Ati x300 - several questions

[stone_crash_wolf]

Hi

I'm new here , and first of all , i want to say hello again, to anyone!

Now , let's get to the point:

I have an Gigabyte ati X300 (more likely x300SE)
The default frequences are 325/200 (400 eff) core/mem
About 2 maybe 3 weeks ago , i've tryed to overclock it.
I've managed to increase the frequences at 425/ 244(488 eff) core/mem.
The card was stable at that time, with passive cooling (stock). Ass the new settings worked without a problem , i've made a backup of the original Bios, and then used RaBit to edit it.
I used the frequences above as the default clocks. Then i flashed it , using the Atiflash tool.
All worked just fine.
A few days ago , i was testing what "ati tool" can do for me.
Not on purpose , i've overclocked the memory to about 540 effective. Without beeing careful at what setting were about to be tested , i've pushed the 'apply' button.
Instantly my desktop changed it's colour to pink. You may laugh, it's ok if u do .
Then , the computer restarted by itself. I was scared about the vid card, i was wondering if i killed it. Guess what! I didn't.
The windows started normaly , just my screen resolution , has been changed to 800x600 from 1024 x768.

Now, i'm going to explain a little more the problem. I'm going to tell a little history.
A long time ago, I tooked Gta San Andreas from Lan. It was already modified (new cars , mods, stuff like this). After 15 minutes of 'racing' with the car, the game stucked for about 3 seconds, then the screen got black , and then , the game got back on the screen.
I thought that this is the game's fault. I have to mention that then , i was using the stock Bios. After that , and after i've flashed the bios, that error continued appearing anytime the game was on.
Lately , after i got that pink screen , this error appeared more frequently! and now , in more games , like Far Cry, Trackmania Nations , san andreas etc.
The artifacts got on my screen too! in some places , in trackmania nations the grass was changing it's colour to white. Then , in far cry. As 3 hours of continue playing have passed, i got artifacts in a wood. The trees were when natural , when gray. Some textures becomed to miss etc.
Today , i went to a store , and buyed an Vga cooler. It's model is VC-RF and is made by EVERCOOL. Besides vga cooler , i've received 8 heat sinks for the memory chips.
You can search on google, or visit www.evercool.com to see about what cooler m i speaking about.
I've replaced the stock heat sink , with the new one. The memory chips are also covered by those heat sinks. Now ,i got some few problems solved. I mean i have no artifacts, but san andreas continues to make that thing.
So , did anything got damaged because of that pink screen? Is anything dead on the card? Or is it just fine?
Oh , and if anyone suggest me to decrease the current freq. i have to say that i have a friend with an Gigabyte 9550. He's def freq were 250/200 core/mem. He's using overclock , and new frequences like 440 core / 255 mem. It's having the same cooler as mine , and he has no problem , not even in san andreas. So , i don't think that my frequences represent a problem.
Anyway , another question , without anything to do about the x300.
I'm planning to buy a new vid card, i'm not sure what to choose.
I have some choices:
Nv 7300GT or Nv 7600GT or maybe the NV 7900 Gs. And the last one , Nv 8500 GT.
What u suggest? i need some opinions from someone who has allready saw this cards in action. I've read some reviews on tom's hardware about that 8500 Gt. They say that it;s a cheap card , it doesn't worth, and it's not to good for gaming.
Then , between 7300 GT and 7600 GT , i know that the better is 7600 GT .
But, is it true that an 7900 GS beats an sli of 7600 GT? or i've been bad informed..

U guys just tell me , wich is the best. Cause i'll have one of the above cards for about 1 month , untill i go for an 8800 GTS. yummi So it's just somethin temporary, something just to replace the x300, wich i think it's damaged.

Well , my post looks like a letter , and i;m sorry for that!
I'll try to write a little next time. This time i had so much to tell.

Bye..

 

[Polaris573]

Why would you buy a video card for only a month and then replace it? Seems like an awful waste of money. Just be patient and go straight for the 8800 when the time comes.

