Creative Annihilator 2 and Asus P3V4X`

[Crozy]

Hi There!

I have noticed many people posting about problems with the Annihilator 2 and P3V4X combination. I just purchased a new computer system which I pick up next week. I ordered an Annihilator 2 with it after reading the positive review from AnandTech. Here are the specs in case they are relevant:

Asus P3V4X
PIII-800mhz
256MB RAM
2x40GB Hard Drives (Maxtor 7200 RPM)
52x CDROM (Creative)
Viewsonic PF815 Monitor
Creative Labs Annihilator 2
SB Live Platinum
Yamaha CRW8424EZ CDRW
Microsoft Force Feedback PRO Joystick
MS Intellimouse Explorer
MS Natural Keyboard PRO


My questions are:

1. Is there anyone who is running the Creative Annihilator 2 with the Asus P3V4X (with fast writes and sidebanding turned on) who is not having any problems?

2. What frame rates can I expect to see?

3. I will be getting the 4 in 1 drivers (4.22) and the AGP driver (4.03) and will update the MB BIOS (1005). Is there anything else I should do?

4. Does Sidebanding and/or fast writes slow down the video card or speed things up?

5. Is installing the AGP driver in Turbo mode and turning on 4X AGP in the MB BIOS all I need to do to ensure 4X AGP performance?


I am somewhat concerned and want to find out from as many people as possible what I may be in for with this combination. I'm somewhat suprised that these concerns never popped up during the review of the Annihilator 2.


Thanks in advance for all the help.


Crozy

 

[DrWermit]

Crozy I haven't a Creative Labs Annihilator 2 but there are problems with the Rage Fury Maxx. I am not at all happy with picture quality. For example in Thief II you will see a flight of stairs and then it just turns into a slope! Also when a description of something in white appears on the screen it is garbled across the whole screen. With other games it frequently locks and the list goes on. I am using like you all of the driver revisions you mentioned. I tried the Maxx with a BX M/B and no problems. So it looks like the VIA 133A will have go unless they bring out a new set of drivers in the next few weeks. I know this problem does not apply to everyone.

 

[Diceman]

Well i have the Creative Annhilator 2 and a P3V4X and I have no real problems. I have no lock-ups or artifacts.

*Ive installed the via 4-n-1 (4.22)
*Ive installed the agp gart (4.03)
*Im using nvidia reference driver set (5.22)

In quake 3 1024x768 16 bit color/32 bit texture with all high quality settings and v-sync off i get 68 FPS. I should get more but it looks awesome!
The via chipset still needs to mature but its getting better by the driver.

Im overcloking my Creative GTS to 230/378 right now and its no problem. I could go higher.....but why? =)

In 3dmark2000 i get 4250 in 1024x768 (16 bit i think)

I only have a PIII 550mhz right now (not overclocked cuz of generic 100mhx memory) and i think thats slowing my down a bit. The gts is simply awesome and the creative is a great bang for the buck.

I have the creative agp wizard and it tells me that i have sid banding and fast writes enabled however i cant seem to get it to 4X agp......i have it enabled in the bios but agp wizard and sistra sansoft says it running at 2X.........but its not a big deal.......really no difference from 2X to 4X in todays games
.....but its in the back of my head that it could be running at 4X......so it bothers me a litte =)

any more questions........e-mail me for icq#

 

[JellyBaby]

There is no difference in agp 2x vs. 4x other than 4x might be less stable. I get a huge kick out of the "how do i enable agp 4x" threads. Bunch of clueless folks wasting time trying to enable a "marketing fart" feature that may end up causing them lockups and who knows what other grief. So, Dice don't let it bother you!

 

[bluezebra1098]

Fastwrites is actually supposed to slow down the GeForce cards since they use a separate processor on the board.
The 4.03 and AGP 4X in the BIOS should do it. Make sure the 4.03 drivers are installed by going to C:\Windows\System and right click on viagart.vxd and click on the version tab to check for 4.03.

 

[Crozy]

Thanks to everyone for putting things in perspective for me. I guess reading all of the threads caused a little concern. From what you are telling me, if I use the 4.03 driver and turn on 4X in the BIOS, I should be fine. However, if I can only get 2X, that will run just fine and I shouldn't have any problems.

I also gather that I should not have fast writes enabled as it will slow down my card. I guess I am now wondering about sidebanding. Should I have this turned on? Where would I turn this on?

I am wondering also what your experience has been with the 5.30/5.32 drivers from NVidia? I am planning to use the Fasttrax software for the Annihilator 2 so I can get the latest drivers where possible (unless any of you have reasons why I shouldn't).

Finally, is it recommended that I update the BIOS for my ASUS to version 1005?


Thanks again for all the help!!!

Crozy.