Which videocard driver is best for use of ePSXe? Please come in...

[jpxtreme]

Hello everybody , i would just like to ask which driver is the best or probably the most stable and improved performance with my (not so fast) Geforce FX5200.

So far, i've tested Forceware 81.98 but sometimes i'm experiencing fps drop (59.9,58.4,51.9,48.9 something like that), with some of my games like bust-a-groove 2. The problem is i cannot get a steady fps.


My system specs, btw:

CPU: INTEL Celeron D 2.13ghz
Motherboard: ECS p4M800-M
Memory: 256mb ddr
Videocard: Geforce FX5200 128mb w/ tv-out
OS: Windows 98 SE


What i did before:

- installed directx9.0c.
- installed forceware 81.98 for Win9x/ME.
- installed latest sound driver.
- turned off antialiasing settings and anistropic filtering.
- set image settings to high performance.

Now, i also tested Nvidia Omega Drivers for Win9x/ME v1.4523. I used driver cleaner pro before installation. During the installation, i chose performance option. My games performed well and smooth with a steady fps 59.9 (NTSC). But some of my games also dropped fps but not that much (let say 59.9,57.5,55.9.59.9).


What i did now:

- used driver cleaner pro before installation.
- installed the Omega drivers
- set to default.


What am i using:

Emulator: ePSXe vr1.6.0
Sound Plugin: SPUEternal 1.4 (set to default)
Video Plugin: Pete's OpenGL Driver 1.1.76

Resolution/Color:
- 1024x768 Fullscreen - NO desktop changing [32 Bit]
- Keep psx aspect ratio: off

Textures:
- B8G8R8A8
- Filtering: 0
- Hi-Res textures: 0
- VRam size: 128 MBytes

Framerate:
- FPS limitation: on
- Frame skipping: off
- FPS limit: Auto

Compatibility:
- Offscreen drawing: 2
- Framebuffer texture: 2
- Framebuffer access: 0
- Alpha multipass: on
- Mask bit: off
- Advanced blending: on

Misc:
- Scanlines: off
- Line mode: off
- Unfiltered FB: off
- 15 bit FB: off
- Dithering: off
- Screen smoothing: off
- Screen cushion: off
- Game fixes: off [00008002]

CDrom Plugin: cdrSAPU (set to default)

I'm just wondering why some of my games run smoothly at steady fps while others suffers from fps drops. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? And is there any good drivers to try out? Any ideas, advises, recommendations will gladly appreciated. Thank you in advance and God bless...

[Shendo]

About the drivers: It is good to update to the latest drivers for your devices.
About the fps: Each game have it's own settings, when you are playing some game you will need to change your GPU/SPU settings...
You can use some front-end to store your setting for each game.

Note: In some games many options are not necessary and can slow the
performance, the best thing you can do is to keep changing your settings untill you
get good quality and reasonable performance.

[jpxtreme]

Originally Posted by Shendo

About the drivers: It is good to update to the latest drivers for your devices.
About the fps: Each game have it's own settings, when you are playing some game you will need to change your GPU/SPU settings...
You can use some front-end to store your setting for each game.

Note: In some games many options are not necessary and can slow the
performance, the best thing you can do is to keep changing your settings untill you
get good quality and reasonable performance.

Thanks for replying, but even in the lowest possible settings, some of my games can't achieve steady fps. why is that?

is there any program out there that can prioritize the system resources for epsxe, only for pure gaming perfomance?

[fireblaster_lyz]

No. Not possible.
Try using 2/0/2.

[jpxtreme]

Thanks anyway, after trying different set of drivers and experimenting few of them. I found out that nVidia Detonator 45.32 9x/ME is the best for me. It minimizes unstable fps which makes the game play smoothly unlike the drivers i tested (see above). And it fixes those graphical bugs too that i experienced from the old drivers like flickering textures. Those nasty frame drops go bye-bye. I learned that new or the latest drivers does'nt mean it's the best... Whew! after experimenting i finally found which is suited for me. (get it from here!)

ePSXe ROCKS so much! (i could wee my pants!) :guitar: