Best settings for GeForce 7050M-M system?

[txironhead]

Finished building my system, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be as fast as it should be. I'm not looking to overclock it, just get the best performance I can safely. Here's what is in the system:

ECS/Elitegroup GeForce7050M-M v1.0
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+
Supertalent 1G 667mhz DDR2 Double-sided (but I believe somewhere in the bios it stated single-sided, ???)(soon to add another 2G or replace with 2G 800mhz, which would be best?)
Hitachi HDS721616PLA380 SATA 160G HDD
Asus 18X DVD-RW
EVGA GeForce 7600GS w/512Mb PCI-E
USB internal multi-card reader

Few questions: First, do the NVidia motherboard drivers interfere with the drivers for the 7600GS? I thought about uninstalling the drivers for the onboard video before installing the (latest) drivers for the 7600GS, but it's all bundled in with the motherboard control software.

Second, I am leery of messing with the settings for the motherboard without knowing exactly what I'm doing. What are the optimal (non-overclocked) settings for this system?

Third, I know that there is a 2.0 (or higher) version of this motherboard. Is that merely BIOS versions or is it actually an improved board?

Fourth: (okay, I know this is getting a bit long here) The onboard sound is okay for the two speakers I have now, but I've read several reports that it is seriously lacking for quality audio, and I am planning on upgrading my speakers to a 5.1 soon. Nothing fancy, but I do like my music, is there a decent affordable sound card recommended?

I'm not looking for a hardcore gaming computer here, the biggest system-hog game I play is Neverwinter Nights 2 Gold, and I really don't care if everything is at the highest resolution as long as it looks ok and plays quickly. I have way more than the "recommended" system requirements for NWN2, and yet the game is still jerky to the point of unplayability regardless of video settings. I'm running an old GEM 17" CRT (49-60Mhz) until I save up for a decent flatscreen, so ultra-high resolution doesn't matter right now. I also need to know whether the settings need to be changed in the BIOS, NVidia Control Panel, or other program/area.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Replace with ddr2 800. Amd's imc is very sensitive with memory bandwidth. The thing holding you back, in games, are your 7600gs. A 9600gs, amd 3850, even the new 9500gt would be a major upgrade over that.

 

[txironhead]

The 7600gs was the best video card that I could afford at the time. I've been hearing rather dim reviews of NVidia's newest offerings, so I figured I'd keep this card until some better deals or cards came around. For now, I've got to make do until I can afford better. I'm really not impressed with the 7050M-M board, not a gaming board by any stretch of the imagination, but the whole setup was less than $300, including a rather nice slightly used XOxide case. The DDR2 800 will probably be the next upgrade, might be able to get that in a couple of weeks, but a new video card is probably quite a ways off. At least the 7600gs is better than the onboard video, and it freed up the 256mb RAM that I had siphoned to it.

If it's any help to determine the settings, here are the relevant settings as determined by the NVidia Control Panel. A couple of things to note here: the NVidia control panel does not recognize my motherboard (which is odd, because the control panel was included in my motherboard software, I added the info in the following text), and every time I open the control panel, I get two instances of unexpected SEEPROM errors. Updating the drivers has not solved that problem.

========== Operating System Information ==========

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)

========== Motherboard Information ==========

Motherboard Vendor: Not reported (ECS/Elitegroup)
Motherboard Version: Not reported (1.0)
Motherboard Model: (GeForce 7050M-M)

========== DirectX version Information ==========

DirectX 9.0c (5.3.2600.5512)

========== Driver Version Information ==========

Audio Driver Not reported
GART Driver Not reported
Graphics Driver 69.21 (6.14.11.6921)
Ethernet Driver 65.65 (1.00.03.06565)
IDE Driver Not reported
nTune 5.05.49

========== Processor, Bus, and Memory Speed Information ==========

CPU Speed = 2195.124
CPU Multiplier = 11.000
FSB Frequency = 0
Memory Frequency = 0.000
AGP Frequency = 0
tRas = 12
tRcd = 2
tRp = 2
tRc = 10
tWr = 2
tRrd = 1
tRwt = 2
tWtr = 3
tWrrd = 0
tWrwr = 1
tRdrd = 0
tRef = 2

========== GPU's Core and Memory Speed Information ==========


GPU Core Speed = 400
GPU Memory Speed = 400

========== System Voltage Information ==========

CPU Voltage = 1.300 v
Core Voltage = 0.000 v
AGP Voltage = 0.000 v
Aux Voltage = 0.000 v
Memory Voltage = 0.000 v

========== Processor and System's Temperature Information ==========

CPU Temperature = Not Reported
System Temperature = Not Reported
GPU 0 Temperature = 63 C

========== Memory SPD Information ==========

Memory Dimm 0 (0x50)
Memory type: DDR2 SDRAM

Error correction: NONE

Voltage interface level: SSTL (1.8V)

Data width: 64 bits

Number of physical banks: 2 (double sided)

Number of logical banks: 4

Number of row addresses: 14 14

Number of col addresses: 10 10

Bank density: 512 512 MB

Primary RAM Width: 8 8 bits

Error checking RAM Width: 0 0 bits

Module density: 1024 MB

Refresh rate: 7812.500 us

Self-refresh: Yes

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Go to nvzone.com and grab a few beta drivers, they usually work well. O and i dnt know if that address is right. You could try overclocking your gpu with RivaTuner @ www.guru3d.com.
Also do you have 2 or 1 ram modules installed?

 

[txironhead]

One 1Gig stick, one available slot. Still haven't decided whether or not to get a cheap 1Gig 667 or save up and replace the one I have with a 2Gig 800. I guess I could get a 1Gig 800 and let it clock down to 667, then eventually replace the first stick with a 2Gig 800.

Should I completely remove all previous NVidia drivers before installing the beta ones? I just don't understand how the motherboard software isn't recognizing the motherboard, that's probably the SEEPROM errors I've been getting.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

To be sure uninstall the drivers in add/remove, download and run driversweeper at www.guru3d.com, restart and then install them. Also get everest ultimate @ www.lavalys.com. You have a 200mhz htt cpu so 800 ram should be optimal, but im no amd expert. Well have a go with the betas. Good luck

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Ok i did some AM2 reading, the hypertransport bus is at 1ghz so you'll only need ddr2-500 in dual channel to give full bandwidth, so just get the same stick of ram you have now and let it run at (250x2) 500mhz. You might have to adjust the memory ratio around a bit to get the correct speeds. A 1:1.25 or 4:5 ratio should work

 

[txironhead]

Well, completely uninstalled the drivers, installed the beta video driver, then discovered that because this board had an NVidia chipset and everything's integrated, I no longer had internet or sound....so reinstalled everything BUT the video driver from the CD-Rom, everything's working again, but now in the NVidia Control Panel, you cannot change motherboard settings anymore, just GPU. But the video seems to be working great! Anyway, I'm gonna surf the NVidia website a bit and see if I can figure this out.

Yeah, I've been looking at the bus speeds, apparently the Phenom processors run 2600mhz, and even though a lot of motherboards claim to be AM2+ compatible, you have to make sure to get one that doesn't bottleneck your processor by only supporting 1Ghz. And apparently, only AM2+ processors can handle the 1600mhz DDR2. So far I've only found Intel chipset boards that take the DDR3, but that stuff's really expensive anyway. I'd love an AMD 9600+ Black Edition, but those cost more than my entire system did.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Get the latest chipset drivers for your mobo @ nvidias site. Too bad you don't have v2 of your board, they are AM2+. What setting were you looking to change in the control panel anyway?

 

[txironhead]

Well, I'm not too worried about not having AM2+, because when I finally save up enough for an AM2+ processor, this motherboard is going bye-bye. I'm going back to Asus or Abit.

When the motherboard settings showed up before I reinstalled everything, it looked like the settings were underclocking my memory, and I know that some multiplier settings are better than others processor-wise. I just wanted to make sure that I was getting all the bang I should for my buck (or $250, in this case), and the settings looked too low for certain things.

Not sure if I'll ever overclock anything on this system as it's my only comp, but I may try tweaking the GPU a bit....there's plenty of cooling in this XOxide case (5 total case fans alone, plus the fans on the processor heat sink (with proper silver paste) and GPU. I need to get a new fan controller, since the one my buddy gave me didn't work and I'm only running three fans so far, and only one has speed control of any kind.

Basically, with this processor, motherboard, and adding another gig of 667 (2 total), what would the proper multipliers, bus speed and memory htb settings be for best performance? Also, is this 7600gs a stable platform for minor overclocking? I figured with 512mb Ram it had to be good for something.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

A memory divider at 1:1.25 or 4:5 or such should be enough anything more would be a waste. Well the gpu overclocking depends on the card, psu and the mobo itself. But you should be able to get decent increases in frequency.
If you're going to upgrade, intel may be a better choice, since you already have ram, gpu etc.