Slashdot Mirror
System Optimization Guide for Gamers
Mr.Tweak writes "We have written a comprehensive System Optimization Guide targeted toward Gamers looking to get the most out of their systems for all of today's latest highly demanding PC games. Take a few minutes of your life and read this System Optimization Guide for Gamers where TweakTown promises you will find something of use which will have you gaming at full speed in no time."
Now we need a system optimization guide for pr0n. Get the most out of it!
Was looking for the Holy Grail, but it wasn't there. It is a nice all in one spot to find everything about tweaking a box though.
How to Tweak your Webserver to Survive a Slashdotting
They oughtta think about applying these optimizations to their webserver!
Seriously though, this story JUST appeared and still their website is taking a minute so far to load..
I used to spend days tweaking my settings, getting the latest drivers, etc... SCREW IT!
The only way to really get performance is to get good hardware. No amount of tweaking your old Geforce 2mx is going to get the same performance as a Geforce 4 ti4200 even with the worst system settings... Prove me wrong people!
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Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
the whole reason most of us got into coding was to squeeze more outta the machine, dusnt this article belong on newbie.org ?
slashdot effect!!!!! What I really need is a guide that tells me were i can find a ATI 9700 pro for lke $100. Now that would really be worth reading, :)
Just install aimbots, speedbots, and wallhacks. You will outperform anyone with a faster pc, faster connection, better video card...
Note : Due to something respected Doctors and Scientists are calling "The Slashdot Effect" I have not read the article.
Honestly. Do I get my membership to "Club Nerd" revoked because I'm not interested in water cooling my PC, airbrushing the case, or fitting ass-loads of neons?
When I do game (which is a little rare now-a-days) I would rather just have decent hardware, and not have to worry about over-clocking, heat sinking, over-binging on jolt, and the associated woman repelling habits.
Is there something wrong with me?...
1) Get dual P4-3.06GHZ proc system w/ heat pumps.
2) Get radeon 9700
3) Get really large RAID-0 array.
4) Get linux
Contact Me (got tired of viruses emailing me).
How about a System Optimization Guide For Web Admins instead...
http://www.81x.com/DownsReallyUp/MeetMe
Please... Kill our Server
I know the secrets of the video game champs
1) Write a "Hold to withstand the /. effect
2) Then write the tweaking guide
Their server is /.'d already! :'(
Is the article any good, or is it just a load of "remove stuff from startup" etc?
Also is it a Linux or Doze tweak guide?
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Are you an SF Fan? Are you a Tru-Fan?
Cost in time for Mr.Tweak to send in /. article about his site: $2
/. for Mr.Tweak: $2
/. load: Priceless
Cost in time for Hemos to post article to
Cost of server able to handle
(I couldn't read the article...slashedoted already)
Unless its an super easy reversable change forget the tweaking stuff on Windows.
Its just to easy to screw up your system. A less than optimal system still plays WC3 fine on good hardware. Trying to squeeze another 5% smoothness out during 5% of the gameplay isn't awe inspring. What is worse is that you could screw up your system or driver and then you have a non-functional game machine. Reinstalling Windows isn't fun when you were expecting to meet up with friends and play some WC3.
Hardware has more of an influence on performance than mucking with frindge software elements. For my game machine, I just want it to work. If I have to tweak something then I'm better off replacing what is flaking out.
Where's the line between a system tweaked for gaming and a gaming console?
Isn't a gaming console, in essence, a system tweaked for gaming?
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
How to use your newfound tweaking abilities to find a girl that is impressed by your skills.
I think my principles are reachin' an all time low
What would really be nice, as long as we're wishing, is that game producers would rethink the whole coding. So many games are bloated and buggey, and work only with this OS or that card. How many times have one of us installed a game and something else quits or starts acting strange? Whatever happened to "Write Once, Run Anywhere"? And how about (this is the last, I promise) more tools to add our own real-world stuff in the game easier. There are car and furniture and carpet dealers whose face I'd love to see in UT.
How does one use google-cahce to find a site?
Search for cache:whatever.the.link.was on Google
Unfortunately this article doesn't seem to be in the cache.
Ho hum said pooh as his web server melted!
hardcode
4) Get linux
How many frames/sec do you get in XBill with that sort of setup?
So they have written a manual for non technical people to really screw up their systems?
I can feel the pain already.
1. They reccomend futzing around in the bios. BIOS is a no no even if you know what you are doing. Most people who really know hardware stay outta the BIOS unless it is absolutely necessary. The standard settings are usually the best, and unless you need to free an IRQ, or change the boot device, leave it alone. Anyway these days BIOS kinda maintain themselves. Flashing the BIOS as well, Christ on a rubber crutch, don't get me started. Unless you really need some feature don't do it.
2. Overclocking? With AMD high ends running at such low prices why? The cost spent on all the fancing cooling devices can be used to just buy a better CPU. I dont overclock, admittedly I did drop 35bucks on all copper heatsink with heat pipes, to cool the new Athlon, but i think it looks cool,(like anyone is ever gonna see it anyway). LAst thing you need to do is get some newbie burning up his chip/board/ setting the curtains on fire, voiding his warranty.
I think this whole article is really bad advice for the non technical person. Because any tech worth his salt would not advise any of this stuff for a few more FPS.
I would say the best advice is quality hardware and don't pinch pennies when buying it. Aside from the ultra high end video cards, stuff is really cheap these days.
Here is my guide to a good system. I judge it by having the case cover on and how often do I have to get in there and open it up. New computer three months old, burn in 3 days, I havent had the case off since. And I am a hardware nut.
This whole tweaking thing is like the ricers. Just spend the money that you would have dropped on fans,pumps, copper, heatsinks, on the high end stuff to begin with.
Puto
Imagine the support calls.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Slip of the click there... While waiting for the preview to load I accidently clicked 'Submit'. Now I can never fix the post :-(
/. has been lately?
Anyone else notice how slow
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Are you an SF Fan? Are you a Tru-Fan?
His DNS provider has his nameservers in the same /24...
(216.52.121.X)
That is NOT a smart thing to do. M$FT did that once.
fuck off troll, some people like games, most of them are also geeks, get over it.
average age of Slashdotter's should be somewhere around 25, right? If so, why are there so many good god damned stories about GAMING on this site?
theres an age limit for gaming now? fuck, no-one told me about it.
If you want to look like a complete momo, submit a link to your inadequately prepared site to slashdot.
Kids, don't try this at home.
All I want is a kind word, a warm bed and unlimited power.
"I recommend only one account (the Administrator) for fastest performance... If you have only one User account (as recommended above) and you leave your password field blank you shouldn't be prompted for a username and password each time you bootup XP. This is the fast way to bootup."
So only have one account, the Administrator account, use it all the time, and don't put a password on it. Great advice.
I used to tweak the hell out of my hardware. It got boring after awhile - between that and just getting things working, I'm much happier just to insert a disc into my Gamecube and just play games.
:)
Console gaming is rapidly catching up to pc gaming:
Internet multiplayer support? Check (although Nintendo is dragging their feet here)
Awesome graphics, surround sound? Check
Play in your comfortable living room? Check
System = same price as a mid range pc video card? Check
99.9% problem free? Check
Largest selection of games? Check
I still play games on my PC, but I find I do it less and less over the years, and only in areas that my console lacks (ie/ Gamecube has next to no role playing games).
I think between this and the four noisy fans I have in my PC right now, my next one will not be bought with gaming in mind. Maybe a tablet PC
About all the PC has is a lot more choice/freedom in hardware (though not really - usually two or three companies producing the top gaming hardware). Those of us with money can get a slightly better gaming experience (well, audiovisual experience, anyway) - but even that has the price of incompatibility.
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
This article might matter if you're a student who inherited your family's old PC and want some hope of playing new games on it. Otherwise, it's irrelevant. You can buy a nice 2.4GHz Pentium 4 with a GeForce 4 for under $1000. Actually, you can go below $800 pretty easily right now, if you keep your current monitor. PC performance has been leveling out lately, and the capabilities of what now sells for $800 have barely been scratched.
