Best Drivers For a GF2MX32mb

chaosblade · May 16, 2003, 07:19 AM

What are the best (read: fastest) drivers for a geforce 2 MX 32mb card ?
I did search for this in the forums but couldnt find anything ..

PS: im using the latest 44.xx FX one at the moment , would Driver Cleaner remove it ?

Matth · May 16, 2003, 09:49 AM

Some of the earlier drivers may perform slightly faster, but I find the image qualility of the 40+ drivers to be pretty good, AND the DX8 emulation seems to be faster and better - the segment of "Nature" shown in the 3dMark 2001 demo is better - though you can't run the test.

(I'd really love to see a hack to run the test)

If youv'e put 44.03 on and it works, I wouldn't bother changing it! - especially if running DirectX9, as I suspect a DX9-capable driver (even on DX7 hardware) may have advantages over a DX7/DX8 driver.

DXDiag is certainly able to run the spinning cube using DX7, DX8 and DX9 interfaces.

instant_mash · May 16, 2003, 07:02 PM

How about the 23.12b set - get them at tweakersasylum.com.

I used to use them on my gf2mx400 64mb and they were v.good...

chaosblade · May 17, 2003, 07:39 AM

Ill see about trying them , but i just hope they can give me better FPS .

after all the 44.xx are more tweaked to quality rather then performance .

Matth · May 17, 2003, 10:04 AM

http://www.technologyvault.co.uk/gef...og=gef&lang=en

A topic from the Geforce FAQ.

A friend found 23.11 very troublesome - I'd be wary of 23.xx
21.85 LEAKED (GURU3D might have them) seem to be well regarded

28.32 was a fairly robust release, though 29.42 may be better - for XP, I'd stick to those which SAY XP - although Win2000 ones should work.

Bombproof drivers are more inportant than fast ones - as on a 2MX, you could be fighting foe speed you just won't get.

I ALWAYS enable any extra control options (eg. Coolbits plus)

PS. What board is it on, and are you getting max AGP rate for your motherboard and card?
The humble Geforce 2MX can do 4x AGP, and this makes a hell of a difference if many features are being software emulated.

chaosblade · May 17, 2003, 11:52 AM

Thats a problem for me . i have a lucky-star board , which went bankroupt someday so i have no bios updates , and now its runs on AGP x2 - VIA Chipset . i heard there is a way to make it run at x4 but ive never seen it done . plus , what extra control are you talking about ? what should i install besides the drivers ?

Matth · May 18, 2003, 10:42 AM

http://www.technologyvault.co.uk/gef...f&onlynewfaq=0

http://www.warp2search.net/article.php?sid=9277
Coolbits + - and the AGP Rate control enabled by it

The old AGP rate methods seem not to work properly in new drivers, BUT

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cac...n&ie=UTF-8</a>

This mentions the REQAGPRate key - a value of 1 is 1x, 2 is 2x and 4 (I presume) is 4x - reflected in the default status of that AGP panel (40+ drivers only) at bootup.

NB. forcing higher rates may impair stability, as the lower default is a cautious response to possible problems.

I force my IronGate chipset to 2x (default 1) with no less stability though - and I think it was worth a good 10% on the 3dMark.

http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherb...14/agp-05.html
Another reference - remember, the REQAGPRate method seems to be the only one that does anything now

chaosblade · May 18, 2003, 11:14 AM

So are the coolbits only for newer drivers ?

i havent tried coolbits yet (im on 29.xx now) , but for the other methods - None of these seem to make my board go any faster then x2 AGP , and sometimes AGP x1 is the result O_o

Matth · May 19, 2003, 09:59 AM

Coolbits is an OLD tweak - to enable the overclocking tab and the VSYNC setting

The PLUS is newer tweak that also enables the AGP tab (and maybe some others, depending on capability) which is only present in 40+ driver versions.

PS. Any idea WHICH VIA chiset - is it PC133 memory or DDR

REQAGPRate should work with older drivers, but the difference between 2x and 4x is less than between 1x and 2x, so I wouldn't sweat on getting to 4x from 2x

chaosblade · May 19, 2003, 10:53 AM

I see . ive switched back to the 44.03 , for some reason the 29.xx was SLOWER . Weird (ive learned that on THIS computer ,anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong , and more then once :P ) . Its The Appolo133 Pro if im not mistaken . By the way , where would i get Coolbits Plus ?

Matth · May 20, 2003, 07:23 AM

http://www.warp2search.net/article.php?sid=9277
Just checked, the link still seems to be valid.

I guess if you've loaded DX9, then there's probably some advantage in using a DX9 driver version.
That is an INTERESTING find - 29.x SLOWER than 44.03 on a card which really shouldn't be gaining from any of the work done for DX8/9

You can change the performance/quality bias by lowering the Direct3d Mipmap settings (I find the quality seems acceptable down to "balanced", but gets rough below that)
There's also the other option - which I used to run in the middle, but now push all the way to performance.

A 2MX ain't gonna break speed records, but it's not bad for a general purpose card.

chaosblade · May 20, 2003, 07:37 AM

Oh i aint expecting much from this one , he will be replaced by a raedon 9500pro soon so no worry .. just i had it for 2 years and even Half-life has below 20 fps :\

TeKrat · Jun 6, 2003, 05:50 AM

I am using a GeForce 2 GTS 32mb (Creative)..I didn't even bother with the 20.xx and 30.xx drivers, I always try and get the newest official set. I have had great luck with the Omega drivers using the Performance install and tweaking the image quality. My card still runs almost every game fine (P4 2.4, IT7 mobo, 512ram..