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Best WinXP Video Card

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Reply 220 of 241, by darry

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darry wrote on 2021-01-23, 13:51:
Thank you for your input . I will add the 368.81 driver as another potential variable in my tests . […]
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cde wrote on 2021-01-23, 13:10:
darry wrote on 2021-01-23, 08:10:

Thanks for the input, but are you certain that the full RGB (0-255) option was in Windows XP ? When I first set up this machine, I remember trying several drivers before settling for my current one (347.xx) as the latest XP driver gave me a black screen on this monitor over HDMI. I actually worked my way forward in time from an arbitrarily old version that worked up until I got to 347.x , either because it was the last one that worked or because I got tired of testing (cannot remember which). I don't recall ever seeing full RGB versus limited RGB as an option in Windows XP .

Using the HDMI output with a GTX 960 and driver version 388.19 on Windows 7, I get the limited RGB issue and I need to scroll down to PC 1920x1080 to get the full range.

You are correct about Windows XP (same card w/ HDMI output, driver 368.81), I do not get the limited range problem, using SD 1920x1080 which is the recommended option. Under PC the highest resolution available is 1680x1050; I don't see any option to change the RGB range.

Thank you for your input . I will add the 368.81 driver as another potential variable in my tests .

I find this subject interesting for 3 reasons .

a) a lot of people experience it and complain about it while having come to the conclusion that there is no fix.

b) some people do not seem to experience it at all

c) so far, AFAIK, pretty much every account of it either working or not has never been tested quantatively. I aim to change that, as much as I can .

d) I seem to be in group a (except I have not concluded that there is no fix/workaround)

I understand that other than driver version and the output connection type, there might be multiple variables cat play here including, but not limited to, GPU model type/vBIOS version, monitor model(TMDS receiver type?) and EDID . I won't test all scenarios as even though I do have 2 different GTX750 Ti cards (one with Displayport), I will likely not be buying any more cards (nor do I have infinite time and motivation).

The initial scope of testing will be limited to

1) observing the issue and quantifying it through video capture and analysis

2) trying to find a workaround and confirming it actually works through video capture and analysis

I may expand the scope later, if I am motivated enough .

This is strange, as soon as I installed an HDMI splitter, I can no longer see any issue either on screen or on the captured feed, whether I use Displayport (converted to HDMI) or native HDMI out . This is the case even if I just plug the HDMI splitter between the video card and the monitor, without even connecting to the capture card . The E1S is configured to capture full range, AFAICT. Note : I am now using a modern Displayport to HDMI converter .

One thing I have noticed since installing the splitter is that YCBCR 444 and 422 are no longer offered as option in NV control Panel, there is only RGB .

HDMI output through the HDMI splitter :

hdmi.avi_snapshot_00.01_[2021.01.24_19.17.39].png
Filename
hdmi.avi_snapshot_00.01_[2021.01.24_19.17.39].png
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103.93 KiB
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3570 views
File license
Public domain

Displayport output actively converted to HDMI through the HDMI splitter :

dp_hdmi.avi_snapshot_00.01_[2021.01.24_19.06.29].png
Filename
dp_hdmi.avi_snapshot_00.01_[2021.01.24_19.06.29].png
File size
104.79 KiB
Views
3570 views
File license
Public domain

EDIT: Not shown in the captures, but if check the histogram for both the images I see pixel with luma values between 0 and 255 , if I am interpreting things properly .

EDIT2 :
The HDMI splitter is this one from Techole (gotta love that name 😉 ) : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07VN4RMMC/ https://www.techole.com/product?id=2&upc=853921007197
The Displayport to HDMI active converter is a Cable Matters 102021 : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00EDT0072/ https://www.cablematters.com/pc-624-154-gold- … resolution.aspx

Reply 221 of 241, by Laser

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God Of Gaming wrote on 2021-01-21, 07:42:

From what I've seen the XP drivers for the maxwells are missing some features, particularly you cannot make a custom 1440x1080 4:3 rez at 144hz, and also it feels like its displaying 4:2:0 colors instead of 4:4:4. A solution to these two would be to just plug a CRT monitor and use that for XP. Or to use AMD graphics, that do have these features in their XP drivers

some drivers for winxp and the latest drivers xp 368.91 don't let you create custom resolutions
but xp driver 355.98 yes allow and you can create a 1440x1080 or any other resolution

https://www.driverscloud.com/en/services/GetI … nternationalexe

( these drivers are for the 950/960 and tested on a geforce 950) anyways these drivers also work on 970/980 if you add manually in nv4_dispi.inf

NVIDIA_DEV.13C2 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970"
NVIDIA_DEV.13C0 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980"
NVIDIA_DEV.17C8 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti"
NVIDIA_DEV.17C2 = "NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X"

of course the faster GFX card for winxp is the TItan X

Reply 222 of 241, by duga3

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Laser wrote on 2021-01-25, 08:37:
God Of Gaming wrote on 2021-01-21, 07:42:

From what I've seen the XP drivers for the maxwells are missing some features, particularly you cannot make a custom 1440x1080 4:3 rez at 144hz, and also it feels like its displaying 4:2:0 colors instead of 4:4:4. A solution to these two would be to just plug a CRT monitor and use that for XP. Or to use AMD graphics, that do have these features in their XP drivers

some drivers for winxp and the latest drivers xp 368.91 don't let you create custom resolutions
but xp driver 355.98 yes allow and you can create a 1440x1080 or any other resolution

Thanks, yeah I have seen it mentioned somewhere as well but not had the time to test it yet. Will do soon!

