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AGP - X1950 Pro experiences

Is your AGP X1950 stable or unstable

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
I recently got the AGP HIS X1950 256MB Pro ICEQ3 Turbo thingy, to support the Dell 3007WFP 30" 2560x1600 res monitor in my old system. 3Dmark06 and Aquamark ran fine. Far Cry and Oblivion were crashing the graphics if I went over 1200x800 res. My PSU was Antec 380W (18A on 12v rail).

so I replaced with Corsair HX520W (40A shared on triple 12v rails, nominally rated at 18A each). Seems a little more stable, but still getting crashes if I go over 1200x800 in Far Cry or Oblivion :(

X1950 is powered by single PCI-E 6 pin power connector from one rail on PSU. I'll try changing that to the 2 molex into one PCI-E power lead I got, and connect each molex from a different PSU 12v rail.

Also need to try clean re-install of ATI drivers. Won't vote till I have checked out all possibilities.

System specs:
P4C Northwood 2.8GHz (OC 20% to 3.36GHz), Zalman CuAl cooler
1GB OZC dual channel DDR memory (FSB OC 20% to 960MHz)
Asus P4C800E-Deluxe mobo
Antec Sonata case
Corsair HX520W PSU
2 x HDD
1 x FDD
1 x DVD-ROM
1 x DVD-RW
HIS X1950 256MB AGP ICEQ3 Turbo
Dell 3007WFP monitor
 
Last edited:
His X1950 Agp

What Revision is your HIS card? Ver 1.0 @620Mhz or Ver 2.0 @587Mhz?
 
ATI Tool 0.27 is reporting:
Catalyst Version 7.3
Core 621MHz
Memory 742.5MHz
so i suppose it's Ver 1.0

Running the ATI Tool 3D View, temps max at
X1950 62C
CPU 42C
Mobo 30C
 
DaComp. Could you do the following:

1./ Upload your v2.0 BIOS to this thread (and also cc W1zzard to upload to database)
2./ Post some pics of your card... so that v1.0 owners can see if there are any major differences or not

Thanks!
 
The 1.0 probably had timing issues and such - nothing a BIOS flash cant fix :D
 
Given that many others are reporting that they can play games at resolutions that crash my card, and I've upgraded my PSU to the Corsair HX520W which should be more than sufficient to run the card, I've requested an RMA replacement of my AGP HIS X1950 256MB Pro ICEQ3 Turbo from Overclockers.co.uk - but right now they show none in stock :(

So if I get a replacement that works then my vote will be "unstable".
 
As Pinchy said, a BIOS update will fix timing issues.

Hardware problems, e.g. poor components, signal paths, or cooling, a BIOS cannot fix.

Anyone with v2.0 BIOS upload here, and cc the W1zz
 
The BIOS upgrade is tempting; if i was sure it would fix the card i would apply it. However, if it is a hardware fault, and the BIOS flash does not work, I might not get the RMA approved, as they may consider that I had "tampered" with the card.

I notice that on the www.overclockers.co.uk, the 256MB and 512MB versions show different clock speeds for GPU and memory. I wonder if the 256MB cards are v1 and the 512MB are v2?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-069-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403
 
HIS X1950 Pro AGP 512 Ver 2.0 - BIOS Upload

OK I used RaBIT to save the BIOS... ....
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Indeed, where do I get an updated BIOS for the HIS card and how is it applied/installed?
Can't find anything on HIS website.
 
DaComputerDude said:
Hi All,

This card HIS X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo Dual DL-DVI 512MB/AGP (Rev 2.0) has been running great for over a week - No Problems/crashes/artifacts - All good!! CAT 7.1 ATI Tool 631/1539

Temps 44c Idle 58c flat out! Fan rattles just a bit when running flat out. ATI 3D Rend. 860 FPS
Click to expand...

