AGP Aperature size in BIOS.... does it even matter?UPDATE: Preliminary results.

[zsouthboy]

When I get home i will run some UT2k3 tests with the aperature size set to different sizes.... i have always thought that this setting makes little difference, especially if you have a card with 128 megs... What exactly does it do?

Will report back with my findings in a few hours when i get home btw.

Current sys:
AGOIA Y wk 13 1600+ @ 1.74ghz (12.5 x 139)
Gigabyte 7VRXP, rev 1.1
256 MB mushkin DDR cas 2
Ti4600 @ stock speeds

EDIT: Preliminary results in, scroll down... interesting, in some cases the score went DOWN... hmmm... this requires more testing...

 

[ctk1981]

AGP Aperture size is the amount of memory set aside for when the graphics card runs out of memory on the card and makes a trip acrossed the AGP bus to use system memory. I have a Radeon 9700, Ti500, owned a Radeon 8500 64MB. On all these cards, I netted higher FPS with a higher aperture size, even though I doubt it was using system memory on the 9700. Hard to say for sure.

 

[spanky]

so basically... its better to set agp aperature size to the highest setting available?

 

[zsouthboy]

Originally posted by: spankyOO7
so basically... its better to set agp aperature size to the highest setting available?

That's what im trying to find out gonna be done in a little while, i've had so much to do.

 

[308nato]

I have never had it make a difference until recently, and that really did not matter. I bought my first ATi card (8500 64 meg retail) off FSFT for my 65 year old mom and her overclocked 1.6a rig.

Having heard all the horror stories of Ati drivers I feared the worst. Catalyst 2.3's in XP and all was great. I left the aperture set at its default of 64 meg in bios. Loaded everything up, ran Prime95 for a couple days, memtest, RTCW marathon session etc, etc. Last thing I was going to loop 3DMark overnite just for the hell of it. Every time it got to test 16 I think (the swimming fishies) it would bsod with an ATi driver error. I was like WTF.

I don't know why but the first thing I did was set the aperture to 128 in bios. To make a long story completely boring, it never has done it since. Why I don't know and it really doesn't matter 'cause ma doesn't play much 3DMark.

 

[zsouthboy]

Preliminary results:

dm-antalus 4mb agp aperture NO AA
20.814398 / 44.386642 / 476.162598 fps
Score = 44.388836

dm-antalus 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
3.764497 / 13.637951 / 469.877228 fps
Score = 13.640009

dm-antalus 128mb agp aperture NO AA
16.872070 / 44.537060 / 154.104691 fps
Score = 44.532101

dm-antalus 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
7.751015 / 14.013856 / 34.166157 fps
Score = 14.019856

dom-suntemple 4mb agp aperture NO AA
14.423851 / 49.743607 / 300.744598 fps
Score = 49.744648

dom-suntemple 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
2.639614 / 10.234385 / 307.267181 fps
Score = 10.237720

dom-suntemple 128mb agp aperture NO AA
15.996092 / 49.962181 / 205.106705 fps
Score = 49.981392

dom-suntemple 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
6.491581 / 11.428416 / 60.779701 fps
Score = 11.431231

dm-phobos2 4mb agp aperture NO AA
8.386151 / 62.628754 / 387.928467 fps
Score = 62.618999

dm-phobos2 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
2.132368 / 16.929270 / 275.147736 fps
Score = 16.934967

dm-phobos2 128mb agp aperture NO AA
10.953524 / 63.340160 / 389.536865 fps
Score = 63.339001

dm-phobos2 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
3.429349 / 15.406220 / 243.211533 fps
Score = 15.403227

dm-inferno 4mb agp aperture NO AA
8.871764 / 36.639729 / 358.183533 fps
Score = 36.696388

dm-inferno 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
2.108452 / 11.444349 / 360.094238 fps
Score = 11.459907

dm-inferno 128mb agp aperture NO AA
16.167196 / 36.758583 / 125.132042 fps
Score = 36.801468

dm-inferno 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
5.105819 / 10.708593 / 26.458357 fps
Score = 10.722707

ctf-face3 4mb agp aperture NO AA
5.078451 / 73.288681 / 325.284454 fps
Score = 73.325645

ctf-face3 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
0.628495 / 7.529469 / 343.791290 fps
Score = 7.531820

ctf-face3 128mb agp aperture NO AA
4.735850 / 77.816093 / 299.342743 fps
Score = 77.841766

ctf-face3 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
3.685698 / 15.895231 / 246.358887 fps
Score = 15.912524

ctf-citadel 4mb agp aperture NO AA
26.649092 / 65.523582 / 227.140686 fps
Score = 65.598396

ctf-citadel 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
6.303424 / 19.077957 / 195.939575 fps
Score = 19.092863

ctf-citadel 128mb agp aperture NO AA
36.803299 / 66.837822 / 182.266769 fps
Score = 66.896011

ctf-citadel 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
6.186669 / 16.125124 / 109.534882 fps
Score = 16.138466

dm-asbestos 4mb agp aperture NO AA
22.009207 / 73.380531 / 276.096039 fps
Score = 73.417862

dm-asbestos 4mb agp aperture 4XS AA
3.548874 / 19.265980 / 266.400482 fps
Score = 19.283127

dm-asbestos 128mb agp aperture NO AA
32.922825 / 73.713814 / 260.279175 fps
Score = 73.712265

dm-asbestos 128mb agp aperture 4XS AA
6.872200 / 21.967192 / 156.815674 fps
Score = 21.963932


wow there is a difference when AA is concerned, but, otherwise, nada.... tommorow i will have time to go ahead a test 256 meg aperture and probly 64 meg too.. just to see the difference...

note that these scores are at default clocks.

 

[CubicZirconia]

The Confusion and Mystery Behind AGP Aperture Size

 

[tart666]

I keep hearing twice the Video card's RAM size is good. Stray but a little, everyone dies.

 

[ChampionAtTufshop]

Originally posted by: tart666
I keep hearing twice the Video card's RAM size is good. Stray but a little, everyone dies.

this is what ive always heard as well

 

[nemesismk2]

It's never made any real difference with any of the computers I've owned, maybe a 1-2fps difference but nothing great.

 

[Peter]

The AGP aperture, and AGP transfers at all for that matter, are only used when the graphics card runs out of its own RAM while rendering a scene. The aperture size then dictates how much system RAM the graphics card can borrow.

So basically anything more than half of the size of your system RAM makes little sense - and as long as your graphics card has enough RAM for what you're trying to do, it and AGP 1x..8x-ness don't matter at all anyway. And if it runs out of RAM, performance is going to suck anyway, because system RAM nowadays is so much slower than graphics card RAM.