By the way, you can download NVIDIA drivers using this link format, just change the driver version twice and you can download any XP driver (at least I think so)

https://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/355.98/355.98-desktop-winxp-32bit-international.exe

If anyone knows where to get a list of ALL released drivers then that would be great. Their own search tool only shows a select few drivers.

KT7AGuy wrote on 2021-01-24, 17:30:

Serious question:

It seems like you guys are willing to use older ATI/AMD drivers to make things work, so why not older NVIDIA drivers? The v2XX.XX range work fine with the 500 series cards. 600 series and newer need v3XX.XX drivers.

I've had good luck with v285.58 and my 560 Ti card.

I am looking for a WXP card that will allow me to use high resolutions and max out AA options in Nvidia Profile Inspector and maintain nice FPS. This is incredibly stressful on the GPU so I need the fastest. Usually you need a GPU that is at least 10 years younger than the game. At least. The 980 Ti I have there now is good for up to ~2005. It really depends on the game (see screenshots in my sig).

Falcosoft wrote on 2021-01-24, 14:46:

HDTV by default uses reduced RGB range, actually NVIDIA's XP driver defaults are optimized for HDTV displays.

I also used the mentioned 4 colors image test. It looked fine but it is probably not a good test as you say. I think if we are to continue discussing color issues then someone more familiar (than me for example) should devise a testing procedure that would allow us (less familiar ones) to easily identify the color issue. I do have a colorimeter if it helps but I imagine most folks don't so it would be better to have a procedure without it (if possible).

darry wrote on 2021-01-25, 01:10:

This is strange, as soon as I installed an HDMI splitter, I can no longer see any issue either on screen or on the captured feed, whether I use Displayport (converted to HDMI) or native HDMI out . This is the case even if I just plug the HDMI splitter between the video card and the monitor, without even connecting to the capture card . The E1S is configured to capture full range, AFAICT. Note : I am now using a modern Displayport to HDMI converter .

One thing I have noticed since installing the splitter is that YCBCR 444 and 422 are no longer offered as option in NV control Panel, there is only RGB .

Your screen says "HDMI - HDTV" which is what I was getting with my actual HDTV and it also allowed me to add custom resolutions (to a certain extent, the TV does have some limits).

But you are still not able to adjust image scaling, an important aspect as well. This is why 368.81 will not be very good (with digital output) even if you work around the custom resolution issue.

There is definitely something wrong in the way how 368.81 detects displays (PC monitors detected as SDTV, etc.) and there must be ways to work around that. What you are trying seems like one of those ways. I am also waiting someone tries some EDID spoofer as I do not have one. On later Windows registry EDID overrides are possible but not on WXP where you really need an external thingy for that.

By the way, some things (and their combinations) I have tried that did not seem to really lead anywhere: modifying the NVIDIA driver INF file with EDID overrides, snipping EDID/DDC pins on the DVI cable, monitoring registry for changes, diffing driver files (the binary files have too many changes in sequence), Powerstrip, supplying my own monitor INF driver file with fake names and limits, using INF driver files of other monitors, ...

Laser wrote on 2021-01-25, 08:37:

of course the faster GFX card for winxp is the TItan X

I think in theory 980 Ti can be ultimately faster but very little, otherwise I would have gotten Titan X as you say. Would be great to benchmark both (in games) but it would be best in a really fast rig (=not my P55 build). And with custom water cooling of course. Maybe one day.

98/XP multi-boot system with P55 chipset (build log)
Screenshots
10Hz FM

Reply 223 of 241, by duga3

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I have tested 2 more drivers now:

355.98

- Actual real PC DVI monitor detected as "DVI-PC display" correctly! No SDTV/HDTV bullshit.
- Adding custom resolutions works!
- Scaling works! But... scaling options of custom resolution works only if the custom resolution is added using AUTOMATIC timings, which means the native resolution is used as a base. So if you have native 60Hz then you cannot make a custom resolution of 65Hz and be able to scale it - it will display fully stretched but maintain aspect ratio (at least it did for me). Note that my LCD is native 60Hz so it may not be an issue on actual 60+Hz monitors (no way to test it for me).
- NVIDIA Profile Inspector (2.1.3.19) crashes (just like in 352.86). But... I found 2 working versions 1.9.6.5 and 1.9.6.6 (there could be more, I have "only" tried like 8 versions). Tested super maxed out AA in Far Cry 2 and it works!
- NVIDIA Control Panel shows "Display > View HDCP status" section which I think I have not seen in most late WinXP drivers? Not sure if that matters to anyone, just noticed it so I am mentioning it. It says the card is "HDCP capable" as well.

359.06
- Actual real DVI monitor detected as SDTV = no custom res, no scaling, no HDCP section, nothing...
- NVIDIA Profile Inspector (2.1.3.19) crashes (just like in 352.86)


Some notes regarding NVIDIA Profile Inspector:

Version 1.9.6.6 has been released around 2012 which means it should have all Windows XP games listed (if they add them manually, can't tell). I do not think 2012 is an issue for various AA modes because these things didn't really change that much during the years.