860fps ? i presume you mean in atitool and if so can anyone confirm this? sorry for the hijack i have a pci-e his x1950pro rev2? and get approx 550 fps in atitool 0.27
 
Pum said:
I notice that on the www.overclockers.co.uk, the 256MB and 512MB versions show different clock speeds for GPU and memory. I wonder if the 256MB cards are v1 and the 512MB are v2?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-069-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403
Click to expand...

Careful, there are V1.0 and V2.0 editions of BOTH the 256 and 512MB cards. See http://geizhals.at/deutschland/?fs=x1950+agp&in=

Check the product number/serial number carefully. ONLY buy the V2.0 version
 
Well, I got the RMA replacement from Overclockers.co.uk - it is a v2 card. Interestingly, the box says GPU 620Mhz / mem 1485Mhz on the side, but there is a sticker on the front that says GPU 587Mhz / mem 1540Mhz. The old card was a v1.

I think it is working fine now. I was occasionally getting green speckles on the screen, sometimes in 2D mode (eg: when watching movies). This was like a few hundred single green pixels dotted randomly across the screen, and moving about. They'd come and go - mostly weren't there. I completely removed all the ATI drivers, Control Centre and Hydravision, ran DriverCleaner over it in safe mode, and reinstalled. So far has been OK after re-install, but have yet to really test it thoroughly.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Don't forget to come back and update us with anything new.
 
Well, it's me again! After using the replacement HIS v2 card for 2 weeks (I'm not an intensive user) I've decided it too is duff. It's better than the original HIS v1 card, which went majorly tits-ups when stressed in 3D mode, but it's not 100% working. I'm still getting the green speckling / speckles. They occur in 2D or 3D modes. Very irritating when watching a movie - they are very conspicuous and distracting in dark areas of the screen.

I have contacted Overclockers about the problem and am waiting for a reply. Another RMA, I guess. I'd be happy with an alternative, but only thing like that Overclockers have is the 512MB Saphire. I guess I'd pay the cost difference for it as replacement, if it works properly. I'm getting pretty fed up with this. I just want a card that works :(
 
Well if anyones interested, Overclockers.co.uk issued another RMA straight off. I suspect they've had lots of problems with the HIS cards and RMA them no arguments. Whatever, well done Overclockers for good after sales service - based on my experiences with them I would recommend them to anyone.

So I stuck my original HIS X1950 Pro card back in my system to be going on with (Overclockers surprisingly returned it to me). I runs fine in 2D mode, except for occasional green speckles. In 3D mode, running Call of Juarez SP demo it crashed within 5 mins. Then I installed ATI Tray Tools, and under clocked to GPU and memory by 20%. Played CoJ for half an hour without crashing. More extensive testing will reveal if this is a stable solution - could be a cheap upgrade for my other machine from ATI Radeon 9200SE !
 
1./ Stable
2./ Sapphire x1950pro 512 AGP
3./ Abit IC7-G
4./ Antec Trupower 550

oc at 607/1480 stock bios with Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZV9

P4 Prescott 3.20 stock (hard to stable-ey oc)
2x512 Corsair 3200XLPRO

7800 05' 3dmarks

and,

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaComputerDude View Post
Hi All,

This card HIS X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo Dual DL-DVI 512MB/AGP (Rev 2.0) has been running great for over a week - No Problems/crashes/artifacts - All good!! CAT 7.1 ATI Tool 631/1539

Temps 44c Idle 58c flat out! Fan rattles just a bit when running flat out. ATI 3D Rend. 860 FPS


860fps ? i presume you mean in atitool and if so can anyone confirm this? sorry for the hijack i have a pci-e his x1950pro rev2? and get approx 550 fps in atitool 0.27
Click to expand...

i agree, o/c i get 580-600 fps average.

i have a card with 1.1 ns memory too so any help towrds finding/making a bios for this card with 1.1 ns timings and clocks would be great.

cheers. wolf.
 
