49. Fix the refresh rate for 3D games

Windows XP, like Windows 2000 before it, has a dirty secret. This secret is its tendency to drop the refresh rate of the screen down to 60Hz when playing full screen DirectX 3D games. So while you might not be aware of it, there is a good chance that you are playing your favourite games at only 60Hz, increasing eyestrain and capping your frames per second at 60 unless you have VSYNC disabled (see the tip below). Fortunately, the newer versions of both the ATI and Nvidia drivers come with a utility that can override this refresh rate limitation.

To override the DirectX refresh rate with an ATI video card:

Go to 'start\control panel\display' and select the 'settings' tab then hit 'advanced.

Select the ATI tab called 'displays' then click the 'monitor' button below

Set the 'refresh rate override' dropdown box to your preferred refresh rate, or 'same as desktop.' Hit 'ok.'

To override the DirectX refresh rate with an Nvidia video card:

Go to 'start\control panel\display' and select the 'settings' tab then hit 'advanced.

Select the tab that has your video card's name on it to go to the Nvidia driver settings.

Select the 'refresh rate overrides' setting.

Choose the resolutions that you commonly play games in (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024)and double click the 'default' to open a drop down box. Select your desired refresh rate for that resolution.

50. Enable AGP Master 1WS Write/Read

This is one of several BIOS AGP settings that can make a difference to graphic performance if your BIOS and your card support them. Usually found in the 'advanced chipset features' section of the BIOS as two separate settings, one for read and one for write.

Ensure that they are enabled for better performance.

51. Enable AGP Fast Write

The AGP fast write BIOS setting allows the processor to communicate directly with the graphics processor, ignoring the need to send data through the system's memory. This should be enabled to provide a performance boost. You should ensure that your video card supports fast writes before setting this option, however.

Almost all recent video cards do support AGP fast write. This setting is generally found in the 'advanced chipset features' section of the BIOS.

52. Set Video Memory Cache Mode

There should be two options for this setting, if it is present in your BIOS. UC (uncacheable) and UCWC (uncacheable speculative write-combining). The UCWC setting allows the video card to buffer information moving between the processor and the video memory, making for more efficient data transfer. The UC setting disables this buffering. If your card supports it, enabling UCWC will provide a performance advantage.