Version 1.9.6.6 is I think available only as part of NVIDIA Inspector program - you then need to click on a (rather small) "tools" icon/pictogram to access the actual NVIDIA Profile Inspector (which is a standalone executable in later years but not in 2012).

I was happy with version 2.1.3.19 under 368.81 by the way (where it is standalone).

I will try to find the latest version of NVPI that still works under the 355.98 driver but I have not noticed any issues with 1.9.6.6 yet.


It would be great if more people could try the 355.98 driver and share their own experiences. I have only scratched the surface with it now but it really seems like a good contender for 9xx/Maxwell series of GPUs. Especially if you have digital-signal monitors over 60Hz. If you for example have 1920x1080@100Hz then you can test smaller but still native refresh rate such as 1240x930@100Hz (4:3) and then test which scaling methods work for you. Also try refresh rates lower than your (100Hz?) native.

98/XP multi-boot system with P55 chipset (build log)
Screenshots
10Hz FM

Reply 224 of 241, by mothergoose729

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duga3 wrote on 2021-01-25, 22:19:

It would be great if more people could try the 355.98 driver and share their own experiences. I have only scratched the surface with it now but it really seems like a good contender for 9xx/Maxwell series of GPUs. Especially if you have digital-signal monitors over 60Hz. If you for example have 1920x1080@100Hz then you can test smaller but still native refresh rate such as 1240x930@100Hz (4:3) and then test which scaling methods work for you. Also try refresh rates lower than your (100Hz?) native.

Great post! I am very excited to try this!

I am setting on my windows XP machine now. I need to partition my drive in a separate machine first to get it write aligned correctly (which is a pain), and slipstream the AHCI drivers for intel (which also a pain) and then I'll give it a go. Thank you for looking into this!

Reply 225 of 241, by duga3

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mothergoose729 wrote on 2021-01-25, 22:43:
duga3 wrote on 2021-01-25, 22:19:

It would be great if more people could try the 355.98 driver and share their own experiences. I have only scratched the surface with it now but it really seems like a good contender for 9xx/Maxwell series of GPUs. Especially if you have digital-signal monitors over 60Hz. If you for example have 1920x1080@100Hz then you can test smaller but still native refresh rate such as 1240x930@100Hz (4:3) and then test which scaling methods work for you. Also try refresh rates lower than your (100Hz?) native.

Great post! I am very excited to try this!

I am setting on my windows XP machine now. I need to partition my drive in a separate machine first to get it write aligned correctly (which is a pain), and slipstream the AHCI drivers for intel (which also a pain) and then I'll give it a go. Thank you for looking into this!

Thanks, make sure to let us know how it went!

Seems like older versions of NVIDIA Inspector are really hard to find online so I am including 1.9.6.5 and 1.9.6.6 from my own stash, in case someone wants to just grab them from somewhere. Files are repacked but should be as I downloaded them (from don't know where). I think we would probably need to ask the program author for all the various older versions. They have an open sourced github repo but only for the last few versions (which crash under 355.98).

1.9.6.6 Changelog

###############################################
### NVIDIA INSPECTOR - CHANGELOG ###
###############################################

Version 1.9.6.6

- clock domains reworked, fixed some 304.xx issues on kepler
- switched shader to gpu clock for monitoring default selection
- updated some setting constants for 302.xx drivers

Version 1.9.6.5

- fixed wrong bandwidth calculation for GDDR3
- added invalid bios detection
- added some vendorids
- finally fixed trilinear optimization setting 1 = off / 0 = on
- changed prerenderlimit setting for 0 (is now app controlled since 300.xx)
- minor changes in default value handling
- updated some settings constants for 300.xx drivers
- added CLI param "-restartDisplayDriver" (Vista/Win7 only)

Version 1.9.6.4

- added memory bandwidth calculation to memory buswidth display
- fixed baseclock range out of bounds in some cases
- workaround for strange vcore offset on negative base clock offset
- replaced mem usage display by pci-e interface info on main gui
- added max boost clock estimation

Version 1.9.6.3

- added "+" sign for offset values
- added small startup delay for MDPS tray start
- fixed restoreAllPStates to work for offsets as well
- added adaptive vsync flag to custom settings (for 300+ drivers)
- added FXAA to custom settings (for 300+ drivers)

Version 1.9.6.2 (Beta)

- fixed highest voltage offset step was not selectable
- added new functions for voltage and clock reading

Version 1.9.6.1 (Beta)

- fixed home profile button do not work as expected on 300.xx drivers
- added current bus usage to monitoring
- added current power consumption level to monitoring and main gui (kepler only)
- fixed current voltage reading for kepler
- added support for base/boost clock reading (kepler)
- added support for base clock offset (kepler)
- added support for memory clock offset (kepler)
- added support for voltage offset (kepler)
- added support for power target (kepler)
- added CLI params for base, memory, voltage offsets and power target
- fixed MDPS for kepler (no need anyway)

Version 1.9.5.11: (Hotfix)

- fixed: using clock shortcuts forces P0
[reboot or use -forcePState:0,16 to fix it]

Version 1.9.5.10:

- fixed starting profile settings maximized not work
- added some values and temperature limits to frame rate limter
- updates some setting constants
- added jumplist tasks on win7 for profile editor, sensor monitoring and MDPS
- added CLI option "-forcePState" (use P16 to disable)
[notice that MDPS limits will always win, e.g. you can force P0 and if MDPS gives P0 free P0 will be hold)

