3850 AGP OC'ing, Vmods, experiences, suggestions, where to buy

[intel igent]

pencil mod time guys?

have a look at the first post

thnx for the link repsol23

 

[MindKrypted]

Unlocked 3850 agp bios

Hi guys,

I wonder if any of you had the chance to get an unlocked bios version of the Sapphire 3850 agp on the net ?

I did some search recently and it seems nobody shared it... if it exist at all...
Pci express is available, but i cant flash that thing on the card.. and i'm no expert into hex-editing the file :shadedshu

I'm looking for it cause, it seems my video card is limited by something, i cant go farther than
760mhz stable, 770mhz unstable and 777mhz system reboot... (max 47 celcius on load)

I did the bios volt mod @ 1.333 & the r1222 pencil mod without any luck going farther...

i'm ready to share my bios file, just send me a pm

 

[intel igent]

bienvenue a TPU!

have you tried this? http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=54776

did you measure your Volts before and after the mod to make shure it was effective? IIRC stock Volts is 1.35

you could also try to PM RandomMrderer and see if he can be of some assistance

 

[MindKrypted]

Hi Intel,

thanks for your response, for the multimeter part, no i could'nt check the voltage, i dont have one ..for the bios editing yes i did use it & set my voltage to 1.333 on 3d high.

Still, after i posted my message i tried other settings, i raise the clock in the bios to 760/975, rebooted, loaded atitool, i was able to get 777 without restart/freeze.. 783 vpurecover started, lost 3d...
After.. raised voltage to 1.4 in bios, able to go up to 796mhz on core, still vpurecover came up!
but.. i'm now stable @ 783mhz... ... never had artifact.. i guess the card can be pushed farther

>> Morgoth, do you think you can share your bios with us ?

 

[Morgoth]

sure

 

[Morgoth]

done
now hit that *thanks* buton

 

[Morgoth]

hey guys lets do a atitray tool benchmark for hd3850agp only

 

[MindKrypted]

Hihi, gonna try that bios as soon as i can and give feedback about it

Thanks Morgoth

 

[repsol23]

Looks like newegg got the Powercolor 3850 agp back in stock today!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131090&Tpk=ag3850

 

[MindKrypted]

I tried your sapphire bios Morgoth, unfortunately i'm stocked with the same limitation.
For now, it is stable @ 776mhz core & 1044mhz mem. @ 1.4v 3d high

I did the ati tray tool benchmark, here's my result:

catalyst a.i. @ -high ver. 8.3
>>>
stock 669/829 >> 28984.08
oc 783/1044 >> 35508.34
oc 776/1044 >> 36314.56 ..

catalyst a.i. @ -off ver. 8.3
>>>
oc 776/1044 >> 36447.40 .. no big difference



did lots of 3dmark06 runs on Gt2 Firefly Forest (3 time to get an average)
cpu @ 3700mhz / mem timing 2.5-3-2-5 (if cpu is clocked @ 3200 got 2-3fps less)
1280x1024 @ 24.949fps
1920x1200 @ 24.612fps
1920x1200 4x aa @ 19.38fps
this card is really powerfull for an agp one..


/cheer

 

[InnocentCriminal]

OK, now, if I get a 3850 it will mean I have to get a 'new' motherboard, and PSU, maybe even some RAM.

Now let's add that up....

Powercolor 3850 - eBuyer - cheapest I've found - freakin' bargin! = £130

ECS Elite nForce 3 cheapo mobo - £40 - if I can knock the guy down to £30

Corsair HX620 - This will go in my Nehalem set up once I've got it - £85.41

Now after using my super maths skills I'll add these up and round 'em off... I'm looking at spending at nearly £260 just so I can buy an AGP card - doesn't really make financial sense. However, if I do do this, I'll be able to hand my X1950 Pro down to my old man's rig, as with my SN95G5 and use my A64 3200+ and have a relatively decent back up gaming machine.

That's one Pro to go against the con. An other one is, if I do that I'll be able to build up a relatively decent machine for my girlfriend's best friends. They've been wanting a computer for ages and I could easily give them my Dad' current set up (which is my old SN45G)...

