Just a quick post about Nvidia laptop driver.
One of the reasons I have chosen Nvidia is because of word of mouth. I kept hearing Geforce here Geforce there when it comes to gaming. I have not try the other brand now owned by AMD which is called ATI.
Another reason is because of the amazing driver for graphic card. I remember not being able to play the Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Demo and the camera movement was pretty bad. I had the Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 which is a pretty old card back then.
Nvidia keeps updating their drivers and as usual I updated it and to my surprise, the demo gameplay went as smooth as silk. I can't run it using higher settings but at the same setting everything just went pretty smooth. I was amazed.
I went on to upgrade to a Nvidia Geforce 6800 Ultra and it did not disappoint. When I go mobile and want to update my laptop graphic card driver because the driver that came with the laptop do not have digital vibrance, I realise that they do not have any on their website.
A quick email to them and they told me different laptop manufacturer has different configuration so they suggest laptopvideo2go.com for me to check it out. I have been using their modded driver for about 2 years now.
Recently Nvidia finally starts to support laptop graphic card driver. I am sure this is quite an old news but it is still great. They have one beta driver at the moment. Check it out at Nvidia driver Download page.
I suggest giving them a try since the driver is from Nvidia themselves this time. I hope they can start producing WHQL certified laptop graphic card drivers soon.
Choosing a DSLR camera
How to choose a DSLR ( Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera? This is a question most beginners will ask when they first needed a DSLR camera. Below are some things one should consider.
Budget
Unless you are very rich, most beginners will only be able to obtain a certain amount of money to start off when choosing a DSLR. Some will want to wait for a while to acquire enough cash to get a better DSLR body but if your budget is not going to grow for a while then the level of your camera is basically decided. Basically what you can choose is what brand and the choice between getting a good DSLR body with one lens or getting a cheaper DLSR body with more lens to cover the range.
Brand
The brand is actually not a big deal, but it is to me when I first started venturing into the realm of DSLR. Although I cannot say you get the same results from each brand but most brand have Professional Photographers using them and they are doing fine, so most brand should do fine when you just started your basic photography.
You will lean towards a certain brand when you start choosing a DSLR due to the fact that you might heard of one or two of those brand in the market. The leaders in DSLR camera are Nikon and Canon, with Sony, Pentax and Olympus following behind. There are other manufacturer like Fuji, Sigma, Samsung, Panasonic and lets not forget, Leica. Some of these manufacturer actually share almost the same camera design when they cooperate in a certain way.
Obviously Nikon and Canon have a lot of market share and you can find their camera and lenses pretty much everywhere in the world. Choosing a DSLR from these two brands will almost guaranty that you made the right choice. When most people do a certain thing or pick a certain choice it is usually consider the right decision. It does not hurt to consider a few other options when you are choosing a DSLR. Just remember not to invest so much in the beginning when you are not sure you have chosen the right brand because you might loose some money when you decided jump ship.
Lens
Choosing a DSLR means you are going to stick with a family of lens and accessories as well. Nikon and Canon no doubt have lots of lens in their arsenal. Canon is famous for their L lens while Nikon have their pro grade lens which is usually distinguished by a gold line on the lens. Since they are very popular, third party manufacturers like Tamron and Sigma will make a lot of cheaper alternative lens to cover the same focal range of lens Nikon and Canon have already made.They sometimes even cover focal length that Nikon and Canon do not even have. The thing is lens made by DSLR manufacturer themselves have a higher resale value in the secondhand market so you should consider that when you buy a lens. Sometimes lens made by Nikon and Canon themselves might not be as good in terms of sharpness but they generally excel in terms of other qualities and reliability.
There are always a lot of tests about sharpness, flare and all the other aspects about lens from other well established photography website but they should not get so much in the way of photography. Knowing what you shoot and what your style is will be more important.
Sometimes knowing what you like to shoot will not be immediately apparent. If money is not a problem for you do not get a cheap basic lens from your DLSR manufacturer or third party manufacturer. You might think they can cover your needs since your skill is not that good in the first place. Get the ones that is at least rated higher grade than kit lens since they have a higher resale value. When a lens does not suit you then you can always sell it on Ebay provided you keep the box and everything in good condition. You might loose some money but not as much as when you trade it to a camera shop. I am not sure camera shop in Malaysia allow trade in or not but usually shops tend to give you a very low price for your camera.