Version 1.9.5.9: (Hotfix)

- fixed function 'ChangeWindowMessageFilter' not available on XP
- fixed frame rate limiter is already included since 280.26+ drivers

Version 1.9.5.8:

- improved profile combo handling to fix searching while dropdown is open will not change selected profile
- added image upload feature to driver profile settings toolbar
- holding STRG while launch Monitoring from mainapp will start Monitoring standalone
[you can close inspector in this case without closing monitoring but they wont share sensor readings anymore]
- for profile settings you can drop a shortcut to the game EXE now and it will open the assigned profile

### HAPPY NEW YEAR! ###

Version 1.9.5.7: (Hotfix)

- fixed screenshot is not correctly aligned if taskbar is not on bottom
- fixed custom profiles will listed twice after nip file import
- fixed new monitoring backcolor was not applied without stored settings
- fixed frame rate limiter value for 59 fps
- added sensor monitoring shortcut to MDPS tray
- added icons to MDPS tray shortcuts

Version 1.9.5.6:

- added shortcuts for driver profiles and inspector main app to the MDPS tray menu
- removed startup option from MDPS tray menu
- fixed running MDPS shortcut with forceLegacy flag has been restored without this flag
- fixed voltage mapping on cards with only two pstates
- updated some setting constants
- changed application icon
- fixed already existing groupname from CSN will not create the same group twice anymore
- changed default backcolor of monitoring to black
- gpus should now always be sorted by slot position
- added import/export all profiles using nvidias own text formated files
- added hard workaround where a driver bug causes inspector to freeze while delete special profiles
- added absolute path option using filetype selection to add applications with the whole path
- trying to determine the colliding profile name if an existing application can not be added
- added MinRequiredDriverVersion flag to CSN
- added preliminary frame rate limiter support to CSN for 290.53+ drivers

Hint:
due to an driver issue (280+) MDPS might not detect gpu processes sometimes, for the time being
you can use the "-forceLegacy" param to enter legacy process detection mode for MDPS

### MERRY XMAS! ###

Version 1.9.5.5:

- fixed: running MDPS wont be recovered when using webupdater
(this fix applies with the next webupdate first)
- fixed: modified profiles were not updated on create/delete profile and reset value
- added rescan of modified profiles after importing profiles
- reset profile now works on user created profiles too
- decreased monitoring border width
- further improved scan speed for modified profiles
- massive scan speed improvement for unknown settings
- removed scan progress dialogs
- automatic scan for unknown settings and modified profiles on startup
- changed the "scan for unknown settings" button behavior to just toggle the display of unknown settings
(unknown values will still be listed in value selection even if unknown settings display is not activated)
- possible fix: application crash on profile settings start occured on a few systems

- HOTFIX: some modified profiles were not found

Version 1.9.5.4:

- added quick selection for modified profiles (dropdown on home button)
- added scan progress dialog for user initiated scans
- improved scan speed for modified profiles
- improved storing speed for profile settings
- reduced flickering of profile settings list
- several small fixes

Version 1.9.5.3:

- fixed: p0/p8 capable cards were not detected from MDPS in some cases
- fixed: max values were not resetted on "reset all monitors"
- added "home" button to profile settings to get back to global profile fast
- added "hide to tray" command to monitoring menu
- added legacy process detection mode to MDPS to extend compatibility to older drivers and Win XP
("add from gpu process" will be disabled in this case)
- improved general stability for MDPS

Version 1.9.5.2:

- fixed: closing mainform did not handle closing logic (settings, log) of monitoring form
- fixed: temp folder detection fails on systems with empty temp paths
- fixed: out of range error if nvapi reports incorrect usage
- possible fix: csc.exe crashes on windows shutdown and prevents from storing MDPS settings
- added: mdps now supports cards with p0 and p8 only
- added: monitoring colors customizeable via config file
- small fixes and improvements

Version 1.9.5.0:

Highlights:

- added Multi Display Power Saver feature (rightclick "Show Overclocking"" button)
- added Monitoring Graphs feature (new button below image upload or rightclick "Show Overclocking"" button)
- added Create/Update/Remove Startup Shortcut feature (rightclick "Create Clocks Shortcut" button)

Changes:

- already assigned unknown settings from a profile will be shown now even without a settingscan
- request elevation for profile settings only if not already running elevated main app
- allow single instance of profile settings window only
- added detection of missing CSN file which offers the user a oneclick repair (webupdate)
- automaticly removing Zone.Identifier from ADS after first run
- added known subvendor name to card selection
- added global mutex "Access_NV_I2C" around some critical nvapi functions to avoid collision with 3rd party apps
- added small symbol to context enabled buttons
- added CLI option "-multiDisplayPowerSaver"
- added CLI option "-showMonitoring"
- moved data logging feature to monitoring
- screenshot function captures glass now
- changed imagehoster to techpowerup.org
- prevent app from starting within a temp folder
- several minor fixes and improvements

Version 1.9.4.4:

- voltage tweak workaround for crap evga gtx580 sc bios
- added CLI option "-showOnlyCSN"
- added CLI option "-setPStateLimit"

Version 1.9.4.3:

