Volt Modification for 3870

[asb2106]

This is 2 hard-mods of the sapphire 3870 toxic.

I got all my instructions and guidance from TPU Users(Thanks Dr. Spankenstein!)

I just completed the mod, I have verified that the cards work, and I am bleeding the bubbles out of the water loop now. When that is complete I will post results as they come!

This is where I soldiered the lead, I connected the negative to a screw. be sure to use the green point!
http://img.techpowerup.org/080414/IMG_2001e.jpg

This is the first card, all modded!
http://img.techpowerup.org/080412/card 1 complete.jpg

Second card......
http://img.techpowerup.org/080412/Card 2 complete.jpg

And both installed....
http://img.techpowerup.org/080412/both cards installed.jpg

I have been working on this for along time and I am starving! So im going to eat now, and Ill be back in about an hour :)

[erocker]

Uh oh! Someone is using the exact cards that I use and posted a v mod about it! Tomorrow I finish up my 8800GTS vmod, looks like these are next!: I think mine run cool enough to get 1000 gpu on air. We'll see!:D Thanks man, awesome job!:toast:

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Unflinchingly took to modding those puppies! :rockout:

Great work!

Just remember to check the volts while it's booting to Windows. That will give you the 3D readings. If they are too high, you can POWER OFF quickly.

[intel igent]

oooooooh! oooooooooooh!

thnx for the pix asb ;)

stupid question; what did you use to solder the wires?

is there a guide posted on how to do the mod or was it just correspondance?

cant wait to see what you get out of those suckers ;)

@ dR.s : good tip on checking the volts

:toast:

[asb2106]

hey guys, question...

The ground, I used a screw for the water block, do you think I will have any troubles with this??

Before I move it back to my desk, I want to make sure that its all ready to go....
what u think??

[asb2106]

oooooooh! oooooooooooh!

thnx for the pix asb ;)

stupid question; what did you use to solder the wires?

is there a guide posted on how to do the mod or was it just correspondance?

cant wait to see what you get out of those suckers ;)

@ dR.s : good tip on checking the volts

:toast:

I just got a new solder iron today, I got a battery operated one, didnt really work well. So I used the old fashion hot iron and burned myself a few times(worth it)!

Im not sure of the gauge of the solder, it came with the new gun. It was alittle thick, but I managed.

[Dr. Spankenstein]

YHPM!

@ intel agent,

I used a common silver solder from radio shack. It was a pretty fine gauge.

[intel igent]

id like to know the actual tool, ive got a couple of weller pistol style irons (with trigger + lights) but theres NO way id attempt a mod with them

:toast:

[Dr. Spankenstein]

The iron I used was the stock honkin' 35W ones @ Radio Shack. I enlisted the helping hands:

http://img.techpowerup.org/080412/_blog_FH1ENFKOECEQHO9VCN_medium.jpg

[asb2106]

ok, after doing multiple tests, the mod has not affected the card at all.

Just incase the ground I used was bad, I grounded directly to the PCIe power, still nothing.

So if anyone has any ideas as to where I have to solder the lead to, please let me know!

Im going to be now, and Ill be up in the AM to do it again.... please any ideas! HELP

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Don't kill me, but it supposed to be the pad one below the one I marked.

The pic I sent you with the green points marking all optional solder points is an exact match to your board.
This just sucks. I complely apologize. I was at work when I was responding and should have double checked. :(

p.s. Maybe we should have started a thread. Then someone might have caught my mistake before you acted upon it.
Good news is that there could be no damage from this. We just bridged two grounds. I sent you a PM with the updated info.

[asb2106]

Don't kill me, but it supposed to be the pad one below the one I marked.

The pic I sent you with the green points marking all optional solder points is an exact match to your board.
This just sucks. I complely apologize. I was at work when I was responding and should have double checked. :(

p.s. Maybe we should have started a thread. Then someone might have caught my mistake before you acted upon it.
Good news is that there could be no damage from this. We just bridged two grounds. I sent you a PM with the updated info.

Its ok, I made my solders very small and clean, I can easily remove it and move to the other. Its funny.... I was gonna ask if it was the lower point...... I should have. I just figured they all would work. Ahh well, Im gonna work on it later today, I have to do some stuff for my ma now. But soon I will get that fixed, shouldnt be hard.

[Dr. Spankenstein]

You can verify yourself with your DMM. A good solder point to ground should read around 5.1k ohms.

