Gainward GeForce 4 and Driver Issues

[ChivalricRonin]

Hey all... I've got a brand new Gainward GeForce 4 XP/750 Golden Sample (TI 4600 based) coming in the mail tomorrow, and I'd really like to know how I should handle the issue of video drivers. Currently, I'm Using the nVidia Det. drivers 29.42. I'm sure the card will have Gainward drivers, so shall I not bother installing them? Install them and then reinstall the Detonators over top? Make no modifications and use the drivers I have already installed. Oh, and I'm using XP Pro, in case that alters what I should do. Thanks in advance.

 

[wackyquacky]

i am currently running a 750xp. sweet card. anyways, windowsxp will not recognize the gf4 unless you have kept up w/ the updates. i have owned 2 gainward cards before this one (i like red pcbs) and i felt that taking their drivers and installing them, and then putting detonator over it was the best way to go. Then again, i really never run my comp for highest framerate or highest 3dmark because i felt that i really can't tell the difference between 38 fps on highest res vs. 40 fps on highest res, and i doubt anyone else can. but doing drivers that way or just using the gainward drivers gave me good stability.

 

[BFG10K]

(1) Go to add/remove programs and uninstall nVidia's drivers.
(2) Shut down the PC and swap the cards.
(3) Start the computer and install the 2942s again (assuming you're happy with them) or try another nVidia reference driver if not.

I wouldn't recommend using manufacturer drivers unless they have something specific that you really want.

 

[ChivalricRonin]

Gainward has this "Golden Sample" safe overclocking procedure that I believe is linked to its drivers that I'd like. With the latest version of the Gainward drivers, do you think there will be a significant performance loss keeping them, versus installing the newest Detonators? Is it safe to install the Dets over the Gainward and be able to have the best of both worlds?

 

[CubicZirconia]

As far as overclocking, you still don't need to mess with anything other than the nvidia reference drivers. If you download RivaTuner or any similar program you'll be able to overclock the video card freely.

 

[FluxCapacitor]

I have a Gainward GF3 Ti 200 that I'm overclocking and I use the Nvidia reference drivers. All you really need is the Coolbits registry "hack" or some other program that gives you access to the overclocking options that are already present in Nvidia's drivers but disabled by default.

All Gainward is really doing is using the Nvidia reference driver and adding their own interface on top of it and also enabling the overclocking options for you. Their "safe" overclocking is nothing but standard overclocking with settings that they guarantee will work. You are by no means limited to Gainwards overclocked settings, in fact, on my card I was able to safely go well over Gainwards "safe" overclocked settings and still remain perfectly stable. So, what I'm saying is there are several ways to do what you want to do.

The main reason people use the Nvidia reference drivers is to keep up with the latest updates. The main reason people use the video card manufacturer drivers in for enhanced features specific to their video card. Since you can easily overclock with the Nvidia drivers I'd say use them unless you really need some special feature present in the Gainward driver.

 

[hungrygoose]

i have the 4200 version of your card using the gainward software with the 2942 ref drivers.....everything works great.....runs smooth and stable overclocked using the gainward software

 

[hungrygoose]

Originally posted by: FluxCapacitor
I have a Gainward GF3 Ti 200 that I'm overclocking and I use the Nvidia reference drivers. All you really need is the Coolbits registry "hack" or some other program that gives you access to the overclocking options that are already present in Nvidia's drivers but disabled by default.

All Gainward is really doing is using the Nvidia reference driver and adding their own interface on top of it and also enabling the overclocking options for you. Their "safe" overclocking is nothing but standard overclocking with settings that they guarantee will work. You are by no means limited to Gainwards overclocked settings, in fact, on my card I was able to safely go well over Gainwards "safe" overclocked settings and still remain perfectly stable. So, what I'm saying is there are several ways to do what you want to do.

The main reason people use the Nvidia reference drivers is to keep up with the latest updates. The main reason people use the video card manufacturer drivers in for enhanced features specific to their video card. Since you can easily overclock with the Nvidia drivers I'd say use them unless you really need some special feature present in the Gainward driver.

you don't need the drivers provided by gainward to run the overclocking utility.........it's more like a tweak than some kind of crack like you're talking about

install the gainward software and the 2942 ref. drivers and everything will be fine.....believe me.....i'm speaking from experience with this software