After the release of Windows 10 provides for gamers of course the question of how to use his graphics card software-optimal. The tips and tools are basically exactly the same as for older Windows versions, so our special 10-user is not only helpful for Windows. We tell you the most important on the subject of graphics card drivers and also tools picked out, which monitor their your graphics card, but also customize individual things themselves can, to an overclocking of the graphics card.
graphics card drivers
The graphics card drivers make especially sure that the graphics card to use all its features also can. This begins with a basic function, namely, just the appearance of Windows in supported by the monitor highest resolution and matching refresh rate
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With current drivers for a powerful graphics card is a nice graphic no witchcraft Source: PC Games Hardware But important for gaming is primarily to support the latest computer games and their Detailmodi and graphic effects through the full and correct implementation of programmed game commands. It is best to always use the latest graphics card driver. With outdated drivers, it may be that certain new features of the games graphics are not visible for you. It may also happen that the performance of a game with the older driver version is worse. Especially with new games can even errors without the latest driver. Nevertheless, be careful: in rare cases, brings a new driver, although benefits, but can provide more for mistakes in some games even. So unless you use the old driver and there not have been struggling with problems, you should quiet the first user experience with the new driver version to wait before you install the newer version. It is also important that other drivers, especially for motherboard and sound are up to date.
find and install
Driver
The appropriate drivers are easy to find: depending on whether you have a graphics card with Nvidia or AMD graphics chip, you visit their homepage. There is this even an opportunity to reveal your hardware, but a manual search guarantees you the most accurate and current download. We stayed here for Nvidia and here for AMD direct links prepared for driver selection for you
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driver choice online from NVIDIA (left) and AMD (right) Source: AntonioFunes For AMD you scroll down a bit to the Select the Driver section manually. There you selected in the first step the point desktop graphics solutions, then the series such as R9 for R9 280X or HD series for a Radeon HD 7870 and the third step nor accurate family as R9 300 or 200 series. If it comes to a notebook graphics card, you have the first step, of course, select notebook graphics solutions. Finally, you give to the operating system of your PC and is on display Results, to display the latest official driver. A possibly available beta drivers is displayed there. For Nvidia the Browsing in principle from the same, only with the difference that you make the choice on your desktop or notebook driver in the second step on the choice of model series: is an M for mobile after the figure, is the notebook version of the graphics card series. Nvidia brings traditional common new driver out, has, however, they should maintain lately also from and to the problem, for minor errors in some Games. AMD once again has rarely on new drivers for download, but are often available for download for several weeks or even months beta drivers that are actually already mature enough to safely install. Beta usually means that the drivers have not yet been fully tested, but are already provided for testing purposes for visitors. At AMD, you can therefore beta drivers, if they are not brand new and there are no user actions, without having to download and install major concerns. With Nvidia but we recommend rather the latest official non-beta versions. The installation of the drivers is the way in both cases simple: after downloading it, double-click the downloaded file and follow the instructions
Driver menu at AMD and Nvidia. including downsampling
Strictly speaking, the driver only software that is deeply rooted in Windows to operate the hardware component, ie, for example, the graphics card but the user is not normally visible. Along with the actual drivers is at AMD and Nvidia but in the Download packages always even more software here, which offers you a driver menu with many settings around the graphics card. After installation of the driver package (AMD Catalyst, Nvidia Game Ready) and the Advanced Driver menu in Windows is called. It is therein possible, among other things, to make settings for the Games operation
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graphics drivers menu Catalyst Control Center from AMD Source: AntonioFunes For example, you could specify that in all games through the driver 8x AA (antialiasing – reduction the step-like, pixellated line illustrations) is enforced, rather than her it adjusts separately in the graphics options of the respective game. However, such global settings are to enjoy with caution, because it can happen at a particular hardware hungry game that parameterization of the driver was too much of a good thing, the game stutters badly and you do need an extra exit to an example lower AA level to choose. An interesting point in the driver menu, the downsampling feature that lends itself to very strong graphics cards. Here, the graphics card internally calculated a higher resolution than the one that is issued later on the monitor. The calculated image is downscaled back to the monitor resolution at the end. The result looks like in many games but presentable look as if the graphics card, the 3D graphics directly calculated only in the normal monitor resolution. But all this, of course, eats up lots of power – with a strong graphics card and especially if a game can calculate with high FPS values anyway, downsampling is but an option that can test your calm. In AMD, the method called Virtual Super Resolution and is activated in the settings for the digital screens, then are on the menu for the desktop management to find new, higher resolutions. With Nvidia’s Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), the speech, the appropriate menu item is placed in the 3D settings. But there are also many things that you can customize your menus via the driver and which have nothing to do with the gaming performance. For example, the administration of the connected monitors, the basic resolution, color management, and more. In addition to the drivers, there are also separately available software from AMD (Gaming Envolved) and Nvidia (GeForce Experience) that you propose their own settings for your games and save them as profile. Although the two tools can also explore an interesting recording function, we mean, the graphics rather the game itself manually to achieve optimal for you mix of performance and looks, if your graphics card is not already at maximum details enough FPS for a smooth gameplay allows