Thanks for being understanding about my mistake.

Now that you got that first round under your belt, this should be a cake-walk!

[asb2106]

You can verify yourself with your DMM. A good solder point to ground should read around 5.1k ohms.

Thanks for being understanding about my mistake.

Now that you got that first round under your belt, this should be a cake-walk!

it was much easier, I just got around to doing it. But heres the problem.

I took the first solder off, and checked the card, just to make sure it worked. And it did.

So I soldered the new point, made a perfect connection, but now when I go to check the card it wont boot, so I took off the ground, and tested it, worked fine.

Could it be the resistance is too high and not letting the card boot? I test the voltage on the card and it wont give me any reading, I thought if it was too high that it would just be a real low voltage, and it would not boot, but it show no voltage. When I take off the ground on the mod it fires right back up at the regular voltage.

Hmmm. Any ideas???

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Other than the center leg of the pot should be connected to the ground?:o

*edit* I'm sorry, I'm just messin' wit ya!

Honestly, I don't know why you would be experiencing this short of there being a break in the connection somewhere.

so you're saying, it the mod is attached, the system won't boot?

Did anything besides the single solder point switch?

[Dr. Spankenstein]

It could also be that it is actually at 0 ohm resistance and the cards proctective circuitry is trying to protect it.
Were we sure it was at it's MAX resistance reading between the two legs that you used currently?
Did you potentially do any twisting of the pot when you had it installed last time?

[MadCow]

With my X1950 PRO, it won't boot if you go low enough on the resistance. Did you use the right pot?

[asb2106]

With my X1950 PRO, it won't boot if you go low enough on the resistance. Did you use the right pot?

Yah, I used the right pot,

my thoughts are that the resistance is too high and it doesnt have enough voltage. Could this be??

I checked my solders again, and they are perfect and clean. hmm. I didnt get enough time to play with it last night, but tonight I plan to spend quite some time on it

[asb2106]

It could also be that it is actually at 0 ohm resistance and the cards proctective circuitry is trying to protect it.
Were we sure it was at it's MAX resistance reading between the two legs that you used currently?
Did you potentially do any twisting of the pot when you had it installed last time?

I disconnected the ground and checked the resistance on the pot. It was at the max resistance that the pot would allow me to get to

When I tested resistance on the pot with it connected it would shoot all the way past 0. The same reading that I would get if I touched the leads together. But I disconnect the ground and it reads correctly.

Could it be that I just have the resistance too high?

Other than the center leg of the pot should be connected to the ground?:o

*edit* I'm sorry, I'm just messin' wit ya!

Honestly, I don't know why you would be experiencing this short of there being a break in the connection somewhere.

so you're saying, it the mod is attached, the system won't boot?

Did anything besides the single solder point switch?

Im pretty sure that the ground is connected to the middle post. Is that necessary?

[asb2106]

Here are my solder points. I am positive the solders are clean and not touching anything else.

Im stumped here, any ideas as to why? Im still hoping that its just a matter of the resistance being to high, but that would just be too easy for me

http://img.techpowerup.org/080414/IMG_2001e.jpg

[Dr. Spankenstein]

I disconnected the ground and checked the resistance on the pot. It was at the max resistance that the pot would allow me to get to.

This comment is very telling in in itself. I don't think you would be able to get the same resistance reading you did BEFORE you connected it to the board. You are now in the board's circuit. For example, I just took a resistance reading on the legs of my connected pot and I get readings of 4.3k ohms. This is in agreement with the default resistance of 5.1k ohm for that trace. If I disengage the mod. Now my reading is 27.1k ohm. Nearly an inverse proportion to reading I get from the center leg to the lead leg (the one closest to the adjustsment screw) 73.9. So then 27.1 + 73.9=100k, the value of our trim pot.
Now I am aware that in our correspondance you stated that the reading was never able to go above 75 or so. I know that even the BEST trim pots have a variance of +/-15%, so I should have asked the question: "Are you measuring the pot with any of the legs already soldered to the board?" I didn't based on the picture you sent showing the pot on the table. ("FREEZE, DIRTY HIPPIES! This is a bust!":laugh:)
Please confirm/deny that you measured the pot on it's own AND that you were only able to reach MAX 75ohm. This will be the first piece of the puzzle.

When I tested resistance on the pot with it connected it would shoot all the way past 0. The same reading that I would get if I touched the leads together. But I disconnect the ground and it reads correctly.