- fixed: reset value does not work in some cases
- fixed: short hex inputs were not recognized correctly
- gpu info refresh on window activate
- updated some setting constants
- added 3rd method for driver detection
- skip shader count detection on non unified shader architectures
- always request elevation for profile settings to reduce confusion why (elevated) settings may missed in the past
- other minor improvements

Version 1.9.4.2:

- added fallback driver detection if no display handle is available
- fixed when the last manually typed value get not applied to profile
- fixed -skipUpdateCheck was ignored in -showSettingsOnly mode
- added some settings API updates

Version 1.9.4.1:

- fixed error while importing profiles from paths wich contains blanks.
- possible fix for TaskbarList3 error
- added update check to "showSettingsOnly" mode

Version 1.9.4:

- added nv driver version to settings title
- improved app version in settings title
- displaying inherited global settings in game profiles on driver version 260+ (black gear icon)
- added "export current profile" feature
- added "export userdefined profiles" feature
- added "import userdefined profiles" feature
(feel free to permanently assign *.nip files to open/import with nvidia inspector using windows own "open with" wizzard)
- added "quick bit value tester" feature to bit value editor
- some minor fixes

Version 1.9.3.2:

- Final Hotfix: removed displaying of inherited global settings on latest driver releases API,
to avoid corrupted profiles when applying custom settings.

Version 1.9.3:

# Main:

- added "-restoreAllPStates" and "-setHigherPStates" commandline args
[take care to set voltage to default by yourself before restoring pstates on drivers older than 258+]

- "-enableSettingScan" commandline argument changed to "-requestElevation"
[elevated features like "SettingScan" will be enabled if process is running reqired privileges]

- fixed inavlid index error for "create shortcut" feature on cards without voltage support

# Profile Settings:

- "show customized setting names only" option will not be saved anymore.
[you can edit CSN file by yourself if you want to change its default state]

- removed german CSN file from being shipped
[community should handle custom CSN deployment by itself]

- added toolbar with searchable profiles list
- added application list;
- added "create new profile" feature
- added "add / remove application" feature
- moved "reset value" to settings list (visible to the right for modified values only)
- changed setting store state checkboxes into images
- changed resizing behavior for settings list
- scanned values keep visible even if "show customized setting names only" is activated
- removed custom compatibility bits from CSN file
- added AA behavior flags with some values to CSN file
- fixed some stereo setting ids for 260+ driver

Version 1.9.2:

Highlights:

#MAIN:

- added automatic check for new version and embedded quick updater

- added function to apply the current selected p-state clocks to all higher p-states (right click the "apply clocks" button)
[you can use this for voltage stability check on clocks of unchangeable p-state volatges, e.g. for further bios mods]

- added function to restore all p-states to its bios defaults on 258+ drivers (right click the "apply clocks" button)

- added live data logging to csv file (right click nvidia logo)
[dont open the file with excel while still logging, excel flags this file readonly!]

#SETTINGS:

- added general bit value editor for unknown settings (right click the setting item)
[available after setting scan in advanced setting mode]

- added "CUSTOM SETTING NAMES" (CSN) feature via localized xml file for overide nvidia driver api setting names to user defined ones
you can also add every setting id you like, even new or unknown ones, put them in new groups, make descriptions, and so on...

A template of all settings can be downloaded here: http://download.orbmu2k.de/files/CustomSettin … es_template.zip

Changes:

- added "showSettingsOnly" parameter to load driver settings dialog without complete inspector tool
- added small hint link to create desktop shortcut for advanced settings mode (it just calls -enableSettingScan and -showSettingsOnly)
- changed to full length profile names of scanned values
- changed the default group for some ("other") nvidia cpl settings to "common"
- unknown profile values will be sorted by value now
- added short delay to voltage changes to avoid crashes
- added donation button
- try to get focus back to last focused setting item after refresh
- sorting custom groups by first apperence in CSN file
- added english CSN file with all common nvidia cpl settings and nhancer like AA modes
- added german CSN file (thanks to 3dc community)

WARNING ############################################################################################

Using the embedded updater will overwrite all shipped files.
If you have modified the CSN files for yourself, make sure to have backups of them before updating!

####################################################################################################

Version 1.9.1:

- starting THIS english changelog 😀
- added WHQL detection to driver version display
- removed the (almost wrong) memory clock display on non-dedicated gpus
- improved safety while clock/voltage change (increasing shaderclock will apply voltage before clockchange, decrease will apply voltage after)
- profile settings scanner got its own thread to avoid hanging app while scanning
- fixed bug where two instances running when elevation was requested
- added default value display for overclocking sections on driver version 258+
- added some anisotrophic filter level values to the profile setings editor
- skip loading voltage table if voltage control is not available ( may fix kernel panic on some cards )

Version 1.9.0:

- "Apply Defaults" also applies default voltage now with drivers 258+
- added simple driver profile setings editor for the new settings API on 256+ drivers and above
- other small improvements and fixes

Version 1.8.7:

- bugfix for determination of shadercount on some older cards
- bugfix for missing displayhandle while using physx support card
- bugfix for fan control range
- the app is now minimizeable in overclocking mode
- added a warning message before entering oc mode
(you can start with parameter "-disableWarning" to skip this message)

Version 1.8.0:

- added new method for the determination of shadercount on fermi cards and above
- added "Create Clocks Shortcut" feature
- added commandline feature

Version 1.7.1:

- bugfix for high dpi users, where overclocking section was cropped
- added feature "Unlock Max" to avoid recommend clock limits
- bugfix: "SetFan" button was visible while uploading screenshot
- reduced text flickering while updating live stats
- added p-state mapping to the performance level selection box

Update 1.7.0:

- added simple fan control

Update 1.6.3:

- added the new nvidia driver embedded Voltage Control for the new fermi cards (and above?)
- added voltage and p-state display
- added the long time unsupported "tachreading" function to show fan rpm on fermi cards
- bugfix for GT215 shadercount

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98/XP multi-boot system with P55 chipset (build log)
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10Hz FM

Reply 226 of 241, by mothergoose729

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duga3 I think you found the best setup for late era XP graphics cards.