I'm a game developer. I used to do high-end 3D game development on a P2-450 with 128MB of memory. I shipped commercial products on that system. It was a tad slow, but that was more because of swapping than anything else. Then I moved up to a P3-866 with 256MB. Now that was a nice system: very fast, no swapping, no complaints at all. Again, I shipped commercial products on that system, and meanwhile the gamer kiddies were all moaning about how you can't survive without anything below 1.5GHz or whatever. Heck, Dell advertising claims that a "low end" 1.8 GHz P4 is good for internet browsing and email. Then I moved up to the typical 2.4GHz system that everyone is buying these days. I can't really tell the difference. Compile times are faster, but they were pretty quick anyway.
Bottom line: If a game runs crappily on a system like this, then the developer should be put out of business. There's no excuse. Why mess with this stuff anyway, when you can buy the hassle-free game console of your choice for significantly less than a Radeon?
There are quite a few links that I'm not posting. Sorry. This is just the text. And be thankful, too! I had to wade through 10 very slow links! :)
i nd ex.html
i nd ex.html
I've written a few game-specific tweak guides for TweakTown in the past and in each of those guides I've had to cover some common ground such as where to find the latest drivers and how to update them, the best BIOS settings, general Windows optimization, and overclocking issues. It usually took up 1-2 pages of each guide and quite honestly would essentially be a repeat of the same information you may have seen in one of my previous guides.
This got me thinking "what would a lazy tweak guide writer do in this situation?" The answer came to me in a blinding flash of unoriginality - write a general system optimization guide which you can refer to often, and which is easy to manage and update because the information is all in one location. And so this guide was born.
As you read through the guide you may think some of it is a little obvious, or may be a little "untechnical". The truth of the matter is this guide is aimed at a wide audience, from people who have just starting using a PC, through to people who think Prof. Stephen Hawking is a nice man but a little dim.
Remember this is only a guide, and a simple central resource at that. If something is not mentioned here, be proactive! If you follow the links provided you'll see that there's a wealth of greater detail awaiting you if you want to know more about a particular item. If all else fails and you still have a thirst for knowledge, use trusty ol' Google to search for more information. That's what I do.
If you're already thinking "Why should I bother going through this guide, I just want my game to run faster man!" then you've missed the point. A lot of gaming problems are actually nothing to do with the game itself. In most cases it's a general system optimization issue of some sort. Do yourself a favour, take a few minutes of your life and read the following and I promise you'll find something of use which should have you gaming at full speed ASAP.
System Optimization - Page 2 [Hardware Setup]
Ok the layout for this guide is simple - we have to start at the very heart of your PC and work our way outwards from there. That means starting with the hardware, then moving on to the BIOS and ultimately the software such as operating system and drivers. If you really want a tight, fast, stable rig then you will need to shore up each department. The latest drivers won't do anything if the problem lies with a faulty graphics card, poor overclocking or incorrect BIOS settings.
Where I refer to other guides/utilities/sites I highly recommend you take time out and read them. I don't just throw in links for the hell of it - this is stuff I use myself to optimize my system and so far it's worked extremely well for me, so I'm sharing the wealth.
Hardware Setup
The first thing to do is to make sure that your PC is physically operating correctly and that no hardware is faulty or badly set up. Just because your computer boots up into Windows and everything seems ok, doesn't mean your PC is set up 100% correctly or that the hardware is working to its fullest potential.
- How Do I Know What I've Got?
If you've bought a pre-built computer and you have no real idea exactly what's "in the box" then the first thing you have to do is get all your system specifications. Ideally you should have a listing of each component, its manufacturer/brand, model number, and details such as amount of onboard memory. If this is not available to you, or you just want to be sure, download SiSoft Sandra 2003, which is a free benchmarking and system information utility, and run the relevant modules such as Mainboard Information, Video System Information, Sound Card Information, etc. There you'll see the exact specifications of the components, and you should note these down for future reference.
You should also note if you've got a pre-built PC and little knowledge of PCs in general, that the following information can potentially be harmful to your system, so please don't open up your case, fumble around, break the pins on your CPU, then email me angrily saying you're going to sue. Read, read, read...then do!
I recently built a PC and foolishly forgot to connect one of the obscure power connectors on the motherboard. Others with the same motherboard tell me it's a common mistake, but my PC seemed to be working fine initially. It did explain the occasional crashes I got in games though, and once I plugged in the extra connector - no more crashes.
By now the above example's got you thinking "so why am I listening to this guy?" My point is that it's easy for anyone to make a mistake when building a PC. Overlooking a connector, not setting a dipswitch correctly or not using the right type of cable are common mistakes. You can be thankful that one of the PC world's authorities, Tom's Hardware, has a recent 2-part guide on building your own PC which I recommend to everyone:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020904/
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020918/
Even if you still think your PC is rock solid, there are a lot of great tips in those guides. Pay particular attention to their instructions on how to properly connect a hard drive and CD-ROM/DVD drive. This is something I see done incorrectly by a lot of first-time PC builders, or for people who've added drives to an existing pre-built machine. The optimal primary/secondary master/slave configuration is very important to getting the best performance out of your drives.
This is one area I believe is either "over-blamed" or "under-blamed", depending on whether you're new to PCs or a "veteran". The new tend to think everything that's going wrong with their PC is due to faulty hardware. The veterans are convinced there is a setting somewhere which will fix that dead hard drive. The truth lies somewhere in the middle: PC hardware components are just like any other electronics devices - they can malfunction, or be damaged through abuse, and eventually they will just plain stop working.
How do you determine whether your hardware is faulty or not? It's not always easy, but try following these basic steps:
1. Read software tweak guides such as those linked to in this guide to optimize all the software and BIOS settings. If that doesn't improve the situation then that's the first indication that it is hardware-related in some way.
2. If you've overclocked your PC components, set them all to their defaults. For starters, the overclocking itself may have damaged a component (see Overclocking section), but sometimes a component which is overclocked too far can behave in a faulty manner. Remember that overclocking automatically voids your warranty, so at the very least don't expect support from your PC dealer if you mention the component is or has been overclocked.
3. Try the drastic step of a full reformat of your hard drive and then a clean reinstall of your operating system (see Operating System section). This should resolve a lot of problems. If it doesn't then the remaining areas of exploration are the configuration of your PC components or the BIOS settings.
4. Go through your BIOS settings carefully (see BIOS Optimization section) and if in doubt, or if you're still having problems, choose the "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" option.
5. If you've reached this step, it's time to open up your PC and refer to your components' instruction manuals, and/or the guides linked above, for correct setup. It may well be that a badly set switch or missing/incorrect cable is the source of your problems, or perhaps a build up of heat. While you're in there, look for any signs of extreme heat such as scorch marks, a burnt smell, or strange noises. Remember to completely switch off and unplug all your hardware before opening anything up, and to avoid damage to components from static electricity, wear a special wristband or ground yourself by touching the power supply box first.
6. Once you've exhausted all of the above options and you still suspect a component is faulty, it may be hard to determine which one. If in doubt don't attempt to repair or muck around with an item yourself. Take your entire PC to an authorized dealer or specialist PC technician. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and get something fixed correctly or replaced under warranty than to wind up losing all your data or suffering a destroyed component just because you decide to play PC Doctor one afternoon.
System Optimization - Page 3 [BIOS Optimization]
BIOS Optimization
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a program held on a small chip on your motherboard. It provides the instructions for what your PC should do as soon as it turns on. Your BIOS is independent of your operating system, which means that it is not affected by which operating system you use, or which version of drivers you've installed, or what your settings are in Windows for example. The BIOS supersedes all of that, and your drivers and operating system will load well after the BIOS has loaded up. The BIOS basically controls a range of hardware-related features and is the "middle-man" between your CPU and all the attached devices in your system.
All of this means that if there is an incorrect setting in your BIOS - that is a setting which is not optimal or correct for your hardware configuration - then you will have problems regardless of what you change in Windows, or which driver version you install.
