Basic RadLinker Guide

TwistedMetal

RadLinker Homepage

http://www28.brinkster.com/chrisww1942/


Basic Guide to Using RadLinker Info

UPDATED ON 9/29/04 (ADDED ADVANCED SETTINGS SECTION)

RadLinker is now included with Omega Drivers. Version used in Guide is 1.014.


What is RadLinker?

It's an overclocking tool and allows you to create profiles for your games to use different video settings as you desirer.


Overclocking with RadLinker


This is located in Display, Settings, Advanced.

The top drop down menu will display some card info, can be important info for overclockers.

Check Enable Clock Rate Change and you will be able to adjust Core and Memory MHz.

When adjusting the MHz you may see some weird number jumps, RadLinker uses your true video card MHz.

Sync Rates will keep your Core and Memory MHz at the same when adjusting.

Once you have your Core and Memory MHz set, click on Set, and then click on Use Current. Your computer will now boot with them MHz settings.

Advanced will change the the increments of your MHz adjusting. DO NOT adjust these settings unless you really know what you are doing.


DirectX Tab


This is located next to the ClockRate Tab.

This contains common DirectX/Direct3D settings like AF, FSAA, VSync, but in the bottom box it contains Advanced DirectX/Direct3D settings. I do not recommend changing these unless you know what they do.


OpenGL Tab


This is located next to the DirectX Tab.

This contains common OpenGL settings like AF, FSAA, VSync, but in the bottom box it contains Advanced OpenGL settings. I do not recommend changing these unless you know what they do.


About Tab


This is located next to the OpenGL Tab.

This Tab contains a link to the RadLinker Homepage, a link to the RadLinker F.A.Q page, language selection, and skin changer.


RadLinker Profiling

I will be using Far Cry for the example of creating a profile.

Go to the directory where the game .exe is located.
(Example: C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Crytek\Far Cry\Bin32)

Then right click on the .exe file.
(Example: FarCry.exe)


Once you right click on the .exe, you should see a menu pop up.

Click on Create RadLink.

It will now create a RADLNK file on your Desktop that looks exactly like the .exe you just clicked on.

Now right click on the RADLNK file.


You should see a small pop up menu like this.

Click on Properties.

Shortcut Tab will allow to change the shortcut settings of the RADLNK file.


This is the first Tab that will appear.

The DirectX Tab, probably the most used one.


This is located next to the Shortcut Tab.

To change the settings in the DirectX Tab, uncheck Use Defaults.

Now change the settings as you please.

Be sure to have Mode Change checked or your settings will not work.

OpenGL Tab works the same as the DirectX Tab except there is no Mode Change check box.

Clock Rate Tab is used like the one at the beginning of this guide, but the changes will only set for that game/profile.

Display Tab is used to change Gamma settings for that profile.

General Tab is a just windows general info about the file.

About Tab is about the program and the creator of it.

Summary Tab is so you can create your own summary of the radlink profile.


Custom Settings

Custom Settings is located right under Create RadLink.

Custom Settings is like a RadLink, but without a RadLink shortcut. So, when you launch the exe the settings will automatically apply. To change the Custom Settings, just right click and then click on Properties. If you don't want the Custom Settings anymore, just right click on the exe, and select Remove Custom Settings.


Advanced Settings with RadLinks and Custom Settings

These settings will already appear in the RadLinker CP.

To enable the Advanced Settings in a RadLink, go to the shortcut tab, under Mode, and set it to Advanced.

To enable the Advanced Settings in Custom Settings, go to the Custom (Default) tab, under Mode, and set it to Advanced.

The Advanced Settings are as followed.

DirectX: Colorfill, Hierarchical Z, Pixel Shader Version, Table Fog, TCL, Vertex Shader Version, W Buffer, W Fog, Z Fog.

OpenGL: AGP Textures, Fast Z Clear, Hierarchical Z, Hyper Z, Micro Tile, Multitexture, TCL, Video Memory Textures, Z Compression.


Running RadLinker with STEAM

To use a RadLink with a STEAM game such as Half-Life, simply create a RadLink to Steam.exe. Under "Command Line Arguments", add the string to run the particular game you want:

Half-Life: -applaunch 70
Team Fortress Classic: -applaunch 20
Deathmatch Classic: -applaunch 40
Counter Strike: -applaunch 10
Day of Defeat: -applaunch 30
Opposing Force: -applaunch 50
Ricochet: -applaunch 60
Counter Strike: Source: -applaunch 260

Rename your RadLink to reflect the particular game. Icons are located in the Steam/Games folder.

