"possible" BIOS performance setting increase for FS2002

[FlyinMisfit 0]

hi guys, i thought i would pass along this info. for those who may not know. this setting may not be available in all BIOS's. (i strongly suggest visiting the following site before doing this because it could cause some problems if your video card does not support this option). go here... www.rojakpot.com click on "Adrians BIOS Optimization 7.5" go to the System Bus category and click on "Video Memory Cache Mode" for full details and warnings regarding this setting. i have an Asus P4T533-C with the "Award bios". (this is where it's found in mine, yours may be different) select the "advanded" tab, highlight "chip configuration", select (this is what you're looking for) "Video Memory Cache Mode" if the default setting is "UC" change it to "USWC". save changes and exit BIOS. i can now up the AF setting to 16X as well as upping the RES. on the 9700 to 1280x1024x32 in FS2k2 with "very little to No performance hit. before i came across this info. as some of you may know, just setting the AF setting to 16X alone i took a 3-5 fps hit. also, just upping the RES. to 1280x1024 from 1024x768 i lost 5+ fps. i hope this gives everyone a nice performance increase as well. happy flyin, fm

[Guest JonP01]

The effects of this BIOS change will vary considerably from setup to setup. I would suggest that most recent hardware configurations using recent graphics cards would benefit little from this change, if at all.

[Guest simnut]

I tend to agree with setting this to USWC, and this WILL take advantage of the capabilities of all "newer" cards. It WILL make a significant difference in your video performance, assuming you have a newer card that will take advantage of this setting. There are many settings within BIOS, and your operating systems that, set at default settings, ARE NOT optimal! For instance, install Win98.....then take a look at the DMA option for hard drives.....it is NOT selected, where being selected for drives that can handle this greatly enhances harddrive performances. Harry

[JimmiG 244]

Just as with the "trick" of disabling AGP texturing, the effect of this tweak will vary from system to system. The option isn't even there for my 8RDA+ mobo.I think it was there on my old 8KHA+ mobo (could have been an another board, I've gone through quite a few), but it didn't make any difference to performance.

[Guest FPSFREAK]

I'm running the same MB and Video card and also tried the USWC setting. In all honesty I saw no performance gain. I run my machine 1600x1200 w 6XAA and 16XAF. One thing that should be noted is people should see if their Video card supports USWC before implementing it as it can cause problems with booting the machine.Bobby

[Guest LSangiovanni LIML]

Hey my friend,great news! I'll give it a go asap but before can you please tell me: 1) what does AF 16X means and where can i find that setting into Riva Tuner? If AF means Anisotropic Filtering i can set max 8X 2) my MoBo is an ASUS P4PE, my processor is a 2.53Ghz P4 @ 2.82Ghz my Video card is an ASUS GeForce4 TI 4200; i already noticed that setting (UC/USWC) in advanced BIOS But never thought to change! Also i will give a try at DME for both my HD (let's cross fingers).cheersLuigi ;-)

[FlyinMisfit 0]

hi Luigi,yes, AF is Anisotropic Filtering. as mentioned in my initial post Please read the Info. and Warnings at the stated site regarding the USWC setting. You and Anyone else that may want to give it a try needs to "Make Sure" that your video card supports that setting Before hand. "tweak at your own risk". as Bobby mentioned in his post if your video card Does Not support that setting the system May Not Boot! happy flyin, fm

[Guest LSangiovanni LIML]

Hi,no lockups at all; i cannot say if FS2k2 gained in performance but after setting USWC in BIOS and DMA, supported by both my HD's i could increase image quality (ac shadows, 8 lights, antialiasing and so on) w/o any noticeable fps hit. Also i usually fly full screen 1152.Now tell me why i can't get 6XAA and 16XAF but only 4Xs AA and 8XAF (ASUS GF4 TI4200 128MB).Thanks a lot

[Guest Stratus_Fractus]

It's because the Geforce card you have doesn't support it. However, something like ATI's R9700 would.

[Guest FPSFREAK]

You should also set your lights from 8 back to 4. Although the G4 will support 8 lights the hit to perofrmance is not worth it. If you would like to see the performance difference run 3DMark2001. When you see the test for 4 lights note the fluid movement. Now watch the 8 light test. Looks like a stop motion movie or a carousel w a strobe light on it.Strat is also correct. The G4's only support a max of 4XAA and 8XAF. :( Sorry budBobby

[Guest LSangiovanni LIML]

Thanks for the advice ;-)Do you think i should upgrade to a TI4600? And...you're so expert that i'll put one more: every time i open a DOS session or launch a batch file i loose my color settings (digital vibrance) in Riva Tuner.I tried several det's but nothing changes :-( Can you suggest...thanks in advanceLuigi ;-)

[Guest FPSFREAK]

Luigi, The only difference between your card and a 4600 is clock speed. Depending on the card you can crank up the speeds of the core and memory and have yourself a stock 4600 so no, I wouldnt upgrade. As far as your dos and batch problems go I really couldnt tell you why. The only thing I can suggest is to head over to www.omegadriver.com and try the latest Omega drivers for your card. You may find them a special treat for your card..:)Bobby

[Guest Stratus_Fractus]

Bobby,You mean www.omegacorner.com ;-)

[Guest FPSFREAK]

LOL, Yeah that's the ticket...LOL Thanks :)