"PCI Latency" patch for VIA Chipsets
README File

All executable and document files of this "PCI Latency" patch are Copyright (C) 2001-2002, George E. Breese. All Rights Reserved.

Version 0.19d BETA, February 11, 2002

Important notes:

This 0.19d version of the patch contains a mix of known-good register settings and experimental ones. Do not distribute it.

This product could, in a rare case, damage a computer. Use it carefully and at your own risk. By using it, you agree to the license as shown below.

If you have installed a previous version of this driver, uninstall it before installing this version.

All credit for the original research on this patch is given to the site au-ja! Their page review-kt133a-1.html describes the problem and solution in German. Version 0.10 of this patch was based entirely upon the recommendations of au-ja!.

I wish to thank the staff of ViaHardware for promoting my work. They have been supportive of my drivers since I first began creating them. I also wish to thank WiNC, Franck, and all the testers who helped refine and define the patch.

Thanks to Ryan of OCZTech.com for providing additional hardware for testing.

License:

This software is licensed, not sold. The author of this product has granted you a license to use this product, subject to the following conditions. By possessing, using, or attempting to use this product, you assume all liability for its use. You agree never to take legal action, civil or criminal, against its author for any reason. You may redistribute this product in its original form only. You may not charge money for distribution of the product, unless all such charges are remitted to the author immediately upon payment. The author retains ownership of all intellectual properties embodied in this product.

Release Notes:

Version 0.19d of the patch contains new settings to try increasing performance while maintaining stability. Read TECHNOTE.HTM for a list of individual changes.

Version 0.19d of this patch DOES modify the "CPU Idle" or "STPGNT Disconnect" register on Athlon chipsets, but only if an Ensoniq or Creative Labs PCI64 or PCI128 sound card is detected. This will have the side-effect of raising the Athlon or Duron's CPU temperature 5-10 degrees Celsius, but it is the only solution for problems with these sound cards. If you have problems with other sound cards on a KT133 or KT133A, and this 0.19d patch does not solve your problem, please consider trying the 0.14 version of this patch.

Version 0.19 of the patch contains the "MWQ" patch. This patch was discovered by Linux kernel developers and acknowledged by VIA recently. This patch may solve some problems on NVidia video cards, but that is not why it is needed. The patch is needed because the AMD Athlon and Duron CPU's MOVNTQ instruction can overflow the chipset's Memory Write Queue.

Version 0.19 also contains all of the patches and features of version 0.18: