Windows XP SP2 & ASUS A8V Deluxe issues

[Zenoth]

What's up guys.</p>



</p>



First of all, I think I should post my basic system
specifications.</p>



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AMD Athlon 64 NewCastle 3500+</p>



ASUS A8V Deluxe K8T800 Pro</p>



Kingston KVR PC-3200 1024MB Dual-Channel</p>



ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (Catalyst 5.2)</p>



Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2</p>



</p>



I have almost no problems with my system, with the exception of
extremely rare freezing in 3-D games (but, yes, it does happen).
Other than that, maybe choppy / laggy-like frame-rates. But nothing
else if I recall correctly.</p>



</p>



Still...I noticed that I had some really choppy gaming
performance(I'musingmysystemforgaming,soitisfrustr ating),
even in older games using OpenGL 1.5, and I knew that my previous
system was not suffering like that. My current system is almost the
same, but the Motherboard, the CPU and the Power Supply changed.
The Graphics Card remained the same, along with the Memory.</p>



</p>



Never done over-clocking, never had problems related to system
memory. All I have is rare game freezing, and choppy frame-rates,
even if there's not a lot of action going on at once. That's with
my current system that is. Like I said, my previous one never had
any problems. The reasons why I wanted to change is because I found
a superb deal for a Power Supply (Antec 450 Watts), and then I
decided to upgrade the Motherboard and the CPU. I had the time and
money, so why not. Anyway that's just details.</p>



</p>



Why I'm posting this is for a reason, and it's related to the
AGP driver Windows tells me I'm using, something along the line of
"CPU to AGP VIA".</p>



</p>



I've just read a few other threads about a somewhat famous
problem of Service Pack 2 users, using K8T800 Pro chipset. Just
like me.</p>



</p>



Now,one thing I do know, is that my system should (because
I have an AMD CPU) use a file named gagp30kx.sys, version
5.1.2535.0 (with the number version of 5.1.2600.2180 under driver
details).</p>



</p>



Well, I have that driver actually, along with pci.sys
(under driver details), if it matters to mention.</p>



</p>



But the strange thing is...is says the material is located at
PCI 0 Bus.</p>



</p>



I'm no expert...but should it say something like AGP Bus, or AGP
1 Bus or AGP 0 Bus ?</p>



</p>



I remember I have read that if it says it's located at PCI 0,
then it means Windows thinks it's a PCI GPU. And I don't want that
! My GPU is AGP, and that must be the direct and probably universal
cause of the choppy frame-rates I have now, but never had
before.</p>



</p>



Is there any known and working method to make it so Windows
recognize my Graphics Card as AGP format ?</p>



</p>



I know that the latest VIA Hyperion 4-in-1 drivers package is
version 4.56. But I'm not sure if I should install it. Again,
according to what I have read, it will install a supposed-to-be
updated version of AGP driver, but will still be recognized as a
PCI GPU. And that the generic Windows XP SP2 driver should be the
one in use in my situation.</p>



</p>



I am sorry to post this, because I know there has been a lot of
threads regarding this exactly, but I really need help guys.</p>



</p>



Thanks for your time.</p>



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</p>



</p>

[chunko]

Welcome to the forums zenoth!
I can tell you one thing that will mostlikely help in regeards to the choppy/loss of frame rates issue.Uninstall the 5.2 and install either 4.12 or 5.1,they are the best for your card.Make sure you run driver cleaner in safe mode after the uninstall.
"I'm no expert...but should it say something like AGP Bus, or AGP
1 Bus or AGP 0 Bus ?"
Have you run dxdiag? What does it say under ATI smartgaurt?
If both dxdiag and smartgaurt report AGP enabled,then it is running in AGP mode.
For some reason windows lists PCI bus 1 as the AGP port for some users.It does for me and others I have read about.I know my system is running in AGP mode regardless of what device manager states.And should be the case for you as well.
"Is there any known and working method to make it so Windows
recognize my Graphics Card as AGP format ?
"
Not that Im aware of.
I know some people are having problems with gaming do to the MS AGP driver from SP2 but I also kow that there are some of us who have to run in AGP4 mode when running the Via AGP driver(although in my case there is no performance loss at all).
Seems either way both AGP drivers have there flaws and all we can hope for are better driver releases.
I would just reinstall windows and install SP1 along with the 4in1 drivers..If thats not much of a problem.