There you have it! 0 resistance=BAD! We have to determine why the trimmer is at the least resistance.

Could it be that I just have the resistance too high?

Just the opposite. You have NO resistance to hold back the flood of volts. Your card is protecting itself from damage.

Let's get this figured out so you can start having some FUN with these cards!:D



Im pretty sure that the ground is connected to the middle post. Is that necessary?

Look to the bottom right of this (http://www.bourns.com/pdfs/3006.pdf) document. It shows the layout of this particular pot and how clockwise/counter-clockwise turns move the wiper towards one leg or the other, thus changing resistance.

[asb2106]

This comment is very telling in in itself. I don't think you would be able to get the same resistance reading you did BEFORE you connected it to the board. You are now in the board's circuit. For example, I just took a resistance reading on the legs of my connected pot and I get readings of 4.3k ohms. This is in agreement with the default resistance of 5.1k ohm for that trace. If I disengage the mod. Now my reading is 27.1k ohm. Nearly an inverse proportion to reading I get from the center leg to the lead leg (the one closest to the adjustsment screw) 73.9. So then 27.1 + 73.9=100k, the value of our trim pot.
Now I am aware that in our correspondance you stated that the reading was never able to go above 75 or so. I know that even the BEST trim pots have a variance of +/-15%, so I should have asked the question: "Are you measuring the pot with any of the legs already soldered to the board?" I didn't based on the picture you sent showing the pot on the table. ("FREEZE, DIRTY HIPPIES! This is a bust!":laugh:)
Please confirm/deny that you measured the pot on it's own AND that you were only able to reach MAX 75ohm. This will be the first piece of the puzzle.

Yes I tested the pot on the table



There you have it! 0 resistance=BAD! We have to determine why the trimmer is at the least resistance.

But when I take off the mod and test the pot I get the max resistance again??!?!?




Just the opposite. You have NO resistance to hold back the flood of volts. Your card is protecting itself from damage.

Let's get this figured out so you can start having some FUN with these cards!:D



Im pretty sure that the ground is connected to the middle post. Is that necessary?

Is it nessecary?

Right after I got off work(5 central) I am running home to work on this until I get it figured out!!!

I have the pot turned all the way to the left with the max resistance(or so i thought)

I hate to admit it, but this could be a total user error, and Im a total idiot and do not know how to use a MM.

Ill be posting all my moves here this after noon. Hopefully I can get this going!!

Sorry Im such an Idiot:toast:

[Dr. Spankenstein]

You're no idiot, just in a hurry to launch those rockets!

BTW, Turned all the way to the left (CCW) tunes the pot to minimum resistance to leg #1.
Reference the document I linked above.

The simple fix. Crank the pot 22 complete rotations (108 degrees) clockwise and you should be close to MAX resistance. But that is neither a scientific NOR recommended method. We should sort out the pot issue first. If it takes shipping out pots I've tested and preset for MAX resistance based on the two lower legs, I'm willing to do that.

I just don't want the death of these cards to be associated to my "advice/directions". I know what I'm talking about.

[asb2106]

You're no idiot, just in a hurry to launch those rockets!

BTW, Turned all the way to the left (CCW) tunes the pot to minimum resistance to leg #1.
Reference the document I linked above.

The simple fix. Crank the pot 22 complete rotations (108 degrees) clockwise and you should be close to MAX resistance. But that is neither a scientific NOR recommended method. We should sort out the pot issue first. If it takes shipping out pots I've tested and preset for MAX resistance based on the two lower legs, I'm willing to do that.

I just don't want the death of these cards to be associated to my "advice/directions". I know what I'm talking about.

Id never blame you for any of this. Ill give the pot 22 turns clockwise, measure resistance, and we will see.

Hell if Im gonna ship the pots back, Im shipping the cards with it:D:toast:

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

do these mods work on 3850's?

[asb2106]

_FBi;749214']do these mods work on 3850's?

Ive heard its very similar, just a different solder point. I remember getting alot of info awhile back from tigger-something, he had a 3850 that he hard modded, and he was a huge help!!

[erocker]

How are the cards coming along man?:)

[asb2106]

How are the cards coming along man?:)

Get off work in 30 minutes!!!!! Im going straight to my computer.

Dr.gave me some good ideas, and Im hoping I can be up and running tonight.

Ill be posting here all night with updates!!!!

