Real problems Pro to XT from Sapphire 9800 256mb

[AMDCam]

Hey, I would like to know if anyone is having the same problem with me flashing a 9800Pro 256mb from Sapphire to an XT BIOS. I am really tired of this, I've tried 4 different BIOS's and 3 different Flash programs, and every time it's the same thing, crazy screen. My card was one of the first to be known as able to be an XT, so why can't I do it when everyone else can?

If this never works for me and I have to keep the Pro BIOS, if it gets corrupted is it 100% that it will be noticable? Because I accidentally ...started... overwriting my BIOS with the XT because I hit the wrong button, but only for about a second, I don't even know if it initialized. The only thing is, everything runs right, except all Steam games. I turned all my hardware down to stock speeds, but after about 10 minutes EVERY time CS:S and HL2 just freeze for no reason. I always had problems with games when I overclocked, but that was with RAM problems, now it just freezes and doesn't say anything is wrong. Thanks

 

[Rags]

Make sure you are doing the flash at a boot-up dos prompt. You cannot do the flash while in XP to my knowledge. Next make sure you are flashing the same make and type of ram; i.e. samsung, hynix, etc. Lastly, use the Riva tool to examine the bios detail. I found that some XT bios' were actually from 9600 chipsets not 9800.

One error I made was that the samsung bios I first used was something called E type which was not the same as the samsung in my card. My screen when completely nuts when I used the wrong memory bios.

Try here for a bios listing: http://www.rojakpot.com/(r3u3h1551nrhtz554rbj4r55)/default.aspx?location=3&var1=92&var2=0

or http://www.mvktech.net/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=26&func=selectfolder&filecatid=1

 

[AMDCam]

Alright cool, but the link you gave me, does anyone notice the BIOS's are all in ROM form? I can't use it unless it's in .bin form I thought. Thanks

 

[15th Warlock]

What kind of cooling do you use to get that 9800 to more than 100Mhz over XT spec clocks? (515/460 vs 412/365???)

 

[AMDCam]

What kind of cooling do you use to get that 9800 to more than 100Mhz over XT spec clocks? (515/460 vs 412/365???)

Well it's really a hopeful spec, it's a zalman 700cu with ram heatsinks, and I don't have it yet, so I'm relying off what other people say they've done with that cooler. Some people say they've gotten 515 and 460, and I've got all the cooling I can get without converting to water. And I've overclocked REALLY high even with stock cooling, up to 425/400. I know the core seems high, and I know that RAM can probably only get to 440, but I got high hopes

 

[AMDCam]

This is really what I can't figure out, THIS IS MY EXACT CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's the only one they tested on your rojakpot site, which is why I keep trying to Flash it, because I know it's possible

http://www.rojakpot.com/(r3u3h1551nrhtz554rbj4r55)/default.aspx?location=3&var1=92&var2=0

Only difference I see is, his heatsink has that aluminum case over the fan and mine has the stock 9800 pro fan. And I did buy this card very recently, plus that review was when the card was first released, so I don't know why mine wouldn't have an R360 core. By the way, how do I find out I have one, because I thought knowing it was Hynix, the same as the one on the website, and had 8 instead of 16 RAM that it would be the same, but that aluminum is throwing me off.

 

[Mad-Matt]

Take off the heatsink, and youll see written on the core if its an R350 or R360.

 

[15th Warlock]

The only way to be sure is to remove the heatsink check the core yourself.
Btw, sorry to dissapoint you but there's no way you'll get 515 Mhz from your core with the zalman, you may get close to 500 Mhz if you use liquid nitrogen and a great deal of voltmodding.
And pushing the RAM to 460 Mhz will only get you massive artifacts, unless, again you use extreme voltmodding and some extreme cooling as well...

 

[Rags]

Alright cool, but the link you gave me, does anyone notice the BIOS's are all in ROM form? I can't use it unless it's in .bin form I thought. Thanks

I used "flashrom -f -p 0 newbios.rom" but I have heard you can also use "atiflash -f -p 0 newbios.rom". BTW I thought the same as you but it worked fine using a rom bios on a card that saved the bios to a bin extension file format.

Also, some of the erroneous 9800xt bios' I found were from 9600xt cards and showed rates of 500 core. These bios' showed there true origins when I ran Rabit on them. I strongly suggest you take a look at the bios before flashing.

