My MAX defaulted to AGP1x - Anyone with 2x?

[Smiff.]

Mine defaulted to 2x (powerdesk v5.15.022). The performance difference depends totally on the application; only massive texture transfers benefit (i think ?). BTW, I only get about 5 FPS more in Quake2 (1152*864, 32bit colour) with 2x over 1x: goes from 45 to 50 FPS. ish.

No big deal methinks
Smiff

[Brian R.]

Where did you get the newer Powerdesk?

[Smiff.]

Its under the RRG section. Just 'cos I use it without problems (well I *do* have problems but not caused by that ) doesn't mean you won't. You have been warned...

ftp://ftp.matrox.com/pub/mga/rrgseries/beta_w9x/w9x_515.exe

Smiff

[Brian R.]

Thanks, I'll try it for the hell of it. I doubt it will affect the registry issue.

Brian

[Kruzin]

5.15 is for RR-G and Marvel users. The core drivers are the same as 5.13. 5.13 are recommended if you do not use an RR-G or Marvel.

As far as 2x...I get that by default.

This is how it happens:
When windows boots up, the Matrox software does an AGP check. It sends data through the AGP bus, and back to the card. If there are any errors in that transfer, it will drop to 1x. If it is a clean data transfer, it will go to 2x.

[Joel]

I have an AMD K6-2/400 on an EPoX EP-MVP3G motherboard with the 32MB DH G400 clocked at 150/200 and according the PCIList and Powerstrip I have 2X DiME mode AGP by default. My board also by default runs the AGP bus at 2/3 my FSB which is 100MHz. Try setting your AGP bus to 2/3 and see if that makes a difference.

Joel

[Brian R.]

I have previously run my AGP/FSB ratio to 2/3. It doesn't make a difference no matter whether I run at 100 MHz fsb or 129 MHz, my standard o/c

[Kruzin]

With an FSB of 100 (or higher), you should be running at 2/3 AGP divider. Otherwise, you are running that bus way out of spec, and not likely to get 2x...

[Brian R.]

Kruzin - I have always run the AGP/fsb ratio at 2/3. Sorry for the unclear post.

[Kruzin]

Then there is just something causing an error in the inital Matrox bootup tests. If you can get it to run at 2x by tweaking the registry, great. Most people can, without any noticable problems. The drivers tests are just very strict. Sometimes little things like moving your RAM to a different slot can affect this, sometimes all you can do is force it with the reg hack.

In reality, you aren't going to see a difference in general performance between 1x and 2x, though. ABout the only place you can see it is in benchmark tests like 3dmark99max, which does large texture tests. Right now, the 32meg on board is more than enough for any game on the market, so the card doesn't need to rely on AGP transfers...

[Brian R.]

Kruzin - I tried AGP1x and AGP2x under the same conditions in 3DMark Max and saw little or no difference. FYI

[Kruzin]

It will not reflect on the final score, but if you look at the 32meg AGP texture test alone, you will usually see a difference if 2x is working properly.

But again, that's hardly real-world, so who cares?

[Brian R.]

kruzin - That's great. Will AGP4x make as huge a difference as the change to AGP2x? Sounds like the AGP bandwidth is not going to be a bottleneck for quite a while.:-)

B

[Brian R.]

My MAX defaulted to AGP1x - Anyone with 2x?

I checked the AGP status of my MAX with PCIlist. It showed AGP1x. This is not desireable, so I changed it to AGP2x (reghack) with no apparent problem or benefit. Has anyone tested their MAX and found AGP2x as their default?

What is the difference? Under what conditions would I see a difference?

B

[KvHagedorn]

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