[erocker]

Cool. I see you are rummaging through your collection of Chuck Norris photos!:laugh:

[asb2106]

Cool. I see you are rummaging through your collection of Chuck Norris photos!:laugh:

hehe yep, I thought it was time to change the avvy, my old pic was from my p180, and I dont want to think of that case no more!

[intel igent]

I checked my solders again, and they are perfect and clean.

did you tone it out with your DVOM/DMM to make shure you had 100% contact?

just a thought

:toast:

[asb2106]

did you tone it out with your DVOM/DMM to make shure you had 100% contact?

just a thought

:toast:

yep, that was the first thing i tried......

[Dr. Spankenstein]

...waiting for an update!

*chews nails*

[asb2106]

yah Im an idiot!!!! so i turned it all the way to the right.... and now Im slowly turning back counter clockwise, and the voltage is creeping up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im going to buy a DIGITAL multimeter though, this damn analog one is a pain the ass when it comes to being precise!

Ill be back in 20 minutes with my digital, but its working! 10 thanks to you DR. you are the man

[intel igent]

yah Im an idiot!!!! so i turned it all the way to the right.... and now Im slowly turning back counter clockwise, and the voltage is creeping up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im going to buy a DIGITAL multimeter though, this damn analog one is a pain the ass when it comes to being precise!

Ill be back in 20 minutes with my digital, but its working! 10 thanks to you DR. you are the man

glad to hear it's working man!

we want benchies! we want benchies! :p

:toast:

[Dr. Spankenstein]

WHOO DOGGY!!! That is awesome news!!!!

This is gonna get interesting!!!:D

Imma go pop some popcorn right now!!!

[intel igent]

WHOO DOGGY!!!

Imma go pop some popcorn right now!!!

mind if i join you?

:toast:

[Dr. Spankenstein]

No prob. We could probably use some suds to wash it all down.

...though I'm afraid I'll spray beer out my nose when I see these first scores!

[asb2106]

YESSSS!!!!! First card is now @ 1.65 volts, Im gonna remod the second card, and up its volts, then I have to put the water back together!!!!!!

[erocker]

Congrats! I've already pounded a few beers.:toast:

[asb2106]

Congrats! I've already pounded a few beers.:toast:

oh trust me, during the first round of 3dmark, Ill will have the crown royal out, probably break out the patron too!!! OHHH man im getting excited.

Just did the second card, didnt solder it well enough though, it came disconnected during testing! I was like.... WOW why did it drop back it 1.36???? Ahh IC, so Im back to the iron, be back in a few!

[intel igent]

Congrats! I've already pounded a few beers.:toast:

bastid! :p all i got is twister shots and bacardi dark :nutkick: wanna trade? :twitch:

hammer down asb! hammer down!

heres your popcorn back Dr.S, now give him more JIGGAWATTS!

:toast:

edit: take your time asb dont rush ;)

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Thanks! (om, nom, nom, nom!)

*wrings hands*

Excellent...

The plan is going into action!

Those EK blocks should do a primo job of keeping those temps under control, but at those volts they will become a MAJOR heat dump.

Time to throw "quiet" out the window and get them thar fans a spinnin'!! Yar!!!

[asb2106]

Thanks! (om, nom, nom, nom!)

*wrings hands*

Excellent...

The plan is going into action!

Those EK blocks should do a primo job of keeping those temps under control, but at those volts they will become a MAJOR heat dump.

Time to throw "quiet" out the window and get them thar fans a spinnin'!! Yar!!!

thats right!! I could care less about noise when you start talking about these speeds!!!!

Ok, so both cards are now at 1.65 Volts....

I was just wonderin, what am I gonna use to OC these cards? I know I can use CCC up to 885(useless), but when I try to use Riva it doesnt seem to OC the second card. Any ideas on how to get these things running both at full speed??

Im putting them back in the main rig, hooking the water back up right now

[Dr. Spankenstein]

You're gonna want to flash to a OC BIOS. That way, you'll have the option to go up to 1500MHz on the core (if you were so inclined)!

I like the ones on iax-tech (http://www.iamxtreme.net/bios/ati.htm)

There is another one I've been using lately that works well also, but again I'm currently at work so I'll have to find it in the 3DM06 discussion thread. I posted it for erocker to mod w/RBE.

That one will get you started.