- POST
As your BIOS starts to load, the first thing it does is the Power-On Self Test (POST), a diagnostic program which checks your components and makes sure everything is present and working OK. POST is usually extremely fast - blink and you'll miss it. You will only really notice it if it stops when encountering an error. POST error messages can be a bit obscure, but usually give you a lead as to where to look in your BIOS settings. A quick general guide to what the POST error beeps mean is here, but a more accurate indication is found in your motherboard's manual.
If you have no POST errors you will see your PC's startup screen, which shows such information as your BIOS type (e.g. Award), the key to press to access your BIOS settings (e.g. DEL, ESC or F2), the type of processor and its speed, RAM amount and RAM test, drive information, and so on. Note if any of this information is clearly incorrect, it may be that your hardware is extremely new and hence not recognized correctly by the BIOS, you've overclocked your PC too far, or you have bad BIOS settings.
At this point, if you quickly press the indicated key (usually DEL) repeatedly you can access your BIOS settings. If your BIOS has a password then you'll have to enter it first to access your BIOS settings. If you've forgotten the password, then try the following site.
- BIOS Settings
Once in your BIOS, there are a range of settings and they will differ based on which motherboard chipset and what type of BIOS you have. I cannot possibly cover them all here, nor can I give you the best settings as this will depend on your individual hardware configuration. What I can do is point you to this excellent Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide. The guide covers what each setting actually does, and when used in conjunction with your motherboard's user manual arms you with the information you need to figure out the best settings for your individual hardware configuration.
I do want to make special mention of RAM related settings, as it is almost a form of overclocking if you choose RAM timings which are faster than your RAM supports by default (see the above BIOS Guide for an explanation of RAM timings). Usually, your RAM default timings are determined by SPD (Serial Presence Detection). You can change these timings to increase RAM performance, but this can often cause problems along the same lines as overclocking other components (see the Overclocking section). Just keep in mind that if you're having any problems it could be the RAM timings as much as anything else.
- BIOS Updates
The BIOS is actually written on an EPROM (Eraseable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip, which means that it can be updated with new information. Motherboard manufacturers often release new BIOS versions which can improve performance, stability and compatibility, add new features or modify existing features, and fix known bugs. These new BIOS versions are available for download on the manufacturer's website, and I've provided a link to the support sites of the most common motherboard manufacturers below:
- ABIT
- ASUS
- DFI
- EPoX
- Gigabyte
- Intel
- Iwill
- MSI
- Shuttle
- VIA
Go to your manufacturer's site, download the latest BIOS for your exact motherboard model and follow the instructions on the site to "flash" (update) the chip on your motherboard with this new BIOS. A word of warning - flashing the BIOS can be tricky. If something goes wrong and your PC won't boot up then you may have to take your motherboard to a dealer to have the EPROM chip replaced, so when updating your BIOS follow the instructions to the letter. In particular, make sure your PC is not overclocked when flashing the BIOS.
If you're feeling game, there are enthusiast-modified BIOS out there which may provide added functionality and performance beyond manufacturer's specifications. One place to download such BIOS is BIOSMods, but remember that playing around with BIOS is a risky thing, so take care.
It's important to have the latest BIOS simply because it can help improve your PC's performance while at the same time ensuring that any known bugs with the hardware have been resolved.
System Optimization - Page 4 [Overclocking]
Overclocking
I'm going to run through the basics of overclocking, and the impact it has on games. If you're a veteran overclocker bear with me.
- What Is Overclocking?
Overclocking is the process of increasing the clock speed of a component of your PC. The "clock" referred to is a specialised oscillator pulsing with a frequency that determines the rate at which a processor can perform instructions. A 2 Gigahertz Pentium 4 for example has a frequency of oscillation of around 2 billion pulses per second. The theory of overclocking is simple: increase this clock speed and you'll increase the rate at which instructions are performed - ergo you have a faster PC.
This is similar to the way in which increasing the revs on an internal combustion engine means it can work faster. It's interesting to note that just like the engine, a PC which is now running faster will often also require more fuel (voltage) and cooling to perform correctly, otherwise just like the engine you risk overheating, a shut down, or even permanent damage. At the very least, it is well known that overclocking - depending on component tolerance and cooling - will reduce the life of your components, even if this is as trivial as getting 5 years out of a CPU instead of 10. On the other hand, if done correctly and within reason, overclocking will give a noticeable system performance boost for at most the cost of some extra cooling.
In practice system overclocking is usually done by increasing the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed in the BIOS. The FSB is the main pathway between your major system components, and as the FSB speed increases, information is transferred back and forth more rapidly as all your major components work off this bus speed. However there are certain problems with increasing the FSB. To start with, some components running off this bus, such as your AGP graphics card and PCI devices (e.g. Sound card) operate at a much lower bus speed by default, so your motherboard has special Dividers/Multipliers to maintain the PCI and AGP bus speeds at or close to their default (typically ~ 33Mhz for PCI and 66Mhz for AGP).
As you increase the FSB, your CPU speed will increase. Your RAM speed may also increase (depending on the memory divider/multiplier), which increases the amount of information the RAM can transfer back and forth with the CPU (referred to as Bandwidth). This improves performance but increases the stress on your RAM. At the same time, depending on your PCI/AGP dividers, the bus speeds on your graphics card and PCI devices may also increase. These devices can malfunction at higher bus speeds. All the while, as your system speed increases, at some point certain components, particularly the CPU but to some extent the RAM and AGP port, will require more voltage to fuel this increased performance. You can increase the voltage through your BIOS, but greater voltage equals greater heat, for which the standard cooling on your components - typically a metal heatsink with a fan on top - will no longer be adequate. Now you begin to appreciate the delicate balancing act which is overclocking!
For more information on FSB overclocking, check out our FSB Overclocking Guide, and for more on how heatsink cooling works, try our Heatsink Theory Guide. That's just the start. If you're interested, start searching for more information on overclocking.
- How Do I Overclock?
The main components which can be overclocked successfully for higher overall system performance are your CPU, RAM and Video Card. Now before you think I'm going to begin covering the actual steps required to overclock your PC, believe me it's too long and detailed and varies too much from system to system to be covered here. Some good starting points for finding out more are Beginner's Guide to Overclocking at Overclockers.com, a good site to pursue this topic, and this basic Overclocking Help Guide. We also have a Beginner's Guide to Overclocking nVidia Video Cards here at TweakTown which will show how a video card can be overclocked. Note that along with the utilities mentioned in that guide, I highly recommend RivaTuner for overclocking and tweaking your nVidia based video card.
The main aim of covering overclocking here is to give you some guidance on the impact of overclocking when optimizing your system, particularly for gaming.
- Overclocking and Games
Overclocking is a strange thing indeed. It's as much luck as it is science. Two people with identical systems will achieve different levels of overclock successfully (i.e. with stability and performance) due to factors such as different build qualities/dates of the components, different environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and humidity, different BIOS versions/settings, and finally different operating system and driver settings.
It's important to remember therefore that even if you've heard of "the same" machine as yours running at much higher speeds, your system could be limited by a number of factors and therefore you just might be pushing it too far in trying to reach this "guaranteed" speed.
Any time you overclock your system you are pushing it beyond specifications, so don't be surprised if this manifests itself in some very strange and unpredictable ways. Everyone who overclocks is familiar with some of the more noticeable problems of an unstable overclock: system freezes/resets/crashes to desktop, Windows blue screen errors (also called the Blue Screen Of Death - BSOD), registry corruption errors, PC not loading up or stopping part-way through loading, PC not even getting past POST (with beeping errors), and so forth.
While some of the above are clearly due to overclocking, some people don't realise that less frequent freezing/resets, strange application behaviour (not starting correctly, crashing to desktop at some point, flickering, graphical glitches, strange AI behaviour), corrupt downloaded files, corrupted files copied to/from the hard drive and/or CD/DVD-ROM, badly burnt CDRWs etc. are the more subtle signs of overclocking-related errors. This is something you should not put up with. There's no reason why your system can't be stable 99% of the time, especially if you run a recent operating system like Windows XP.
