Intel X3100 users rejoice! It's finally here! New Pre-Beta Drivers

I hope so, i dont expect any wonders, just a playable framerate regardless of graphical quality

So they are BETA then? I havent noticed too many problems, though i get random pink light rays in Max Payne 2 as well as as well randomly things in the environment becoming transparent for a split second or so

 

I get random graphics driver crashes in WoW with the beta 15.9 drivers (screen goes black for about 2 seconds then it comes back).

The final should have improved stability and better image quality.

By the way, the 15.8.2 driver is available on the Intel download center.

 

Game compatibility list For Windows Xp!!!???
Medal Of Honor Airborn = Not Support Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gears of war = Playable (Low Framerate=5-10)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 = Playable (Go for High Setting)
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate = Playable (Normal Settings=Best Framerate)
Empire Earth III = Playable (Only Not complete)
Bee Movie(TM) Game = Playable
Call of Duty 4 = I try to play single player it throws the directx error
Crysis = Playable (Not complete)
To Be Continue!!!!???
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/20/2008, 01:58:36
Machine name: 09WENGER-WINNER
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp.050928-1517)
Language: English (Regional Setting: Farsi)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: DG965WH_
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 998MB RAM
Page File: 560MB used, 1844MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Intel(R) G965 Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) GMA X3000
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_29A2&SUBSYS_514D8086&REV_02
Display Memory: 384.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (85Hz)
Monitor: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Res:
Driver Name: igxprd32.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.4935 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 3/17/2008 08:45:50, 57344 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: igxpmp32.sys
Mini VDD Date: 3/17/2008 08:45:50, 5955872 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-6AE2-11CF-71F0-4771A3C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x29A2
SubSys ID: 0x514D8086
Revision ID: 0x0002
Revision ID: 0x0002
Video Accel:
Deinterlace Caps: n/a
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Not Available
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

 

The GMA965 is the GMA x3100 right?

so how come with GLView 3.0 http://www.realtech-vr.com/glview/ database :

" Intel" 965/963 Graphics Media Accelerator - 58 extensions (My detected card from a ThinkPad sold with 'x3100 graphics'

" Intel Inc" x3100 - 81 extensions.

Anyone else got differing results?

 

I hope the problem gets noticed by Intel. Both the 14.33 and 14.33.1 XP drivers crash in WoW after couple of minutes. It looks like some basic code is shared with XP and Vista drivers.

These weird new graphical glitches in certain games like UT3 and apps like 3DMark seems to be part of the bugs that's also present in XP 14.33 and 14.33.1 drivers along with beta 15.9 drivers. I don't know how 15.8 is, but the final 15.9 MIGHT not fix the bug.

14.32.4 is the latest driver for 945 chipset users. 14.33 onwards is only for G965. Intel is ending support for 945G with 14.33 drivers.

 

Interesting, im guessing its just stability which is far from complete. Doom 3 for example just fails to start now. Ill probably roll back until the proper release

Nice list, how are the framerates in Crysis and Pro Evo 08. I have Pro Evo 08 on 360 and it would be a Godsend to be able to play from my laptop

EDIT = Yep rolled back, and i see a definite decrease in framerate for Republic Commando which i earlier said had better performance under 15.9 Beta. Was getting 15-20 at High with Bump Mapping Medium and res at 800x600. But now its back to 12-15

 

Just got a score of 1048 in 3dmark05 with default settings but I lowered the resolution down from 1024x768 to 800x600 lol . On normal resolution (1024x768) I get a score of 900.

 

well... i have T2330 1.6, 2Gb RAM 667, Vista HP and after trying different games and driver versions i've come to a single conclusion. X3100 has a pathetic performance, pitiful hardware capabilities and poor handling of video, especially when playing DVD. FEAR Extraction Point is playable until the moment you get to an open field, DOOM3 is UNplayable, CS:S is barely playable and so on... Let's stop fooling ourselves!! THIS CARD HAS NO POTENTIAL! And drivers can't help it.

 

What sort of problems are you having with DVD playback? 2D video seems fine to me. 3D performance is where the X3100 fails.

 

To update my post above, I installed the x3100 driver v.7.14.10.1409 found within the windows update for Vista, and it has resolved the sync problem when extending the desktop onto on a Samsung L-NT4071f. The integrated card is now capable of displaying the set's native resolution of 1920x1080 with the driver listed above.

The latest driver and the previous drivers are still incompatible with the 71f series samsung set.

 

by poor handling of video i mean very little acceleration. Looks like acceleration does not work for dvds at all. And if AVI and MPEG are fairly adjustable through shader filters, dvd playback gets no serve.

I feel like 6200Go from my old lappy, even in its current state (some major fault in the gpu causing memory errors and driver rejection) would outperform Intel.

