I'm not crazy - there IS a direct correlation between Desktop resolution and benchmarks/game performance (I knew it!)

[MichaelD]

I knew I wasn't nuts. I knew my system hadn't suddenly "farted & died".

After much dissapointment/consternation with those POS NVidia 10.80's, I downloaded the 7.52. I know they just came out with the 7.56, I downloaded that, but when installing, you have to pick from an "option list" that lists thing's I've never seen before. I tried two or three different ones, the driver loaded, but performance was almost as bad as the 10.80....that's freaking pitiful. :frown:

Anyway, the 7.52 is supposed to be the sh*t, right? Right. So, downloaded it, set desktop to 1164 x 8(I forget, it's early, but you know what I mean) 32bit color, 100Hz refresh. Just like I had before with the good 'ol 6.31's.

Run 3DMark...down 200 points from the 6.31's. WTF? Run UT timedemo...only 55 FPS as opposed to 82FPS w/6.31s. More WTF.

So, on a whim and a hunch, I reset my desktop to the same res that I game at 1024 x 768 x 32. 3Dmark was only down by around 100, but FPS went up to 100FPS with UT! Yeah baby! 100FPS 1024 x 768 x 32! I was in frag heaven. I ran it twice to ensure it wasn't a fluke.

What can we determine by all this? We can determine, conclusively, that Desktop resolution is directly related to how high you benchmark and how good (FPS) your gaming performance is.

I'll be keeping the 7.52s. My 3DMark score is down to around 7300 (which is still a far cry from the 2300 I used to get with my old card) but my FPS in UT is up by around 10%.

I'm sure I'll hear from lots of folks on this, telling me to stop listening to the voices in my head...but you guys are just jealous that the voices only talk to me! Fire away! Have a great weekend.

 

[Adul]

You certainly have a system with its own mind. Or maybe there is a bug in the nvidia drivers.

 

[MichaelD]

Interesting...maybe I'll try them fancy new 4.29's.

 

[codehack2]

MichealD,

Unless you specifically set a defualt refresh rate for DirectX, it will defualt to 60hz unless you have previously set a desktop refresh rate for that resolution from within windows. Also worth noting is that everytime you switch video drivers, windows resets it's resolution and refresh rate table. I'm assuming that 1) you had not set a defualt refresh rate for directX and 2) when you set your desktop to 1024x768x32 @ 100hz this was the first you had done so with the new driver install. Try setting your desktop to 1024x768x32 @ 100hz and then setting it to what ever you had it at before & then rerunning the benchmark.

CH2

 

[MichaelD]

Code,

Thanks for the advice. But I'm confused. I'm aware that after installing a new adapter/driver, the refresh rate is set to 60. AFter installing the driver, I first set color to 32bit, then resize the desktop then set the refresh rate.

I've never (to my knowledge) directly set the DirectX refresh rate. When I first start playing a new game, I do set the video preferences to 1024 x 768 x 32, I would imagine that this is setting the DX refresh rate, no? I appreciate your "tuttelage" on this. Thanks.

 

[Lvsheng]

I also encountered the same problem, when using the 6.3x driver, my fps is higher than 7.xx driver. When I run NFS Pors Unleashed, the 7.xx driver will make the game a bit choppy at some road. Well, I think this may be driver related issue. 7.xx driver may be not mature yet.

 

[hifimaster]

4.25 are the best I have used (speed,stability,compatabilty).

 

[codehack2]

MD,

You can set the directX refresh rate by using the DircetX8 control panel, which can be found here. (unzip & drop it in your system folder[system32 if your using 2k]). You should now have a directX item in you control panel. Open it & go to the Direct Draw Tab. You should see a field labled "Forced Refresh Rate". Just select the refresh rate that you want, & it will be enforced in all directx titles.



<< AFter installing the driver, I first set color to 32bit, then resize the desktop then set the refresh rate. >>



What I'm saying here is that if you use a resolution of 1024x768 for gaming, prior to playing your game you should set your windows desktop to this resolution with your desired refresh rate i.e. 100hz. This only needs to be done once after every new driver install. If windows has to switch to a resolution that hasn't been run before, then if defualts to the lowest refresh rate, which in most cases is 60hz. Just setting your game to 1024x768 does nothing to set the refresh rate. *Note you only need to do this if you don't set the refresh rate for directX as listed above.

CH2

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks, Code. So, if I set my desktop refresh rate to 100hz, then my gaming refresh rate is also 100hz, correct? Thanks.

 

[codehack2]

<< So, if I set my desktop refresh rate to 100hz, then my gaming refresh rate is also 100hz, correct? >>



for that resolution.. once you switch your game to a resolution that you have not set a resolution for in windows, it will defualt back to 60hz. Remember, this only needs to be done once after each new driver install.

ch2

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks very much for the info...I wish I was home so I could implement all this stuff..oh well 6 more hours of work first! Have a nice weekend.

 

[The Sauce]

How does one go about gaguing how high they can set their desktop refresh rate? And how does that affect in-game frame rates???

On my card (Radeon) it allows you to either set the rate manually or select &quot;Optimal.&quot; Should I use Optimal or set the rate manually?

 

[The Sauce]

bump

 

[zbose]

Ok, what are you guys talking about? 7.52 is a driver version right? But for what card?

zbose