System Optimization - Page 5 [Overclocking (Part 2)]
Overclocking (Continued)
- Stress Testing
There's a point at which your system is "over"-overclocked for the combination of components and cooling you've got. The trick is determining exactly when is "too far", especially with the somewhat misleading guidance from some overclockers along the lines of "If it's not on fire, it can go higher". Here are some helpful free tools which should help you determine whether your system is acceptably stable at your current level of overclock:
- 3DMark2001SE - A graphical benchmarking tool, can also be used to determine whether your system will be stable for gaming. Run it on default settings, and under Options>Change tick Looping. Now, start up the benchmark, let it run for two hours or more (the longer the better), and come back to see the results. Your PC should still be running the benchmark when you come back, and the on-screen graphics should be clear without any glitches. If your PC has frozen or rebooted, crashed back to the desktop, or you can clearly see texture flickering and "sparkles" (dots appearing randomly) then your system is overclocked too far. Try additional cooling, and failing that simply scale back the overclock on either your video card and/or your CPU.
- Codecreatures - Another good graphical benchmarking similar to 3DMark, which also doubles as a stress test for your system. Run the benchmark several times and again if your system crashes or displays anomalies then you've overclocked too far.
- Prime95 - A program which will effectively stress test your CPU. Once you've installed the application, to run the actual stress test run Prime95.exe and choose the Just Stress Testing button. Next, under the Options menu select Torture Test to start testing. Also read the document Stress.txt that comes with the program when you get the chance. It will explain more about CPU stress testing and how Prime95 helps uncover instability. The program recommends running the torture test for between 6 - 24 hours. A heavily overclocked PC may crash within a short while of running the test, however if your PC lasts over 6 hours it should be stable enough for gaming.
- SiSoft Sandra 2003 - Sandra is a benchmarking and system information utility which is quite handy. Once you've installed Sandra, it has a range of modules for providing system information, but some are primarily for benchmarking and stress testing. Run the Burn-In Wizard module and you'll see that it allows you to select any or all of the 6 major benchmarking modules in Sandra. If you then continue, it will allow you to choose the number of times you wish to run these tests, or to simply run them continuously until stopped. I recommend running all but the File System and CD-ROM/DVD benchmarks in a continuous loop for at least 2 hours to test for stability. As always, if your system crashes or freezes at any point you know something's not right with your overclock. If you want to pinpoint the problem, try running individual modules on a loop (such as the CPU Arithmetic Benchmark by itself) and if there's a failure you'll have a better idea of which component is to blame.
- DocMemory - A memory testing utility which can identify RAM-specific problems by stress testing your memory. You will have to install the program on a floppy disk, then reboot your system booting from this floppy. Upon reboot it will start DocMem and default to the Stress Test mode. Simply choose the Test button to start the testing. If you have any crashes or errors then it's quite clear the problem is with your RAM.
Of course, if you have any current games with a demo mode or a benchmarking utility (such as Benchmark.exe in Unreal Tournament 2003) then I suggest running those for a lengthy period of time as well to see how stable your system is in a 'real world' gaming environment.
The aim of any system, overclocked or not, should be a combination of stability and performance, not one or the other. There's no point having a blindingly fast system if it crashes most of the time. Forget PC benchmarking "drag races" or bragging rights, the ultimate aim of a computer for every day use is to run your programs quickly and dependably. By the same token - and the reason why this guide was written - there's no point having great hardware if you're not going to work it to its full potential, so I am by no means saying that you shouldn't overclock - just that you should do it correctly.
System Optimization - Page 6 [Operating System]
Operating System
We've worked our way from the hardware to the software, and the most important piece of software on your system is the Operating System (OS). The OS is the interface between you the user and the hardware and peripherals of your system. It takes your inputs and converts them into information the hardware can understand, and vice versa.
For many years this was a Microsoft OS by the name of DOS (Disk Operating System). It consisted of plain black screen with green or white text, and the only input device was the keyboard. DOS holds some fond memories for the older ones among us, but Windows - although the earlier versions were somewhat unstable at times - is infinitely more friendly and easy-to-use.
Quite obviously optimizing your OS is imperative to a fast stable system. Below I provide resources and advice on how best to do that for your particular OS.
- Linux
In recent times an alternative to Windows has sprung up in the form of Linux. Now you can call me all the bad names under the sun, but I'm not going to cover Linux optimization in much detail here. If you want to optimize Linux, try a site like TuneLinux or this article at Tom's Hardware about Windows Gaming on Linux as your starting points.
Unfortunately I simply don't have the knowledge or experience to provide you with much Linux guidance.
- Windows Optimization
Like it or not, Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system at present on personal computers. There are several versions of Windows floating around on PCs out there, the most common ones being used for gaming being Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), Windows Millennium (ME), Windows 2000 and Windows XP (Home and Pro).
I don't want to get into a debate over which OS is best for gaming, as that is a topic of contention amongst geeks which I can't resolve here. Suffice it to say that unless you've performed a clean reformat and install of each OS on your current system, thoroughly tweaked the OS and run benchmarks on each then you won't ever truly know which is actually the fastest or the best for you. Results from other people will differ based on their exact setup, level of overclock, optimization of the OS and BIOS, etc. In the end it all depends on what you can afford, what features you're looking for, what type of interface you like, how large your hard drive and memory is, how new your hardware is, and so forth. Everything that follows is my personal view based on experience and research.
- Windows XP (Home & Professional)
I personally use WinXP Pro and so it's only natural for me to have recently completed a comprehensive Windows XP Tweak Guide for it. This guide brings together all the main known performance tweaks, and without being modest, I highly recommend you read and follow the guide from start to finish to optimize XP correctly. I also provide links to other Windows XP tweaking resources in that guide, so there's plenty more XP tweaking to discover once you've read the guide. Below I address three common questions about Windows XP:
- What is the Difference Between WinXP Home and WinXP Pro?
Well effectively there is no difference whatsoever for performance and gaming purposes. The main differences are that XP Pro has a few extra utilities/functions for administering networks, such as the Group Editor. If you have WinXP Home you are not missing out on anything, and in fact if you have a standalone machine at home (i.e. you're not connected to a network), XP Home is just as good as XP Pro for your purposes.
- What is the Difference Between OEM, Upgrade, Academic and Full Versions of Windows?
There is no difference - aside from price and packaging - between any of these versions in terms of performance or content. These are just different methods by which Microsoft can target particular markets. OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer and an OEM copy of Windows can only be sold with the first-time purchase of several major hardware components (basically a PC). The upgrade edition is based on the assumption that you own a valid earlier version of Windows. The upgrade is the same as the full edition, and you can do a full clean install on a reformatted hard drive using the upgrade edition. The only difference is that during the installation it will ask you to insert your earlier version of Windows to verify that you're entitled to the cheaper upgrade edition. The Academic edition is again identical to the equivalent standard version, however you can only purchase it if you are an educator or a student.
- Which File System is Better - NTFS or FAT32?
This is another contentious topic, and the answer depends on your requirements. From the Microsoft Windows XP manual comes this advice:
Use FAT32 if:
- Your hard drive is smaller than 32GB.
- You want to install more than one operating system on your computer.
Use NTFS if:
- Your hard drive is larger than 32GB and you are running only one operating system on your computer.
- You want enhanced file security.
- You need better disk compression.
Essentially NTFS is a newer, more stable and much more secure file system which has several benefits FAT32 doesn't. For example, if you format your hard drive in NTFS and password protect it, no one can access the information on the drive without the correct password, even if they physically steal it. As for the speed difference, well for larger drives it is negligible. In my opinion the benefits of NTFS, and the similarities in speed with FAT32 make a strong case for formatting your drive in NTFS, unless you have a very small drive or want to install more than one OS on it.
- Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is extremely similar to Windows XP, quite simply because XP is based on Windows 2000. Many of the tweaks and issues covered in the WinXP section above will apply to Windows 2000. However here are some Windows 2000 Tweak Guides which should help you if you run this OS:
- Tweak3D Windows 2000 Tweak Guide
- Rojak Pot Windows 2000 Hints and Tips
- ClanKiller's Windows 2000 Network Tweak Guide
- ClanKiller's Windows 2000 Speed Tweak Guide
- WinGuide's Windows 2000 Tweaks
- Tweaker's Asylum Windows 2000 Tweak Guide
The above guides should cover the bulk of your Windows 2000 tweaking needs. However there is one question which is often asked by Windows 2000 users:
- Should I Switch from Windows 2000 to Windows XP?
