Detonator XP drivers, need help for soon purchase.

[eden]

First I would like to know, are the Ti series already bundled with the Det XP drivers?
Next I wanna know, say I got an Asus v8200 GF3 deluxe. I want to update to the Det XP, can it do so? The reason I ask this is the fact that there are Asus drivers and Nvidia ones, and on Nvidia's site they claim there may be probs for non-Nvidia based cards. Can I update my GF3 to Det XP without probs and get the performance increase and all? What of the Asus' ones?
Finally what do they mean by updating your current card to Det XP, means it is almost like upgrading it to the next level card in that serie? Does it mean that a raw GF3 bought, updated with DetXP drivers, gives you the raw power of Ti-500? Or a GF2MX becomes a MX200?

I appreciate if you can answer it all at once, not one answered part, so I'd know what each person thinks. And have you used those new drivers? How are they? I tried at my friends' GF2 MX, he claims it is MUCH better, he can play now Day of Defeat in 1024*768 with better FPS. Before it was laggy like hell.

 

[Guest]

This may or may not help but i have a friend who bought a brand name Geforce 2mx and tried to put the detonator 3 drivers on his card and the windows desktop didn't show (it loaded and you could shut it down and all but it got stuck on the win 98 startup screen.

just use safe mode to reinstall the asus drivers if it stuffs up.

 

[somerandomguy]

You will be able to update you drivers to Detonator XP if you have any NVidia card, and it will give you a performance boost. The newer the card, the higher the performance boost will be.
The GeForce 3 has features (shadow buffers, and 3D textures) that you can't use unless you install the Detonator XP drivers. The Ti cards have these features by default, since they ship with the XP drivers.
The new drivers do not enable any new features on any other card, just the GeForce 3.

I'm using the XP drivers with my GeForce 256 (an older card), and it not only fixed some bugs I was getting with Counter-Strike, it improved performance by 47% (as measured in 3DMark 2001).

"Ignorance is bliss, but I tend to get screwed over."

 

[eden]

So what you're also telling me, is to stick with the Asus drivers, if I get the Ti series which are updated, right? So from then on, I update with Asus' ones, while having the XP ones already shipped in.
Anyway thanks

 

[Matisaro]

ALWAYS use the detonator drivers, regardless of what brand of card you have, they are faster and more stable 99% of the time.

~Matisaro~
"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
~Tbird1.3@1.5~

 

[eden]

Sorry for my lack of IQ here, just to be completly sure:
IF I GET an Asus v8200 GF3 DLX, I then go DL the Det XP from Nvidia, and install them? There shouldn't be any probs and they will make my GF3 as good as a Ti-500 without XP drivers?
But there won't be any probs regarding the Asus programs such as Smart Doctor or any Card modifications in the Display Settings provided by Asus,they'll stay there, right?

 

[Guest]

Generally manufacturer specific "tweak" tools are not going to work with the reference detonators. Maybe Asus is different, but the majority of those tweak tools are meant to work with the manufacturer's drivers and no one elses. So you will probably want to uninstall any of the Asus video tweak programs if you want to install the Det 4s. On the bright side, the detonators have their own tweak tool built in. You just need to click the check box found under the "advanced options" category in your display properties to turn it on.

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. - Mark Twain

 

[Guest]

It is super important to first change your video adapter to "Standard VGA (PCI), and uninstall the manufacturer's software for the video card before you install the Detonator drivers.

Yep, there is a trade off here....

You have to give up the custom menus and programs of your manufacturer for the increased performance of DetonatorXP.

I suggest giving it a try...

If you don't like the DetonatorXP drivers, switch display to "Standard VGA (PCI), boot in safe mode, uninstall the detonators using the Add/Remove programs from within control panel, re-boot in normal mode and reinstall the manufacturers stufforz

Afterthought:

Your GF3 is not going to be as fast as a 500Ti when you switch to detonator drivers because the memory and core speeds are not as fast (hardware defines this). But you will see a significant difference from what it used to be.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Insidious on 10/08/01 06:34 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[eden]

What do you mean by switching video adapters PCI???
I guess it'll be best to get a Ti one, so that I benefit from XP drivers, included with Asus tweaks.