Good luck.

 

[AMDCam]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have 2 more questions and that's it. First of all, I can still overclock it after I flash to XT right? I'm probably asking something stupid, but I'm just curious.
Second of all, is it just recommended that I need a new heatsink with the flash, or manditory because of initial heat? I still have the stock cooler, but I have overclocked it past XT speeds and it still runs perfect (421/391).

 

[AMDCam]

Oh 15th warlock, this is gonna sound stupid to you but I just put 4 fans pointed directly into my 2 GPU cooling case fans which are pointed directly towards my Graphics card heatsink, all drawing air from my window and from the air conditioner (AC isn't working great at the moment, that's why I use window), and lol, I accidentally overclocked my core to 515 (seriously, accidentally) and it was stable for as long as I had it on, and that is with STOCK COOLING! I only had it on for about a minute before I realized what I clocked it to (I was just looking around the menu in my overclocking application when I realized), but it was STABLE. Most of the time overclocking that high the system restarts, but this ran stable. I know there are many factors that caused it but just wanted to let you know. And on page 1 I got another reply, sorry about the double post, just didn't want to draw attention away from the questions.

 

[15th Warlock]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have 2 more questions and that's it. First of all, I can still overclock it after I flash to XT right? I'm probably asking something stupid, but I'm just curious.
Second of all, is it just recommended that I need a new heatsink with the flash, or manditory because of initial heat? I still have the stock cooler, but I have overclocked it past XT speeds and it still runs perfect (421/391).

Sure, you can OC the hell out of it after you flash it, just like you do with your current BIOS.
About the heatsink, that's more a question of how long do you wan't your card to last, my video card could easily OC to 435 MHz using Atitool and the stock cooler, but remember that by doing that, you're effectively reducing the life of your core. An aftermarket heatsink will keep your card at lower than stock temps, even after flashing it, so, by getting one, you're paying for peace of mind, if there is such a thing. Remember that after flashing your card will be at XT clocks 24/7 (or even higher if you want to OC it more)
One thing is for certain, the Pro stock cooler isn't good enough for keeping the card at XT clocks, 24/7, unless you only plan to use your card for, let's say, six months?
About your core being stable at 515 Mhz, well, that depends on your definition of stability, to most ppl, it means you can perform several runs in 3dMark, and play several hours of your favorite games without artifacts, but if I was you, i wouldn't try to test your card at 515 Mhz and stock cooling in any kind of 3D enviroment.
Good luck with the XT flash

 

[AMDCam]

This is wierd, I thought I posted to you on this warlock. I was looking at your 3dmark scores, and from 3Dmark 03 I've got 1000 less points than you. The only thing I see is you have your XT BIOS and you've overclocked your processor, which I can't do until my good RAM gets here. Is a 300mhz cpu overclock really going to give you 1000 extra points? Or did you run it 3 times, because I only do mine once in a row, I hate waiting. Here's the comparison link:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=3704977

 

[15th Warlock]

This is wierd, I thought I posted to you on this warlock. I was looking at your 3dmark scores, and from 3Dmark 03 I've got 1000 less points than you. The only thing I see is you have your XT BIOS and you've overclocked your processor, which I can't do until my good RAM gets here. Is a 300mhz cpu overclock really going to give you 1000 extra points? Or did you run it 3 times, because I only do mine once in a row, I hate waiting. Here's the comparison link:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=3704977

AMD, the URL you're using for comparison is my URL, I cannot compare my system to yours unless you post your own URL
About our score, well, there are so many factors that have an influence on the 3dMark score, like memory timings, the chipset in your mobo, what kind of processor you have, and so on.
It's impossible to make a direct comparison between your proc and mine, as yours is an Athlon, but your athlon at real 2700 Mhz should be much faster than my P4 at 2800 or even 3100 Mhz.
The XT BIOS should make a difference too, I got like 500 more marks just by flashing my card's Bios, and I checked using the same clocks before and after the flash, but that alone cannot justify a difference of 1000 points.
What clocks did you use on your videocard for testing? maybe my clocks were higher. Btw, I only ran the test once, I also hate to wait about 20 mins everytime I use 3dMark03