[Zenoth]

Heya<span class="ftsmallcontent">chunko,</span></p>



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<span class="ftsmallcontent">Thanks for the reply !</span></p>



</p>



-I can tell you one thing that will most likely help
inregeards to the choppy/loss of frame rates issue.Uninstall the
5.2and install either 4.12 or 5.1, they are the best for
yourcard.Make sure you run driver cleaner in safe mode after
theuninstall.</p>



</p>



Indeed I've also heard the same thing from others. I will trythe
4.12 soon. I remember installing version 5.2 because, if I amnot
mistaken, there was some optimization done for shadersrendering. So
I was curious to see if my beloved 9800 Pro would getany benefits
from such improvements. Seems not so far ! Hehe.</p>



</p>



-Have you run dxdiag? What does it say under ATIsmartgaurt?If
both dxdiag and smartgaurt report AGP enabled,then it is runningin
AGP mode.</p>



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Lucky me then ! Yes both report AGP enabled. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]</p>



</p>



-For some reason windows lists PCI bus 1 as the AGP port
forsome users. It does for me and others I have read
about.Iknow my system is running in AGP mode regardless of
what devicemanager states. And should be the case for you as
well.</p>



</p>



Hmmm, yes then it seems so. That it states AGP as PCI Bus. Iknow
that, in terms of scripting / programming (and surely otherdomains)
the number 1 means "Yes", or"Enabled" /
"Activated", and that 0means "No", or
"Disabled" /"Uninstalled".</p>



</p>



So maybe if it says PCI 0, that it actually means something
like"This device is not located in PCI Bus". Bah, just
athought. I'm not expert when it comes to such things. But I do
knowthe basics of a PC architecture.</p>



</p>



-I know some people are having problems with gaming do to
theMS AGP driver from SP2 but I also kow that there are some of us
whohave to run in AGP4 mode when running the Via AGP driver
(althoughin my case there is no performance loss at all). Seems
either wayboth AGP drivers have there flaws and all we can hope for
arebetter driver releases.I would just reinstall windows
andinstall SP1 along with the 4in1 drivers..If thats not much of
aproblem.</p>



</p>



So far I am having an "ok" performance with
myMicrosoft AGP driver. But, take my latest 3DMark05 scores
forexample (I'm not only benchmarking there, but it was the
lastbenchmark program I used with my previous system). My
previoussystem had a score (its highest) of 2426. It was an Intel
PIV 2.6C,over-clocked at 2.8 Ghz, very stable, with the Memory
timings at2.5-2-2-5 (A friend did the over-clocks), with an ASUS
P4P800(regular, not Deluxe) and Intel PAT enabled.</p>



</p>



With my current system, the best I can get is around 2320.
And,technically, which is a fact, my CPU alone is almost two
timesfaster than my previous one (proven by the CPU score alone in
thebenchmark, which is the only thing better than my previous
system'sscore when compared, so it's a comfort to know that, and
nothing iswrong with the CPU, and is indeed faster). But now my
Memory hasdefault timings of 3.0-3-3-5. Although Bank Interleaving
isEnabled, and I seem to be running in what is called
"1TCommand" (confirmed by both Everest and SiSoft
Sandra), islooks like it doesn't change a lot for the best.</p>



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The thing is...it's not like I would "want to" getgood
scores. In fact I don't care about scores. But benchmarkinghelps me
determine what I believe is going on. Which is"performance
decrease since I have my new system". Whichis technicall

[chunko]

Lol zenoth!
Seems as if you're enlightened in regards to your matter.Im glad you are,as many people I presume,are paying out of their wallet to get thir issue resolved.
I agree the whole PCI/AGP device manager listing is rediculous and misleading and I dont see why MS hasnt released a fix for this..(guess its not that important eh?)
Yeah Im curious to see what your benchmarks are after the 4.12 or 5.1 install.You have close to the same rig I have so Im curious to see what you 3dmark03 score will be.(I dont use 05).
As for mine,I get anywhere from 5900-6150 in 3dmark03 (I got the 6150 in AGP4 mode surprisingly enough(: )
Do you plan on installing the via AGP driver?I suggest you do even if you have to run at AGP4 mode.Just be sure to uninstall the SP2 driver.
Anywyas glad to have helped and dont worry about "Via bashing",everyone has thier own opinions.As for me,I just want to see this issue resolved as Im sure everyone does.
All I can say is if it doesnt get resolved soon Ill be done with Via boards for good.
Cheers!