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lappy optimizations?

post #1 of 6
6/25/04 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
ok, so i've got my lappy all set up and where i want it, with most of my apps and a few games installed. i was wondering if anyone had recommendations for tweaks or optimizations to get the most out of the a64/ati 9700. i've never tried any overclocking, and was considering getting the omega drivers to oc the video card. i'm really not familiar with how that works, though, and wouldn't even know how far to push it - i don't want to run it too fast and risk harming everything - i'd definitely be on the conservative end.

also, are there any programs/utilities out there yall use that you consider indispensible? i've always run cacheman on my desktop and was wondering if it would prove just as useful on my lappy. right when i was going to install it though, i read on a forum somewhere that you should "never" use "memory optimization programs with Windows XP" - and i'm curious as to the general consensus here.

any other suggestions/comments/recommendations appreciated.

thanks!
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post #2 of 6
6/25/04 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
*nudge*

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post #3 of 6
7/1/04 at 2:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by francoisc
i read on a forum somewhere that you should "never" use "memory optimization programs with Windows XP"

This I agree with. XP (and 2k for that matter) do an excellent job of managing memory. Cacheman was useful for 9x (which is why you always had to reboot once a day), but in all honesty you are just using CPU cycles for something that isnt going to help you.

I havent heard of anyone causing any issues with such programs, but all in all I would think that it is going to suck more performance than you would ever gain from it.
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post #4 of 6
7/1/04 at 5:53am
The Omegadrivers are really easy to install it does it all for you - that is one of the advantages of them as well as the slight performance increase over default drivers.

Once they are installed in the display properties/advance you will see a Radlinker tab which you use to set the memory speed and the GPU speed (10-20% Max I would recommend) - I have been running my 9700 at 20% overclock for 6+ weeks now without any issues.

The other thing to check when you are in that panel is the OpenGL and DirectX settings - such as Vsync I would put this to always off you can also play with the quality/performance sliders to suit your own taste.

I run these at Performance and to be honest i do not notice a whole lot of difference in graphics quality.
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post #5 of 6
7/1/04 at 7:04am
powerstrip is good for adjusting your core/mem on your gpu
it has settings it can load automatically during windows or whenever u need to switch around...

alienware uses the same program and calls it "alien adrenaline"
but u can get it for free here:

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...id,6241,00.asp
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post #6 of 6
7/2/04 at 9:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by francoisc
ok, so i've got my lappy all set up and where i want it, with most of my apps and a few games installed. i was wondering if anyone had recommendations for tweaks or optimizations to get the most out of the a64/ati 9700.
Go to Control Panel>>System>>Advanced>>Performance Settings and set it to 'Adjust for best performance', and disable all options in Control Panel>>Display>>Appearance>>Effects for best possible performance.

When running benchmarks you should use the AC power and disable PowerNow! by selecting the desktop power scheme in Control Panel>>Power Options>>Power Schemes>>Home/Office Desk for best possible performance.

PowerNow! automatically throttles the clock speed and voltage of the CPU and effectively lower the power consumption to enable a quieter-running system while delivering performance on demand. When running a CPU demanding application it will run at stock clock speed and voltage ofourse

For best possible battery life you should enable PowerNow! by changing the power scheme back to laptop.

For extended battery life watching DVD's I suggest you install DVDIdle that you can download from here:
http://www.dvdidle.com/dvd-idle.htm

"Extends laptop's battery time by up to 30 percent"
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