Is this normal for TNT2??

[holdencommodore]

My card (TNT2 M64) seems to stutter sometimes in games (Need for Speed: High Stakes). I am running 800x600 @ 16 bit, high detail.
I have tried overclocking the video card, but it doesn't seem to help.
There are no programs in the Taskbar, and only Explorer and Systray are running.

Recently, I got a new HDD, so I had to do a new installation of Windows. I installed all the same drivers and programs as on the old system.
I don't recall getting this problem with the old installation.
One thing that is different, is the IRQ assignment. For this, see my seperate post:Possible IRQ conflict??.
I am wondering if this IRQ setup is causing this problem??..

I did update from Detonator 6.47 to 6.50 (as 6.31 caused shutdown problems), which seemed to help slightly.
I am using Win 98 SE, and got DirectX 8, as well as all the latest VIA drivers.

So how can I fix this?? Could it be the card itself??

I am sorry if this post seems slightly confusing to read!

I would appreciate any help that anyone has to offer.

 

[holdencommodore]

Come on guys, can some on help me on this one??!!

 

[randomlinh]

the sharing irq could be a problem... how much ram does that have? Not to familar w/ that game on the tnt2... how does q3a run?

also, drop to the 5.33 drivers... everything after that actually isn't all that good for the tnt2 and lower cards.

 

[pidge]

Check that both the hard drive and DVD/CD Rom both have DMA enabled. If it doesn't, then sure you can expect a lot of stuttering.

 

[BFG10K]

I am running 800x600 @ 16 bit, high detail.

Try 640 x 480. Or 512 x 384.

 

[holdencommodore]

Thanks for all the advice!

It seems that triple buffer was enabled. I disabled it and it seems to be a bit better.
I would still like to get the IRQ problem sorted out though, as I'm sure it can't be helping, if any of you have any tips, i'd appreciate it.

I will try the 5.22 drivers. It's funny though, i'd have thought that later drivers would give better performance??!! Maybe they are optimised for GeForce?
Maybe some day i'll get one

Any thoughts about the Creative GeForce 2 MX DDR card?? I can get one at a good price.

Thanks again.

 

[Weyoun]

i've heard a bit about ICQ conflicts causing stuttering amongst nVidia cards, so this could quite possibly be your problem.

Also, regarding drivers, i think anand did a study on the affects on TNT2 cards, and i dont think it looked all that great, generally a performance loss.

The Geforce2MX cards are very nice, I'm currently running one in my C466@466. I get about 60fps@1024x768x32 when o/ced to 210 mem. It's a Leadtek Winfast Geforce2MX SDR. I ordered from AusPC Market and they were pretty good with my order, if not a little more expensive than other places. Another good place for gear in Australia is Computer Market Online, they're cheaper than AusPC but you have to pay shipping. It usually ends up cheaper with Computer Market, but the service and support at AusPC is unparalled. I got a faulty GF DDR from them a year ago and they RMA'd it after a MONTH of holding it, at the exact price i bought it at, even though it lost about $50 value in the meantime.

 

[holdencommodore]

Thanks for the info, mate!
Windows doesn't list the device as conflicting, but it is sharing an IRQ.

Any ideas on how to solve this problem?

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

any particular reason you are running directX 8?
the only drivers that support directX 8 where version 7.xx.

Prehaps look into going back to directX 7?

 

[Weyoun]

no problem

well when i first got my card i found that it was sharing IRQ10 with my NIC and USB controller, so i changed it through BIOS. Next time i shut down this machine (read: next time it crashes, fuggin win9x cant hack the uptime ) I'll get my configuration for you

 

[randomlinh]

yeah, the later drivers are geforce optimized. And keep in mind, i think 6.31 is the latest official driver release..everything after is beta/leaked... so ya never know.

If you wanna check the drivers, diable USB in your bios. That should leave the video card by itself, and then test the games that way.