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Thread: AGP Appature guide...

  1. #1
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    AGP Appature guide...

    http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/aperture-size/

    --The definitive guide to how to set your AGP appature... ersonally im not convinced

    --Jakk

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member omega31's Avatar
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    Hmmm... well, I've used a 128 mb size for about a year and a half now. I was just playing with it, and it worked well like that for me.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Dracas's Avatar
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    Using a 2X AGP 3dfx Voodoo3 2000

    If I set my Apreture to anything over 32 I start losing FPS in games and such because it actually tries to *use* the system memory even when its not necessary. System memory is a lot slower then most of the VRAM/BGA RAM so when the system reaches out to store some textures there, you'll notice a bit of a hit.

    Personally I'd recommend keeping the number at its utmost minimum, unless you're doing MCAD or other types of intensive rendering that have a need for large virtual textures.
    "Save us Booze, show us the way!"

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member grimfandango's Avatar
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    set your to half your system ram!


  5. #5
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    If I set my Apreture to anything over 32 I start losing FPS in games and such because it actually tries to *use* the system memory even when its not necessary.
    You cant have much RAM then... the only times ive had that sort of problem is when i tried setting app. to 128mb on a system that only had 64mb of RAM

    --Jakk

  6. #6
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    set your to half your system ram!
    I posted that link to specifically kill off that myth and what does she go and do...

    --Jakk

  7. #7
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
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    i still stick to my own believes regardless of what is fact or not

    from test

    when my AGP aperture was set at 64 meg, the same amout of my Vid RAM 64 meg

    the score was extremely poor at 2000+ scores (3Dmarks)

    but when i set it to Half 1/2 64 meg, so the AGP aperture was set to 32meg then my scores incleased back to 8000 3Dmarks.

    so if we go back to all those "facts" we can find on sooooo many websites, non of them are right.

    LOL

    just test and try and see wha tis best for your own vid / size combo

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member grimfandango's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa


    I posted that link to specifically kill off that myth and what does she go and do...

    --Jakk




    I can find 100s of sites that say set it to half your system ram!


    like AllGamer

    it all depends on whats best for your sys!


    AllGamer
    Bigjakkstaffa

    how much agp mem did you set?






  9. #9
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    Ive set it to 64/128/256 and although i aint benched i seen diddely squat difference between em....

    --Jakk

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
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    i have 64meg of Video RAM
    my aperture is set at 32 meg of RAM
    if i set it at anything higher or anything lower, then my Scores are low or very low.

    but at 32 it runs very fast.


    it's in AGP 4x with all the write and read and extra extras enabled.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Dracas's Avatar
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    BigJakk:

    I speak out of experience trying to figure out what the hell AGP Appreture does. Literally, it copies large textures over from the Videocard to system ram allocated by the AGP Appreture in the BIOS.

    Now...that said, you can test this theory, by either writing a program that monitors whats being put where and how fast its being processed.

    Or you can do the easy thing, get a 16MB Video card and set your AGP Appreture to 64 MB. Get 3DMark 2001/2002/2002SE (I can't remember which it was, the one that loaded multiple textures along a womrhole the POV flew through), and wait until it tries to do a '64MB Texture' test, videocards under 64 MB CAN NOT RUN THIS TEST, it'll say "No Hardware Support" unless the AGP Appreture is set to Share System RAM up to or in excess of 64 MB.

    You'll notice that the 64MB Texture test that 3DMark runs will be excruciatingly slower than any of the other tests, this is because it has to reach out across the system board to store texture information into System Memory.

    the FPS in a 64MB Texture Test was: 5 ~ 8 FPS
    the FPS in a 32MB Texture Test was: 50 ~ 60 FPS

    That 5 to 8 is testament to how much more work your videocard would have to do to use System memory.


    Also, if you read around a bit on the history of AGP Appreture, it was created to overlap a Compatability Issue that became apparent when programs would demand a higher frame buffer or needed more ram to store textures in and would simply crash.

    Dead

    hence why 3DMark would report "No hardware Support" when trying to use 64MB textures on my 16MB card with less then 64MB Appreture enabled.

    So it reasons that it was intended for use on MCAD Applications (3DModelling requires extensive support for for large virtual textures, and while System RAM is a lot slower then VideoRam, it is multiple times faster than Disk Caching such huge textures. Therefor, we can extrapolate that some programs, rendering executables specifically, and some games - would require a larger appreture to unction properly and gain a slight bit of performance by avoiding Disk Caching.) and games that use a lot of Textures and require the extra memory.

    But because of the fact that some programmers really neglect to write software error correction protocols, that if these applications do not get enough RAM they'd simply crash.


    Make sense?
    "Save us Booze, show us the way!"

  12. #12
    Gone
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    Originally posted by Dracas
    Using a 2X AGP 3dfx Voodoo3 2000

    If I set my Apreture to anything over 32 I start losing FPS in games and such because it actually tries to *use* the system memory even when its not necessary. System memory is a lot slower then most of the VRAM/BGA RAM so when the system reaches out to store some textures there, you'll notice a bit of a hit.

    Personally I'd recommend keeping the number at its utmost minimum, unless you're doing MCAD or other types of intensive rendering that have a need for large virtual textures.
    I dont understaqnd that?! All the voodoo's were not AGP even if they were agp slot card. They are all pci, so it doesnt even use Apreture at all! Set it to 0 thats best for that or a pci card.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member AllGamer's Avatar
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    now i'm really confused

    AGP aperture it's simply a way of sharing system memory with the Video.

    so i think that should work regardless of AGP or PCI as long as you are using AGP bridges in your AGP (PCI ) slot.

  14. #14
    Evil Lurks NDD's Avatar
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    Voodoo3/5 DO NOT support AGP TEXTURING, hence, setting apperture size for it is quite useless if not pointless
    Voodoo4 DO.
    And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers

  15. #15
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    Well that was definately an interesting read.

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