Optimization/Tweak guide for playing high end games

A

anutoshi

n00b
Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
20
Hello,

Wasn't sure where to post this in forum and sorry if it's already been posted but I'm looking for a guide on how to set up Windows to play games like F.E.A.R, Riddick and BF2. I scanned the "The Definitive "How to Tweak" Guide" above with no luck. Things like page file and services settings, BIOS tweaks, etc. Generally how to clean/speed up Windows to handle these cutting edge games. Thanks in advance. Tom
 
You used to be able to go to Blackviper.com and get that info.

But his site has been down or moved for a long while.......
 
Reagent said:
You used to be able to go to Blackviper.com and get that info.

But his site has been down or moved for a long while.......
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:rolleyes: There's a reason why his site is down, and why no one should have gone there anyway. Do a google search on Quackviper, and you'll find out why,
 
There's no such thing as a "super tweak" that will allow you to run your computer noticably faster. Tweak guides are all a bunch of BS.

If you want those games to run faster you have two options.

1. Run them at lower IQ settings.
2. Update your hardware.

This is assuming you are constantly updating your drivers.
 
I wrote a short script that shuts off a ton of services that aren't needed when I'm gaming or benching based on my knowledge of winhozed... I never noticed any real difference in performance other than reducing the total amount of RAM in use.

Buying a faster processor or video card is the best way to get better gaming performace... then water cool it and overclock the snot out of it if you want even more....

You can't make chicken soup from chicken sh1t, as they say, and all the Windows tweaks in the world won't help a wussy system... ;)
 
All the tweaks for "gaming" really doesn't tweak the game. It simply tweaks memory-related variables. That way, your game feels smoother rather than stuttery. Services does little to do any effect for gaming as Windows automatically loads/unloads them when it's needed. And well - a lot of these services are usually unloaded.

-J.
 
Here, I'll write one now:

1. Install Windows
2. Install Drivers
3. Leave it the hell alone.

Seriously, every tweaking guide out there is useless. They are all filled with tons of false information and very poor advice. Just ignore every single one you come across.

Just leave the services from the default installation at their defaults and there is nothing wrong with leaving the pagefile alone either.
 
KoolDrew said:
Here, I'll write one now:

1. Install Windows
2. Install Drivers
3. Leave it the hell alone.

Seriously, every tweaking guide out there is useless. They are all filled with tons of false information and very poor advice. Just ignore every single one you come across.
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Amen QFT QFMFT OMGWTFBBQQFT ...etc

People following tweak guides = us answering questions about "Why can't I print?" and such.
 
So tweaking BIOS is cool and understandable, but tweaking the OS is silly because it is perfect by default? :(
 
Empyrean said:
So tweaking BIOS is cool and understandable, but tweaking the OS is silly because it is perfect by default? :(
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I'm SO with you here. Now.... Show me a tweak that can be tested like an OC.

The problem is many tweaks are NOT valid for performance.

The ones that are, great, but they are few and far between. I'd guess that for every kosher tweak there is, there are 5 bad ones.

edit: with any given BIOS tweak, I can show you how to test it, and what it improved. I don't see this with OS tweaks.
 
How about going to System Properties/Performance/Settings/Checking Adjust for best performace, been doing that for years before a game. Got it off Microsofts website, waste of time? Or using a second hard drive to store the paging file, another useless move? I use to use a program called Enditall to stop background Processes before a game, worthless? I know defagging is a good idea, anything else. Thanks
 
anutoshi said:
How about going to System Properties/Performance/Settings/Checking Adjust for best performace, been doing that for years before a game. Got it off Microsofts website, waste of time?
Click to expand...
It can help, if you are running more server tasks on a desktop OS to move it to services. This setting tells the OS how much system cache to dedicate to each. Default is best for the OSs main purpose, apps for dekstop OSes, services for servers.

Or using a second hard drive to store the paging file, another useless move?
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Waste of time if you have "enough" RAM. Otherwise it'll offer small improvements, this is generally a server setting as well, but filtered to the desktop world. Key here is to have enough RAM for all you applications, then you aren't paging much, so tweaks to paging don't help.

I use to use a program called Enditall to stop background Processes before a game, worthless?
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Yep, again, as long as you have enough RAM. At worse the OS will page the data in memory for the process to disk if the running application needs additional RAM. If the application can't be paged, and you don't have enough RAM for both, this might help. Again, the key is to have enough RAM.

edit: seeing a pattern here? ;)
 
I'm SO with you here. Now.... Show me a tweak that can be tested like an OC.
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Thanks for being a *censored*.

Anyway, I guess I misunderstood the particularity of the term 'tweak'. Apparently, it only refers to performance. Well, then I see your argument, although it still seems weak to me. There should be plenty of ways to test any 'tweak' out. I guess it is a lot harder with Windows than it would be with a real OS. [Testing in general seems difficult for MS products as the XBox 360 shows.]

I guess what I do wouldn't be considered 'tweaks' since they are more involved with customization, even if I get the information from a 'tweak guide'. If I customize a computer to my liking it will indirectly affect my performance, though. And any customization I make I can immediately 'test'.
 
Thanks Phoenix86, been contemplating swapping out my 1gb (2X512) Corsair XMS with OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) Platinum to play BF2. I'm sure it's a total noob question but I've heard people speak of checking how much total RAM they've used/are using while playing the game, how do you do this? I've often felt like I was pushing the 1gb limit with the game but didn't know how to verify that.
 
anutoshi said:
Thanks Phoenix86, been contemplating swapping out my 1gb (2X512) Corsair XMS with OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) Platinum to play BF2. I'm sure it's a total noob question but I've heard people speak of checking how much total RAM they've used/are using while playing the game, how do you do this? I've often felt like I was pushing the 1gb limit with the game but didn't know how to verify that.
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Any time, glad it helps you.

To check your memory usage, see task manager/performance/commit charge peak. This will show you how much total memory your system is using, you want at least this much RAM when your system is under full load. You can check a single app in task manager/performance/mem usage. This info isn't as helpfull as the total in commit charge peak. You need to know how much the overall system is using, not just an app. Good luck.
 
You expect me to even carry a discussion on with you after that? :|
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Why should I be concerned with whether you want to carry on a conversation when you begin it the way you did?

I asked a question, and you provided a snide comment for your lead in. My calling you a *censored* (note, I typed that *-c-e-n-s-o-r-e-d-*, it was not an auto-board censor. Same story with the original.) was purely in regards to the statement you made:

I'm SO with you here. Now.... Show me a tweak that can be tested like an OC.
Click to expand...

It is possible I misread that as 'voice tone' does not usually translate well through written communication. However, I read that as a hostile response. You pretend to agree with me in a patronizing manner, and then reverse into a challenge. If I did in fact read that correctly, then I could care less about carrying on a conversation with such a haughty individual.
 
Actually I *was* agreeing with you. I really would like to flesh out good tweaks seeing how many "bad" ones there are. Just because *you* applied inflection/tone/sarcasm where I didn't belong, isn't my fault. You could have asked if you were unsure, so you wouldn't look stupid.

Now who's the *censored*?

BTW, there is no censor.
 
It's generally a good idea to respond to the least negative of the likely possible ways to read something. That way, you'll either make the poster you responded to look a bit silly, or you'll have avoided an unneccesary confrontation (if what you responded to wasn't actually meant to be insulting).

I don't know how Phoenix86 meant that to be read, so I'll leave the specifics alone. ;)
 
Okay, then, well let's not have an argument where there is none. I apologize for misreading your statement. In my defense it came (in the sequence of posts) after a stream of responses that were intended to be patronizing. (I know that you were not the poster of these posts.) So, I believe the way your response was written could be validly interpreted that way given the context, even though it would be wrong. I also see how it could not be meant that way (actually I take your word for it), so I again apologize for assuming the wrong thing and provoking an argument. I'm sorry you think I look stupid, as I certainly don't feel that way.

P.S. If my statement seemed harsh, it wasn't intended to be. I just wrote censored because I didn't feel like actually calling someone a name. But see, that all got lost in written translation.

P.P.S. There is a censor. I just don't know its scope. For instance, if you try to type f-a-n-b-o-y without the '-'s you get !!!!!!.
 
It can help, if you are running more server tasks on a desktop OS to move it to services. This setting tells the OS how much system cache to dedicate to each. Default is best for the OSs main purpose, apps for dekstop OSes, services for servers.
Click to expand...

He was talking about the UI-related "tweaks," not LargeSystemCache.

I know defagging is a good idea, anything else.
Click to expand...

Deffraging isn't a bad idea, but is only really necessary in extreme cases. This is because most I/O access is random not sequential, meaning sequentialness matters very little. If I read block 1, then block 20, what does it matter if the file is sequential? I will have to seek anyway. Most I/O is of that nature. The biggest major exception on a modern system is large data files, like music and movies. Just about everything else is read/write with primarily random I/O.
 
Empyrean said:
Okay, then, well let's not have an argument where there is none. I apologize for misreading your statement.
Click to expand...
Fair enough
In my defense it came (in the sequence of posts) after a stream of responses that were intended to be patronizing. (I know that you were not the poster of these posts.) So, I believe the way your response was written could be validly interpreted that way given the context, even though it would be wrong.
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Well, you said it, those weren't my posts...

I also see how it could not be meant that way (actually I take your word for it), so I again apologize for assuming the wrong thing and provoking an argument.
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Read it literally, with empahsis on the DO part, because, well, I DO agree with your statement.

I'm sorry you think I look stupid, as I certainly don't feel that way.
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Where are you going with this? Besides I didn't say you were stupid. I said you should ask for clarification so you don't that way.

"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt." ~Mark Twain

P.S. If my statement seemed harsh, it wasn't intended to be. I just wrote censored because I didn't feel like actually calling someone a name. But see, that all got lost in written translation.

P.P.S. There is a censor. I just don't know its scope. For instance, if you try to type f-a-n-b-o-y without the '-'s you get !!!!!!.
Click to expand...
The censor is for idiots, not fucking cuss words. ;) Just don't cuss at people or in thread titles.