Just knock your OC back to defaults when you're flashing (for safety's sake).
I use atiwinflash from a DOS prompt and have not run into any issues. Unzip the BIOS into the atiwinflash folder. Open a DOS prompt. Change directory to point to atiwinflash folder then enter the command: atiwinflash -f -p 0 "BIOSname".bin

The zero in the above command flashes to the card in the first slot. Change the command to atiwinflash -f -p 1 "BIOSname".bin to flash the second card.

Keep you cool while it does it's thing. It seems like nothing happens, but within 15 sec, you'll recieve a window that shows the status of the flash.

GL :toast:

[asb2106]

You're gonna want to flash to a OC BIOS. That way, you'll have the option to go up to 1500MHz on the core (if you were so inclined)!

I like the ones on iax-tech (http://www.iamxtreme.net/bios/ati.htm)

There is another one I've been using lately that works well also, but again I'm currently at work so I'll have to find it in the 3DM06 discussion thread. I posted it for erocker to mod w/RBE.

That one will get you started.

Just knock your OC back to defaults when you're flashing (for safety's sake).
I use atiwinflash from a DOS prompt and have not run into any issues. Unzip the BIOS into the atiwinflash folder. Open a DOS prompt. Change directory to point to atiwinflash folder then enter the command: atiwinflash -f -p 0 "BIOSname".bin

The zero in the above command flashes to the card in the first slot. Change the command to atiwinflash -f -p 1 "BIOSname".bin to flash the second card.

Keep you cool while it does it's thing. It seems like nothing happens, but within 15 sec, you'll recieve a window that shows the status of the flash.

GL :toast:

OK, Im gonna need to go through that here in just one minute. Can I pull up a DOS prompt inside windows and do it, or do I have to load dos before windows?? I dont have a floppy drive BTW

Oh man, I thought I just fried one of my cards when reading voltages,
IT would not give me a voltage readout at all! I disconnected the interconnect cables and Im getting a reading again.

So just to make sure I got this right, I want to boot into DOS(any ideas like maybe a CDROM dos loader), run the prompt that you gave me, and have the bios ready to go on a flash drive right??

[erocker]

OK, Im gonna need to go through that here in just one minute. Can I pull up a DOS prompt inside windows and do it, or do I have to load dos before windows?? I dont have a floppy drive BTW

Oh man, I thought I just fried one of my cards when reading voltages,
IT would not give me a voltage readout at all! I disconnected the interconnect cables and Im getting a reading again.

So just to make sure I got this right, I want to boot into DOS(any ideas like maybe a CDROM dos loader), run the prompt that you gave me, and have the bios ready to go on a flash drive right??

Ati Winflash works great!

[asb2106]

Ati Winflash works great!

so do i just burn the files to a disk and boot it, or can i run it in windows?>

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Not necessary. From the Start Menu go to "Run", type cmd, then ENTER. Presto.

Then use the cd (Change Directory) to point to your atiwinflash folder. It makes it easier if you just move it the the base directory of the C: drive.

So: cd c:\atiwinflash <Enter>
c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 0 "BIOSname".bin <Enter>

wait for flash to complete

c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 1 "BIOSname".bin <Enter>

wait for flash to complete.

Commence to rock the clocks!!!

[asb2106]

I like the ones on iax-tech.

So by choosing one of the bioses here, it will unlock CCC to OC pretty much as high as I want then

and the bios are not .bin, they are .sb, is that cool??

[asb2106]

so just to make sure I have this right, I will type it exactly as I do below

c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 0 3870_8601200.sb

or do i need the ""
c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 0 "3870_8601200.sb"

[asb2106]

so just to make sure I have this right, I will type it exactly as I do below

c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 0 3870_8601200.sb

or do i need the ""
c:\atiwinflash> atiwinflash -f -p 0 "3870_8601200.sb"

anyone??

[Dr. Spankenstein]

without quotes.

[erocker]

Ati Winflash is a utility you use in Windows! You can download it here at TPU.

*Sorry, I'm in the middle of installing Vista... Kinda has killed the "beer" effect. :(

[asb2106]

do i have to rename the .sb to .bin. It didnt work??

[Dr. Spankenstein]

I was prepared for this.

Here (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=743096&postcount=1703) are the files I sent to erocker.