From my research and experience, I have seen that Windows 2000 and Windows XP are similar in speed. Windows 2000 used to have issues with compatibility for games as it was originally designed for professional (office and server) use. However with the release of three Service Packs, the latest being Service Pack 3 (SP3), the OS has no major compatibility or performance issues, just like Windows XP.
I personally believe that Windows XP provides more flexibility in interface customization, additional features and built-in support for the latest peripherals, however I don't think anything really warrants switching from Windows 2000 just yet. If you're happy with Windows 2000 stick with it. If you're using any other version of Windows, or choosing an OS for the first time, I would recommend Windows XP because it has excellent stability and memory management compared to the Win9X/ME family, and quite simply because Microsoft and the major developers are focusing their driver support and compatibility efforts towards WinXP.
System Optimization - Page 7 [Operating System (Part 2)]
Operating System (Continued)
- Windows Millennium Edition
In most respects Windows Millennium Edition (ME) is the same as Windows 98 Second Edition (SE). It does contain some additional features and some hidden updates (such as some modem tweaks) from Win98SE, but in most cases any tweak guide for Windows ME should apply to Windows 98SE and vice versa, and to a significant extent Window 98. Windows ME is much maligned because of the cosmetic nature of its "upgrade" from Windows 98SE. A lot of this is unfair however, because Windows ME can be just as fast as Windows 98SE given the right tweaking, and in my experience is just as good for gaming as the older OS.
Here are some Windows ME specific tweak guides, although all the Windows 98/98SE tweak guides further below can be used for Windows ME as well:
- TweakTown WinME System Tweaking Guide
- TweakTown WinME Modem Tweaking Guide
- Tweak3D WinME Tweak Guide
- Tweaker's Hideout WinME Tweak Guide
- WinGuide's WinME Tweaks
Remember to check the Windows 98/98SE guides below for more tweaking information, and again for Windows 98/98SE users, read through the above WinME guides as many tweaks will apply to you.
- Windows 98 / 98 Second Edition
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) was released around a year after the original Windows 98 was released, and added a range of features and updates to the original Windows 98. Basically you can download Windows 98 SR1 (Service Pack 1) which will add all the important features and updates to the original Windows 98 - minus some of the additional user interface updates of Windows 98SE. If you're running Windows 98, make sure you download SR1 and all additional updates from the Microsoft Windows 98 Downloads Site otherwise you may have major compatibility and performance problems with the latest games and applications.
Even if you're running the newer Windows 98SE it's vital that you update your OS by using Windows Update, or by going here. Because these operating systems predate some of the newer technology, they have limitations in terms of recognising or correctly utilizing some new hardware or newer configurations. For example, the Windows 98/98SE/ME family all have issues with managing more than 512MB of RAM efficiently - see this Microsoft Knowledge Base Article for more information. Quite obviously some of these problems are inherent in the design of the OS and can only be "fixed" by upgrading your Windows. Many others require the updates or tweaks to overcome.
There is a vast range of Windows 95/98/98SE (commonly referred to as Win 9X) Tweak Guides available. Some are listed below:
- Tweak3D Win9X Tweak Guide
- Tweak3D Win9X Shell Tweak Guide
- WinGuide's Windows Tweaks
Remember that you can refer to the guides under the Windows ME section as well for more tweaking information.
In the end Windows 98, 98SE and ME will be phased out and you will find support for these OS harder and harder to come by. It is a sad fact of life that whether through deliberate obsolescence or simple technological progression or both, you will need to upgrade your operating system. This has already happened to Windows 95 to a major extent and that is why I don't cover it here. It is simply not a viable gaming platform anymore if you want the best performance, stability and compatibility on a modern PC - MS has dropped support for it altogether and so have most developers and manufacturers.
- General Windows Optimization
No matter which version of Windows you run, there are some simple tips which will give you the best performance:
1. As much as possible, start with a clean full install of your OS of choice. That is, I strongly recommend against "upgraded" installations. If you want to upgrade (say from Windows 98SE to Windows XP), do a full reformat of your hard drive and install the new OS. Believe me, it makes a difference.
2. If you have replaced any major system components such as motherboards, CPUs or even graphics cards, I recommend a reformat and reinstall. This is particularly true if you've changed the brand of the chipset (e.g. from Intel to VIA, or from ATi to nVidia). While your system should operate correctly because of the plug-and-play nature of new systems, your performance is not optimal unless you do a clean install of your OS with the new component(s).
3. If you've installed Windows XP, and you want to convert to NTFS from an existing FAT32 file system, I highly recommend reformatting in NTFS for optimal performance. You can convert from FAT32 to NTFS without a reinstall (see my WinXP Tweak Guide above), but the cluster sizes will not be optimal and hence your performance will not be at its best.
4. No matter which version of Windows you run, always run the Windows Update function (under Tools>Windows Update in Internet Explorer 6, or click the Windows Update Icon) as often as possible, as many critical updates are necessary to maintain a stable, secure PC environment. The older your version of Windows, the more vital it is that you run Windows Update regularly. If you cannot run Windows Update then either you have a pirated copy of Windows, in which case I cannot help you, or if you have a legitimate copy try this link to get to Windows Update. If you want to download updates and save them for later installation and archiving, try the Windows Update Corporate Site.
5. If there is a Service Pack available for your version of Windows, install the latest one. You may hear rumours about SP1 for Windows XP "ruining XP". If SP1 does cause you problems then it's highly likely your current install of Windows is not very sound. Ideally you should start with a clean install of your OS, then install the latest SP for best results. If you can't do that then back up all your important data first, then install the Service Pack just to be safe. I have upgraded my existing XP Pro with SP1 and found no problems in over 2 months of use. There are no tricks to installation, just run as intended. These Service Packs are essential if you want your machine to be up to date and function as intended.
6. If you have any problems with Windows and the answer is not in one of the above guides, your best bet is to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base. It is a rich and revealing source of information on a range of Windows problems, and if you spend a bit of time on the Knowledge Base it may save you hours of frustration.
Well that's the basics of Operating System optimization. Next up, we look at the drivers which are so essential to keeping your system performing well.
System Optimization - Page 8 [Device Drivers]
Device Drivers
A Device Driver (or simply Driver for short) is a program which controls a specific hardware device on your system. Your OS should already have built into it all the drivers necessary to communicate adequately with devices which were around at or around the time your OS came out. The issue then is why should you update your drivers? Updating a driver may be required due to one or more of the following basic reasons:
1. Your device may be much newer than your operating system.
2. Your device may have features which were not activated in the original set of drivers.
3. Your device may have "bugs" (problems) or incompatibilities which can be reduced or resolved by means of software driver updates.
The truth of the matter is that now that almost everyone has some form of internet connection, manufacturers are willing to rely on regular driver updates to address the above issues. This may mean that a piece of hardware or software may well leave the factory with known issues/incompatibilities or with features which aren't quite working right. The manufacturer then depends on the end user updating their driver over the internet when these issues are finally sorted out and a new driver is released. It's not an ideal situation but that's where it currently stands.
More commonly though, because some games are released with new and sometimes not thoroughly tested features, certain hardware - particularly graphics and sound cards - will require driver updates to properly utilize these features.
As you can see, it is extremely important that you have the latest drivers. Not so much for the sake of "having the latest", but because a great many problems in games and applications are actually resolved in the latest drivers, particularly if the game or application is a popular one.
- Microsoft WHQL Certified and Non-Certified Drivers
Before we go any further, it's important to note that some drivers have been "certified" by the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) for use with Windows. Other drivers may not have this certification, and you may receive a warning about it in Windows. Without getting into a big anti- or pro-Microsoft debate here, suffice it to say that "non-certified" drivers are safe to use on your machine. WHQL certification is a quality control exercise Microsoft has introduced to ensure driver compatibility with Windows, but it is extremely expensive for developers to get each and every driver they release WHQL-certified, so often drivers are simply not certified. Also WHQL certification does not automatically guarantee that a driver will fix your problems. It simply means it's had an extra level of testing to make sure it doesn't have any major problems in a Windows environment with a range of hardware. The upshot of all of this is that you can safely ignore whether a driver is WHQL certified as long as it's from a reputable company, like those I link to below.