Different types of DSLR
Usually manufacturers will come up with cameras for beginners, enthusiasts and pros. There are also DSLR that is in between. For a beginner the best camera in the market will always be the one to look for and crave about. To be honest if you are just getting a camera for the sake of hobby the beginner level camera will cover almost all your needs. When you first started in photography and encounter some problems you will certainly think it is because your camera is inadequate for the task, making you want to get a hold of better gear or lens. Your passion in the beginning can be so strong that you might lose a bit of your mind thinking that choosing a DSLR of higher quality means better photos.
The thing is you do not know how long your passion will last. You also do not know how often you might need a certain lens. Unless you are a professional earning from your camera you don't even need camera higher than the enthusiast level. Sure sometimes a better camera might have the edge but it is not like you are loosing a job due to you not getting the shot. You can say you lost a moment, but careful planning and better understanding of your gear can mostly cover that up.
Conclusion
Basically you just need to get a decent DSLR and start shooting. You can even try using film SLR first to get all the basic technique. Some argue film SLR is basically dead and not a good way of learning, but in my opinion like traditional painting it is more rewarding that way if you try it out. Having a solid skill can go a long way than just having lots of great DSLR and not knowing how to use it.
Camera gear should not limit what you want to achieve. Use your camera to the fullest until it breaks down then get another, or maintain it well when you are using it so you might sell it early and get about 60 to 80% of your money back. If you live in Europe the return policy might be a good way to try a camera out for a few days or so to decide whether you like it or not.
Try out as much DSLR as you can from shops or from friends then decide. Ergonomics and design does play a role but photography should go beyond that. I never mention technical stuff like pixel and sensor size because I think it does not matter that much and we don't have to waste time getting so worked up by it and forget photography in its basic level. Pixel and other technology will always improve and you can't catch up with it unless you are pretty rich.
So what are you waiting for, stop wondering how to choose a DSLR, choosing a DSLR of any level adn start having fun with photography.
Budget
Unless you are very rich, most beginners will only be able to obtain a certain amount of money to start off when choosing a DSLR. Some will want to wait for a while to acquire enough cash to get a better DSLR body but if your budget is not going to grow for a while then the level of your camera is basically decided. Basically what you can choose is what brand and the choice between getting a good DSLR body with one lens or getting a cheaper DLSR body with more lens to cover the range.
Brand
The brand is actually not a big deal, but it is to me when I first started venturing into the realm of DSLR. Although I cannot say you get the same results from each brand but most brand have Professional Photographers using them and they are doing fine, so most brand should do fine when you just started your basic photography.
You will lean towards a certain brand when you start choosing a DSLR due to the fact that you might heard of one or two of those brand in the market. The leaders in DSLR camera are Nikon and Canon, with Sony, Pentax and Olympus following behind. There are other manufacturer like Fuji, Sigma, Samsung, Panasonic and lets not forget, Leica. Some of these manufacturer actually share almost the same camera design when they cooperate in a certain way.
Obviously Nikon and Canon have a lot of market share and you can find their camera and lenses pretty much everywhere in the world. Choosing a DSLR from these two brands will almost guaranty that you made the right choice. When most people do a certain thing or pick a certain choice it is usually consider the right decision. It does not hurt to consider a few other options when you are choosing a DSLR. Just remember not to invest so much in the beginning when you are not sure you have chosen the right brand because you might loose some money when you decided jump ship.
Lens
Choosing a DSLR means you are going to stick with a family of lens and accessories as well. Nikon and Canon no doubt have lots of lens in their arsenal. Canon is famous for their L lens while Nikon have their pro grade lens which is usually distinguished by a gold line on the lens. Since they are very popular, third party manufacturers like Tamron and Sigma will make a lot of cheaper alternative lens to cover the same focal range of lens Nikon and Canon have already made.They sometimes even cover focal length that Nikon and Canon do not even have. The thing is lens made by DSLR manufacturer themselves have a higher resale value in the secondhand market so you should consider that when you buy a lens. Sometimes lens made by Nikon and Canon themselves might not be as good in terms of sharpness but they generally excel in terms of other qualities and reliability.
