problem during Sapphire x1800xt 512 bios flashing

[kenjin]

hello all,
i just bought a spphire x1800xt 512mb card, and decide to flash it to PE version since many people stated that is a great boost instead of doing the overclocking..

but after i downloaded the x1800xt PE bios from Techpowerup ATI bios collection page, at first i used the flashrom.exe instead. but it seems didn't work with x1800 seriese as it wont detect the video card..

then i tried to used it with ATIflash.exe 3.09, now the problem begin.. after i typing in the command and hitting enter, my screen start becoming flickering.. all those white green blue lines all over the screen and messing up the dos text , because of that i dont know if the flash was sucess or not( i didn't hear a beep sound as i normaly will when i flash my x800gto to x800xt). then i reboot the pc and everyting go back to normal.

once i log in the window i try to check my video card version by entering catalys control center , but it still state as ATI x1800 series.. dosn't says XT PE... ( im not sure if it suppose to says that or not)

i try to load up ATI 0.25 beta 14 but it only detects the 2d mode speed which is at 600/700. (and yes i disable the ATI hot key and ATI smart service in msconfig)

so i decide to use ATIwinflash to find out.

when i use ATI winflash with the PE bios, it says this bio already install.. BUT when i try to flash to my old bios it says the samething.. this bio already install!!!. i tried to download the regular x1800xt 512mb bio from techpowerup and trying to flash to that one, it still says the samething this bio already install.

so to you expert out there how do i find out if my flashing was sucess or not? do you guys think i should manualy overclock this card instead of flashing? would there be any differents from flashing to PE?

thanks for reading this long post and sorry for my poor english.

 

[kenjin]

ok i just redo the flashing with ATIflash.exe.

i flash it back to my original saved bios and the bio p/n is 113-A52001-102 while the new x1800xt PE bio p/n is 113-A5200A-103

so i guess my bio flash was sucess( i assume?) now my ATI tool still shows my clock speed at 600/700 with 2d default even with ATI hot key and AT smart program disable in msconfig..

anyone would be able to tell me how do i make it show as 3d clock speed instead of 2d?

and for the voltage original is 1.275 should i raise it up a little ? or leaving it at default would be ok?

 

[MIP_1983]

You could download systool here:

http://www.techpowerup.com/systool/

click the hardware monitoring thing and you'll see it draws a graph of whatever you've got selected, e.g. GPU clock speed.

You should see min and max speeds at the bottom. I guess it should hit 700mhz core if it's an XT PE.

 

[kenjin]

well heres the Screen shot i took... i guess it didn't flash? what could be wrong? dose it have anything to do with ATI driver? when i first install this card i had the new 6.4 ccc driver preinstall ( had x800gto) but after i install the video card 6.4ccc had problem for when booting into window ( i get weird screens before go into window then become normal again) .



right now im only able to use the ATIwinflash i download from the Sappire site to check my bios, when i use the ATIwinflash.exe from Techpowerup, my screen froze up and monitor gose black , i have to reboot to fix that....

 

[MIP_1983]

Sorry, wasn't too clear there. Use that systool as you are, but run a full screen 3d App, 3d mark or a game or somthing, then go back n look at that graph.

 

[kenjin]

once i load into game it says min core 594. max core 695.25mhz memory min693/max 792

i assume it is flashed to XT PE? if it is.. do you think if i can tweak a little bit more out of it? should i modify my stock voltage at all with Stock cooling?

Edit: thx for all your help by the way

 

[MIP_1983]

If its doing that without you having set anything else overclocking wise like ati tool or overdrive, then yes its working.

You can then try overdrive in CCC or ati tool to try n overclock it further.

 

[b1lk1]

My card also has massive graphics corruption in DOS. My startup splash screen is unreadable and when I flash it makes all that mess you saw. My card has never been detected as PE and I never cared. Being detected as a PE is meaningless. You must also do all your overclocking in ATITOOL now. The problem you have is that ATITOOL is reading your 2D clocks. These cards run 2D and 3D modes. You will certainly need to raise the voltage on the GPU to run 3D. I am not exactly sure what you will need to raise it to, but for me my card runs 1.25V in 2D and 1.4V in 3D. 1.4V gets me a nice mild OC and your card will probably clock better with lower voltage than mine. Make certain you save your new profile. Also, be sure to do this. Click Properties. Make sure the box for Clock Speeds AND Voltage are checked as well as Fan settings.

