I was pleased to see that the new Win2K patch brought stability in AGP 4X mode with Fast Writes enabled. At last, turning up those BIOS options didn't send my Pee Cee into locksville every time I ran a 3D app. But more reader mail prompted some doubts. Some questioned whether or not the drivers for my GeForce2 GTS were actually making use of these advanced AGP modes. I haven't had time to conduct a lengthy series of benchmarks, but I did set out to get a tentative answer to that question by running a few, simple tests.
Indications are positive Some quick background.
I'm testing on my PC, which is an Athlon 800 system based on an Abit KA7-100 motherboard and a 32MB Creative GeForce2 GTS video card. Take it for what it is. AGP Fast Writes both enabled. With all the goodies turned on, I set up Quake 3 Arena to run a 640x480 in 32-bit color. In the game, I cranked the texture resolution to the max, set the texture color depth to 32 bits, and slid the geometry detail slider all the way up.