitor a temperature when overclocking, this can be done using some kind of sensor manually placed on the GPU core... abit overboard for some, but it will tell ya alot of info. i wouldnt overclock a gpu much because its going to void your warrantee!!!!! so watch out. __________________ ATI Radeon X800XT PE <---- LOOK UPDATED!! AMD Athlon 2Ghz, nforce2, 512mb ddr3500 LINKS U SHOULD KNOW!!!! DriverCleaner - use every time u install new drivers! ATI driver feedback - to report driver problems Tacticalcenter - my Gaming website and forums ATI 3rd party Optimized Driver Compairison

Jan 24, 2005, 05:43 AM	#11
MindlessOath DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,121 Rep Power: 0	just for future buys... i would suggest a case latency of 2 yours is 3 as default, but rated at corsair as 2.5 the lower the case latency the better, my memory is rated at 2-2-2 @ 3500 which is suppor fast, it however uses some older chips that are not being made anymore i cant find annother one which i need. but theirs a huge differnce in performance from 3 to 2 and their usually is a differnce be it small from 3 to 2.5 enjoy the info and if u want more info try going here: http://www.adriansrojakpot.com/Speed...uide_Index.htm http://www.adriansrojakpot.com __________________ ATI Radeon X800XT PE <---- LOOK UPDATED!! AMD Athlon 2Ghz, nforce2, 512mb ddr3500 LINKS U SHOULD KNOW!!!! DriverCleaner - use every time u install new drivers! ATI driver feedback - to report driver problems Tacticalcenter - my Gaming website and forums ATI 3rd party Optimized Driver Compairison

Jan 20, 2005, 05:55 AM	#1
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	Noob Questions from GPU Noob :( Hey .... I haven't got a clue about video card overclocking .... or anything about video cards for that matter I bought a Powercolor Radeon 9600 Pro 256mb card for real cheap... what I'd like to know is how to get more than 50 fps in half-life 2 .... been doing eveyrthing possible in my Asus K8N-E Deluxe bios .... there's no talk of video card overclocking or anything like that the only settings in there are: Primary Video: PCI or AGP (set for AGP) Aperture Size: 64, 128, 256 or 512MB (set for 128 MB) AGP FW Enable: Auto or Disabled (set for Auto) AGP Sideband Address: Auto or Disabled (set for Auto) What I'd like to know is the following (if you guys can be of any help... please) - Is there a video card BIOS .... and ..... how do I access it on startup - Is there a BIOS update for the 9600 pro 256mb ... how do I flash etc... etc... - Are the settings I mentionned above the best ones for me? - Why is Rage3D Tweaker all messed up on my PC.... I dare not overclock the core/memory through it - IS THERE A WAY TO CHECK MY VIDEO CARD TEMPERATURE !!! (an application?) that's about it .... here are my system specs.... please be gentle with your comments about my crappy video card CASE : DiabloTek Demon ATX Red POWER SUPPLY : Antec TruePower 480w ATX MOTHERBOARD : Asus K8N-E Deluxe NForce 3 PROCESSOR : AMD Athlon 64 3400+ K8 Clawhammer 2.4ghz 640k CPU FAN : Zalman 7000B ALCU MEMORY #1 : Corsair XMS-Pro PC3200 DDR400 512MB MEMORY #2 : Corsair XMS-Pro PC3200 DDR400 512MB VIDEO CARD : PowerColor ATI Radeon 9600 PRO 256mb DDR AGP8X HARD DRIVE #1 : Western Digital Caviar SE 7200rpm 8mb 120gb ATA100 HARD DRIVE #2 : Western Digital Caviar SE 7200rpm 8mb 120gb ATA100 CD DRIVE : LiteOn CD-RW 40x12x48 DVD DRIVE : LG DVD-+RW +/- 8x8x32 SOUND CARD : Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy 2 6.1 THX SPEAKERS : Logitech Z-540 4.1 Speaker System & Subwoofer FANS : 2x Back, 1x Floor, 1x Door, 1x Hard Drive & 1x PCI Exhaust KEYBOARD : Logitech Internet Navigator Keyboard [USB] MOUSE : Logitech MX-1000 Wireless Laser Mouse [USB] WEBCAM : Logitech Quickcam Messenger [USB] PRINTER : HP Deskjet 5150 Color Printer [USB] OS : Windows XP Professional SP-2 DIRECT X : Version 9.0c VIDEO DRIVERS : ATI Catalyst 5.1 Final

