npharrison wrote:
> The reason being is that I am playing Hellgatelondon, and the new section
> called the Wild features mulitple mobs of demons, and the only way you can
> survive is being part of a party, usually totalling 5 players. The result is
> a very graphically intense environment, particularly when Marksmen start
> using Electroshock guns. My fps slows right down then freezes.
>
> I gather that AGP is better than PCI, so if the card is not using all of its
> capabilities then it interferes with my gameplay and enjoyment. Getting a
> 512MB DDR2 card, would, I hope, improve things slightly, but how much better
> if I could use the AGP setting? I've just downloaded a program called Fresh
> Diagnose, and it tells me that I am using an AGP card, and it doesn't feature
> in the PCI diagnostics. Yet when I click on the Nvidia control centre and
> system info, it tells me it is PCI bus. That's why I want to know what's
> going on.
>
I can see an SIS AGP driver on this page ("SiS AGP driver ver:1.13").
Normally, you'd install the AGP driver first, and then install the
video card driver after that.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=K7S8X
After installing the AGP driver, take a look at Device Manager, and
see if there is some mention of AGP in the system devices. On my
Intel board for example, mine says "Processor to AGP Controller - 2579"
in the system devices.
The SIS driver package includes a program called AGPutil.exe . I don't
even know which OSes it is for. Using a hex editor, this is what I see
inside the program. (I won't run it, because it'll dump crap into
my registry.)
sisagpx.sys
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\sisagp
System\CurrentControlSet\Services\sisagp\parameters
Disable Enable
8X 2X 1X 4X
I had a similar experience with an old ALI chipset. What they do, is
provide a utility, that modifies some registry settings. In the case
of the ALI one though, only one of the registry settings did anything,
and the others were purely for show (to make you think they were flexible).
If the Device Manager shows an AGP entry, I'd fire up that AGPutil.exe
and see what it says. Alternately, you could use a registry editor, and
check to see what is currently stored in "sisagp".
The ATI SmartGART complicates matters, because it can override the
BIOS settings for the AGP slot. I don't know what will happen, if
the SIS driver chooses its settings, and the ATI software does the
SmartGART thing. I suspect, if ATI had a problem with the chipset,
they could always disable the AGP aspect if they wanted.
Plenty of possible outcomes...
Aren't graphics drivers fun ? :-)
Good luck,
Paul