X800XT PE just won't overclock

[Gremlin]

I bought my card (ATi Radeon X800XT PE) used, and it was running hot. (Initially it was 70*C idle, 90*C + full load.)
ATi Tool (0.25 Beta 10) reported the clocks were at a "default" of 500/500.

I treated it with Arctic Silver 5 and let it rest, then an Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer 5 Revision 2.
Now my clocks are back to Platinum stock, temps are decent and handle any game (Lowest idle after gaming in summer is about 34*C, max load on a hot day I've seen is 54*C) but it will not overclock past 520/560. Memory temps take longer to cool than core, is that normal with an AC silencer?

Now after all the TLC I gave it, it crashes (system hangs, screen freezes then eventually resets) if I give it any degree of overclock over Platinum speeds. The latest version of ATi Tool (0.25 Beta 13) is actually giving me error reports after crashing saying "overclock too high: last stable was 524/560"

I'm using "lower overclock, more artifacts detected" method, "use old (more compatible?) scanning method", and 100% fan speed....... HELP?

 

[Gremlin]

BTW it's an AGP card, and anything above 5Mhz overclock on core or memory appears unstable.

 

[mtosev]

My Sapphire X800 XT PE AGP with Zalman VF700-Cu also doesn't OC very well. 560/571


Alot of X800 XT/XT PE cards OC very badly.

 

[Thermopylae_480]

Unfortunate. I'm pretty sure that the X800 XT PE, use 1.6ns memory. You should be able to overclock it more than just 550. I got my memory up to 611MHz and its 1.6ns Hynix.

 

[Gremlin]

Yeah, I've seen some great results for the same card, especially when combined with good cooling. So is my card fried, or is there a step i've missed with ATi Tool? And why does ATi Tool report 500/500 as the card's default?

 

[trog100]

PE.. cards are tweaked normal cards out of the box.. i dont think the x800 uses the same memory as the x850 so it wont clock so high..

what i see is normal for an x800 card.. the PE bit just means it comes clocked higher out of the box.. which leaves less room for aditional overclocking.. u are a bit unlucky praps and have a chip near the bottom end speed wise..they aint all exactly the same..

trog

ps.. u could try a different clocking tool.. for some wierd reason atitool might be giving low clock speed readings.. not likely but u never know..

 

[zekrahminator]

I bought my card (ATi Radeon X800XT PE) used, and it was running hot. (Initially it was 70*C idle, 90*C + full load.)
ATi Tool (0.25 Beta 10) reported the clocks were at a "default" of 500/500.

I treated it with Arctic Silver 5 and let it rest, then an Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer 5 Revision 2.
Now my clocks are back to Platinum stock, temps are decent and handle any game (Lowest idle after gaming in summer is about 34*C, max load on a hot day I've seen is 54*C) but it will not overclock past 520/560. Memory temps take longer to cool than core, is that normal with an AC silencer?

Now after all the TLC I gave it, it crashes (system hangs, screen freezes then eventually resets) if I give it any degree of overclock over Platinum speeds. The latest version of ATi Tool (0.25 Beta 13) is actually giving me error reports after crashing saying "overclock too high: last stable was 524/560"

I'm using "lower overclock, more artifacts detected" method, "use old (more compatible?) scanning method", and 100% fan speed....... HELP?

ha ha from what I can tell, you just can't overclock any higher then that. still, 20 mhz core and 60mhz memory is a pretty good overclock. The reason you cant overclock any higher is because its at its highest limits as it is. If you want to blame anything, blame youre case cooling. if you REALLY want to overclock any more, either go with water cooling or stick a 120mm fan LITERALLY right next to your card. if you want to stop the random crashes, clock it down! you're only shortening you're cards active life. hope I helped...

 

[Gremlin]

ha ha from what I can tell, you just can't overclock any higher then that. still, 20 mhz core and 60mhz memory is a pretty good overclock.

I see my predicament amuses you.
FYI, the overclock to 520/560 is factory standard overclock, out of the box speed for Platinum Edition. The card is not at it's limit, despite being a Platinum Edition, I have seen plenty of PE's overclocked to 600+

If you want to blame anything, blame youre case cooling. if you REALLY want to overclock any more, either go with water cooling or stick a 120mm fan LITERALLY right next to your card.

My case cooling is more than adequate:
120mm intake
120mm exhaust
Zalman CNPS 9500 cpu cooler blowing toward the back exhaust.
120mm PSU fan
80mm side fan blowing on ram
92mm highspeed fan on Zalman bracket blowing over the aluminium backplate of the AC Silencer (LITERALLY right next to my card!)
And of course the Arctic Cooling ATi SIlencer, which blows the card's hot air out the back of the case.
All case fans (and CPU fan) are linked to a Zalman fan controller, PSU fan has control knob.

hope I helped...

Your reply did not help one bit.

 

[65tweet]

I bought my card (ATi Radeon X800XT PE) used, and it was running hot. (Initially it was 70*C idle, 90*C + full load.)
ATi Tool (0.25 Beta 10) reported the clocks were at a "default" of 500/500.

500/500 are XT speeds. XT PE default speeds are 520/560 so your card is not a PE if it runs slower.