I'm not saying that GMA965 is hopeless, I'm just saying that it is definitely not as good as Intel wants it to be.

By the way, no matter what driver is used, Everest reports no HW T&L

 

A new Intel 965 display driver just showed up for me on windows update, but there's no information about the version. Other than "Intel Coporation Display software update released in February, 2008"

7.14.10.1461 (aka v15.8.2) is the current (non beta) release from Intel for vista, and you should definitely try this, it came out only a couple of weeks ago, as weather or not the version on windows update you are trying is the one that showed up today for me, or a previous version, the version number you give clearly shows your driver is an older version that the one in here : http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/intelg965/

 

the latest is build .1472, i've tried it, doesn't make any difference for me, so i rolled back to beta.

 

15.9 is out!

Anyone tried them yet? I remember the Beta, it was pretty buggy

 

downloading now

 

The driver assigns either hardware or software T&L/VS depending on applications. I assume Everest has a software mode flag. You can change the mode since its a fixed value in registry.

EDIT:

BTW guys, look at the 15.9 driver Release Notes. On the new features section it says its a DX10 driver.

Performance in CS:S, HL2, and Far Cry is up to XP level according to the German forum: http://www.computerbase.de/forum/showthread.php?t=309411

 

Wow the Vista drivers suck in comparison

 

Just tried 15.9 in FEAR EP.

*gasps*.... worse....

 

Tried WiC on Lowest of Low and it still sucked = (

 

actually, i really wonder how they managed to get FEAR 19/52 at 800x600?
maximum i can squeeze out of settings is 19/67 at 640x480

may be that german thread is sponsored by Intel?

 

15.9 are a massive improvement over the older ones, rock solid so far. Audiosurf, css and hl2:dm run quite well on it now with an avg of 25-30fps at medium settings, native res. Oblivion can take a bit more eye candy with these too.

 

Oblivion? On the X3100. Come on. Please post some pics! It takes me some good OC'ing to run Oblivion well.

 

I barely noticed any significant increased in performance on FEAR, WiC, or Far Cry. How did you guys fare?

 

Oblivion scales really well, it's able to look stunning on my 1730/desktop and still be fun on my 1525.
Apart from the source engine, there are very, very few games able to do that.

The trick with the x3100 is to have a low number of objects and draw distance but a medium or high detail setting.

 

I guess. I still don't really believe it, but if you could post some screens with framerate, it would shut me up!

 

Well, that guy has T7300 CPU and you might have a lower end IGP, with the GL960 chipset(I am not sure about this, can't find laptop chipset for yours).

 

Just treid 3dmark05 on default settings got the highest score I ever got using the x3100 almost 1000 3dmarks...

 

That's at 1024x768, so you can't compare it to others. (Or wait... is it '06 that runs at 1280x1024... eh, too many drugs in high school days)

 

Its 3dmark06 that runs at 1280x800

 

Well, not really. The standard is supposed to be 1280x1024, but smaller screens, or lower WXGA screens, it can't accomplish that.

 

its GM965 i have, santa rosa)) I have a rubbish CPU though) 1.6GHz t2330. Hopefully, will replace it some time later))

Anyway, played around with settings and got FEAR playable enough. Still at 640x480, dropping framerate on open fields, but better!

 

Alright. Plus, FEAR runs on software mode making it sensitive to CPU changes.

 

IntelUser how did your notebook performs after the new driver? I barely notice any FPS changes on FEAR and Far Cry.

 

actually, changing CPU settings from medium to max does not make much difference...

 

CPU settings?? That's not same as hardware/software mode. Alright let me explain. Modern GPUs can offload hardware geometry processing from the CPU. Hardware mode means that the geometry processing is done by the IGP, and software mode means its done on the CPU. Normally its not changeable, but for Intel's case, you can manually change the mode your game runs. FEAR is set to software because its faster.

StarScream4Ever:
I have XP, waiting for 14.34

 

Anybody got problems with the latest drivers under XP playing older games like GTA III and Constantine ? I constantly get a display device infinite loop BSOD 0x000000ea when tryin to play these..

 

Could you tell me where can i see these settngs?

By CPU settings i meant "Computer" settings in FEAR for which CPU is responsible, such as physics, sound, and some effects. I misunderstood your reply before and you misunderstood mine =) peace

 

///////////////

 

Okay)) I did a little bit of of brainstorm and research and found a tweak in Intel's Vista driver, which, I hope, will be helpful. Using it i got an improvement in FEAR EP performance - 800x600 avg. fps 26->34, hi fps 44->68 (+24fps!)