 

[eden]

What do you mean by switching video adapters PCI???
I guess it'll be best to get a Ti one, so that I benefit from XP drivers, included with Asus tweaks.

 

[Guest]

OOPS!

By "switch your video adapter", I meant switch the driver windows uses to run your card. (Standard VGA (PCI) is the name of the driver you want to install to clear everything out and make your system ready for detonatorXP installation.

To switch to "Standard VGA (PCI) driver:

click Start => settings => Control panel

then, double click 'display' icon

then, settings => advanced => adapter => change

then, next => display all drivers in a specific location,

then, select show all hardware

then, under manufacturers, select standard drivers

then, select 'standard PCI graphic adapter (VGA)

then click OK and stuff to get it installed. Windows may inform you that your present driver is better, but ignore that and let the standard one install. Then boot your system.

I think the only reason you didn't have luck with detonatorXP on your present GF card was an installation issue.

try following the directions I gave you above now that you know how to switch to the standard driver for your video adapter.

I'll bet it will work

Good Luck!

PS: Don't forget to uninstall the Asus stuff that came with your card after you have switched to standard adapter, and before you install the detonatorXP



<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Insidious on 10/09/01 05:27 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[eden]

Another thing I wanted to know, is after Det XP installed, would I still have the GF3 tweaks, such as to enable Quincunx or different FSAA/HSAA? Or other options like the OpenGL or D3D ones in Advanced Display settings?
My friend had installed the XP drivers, although I didn't see any option in Advanced for his GF2 MX/MX200 I dunno...
Cuz by seeing the Asus stuff, I only see SmartDoctor to be good, I wonder if I should keep it...
Oh and in case of confusion I didn't get any GF card yet! I am still on my V3 2000, waiting for Tis to be released in Canada to see what I'll do!
Other than that, wouldn't Asus itself have a Det XP reference driver on their website if they were to have them anyways for the Tis? I mean if I can save money by getting a GF3 standard by Asus, go to their site and DL drivers that contain XP and their tweaks that would generally help!

All in all, my main reason for all these questions is that when I tried a Asus GF3 Dlx at my uncle's house, it had a problem in Midtown Madness 2, where scrambled textures appeared and faulty polygons, and in Deus Ex it was stuttering under wild action, which isn't normal!! I am hoping such would be fixed by new drivers, but don't know if I should switch to Nvidia drivers while having Asus giving me their options too! Now you know why I am asking so much!

 

[Guest]

Hmmmm, when you went to display => settings => advanced, you should have seen a GeForce tab?????

Be sure not to try and run detonator drivers at the same time as utility drivers that come with the card.

I think the best way to see which drivers are best for you is to try them both out when you get your card. Just be sure to switch to standard windows driver and COMPLETELY uninstall one set before trying the other.

once you have tried each of them, pick your favorite and use them. It's all an experiment thing

as for as detonator XP shipping with a GF3 that is not Ti version, it isn't gonna happen. Nvidia is using the XP drivers in their Ti version and comparing it to the 'old' GF3 trying to show how much better the ti is.

Now the Ti 500 IS better, but not nearly so much when both cards are on the same drivers. (But I digress)

DetonatorXP will definitely be faster for you in a GF3, but remember how fast it is to start with..... it rocks!

you might find that you like the manufacturer software better and be perfectly happy with a slightly slower card, but nicer utilities.

again... try each way and pick your favorite! (that's what I'll do when I upgrade to GF3

Happy 'pootin


PS: I really believe the difficulty with the midtown madness and Deus ex were probably the result of improper driver installation. (one more time) be SURE to switch to standard driver and uninstall old software BEFORE installing new software for a video card.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Insidious on 10/09/01 10:01 PM.</EM></FONT></P>