Second Life Forums Archive - New Graphics card

Bobby Dayton

Test Pilot for Airfix

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 206

05-18-2006 03:58

I am trying to up the framerate on my system. Its a 3.0 Ghz Pentium4 based system with 1 GB memory and an nVidia FX5900 graphics card (AGP). I am hoping the weakest link is the FX5900. I am thinking of replacing it witha 6800GS card. Has anyone done a similar swap and noticed much improvement. I dont fancy spending quite a bit for no improvement hardly.

Ron Overdrive

Registered User

Join date: 10 Jul 2005

Posts: 1,002

05-18-2006 05:52

Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more.

For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit.

Hope this helps.

Billy Hicks

Unreal

Join date: 13 Apr 2006

Posts: 10

05-18-2006 05:57

Wow, Great input thanks.

From: Ron Overdrive

Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more.

For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit.

Hope this helps.

Bobby Dayton

Test Pilot for Airfix

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 206

05-18-2006 07:18

Thanks Ron, yes that has helped a great deal. It looks like a new 6800GS is a definite now. I thought 1Gb of memory was more than enough and increasing wouldnt make much difference. You think increasing to 2Gb will make a noticeable difference?

Bobby.

From: Ron Overdrive

Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more.

For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit.

Hope this helps.

Bobby Dayton

Test Pilot for Airfix

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 206

Feedback

05-22-2006 05:41

Well I did get the 6800GS to replace the FX5900 and upped the memory to 2 Gb. What a difference, the fps have doubled and everything is a lot smoother. I used the recommended Xtreme-G drivers as well. A knock on effect though is I handed down my FX5900 to the wife to replace her 4200 nvidia card and doubled her memory to 1 Gb. Her framerates and stuttering have also improved a great deal.

Thanks Ron.

Ron Overdrive

Registered User

Join date: 10 Jul 2005

Posts: 1,002

05-22-2006 12:51

no problem

New Graphics card
Bobby Dayton Test Pilot for Airfix Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 206	05-18-2006 03:58 I am trying to up the framerate on my system. Its a 3.0 Ghz Pentium4 based system with 1 GB memory and an nVidia FX5900 graphics card (AGP). I am hoping the weakest link is the FX5900. I am thinking of replacing it witha 6800GS card. Has anyone done a similar swap and noticed much improvement. I dont fancy spending quite a bit for no improvement hardly.
Ron Overdrive Registered User Join date: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 1,002	05-18-2006 05:52 Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more. For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit. Hope this helps.
Billy Hicks Unreal Join date: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 10	05-18-2006 05:57 Wow, Great input thanks. From: Ron Overdrive Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more. For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit. Hope this helps.
Bobby Dayton Test Pilot for Airfix Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 206	05-18-2006 07:18 Thanks Ron, yes that has helped a great deal. It looks like a new 6800GS is a definite now. I thought 1Gb of memory was more than enough and increasing wouldnt make much difference. You think increasing to 2Gb will make a noticeable difference? Bobby. From: Ron Overdrive Yeah you'll definitely notice an improvement and its a good decision in the long run to upgrade. However, the improvement may only be like 5 FPS. Most of SL is dependant on your CPU & RAM so upgrading your RAM will definitely help smooth things out. With how SL is upgrading to GLSL Vertex Shaders as of 1.10 its still a good idea to upgrade your card to one that can properly handle GLSL. GeforceFX cards have a tendancy to get hit hard when it comes to Vertex Shaders in general, GLSL is a newer API that hurts them even more. For a small speed boost I'd recomend switch out your OEM drivers for some 3rd party drivers like the Tweak-R-Us' XTreme-G drivers (just make sure you uninstall your old drivers and clean them out with DriverCleaner Pro before installing new drivers). Downloading PCI Latancy Tool from Tweaks-R-Us' download section also helps to lower your AGP latancy to an acceptable level (doesn't support PCI-Express). Tweaking your profiles using nHancer also seems to help a bit. Hope this helps.
Bobby Dayton Test Pilot for Airfix Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 206	Feedback 05-22-2006 05:41 Well I did get the 6800GS to replace the FX5900 and upped the memory to 2 Gb. What a difference, the fps have doubled and everything is a lot smoother. I used the recommended Xtreme-G drivers as well. A knock on effect though is I handed down my FX5900 to the wife to replace her 4200 nvidia card and doubled her memory to 1 Gb. Her framerates and stuttering have also improved a great deal. Thanks Ron.
Ron Overdrive Registered User Join date: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 1,002	05-22-2006 12:51 no problem

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