Sapphire X800 GTO 512MB - Or Not?

[phobes]

Okay, so I'm having an issue with my computer locking up during any kind of 3D application (Vista Aero included). I've search high and low, here and abroad, and cannot verify that my video card even EXISTS!

Here is all of the information I could possibly give you about it; I simply want to update the card with the newest BIOS. Either Stock or Non-Stock are fine.

ATITool
http://lolknoob.com/tech/ATITool.jpg

WinFlash
http://lolknoob.com/tech/WinFlash.jpg

Everest
http://lolknoob.com/tech/Everest.jpg

CCC
http://lolknoob.com/tech/CCC.jpg

I am not trying to get support for the actual issue I'm having with this card, I'm just trying to get the latest and greatest BIOS.

Thanks in advance to all who reply :D

[Kursah]

Well it looks like you may be able to unlock it to an XT/XT PE of an 800/850 series...that may or may not help your cause. Check the x800 Unlocking/Mod thread in this section of the forum, you may find what you're looking for!

:toast:

[phobes]

I just read all 120(?) posts in that thread, but I only saw 2 posts describing the same card I have.

I'm not really trying to unlock/mod the card, I just need to know if there is a newer BIOS I can flash it with =)

I've checked Sapphire's website, which provides utilities to flash your card, but for whatever reason doesn't supply the BIOS itself :(

[Kursah]

I wonder if that card has already been modded, unless you've had it since new...
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/127

This pretty much states that the GTO's and GTO2's come with 12 pipes, but the 4th quad of pipes is only disabled via bios. What temps is your card at? What version of drivers are you using? How long has this issue been happening, since you installed Vista or just recently after using Vista for a while?

[Kursah]

By Typing this in Google Search: Sapphire x800 GTO freezing in Vista

I stumbled upon a few complaints similar to yours, and it comes down to drivers, Power Supply, or Vista itself from what I breifly read. I used Vista for about 6 months, got sick of it, I'm back on XP and happy with it.

Could you please fill out your System Specs (click UserCP link, check the box to display it), I think we need more info than just your vid card and OS.

[phobes]

System specs are done. The video card in question is my brother's, it's not reflected in my system specs.

I've tried good ole' Google, with little to no success. This issue is happening in both XP Pro SP2 and Vista Ultimate x64. It's intermittent; it can happen after 1 minute, or it can happen after 10 hours.

I'm not sure if drivers or PSU would be the culprit as my current PSU can most definitely handle the load, and I've tried several different version of the Catalyst drivers, with and without the control center, as well as a few different Omega driver versions.

In short: I'm Lost!

Forgot to add, I bought this card brand spanking new and haven't modded it at all :/

Agh, my idle temp is 50-52 degrees, under full load about 62-65

[Kursah]

You've hooked up your Roswill in his system to verify? Or just hooked up that card to your system?

The temps are kinda warm, but around norms for an OE cooler, getting an aftermarket cooler would do some good if planning on OC-ing.

Can you give me your bro's system specs then? What settings are set in bios?

[phobes]

He's running my old computer, everything is running stock speeds:

P4 631 w/Stock HSF
512x2 DDR2 533
Antec 500W PSU (Can't remember the model, should be enough no?)
Gigabyte Mobo (I'll have to get you the model)
WD 80GB HDD

Just a typical AMD Gaming machine, nothing special, but I designed it so that it didn't have much of a bottleneck between the RAM/CPU/GPU.

I currently have his card in my computer. I was playing Team Fortress 2 since my first post, and it just now locked my PC up :(

[Kursah]

Hmmm...what are all the versions of drivers you've tried?
I know my x850xt pe performed best with the 6.9-6.12's, and it does ok up to about 7.2's, beyond that AMD's drivers weren't anything special until 7.7's. And I don't think 6.xx drivers function in Vista, there may be beta's or something, but I do know that 7.x do function in Vista. Download ATI Tool and run Artifact Scanner for a while or until it freezes, start a timer or just remember what time you started it just in case it resets the ATI Tool timer due to an artifact. It could be hardware failure, and the product may need RMA'd.

When providing power via the PCI-e 6-pin, does it have it's own power cable or is it sharing? I know when I used my x850 xt pe agp, I noticed some issues when sharing power, but as soon as I gave it a dedicated cable, not only was it more stable, but I was able to OC it further too.

[Random Murderer]

Well it looks like you may be able to unlock it to an XT/XT PE of an 800/850 series...that may or may not help your cause. Check the x800 Unlocking/Mod thread in this section of the forum, you may find what you're looking for!

:toast:

that's impossible, even if the fuse data matches. it appears his card uses gddr2, so flashing to anything other than a bios specifically designed for his card will kill it for sure.

[phobes]

It does use GDDR2, for sure, and that's 50% of the reason I decided to post my questions instead of diving in. The other 50% was the fact that this video card is (seemingly) so rare.

So far it seems that there's nothing out there that will help. While I hope this isn't the case, I've come to a realization that that may just be the way it is.