NVIDIA
nView Display Gridlines provide the easiest way to maximize your desktop space
by dividing up your monitor into separate regions for all of your applications.
Below is
a typical Microsoft WindowsDesktop
Multiple applications open on a typical
Windows desktop
In the past, it took valuable time resizing individual
application windows in order to fit them all on a desktop without any unused
space. Now with the nView Display Gridlines tool you can quickly and easily use
the entire available desktop space with the click of a button.
nView Display Gridlines divide the desktop
into separate regions to efficiently use the available area
To enable Display Gridlines, follow these steps:
Launch the nView Desktop Manager from
the Windows control panel.
Make sure the nView Desktop Manger is
set to Enabled.
Browse to the User Interface tab.
nView Desktop Manager Control Panel
Click the checkbox Enable display
gridlines and then click the button Edit Gridlines.
The Display Gridlines user interface
will now overlay on top of your screen. To create new grid areas, simply
click your mouse at one point and drag to create a line. You can also move
the lines by clicking on them and dragging, or you can delete them by
clicking and pressing the delete button.
NOTE: NVIDIA GeForce GPUs can
create up to four display grids, while NVIDIA Quadro GPUs can create up
to nine display grids.
Display Gridlines User Interface
Once you have decided on your layout,
you can view the display grid names by clicking Show Grid Name.
Show Grid Names
To configure your grids to interact
with windows and dialog boxes, click on Options.
Click on the option nView Maximize.
Grid Options
Now click the Back button and then the
Exit button.
To use the nView Maximize button, make
sure you checked Grid-area maximize from the User Interface tab. If you
have, there will be an additional rectangular button in the title bar area
for nView functionality.
Now when you click the nView Maximize
button on all of your application windows, they will maximize to each
display grid region, efficiently using your entire desktop space and
allowing you to see all application windows simultaneously.
Display Grids in Action
As you can see the new drivers have a lot
to offer and some neat applications. Now, lets see how the XFX FX5950 performs
with these new drivers!
Western Digital WD2000JB(SE) 200GB 7200RPM ATA-133
Hard Disk Drive
ViewSonic A90f+ CRT Monitor - 19-Inch
Vantec Stealth 470 Watt PSU
XFX GeForce FX 5950 Ultra - 256MB - 475MHz/950MHz
NVIDIA ForceWare 55 Graphics Driver Version 56.56
32-Bit Color / 85Hz Refresh Rate @ 1024x768
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 / DirectX
9.0b
BIOS Settings
200MHz Front Side Bus
Memory Timings 2-3-2-6
Synthetic Benchmarks
Code Creatures
3DMark01
3DMark03 Build 340
AquaMark3
Games Tested
Call of Duty, Mike's custom timedemos Dawnville and
POW Camp
Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo, v2225
Unreal Tournament 2004 Demo, 3Dcenter's
"Assault"
Notes
All applications tested were patched to their latest
version.
All test were run at the default of 475/950 except
where overclocked timings of 550/1000 are noted.
Antialiasing and anisotropic filtering were configured
using the NVIDIA driver control panel.
Gameplay tests were conducted with in-game sound
options set to each game's default settings.
Gameplay tests were conducted with in-game graphics
options set to their highest quality.
FRAPS was used to capture average frame rates for some benchmarks.
XFX GeForce FX 5950 Ultra - Front
Overclocking:
First, I would just like to say what I found to
be obvious. That is, you do not have to overclock this video card, it is fast
enough for gaming as is. But, then again, if overclocking is in your blood, as
it is with me, then let's get started and find out what this card will do!
Overclocking capability is
another asset you regularly find in XFX video cards and the XFX GeForce FX5950
Ultra is no different. Enabling coolbits provides access to the overclocking
feature in the FX5950 Ultra control panel. The auto overclocking feature
provided me with an overclock of 501/1010 that upon testing I found to be
stable. However, I enjoy finding
the limits of computer components whether the processor, ram, HDD, or video
card. So, using the manual "set and test" technique from default settings, I
began the long time-consuming journey of finding the upper limits for the
graphic processor unit (GPU) and the memories of this card. To make a long
story short, I was rewarded with maximum overclock settings of 565MHz on the GPU. This overclock rates in the upper end for these processors using stock cooling. With such a successful overclock of the GPU I was anxious to find the upper
limit for the memories. However, I was not as fortunate in this endeavor as the
1010MHz (505x2) previously attained was the limit. I believe that cooling is
the culprit here but unfortunately I was pressed for time so I would have to
settle with what I had. To ensure stable
performance throughout testing I backed the GPU overclock to 550MHz combined
with a memory overclock of 1000MHz (500x2). For this review, when referring to overclock settings of this card it will be in reference to 550/1000 timings.