Yes it is possible your video card was damaged when you overclocked it too far.

The capability of your friend's 9550 to overclock has no bearing on your X300's ability to overclock even with the same cooler; since they are not the same videocard. You should still consider lowering the clock speeds down closer to stock to see if it alleviates the appearance of "the black screen"

Welcome to Techpowerup!

 

[hat]

I would like to suggest waiting for ATi's new r600 model (more commonly known as the HD 2900XT/XTX). This will bring nVidia prices--that means the 8800--maybe the 8800 ultra--to a reasonable level, get yourself a nice 8800GTS 640MB.

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

get yourself a nice 8800GTS 640MB.

I am planning to get the 320 MB Version. My next monitor will be an lcd of 19" , with the native screen resolution of 1280x1024. That 640 mb version is recommended only if i want to play in higher resolutions like 1600x1200 etc. I want to use resolutions like 1024x768 , 1280 x1024.
The 320 mb version is what i need i think...

Why would you buy a video card for only a month and then replace it? Seems like an awful waste of money. Just be patient and go straight for the 8800 when the time comes.

You're not the only one who says me that. Everyone of my class mates does. Even my friends.
I never asked my father, but i guess he will agree with u , the rest , not with me.
So , this is it , i'm waiting for that 8800 GTS 320 MB.

 

[hat]

The 640MB version is much more future proof

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

You should still consider lowering the clock speeds down closer to stock to see if it alleviates the appearance of "the black screen"

Well , i've just tryed that too. I've reflashed the card with the original bios.
I'm still having that problem.
I need an advice .
I used rabit , to open the original bios. Then i tooked a look at the memoy latency. Is it normal for me to have 1? It is called 'write latency' Better , take a look at the picture that comes with this post.
or check this http://www10.rapidupload.com/d.php?file=dl&filepath=2132453

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

I can see that no one have posted here for a long time. But i want to know your opinion for a print screen that has been made in Trackmania Nations.
I beg u all check the following adress , download the picture , and tell what do you think that those represent. (i mean are they artifacts or just a simply bug?)
Btw , i've tryed to change the display drivers. The choosen drivers were the ones from the cd that camed with tha card. That error in San andreas no longer appears. But what are these?? (in the pic)

http://www3.rapidupload.com/d.php?file=dl&filepath=26955

I forgot to mention that when those "whatever" appears , the game is not suffering any low fps or anything like this. IT just works fine.

I'm sorry if i am boring for u. But i need some help , and this is the only place where i can get it....so , i have no choice. Thank you.

 

[theonetruewill]

My mates X300 didn't overclock that well. And the temps soar when you do, so the oc'ing might have indeed caused problems
7600GT great overclocker
- I get 4309 on 3d06 overclocked like shit!. Xtant25 gets 4369!
7900GS used to be the midrange king now beaten by the 1950pro
- should do 5000+ when oc'd 3d06
7300GT best of the crap cards. NOt good for any moderne games in reality
- 1600~ 3d06
8500GT new (DX10) but poor card. Not much of an upgrade in the long term. Wouldn't like to see it with DX10 games, not enough power.
- 3800+ 3d06

 

[hat]

It looks like artifacts to me

 

[theonetruewill]

Also, sorry didn't read all your post. If I get 4309 in 3d06, then two 7600GT's in SLI would destroy the 7900GS.

For a budget card to tide you over until you get a 8800GTS (or similar) get an Inno3d 7600GT. Great stock cooler and overclock like hell on the memory. For a bit more try the eVga models oc's even more, especially in the core where it really counts for the 7600GT.

And its a goof thing you wrote a long and informative post. Most of the time we have to try and reply to " Comp won't start HAVE A PROBLEM HELP!!!" which means we have to ask them about 4 times to properly explain the situation. Yours however was extremely well explained.

 

[kwchang007]

Also, sorry didn't read all your post. If I get 4309 in 3d06, then two 7600GT's in SLI would destroy the 7900GS.

