OC my Sapphire X850XT

[AceFactor]

I have heard that it is possible to OC my X850XT to XTPE, and that it is reasonably safe!


I am looking for help and advice! I have heard that i need to test that the card is stable at the PE clock speeds before flashing the bios!

Since i dont no much about either OC'ing of BIOS Flashing, i need all the help i can get!


Thanks in Advanne

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

Well you need to know if it stable at XT PE clocks like you said, to do so overclock it with Atitool . Just bring the clocks up to 540/590 in 5MHz increaments and maybe a go a little higher. But once you reach 540/590 run a stability test with scan for errors. Let it run for about and hour, and if you get no errors, its stable. Next get your X850 XT PE bios from the bios collection here . Now for the flashing process. For a bootdisk I use drdflash.exe . For the flashrom . Just make the boot disk with drdflash and put your flashrom and bios on the floppy. For flashing instructions go here . Makesure you backup your orginal bios just incase something goes wrong. Good luck!

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

Thanks man!

Ok, i kinda understand what you mean, how do i first back-up the current bios. .and what possible things can go wrong?

Thanks

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

In the flashing instrutions i gave you, it tells you. But basicly you just type "atiflash/flashrom -s 0 oldbios.bin"

Things that could go wrong, you flash could fail and you have a blank screen, can be fixed. the card can't handle tighter timing and crashes. But most of the time it can be fixed.

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

One more question, i still only have the stock cooling kit on the card, can i safely OC it, and reflash it with the stock cooling?

If not, what other cooler do you recommend?

Thanks Again!

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

Well I couldn't tell ya...depends on what kind of temps you get now. Just overclock and see what kind of temps you get and if they are over say, 70C, then I would consider a new cooler. For a new cooler, I would have to say a ATI Silencer or a Zalman VF700CU. They both have reviews on this site aswell.

-Dan

 

[INSTG8R]

In this case Im gonna have to say the Arctic Silencer is a better choice then the Zalman as the X850 already has a Silencer style cooler(Exhaust) and the Zalman tho a good cooler just blows the hot air around your case.

 

[AceFactor]

I'm finishing off OC'ing using ATI Tool to get the clock speeds up to 540/590, and i will update as to what the temps are at the full OC speeds, do i need to push it higher, or will 545/595 do to see if it is stable at XTPE speeds? My default clock is 520/540.

At stock speeds the temps are about 30 - 34 degrees on both clocks, but so far at about 535/555 the temps are 73-74 GPU, and 50-53 on Ram!

I have had a look at both of the recommended cooler, and the Artic Lookd best for the job as instig8r said.

What is the max temps for the GPU/Mem for the record, as i dont want to get too close to them on the stock cooler are burn the card out when just seeing whether it will run PE speeds!

Thanks in Advance

Adam

 

[gR3iF]

it should run pe speeds with your cooler
no you dont have to go higher but you should let ati tool scan for artifacts run maybe 2 hours

 

[AceFactor]

WOOHOO!!

I am currently clocking the X850XT at XTPE speeds. .from 520/540 > 540/590, and it has just started the load test for artifacting using ATITool! The Temps at these new clock speeds 70-76 core, and 50-54 mem, those are when running the artifacting test!

Is the artifacting test running the card at full load, e.g. 100%, or is it lower?

At these current temps, and speeds, if the card runs for 2hrs, is it time to flash the bios to the XTPE one? Or will i need a better cooler first? Or do i need to do anything else?

Also, before i flash to the XTPE bios, should i set all the clock speeds back to the default 520/540 in ATITool? Or just leave them at the 540/590 clocks?

Thanks in advance

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

When you scan for errors it runs the card at it full power. If you card is stable after 2 hours of scaning I would say its safe to say it stable. Before you flash makesure you backup your old bios and delete your profile form Atitool. For the new cooler, you don't really need one, but if you do get one it will help insure stabilty and a longer lived card. Happy flashing

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

Grat News!

I just flashed the card, and all went well, can i get a program that confirms the make/model of the card, because it only appears are X850 Series in the Catalyst Centre & Display Properties & SiSoftware Sandra!

BTW, thanks for all your help guys, your the best!

Anything i can do for you, dont hesitate to ask!

Thanks again

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

Use Atitool to show what it is...

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

I tried that, and i looked thru all of the sections.

I am looking for a program that will give me the exect model like: "ATI Radeon X850XTPE", just to confirm the new bios is correct, but ATITool doesnt show that information.

Any idea's?

Thanks

Adam

 

[bikesair]

WOOHOO!!
The Temps at these new clock speeds 70-76 core, and 50-54 mem, those are when running the artifacting test!

dude thats hot...80 is when a GPU should be turned off, 70 for CPU

 

[djbbenn]

dude thats hot...80 is when a GPU should be turned off, 70 for CPU

They should be fine at 95 (wont run very well but wont be damaged says ATI... ) I think if your over 75 you should invest in a new cooler.

-Dan

 

[bikesair]

They should be fine at 95 (wont run very well but wont be damaged says ATI... ) I think if your over 75 you should invest in a new cooler.

-Dan

i agree with the cooler part

 

[AceFactor]

I've decided on getting the Artic Colling ATI 5 Rev 2 cooler, as it is easily available, and a lot easily to fit. And it is the more efficient of the 2 coolers - zalman & artic cooling.

Anyone got any answers to my last post about info?

Thanks

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

You should just be able to go to display properties and it will ay what cad it is. Or use Atitool to what the device id is... for a XT PE it should be 4b50 I think. Not sure, but I think thats it.

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

Had a look on ATiTool, it says:

Device ID: 4B4C
Chip Type: R481

Thats similar to what you said.

Just had another look at the Coolers again - Zalman VF700-Cu & Artic Cooling ATI 5 Rev 2.

Any ideas which will be the more efficient at knocking down the temps on my card?

I'm still not sure which one to choose!

Thanks

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

I wasn;t sure what the device ID was, I was basically guessing to what I saw before. I just checked and I am sure that is for the XT PE. If you flashed it with the XT PE bios and the clocks are now fo the PE then it is a XT PE. For a cooler the AC might be better because the X850 already take up to cooling slots.

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

Yeh, your right man, i used to have a AC cooler on my old 9800pro flashed to 9800xt - before i got it! And i found that it was a great cooler compared to the stock. Also the new ATI 5 rev 2 has the Ram sinks inbuilt onto, with a great surface area.

I also looked at some of the passive coolers. . heat pipe stuff, i see that zalman do one with an additional fan, but they dont seem to perform at all well when you have 12+ pipelains or if you OC with 12 pipelines.

How far do you think my temps will drop to with the AC cooler. . they are 39/36 just running aol & msn.

Thanks again

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

Hard to say whqat the temp drops would be. A lot will depend on your case ambient temp. I would probably say the most would be 5C at idel. You will notice most temp drop when it has a load on. And thats what you want. Put it this way, its going to be way better than stock and they aren't very much money. So your going to be happy.

-Dan

 

[AceFactor]

Think i may have found a problem!

It says on the TPU review of the AC cooler, it only works with PCI-E, and i have the AGP card!

Is that information accurate, because there is no mention of that on the AC site!

If this is the case, which out of the other coolers should i get on the review list?

Thanks

Adam

 

[djbbenn]

Go with Silencer 4 rev.2

-Dan