GraphicsCard problems

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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I just cant get my geforce 4 mx440 to work properly, when i check on my cards status windows xp says it works fine but it also says it is using an pci slot(not agp). besides i get terrible low scores in 3dmark 2001 compared to others with the same graphics card and cpu speed.
I have the latest detonator drivers. I wonder do i need som new drivers or programs for my motherboard so the graphics card works? I got the latest ami bios v1.3. i also have the latest inf drivers for the mainboard
:|:(
 

junkerman123

Golden Member
Jul 4, 2003
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Yeah this is related a bit:

I'm having problems with my Radeon and for some reason it's detecting a pci version or something too in addition to the normal agp version.
 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: junkerman123
Yeah this is related a bit:

I'm having problems with my Radeon and for some reason it's detecting a pci version or something too in addition to the normal agp version.


it only says pci for me, no agp...im getting frustrated feels like i've tested everything
 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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To be exact its says this under properties of the card(I run windows xp in swedish so probably my translation isnt the best):
Place: PCI-bus 1, unit 0, function 0
doesnt sound good :(
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
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Go into BIOS and check you have AGP size setting to 64mb or 128mb.
Is this a clean install of XP? You could try Driver Cleaner 1.8 from here .

Few more BIOS settings won`t do no harm,make sure you`ve "assign IRQ to VGA" enabled,disable video cacheable in BIOS,disable all video shadowing.

Good BIOS guide here . Also leaving PCI slot 1 empty(nearest to AGP slot) is a good idea(not really needed but can stop some problems).

Btw lethal33,welcome to the AT forums.

 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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Got in bios but there was almost none of the settings you described or that was on the bios guide site you linked that i had in my bios, and i have the latest(flashed and installed it yesterday) AMI bios(1.3) for my mainboard...disturbing. in fact i almost didnt find anything on agp but alot on pci

AGP size setting to 64mb or 128mb-----did find this and chose 64Mb because my geforce 4mx440 has 64 Mb

"assign IRQ to VGA"----------was not in my bios

disable video cacheable in BIOS,disable all video shadowing.----------these settings was not in my bios

Also leaving PCI slot 1 empty(nearest to AGP slot) is a good idea----------I have no PCI card so that...checked ;)

Now I wonder does my mainboard bios suck bigtime or what?
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
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AGP size setting to 64mb or 128mb-----did find this and chose 64Mb because my geforce 4mx440 has 64 Mb

Normally that`s set to half your main ram memory(64 and 128mb are the most common default sizes)what it does is when your graphics card needs more ram (for graphics textures etc) then the 64mb available on the card,it can borrow it from your main system ram,so setting this in BIOS determines how much ram it`s allowed to use from your system memory.
 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: Mem
AGP size setting to 64mb or 128mb-----did find this and chose 64Mb because my geforce 4mx440 has 64 Mb

Normally that`s set to half your main ram memory(64 and 128mb are the most common default sizes)what it does is when your graphics card needs more ram (for graphics textures etc) then the 64mb available on the card,it can borrow it from your main system ram,so setting this in BIOS determines how much ram it`s allowed to use from your system memory.


Im not sure i understand you exactly maybe cause im swedish but I have 1024Mb of ram, if i set the AGP aperture size to maybe 256, does that mean that my main memory that i put on the mainboard dimms(2*512) is lending memory to my sucky video card? i e my question is should i set the AGP size setting high(128 or 256) or low(64).

on the other matter i want a bios that has the settings you and the bios guide mentioned, but thats not possible for my mainboard right?

btw, thanks for helping me with all this :)
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
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256, does that mean that my main memory that i put on the mainboard dimms(2*512) is lending memory to my sucky video card? i e my question is should i set the AGP size setting high(128 or 256) or low(64).

It will only borrow the memory from your system ram if the game needs it when it`s using all the 64mb and needs more,think of it only using some of the memory from your main ram on a temporary basis when it needs too.

I would set it to 128mb or 256mb in your case,remember 90% of the time it will not need to use it at all.

BIOS settings wise,not all boards have all the options and it does really depend on the brand and model in question.






 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: Mem
BIOS settings wise,not all boards have all the options and it does really depend on the brand and model in question.

It cant be that my mainboard lacks settings crucial of running a video card in its optimal performance, i've read a few reviews of it and they dont mention anything like that, in fact they seem kinda happy about the mainboard. My problem must either be somewhere in my almost non-existing bios or a driver issue but i have installed drivers for both video card and mainboard quite a few times so that seems strange. It must be some obscure almost cloaked setting in my bios that i have overlooked not beacuse im blind or careless only cause the setting to me doesnt seem to be the one im looking for...Im going into bios for the 100th time again and carefully read the manual.....Gotta find a solution
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
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Another setting to look for in BIOS is this one here (AGP 2x or 4x mode).

Btw what motherboard do you`ve?
 

lethal33

Member
Jul 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: Mem
Another setting to look for in BIOS is this one here (AGP 2x or 4x mode).

Btw what motherboard do you`ve?

i've got MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R card for the 800Mhz fsb pentium 4. And that AGP setting when you choose 1x,2x,4x,8x that setting doesnt seem to exist in my bios. This is very strange. Is there setttings that unlock's depending on various things or settings or is it just me playing to many console games...

I ran msi infoview and under display it said that i was using AGP 4x. So it seems right i just wonder why i get such terrible benchmarks score...3dmark2001 i get about half of what other people with my specs get. My memory seems to be operating like it should or it says so when i startup, right speed, 400Mhz, and dual channel mode. My processor looks ok too. my mainboard i assume is ok. It must be my crappy GF4 MX440SE 250/330 that is screwed up. And if anyone wonder why im having a vid card like this and not a good one matching the rest of the system, the reason is my ti4600 broke and had almost no money left


 

Viper96720

Diamond Member
Jul 15, 2002
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What scores do you get? The GF4 MX is a slow card lower scores than a geforce 3. Your device manager properties is correct PCI Bus 1 Unit 0 Function O. That's what XP calls
the AGP slot.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
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What scores do you get? The GF4 MX is a slow card lower scores than a geforce 3. Your device manager properties is correct PCI Bus 1 Unit 0 Function O. That's what XP calls
the AGP slot.

Yep that`s correct Viper96720,I think he just wants his GF4 MX tweaked in BIOS for best performance.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
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lethal33,I presume you`re using the latest Nvidia 44.03 drivers,go into the Nvidia display panel and turn off FSAA,this will kill your performance if left on.