I use a VGA monitor so I can't comment on the color accuracy because that was always working with VGA.

I can set a custom resolution in the driver panel. I was able to inf mod my 980ti graphics card, and the 1.9.6.6 Nvidia Inspector version you recommended worked great for me.

Running the canned benchmark on F.E.A.R. First Encounter, with everything maxed out, at 1600x1200 resolution.

Min 159
Average 457
Max 996

With 4x Super Sampling forced in the Driver and 16x AF

Min 81
Average 186
Maximum 464

Intel 4690k@4.0ghz
8gb DDR3 1600mhz
GTX 980ti MSI "Lightning Edition" (stock overclock)
Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIE Sound Card
Windows XP 32bit REMOVED

I think this is the driver version to recommend for all 400 series or newer graphics cards on windows XP. It would guess that the latest available driver for 300 series or older Nvidia graphics cards would be fine.

Last edited by DosFreak on 2023-06-29, 02:05. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 227 of 241, by duga3

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mothergoose729 wrote on 2021-01-26, 05:31:
duga3 I think you found the best setup for late era XP graphics cards. […]
Show full quote

duga3 I think you found the best setup for late era XP graphics cards.

I use a VGA monitor so I can't comment on the color accuracy because that was always working with VGA.

I can set a custom resolution in the driver panel. I was able to inf mod my 980ti graphics card, and the 1.9.6.6 Nvidia Inspector version you recommended worked great for me.

Running the canned benchmark on F.E.A.R. First Encounter, with everything maxed out, at 1600x1200 resolution.

Min 159
Average 457
Max 996

With 4x Super Sampling forced in the Driver and 16x AF

Min 81
Average 186
Maximum 464

Intel 4690k@4.0ghz
8gb DDR3 1600mhz
GTX 980ti MSI "Lightning Edition" (stock overclock)
Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIE Sound Card
Windows XP 32bit REMOVED

I think this is the driver version to recommend for all 400 series or newer graphics cards on windows XP. It would guess that the latest available driver for 300 series or older Nvidia graphics cards would be fine.

@Laser mentioned it here first so it's his finding. I also think we got very lucky with these underdog drivers.

If by VGA you mean you are using analog signal between GPU and monitor then I think that works fine with other drivers too (at least it does on my CRT).

Your FPS results give me hope because I am still having some weird issues which I think are probably CPU related. For example it does not really matter what resolution I use, I get similar FPS (even at 480p). It is not very apparent when maxing out resolution and AA because that's when the GPU is closer to the bottleneck territory (but still not THE bottleneck) so I didn't pay much attention to it before. CPU seems to stop at 50C, it is all stock config/hw AFAIK. One of the CPU threads is always hovering around 100%. I don't really want to pollute this topic about my issue but if anyone has links to general articles/software about diagnosing similar weird (CPU?) issues then I would appreciate a PM. First I will try to spend some time on it myself but if it won't go anywhere then I might eventually make my own thread asking for more specific help/ideas on that topic.

Last edited by DosFreak on 2023-06-29, 02:07. Edited 1 time in total.

98/XP multi-boot system with P55 chipset (build log)
Screenshots
10Hz FM

Reply 228 of 241, by mothergoose729

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duga3 wrote on 2021-01-26, 20:58:
@Laser mentioned it here first so it's his finding. I also think we got very lucky with these underdog drivers. […]
Show full quote
mothergoose729 wrote on 2021-01-26, 05:31:
duga3 I think you found the best setup for late era XP graphics cards. […]
Show full quote

duga3 I think you found the best setup for late era XP graphics cards.

I use a VGA monitor so I can't comment on the color accuracy because that was always working with VGA.

I can set a custom resolution in the driver panel. I was able to inf mod my 980ti graphics card, and the 1.9.6.6 Nvidia Inspector version you recommended worked great for me.

Running the canned benchmark on F.E.A.R. First Encounter, with everything maxed out, at 1600x1200 resolution.

Min 159
Average 457
Max 996

With 4x Super Sampling forced in the Driver and 16x AF

Min 81
Average 186
Maximum 464

Intel 4690k@4.0ghz
8gb DDR3 1600mhz
GTX 980ti MSI "Lightning Edition" (stock overclock)
Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIE Sound Card
Windows XP 32bit REMOVED

I think this is the driver version to recommend for all 400 series or newer graphics cards on windows XP. It would guess that the latest available driver for 300 series or older Nvidia graphics cards would be fine.

@Laser mentioned it here first so it's his finding. I also think we got very lucky with these underdog drivers.

If by VGA you mean you are using analog signal between GPU and monitor then I think that works fine with other drivers too (at least it does on my CRT).

