Arlie asked me for any 3dmark tweaks I knew....So I figured I'd write them all down here for everyone.

Disclaimor
*Keep in mind that my rig is a Bench Only toy. These settings are not optimal for daily use.
I use Norton Ghost and make Images with it specifically for doing this.

So dont try to run them on your grandma's pc and be mad at me when it doesnt work right.

I run a single core Opteron and a single 7800GT on Raid(0) with the Nvidia onboard Raid controller.
XPSP2 or WIN2KSP4 with all the applicable updates, 6.86 chipset and the Beta 84.43 video driver.
If any of these sets could cause problems with Dual Core CPU's or Sli setups I wouldnt know it.*

First off remember that the CPU Test scores in 03 and 05 do not figure into the score.
You do NOT have to run them to achieve a valid uploadable score....so don't.
In 03 I think it's the first 4 -*test*-('")s and in 05 it's the first 3 -*test*-('")'s you must run.
When you see the cpu -*test*-('") start to load just tap escape and it will exit to main screen.
Then click on options and it will show you your score and allow you to upload it.
Also be sure to be running your desktop at the default 1024x768 resolution of the benchmarks.
This alone should allow you to run things a little higher because the -*test*-('")s dont run as long.

This Is how I set up my rig to run 3dmark bench's.

I setup my overclock with highest cpu speed I can reach and divide the ram
to keep at or slightly above 200 at tight (default 2-5-2-2 on mine)timings.
I saw very little difference in benching with higher ram speed and
loose timings on these bench's. Most gains were CPU and Vid Card clocks.
Always remember you can drop multiplier if needed to dial in the ram.
My A8N32 runs 333HTT and above flawlessly so dont be scared of high HTT on them either.
340 and above gets funky.
Break out that MemFreq Calculator and punch in some different setups
using different mults and dividers and see what you come up with.

Disable ALL devices you arent using in the bios. Sound is one people forget...dont need it.

Disable ALL software programs that start with windows. Antivirus and firewalls as well.
(unless you need to firewall to be secure...I'm behind a router here.)

Disable ALL services that are not needed to run windows and the benchmarks.
Here's a list of what I have running to bench and connect to internet for uploading scores..

DCOM Server Process Launcher *can also be stopped but it kills windows disk defragger*
DHCP Client *can be stopped for 01 as it allows you to save and upload your scores later*
Event Log
Plug and Play
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Windows Management Instrumentation

You can run whatever Nvidia driver you like...but CapnKirk and I tried quite a few
of them and decided that the Beta 84.43 was by far the fas-*test*-('") for us.

I use RivaTuner to overclock my video card.
I have no real compelling argument as to why I like it better then any other...I just do.
If you use anything else to do this you are on your own as I have no clue how to work any of the others.
I also like the fact that it has a registry restore to put anything you change back to defaults. And it actually works.

Install RivaTuner and launch it. It will build its database and open up to the main screen.
Click the Power user tab to bring up the Built-in registry editor.

Expand key: RivaTuner 2.0 RC 16\NVIDIA\Global
Double click LODBiasRange in the value area and enter a value of 5
This allows you to set LOD to +5.0 which makes things much easier to display.

Expand key: RivaTuner 2.0 RC 16\NVIDIA\Overclocking
Double click EnablePerfLevelForcing in the value area and give it a value of 1
This allows you to set your card to force constant 3d level performance.

Expand key: RivaTuner 2.0 RC 16\Overclocking\Global
Double click DisableClockTest in the value area and give it a value of 1
This disables the -*test*-('") it runs everytime you set a vid o/c.

Thats it for the PowerUser Tab.

Go back to the Main tab to Driver settings and click the flashing arrow to Customize.
Select System settings. This Brings up the System tweaks page.

Fan Tab
If you still have the factory coolers on your card you can use this section to control the
Driver-level fan control settings. Set performance 3d to 100% and Set Startup settings to applied.

Overclocking tab
Set Force constant performance level to performance 3D

Select Enable driver level hardware overclocking click apply in the bottom corner. Reboot when it tells you to.

After it reboots re-open RivaTuner
Go back to the Main tab to Driver settings and click the flashing arrow to Customize.
Select DirectDraw and Direct3D settings.

Mipmapping tab
Set Mipmap LOD bias adjustment to +5.0 This setting lowers display quality allowing you to achieve
higher FPS at your current clocks as well as possibly clock higher since its easier for the card(s)to display.
So dont be surprised when things look a little funny when you bench. Your cards are not blowing up.

Intellisample tab
Set Intellisample settings to High performance.

VSync tab
Set Synchronization with vertical retrace to Always off

Textures tab
Surface format settings: select for DirectX8+ applications
Uncheck Enable 8-bit palletized surfaces.

Texture filtering preferences: select force level 1(off,use bilinear)

Compatibilty Tab
Uncheck Enable table fog emulation.

Antialiasing tab
Antialiasing method: set to none

Select Apply once again and reboot when it tells you to.

Once rebooted you are ready to set your video card clocks and start benching.
Make sure when you overclock you are setting the performance 3D clocks and not 2D.
Somtimes when I apply a clock setting it pops up an error saying it's wrong and to fix it.
I select yes and continue on.

Again I must say dont be surprised when what you see when you bench looks funny and crappy.
This con-*test*-('") isnt about whos pc displays things the prettiest. Just the fas-*test*-('") numbers.

When you are done benching ......
Go back to the Main tab to Driver settings and click the flashing arrow to Customize.
Hit the reset drivers setting button and it reverts all driver settings to default.

I'm not gonna sit here and swear these are the Ultimate best tweaks for doing this.
But its the best way I have figured out to do it. And I score quite well for my setup.

There is always someone who says that its wrong to dummy things down and manipulate the display.
I say...I'm in the top 10 in the world amongst the others with similiar single core CPU clocks and single vid card's.
The other 9 didnt get there by not using these same tweaks and possibly more.
So either I do as they do....or forever be stuck lagging behind with crappy scores.

Hope this helps everyone improve those scores!


I know I'm not the only Benching fool in this place and I hope that if anyone
see's anything blatantly wrong that I am doing please bring this to my attention.
I'm always open to trying new things and improving my scores as well.

ps....
I will probably be editing this post constantly all day today as more things occur to me.

This may be sticky material...maybe not....I will leave that up to the Admins

Nice read Tim. I might give this a go here and see if I can blow the bad card!

I set up a completely separate drive with just Windows on it. No virus protection etc., just fully patched windows and the benches. Windows Firewall is off as well. I faven't turned all the services off but I will. Bottomline is I dropped a tenth of a second off my Super-Pi 1M score with this change (12.960s to 12.859s). If you guys have been following that heated battle you know that a 10th of a second is a huge gain.