Optimizing my PC for Gaming

[eqmassa]

Now that my new PC (specs below) is stabilized, I?m working on optimizing it for gaming. To get some basic marks, I tried out the FFXI Benchmark test (http://downloads.ign.com/objects/605/605977.html). I got a rating of 4933, which is good, but 7000+ is rated as ?incredible,? which I think is a bit closer to what my PC is . Before changing anything, my BIOS and Chipset features are set up as follows:

PC Specs:
AMD Barton 2500mhz 333fsb
Abit NF7-S Rev 2.0
1024 MB Corsair XMS3200 RAM
ATI Radeon 9800 Non-Pro (8 pixel pipelines, not 4 like the SE)
80 GB WD HD

Through SoftMenu III:
AGP Frequency: 66 MHZ (out of 99 possible)
FSB/DRAM ratio: Auto
Operating Speed: 2500mhz
External Clock/FSB: 166Mhz, x11.0 multiplier
90 degree temperature protection
CPU Interface: Disabled (Enabled allows for OCing)

Chipset Features:
Memory Timings: Optimal
Row Active Delay: 7
RAS-CAS Delay: 3
Row precharge: 3
CAS Latency: 2.0
System BIOS/Video RAM Cacheable: Enabled
AGP Aperture Size: 128MB (out of possible 512)
FSB Spread Spectrum: 50%
AGP Spread Spectrum: 50%
CPU Thermal Throttling: 50%
Enhance PCI Performance: Disabled
AGP Transfer: Auto (can be 4x, 8x, or Auto)
AGP FastWrite: Enabled

I didn?t really know what to mess with, from memory timings to Spectrums, but I tested the waters with Aperture Size and Transfer speed and got no results. I was pretty paranoid of ruining something if I did something wrong.

Also, I have the most recent drivers for the 9800 from ATI?s site, but I don?t even know how to tweak my OpenGL or Direct3D settings for gaming. Those drivers allow for some other mysterious tweaking as well, but I checked out some sites like http://download.guru3d.com/pafiledb.php?action=category&id=18, and found tons of other drivers and utilities, far too many for me to choose from.

I?m sort of paranoid because I?m using stock fans and everything and don?t want to screw anything up. I?m definitely an amateur and not planning to invest in a nice HSF or anything like that for quite some time. The essence of this incoherent post is that I just want the best image quality and framerate possible without sacrificing the stability of my system. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Corporate Thug]

overclock the cpu and if the 9800 has samsung chips, flash it into a 9800 pro

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: shady06
overclock the cpu and if the 9800 has samsung chips, flash it into a 9800 pro

bascically.

oc your CPU till it's unstable
oc your core and mem on the video card till you get artifacts.

 

[PliotronX]

Originally posted by: eqmassa

Through SoftMenu III:
AGP Frequency: 66 MHZ (out of 99 possible) <~~You could try between 66 and 76MHz for a half an FPS and slightly faster texture loading, but you'll have to experiment as each card and motherboard handles it differently
FSB/DRAM ratio: Auto <~~ Good, on my NF7-S this is usually the most stable and fastest setting but you could experiment
Operating Speed: 2500mhz <~~ This is the PR or performance rating and the actual clock is 1833MHz and I think you could jack this up to around 2GHz without having to increase the voltage but again experiment with this because you have the hardware capable of great overclocking here
External Clock/FSB: 166Mhz, x11.0 multiplier <~~ The multiplier should be unlocked so play with this also to find your maximum CPU clock capability along with your FSB
90 degree temperature protection<~~ Looks good
CPU Interface: Disabled (Enabled allows for OCing) <~~ This setting actually dictates an internal timing of the interface between the CPU bus and the FSB and enabling this nets a pretty sizable increase in performance across the board, but can result in some instability at higher FSB speeds. But only worry about that when overclocking above ~210MHz and then you will have to benchmark between the increased FSB with this disabled and having it enabled at lower FBSs because performance could be better at the lower FBS with this enabled

Chipset Features:
Memory Timings: Optimal <~~ These are pretty relaxed timings, and you have great memory so I would suggest setting this to "Expert" or "Custom"
Row Active Delay: 7<~~ There are many discussions about this setting, but the best advice is to experiment with it. I have found that a setting of 6 is the best for my setup, others have found a setting of 11 is best, etc..
RAS-CAS Delay: 3<~~ Setting this to "2" can get you a pretty good increase in performance and your memory should be capable of it
Row precharge: 3<~~ Again setting this to "2" will yield better performance, but to a lesser extent compared to Ras to Cas delay
CAS Latency: 2.0<~~ Looks good
System BIOS/Video RAM Cacheable: Enabled<~~ This setting would increase performance quite a bit in older machines but it is not really useable now and can in fact decrease performance or stability today, but you should experiment
AGP Aperture Size: 128MB (out of possible 512)<~~ Looks good, best settings are usually 64 or 128 but you could experiment here
FSB Spread Spectrum: 50%<~~ Disable this for the best performance and stability because this is used for lowering EMI. If you don't specifically need lower EMI, leave these spread spectrum settings disabled for best performance and stability
AGP Spread Spectrum: 50%
CPU Thermal Throttling: 50%<~~ This setting dictates how much internal CPU frequency can be "throttled" back to avoid overheating. If you are confident in your cooling capability I would leave this disabled for the best performance possible
Enhance PCI Performance: Disabled<~~ This setting affects something in the PCI bus and fixes problems with sound cards and even increases hard drive performance on some peoples' configs, but you could experiment
AGP Transfer: Auto (can be 4x, 8x, or Auto)<~~ Believe it or not, manually setting this can sometimes yield better performance or stability, so I would set it to 8X, but again you could experiment
AGP FastWrite: Enabled<~~ This setting is actually obsolete and Radeon cards use a certain method of accessing the RAM and this setting can cause stability problems, artifacts, and even decrease performance with today's cards. But once again there is room for experimentation.