Your FPS results give me hope because I am still having some weird issues which I think are probably CPU related. For example it does not really matter what resolution I use, I get similar FPS (even at 480p). It is not very apparent when maxing out resolution and AA because that's when the GPU is closer to the bottleneck territory (but still not THE bottleneck) so I didn't pay much attention to it before. CPU seems to stop at 50C, it is all stock config/hw AFAIK. One of the CPU threads is always hovering around 100%. I don't really want to pollute this topic about my issue but if anyone has links to general articles/software about diagnosing similar weird (CPU?) issues then I would appreciate a PM. First I will try to spend some time on it myself but if it won't go anywhere then I might eventually make my own thread asking for more specific help/ideas on that topic.

Weird. You can try disabling hyperthreading (or SMT) and then setting a static clock speed in the bios.

Last edited by DosFreak on 2023-06-29, 02:07. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 229 of 241, by Laser

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btw,

The max refresh rate possible on winxp trough DISPLAY PORT is 120hz
(this applies to all nvidia cards I tested and all drivers)

it seems there is a limitation on winxp Nvidia drivers
or the problem is there are no winxp monitor drivers for new lcd monitors

also the program CRU ( custom resolution utility ) don't work on winxp
so basically you are limited to create your custom resolutions in NVIDIA control panel

if you want higher refresh rates than 120hz you must connect a CRT monitor or connect your LCD monitor trough DVI or DVI -VGA adapter
otherwise 120hz is the max refresh rate

but if I'm wrong with this point and
if anyone here have set a custom resolution at 144hz or 240hz refresh rate:please share the way to do that : thanks

Reply 230 of 241, by duga3

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I have now posted benchmarks between 960 / 980 Ti / 1080 Ti. The first 2 under Windows XP 32-bit.

There is some overclocking of both CPU and GPU.

You can nicely see the scaling and also clearly identify when the bottleneck is the CPU or the GPU.

It is also obvious you need a fast modern CPU if you want to play later Windows XP games at high refresh rates. Otherwise a beefy GPU just runs circles around a slow CPU.

See here in my build log: Re: Win98/XP multi-boot on "modern" P55 chipset (BUILD LOG)

98/XP multi-boot system with P55 chipset (build log)
Screenshots
10Hz FM

Reply 231 of 241, by Joseph_Joestar

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Interesting thread. I have a spare GTX 650 Ti which I'm currently testing on a WinXP system using 355.98 drivers. When connected to an old 17" LCD monitor over DVI, I get the proper scaling options:

Nvidia_Scale.jpg
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However, when I connect the card to a newer monitor using HDMI, the scaling options no longer show up. Similarly, when using a VGA connection on that same monitor, the scaling options don't show up either. Two questions:

1) Is it under any circumstances possible to have the scaling options under WinXP on a Nvidia card when using a HDMI connection? Specifically, I need the "Do not scale" option.
2) If this isn't possible on Nvidia cards, can it be done on WinXP compatible ATi cards? Maybe an R9 280X or something similar?

Thanks in advance!

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 232 of 241, by GrandAdmiralThrawn

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Having read a lot about this topic (best XP graphics card and high-res displays) on this forum, I just took a pretty big risk and bought the following monitor:

LG 38WN95C-W, 3840×1600 pixels

Considering the GeForce GTX Titan Black asthe best XP card, it's what I'm using in my ancient XP x64 workstation. I also use this machine with virtual desktops and in a "quasi-tiled" mode as a terminal client for my FreeBSD A/V computation machine. I've been doing this with a 30" screen at 2560×1600@60Hz over dual-link DVI so far. And frankly, I'd appreciate even more screen real-estate, so I can spawn more tiled terminals in parallel. 😉 Here's a screenshot of what it looks like now:

BEAST-terminaldesktop-from-XPx64-2020-12-10-after-puTTY-guimod.png
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It's a reasonably modern box with a X5690 hexcore, 48 GiB of RAM, SSD system disk, HDD RAID-6 as a data disk with GPT over StorPort, blahblah.

Alright, so I got the recommended driver 355.98, and tried it with custom resolutions using the CVT-RB timing formula over HDMI and DisplayPort! In theory, with CVT-RB there should be roughly enough bandwidth for around 3840×1600@50Hz including blanking, which would be good enough for me. 30Hz is a bit.. uh.. rough.

First: I actually got 3840×1600@75Hz offered over DisplayPort with the display set to "DP 1.4" mode and with driver version 368.81 still installed. This should not be possible under XP. And indeed: Setting this mode resulted in both my connected monitors going dark instantly and in a BSOD 0x100000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER in VIDEOPRT.SYS, which I saw only after a hard reset, checking things with NirSoft's BlueScreenView tool. So no dice. Hence I switched to 355.98, and HDMI.

HDMI is a no-go as well though. I could at least create a 3840×1600@30Hz res, but the driver kept telling me that higher refresh rates "aren't supported" (huh? This tool is for overriding that, but still..) but it wouldn't work. It would display native 2560×1600@30Hz, and activate Windows XP's mouse panning mode for the rest. Useless for me. I could not get it to work, no matter what I set the monitor's scaling options to. And scaling support in the nVidia driver for XP was not present at all, as mentioned before. A failure. Back to DisplayPort then...

