For those of you wanting to get a little more power out of your video card, you may want to think about overclocking (which is basically running something over what it's regulated to run at). While most video cards allow to overclock a little, a little can sometimes make a difference. There's 2 ways you can overclock; changing your BIOS or overclocking via the driver. For those of you that want to overclock with the BIOS, enter it and look around for it since every BIOS is different (look in your pc manual on how to enter it). If you want to overclock with a driver (most people can), you can download this quick tool.http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=163 <-- overclock by driverhttp://www.sysopt.com/articles/VCOGuide/ <-- article on how to use this softwareJust keep in mind that overclocking will decrease your video cards life span and void most warranties on it, but considering how fast new video cards come out, you shouldn't have to worry about this. You should also make sure your video card has a fan on it because overclocking will raise the temperatures.Nick B.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg--AMD Athlon XP 3200+ @ 2.2 Ghz400W Power supply3x 80 mm Case FansSoyo VIA KT600 Dragon PlusnVidia GeForce FX 5200 128 mb2 x 512 PC400100 GB Western DigitalMicrosoft Sidewinder Precision 2

Yes Please keep in mind that some cards do NOT over clock well at all like certain Nvidia 5000 series cards. In fact over clocking such cards can result in a fried video card. In some cases the gain is not worth the heat so if you do choose to clock it manualy please look foir a review on your certain card and see what people are able to clock it to and what gains if any were reported. I myself overclock my Geforce 5700ULTRA card but it also has fast DDR memory that can handle it. So in the end do not push it so far that you can fry some eggs on your case or you see artifacts in your games. If you do just set it back down.[h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/betaimg.jpgAMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

Hi Randy,First, thanks for all your helpful instructions/tips....has saved me a lot of time and pain.Can you tell me your thoughts on overclocking the GeForce4 TI4200?I read the article with the Rivatuner tool...and a GF4 TI4200 was used...Seems easy enough...but I have never overclocked anything before and somewhat "eggy" about it...But, I would like a bit more speed. I feel better about overclocking the memory(128 DDR) than the GPU.BUT...I'm in no position to buy a new video card:-) well, not the one I would like:-)Also I'm running with a prescott..and that's a hot-running CPU by itself.Just want some thoughts from you or others before trying it out.Thanks,Ryan BeardKJAN,SBGL,SBRJWinXP Pro sp1P4 2.8Ghz HT 800Mhz PrescottIntel 865PERL MB120GB Buslink SATA, 60GB&40GB Maxtors GeForce4 TI4200 w/8x AGP 128MB DDR

Do NOT screw around with your video card's BIOS unless you're absolutely sure you know what you're doing. It's not something you "get into" the same way as the main motherboard BIOS, it's transparent to the user and controls the core level features/clock speeds of the card - usually when you hear about video card "BIOS overclocking," it's doing something like loading a Radeon 9800XT BIOS into a Radeon 9800 Pro, which can only work under very specific conditions (the 9800 Pro has to have the R360 VPU (not the older R350), and a big enough cooler on the card.) The risk involved with doing this (ie, hosing a $300 video card) is usually not worth it.Software OCing is usually OK as long as you know your card's limits. The ATITool that comes with the latest Omega driver is really good for determining those limits on Radeon...

I believe he is talking about your motherboard BIOS, not the videocard one. :)Either way, I don't think its wise to encourage people to 'tinker' with their hardware to gain performance increases. Real success is very limited, and at the end of the day the increase isn't worth the risk of buggering your card..

It's true, it makes a little difference but worth it on some systems that aren't very powerful. It depends on the persons really, if they want a take a little risk and push it farther that's their choice. Usually overclocking won't hurt it as long as it's not too much to the point it fries.You can also overclock with the nVidia software if you enable overclocking in Rivatuner, and set it with the nVidia software.Nick B.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg--AMD Athlon XP 3200+ @ 2.2 Ghz400W Power supply3x 80 mm Case FansSoyo VIA KT600 Dragon PlusnVidia GeForce FX 5200 128 mb2 x 512 PC400100 GB Western DigitalMicrosoft Sidewinder Precision 2

I just got rid of my 4200Ti. Well better it got cooked but not due to oc. It's a ok card and one can push it a bit using COOLBITS please look here to manually add it http://www.iamnotageek.com/articles.php?aid=39&page=1&topic=Coolbits_nvidia_overclocking You can then go to your video card options and enable manually OC. Look at what your card is clocked to at default. I would look for a review online to see what you can clock too. Most of the time I go - 20 on both settings reported to be safe. Whatever you do please be careful about heat and artifacts. [h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/betaimg.jpgAMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

Thank you all for responding!I will take into account everything said....I'll enable the "coolbits" option..THEN I will ponder within, do more research...yeah, I don't want to screw up what I got...which ain't all that bad.I'm getting ok fps...lowest is about 10fps...mostly 20-25fps with and without the vcockpit. Locked at 25(my satisfactory standard)....studders, yeah, but not enough to annoy...overall, good performance with the NG.Just wanted to see if I could get just a bit more...minimize more the 10s fps instances. But, if it will be only a minimal gain....cool, I am already enjoying my experience and can wait in order to blow a hole in my wallet for Nvidia or ATI...:-) I need a CPU AC...heheheThanks again,Ryan BeardKJAN,SBGL,SBRJWinXP Pro SP1P4 2.8Ghz HT 800Mhz Prescott1GB DDR 266MhzIntel 865PERLGForce4 TI4200 w/8x AGP120GB Buslink SATA, 60GB Maxtor, 40GB Maxtor

If you decide to OC anything (CPU, FSB, Video card) do it in small stages and make sure you can go back to original settings.Most, if not all, video card tuners will reset to default values at the push of a button and usually have some sort of artifact tester so you don't go over the top.One thing to bear in mind though, a 10% increase in clock/memory speed does not necessarily mean a 10% increase in FPS, so is Oc'ing worth it for a couple of FPS?

Avid overclocker here, and my PC is now officially rated in "pounds of cooling thrust" and bolted to the desk so it doesn't fly. Got a conservative 150MHz in additional oomf, but I don't want the CPU to exceed 45C.Of course, you can go with water cooling (interesting concept, mixing water and electronics) and Peltier coolers, and both if you're serious. When the cooling system is more expensive and bulkier than the PC you have it made. Only $500 or so.Of course, I have it from good source that dipping the PC into liquid nitrogen also helps, if you get the logistics right, if but a little extreme for the casual gamer.Cheers, and just remember that the rule is simple: to run a $50 game, you need to spend 10 to 100x in hardware, or you're not trying hard enough :)

Like Vulcan said, do it in small increments for 2 things and you should be fine; making sure it doesn't overheat your card and if you get errors on that setting, you know what setting before that works.Nick B.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg--AMD Athlon XP 3200+ @ 2.2 Ghz400W Power supply3x 80 mm Case FansSoyo VIA KT600 Dragon PlusnVidia GeForce FX 5200 128 mb2 x 512 PC400100 GB Western DigitalMicrosoft Sidewinder Precision 2