You may have a flashed pro or a XT. Given your temps with stock cooling it seems likely your card is a flashed pro. That said though not all XT's go to platnum speeds either. The only other thing I can think of if your card is a true XT PE is the previous owner damaged it and modded the bios to a slower stable speed. In any case you didn’t get what you paid for. Unless you got a great deal (for an XT non PE) get your money back. There are other options out there.

Overclock:
As far as the overclocking of the memory goes the GPU is the biggest factor here. The memory controller is on the GPU and may not handle the higher speeds. My X800 has 1.6 memory, however artifacts start at 540. There are cards out there with 2.0 memory that clock past 560 without any problems. It’s luck of the draw in the overclock department. Your clocks aren't the greatest but they’re not bad either (for non PE).

 

[trog100]

what 65tweet says makes sense.. its either been damaged or it aint what u think it is..

trog

 

[Gremlin]

It's a genuine PE. The stickers, codes on the core and ram, and various programs all identify it as a Platinum Edition.

The only other thing I can think of if your card is a true XT PE is the previous owner damaged it and modded the bios to a slower stable speed. In any case you didn’t get what you paid for. Unless you got a great deal (for an XT non PE) get your money back. There are other options out there.

Since it was running that hot when I got it, that's the most likely explanation. I got it for a bargain, but the seller is going to receive a long complaint email from me. Not being a commercial retailer, I've got buckley's of getting a refund. At least it runs at platinum speeds, but cannot feed my overclocking hunger
Time to go tweak my old 9600XT with some water cooling.

BTW, how would I go about editing the bios to give it default speeds of 520/560 instead of loading them thru ATi Tool at startup? Would I just reflash it with the X800XT PE bios?

 

[65tweet]

It's a genuine PE. The stickers, codes on the core and ram, and various programs all identify it as a Platinum Edition.

My X800 pro came with 1.6 memory and when I flashed it to X800 XT PE everything recognized it as such. The core can't tell you anything other than what chip it is. PRO's, XT and XT PE all use the same chip. As far as stickers go they can be changed. I can’t say what the history of your card is but I just want you to understand that if the default speeds are not 520/560 then it's not an XT PE. There is no exception to this. Once flashed the only difference between my card and a true XT PE when I bought it was $250-$300 and that little removable sticker. I’m glad you got a bargain though. Have you looked to see what your voltages are at? Because it was running so hot it may have been volt modded. If I were you I’d find out ASAP. Knowing this may tell you how good a deal you really got. If it’s not modded then with a little “pencil work” it may go far.

 

[Gremlin]

Where do I see where my volts are at?
I might go the pencil mod when the time for an update looms, otherwise, too risky.

I may as well throw in some other settings just in case they mean something:
ATi Tool reports:

16 pipelines active

Mem settings:
MEM_TRCDRD: 7
MEM_TRCDWR: 4
MEM_TRP: 5
MEM_TRAS: 14
MEM_TRRD: 5
MEM_TWR: 7
MEM_TW2W: CL+3
MEM_TW2R: 3
MEM_TW2R_SAME_BANK: use TWR rule
MEM_TR2R: 2
MEM_WR_LATENCY: 1.5
MEM CAS_LATENCY: 7
MEM_CMD_LATENCY: 0
MEM_STR_LATENCY: WR Latency
MEM_REFRESH RATE: 0x1E
MEM_TRFC: 27

**EDIT** original seller writes back immediately;
"Sorry, I made you aware that the card was running hot when I sold it to you. I neglected to tell you I modified the BIOS clocks with Rabit to 500/500 so that the card would run cooler. It is a true Platinum Edition, rest assured"

Yeah right, as if I'm going to believe this guy now.

"If you can prove the card has no overclocking ability left in it due to neglect, I will see if I can locate an equivalent card from a freind and we can trade, but I will not refund"

I email him again to find what he means by "equivalent" Aparently anything that will run at Platinum speeds or better (ie modded X800 pro or a 6800 Ultra) phhht yeah right.

 

[65tweet]

Read here for voltage: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=2184

4a50 is found in the cards bios to let your computer and drivers know what card it is. I don't remember what each code is anymore. This, your memory timings and every other bit of information can be changed by flashing your bios or editing it. AFAIK the only things that are absolute are the amount of pipes and the clocks the card is running at. There is nothing unchangeable that I know of other than some pro's came with 2.0 ram.

 

[65tweet]

I’m curious to see what your voltages are at. Let me know if you find out. Do keep in mind that some XT PE’s I’ve read about didn’t overclock well. Yours may be one, albeit with a “modified” bios.

 

[Gremlin]

It may take me some time because;
a) I don't own a multimeter yet
b) I don't like screwing with my pc with the power on
c) It would require removing the Arctic Cooling heatsink/fan and probably putting the old cooler back on

One thing I will be doing is reflashing the bios with the platinum timings, I know it can run these 24/7 without a hiccup. (already 3Dmark'd the hell out of it and played many hours of modern games)

 

[65tweet]

I'm pretty sure you can see the resistor that gets penciled for the GPU volt mod with the artic cooler on. Look close at it maybe with a magnifying glass to see it there are any pencil/ solder marks. You may be able to see the others too. This will give you a clue if it has been messed with. Good luck with your card.