Hopefully this guide will help you understand RadLinker alittle better. It's a very nice and very powerful program.


FAQ (LAST UPDATED 9/22/04)

Q: How do I set "Change Increments" back to default?

A: Uncheck the "Enable Clock Rate Change" check box and reboot. That will restore your computer back to it's original settings.

Q: Is there a way to increase the overclock by a smaller amount?

A: Click the Advanced button and adjust the Change Increment slider. If you lower the increment then you can take smaller steps.

Q: Do you guys know how I would go about setting up say a RadLink of the Battlefield: Vietnam executable to work within The All-Seeing Eye?

A: To run your RadLinks with programs like the "All Seeing Eye" that has it's own special method for executing games, you need to create a .bat file. Create a text file and add a line to it to execute your RadLink manually such as:

%SystemRoot%\RadRun Program.radlnk %*

where "Program" is the name of the RadLink you want to run. Don't forget all RadLinks have a hidden .radlnk extension. Save the file with a .bat extension and place it in the directory of your RadLink. You should be able to select the .bat file to use in your game launcher.

Q: What does the 'high priority' do in the radlinker shortcut properties, if I set it to high instead of normal can I expect a slight performance boost in my games?

A: High priority will devote more processor time to the game. The problem here is your games already use ~100% of the processor. This can starve other critical processes like the mouse and cause delays or mouse lag or poor network performance for online gaming. Lowering this setting may help improve mouse response and may even increase network performance at the cost of lower fps in your games.

Q: In the more recent versions of radlink, you can simply right-click the game shortcut on desktop and select "add custom setting"; then change its properties just like a radlink. I'm not sure if there's any difference or purpose for having this "custom setting," as opposed to the radlink. This was not explained clearly at the author's site. Does anyone know?

A: The custom setting was provided for people that did not like the idea of running shortcuts (for whatever reason). This is the settings that will be used if you just execute the main program or a "normal" shortcut to that program.

Q: Does turning off `use default` settings in radlinker mess up the omega tweaks ? Do i have to set the AF settigns as well or can i just turn on the temporal antialising thingy and leave it at that?

A: It should be fine as long as you don't change any of the settings in the listbox at the bottom. You will need to change the anisotropic filtering setting to reflect your desired setting.

Q: I was wondering. Steam isnt the actual game, but the actual hl games run from hl.exe (if its using the hl engine of course, which tfc, cs, dod, ect are). If i rightclick on hl.exe and make custom settings specifically for that .exe (note - not a radlink, but custom settings), would running a game via steam, which would start up hl.exe trigger these settings?

A: If you want one setting to apply to all Steam games, then just create a custom setting for Steam itself and those setting will be applied to all Steam games. Please refer to Running RadLinker with STEAM.

Q: After I install the CCC do I need to reinstall RadLinker?

A: You just need to make sure you have the latest version of RadLinker installed if you are going to install CCC. If it is already installed, there is no need to reinstall it.

Q: I have a problem with radlinker and the new CCC. After the installation of the CCC i have only a tab 3D in RadLinker. I don't know if 3D means DirectX and OpenGL like in the new CP.

A: With CCC, the common settings for DirectX and OpenGL are combined into one selection. The "3D" settings apply both to DirectX and OpenGL.

Q: Can someone explain what that "T2" and "T3" in the Antialiasing section means?

A: T2=2 sample temporal FSAA T3=3 sample temporal FSAA

Q: I saw in the 3D Tab of RadLinker the "Mode Change" like in the normal DirectX Tab. In the old OpenGL Tab isn't the "Mode Change" so when i want to play a OpenGL game with my settings i must activate this or it's only for Direct3D games important?

A: The mode change setting is only for ensuring the DirectX settings are applied. It should not be needed for OpenGL games.

Q: When I boot my laptop, I get the following two errors: "Could not open RadLinker 030" and "Could not read from RadLink 033". What do those errors signify?

A: You are probably trying to run a RadLink or a custom setting to a game that no longer exists or has been damaged. Check to see if you have a RadLink or game/program that has a custom setting is in your startup folder.

Q: I have, an eMachine with pretty good specs but with an Intel 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV on-board graphics card/contoller, can I use RadLink with that controller? Or is it just written for Omega and/or ATI graphics?

A: RadLinker will only work if you have a Radeon/FireGL/IGP based graphics card installed in your computer.

SkyBum

Advanced will change the the increments of your MHz adjusting. DO NOT adjust these settings unless you really know what you are doing.

