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MS Windows Articles, Reviews and Videos » 3d settings http://windowspalace.com All about Windows. Drivers, reviews, tutorials and videos Fri, 16 May 2008 18:20:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3 en Windows Tweak - Increase Video Card Performance http://windowspalace.com/contributors/windows-tweak-increase-video-card-performance.html http://windowspalace.com/contributors/windows-tweak-increase-video-card-performance.html#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:42:00 +0000 PCWizKid tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30249189.post-2793698016207692977

If your into PC Gaming and want more performance out of your Video card, there are a few essentials you want to do which can prevent a choppy and disappointing 3D experience.

You can have a really good Video card, but whats the use if you haven't tweaked it for performance. Dont just settle for the defaults that Windows or your Video card manufacturer sets you up with when you first install it, tweak it!

Lets go through some obvious and not so obvious areas you want to check and do some adjustments.

The focus of Video card tweaking is getting the most your PC can handle from specific Direct3D

and OpenGL settings. There are many other areas starting from the BIOS, Overclocking to adjusting Windows Memory settings that can also improve performance, however the easiest and most noticable tweak starts at your video cards driver and setup level. For this reason, whether you have a Nvidia or ATI chipset the bottom line is always having the latest drivers installed if possible and then tweaking them.

I'll use examples that are essentially applicable to both ATI and Geforce Cards since these are the majority types used on the market.

First thing to do is access the "Advanced" settings of your Video card.

As you can see here when you open the Display settings in Windows to access the ATI Catalyst Driver settings it is set to "Basic" change it to "Advanced" so we can tweak it.

You will then be able to access a similar screen like this:

Similarly if you have a Geforce Card make sure you select the "Advanced 3D settings option".

You will then be able to access a similar screen like this:

Click NEXT for PART 2

]]> http://windowspalace.com/contributors/windows-tweak-increase-video-card-performance.html/feed Tweaking your Video Settings for Performance - Part 2 http://windowspalace.com/nvidia/tweaking-your-video-settings-for-performance-part-2.html http://windowspalace.com/nvidia/tweaking-your-video-settings-for-performance-part-2.html#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:24:00 +0000 PCWizKid tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30249189.post-1461717770934772442
Expand the 3D settings section and select the "Anti-Aliasing" sub-category on the ATI or if you have an Nvidia, go into the "Manage 3D settings" option (Make sure you are in Advanced View check under the View menu).

Sample ATI Screen

Sample Nvidia Screen

Next find the following options which fall under the 3D settings categories and adjust as follows:

- Anti-Aliasing
For an ATI card check off the box 'Use application settings' box, so that the level of Antialiasing can be set within particular games for example and won't conflict with your Control Center settings.
For an Nvidia card select the 'Force Antialiasing Off' for all games regardless of their in-game settings

- Adaptive Anti-Aliasing
For an ATI card uncheck "Enable Adaptive Anti-Aliasing" if you have choppy frames and slow performance. If this is checked it will increase the quality of the appearance at the expense of processing power which could make it slower.
Similarly for an Nvidia card you would lower the rate to 2X or 4X or turn it off and turn off the transparency option.

- Anisotropic Filtering
For an ATI card uncheck the "High Quality AF" box, and leave checked the "Use application settings".
For Nvidia, adjust the settings down for performance similar to as mentioned above.

Continue NEXT to PART 3

]]> http://windowspalace.com/nvidia/tweaking-your-video-settings-for-performance-part-2.html/feed Tweaking your Video Settings for Performance - Part 3 http://windowspalace.com/nvidia/tweaking-your-video-settings-for-performance-part-3.html http://windowspalace.com/nvidia/tweaking-your-video-settings-for-performance-part-3.html#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:00:00 +0000 PCWizKid tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30249189.post-1908327594849659174
- Mipmap Detail Level
For an ATI card set the slider at the midpoint closer to the performance option, then later adjust the mipmap/texture filtering/texture quality levels in your game video settings to minimize graphical anomalies.
For an Nvidia card the available options are None, Bilinear and Trilinear. Select Bilinear for a slight improvement at minimal performance cost, or set it to None.

- Vertical Refresh
For an ATI card Select "Off, Unless Application Specifies" - Vertical Sync will be off by default, however you can enable it for a specific game for example in its own video settings.
Similarly for Nvidia cards chose the option to "Disable Vsync"

- More Settings
In the ATI 3D settings section there is a "More Settings" category, select that and ensure that the "Support DXT texture formats" is checked off so its enabled for performance. Leave disabled the "Alternate Pixel Center" and enable "Triple Buffering" and leave "Force 24-bit Z-Buffer depth" unchecked.
Similarly in the Nvidia settings follow the example mentioned for the ATI settings which exist aswell in the 3D settings area.

You will see other settings and options, but I would not change them since they will not affect you regarding improving performance which is what this article is all about.

See my review of the best video cards including the Geforce 9 GPU here.

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