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    Vista not using PowerSaving + RivaTuner LowPower3D can't change clocks

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by E.B.E., May 18, 2008.

  1. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Hi,

    Excuses if the info is in the stickies or in the forums, and I missed it on my scans / quick searches. Understandably most people here are focused on performance and I want power and heat savings, that's why I don't find it easily :)

    I have a twofold problem:

    a) Vista doesn't use the 2D Standard (Power Saving) profile for the GPU (graphics card). I have checked the PCIExpress setting under the power profile, and it's set at Max Power Saving for the profile I'm using. Additionally, I have tested both Max Power Saving and Moderate Power Savings; they both give the same clocks. These clocks are roughly 2/3 out of the full clocks, which corresponds to Low-Power 3D (Balanced in the XP PowerMizer terminology).

    b) The clocks for Low-Power 3D are frozen in Riva Tuner., after I enable driver-level overclocking (well it would be underclocking in my case).

    I would like to either
    a) force Vista to use the 2D standard clocks somehow. or
    b) edit the Low-Power 3D clocks to their minimums, to emulate the 2D standard mode, somehow. I did edit the Full 3D mode to its minimum clocks, but that's not good enough.

    Anyone able to share some insight, please do.

    For more details on why and what I did, here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=249347&page=3
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  2. eleron911

    eleron911 HighSpeedFreak

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    eleron911, May 18, 2008
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  3. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Sorry about that, I meant GPU not CPU. I know about undervolting. Thanks anyway.

    Any ideas about the GPU problems?
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  4. eleron911

    eleron911 HighSpeedFreak

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    Well, powermizer is a weird choice in Vista.
    It is supported, it works, but it`s not adjustable.
    So you need to make sure the drivers you use HAVE powermizer as on option in the nVidia control panel.
    The ones that come into mind and have it are 174.82 , .93 and 175.50 . Try those.
    Also, worst case scenario, as you can Overclock with Rivatuner, you can also Underclock, create a profile and voila.
    I really wish nvidia would put their act together. Or the dudes that make the drivers.It`s annoying to have some with PowerMizers and others without it.
     
    eleron911, May 18, 2008
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  5. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    I don't think any NVIDIA driver in Vista uses PowerMizer? Are you positive those drivers have PowerMizer in Vista? If so I'll check out those versions.

    With the current driver, I NEED to use the Vista power management.

    I did try to underclock with RivaTuner, but as I explained the 2D profile is not being used by Vista; and for some reason the 3D low power mode, which is being used, has its clocks frozen in Riva Tuner. Please re-read the original message.
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  6. The Forerunner

    The Forerunner Notebook Virtuoso

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    What driver are you using? This seems to me to be more of nvidia driver issue than vista. I've had similar problems but were resolved with different drivers.
     
    The Forerunner, May 18, 2008
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  7. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Stock drivers, version is as reported by dxdiag:

    7.15.0011.0134
    5/22/2007

    Do you recommend a particular version from laptopvideo2go?
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  8. The Forerunner

    The Forerunner Notebook Virtuoso

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    Can you overclock with those? I think those drivers are old enough that they don't allow overclocking so they probaby don't allow you to downclock. My recommendation would be to use the 175.16s. Fantastic drivers. You'll probably notice a good boost in performance since your making a big leap.

    http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18432
     
    The Forerunner, May 18, 2008
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  9. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Actually I can under/overclock but only in 2D standard, and in full power 3D.

    Do you have a recomm for 32-bit Vista? Those drivers seem to be 64-bit-only.
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  10. The Forerunner

    The Forerunner Notebook Virtuoso

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    The Forerunner, May 18, 2008
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  11. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Will try it now.
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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  12. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    So I tried it. I still don't get full control with Riva Tuner, but with this driver version Vista actually uses all three profiles (although in a manner that is not controllable by the user).

    Details here:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3371192#post3371192

    Thanks for that driver link. Improved performance by roughly 10% and also offered use of the 2D Standard mode. That enabled me to determine how low one can go with the temps on this computer, so what I should expect from an XP installation, as well.
     
    E.B.E., May 18, 2008
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