For a budget card to tide you over until you get a 8800GTS (or similar) get an Inno3d 7600GT. Great stock cooler and overclock like hell on the memory. For a bit more try the eVga models oc's even more, especially in the core where it really counts for the 7600GT.

And its a goof thing you wrote a long and informative post. Most of the time we have to try and reply to " Comp won't start HAVE A PROBLEM HELP!!!" which means we have to ask them about 4 times to properly explain the situation. Yours however was extremely well explained.

hey is your 7600 working now? oh and 7900 gs...probably the best choice out of the three you've said so far. however, lie most people have said, id say wait for a 8800 or a r600, and if you don't have the money, just wait until the r600 comes out, you can expect prices to drop alot faster than they have been right now. and like theonetruewill said, get a cheap card so it can hold you over.

 

[theonetruewill]

hey is your 7600 working now? oh and 7900 gs...probably the best choice out of the three you've said so far. however, lie most people have said, id say wait for a 8800 or a r600, and if you don't have the money, just wait until the r600 comes out, you can expect prices to drop alot faster than they have been right now. and like theonetruewill said, get a cheap card so it can hold you over.

Sorry for temporary threadjacking. Yes it is! w00t. Basically I had a theory(many actaully) that the VRAM's might not be getting enough power possibly due to the ridiculous oc of 1.8Ghz (up from 1.4) so I pencil modded it (VRAM only) and all seems to be working.

 

[pt]

i voted the 7900gs, but a x1950pro or gt would be a better choice

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

I'd like to say , that i bought an Club 3D Ati X1600Pro . The specifications sounds like this:

256 Mb DDRAM 3 / 128 BIT
500 Mhz core/ 1 GHZ Memory
Direct x 9.0c (shader model 3)

I've tested it in 3dmark 2003 , and 2001 SE.
Scores: 7455 '03 -1024X 768 / no AA/AF.
17123 '01 1024 X 768 no AA/AF

Now , i can play all my favourite games in 1024x768 , at maximum details , with a high FPS count.
As i said this , i'd like to suggest u all , to stop thinking at the x300. It's now in my desk.

P.S. I'm still going 4 that 8800 gts , 640 mb version. This x1600pro will be a nice present for ma' bro' ! Thank u all.
Anyway , the thread should be closed... the problems above , does not affect me anymore.

 

[hat]

Sell the x300

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

Sell the x300

This is what i'm trying 2 do right now..
It's just a little harder cause it's pci-express compatible , and all my known ppl are having agp..

Anyway , if i can't manage to sell it , it's ok , cause it's a cheap card and i wouldn't obtain to much profit from it...

 

[stone_crash_wolf]

Hello!

Guys , i would like to ask something.

Did i made a bad thing by buying this x1600 pro instead of a 6600 GT?

i've jus readed some reviews on different forums.

Most of those guys say that the 6600 GT is a better choice then the x1600 pro..

They also say , that the x1600 , has only 4 pixel pipe lines... why? Mine has 12 , instead of the 6600 GT wich has only 8..
Second thing , the x1600 pro (mine at least) has higher freq then that 6600 GT
Another thing to look at , ts the memory type , bus , and the amount.
First specs are for x1600 , second for 6600
DDRAM 3/DDRAM 2 128 BIT/128 BIT 256/128

Well , wich is better?

P.S. I forgot to ask one more thing. What can i do , to have that button 'System specs' right below my nick?

 

[Ripper3]

For system specs, go to User CP up at the top, and there should be a list of options on the left, I can't remember which it is right now, but it should be obvious, likely Edit system specs

The X1600Pro is probably much faster than the 6600GT.
The 6600GT did have GDDR3, but it's clocked lower than the X1600's. The ring bus on the X1600 effectively means it's got higher memory bandwidth, and it has 12 pipelines, while the 6600 has 8. Although I think in terms of ROPs, they've both got 8, but that's not what counts the most.
The X1600 can run games at higher detail with higher fps in nearly all the cases (although the 6600GT when overclocked, can likely keep up, or at the very least, keep up or beat it in OpenGL games like Doom 3/Quake 4/Prey)