Okay-- here is my HIS X1950pro AGP experience-

Ordered from Newegg Rev 1 card in Feb- rec'd it and for about a week it seemed fine. I had some game crashes, but since I was OC'ing- I didn't think much of it. This card was 620/whatever mem speed.
I got an RMA from HIS directly- they just sent me my replacement Rev 2 X1950pro AGP yesterday. So far- NOT A SINGLE CRASH. This card is factory clocked a bit slower- at 590 GPu- BUT after reading a review on Fudzilla ( http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=960&Itemid=40 ) where they are able to OC this rev 2 card to 641/837??!! I decided to put this card to the test-

Running my 3.4 P4 EE at 3570- and running this card at 630/810(1620)- I am so far able to get this to run ati tool's benchmark and 3dmark03 with no crashes so far! stock this card gets 15069 3dmarks in '03- bumping it up to 630/810, I am getting 15545 marks. So far- this Rev 2 card is a HUGE improvement over the Rev 1 card. ( I am not happy that it took 28 days after they rec'd the bad card to send the replacement, but it was worth it ).

HIS x1950pro IceQ turbo Rev 2 256 MB
 
Unstable.

hello ppl.

i bought a HIS ati Radeion x1950 Pro IceQ3 on tuesday.

its a Rev 2 one.

BUT it is unstable.

i think it may have something to do with my 430 watt psu.

a Antec NEO HE430GB 430W to be exact.

is that definatly the problem?
 
need more info

It is quite possible that the 430 watt psu is not enough.. but it would also depend on what else its powering to determine whether it could be a likely culprit.

I am running the same card-- with a tv tuner-- sound card-- 2 GB ram- a power hungry Pentium 4- 2 hard disks and 2 optical drives-- and I only run a 500 watt Enermax Liberty.

Quality and efficiency of the PSU is also a factor.

Dave
 
I ran this card off an Antec 380W PSU that was standard in my Sonata case. I was also running a P4C overclocked 21%, 1GB of RAM, 2 HDD and 2 DVD drives. I had problems and thought it might be the PSU, but when I upgraded to a good 520W PSU the problems remained - it was the card.

Your 430W PSU may be just adequate. I think I found somewhere that this card pulls 110 watts, so you could add up the power draw of all the components in your system and calculate where your PSU stands. I think the 450W requirement quoted is based on an assumption of an averagely highly configured system and an averagely low quality PSU. I've certainly seen reports of systems working fine with under 400W PSUs.

I still get the minor green speckle problem with my third X1950 card - I reckon it's an incompatibility with my WinXP install or mobo BIOS. One day I'll get around to a complete install.
 
Err... dweig. no. The Antec NEO HE 430W is capable of running two X1950PROs in Crossfire (but nobody does it). By no means it would be your PSU, the X1950PRO Ice Q Turbo AGP has many issues as many forum members pointed out. Some reason these HIS cards don't last very long and tend to have so many issues.

I repeat, the NEO HE is more than capable of powering 1 X1950PRO... one X1950PRO + Typical setup will only give you 300W of Power usage on average. Send the card back to HIS, also use the 7.6 Drivers - DO NOT whatsover install 7.7, 7.8,7.9,7.10, known instability issues have been already discussed.

(and don't bump ancient topics, and theres a clubhouse to discuss about the X1950PRO's problems, my sig).
 
PowerColor X1950 Pro 256MB here.

Stable overall, had two VPU-Recover incidents though in CnC Tiberium Wars, playing VERY large custom maps (3 people + 3 bots).
But this has turned out to be a driver bug. CAT 7.10 seems to have a fix.

Regarding the VRM temp:
I use an additional 80mm cooler for that, didn´t feel SO okay with ~109°C before ;)
Now <85°C load


The GPU/RAM Accelero X2 cooler itself is awesome.
GPU temp 35°C idle, <50°C load.
 
Haha... Powercolor's X1950PRO's VRMs really need cooling, AGP or not. (Come to my clubhouse... T_T). Seriously, I avoid gaming these days since i removed my intakes, they ran around 115*C O_O... then I installed the VRM plate on top of it, and it sort of cooled down, but still ran around 95*C at load.
 
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