Graphics Cards Tools:. Monitoring and Tuning
To monitor, for reading out the graphics card data and also for overclocking, there are several freeware tools. A popular and also very recommendable candidate is the MSI Afterburner with which you can not only monitor and tune the graphics card, but also record videos. Although there is still no official version for Windows 10, the tool works, most likely, with Windows 10 properly
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MSI Afterburner main menu with tuning options and monitoring curves ( with Detach from the main window uncoupled) Source: AntonioFunes The MSI Afterburner came together with the programmers of the formerly very popular Riva Tuner, who was thought in his early days for graphics cards from Nvidia. The MSI Afterburner is, as well as the later Riva tuner versions for AMD graphics cards suited. In addition, the graphics card must of course not from MSI, but the MSI Afterburner works with graphics cards from all manufacturers. However, it may (especially in older graphics cards), you may find that you can not change the normally variable values of the graphics card as clock, voltage, or the fan curve. On the left picture you can see, for example, such a case: the menu item Core Voltage (changing the GPU core voltage) is not connected with our Asus DirectCU II OC R9 290. In this case remains as an alternative to look for a tool of the graphics card manufacturer, which perhaps helps. So Asus offers its own similar tool called GPU Tweak to monitor the graphics card and adjust individual values. Curiously, however, it may also happen that the manufacturer tool fails, the MSI Afterburner works but. Here, then, is true: try. Of course, but you should be very careful especially when it comes to overclocking and changing the voltage to higher values. Conversely, however, it is less critical: you can lower the clock a bit and experiment with a somewhat lower GPU voltage, if your graphics card you will be loud during load to warm and thus the ventilation. With lesser clock or lower voltage namely arises logically less heat
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Fans FitCrv: designed for quiet operation, left, right low temperatures Source: AntonioFunes However, the capacity to suffer or it also come at too low a voltage to crashes. For this reason, in case of problems due to heat and volume rather another menu item to be recommended, which is available at MSI Afterburner and other similar tools: manually adjust the fan curve. The fan curve is set at the factory in a graphics card and pretends to how many revolutions per minute, the fan will run at certain temperatures. Some manufacturers want to achieve the lowest possible temperature value and therefore let the fans even at moderate temperatures turn quite quickly – a rather loud graphics card can be the result. Other trim your video card to a quiet operation, let the fan rotate so slowly, but then accept, temperatures just below the recommended maximums. As a user you can with the right tools, but decide for yourself how you want to set the fan curve. Does your graphics card, for example, a top heatsink and is still noisy, because the fans with 70 percent speed perform their duties, then the manufacturer has obviously the goal to keep the graphics card advertising effective in, for example, very cool 65 degrees under 3D load. And, although it only from 80 degrees is in the critical range
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Furmark graphics card stress test Source: AntonioFunes If you curve now itself manually adjusts that the fans rotate much more slowly, you will remember because of the good graphics card cooler that graphics card is now working much quieter and still works at dangerous 75 degrees at the maximum. This is just one example – it can of course also be depending on the graphics card model that decreasing the fan speed in the end leads to dangerously high temperatures. For this reason you should all changes that performs her with the MSI Afterburner (or other software), even under Matches Last awhile testen.Dabei help you monitoring curves in the right window from the main menu of the MSI Afterburner enormous, because they draw the values Also in the background continues on, so that you can see after the game, which were achieved with speeds, temperatures and clock values at play. Tip: best couples the window via the button Detach from the main window and pulls it in the width – thus increases the graphically recorded period, the you can still be traced in retrospect
Sensor menu of GPU-Z Source: AntonioFunes In addition to the MSI Afterburner we also want to mention two other tools. The first is like the brother of the popular hardware diagnostic tools CPU-Z and therefore called aptly GPU-Z. It shows up to detailed specifications for your graphics card, which may not be disclosed to another tool. In addition, GPU-Z has a Überwachungsktion the sensor menu. If you there is a check mark below at Log to File, also creates a text file that in short intervals all the sensors values (clock, temperature, speeds, etc.) records – this is especially useful if you have problems with crashes because you can then after restarting the PC call later, the text file and see how the individual amounts immediately before the crash were and whether this might the dog is buried. The second tool is especially useful when you want to analyze the temperatures and fan values of a graphics card under load. We’re talking about FurMark, which you can download here. For the actual analysis, although it is less suitable, but it pollutes the graphics card and huge simulated a strong graphics card load, without that you have to start a game and play intensely. Because you can run it in a small window, it is possible for you, by the way to observe nor the monitoring curves of another tool
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From Antonio Funes
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