I didn?t really know what to mess with, from memory timings to Spectrums, but I tested the waters with Aperture Size and Transfer speed and got no results. I was pretty paranoid of ruining something if I did something wrong.

It's okay to be cautious, just take it slow and everything here is reversible. You can get a lot of helpful tips also for your specific board from the Abit forums and nForcers HQ forum. I'm pretty sure that no permanent damage could arise from careful tweaking, as long as you don't go overboard, it will be okay. To be absolutely sure, only tweak the settings that don't affect CPU or video card clocks.

Also, I have the most recent drivers for the 9800 from ATI?s site, but I don?t even know how to tweak my OpenGL or Direct3D settings for gaming. Those drivers allow for some other mysterious tweaking as well, but I checked out some sites like http://download.guru3d.com/pafiledb.php?action=category&id=18, and found tons of other drivers and utilities, far too many for me to choose from.

There are probably a lot of good utilities out there, but my favorite is Rage3DTweak. In all of the tweaking I've done with it, I've never had anything catastrophic occur such as games crashing or irreversible damage, but again if you want to be sure, avoid the overclocking feature or cranking up the clocks too much. The forums at Rage3D are also usually helpful.

I?m sort of paranoid because I?m using stock fans and everything and don?t want to screw anything up. I?m definitely an amateur and not planning to invest in a nice HSF or anything like that for quite some time. The essence of this incoherent post is that I just want the best image quality and framerate possible without sacrificing the stability of my system. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sounds like a good plan and hopefully I've posted enough info to get you started. You can get a lot more details of these BIOS settings from Adrian's guide in case you want to explore further. Happy tweakin

 

[etech]

Nice system, quite close to what I have.
This is a nice little guide to get you started. Motherboard, Memory, & CPU - Overclocking Guide

Download memtest86 and prime95. (I'd also run a utility to monitor your temps, one like motherboard monitor 5

Run both of those first to insure that you are starting out from a good stable system. Run at least 5 passes of memtest86(overnight) and at least 3 of prime95.

Then start by lowering your multiplier to 9 and try upping your fsb to 200. You can go right to 200 or go slow by 10 Mhz increments depending on how you feel. Run memtest86 again. If it runs with no errors than you are ready to start up the multiplier. Increase it by 0.5 each time and run prime95, keep an eye on your temps and do not go above a multiplier of 11.

AGP Frequency: 66 MHZ (out of 99 possible) Keep it at 66
FSB/DRAM ratio: Auto that is fine for now
Operating Speed: 2500mhz
External Clock/FSB: 166Mhz, x11.0 multiplier
90 degree temperature protection
CPU Interface: Disabled (Enabled allows for OCing) {i] my understanding is that enabled sets faster timings, I would enable it[/i]

Memory Timings: Optimal should be good for that memory, if memtest fails, which it shouldn't at 200 with your memory, raise the cas to 2.5)
Row Active Delay: 7
RAS-CAS Delay: 3
Row precharge: 3
CAS Latency: 2.0
System BIOS/Video RAM Cacheable: Enabled leave enabled
AGP Aperture Size: 128MB (out of possible 512)
FSB Spread Spectrum: 50% I'd disable it unless you hear a whine on a radio or get interference on a TV
AGP Spread Spectrum: 50% I'd disable it unless you hear a whine on a radio or get interference on a TV
CPU Thermal Throttling: 50% that's fine
Enhance PCI Performance: Disabled I'm not sure what that one is
AGP Transfer: Auto (can be 4x, 8x, or Auto) Auto
AGP FastWrite: Enabled Some people have trouble with fast writes enabled, some don't. If you have any crashes in games than disable it

Nothing to do with overclocking but while you are in the bios, if you don't use your serial ports or parallel port than I would just go ahead and disable them.

Hope this gets you started, the CPU/Processors and Overclocking forum on this board will have lots more answers and experts to help out if you run into any problems.

If you need anymore benchmarks - FAQs, Monitoring Programs, Benchmarks, Bios/Drivers, & Other Apps for ALL


edit/
PliotronX, nice post and more detailed than what I was able to put together at 1am. I was just so dissapointed in the two previous posts that I thought I should attempt to get him started. Your type of thoughtful and helpful post is what Anandtech should be about.