Jan 20, 2005, 06:33 AM	#2
MindlessOath DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,121 Rep Power: 0	no bios thats worth editing or able to change.... i wouldnt flash the bios... settings should be fine try agp apriture at diffent rates, try 512 mabe... rage3D tweeker, hrm, dont use it - i recomend using ati tray tool,orradlinker (i like tray tool better, but chrisW who makes radlinkerisreally cool guy) you can also use modded drivers, like Omega andUnianDrivers..... no temp check with your pro version unless you put a temp probemanuallyon the GPU, the XT versions are the only ones with a sensor. not much you can do to increase the rate in hl2, its a powerfullgame,and your card is older, so just set the settings lower to raisetheframe rate, its all a settings game now, the lower the settingtheworse it will get, but higher frames will come, try ATI;sinstaincingand catalyst AI settings (use radlinker/omega or ati traytools toenable these features). i hope that helps. edit.... the only other thing could be changing the memory timings onyour actuall corsair ram, and see how it goes, instead of using auto,try some other stuff, but be carefull. __________________ ATI Radeon X800XT PE <---- LOOK UPDATED!! AMD Athlon 2Ghz, nforce2, 512mb ddr3500 LINKS U SHOULD KNOW!!!! DriverCleaner - use every time u install new drivers! ATI driver feedback - to report driver problems Tacticalcenter - my Gaming website and forums ATI 3rd party Optimized Driver Compairison

Jan 21, 2005, 08:00 PM	Thread Starter #3
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	well i overclocked it to 440/440... seems to work better right now .... at least Chronicles of Riddick isn't choppy anymore ...... just wondering though, what's safer to overclock.... the core or the memory? Also, I have a PCI Exhaust fan right next to the video card ... should I overclock some more ? Aaaaaaaanyways .... i'm such a noob when it comes to video cards

Jan 22, 2005, 06:28 AM	Thread Starter #6
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	well the max is 480/480 before it gets sketchy ..... i think i'll set it to a default of 430/430 on startup and play at 450/450 (half life 2 and riddick.... those are the only demanding games i have ...... max payne 2, dod and cs are flawless without overclocking) now to see about my ram .... i have that PC3200 CMX PRO C2 DDR400 ram from Corsair (2 times 512mb) .... the default latency on my system is 3-3-3-8 but on the corsair site it says it's 2.5-3-3-6 ...... should I set em myself in the bios??

Jan 22, 2005, 08:08 PM	Thread Starter #8
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	the SPD tab says 3.0-3-3-8 but the Corsair website says 2.5-3-3-6 ..... i set em to the corsair values and upped the voltage and everything seems fine now .... one thing from the CPU-Z family .... the Clockgen says my AGP is at 75 ??? ain't it supposed to be at 66 or 67-ish .... i didn't touch that..........

Jan 22, 2005, 09:21 PM	Thread Starter #10
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	well the AGP frequency in the bios is 66 ..... but everytime i open ClockGen it puts it at 75 for no reason whatsoever....... thats the end of THAT little program.

Jan 24, 2005, 06:03 AM	Thread Starter #12
MitchRapp a.k.a. pepiman Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 998 Rep Power: 51 System Specs	hmmm well it's set at 2.5-3-3-6 .... what do u recommend? 2-....-....-...? ... and what voltage? btw.... how the hell do i overclock these babies ?