There are always a lot of tests about sharpness, flare and all the other aspects about lens from other well established photography website but they should not get so much in the way of photography. Knowing what you shoot and what your style is will be more important.
Sometimes knowing what you like to shoot will not be immediately apparent. If money is not a problem for you do not get a cheap basic lens from your DLSR manufacturer or third party manufacturer. You might think they can cover your needs since your skill is not that good in the first place. Get the ones that is at least rated higher grade than kit lens since they have a higher resale value. When a lens does not suit you then you can always sell it on Ebay provided you keep the box and everything in good condition. You might loose some money but not as much as when you trade it to a camera shop. I am not sure camera shop in Malaysia allow trade in or not but usually shops tend to give you a very low price for your camera.
Different types of DSLR
Usually manufacturers will come up with cameras for beginners, enthusiasts and pros. There are also DSLR that is in between. For a beginner the best camera in the market will always be the one to look for and crave about. To be honest if you are just getting a camera for the sake of hobby the beginner level camera will cover almost all your needs. When you first started in photography and encounter some problems you will certainly think it is because your camera is inadequate for the task, making you want to get a hold of better gear or lens. Your passion in the beginning can be so strong that you might lose a bit of your mind thinking that choosing a DSLR of higher quality means better photos.
The thing is you do not know how long your passion will last. You also do not know how often you might need a certain lens. Unless you are a professional earning from your camera you don't even need camera higher than the enthusiast level. Sure sometimes a better camera might have the edge but it is not like you are loosing a job due to you not getting the shot. You can say you lost a moment, but careful planning and better understanding of your gear can mostly cover that up.
Conclusion
Basically you just need to get a decent DSLR and start shooting. You can even try using film SLR first to get all the basic technique. Some argue film SLR is basically dead and not a good way of learning, but in my opinion like traditional painting it is more rewarding that way if you try it out. Having a solid skill can go a long way than just having lots of great DSLR and not knowing how to use it.
Camera gear should not limit what you want to achieve. Use your camera to the fullest until it breaks down then get another, or maintain it well when you are using it so you might sell it early and get about 60 to 80% of your money back. If you live in Europe the return policy might be a good way to try a camera out for a few days or so to decide whether you like it or not.
Try out as much DSLR as you can from shops or from friends then decide. Ergonomics and design does play a role but photography should go beyond that. I never mention technical stuff like pixel and sensor size because I think it does not matter that much and we don't have to waste time getting so worked up by it and forget photography in its basic level. Pixel and other technology will always improve and you can't catch up with it unless you are pretty rich.
So what are you waiting for, stop wondering how to choose a DSLR, choosing a DSLR of any level adn start having fun with photography.
Disable Powermizer
Here are some ways I gather from the internet about the topic "Disable Powermizer".
The current graphic card I am using is Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS so if you have an older or newer card this might or might not work. And this works in Windows Vista Home Premium.
Please go to an updated "Disable Nvidia Powermizer" for a shorter post and ways to disable Nvidia Powermizer. Feel free to read on if you wish.
If you are a PC gamer and you play games using a gaming laptop that houses a Nvidia GPU(Graphic Processing Unit), chances are you will encounter sudden drop in performance while gaming.
The reason behind this after lots of searching about online in website like http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/ made me realize it is a problem with the Nvidia Driver that is installed within my laptop.
While gaming using a laptop is not really a good way to go, it is definitely doable since gaming laptops are becoming more and more common and they can be as powerful as a lot of desktop PC out there. I am stuck with laptop gaming for the moment because when I went to UK for my studies and bought a laptop. It is easier to carry around and it has been with me since.
Why laptop is not a good way to go? My opinion is that laptop's hardware is small and they all need to fit in a very tight space. There is always the heat issue when it comes to overclock gaming. Many gaming enthusiasts or pro gamer will know how to handle the heat issue even if they overclock their GPU. The heat issue is not so hard to solve if you are using a desktop since you can swap a lot of different fans or even use liquid cooling system provided you have the knowledge.
Laptop's GPU heat problems is harder to solve because they are one with the motherboard or I think they call it integrated graphics. While I have heard that some laptop's GPU is swappable, I am not a pro gamer or expert in PC to have seen or try one. The tight space in a laptop is not helping with the heat dispersion and if you overclock your graphic card chances are the heat problem will arise.
