Radeon 9600 Pro Drivers

[ZZSpaceman]

Just installed a new Radeon 9600 Pro. I'm using the XP OS. Are the Catalyst drivers on the ATI web sight the best drivers to use? What is a good OC utility, and where do I get it?

Thanks,

ZZSpaceman

 

[svol]

Well there also are Omega Catylist 3.4 drivers if you want more eye candy for a little performance loose.

This is about the best OC utility: <A HREF="http://www.rage3d.com/r3dtweak/" target="_new">http://www.rage3d.com/r3dtweak/</A>

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[ZZSpaceman]

That's OK the new ATI drivers were worth ~200 points on 3DMark03. Found & installed the Rage3d tweak too. Will try this next. Thanks.

ZZSpaceman

 

[svol]

200 extra points or 200 total score points?

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[ZZSpaceman]

200 Extra. I may be lame but not that lame, ~3250 to 3450. No GPU overclocking. From the looks of comprable systems I have still have some work to do. Think I should hit 4000+, at my current 2.64 GHz clock. With very minor GPU OC ~5% I picked an "additional" 200 points, 3,650. I built this machine for my wife's business so I'm taking it very slow. She will kill me if it goies down.


ZZSpaceman

 

[svol]

Ok, no harm intended.

Check if your AGP Aperture Size is set to 1/2 of your system RAM.

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[ZZSpaceman]

No offense taken, I appreciate the response. A little self depredation is good for the character ocassionlly. I find the AGP aperture size in the BIOS correct? You did mean system memory (not video memory)? It is currently set at 64 MB, I will set it to 256 MB and see what happens.

Thanks

ZZSpaceman

 

[svol]

Yes, system memory... this option specifies how much system RAM the videocard can use when it runs out of video RAM space.

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[nja469]

Normally you want the size to be double that of RAM built into the card, a 16MB card = 32, 64MB card = 128, etc.

 

[ZZSpaceman]

Thanks for the tip. It helped a bit overall ~50 points, but the 3DMark Troles Layer clip saw a big boost 12 to 20 FPS, nearly 70%. Thanks again.

ZZSpaceman

 

[svol]

That is also an option... although with a low memory card you need more system RAM for heavier games/benches.

That is why I always set it to 1/2 of system RAM... imagine that you had a 256MB videocard, now WTF is that 512MB Aperture size option? :lol:

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[nja469]

True, new boards (and maybe even BIOS updates of old ones?) do have 512 as an option though :/

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by nja469 on 06/07/03 01:37 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[svol]

Really? Holy peeperdepeep who needs so much video memory?!?

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[graham_h]

my thoughts exactly..........
nja469........would i really need to go that far when i drop in my 256meg version today ?........??
shouldn't it have enough to run by itself ?
oh well i'll try a few diffrent settings and post the results later.
I'm looking for results like the Grapes......!! .

 

[svol]

Na, just set it to 128 or 256 MB and it will never have memory shortage.

My CPU fan spins so fast that it creates a wormhole

 

[graham_h]

dammit my card won't clock at all...just locks and shuts down......could it be because my cpu is overclocked. its been stable as anything at 190mhz...on the n force 2 chipset...no probs at all.just this dam card...i got it to score 3005 3dmark03 at 461.25/225...now it won't come anywhere near that. I'm using the latest omega drivers which everyone says are the best for this card...nuts..

 

[graham_h]

well thanks for everyones support ....!!!??
its fine the card's junk for overclicking, but hey it's cheap..!!

 

[svol]

Isn't the BIOS OC locked and do you have to lock it?

Is there any chance your PC is running out of power.

I love my Delta 60HP 7000 RPM fan that puts out more dB then CFM

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Ok been out of this forum for a bit (hey life's a calling).
If you are looking for the highest overclocks, use Rage3Dtweak. The omegas are best for day to day use and are great fo actual gaming. If you are looking or experimenting with the depths of your card, RadClocker isn't as good as Rage's tweak utility IMO. BTW is your card a MADE BY ATI card or a partner card? IT appears that there is alot of variance in the overclockability of most cards. Also you said 461/225, did you mean 325? As 225 is underclocked. Unfortunately you MAY not be able to get much more out of it. Depends on the make but alot of PowerColor, Sapphire (who make ATI's cards) and Gigacube cards have been shown to under perform a little as they are being built on 'just good enough' parts. Remember it's getting a 15% increase on the core and (if it's 325 not 225) an 8.3% increase on the memory. Unfortunately it's a good overclock for any other card, except this one.


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