So all I'd have to do is source either some decent RAM for myself and hand my 2GB set down to my Dad. Then use his 1GB set in the SN45G along with a Mobile AthlonXP (didn't think I'd be hi-jackin' the thread with an AthlonXP) a 80GB HDD, and a half height Radeon 9200 - plus if they're nice enough to actually buy it off me, I might be able to get £50 or something off 'em. I highly doubt it though.

So... with the intent of keeping my rig, which I'll watercool and OC so it lasts me a few more years, should I go to that expensive, whilst making another couple happy with giving them a machine they've longed for? Hmmm.....

Sorry for the hi-jack, it's sorter on topic considering it's based around me buying a 3850.



Your thoughts and opinions if you were in my position, if you please...

 

[intel igent]

@ innocentcriminal : isnt it nice how a simple GFX update can make 3 people PC happy

@ MindKrypted : how do you know exactly what voltage youve achieved without a multimeter? you can get them at canadian tire for like $10.

are you upping the voltage in the bios?

 

[Morgoth]

hmmm i got my core at 1,254 volt and i can clock higher :/

 

[lemonadesoda]

I'm not so sure ATI Tray Tools "bench!" is the best thing to look at. Why? I score 20156.62 with just an X800SE.

 

[intel igent]

i highly doubt that score lemonade

updated first post!

 

[Morgoth]

I'm not so sure ATI Tray Tools "bench!" is the best thing to look at. Why? I score 20156.62 with just an X800SE.

not sure how thats possible
and i said hd3850 agp only

 

[MindKrypted]

>> intel igent

@ MindKrypted : how do you know exactly what voltage youve achieved without a multimeter? you can get them at canadian tire for like $10.

you're right, i should get one.. when i said 1.4v, well, that's the entry that i have in the video card bios, so it may be wrong...

/cheer

 

[Widjaja]

InnocentCriminal and I both had our benchmarks go through the roof when we used Cat 7.12 eith our X1950pros so the benchmark score is entirely possible but yes it's incorrect.

 

[intel igent]

it is HIGHLY reccomended that you check/confirm voltage adjustments (either via BIOS or pencil mod) using a Digital Multi Meter. if you dont own one you can get them fairly cheap at your local hardware store or the like. you can find the proper measure points in the pencil mod guide.

if doing BIOS mod or pencil mod please follow the guides VERY closely

also remember that OC's vary and are different from board to board

 

[Morgoth]

intel hows ur setup gowing havent heard anny thing abouth it

 

[intel igent]

intel hows ur setup gowing havent heard anny thing abouth it

should have my petra's order by tomorrow, im going to give my case a quick re-spray today and i should have it all re-assembled by mid week.

then its off to my PC guy cuz i crashed my HDD's while doing a defrag hope i can save the drives

so hopefully by next weekend ill be back to fragging glory as this crappy lappy is really starting to get to me

 

[InnocentCriminal]

InnocentCriminal and I both had our benchmarks go through the roof when we used Cat 7.12 eith our X1950pros so the benchmark score is entirely possible but yes it's incorrect.

Wha? I don't ever remember doing that benchmark. Hmmm.....

 

[intel igent]

MindKrypted : any luck with the BIOS mods?

 

[Spathi]

when i got my ram at 220 or higher my clock becomes unstable i try it again today
edite
i tryd it
i had my ram 2,70volt to 2,874 at 480mhz and crashed
i also tryd at 430mhz and crashed
btw my maxium ram voltage is 2,875

Not much point in pushing it so hard, 5000 is enough to tide us over till next year or l8r.
and memory speed does not seem to make much difference, ye'ol'P4 is pretty close to maxed out past 3200

 

[15th Warlock]

Unfortunately this card is heavily constrained by the old netburst architecture... bottleneck sounds like an understatement.. really

Haven't had a chance to pencil mod my card yet unfortunately, last week one doctor called in in my office and I had to work all week long, not gonna have a day off till wednesday... I ordered a voltmeter and it should arrive tomorrow hopefully, will let you guys know about my results once I have 'em