Before I even know about Nvidia Powermizer I have been playing games with another laptop that has a Nvidia Geforce 8600m GS. This graphic card fried after about 6 months or so of usage and I did not even overclock the card. Luckily I still have my warranty and they have to change the whole motherboard to get my laptop to run again. Well I cannot say that the frying of my Nvidia geforce 8600m GS is a good thing but it surely is not as bad, I manage to get another laptop that has a more powerful Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS, although some said that the Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS is a rehash of the Nvidia Geforce 8m series.
Powermizer is created by Nvidia to regulate your GPU power consumption, performance and heat.(Correct me if I am wrong). Unlike desktop GPU, laptop manufacturers are using ways to help you save your laptop's battery life. This is when Nvidia Powermizer kicks in.
Powermizer will help you save energy for your laptop, but what it does is it will decrease your gaming performance sometimes to a point of unplayable. You will experience stutter and frame rate drop after about 20 minutes of gaming. Some user might have a different experience but this problem is true and it still exist as far as I know. Heat can also trigger Nvidia Powermizer to slow down your GPU, that is what I had experience myself.
After the GPU drops in performance it stays there unless you restart your computer or restart your graphic card from the device manager. There are also ways to disable Nvidia Powermizer by going into the registry. Trying to disable Nvidia Powermizer from the registry works but I think it is rather tedious and some have reported the Powermizer effect might reoccur when you install a newer driver for your graphic card. It is only after a while someone created the Powermizer Switch and made our lives much easier. The author of Powermizer Switch is Alexander Rubinov. I have to thank him for this great program. If you are using Windows XP, you can switch the Powermizer off in the Nvidia Control Panel. Vista's Nvidia drivers do not have this function and it cost me some time to find out how to disable Nvidia Powermizer from the Internet since I can't solve it myself. Google Powermizer Swith and you should find it, it is free. (Currently it is on version 1.1)
It seems like my problem is solved after I disable Powermizer and my GPU stays in the same performance throughout gaming. After sometime maybe because of Windows update or a Nvidia Driver change, the drop in performance reappears, only this time after checking my graphic card the performance is the same, it did not downclock.
I found out later that my CPU core clock and OS load drops to half after a certain amount of time gaming. Since I am not a tech geek I do not know why. This problem causes me weeks without gaming trying to find a solution. That is when I stumble upon a suggestion from the forums of laptopvideo2go.com. The poster mention a freeware call Right Mark CPU Clock Utility. Have to thank him for that but too bad I forgot his forum name.
Right Mark CPU Clock Utility (http://cpu.rightmark.org/download.shtml) can help you boost the CPU core clock and OS load back to full speed. Just go to Advanced CPU settings and uncheck all entry except Enable C5 and C6 modes in the Chipset section. You need to check the Apply these settings at start up for the program to remember your desired settings.
My performance drop happens in game so I have to get out from the game to windows to make the performance get back to full speed. You will notice the performance drop when it happens. I know it from my second monitor when I am monitoring my laptop's every performance.
Even if you do not have any Powermizer problems I think you can still use Right Mark CPU to put your CPU core clock and Throttle in maximum performance. The heat will surely go up a bit but nothing to worry about if you did not overclock anything.
Once again, I have to say thanks to those people that help solve this problem. Trying to disable Powermizer in Vista is pretty easy and straight forward now. I am still using this method and it still works. Please leave a comment if you find that this solution does not work anymore or did not even work in the first place.
The current graphic card I am using is Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS so if you have an older or newer card this might or might not work. And this works in Windows Vista Home Premium.
Please go to an updated "Disable Nvidia Powermizer" for a shorter post and ways to disable Nvidia Powermizer. Feel free to read on if you wish.
If you are a PC gamer and you play games using a gaming laptop that houses a Nvidia GPU(Graphic Processing Unit), chances are you will encounter sudden drop in performance while gaming.
The reason behind this after lots of searching about online in website like http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/ made me realize it is a problem with the Nvidia Driver that is installed within my laptop.
While gaming using a laptop is not really a good way to go, it is definitely doable since gaming laptops are becoming more and more common and they can be as powerful as a lot of desktop PC out there. I am stuck with laptop gaming for the moment because when I went to UK for my studies and bought a laptop. It is easier to carry around and it has been with me since.
