Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Edbert1 on August 26, 2005, 01:12:07 PM

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: Edbert1 on August 26, 2005, 01:12:07 PM

When you install the video drivers do you install the whole suite of appletts, control panels and tools or just the driver?

For years I did a "complete" but stopped doing that to avoid having all the extra crap running and my seat-o-the-pants FPS meter indicates I have an improvement by just doing the driver.

Now I am reading about all the extra tweaks folks are doing to squeeze a few more frames and wondering if I should go back and try it again. Then again, I am not having any problems either software or framerates, and if it aint broke...

What are you guys doing?

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: Skuzzy on August 26, 2005, 01:28:20 PM

Less is more.  A good philosophy to live by with a Windows OS is, "Only install it, if it is required".  Everytime you add another application/utility, you add another potential point of failure.

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: buzkill on August 26, 2005, 03:47:56 PM

.....and if you are using ATI cards, don't install the control center

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: Edbert1 on August 26, 2005, 04:40:23 PM

Thanks Roy, that was what my gut was telling me.

I also have not installed the control center, but what about manually controlling AA settings? The Windoze display control panel has very few hooks without the extraneous stuff.

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: Skuzzy on August 26, 2005, 04:58:03 PM

Install the ATI Control Panel (for ATI cards,..hopefully that is obvious :)), but not the Catalyst Control Center.

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: Mustaine on August 26, 2005, 05:29:18 PM

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Install the ATI Control Panel (for ATI cards,..hopefully that is obvious :)), but not the Catalyst Control Center.

is the "control center" one of those little things that runs by the colck that gives quick access to the settings?

if so, can you not right click desktop, goto settings / advanced and still get to the same settings?

Title: video driver install preferences
Post by: llama on August 27, 2005, 08:23:38 PM

Thought I'm sure there is an option for the control center to do that, the Control Center is definately overkill.

Imagine taking a lean and mean set of standard windows dialog boxes, and transforming them into animated, pretty, and busy dialog boxes with no new real functionality. That's what happened with the Control Center.

If you want a truly excellent taskbar tray tool for your Ati Card, you want the freeware ATI Tray Tools program, available at:
http://www.radeon2.ru/atitray/

It will do anything you need, and then some. Great app.

-Llama