- Beta Drivers
When software is being developed it undergoes various levels of testing, including alpha and beta (pre-release) stages. A beta driver is a driver which is not officially supported by the manufacturer, but often these drivers are "leaked" onto the internet and in recent times can even be downloaded directly from the chipset-makers website (see links below).
While beta drivers can certainly help resolve problems, you should be wary of them due to the fact that they have not been fully tested - and in fact they're often released so that the public can be the guinea pigs at no cost to the developer. As long as you back up data regularly, and if available to you, you use System Restore or some other method to protect yourself, installation of a beta driver is not a giant threat. Just remember that if things do go wrong the drivers are officially unsupported, and in some cases if they're leaked you will not receive much sympathy from technical support.
- Video Card Drivers
Your video card drivers have a large bearing on your graphics performance in games. Certain anomalies in newer games such as flickering or missing textures, objects appears inside another, garbled text, etc. can often be resolved through driver updates. In any case, if you contact a technical support area chances are the first thing they'll ask you is to update your drivers, so do that first and foremost.
There are two types of video card drivers you can download - manufacturer-specific drivers and reference drivers. What's the difference? Well modern graphics cards are based on a reference chipset design by one company which is then used by another company (perhaps with some features added or removed) to manufacture the final video card which sits in your machine. For example, nVidia will produce the GeForce FX reference chipset design, which will then be bought by particular manufacturers such as ASUS who may then decide to use faster memory chips on the final card they produce, or add Video Out capabilities, and so forth.
Because most manufacturers do not currently deviate much (if at all) from the reference design, you can usually download and install the reference driver from the chipset designer's website without any problems. The manufacturer will also have a modified (and usually older) version of these reference drivers which are customized for your exact video card, and will utilize every feature on your card - such as any video out capabilities. For most people I would recommend using the reference drivers as these are the latest and hence have the most recent bug fixes. If you have any problems with the reference drivers (such as inactive features on your card) switch to the manufacturer's latest set.
Below are the links to the driver download pages for the most popular chipset makers:
- nVidia
- ATi
- SiS
- Matrox
- S3
You can also download a range of official and unofficial (beta, leaked) drivers from the following 3D graphics websites:
- 3DChipset
- Guru3D
- VideoDrivers
- ABitboy
Finally, if you want to download manufacturer-modified drivers, the following are some of the more popular video card manufacturers' support sites:
- Abit
- ASUS
- Creative
- Gainward
- Gigabyte
- Hercules
- Leadtek
- PowerColor
- X-Micro
Note you can also download new BIOS for your video card from the manufacturer's website (where available). Generally speaking you shouldn't need to update the BIOS on your video card, but the procedure is much the same as flashing the BIOS on your motherboard - take extreme care.
System Optimization - Page 9 [Device Drivers (Part 2)]
Device Drivers (Continued)
- Microsoft DirectX
DirectX is a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) - such as Direct3D - built into Windows which allows software developers to access complex multimedia functions with greater ease. What that means is that most games require DirectX to run in Windows as they were designed around it, and most recent games require DirectX version 8.1 or higher. Version 8.1 of DirectX is already built into Windows XP, so if you have an older version of Windows you'll have to download and install the latest version of DirectX. Most recent games also include the version of DirectX they require on the game CD, so check there first. You can download the latest version of DirectX - currently 8.1b - at the Microsoft DirectX Home Page.
There are newer beta versions of DirectX currently available around the internet, such as DirectX 9.0 Release Candidate 1. There is also a DirectX 9.0 Uninstaller available in case things go wrong. My recommendation is to stay away from non-official versions of DirectX, as it is such a crucial part of Windows (and extremely difficult to uninstall properly) that if anything goes wrong you may have to completely reinstall your Windows. Better safe than sorry in this case.
If you want to know which version of DirectX is currently running on your system - and in fact a whole lot more information about your system components - go to Start>Run and type "DXDiag" (without the quotes). The DirectX Diagnostic utility will open up, and you'll see your DirectX version near the bottom of the first screen. You can use DXDiag to change some of your hardware settings and test and troubleshoot your multimedia components. Very handy indeed.
- Sound Card Drivers
Just like your video card, your sound card needs the latest drivers to ensure peak operating efficiency. The following is a list of driver download links for the major sound card manufacturers:
- AOpen
- Creative
- Guillemot
- Hercules
- Turtle Beach
If your manufacturer is not above, try one of these general sound card driver sites:
- Driver Zone
- Gold Files
There are often additional utilities and demos which you can download for your sound card which may help increase the usefulness of the card. These should also be available on your manufacturer's site, or on the installation CD provided with your sound card, so hunt around.
- Motherboard Drivers
Your motherboard is just like any other piece of hardware - it requires drivers to operate correctly. While your OS will contain drivers which support most motherboards without a problem, it's strongly advised that you update your motherboard drivers to get the best performance and to fix any known bugs and compatibility issues. Motherboard driver updates go hand-in-hand with BIOS updates.
Just like graphic cards, motherboards are based on a reference chipset which may then be altered by the final manufacturer - and often is. However it is recommended that unless you have a very unique chipset (such as so-called "hybrid" chipsets) that you use the reference drivers from the chipset designer, with links to the download sites for these drivers provided below:
- VIA (also see TweakTown's VIA Driver Guide/FAQ for more information)
- Intel
- SiS
- nVidia
General sites for downloading motherboard drivers include:
- Guru3D
- Motherboards.org
For manufacturer-specific drivers, check the links provided for motherboard manufacturers in the BIOS section above.
- Hard Drive, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and CD-RW Drivers
For most purposes your Hard Drive, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and CD-RW will not require a driver update as such, because the motherboard drivers (see above) for the controllers connected to these drives are sufficient. However, you can download Firmware updates which act as both a driver and a BIOS update. Just like your motherboard and graphics card, your drive has a chip onboard which contains information on how to communicate with your system and also contains information on the best way to manage the drive itself, such as controlling drive speeds during read/write, and management of error checking and protection checking procedures.
Firmware updates are typically available from your drive manufacturer's site and require a similar procedure (and caution) as flashing the BIOS on a motherboard or graphics card. The following are a list of common hard drive manufacturers:
- IBM (also refer to this site for IBM Drive Firmware updates and information)
- Maxtor
- Seagate
- Western Digital
For CD/DVD/CDRW drives try the manufacturer's website (there are too many to list), or the following excellent general site to obtain new firmware for your drive:
- The Firmware Page
It is not essential that you update your drive's firmware, except in circumstances such as the IBM 60GXP and 75GXP drives which are prone to crash without a firmware update, or if you have an older CD/DVD/CDRW drive and you want to make sure it remains compatible with newer software/hardware.
Other peripherals such as digital cameras, optical mice or printers may well have driver updates which you can download and install, but usually the drivers which accompany such devices on their installation CDs are sufficient, and if you run a newer OS like WinXP, most current peripherals or devices are supported straight out of the box without even needing to install additional drivers.
System Optimization - Page 10 [Conclusion]
Conclusion
Well by now you're probably sick and tired of your PC and you want to trash the entire thing and replace it with a Mac. This is a very dangerous line of thinking, and I would urge you to seek professional psychiatric help before even thinking of buying a Mac. The truth is that a PC is a complex machine, made of up several different components of varying age, quality and function. Top that off with an operating system which is designed to be compatible with near infinite combinations of hardware and software and of course you need to spend some time and effort optimizing, customizing and maintaining your PC. It's a lot like a motor vehicle - every once in a while something goes wrong and it has to go to a mechanic. Even if nothing goes wrong it has to be serviced regularly to keep everything in tune. A PC needs the same sort of attention.
Hopefully this guide has been some help in giving you a central resource for PC troubleshooting, maintenance and optimization, particularly when it comes to gaming. Modern PC games push computer hardware and software to its absolute limit, and while you may be able to run older games on your PC without a problem rest assured that a cutting edge game will bring it to its knees and uncover a weak link in no time.
