Win2k refresh rate utilities (need one for Kyro II)

[Admiral]

Could anyone point me to a good one ?
I already tryed PowerStrip 3.01.

[Nuno]

Better late than never (just back from hollydays)

Powerstrip will do ir, but you´ll have to apply a small trick.

Go to display profiles -> configure

Now you have all resolutions available on your monitor. Just select "custom timing" for each one of it and go to "advanced timing options" where you´ll be presented to some display tweaks very similar to powerdesk custom monitor. You can even enter the values you had on powerdesk to have exactly the same costumizations as with your previous Matrox card.

Now if you´re following me, the important part of the thing is to tweak a bit EVERY resolution with "custom timing". Add 0.5 Hz, move the screen a bit to the left, you name it, but you have to do it. I myself upped slightly all refresh rates, as Kyro seems to default standard 85 hz to 84 Hz or so. It was very usefull at 1280x960, as I could notice a slight flickering that has gone with something like 85.5 Hz

After you done it, and as long as PS is running, it´ll always force the resfresh rate.

Another tip: After you done it, exit powerstrip and make a backup copy of pstrip.ini, that contains all the costumizations you made. If you have to reinstall later, just copy back the file...

[Admiral]

Thanks Nuno

Till now (haven't tryed your suggestions yet) I managed to make the refresh rates stick for all modes (desktop, D3D,OGL), in 1024x768 but I had to assign to each a different user setting in the monitor's OSD options, while the G400 only needed one.

I'll try your suggestions later and report back

[Admiral]

Playing with the Advanced timing options did it

[Nuno]

Glad you got it working

I have to admit it´s really kinda of tricky to get it working.

Well, it works, it has overclocking options, it appears not to mess up with anything, so it´s powerstrip for now, but would it be too much to ask for Kyro drivers with monitor customization ability?

[Ashley]

Hmmm.... To set 1280x1024 to 80Hz with a Matrox card, you do this:

1. Display properties > Settings
2. Change to a 1280x1024 resolution
3. Click Advanced > Monitor settings > Adjust the current display mode
4. Change the refresh rate to 80Hz
5. Click Next
6. Select "Yes, save any changes and apply custoimization..."
7. Click "Finished" and answer "Ok" to aknowledge possible flicker and then click "Yes" when prompted for confirmation that everything is Ok
8. Now leave "Use customizations to Windows monitor settings" checked, and click "OK" twice to back out of Display properties
9. Now repeat procedure for each color depth you run 1280x1024 at.

To do the same thing with PowerStrip:

1. PowerStrip menu > Display profiles > Configure
2. Switch to 1280x1024, any color depth
3. Click Advanced timing options
4. Adjust refresh rate to 80Hz
5. Click Ok to back up
6. Leave 1280x1024 set to "Custom timing" and click OK to close

Its not really that different from PowerDesk, is it?

[G450Newbie]

Originally posted by Ashley
Hmmm.... To set 1280x1024 to 80Hz with a Matrox card, you do this:

1. Display properties > Settings
2. Change to a 1280x1024 resolution
3. Click Advanced > Monitor settings > Adjust the current display mode
4. Change the refresh rate to 80Hz
5. Click Next
6. Select "Yes, save any changes and apply custoimization..."
7. Click "Finished" and answer "Ok" to aknowledge possible flicker and then click "Yes" when prompted for confirmation that everything is Ok
8. Now leave "Use customizations to Windows monitor settings" checked, and click "OK" twice to back out of Display properties
9. Now repeat procedure for each color depth you run 1280x1024 at.

To do the same thing with PowerStrip:

1. PowerStrip menu > Display profiles > Configure
2. Switch to 1280x1024, any color depth
3. Click Advanced timing options
4. Adjust refresh rate to 80Hz
5. Click Ok to back up
6. Leave 1280x1024 set to "Custom timing" and click OK to close

Its not really that different from PowerDesk, is it?

Not to you maybe, because you authored the program and of course it will make sense to you. But for those who have used Powerdesk in this manner for years now, it doesn't come off as sensible at first. Sure, after using it, it's easy to say that it's logical.



G450

[Nuno]

Ashley: In Powerdesk, either you select advanced monitor controls or simplified monitor controls (don´t really remember the exact name by now), i.e. just selecting a standard refresh rate like 85 Hz from 60 Hz default, it´ll will "stick". I think Powerstrip 3.x is a nice program, but as you can notice, not many people can get it to fix D3D and OpenGL refresh rates on win2k that easy. I had the exact same problems like Admiral, and someone told me the trick as I did now.

You´ll have to agree that if someone wants a refresh rate like 86.6 Hz it´ll do it througt the advanced timing options, but the vast majority will only set the refresh rate to 85 Hz and let it on "standard discrete timing". Even if you save all the profiles, it still defaults to 60 Hz on openGL and D3D this way, despite forcing the correct refresh rate when at the desktop.

