Is THIS True About The 9800XT?!

[Boondawg]

I'm new to all of this, so don't beeatch-slap me TOO hard! :o
I'm running the Radeon 9800XT.
Newest drivers and Catalyst Control Center.

I CAN'T overclock my 9800XT using the ATITool becouse the overclocking on my card is "locked down"?! :eek:

Any way around it?
I just installed a fairly good cooling system (dropped 20 degrees from stock) and am ready to pump up some numbers! :cool:

Is it true that the 9800XT comes preatty much "overclocked", out of the box?

How can I pump up the numbers?

Thanx, guys!

[wtf8269]

I've never heard of them being locked before. Who is the maker of your card? ATI, Sapphire, Powercolor, etc?

[wazzledoozle]

Here is a little guide I made for ATITool. Will show how to get past that lock and get started.
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=2336&highlight=beginners+guide

[Boondawg]

Here is a little guide I made for ATITool. Will show how to get past that lock and get started.
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=2336&highlight=beginners+guide

1) Go to the "miscellaneous" section under the drop down menu at the top of the settings page, and check the box for "Remove Radeon 9000/9200/9550/9600 clock lock.

2)There are 2 buttons, "Find max core" and "Find max memory", let each run for 1 hour seperately, and write down what it finds as the max speed for each after an hour.

3) Create a new profile, call it "OC". Then set the speeds to what you wrote down. Then click save.

4) Go to settings>3d-detection>
-Check the box for "3d-detection enabled"
-Under "When 3d application is detected" select "OC" profile for "load profile"
-Under "When 3d application is closed" select "default" profile for "load profile"

5) Go to "Startup" in the drop down menu on top of the settings window, and put a check in the top two boxes.
-Next to the first check box, select "Default Profile"
-Next the the second check box, select "Registry key"

Now ATITool will overclock you video card whenever you play a game or do something that requires 3d.


I did check the box "remove clocklock" when I tryed it.
There are also 2 boxes checked by default, "Limit Logfile Size" & "Geometry Instancing Enabled".
Should I leave those as they are?

After I set the speeds I want, and save them, should I click the "Load" button beside of it?
And THEN go into "settings> & check the box "3D Detection enabled"?
Or do I even click that "Load" button beside the "Save" button at ANY time?
All I see in the instructions about a "Load" button is:

4) Go to settings>3d-detection>
-Check the box for "3d-detection enabled"
-Under "When 3d application is detected" select "OC" profile for "load profile"
-Under "When 3d application is closed" select "default" profile for "load profile"

Thats not the SAME "Load" button (next to the "Save" button) I'M talking about, is it?

I still have to do the OTHER steps you mentioned though!
I didn't do those!
But I Will!
Thanx!

Now what about that "LOAD" button (next to the "Save" button)? ;)

Will the new clock speeds show up in the Catalyst Control Center?
If not, how will I know I'm ACTUALLY playing under the NEW clockspeeds?

When I'm playing a game, will I have to have ATITool open & running in the background?

[wazzledoozle]

4) Go to settings>3d-detection>
-Check the box for "3d-detection enabled"
-Under "When 3d application is detected" select "OC" profile for "load profile"
-Under "When 3d application is closed" select "default" profile for "load profile"

Thats not the SAME "Load" button (next to the "Save" button) I'M talking about, is it?

It just means the drop down box for selecting the profile, has nothing to do with the load button.
:)

And yes ATITool has to be running in the background, I just set it to not show a tray icon and start with windows.

[W1zzard]

whats the exact message atitool gives you about your card being locked ?

[Phelllip]

did you tried softmodded drivers?

[W1zzard]

9800xt does not need any softmod drivers, nor does it have a clock lock .. my guess is that someone sold him a 9800se as 9800xt

[Boondawg]

No, I bought it brand new when it first came out.
The "lock" was just a rumor I heard.

I DID get it to work!
Here are my results:

Started With:
GPU Core - 419
Video Memory - 365
Temperature - 75 C

New cooler case, new Zalman VGA Cooler.

Ended With:
GPU Core - 439
Video Memory - 374
Temperature - 65 C

Conclusion:
No real noticable gaming inprovements.
When I turned back on "Temporal Anti-Aliasing" & "Alternate Pixel Center" on the videocard settings, (I know I wasn't supposed to.......) everything video fell to pieces.

I guess I'm just not willing to "dumb down" (just my opinion) my card for the near non-exsistent improvements in framerates the overclock provided.
The Radeon 9800XT seems to be preatty much "overclocked" right out of the box.

I guess I'm sticking with the stock clockspeeds.
I can't see or feel much difference in Battlefield 2, between the two "Stockclock/Overclock" settings.

You guys really helped me out on this project!
Thanx alot!

You guys are the greatest!

P.S. I'm still going to stick around and do me some learning! :cool: