[Culinde]

I have just installed a video board (ASUS FX5220-X/TD 128Mo) in my computer.
Previously I only used the onboard GPU (GeForce MX400) of my motherboard (ABIT NF-7M, for Socket A AMD processors).

With the video board I may now reach higher resolutions, however the performances are very low when playing an old game like Neverwinter Nights, even lower than without the video board!!!

I do not understand the reason for these low performances, I do not know if the onboard GPU somehow disrupts the video board, and if someting must be specified in the motherboard BIOS to inhibit the onboard GPU.

If you have any experience on the subject, I would greatly appreciate your assistance.

[basketofkittens]

Did you install the latest drivers for the new graphics card? I'm thinking you didn't, and that's why it's running so poorly.

[WoodButcher]

Don't forget to disable the onboard vid.

[mistawiskas]

Yeah, what woodbutcher said, this is true with replacing any on-board functions with an aftermarket device. Also, be sure to totally remove any old graphics drivers before installing new ones.

[Adam12]

Like the others said:

Downloaded latest drivers
Disable onboard video in BIOS
Make sure you are plugged into the new video card and not the onboard(trust me I have seen more than one person that did this)
Also make sure to check the video settings in Neverwinter Nights to be sure they didnt get reset at a higher resloution

[Culinde]

Well, thanks for your help, it is most appreciated.

On the onboard GPU disabling (in the BIOS):
My first concern is that I expected to find easily in the ABIT SoftMenu an option to disable the onboard GPU, but I did not find anything. However: 1. when booting I do not see anymore the onboard GPU message displaying the amount of memory allocated to it
2. the System Properties now displays the full amount of physical memory (beforehand it used to substract the memory allocated to the onboard GPU)
3. the onboard GPU video output of the motherboard seems disabled (black screen)
4. the peripherals list has a section for the graphic boards, which only lists my ASUS video board, there is no mention of the onboard GPU whatsoever.

So I now think that the mere presence of a graphic board enables the motherboard to inhibit the onboard GPU by itself, without any change in the BIOS.


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On the drivers issue:

The ASUS install CD specified to first remove any driver relating to a previously used graphic board, BUT I did not know how to proceed (and I still don't know how...). So I did not remove them, and this is likely to be the source of my trouble.

I looked for information on the ASUS Internet Site, and I found updates for their "optimized, high-performances driver" in which they explained that it was necessary to install the Nvidia latest drivers first, and then the "optimized" driver. The problem is that the latest Nvidia drivers had my PC reboot just after opening my user session, so I was unable to install the ASUS driver on top. I had to revert to an image of my system where I only had the onboard GPU, and then I succeded in installing the updated version of the so-called "optimized ASUS driver", with the loss of performances I now experience.

When looking at the drivers for the ASUS video board in the Windows XP Peripheral Management Interface, I get the following:

C:\windows\system32\DRIVERS\nv4_mini.sys
C:\windows\system32\`nv4_disp.dll
Supplier: NVIDIA Corporation
Version: 6.14.10.5673

And the Display Properties Interface now has an ASUS section, with ASUS OSD/ASUS Splendid configurations.



To sum all this up, I am completely lost!

I am currently thinking of doing the following:
1. restart from my old system image again, then switch the PC off
2. physically remove my video board, and reboot to go back to my stable configuration
3. uninstall (but how?) the onboard GPU drivers, then switch the PC off
4. add my video board, allow Windows XP to automatically install whatever peripherals it detects
5. use the ASUS CD to install the first version of their optimized driver
6. create a new system image, just in case
7. install the latest Nvidia drivers
8. install the latest ASUS optimized driver

What do you think about this course of actions?

Additionaly what must I do to remove the video drivers used for my onboard GPU? Is there any tool doing this automatically (for lazy or incompetent people like me)?

[Culinde]

Well I proceeded as described above, and it did work.
Thanks for your help anyway.

[mistawiskas]

You're very welcomed.