GeForce 2 GTS/Memory problem

[yakswak]

I just bought a Elsa Gladiac GTS card to go with my system (Duron OC'd to 950, ABIT KT7, 128mb pc133 RAM, WIN 2K). The problem is that most games run very choppy now, with the exception of Quake 3. I have installed Det 6.47 drivers, and am running DX8. Seems like the problem is that the system is using way too much memory when playing those games, even when I have everything in the background that I can turn off off. Another thing to note is that I just came off of a Voodoo3 2000 card, and that one ran fine. What am I missing here as far as the setup goes? I would really like this card to run better than it is. Thanks.

 

[Zuofu]

Same thing here, I went from a G400MAX. Lots of hard drive cranking in UT and the 3DMARK 2000 demo. I bet its the 128 MB memory - as there appears to be something weird with the GeForce Win2K drivers using more RAM than any other card. I am upgrading up to 256 MB in a few days and I will tell you if it is any better. With memory prices the way they are right now, it might be a good idea.

 

[no1special]

I am having the same type problems it seems. I can reboot and the computer will run fine for a while and than the games start laging. I am using Win98 though. Not sure whats up. May not be the same problem. I have problems on Rune, No One Lives Forever, etc... I haven't fully investigated the problem yet.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

I think the memory upgrade would serve you well. It would get rid of the choppiness.

 

[yakswak]

I'm very dissapointed that 128mb of RAM is not enough to run games, and that these drivers require more RAM. That totally does not make sense to me. I guess I will try to get some RAM, but it seems absurd that the Voodoo3 will run fine while the new "better" card will not.

 

[Subversal]

Win2k needs more RAM... plain and simple. 256 should be the minumum. Added another 128 to my PC at work and it runs A LOT better.

 

[BenSkywalker]

yakswak-

First, when you switch from 3dfx to nVidia, or the other way around, it is best to format your hard drive and start over from scratch. Could you list exactly what games you are having problems with? No matter, 128MB in Win2K if far below what I would reccomend.

"I guess I will try to get some RAM, but it seems absurd that the Voodoo3 will run fine while the new "better" card will not."

An example using the same board on RAM. Using a GeForce DDR running UT in D3D I was all set as far as RAM was concerned(with 192MB). Switching over to OpenGL and running the Loki patch to enable S3TC textures while overall game play was OK, there would be occasional hithces when I hit virtual memory. The tradeoff was well worth it IMHO, the Loki OpenGL w/S3TC patch makes the game look a lot better. When I upgraded to 320MB of RAM even the once in a while occasional hitches vanished.

Also, I assume you are now running in 32bit color as opposed to 16bit with the V3?(A guess, not saying you are)

"Not sure whats up. May not be the same problem. I have problems on Rune, No One Lives Forever, etc... I haven't fully investigated the problem yet"

no1special-

With the V3 you can't use large textures, unlike any current board. Does that explain your problem? Maybe, I know NOLF uses large textures heavily and reccomends 256MB of system RAM using settings well below maximum.

 

[Zuofu]

Well..I had the same problem going from the Matrox G400 (which supports up to 2048^2 textures and 32bit) so I don't think large texture support or 32bit rendering is a problem. There is definitely an issue with nVidia's 2K drivers using more memory than other cards, but it might just be a time to upgrade anyway.

I had problems running UT without HD cranking and also getting the 3DMark demo to run smoothly (major stuttering).

Of course, I got 256 on the way...

 

[BenSkywalker]

Zuofu-

Should have mentioned, you shouldn't just format switching between 3dfx and nVidia, you should when switching between any two different company boards(ie Matrox to ATi, 3dfx to nVidia, though CL to Herc wouldn't require it).

The large texture support and 32bit definately wouldn't be an issue in your case, but old drivers conflicting with current ones could be.

 

[cirrus1]

Just upgraded to 384 from 128mb running W2K. Q3A and UT perfomance is much better now and is par with W98

 

[yakswak]

Benskywalker:

Thanks for some of that info. I mainly play CS, and that's what I am having problems with. I'm actually playing at 16-bit 1024x768. Quake 3 runs fine. Support at Elsa couldn't help me too much when I emailed them, they told me they would RMA the card, but I don't think it's the card's problem. I will try to get my hands on some RAM, if it helps, I guess I'll have to buy some more. THanks.

 

[Zuofu]

Except that I reformatted about 3 times trying to get rid of the problem So I'm pretty sure its an nVidia problem. BTW, I got it set up on dual boot and no problems in Win9x. However, Windows 98 breaks too much for my likings (I moved my RAID card 1 slot and 98 won't start up anymore). Just waiting for my memory to get here - I guess.

 

[Cerb]

128MB in Win2k is bare minimum. It will likely idle around 70-100MB. The best thing to do is have at least 192MB, though go for 256 with memory prices the way they are.

 

[Zuofu]

Actually, Ive seen Win2K run w/ 64MB on a laptop. It wasn't pretty, but it can be done

 

[yakko]

This is just my 2 cents and I can't say I am correct. I am having a problem on my new puter (almost every component is new) I installed DirectX 8 and I have problems in some games and with WMP 6.4. I then found an article on Microsoft's website that mentioned trouble with DirectX 8 and AMD chips(I will try to find the link)


EDIT- Everything works fine with my old Diamond Fusion 16mb AGP card but not my new Asus V7700 deluxe 32mb DDR video card(NVidia GF2 GTS chipset) or with the Asus V7100 32md SDR card(NVidia GF2 GTS chipset)

 

[Marine]

WoW! I'm running a plain old GeForce DDR/32/Annihilator Pro in Win2K with 256Mb of Mushkin at 133/2/2/2/ and NOLF is smooth as silk with all options turned on. This on a VIA chipset, Tyan 1854s Trinity mobo with 133a. I have latest 4 in 1 as well as latest NVid ref drivers. I haven't o/c'd the vid card at all, just enabled sidebanding and 4XAGP in BIOS. No problems.

 

[no1special]

I upgraded to 256meg and that seems to have helped allot.