OK, I hardly have a clue what I am doing, but I have already adjusted this setting. How do I return it to it's default value? Will resetting the bios defaults restore this setting?

Zardon

nice job man, stickied.

BlackWar

I have to admit, the radlinker is very cool, but I do have one request, if it would be possable to also add in an option to change screen resolutions before the game launches and returns to default afterwards.

SkyBum

Ok after enabling "bios default" and subsequently reinstalling RadLinker I expected the Mhz increments to be reset to it's default value, however it seems to have retained the lower value which I had already adjusted it to. How do I determine the original increments and am I at risk of damaging my card with leaving the settings at the lower value it's at (if I OC my card again)? I would really like to go back to the OC setting I had but until I can determine that I have the proper incremental value set I don't dare.

Also screen has been corrupting several times (sort of a checkerboard look) I've reset my clocks to default but am still getting it on occasion, though a reboot seems to cure the problem for awhile. Can I assume that this is due to the above increment changes?

I suppose I should have educated myself a bit more before diving into uncharted territory but it seemed harmless enough at the time....

TwistedMetal

I think they are all set at one default value.

Max. Rate: 1721.25
Increment: 6.75

SkyBum

Thanks for your help TM.

I have further questions but I'll start a new thread for those....

ChrisW

Uncheck the "Enable Clock Rate Change" check box and reboot. That will restore your computer back to it's original settings.

tony24

Thanks for bringing radlinker back to omega's drivers!!!

germanjulian

gamma and gamma for dual monitor. only reason why I use powerstrip is its the only gamma program which works with 2 monitors

ChrisW

I thought I might make a list of games that have a built in game launcher and need to specify a target process to get it running with RadLinker correctly. If you know of another game that needs a target process specified or a timeout counter specified, please add to the list.

This is what I have so far from the games I have installed on my computer:

BF1942___________________may need to increase the timeout counter

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast____target process=jk2sp.exe

Neverwinter Nights__________target process=nwmain.exe

No One Lives Forever 2_______target process=lithtech.exe

Tron 2.0__________________target process=lithtech.exe

Worms 3D_________________target process=Worms3D.exe


An easy way to tell if your game needs a target process specified is to change the clock rate for the game, launch the game and start up a new map, then alt-tab away from the game and check the clock rate. If it has reverted back to it's defaults then you may need to specify a target process or a timeout counter. You can find the target process at this point by launching the task manager (ctrl-alt-delete) and checking to see what the current process for the game is.

didamangi

Star Wars - KInights Of the old republic, target process=swkotor.exe

toddsmack2k

Excellent job TwistedMetal!

ledzep

can you please note what are default increments ? and is setting back to default will set increments to default aswell?

thanks , ledzep.

ChrisW

It all depends on your card and bios. Most 7xxx and 8xxx cards are 2.25 and most 9500+ cards use 6.75. If you set it to boot to your bios defaults and reboot, it will be back to your default increment. I personally think changing the increment is generally harmless, but some increment values may be less stable than others. I wouldn't recommend changing it with Overdrive/Powerplay enabled as it may have unpredictable results.

TwistedMetal

Max. Rate: 1721.25
Increment: 6.75

Uncheck the "Enable Clock Rate Change" check box and reboot. That will restore your computer back to it's original settings.

ledzep

G thanks twistedmetal for the fast reply.

, ledzep.

mainman

Excellent Job bud!!!!

carlo_edmon

How come I don't have Sync Rates in my RadClocker nor RadLinker? I'm using Windows XP Home and Radeon 7000.

TwistedMetal

There should be a box above the Core and Memory Clock Rate sliders called Sync Rate.

carlo_edmon

All I have is "Enable Clock Rate Change". But I do have it while using RadClocker v1.8.0.1.

dzjepp

Hi there,

Started using RadLinker recently and so far I'm loving it. Making the switch from aTuner.

Do you guys know how I would go about setting up say a RadLink of the Battlefield: Vietnam executable to work within The All-Seeing Eye? I haven't tried messing with it yet but I presume something has to be done for it to work. By default ASE points to the bfvietnam.exe found in the game install dir. I think ASE also has support for command-line/batch file switches and what-not.

I dunno, I guess I need to find a way for ASE to point to the custom RadLink of bfvietnam.exe that I made.

mkk

Using a .bat or .cmd(preferred for Win2k/XP) file should do it. http://www.radlinker.com/faq.htm#how5

dzjepp

Hey thanks.

Should of read the FAQ.