I want to thank all the sites I've linked to for providing a wealth of information and resources for PC users. I want to state categorically that there may well be errors in this guide, although I have made every effort to make sure everything is accurate. I guarantee that this guide will be kept up-to-date and I'll be continually refining and adding to the content to make sure it remains useful. If you find an error or a dead (non-working) link, or if you have some feedback, please email me (click my name at the top of the guide) and let me know. I try and respond to every email I get. You can also jump onto the TweakTown Forums and discuss any of the topics in this guide in the relevant forum.
Now if you've been referred here from another guide, it's time to get back there and continue your tweaking!
"Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
-Marilyn Manson
Used to be I would never own a console. Not gonna happen, not gonna do it - my PC is faster, better, has a hard drive -
Then I played Final Fantasy VII, and got hooked into consoles. Now, I prefer them. Why? True plug in play.
Buy/Rent game.
Insert into PS2/GameCube/Xbox/Gameboy Advance.
Turn on.
Play.
That's it. Granted, there are some games that don't "console" real well - I'm still not sold on FPS games on the console (though the developers who make their games keyboard/mouse compatible get kudos in my book), and games like Starcraft are just not happening (though there are some wonderful turn based strategy games), but overall, my console gets a bigger workout than my PC does for games these days.
What would make it better? Well, I wouldn't mind if Sony would make the PS3 with a built in hard drive (goodbye, memory cards!) and keep the USB (for keyboard/mouse FPS, online games, and when they start making Command and Conquer style PS2 games that I like), and include a VGA output by default (or a real adapter rather than a third party hack). Then I could just plug it into a monitor, and the only computers I'd really need would be my PowerMac and my Linux Server in the corner.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
As a zealot tweaker, I disagree that tweaking is useless. First off, if someone thinks they are going to double the speed of their system with some tweaks, thats ignorance. Tweaking serves two purposes for games: performance and quality. You know how often you can goto a support forum for a new game and see people saying, "Why does ___ run so slow?" and they dont realize they have all of the default game graphic settings on, which probably including shadows, realtime lighting, antialiasing, anistropic filtering and such. Understanding what these settings do can GREATLY improve your experience. No, this is not like buying a Radeon 9700, but thats $320, and this is free w/ a little time. Saying that tweaking is useless is like saying that recompiling your kernel is pointless if it works. Don't whine about people bothering to make the most of their hardware, no one is forcing you to do the same.
"What can a thoughtful man hope for mankind on Earth, given the experience of the past million years? Nothing." -Bokonon
Wing Commander 3 plays just fine on my old P2/266 with 128MB of Ram and a Voodoo1 video card :)
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
But pseudol33t "gamerz" have to have a reason waste big money buying the newest CPU and graphics card. It's group therapy for spendthrifts..."See! The red line goes past the blue line on this website! This justifies my spending $500!"
Flipping a few switches in your BIOS isn't gonna make your computer that much faster (unless you have one of those 486's with the "TURBO" button).
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
When you write a game you have to write to a certain architecture. The fast way to do something under one API is often totally incompatible with the fast way to do it under another API. When you have some virtual machine running interference between the program and the CPU, like java, it always results in a performance hit.
But there is another kind of evil that we must fear most... and that is the indifference of good men.
Now if only TweakTown promised they would find hints of use which will have them serving pages at full speed in no time.
1) ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 chipset motherboard
2) Fastest Athlon XP you want to spend money on, Athlon XP 2400+ at minimum
3) Pair of Corsair DIMMs, PC3200C2 or higher, 256meg or 512meg each
4) Thermalright SK7 or SLK800 copper heatsink
5) Arctic Silver 3 thermal compound, follow the application instructions on their website
6) Fastest GeForce4 Ti (or Radeon 9700 Pro) that you want to spend money on, I'd go with one of the new Ti4200 8X cards and save up for the GeForceFX (next year)
7) Seagate Barracuda V 120gig IDE HD, the SATA version if it's available and has Linux drivers by the time you're ready to buy, alternatively a Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 SCSI drive and controller if you have way more money than me
8) Lian Li aluminum case of your choice
9) YS Tech rheostat (adjustable) 80mm fan for that Thermalright heatsink, or the highest RPM 80mm fan your ears can tolerate
10) Pioneer DVR-105 4x/2x DVD-R/RW drive, just because.
Substitute an ASUS A7M266-D and pair of Athlon XP 2400+ chips modded for MP operation (until the real MP 2400+'s are available) if you like. That's what I did. It's soooo nice. Make sure you get 266MHz FSB CPUs if you go this route as that's all the board supports.
Ok, now that he provided bait to get his server /.ed, maybe he can provide some real tweaking advice, like secret registry hacks or something. This was nothing but basic advice and a bunch of links. Woo hoo never seen that one done before...
"Website Optimization Guide for Would-be Slashdot FrontPagers"
Is all this crud really necessary? I still have my 1.1Ghz, it started with 128Mb, and new games were slowing down, I "borrowed" some memory up to 512Mb, it flies again. To all you whinging kiddies, " boo hoo, my daddies 2.5Ghz with 6 Terabytes of memory wont run Unreal2003", I run it on a 1.1Ghz with 512Mb and a TNT2 card, even a a res of 1024. Christ, people just need to learn a little bit of patience and a little know how, but no, people just want it now, and they want it done by someone else so they dont have to think!
At the end of the day, K.I.S.S.
(Keep It Simple, Stupid!)
Awesome graphics, nope TV's too crap ,low res, low frame rate.
Internet multiplayer support, but no lan parties?
Play in your comfortable living room, and my PC is, umm, in the living-room where my hifi used to be.
System = same price as a mid range pc video card, check, games at twice the price check.
Largest selection of games? hmm.... I still play low-fi games, and have a huge selection of low-fi PC games.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Don't worry about Mr. Tweak, he's some teenage kid in Australia. Anyone who used to read the [H]ardOCP (I stopped several years ago) will remember him as the kid that threatened to sue Kyle for not linking to his crappy website. Of course, he didn't just threaten Kyle directly--he sent his complaints to a whole bunch of hardware site webmasters. He's just another one of those dime-a-dozen specials.
Articles on Alternative fuels/vehicles and high speed trains stay readable right from the get go.
:)
An article on getting a few extra FPS's out of RtCW or Unreal Tournament and the server is reduced to molten slag.......
Guess slashdotters are more concerned with fragging their opponents than real life.
PS. Ive been trying to get to the site since I saw it posted. I want my FPS!
Yes, having a GF is a wonderful way of optimizing Pr0N, but it's a LOT like optimizing your system.
In fact, one of the best ways to optimize your system(GF) is to marry her. Performance increases dramatically and the cost drops significantly.
The problem though is that once you have a wife, the negative effects of optimization start happening, like kids.
Then they scream that their saggy (you know whats) are all your fault, she's tired all the time, you get interrupted by crying/fighting children, etc.
The solution then is to get a new GF (And dump the old). This costs money.
Repeat this cycle enough times and soon you'll be back where you started from :-(
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
I can't get to the site (/. effect).
Took a bit of reading through the comments to find out that it was an XP tweaking guide...totally worthless...
In the future please, please include what OS this type of stuff is for so I won't waste my time.
I could use one right now....
..... hard to make comments about something you can't read!!!
....
:)
I'd mirror this for everyone, except it doesn't appear to be possible to get a copy of the original article!!
Grrr
There goes a chance to be a karma theif
Instead of writing articles about optimizing game systems, perhaps we should learn how to optimize our web servers first
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
the system tweaks, optimises and plays games with you!
What a collection of self-evident drivel... Basically he's saying that overclocking can make your system unstable, you should check your BIOS version, driver version and not run too much beta stuff. And maybe overclocking can increase performance, unless it makes your computer crash....
Yeah... helpful.
//TheToon
It seems they need to tweak their server for webserving instead of gaming, it would appear it could not handle the dreaded slashdot effect. Would have been an interesting article if their server wasn't on fire right now.
today is spelling optional day.