Last night I was browsing other forums in search of some tweaks or better performance configs, and was growing tired of it as all the threads seemed the same... And at some point I noticed a very interesting message. A guy found a key in the registry of his XP after driver update, of such look:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ialm\Device0]
"_3DMark06.exe"=dword:00000001
"_3DMark05.exe"=dword:00000001
"_3DMark03.exe"=dword:00000001
"_PCMark05.exe"=dword:00000001
"_Sam2.exe"=dword:00000001

A couple of replies followed it, suspecting that some simpler renderer is used when the value is set to 1, to get better score out of benchmarks. However, ppl started to play with values of games listed there, and adding new ones. Results were quite different though. For some switching to 0 resulted in fps gain, for some - vice versa. My opinion is that those values are responsible for T&L in some way. Anyway, when i went to check up on my registry, i found nothing similar to these keys under [HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ialm\Device0]

because in Vista you will find 3+ locations containing them (1 in RAM, 1 default and one backup (aka last known good cofig)), where we need the default one

HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000
HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001

Note that changed values in these keys will be immediately copied by HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\.... (into RAM)
and after successful use copied into HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet00 x\Control\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-....
where x is the value of
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select
"LastKnownGood"=dword:0000000 x


Regarding FEAR. The value for it comes with the driver, but the reason why I couldn't get performance similar to those guys from germany is that i'm playing FEAR Exctraction Point at the moment, which has a different filename for the executable - FEARXP.exe , consequently, the value for it should look like

"_FEARXP.exe"=dword:00000001

a bit later i noticed one more value type, looks like:

"~3DMark05.exe"=dword:00000001
"~cod2mp_s.exe"=dword:00000001

will check their influence later.

I'm still very curious, what exactly is the function linked to these values...

 

just tried adding
"~FEARXP.exe"=dword:00000001
average - 2fps loss.

 

I installed the 15.9 drivers last night (Inspiron 1520, T5250 C2D, 1.5GHz).

With the original drivers on my machine, 7.14.10.1272, I got 4600 in 3DMark2001S. With the new drivers, I got ~3000 with Pure HW T&L, ~3300 with HW T&L, and ~3150 with SW T&L.

Any explanations?

(Note: on the other hand, when playing a demo of Sid Meier's Railroads!, the frame rate went from very jerky with the original drivers to relatively smooth with 15.9! I guess this shows that 3DMark2001 benchmarks don't necessarily give you a solid indicator of real performance.)

 

dunno... today i ended up using 3DAnalyzer to play with forced SW T&L instead of HW. Enjoyed much more...

 

That version of 3DMark is really dated, so it's tested REALLY dated hardware. Try '05. You're score will be low, but it will at least test on modern technology's.

 

Njoy: Sorry I didn't reply right away. Now I know what you are talking about.

Anyway, the "settings" you are playing around registry is what enables/disables hardware mode. Here's the basic concept of how to do it.

In XP, there is a file that I can search named _3dmark05.exe(for 3DMark05). It has a DWORD value of 0 or 1(default is 1). 0 means hardware, 1 means software. By default, all 3DMark versions except 3DMark2001 has the "1" flag. There is about a dozen places that I need to change in order to disable/enable hardware mode. I juse use find next in registry to find everything.

I'd think it is similar for Vista. Just find the Original File Name for the game/app you are trying to change the mode you want to run, and find the original file name(for example 3dmark05.exe), with _ preceding the file name. Find every place in the registry with the OFN and change the DWORD value to one you want(remember, 0=hardware, 1=software). If it does not exist, you have to create it.

FEAR runs faster on 1, Far Cry runs about 2x faster on 0.

If you did not know, FEAR runs faster with DX9 shaders on the settings. Do not forcefully enable DX8, because even though it may theoreticaly be less demanding than DX9 shader, it runs much slower on the X3100.

This is especially true with X3100. Hardware mode run on 3DMark is more representative of games running on hardware mode, and same is true for software mode run on 3DMark: It's really only relevant to games that run on software mode.

 

u don't need to place it everywhere! read what i wrote there. Changes are to be made only in \CurrentSet001\ as it will be automatically dubbed by the system in a much safer way

anyway, i think i did a nice manual for getting to those values) And you did a fairly nice explanation for the data.

There still a question though. What about values with prefix "~" ?

 

Can't you compare the available 3d features e.g. in 3d Mark with the ~ option enabled or disabled for its *.exe file. Maybe there will be a difference, or maybe the showed features will still be the same, although a different rendering mode is used.
Just an idea, but could be worth a try...

 

Wow, I guess you found an easier way, thanks. Though I hope we don't have to do with future IGPs .

 

oh, you're sooo right! =)

 

HL2 EP1 runs excellent with FULL HDR on. Sometimes in outdoor areas the drop is indeed severe, but its only around 12 FPS, but for the most part indoors itll be a steady 30 or so and outdoors around 15-25

 

15-25FPS is excellent?