After you find a good voltage/clock setting, you need to do this. In ATITOOL, click Settings>Startup and set it to load on Windows Startup via Registry Key. This will enable it when you start up without you having to manually do it every time. Now, click Settings>3D-Detection. Under "When 3D application is detected" check off Load Profile and make sure it is listing your custon profile you created. Under "When 3D application is closed" check load profile and set it to default. That will put it in 2D mode automatically.

I don't know what cooler you run, but the stock cooler kicks ass, it is just LOUD!!!!!!! I set my fan to run 60% all the time and it is a good setting for sound VS cooling. My idle temps stay around 40C and it loads around 60C. These cards are good for 80C+ so I am happy with it myself.

 

[kenjin]

do i start overclock in ATITOOL with 2D default speed? or i would need to start by 3d speed?

Edit: how did you get your card run around 40 with out game 60 when load up??? i set mine to 86% at 0c 91% at 55c 100% at 70c. and the average i get is around 48-51 when nothing loads...

i have stock cooling as well with total of 2 case fan in back 2 in front , 1 on top and 1 slot fan next to video card ( no side fan due to case design )

 

[b1lk1]

I have a heavily modified case and I keep a 120MM fan blowing into the rear of the stock heatsink/fan. As for overclocking, first raise the VGPU to about 1.35 or so and turn up the clocks. You will only get up to stock clocks at best (625/700) with stock VGPU. I run 1.4V for 650/775 and 1.45V for 705/805. I am getting a stronger fan soon and am going to push for 725+ on the core very soon. You will almost definitely need to mod your case for better airflow. I have at least 100 hours into modding my case. I am a chepass so I bought an old Aopen server case to modify for my needs. Paid $10 for it.

Before:

After:


Either buy a nice expensive case and get some good airflow, or mod your present case.

 

[kenjin]

wow that so hot , how did you manage to put that 120mm fan on the side ? did you use any screw? or you just tape that thing?

btw i follow your method and bring my vgpu to 1.375v and i was only able clock up to 639 core 750 memory before screen froze up.

 

[b1lk1]

You will almost certainly need 1.4VGPU+ to get it to clock higher. 1.45VGPU didn't cause any heat issues for me and got me to 705 core. The fan is just sitting there actually in that pic. I have it set up slightly different right now, but it is still just laid in there.

 

[kenjin]

btw dump question.. isn't after flashing to XT PE version would be 700 core 800 memory already? if i overclock why cant it be 700+ instead of clocking 2D speed from 600mhz core and 700mhz memory?

 

[b1lk1]

Because manually overclocking with ATITOOL uses the default 2D settings not the 3D settings. You are better off this way anyways. You need to find the right voltage/clock combination for 700/800 to run properly.

 

[kenjin]

Ohhhhh i see i get your point now.. atm i set my Voltage at 1.4 , and Oc up to 702 core 792 memory.

kinda scare to set it to 1.45 dont really want to increase it by too much since i dont got the kind of cooling like you do.

so far my highest 3dmark 05 score are 9556.. i wonder if thats low for my system spec

system spec are
AMD 64bit 3500 OC at 2.4ghz
Epox 9npa Nforce4 ultra Mother board
OCZ DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Platinum 1gb x2
sapphire x1800 XT 512mb (flash PE ) 702 core 792 memory
2x160 hitachi SATA hard drive Raid 7200 rpm 1.5gbs with 8mb cache
1x Western digital 250gb sata 7200rpm 3.0gbs 16mb cache
ASPIRE ATX-AS520W SILVER ATX 520W Power Supply

 

[b1lk1]

That sounds quite good for your specs. I had to push my system very hard to get 10.5K. Just use ATITOOL to turn up the fan to 100% and you'll be fine to use 1.45V for benchmarking. 702 core on 1.4V is very good as well.

 

[kenjin]

thanks for all your help !

 

[kenjin]

After looking at your mode case with side fan standing there , i decide to mode my own case as well, heres the picture of it. it helps alot drop the video card temp down to 42-44 with no game loading, with game loading havent got higher then 66 yet. my ATI tool fan speed is running at 60% nice and quiet

this is the outside view of the pic shows the fan facing the CPU and sucking all the hot air out from the case. ( you can tell the plastic glasses got cut up in a circle)

this is the pic of the same fan from looking inside out

bottom fan facing my new video card and is blowing the cool air right on the video card to cool it down

this is the same fan looking inside out ( you can see the cut up metals hehe)

heres the Full view of both fan from outside

I was thinking to put a 120mm fan on the bottom to facing the video card but those metals are just too hard to cut it up so i put on a 80mm instead and it works well