<Back to the topic>
 
You guys mind takin this fight out into the street, I don't post that often and you are both messin' with my good vibrations. Sheesh, can't we all just get along? Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion. Any more juicy tweaks pro or con.
The Saloon Keeper
(ducks just in time as bottle flies past head)
 
P.S

The whole Saloon Keeper tableau sprung from one combatant being from Cowtown and the other from the "Gateway to the Wild West", check sigs. I amaze myself sometimes.
 
Hint for any gamers wanting to tweak for performance in games: CFG's. :)

-J.
 
Now back to our regularly scheduled discussion. Any more juicy tweaks pro or con.
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The only 'tweaks' that neeed to be done are those that are personal preference. Some may effect performance, the majority won't. You just need to know what the tweak actually does. However, this is kind of hard when every tweak guide is filled with false information. It is safe to assume that any 'performance tweak' you run across doesn't do what the author tells you it does.
 
Read it literally, with empahsis on the DO part, because, well, I DO agree with your statement
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"DO" part? Do you mean, the "SO" part?

I SO found the source of the confusion. I did some reading, and it seems 'tweak' can be applied with some variation. Usually, there is an emphasis on performance. For instance, general definitions imply any sort of adjustment.

Tweaking refers to fine-tuning or adjusting a complex system, usually an electronic device. Tweaks are any small modifications intended to improve a system.
Click to expand...

and

tweak
2. To adjust; fine-tune.
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However, in the realm of software, using it for something other than performance is a rarity:

Software tweaking is the process of improving the performance of an application or the quality of its output.
Click to expand...

MS uses it in the more liberal fashion, as with Tweak UI.

Or maybe this is encompassed by the phrase 'quality of output.' Since quality is very relative, preference plays into the perception of quality.

So to sum up:
1. BIOS tweaks are :cool:
2. Quality based OS tweaks are :cool:
3. Performance based OS tweaks are usually (many feel always) shenanigans :eek:
 
Tweak guide for playing high end games implies for performance. I don't think people consider the explorer tweaks found in tweakUI relevant to high end gaming.

What tweaks means here was already limited based on the title/subforum.

Can we stop splitting hairs now? It's pretty obvious what the OP wants and they aren't getting it from this inane discussion.
 
Phoenix86 said:
Tweak guide for playing high end games implies for performance. I don't think people consider the explorer tweaks found in tweakUI relevant to high end gaming.

What tweaks means here was already limited based on the title/subforum.

Can we stop splitting hairs now? It's pretty obvious what the OP wants and they aren't getting it from this inane discussion.
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DOS=HIGH, UMB is the solution to all problems.
 
I used to use Enditall before playing games, when I was OC'ing and trying to squeeze every frame out of BF1942 that I could, but it was hit and miss. Sometimes, it would make my system unstable, sometimes I could notice slight improvements. I don't think the effort to was really worth it. Just keep extra apps running to a minimum and you should be fine.
 
odoe said:
I used to use Enditall before playing games, when I was OC'ing and trying to squeeze every frame out of BF1942 that I could, but it was hit and miss. Sometimes, it would make my system unstable, sometimes I could notice slight improvements. I don't think the effort to was really worth it. Just keep extra apps running to a minimum and you should be fine.
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Speaking of "minimum", I don't think OS won't page apps that aren't minimized. Want more RAM, minimize your apps prior to running the game.
 
Phoenix86 said:
Speaking of "minimum", I don't think OS won't page apps that aren't minimized. Want more RAM, minimize your apps prior to running the game.
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Actually, it's the opposite. (I think. I'm a little too tired to parse your triple negative.)

When an application's top level window is minized, Windows normally calls the SetProcessWorkingSetSize() API on the process. That helps the system's trimming algorithm by marking pages the application owns as immediately swappable. They're not swapped until they're needed, though.

Windows would still end up swapping those pages if memory demand dictated that it needed to. Minimizing the application just puts the pages on the short list.

Of course, this doesn't apply if the application overrides the behaviour. I can't say if that's common or not; I would imagine that it doesn't happen much.
 
djnes said:
:rolleyes: There's a reason why his site is down, and why no one should have gone there anyway. Do a google search on Quackviper, and you'll find out why,
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I did a google search, and I still dont know why. All that came up was about 2 pages of forum topics that had the word "quackviper".
 
bob said:
I did a google search, and I still dont know why. All that came up was about 2 pages of forum topics that had the word "quackviper".
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I found 26 alone on here....without searching any of the other forums, like Neowin and Ars. Not sure how you only found 2.
 
But he did have this on his site

Disclaimer

You have ultimate control over what you do and what happens with your computer system.

I, Black Viper, cannot be held responsible for something you did on your own free will. Nothing that appears on this domain comes with a guarantee or warrantee of any kind.

My opinion of products and services are drafted from experience and observation. All information is true to the best of my knowledge.

Take great care when using any information provided by anyone on the internet
 
Just because he had a disclaimer doesn't mean he's not full of shit.
 
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