So my sugestion is that Powerstrip should be able to override d3d and OGL refresh rates even when "windows default" or "standard discrete timing" is selected.

[Ashley]

G450Newbie: If 9 steps are easier for you than 6 then, well, whatever...

If enough people ask for additional steps and complexitiy, I would probably add them.

But, really now, the point isn't whether its *different* from PowerDesk - of course it is, by design and on purpose.

The whole point of PowerStrip is that you can do this sort of thing at all; that everything PowerDesk can do with a Matrox card PowerStrip can do with *any* card, including Matrox cards.

Nuno - I'm very open to suggestions, but I'm afraid I just don't get yours.

my sugestion is that Powerstrip should be able to override d3d and OGL refresh rates even when "windows default" or "standard discrete timing" is selected.

But it can override anything, anywhere, with any card, any driver and any OS. You just need to create and select a "Custom timing".

You are suggesting "Custom timing" should be the *only* option? In which case, and though I don't recommend it, simply check the "Brute force standard refresh rates" option.

(Note that the extra, "tricky" step you mentioned earlier is only necessary in the betas, not in the official release.)

I had the exact same problems like Admiral, and someone told me the trick as I did now.

Yes, well, that was me on the powervr revolution forum. I'll just have to assume there's a very good reason why people prefer to post PowerStrip questions dealing with the Kyro on a Matrox forum, rather than on the PowerStrip forum.

[Greebe]

Or an ATi/Kyro/nV card on a Matrox specific forum... just shows the depth of our knowledge Ashley

[omegaRED]

Originally posted by Ashley
I'll just have to assume there's a very good reason why people prefer to post PowerStrip questions dealing with the Kyro on a Matrox forum, rather than on the PowerStrip forum.

The reason may be that Admiral didnt post a question specific to PowerStrip when he started the thread, he rather asked for an alternative refresh rate utility to PowerStrip. Besides, he is a member here for some time now, and there are quite a few ppl here who have Kyro cards and/or use PowerStrip ... we`re a strong community. I`m sure most of us would first ask on MURC, even a question not related to Matrox, and only after on another forum f.e. Many people (including me) consider MURC their home on the net, and i`d rather ask people i know for advice ...

[G450Newbie]

G450Newbie: If 9 steps are easier for you than 6 then, well, whatever...

If enough people ask for additional steps and complexitiy, I would probably add them.

Powerdesk:
1. Display properties/settings/advanced
2. Monitor Settings/Adjust Diff. Display Mode
3. Choose the res./colordepth you game at, change refresh to 85, choose next.
4.Select apply customizations.....click next, force to answer dialog making sure you really want to do this, click yes....flicker flicker.
5. Was everything okay?(very good feature IMHO), click yes.
6. Apply customizations to windows settings, and exit.

Powerstrip:
1. Start/programs/Powerstrip (or desktop shortcut to powerstrip)
2. Menu/profiles/configure
3. Switch to 1280, color depth/any color depth
4. choose advanced timings.
5. Adjust to 80, click okay and pray
6. leave 1280 set, and click okay.

Hmmm....9 vs 6? I don't see it, I don't consider fail safe measures that are auto prompted to be real steps though.

G450

[omegaRED]

Ashley, just to be on the safe side ... we`re not saying that PowerStrip is a bad app, infact its an excellent program, it`s just that we`re used to the PowerDesk way of doing things ...

If i knew that PowerStrip was capable of things that PowerDesk is, i probably would have gotten a different card instead of my G400 (i have a fixed-frequency monitor) when i bought my PC. So phew! Glad i didnt know

And Nuno, if you remember, there were quite a few people who asked how to set custom refresh rates in PowerDesk too. But since most of us on MURC have Matrox cards the answers were quick, and now most people know how to use custom refresh ...

[Admiral]

Just to clear things up. I did ask for help on the PowerVr Revolution boards (on the old boards), hadn't started a new thread though, just revived an old one: Will Powerstrip 3.0beta solve my refreshrate problem???
(this was before the creation of the new PVR Rev boards)
At the same time I also started this thread on MURC.

On PVR Rev I didn't get any answer to this day, while here Nuno answered yestarday.

[Ashley]

5. Adjust to 80, click okay and pray

That's not the way it works though, because as with PD the adjustments are in real-time. If you were at, say, 60Hz to begin with and trying to get to 80Hz, you go to 60.139Hz, then 60.245Hz, then 60.386Hz, and so on. And there's a 9-level Undo you can use to backup step-by-step in the event you do go out of sync.

(Those were *supposed* to be enhancements over PD, where everything gets cancelled, not just the last adjustment, and the refresh rate can only be specified as a full integer...)

Anyway: its not like there are no fail-safes at all - you can backup by hitting Backspace, and cancel everything by hitting Escape. True, there's no confirmation box, but if you're out-of-sync you wouldn't be able to see it anyway, right?

Having said that, PowerDesk's 20 second timed cancellation would be a smart addition to PS, and has already been added to the next build...