So, to cut to the pace: I had to set the monitor to "DP 1.2" mode. This doesn't seem to make sense, because the fastest DP protocol XP supports - HBR1 - should be covered by DP 1.1. But setting the screen to DP 1.1 mode limited me to 30Hz. In DP 1.2 mode, I could go all the way up to 3840×1600@50Hz using the CVT-RB formula in a custom resolution, haven't tried anything higher yet (might be possible to go to around 55Hz in theory).

At last, 3840×1600@50Hz under XP x64:

LG-38WN95C-W-XPx64-DP.png
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72.91 KiB
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So, it was tricky, and I'm not sure just every high-res monitor will allow users to do this over DP, but at least in my case it's a success! I only did a very quick test for now, as I have to re-arrange my desk to make space for this monster. 😉 What's yet to be seen is whether I'll see BIOS output via DP. But even if not, I got a cute 7" VGA screen for just that, should it really be necessary to view the BIOS & POST.

I would like to thank the users here at Vogons, because you people enabled me to learn quite a lot about this specific topic before jumping the gun! 😀

Edit: Here we go, this is the upgraded version of the screenshot at the top of this post, now with 3840×1600:

beast2022-02-from-XP-x64-3840.png
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beast2022-02-from-XP-x64-3840.png
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Proud User of a 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 AGP (HiNT Rev.A3 3400) prototype

Reply 234 of 241, by darry

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pilipali wrote on 2024-01-10, 12:43:

Anyone know if it possible to get the Maxwell (980 Ti) cards to work with the 355.98 drivers by modifying the inf file?

I can't say with absolute certainty for that specific driver version, but in general terms, yes.

http://mattpilz.com/windows-xp-drivers-nvidia … 980-ti-titan-x/

Reply 235 of 241, by The Serpent Rider

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Original Titan and Titan Black has one interesting quirk that I find useful for Windows XP - you can force 64-bit precision in drivers, which will completely disable Nvidia boosting technology (but not power limit throttling in stuff like FurMark). That way it acts similar to GTX 580, with very predictable clock and voltage settings.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 236 of 241, by agent_x007

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The Serpent Rider wrote on 2024-01-11, 20:29:

Original Titan and Titan Black has one interesting quirk that I find useful for Windows XP - you can force 64-bit precision in drivers, which will completely disable Nvidia boosting technology (but not power limit throttling in stuff like FurMark). That way it acts similar to GTX 580, with very predictable clock and voltage settings.

It also increases vGPU (if you tried to mod the vBIOS by fixing voltage to lower level).

Reply 238 of 241, by Sphere478

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Curious topic,

It seems the best gpu for a specific OS would be the highest scoring one that still had drivers for said OS, but it may be more complicated than that.

As I discovered with finding a good video card for 586 I was limited by buggy compatibility between os/drivers/driver overhead and cpu hardware instructions, not just the card it’s self. In theory I should be running x850 or some nutty 7900 agp card but no, turns out the most trouble free fast cards are 7500-9000 series cards. I keep trying the geforce 2/3 but keep having issues.

Anyway, if all other hardware is maxed out and all the driver instructions and cpu horsepower are there, a good, but possibly wishful thinking approach to this would be finding the EOL windows xp driver packs from nvidia and ati and seeing what the last card was.

Btw, replying to OP, thread long, hope this is still relevant.

Sphere's PCB projects.
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Sphere’s socket 5/7 cpu collection.
-
SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod
-
Tyan S1564S to S1564D single to dual processor conversion (also s1563 and s1562)

Reply 239 of 241, by KT7AGuy

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Sphere478 wrote on 2024-02-18, 04:09:

Btw, replying to OP, thread long, hope this is still relevant.

Greetings, fellow Tyan S1563 user!

I'm still out here. I just don't spend as much time reading VOGONS as I used to. There comes a point where one has learned pretty much everything one needs to know for their realm-of-interest in this hobby. Or, at least you establish paradigms for yourself that are difficult to shake. That's where I'm at now. I'm kinda stuck in my ways and glued to my opinions.

While it may be possible to run WinXP on a 586 (and I'm assuming you mean Pentium 1 CPUs), it's not great. In fact, let's get real and just say that it sucks. BAD. WinXP on Pentium 1 as anything other than a tech demo just isn't usable. Why are you doing this?

As far as what would be the best video card for a PCI-based Socket 7 system goes, I think your choices of Radeon 7xxx-9xxx are really good. I generally avoid the Radeon cards for Win9x systems due to their lack of palletized texture and fog table support. However, on a P1 system that probably won't matter too much, especially so with WinXP as some of the later XP drivers for those cards actually had some level of support for those features enabled.

Personally, I'm still rocking an original Matrox Millennium and Voodoo 1 in my Tyan S1563S with Pentium 233 MMX. It works really well. A couple of years ago I purchased a PCI GeForce 5500 and a PCI Quadro NVS280. I was planning to try using them as a replacement for the Matrox but I never got around to it. Now I'm not really feeling a need to even bother trying. Why mess with something that just works, ya know? If I need more GPU horsepower, I've got Pentium 3 and Athlon systems with Voodoo 3 or GeForce 4 cards that will do the job better anyway.

I ran WinXP SP3 on a P3 1Ghz with 512MB RAM for a number of years. While it was usable, one needed a measure of patience. I can't even imagine how frustrating it would be on a Pentium 233 MMX with even less RAM.

Last edited by KT7AGuy on 2024-02-19, 00:01. Edited 1 time in total.