Why laptop is not a good way to go? My opinion is that laptop's hardware is small and they all need to fit in a very tight space. There is always the heat issue when it comes to overclock gaming. Many gaming enthusiasts or pro gamer will know how to handle the heat issue even if they overclock their GPU. The heat issue is not so hard to solve if you are using a desktop since you can swap a lot of different fans or even use liquid cooling system provided you have the knowledge.
Laptop's GPU heat problems is harder to solve because they are one with the motherboard or I think they call it integrated graphics. While I have heard that some laptop's GPU is swappable, I am not a pro gamer or expert in PC to have seen or try one. The tight space in a laptop is not helping with the heat dispersion and if you overclock your graphic card chances are the heat problem will arise.
Before I even know about Nvidia Powermizer I have been playing games with another laptop that has a Nvidia Geforce 8600m GS. This graphic card fried after about 6 months or so of usage and I did not even overclock the card. Luckily I still have my warranty and they have to change the whole motherboard to get my laptop to run again. Well I cannot say that the frying of my Nvidia geforce 8600m GS is a good thing but it surely is not as bad, I manage to get another laptop that has a more powerful Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS, although some said that the Nvidia Geforce 9500m GS is a rehash of the Nvidia Geforce 8m series.
Powermizer is created by Nvidia to regulate your GPU power consumption, performance and heat.(Correct me if I am wrong). Unlike desktop GPU, laptop manufacturers are using ways to help you save your laptop's battery life. This is when Nvidia Powermizer kicks in.
Powermizer will help you save energy for your laptop, but what it does is it will decrease your gaming performance sometimes to a point of unplayable. You will experience stutter and frame rate drop after about 20 minutes of gaming. Some user might have a different experience but this problem is true and it still exist as far as I know. Heat can also trigger Nvidia Powermizer to slow down your GPU, that is what I had experience myself.
After the GPU drops in performance it stays there unless you restart your computer or restart your graphic card from the device manager. There are also ways to disable Nvidia Powermizer by going into the registry. Trying to disable Nvidia Powermizer from the registry works but I think it is rather tedious and some have reported the Powermizer effect might reoccur when you install a newer driver for your graphic card. It is only after a while someone created the Powermizer Switch and made our lives much easier. The author of Powermizer Switch is Alexander Rubinov. I have to thank him for this great program. If you are using Windows XP, you can switch the Powermizer off in the Nvidia Control Panel. Vista's Nvidia drivers do not have this function and it cost me some time to find out how to disable Nvidia Powermizer from the Internet since I can't solve it myself. Google Powermizer Swith and you should find it, it is free. (Currently it is on version 1.1)
It seems like my problem is solved after I disable Powermizer and my GPU stays in the same performance throughout gaming. After sometime maybe because of Windows update or a Nvidia Driver change, the drop in performance reappears, only this time after checking my graphic card the performance is the same, it did not downclock.
I found out later that my CPU core clock and OS load drops to half after a certain amount of time gaming. Since I am not a tech geek I do not know why. This problem causes me weeks without gaming trying to find a solution. That is when I stumble upon a suggestion from the forums of laptopvideo2go.com. The poster mention a freeware call Right Mark CPU Clock Utility. Have to thank him for that but too bad I forgot his forum name.
Right Mark CPU Clock Utility (http://cpu.rightmark.org/download.shtml) can help you boost the CPU core clock and OS load back to full speed. Just go to Advanced CPU settings and uncheck all entry except Enable C5 and C6 modes in the Chipset section. You need to check the Apply these settings at start up for the program to remember your desired settings.
My performance drop happens in game so I have to get out from the game to windows to make the performance get back to full speed. You will notice the performance drop when it happens. I know it from my second monitor when I am monitoring my laptop's every performance.
Even if you do not have any Powermizer problems I think you can still use Right Mark CPU to put your CPU core clock and Throttle in maximum performance. The heat will surely go up a bit but nothing to worry about if you did not overclock anything.
Once again, I have to say thanks to those people that help solve this problem. Trying to disable Powermizer in Vista is pretty easy and straight forward now. I am still using this method and it still works. Please leave a comment if you find that this solution does not work anymore or did not even work in the first place.