This article had no mention of Linux, Mac, or any other Non-Windows tweaks. I've seen better tweaking guides at geocities pages, so I don't see where they get off calling their guid "comprehensive". Maybe they should substitute "Yet another" for "comprehensive".
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
The only time I ever tweaked my system was when I was in college. I had time to tweak but not the money to buy better hardware. These days the opposite is true. I have the money to buy better hardware but not the time to tweak. I prefer the latter. Now if only I still played computer games.
A true nerd will optimize his system, no matter how long it takes. When did everyone around here become a "white collar" nerd? I understand that most of these tweaks are... well... misguided, but half of the readers here act... well... afraid of tweaking there systems. What happened to the days of the computer cowboys? When did everyone lose their enthusiasm, their drive for computers? BTW, if you are afraid to go into the BIOS, I pity you. You can actually gain a lot in terms of performance with BIOS tweaks. And flashing a BIOS? Piece of cake. Try soldering resistors onto a video card to up the voltage. Now THAT's nerdy!
Listen to my experimental-industrial-techno!
One of the things you want to do as a Linux gamer who really cares about getting the last few FPS out of a box should be to set up dedicated gaming sessions as part of the login process. This means that the only thing running in the box will be whatever minimal services you need, X and the actualy game you are running.
If you use gdm for your logins, then create a script named, say, 'Quake3' in /etc/gdm/Sessions which has contents like:
#!/bin/sh /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession /usr/bin/Quake3
exec
Make sure this is executable (chmod 755 /etc/gdm/Sessions/Quake3) and you should be set.
Then when you login to your box, choose the Quake3 session in the top left and type in your user name and password as normal. The game will launch immediately with nothing else running at all. The main benefit of this is that you free as many of the resources available to be dedicated to game playing.
Cheers,
Toby Haynes
Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.
Yes, but this wasn't a guide for those true nerds. This is a "general system tweaking guide", and anyone who could actually follow his tips without getting themselves into serious trouble already knew everything he said. Guides like this only help newbies wreck their systems.
Maybe they need to read the doc about 'Optimizing your server for the Slashdot effect'
I quit being a nerd after working in IT for several years. Now, I really want to spend as little time in front of a computer as is humanly possible. I can't stand the damn things. I'm still a geek, but a different kind of geek.
It didnt even try to load up the page. Perhaps if they overclocked the server's video card, got a water cooler + copper heat sink, and mucked around in the BIOS, they'd get a 3.3423% increase in load capacity.
'When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.' -HST
I was disappointed with the depth of this article. I expected lots of little hints and tricks that I didn't know about but instead found most of the material was common sense stuff for anyone who had been around computers for any amount of time.
If you *really* want to get deep inside the guts of optimizing a Windows box I can think of no better guide than O'reilly's.
Optimizing Windows for Games, Graphics and Multimedia by David L. Farquhar
This book is currently out of print and is getting a little long in the tooth (published in 1999) but the internals for Windows doesn't really change that radically from a tuner's perspective. This book isn't a mere collection of little tricks but gives you a more fundamental understanding of Windows and how to trim the fat. The Amazon user rating system gives it 5 stars and rightfully so. To top it off you can pick up a used copy for about $8 or so at half.com among other places.
This is really a great book for anyone looking to get the most out of their Windows machine or just trying to understand the black box that is Windows. I used some of the tricks mentioned in this book on my wife's old p233 laptop w/96MBs RAM. Her Win98SE box has been going for almost two years now w/o any serious stability or performance problems. Granted, she's not a niddler and only does a certain set number of tasks on this laptop but I think that's pretty darn good for a Windows 98 box.
G. Washington on Government "it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
And for Windows OS's only, from what I read on downloading SiSoft (or do they have a Linux version I don't know about?)
Of course when I AskSlashdot about whether or not people have written to the major gaming magazines about covering the Linux Gaming world, it was denied to even be asked...hmmmm
Has anyone thought that if they were to do as I have and WRITE the major gaming magazines and manufacturers to include Linux as a platform for coverage that they may see the interest is out there?
You keep going until you die..."Me".
Don't marry a bitch.
Aside from getting the best hardware you can afford, if you want the best performance out of your gaming machine, don't do anything else with that computer than play games. Don't even install any other software (save Mozilla for downloading patches, etc) but the base operating system. Anything else you install can have hidden stuff that will reduce your performance. All this extra tweaking crap is closing the barn door after the horses have already ran.
Nope, It's on a TV stand ;->
RF keyboards and Mice are handy, no leads running accross the living room.
oh, and I have a rocking chair.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Well
my typing's quick, but my spelling is poor.
My speech is, ummm.... incomprehensible at times and I frequently sound like a cave man.
I think I'll stick to the keyboard, at least I can be understood that way, well maybe just about.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
The mere existance of dumb people should not require smart people to talk like friggin lawyers all the time. Can I quote you on that? I think this is gonna be my new sig...
What happened to the days of the computer cowboys? When did everyone lose their enthusiasm, their drive for computers?
When we grew up and had to make our living off them. When we had to spend long periods of time at freinds homes or parties fixing terribly mangled setups.
Or, more specifically, when we started to get a life.
The Internet is generally stupid
They want their car back.
Just how many games are there for linux? 3? Iknow I'm oversimplifying, but I don't hear much about linux games, especially here, except for the purpose of serving. Show me a couple of aisles of linux games and Ill learn linux. Tell me to look around, and i'll ask why. If there was that many games worth it, then there would be more talked about offerings than tux racer.
I thought they meant a system as like a computer game, optimizing the code for that. Or analysis of a multivariable function to find optimal results.
1987 US CRX Si specs:
91 bhp@5500rpm
1953 lb
0-60: 8.5 sec
1/4 mile: 16.7
top speed: 115 mph
According to the same site, a CRX with an aftermarket supercharger and intercooler (and one would assume beefed up tires, suspension, drivetrain to handle the extra torque) can do a 5.7 0-60 and a 14.8 1/4 mile. And even after all that money, it still looks like a shitty old Honda. Now:
Corvette LS1 | Z06:
350@5600 | 385@6000
3214 lbs | 3115 lbs
0-60: 4.6 sec | 4.0 sec
1/4 mile: 13.22 | 12.6
top speed: 175mph | 171mph
Unless by "well-tweaked" you mean "full-blown tube-chassis racecar running high boost and nitrous with few or no original parts," you're talking out your ass.
nothing good can come of this
today's latest highly demanding PC games
I'd rather stick with yesterday's intelligently designed PC games. Either I am getting old, or today's games are getting dumber at twice the rate that they're getting prettier. (Or, most likely, both.)
The last game that seriously impressed me was Jagged Alliance 2, and that runs just fine with no tweaking at 166MHz. I bet I'll have more fun playing Zork than you will with any of today's latest highly demanding games, and the most enjoyable part of your evening will probably be the tweaking.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
Exactly. After working 8-10 hour days the last thing I wish to do is tweak my box and then spend 3 hours undoing it from a erd disk, etc.
Why mess with shit that works for a 5 percent gain? It's not worth the possible downtime if it breaks.
Holy crap, I didn't reallize Emacs was a gaming console!
You have to reverse the polarity. THEN it will run cool. Reversing the polarity can solve many of life's problems, particularly those created by technology.
For instance, I was late for a job interview once, and I reversed the polarity on my digital wristwatch. After moving backward through time for a bit, I had plenty of time to get to the appointment on time.
Reversing the polarity... it really works!
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Offtopic? I didn't bring it up.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
Funny mods for two lame, tired, old jokes rolled into one? I hope I get this in metamod.
What kind of geek relies on one computer for all their needs, anyway? Can't risk the downtime? What gives?
A true geek would ahve the requisite backups, either software or hardware, to replace the bulk of what would break should the tweak fail.
I'd like to think that having the necessary knowledge, prior to begining the task, is what keeps my computers out of the dumpster. Basically, if you don't know what you're doing, you probably shouldn't be doing it. And if you don't know what you're doing, you've probably been out of the game too long.
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
.. I used to get in more fights with SCO than I did my girlfriend, but
now, thanks to Linux, she has more than happily accepted her place back at
number one antagonist in my life..
-- Jason Stiefel, krypto@s30.nmex.com
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