Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
191 Posts
0
8464
February 16th, 2003 01:00
Looking for help with latency and other settings...
I ran SiSoft Sandra per another thread that I can no longer find. I have an XPS R400 running WIN2K Pro. I have some questions about the tips/warnings it highlighted. I've changed the font color to red on my questions so that you can find them after the hardware info I've provided as data.
My system has an "Intel Corp. 82443BX/ZX 440BX/ZX PCI to AGP Bridge. The Latency Timer is 128 clocks. The tip on this was that the latency was too high and that the device could "hog the bus for too long".
My ISP installed a Delta Networks Inc RT8139 (A/B/C/9130) Fast Ethernet Adapter. Its latency timer is also 128 clocks. The tip for this is the same as the one above.
Q: Does anyone know anything about these? Should I change it them to something else, and if so how do I do it? (I've only heard of latency in regard to disk drives.)
My system's vidwo adapter is an NVIDA RIVA TNT 16MB (Video) 64MB (AGP). My monitor is a 17" flat panel Planar. The video mode is 800x600+32 bit color. Refresh rate is 60 hz. Bus speed is 50kHz. Low Power saving is active at 10 minutes. Power off saving is active at 10 minutes.
Q: Sandra suggests a refresh rate of 75Hz, and to turn off animation. I don't think the refresh rate applies to flat panel monitors. Do you agree?
Q: Sandra also suggests I turn off window animation to reduce delays. I can't find anything in windows help about "window animation". Does anyone here know anything about this?
Thanks for any help that you can give me!
The IP services are listed as smtp (25), pop3 (110), epmap (135), netbios-ns (137), netbios-dgm (138), netbios-ssn (139), microsoft-ds (445), isakmp (500) all using tcp on the IP address of my internal lan address (ie. 192.168.xxx.yyy).
IP services are listed as smtp (25), pop3 (110), epmap (135), netbios-ns (137), netbios-dgm (138), netbios-ssn (139), microsoft-ds (445) all using tcp on an IP address of something that I don't understand (ie. 127.0.0.1).
Q: I've been told that 127.aaa.bbb.ccc reflects my PC's IP address, but I don't understand this. My PC is connected to the internet via a router and cable and I know that it's address is (192.168.xxx.yyy) - a typical class c address. Can anyone explain this?
Q: I don't run any servers on my lan. Everyone uses lan based email (ie. hotmail, aol, etc.). I'm thinking that I can disable smtp and pop3. The tip is that "Server IP servers (FTP, HTTP, etc.) enabled and that I should check to see if this is needed. I'm looking into the server IP services now. If anyone has some quick information about this I'd appreciate it.
Mike_E_S
6 Posts
0
February 16th, 2003 08:00
For the PCI latency timer, don't worry about those settings. You'll spend more time trying to change the settings than you'll ever recoup in performance savings. Essentially, every PCI device you have has to "share" and take turns to talk to the rest of the system via the PCI bus. That setting basically determines how long each device gets a "turn". If it's set too high (>256), devices end up wasting a lot of their turn (i.e. say they only need 100 clocks, they waste 156 clocks). If it's set too low, devices have to wait multiple turns (i.e. say the need 100 clocks, but only get 64. Now they must wait for another device to have its turn (64 clocks) before they can finish off the remaining 36 clocks).
The optimum setting is generally 64-128, but you're talking about a < 1% performance difference. You really don't need to worry about it.
As for the refresh rate, can you notice the difference between refresh rates? If you can change it, try it. The refresh rate is purely a visual "what you see" feature (although a higher setting is easier on the eyes).
The window animation setting should be found by right-clicking the desktop, choosing "Properties..." and be somewhere on the "Appearance" tab. I believe the option to turn it on/off can be found via the "effects" button (but I don't have Win2000 handy to make sure). To see the window animations, try minimizing a window; if animations are on, the window appears to "shrink" and "jump down" to the task bar (do it several times and you'll see it). Turning it off just makes minimizing/maximing faster by making the window instantly disappear (rather than "shrinking" down).
The IP 127.0.0.1 is an IP you always have (whether you're on a LAN or not, or even if you're not on the Internet, or on 56k, etc). Think of it like an alias to your local machine. Remembering 127.0.0.1 is a lot easier than remembering "192.168.??????", since the 127 address is always a constant to the current machine.
As for the services, try disabling them; if you lose any functionality you need, turn them back on. You probably don't need Netbios, either.
artesian79
191 Posts
0
February 16th, 2003 23:00
Thanks for the clarifications Mike_E_S!
Seems to me that "token" would have been a better word than latency, but the powers that be didn't ask me!