Use the top one: HD3870OC

Just in case anyone else cares, here (http://www.iamxtreme.net/video/3800biosmod/03.htm) is the link to the .bin files on iax-tech. :o

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Not to double post, but you might want to run the atiwinflash.exe in windows and "Save" your original BIOS for safe-keeping.;)

[asb2106]

well i typed it in exactly the same, and it just instantly goes to the command prompt, no errors nothing. It also doesnt have the right bios...... any ideas

http://img.techpowerup.org/080414/IMG_2044.jpg

Not to double post, but you might want to run the atiwinflash.exe in windows and "Save" your original BIOS for safe-keeping.;)

good call

[asb2106]

when i try and just run ATIwinflash it tells me important file missing, please download and run again.

Ive redownload and extracted 3 times now......

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Did you unzip those BIOS into your atiwinflash folder?

Do you happen to have atiwinflash running in Windows? Look at your taskbar...:p

[Dr. Spankenstein]

when i try and just run ATIwinflash it tells me important file missing, please download and run again.

Ive redownload and extracted 3 times now......

Well, ya gotta do what the program say. I don't know why the install is borked...

Where did you say you downloaded this version of atiwinflash?

[asb2106]

Well, ya gotta do what the program say. I don't know why the install is borked...

Where did you say you downloaded this version of atiwinflash?

TPU, and I think I have a bigger problem now. So I shut down the computer after those attempts, and ahh yah. It wont turn back on. any ideas?

The LCD poster says DET DRAM, which normally means that it found the RAM fine, it just didnt find the next process, which Im pretty sure was the VGA.....


Looks like Im gonna have to drain the whole damn system again, and put the cards in my 2nd PCIe slot of my other computer to get them to flash arent I. They have no bios now do they??

[asb2106]

im going to bed, Im gonna try and reflash these in a different computer tommorow when i get home from work, any tips on how?

Thanks for all your help and support

Dr. Spankenstein
Erocker
Intel Igent

Im only half way there, now I need to finish the flash's, and get some stable clocks

[Dr. Spankenstein]

If it didn't flash, it didn't fail unless it was in-process of flashing when you hurriedly typed the flash command in again.

I did try to warn that it takes a while for it to complete, but you've got the right idea. Stick them in another comp to flash. Don't forget to use the command atiwinflash -f -p 1 "BIOSname".bin or you'll fark the working card!

FWIW, EastCoastHandle has a thread about DET RAM hangs. He and Wile E thought it was due to too low of voltage to the NB. Did you bother to kick back your OC before starting all this? (Like I asked...)

[asb2106]

If it didn't flash, it didn't fail unless it was in-process of flashing when you hurriedly typed the flash command in again.

I did try to warn that it takes a while for it to complete, but you've got the right idea. Stick them in another comp to flash. Don't forget to use the command atiwinflash -f -p 1 "BIOSname".bin or you'll fark the working card!

FWIW, EastCoastHandle has a thread about DET RAM hangs. He and Wile E thought it was due to too low of voltage to the NB. Did you bother to kick back your OC before starting all this? (Like I asked...)

yes i did, it was all defaults.

i have cleared the cmos and it stil no longer works

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Sucks, bro.

Get some sleep, we attack at dawn!

[asb2106]

Sucks, bro.

Get some sleep, we attack at dawn!

hahaha thanks man, youve been a huge help through all of this.

Im back at work again, so it will be another 9 hours until Im able to attack the computer again.

Im gonna try and do some research today on that DET DRAM issue. Id love for it to be something else, but I simply shutdown and moved the computer back to my desk, nothing else. Before I tried the bios flash I made sure I was on the defaults of the board. I just saved my OC profile and loaded all defaults.

I really think that it is the video card bios. :(

[intel igent]

good luck to you asb! i hope you get it all sorted and we see some mad benchies from you soon :)

:toast:

[Cybrnook2002]

I know im really coming in this late. But for the flash, I noticed your inside of the atiwinflash directory when your trying to flash. Just copy every file into the same place. Dont locate things in different folders and what not. Put all your boot files, winflash utility, and BIOS in the same base Directory A:/ (All Files Here). For the cards, I would pull the cards, clear the cmos, throw a new single card in to kick it into a new state. Power up (See what happens),if all is good, then power back down and remove card, install the two new ones and fire again. Also, this will show if its your cards or the board having a brain fart.


OMG Broski!! OK, after taking a second look, YOUR FLASHING YOUR CARDS WHILE IN WINDOWS. thats a BIG NO NO. you will crap your cards if you do this. You need to reboot your PC into PURE DOS command prompt. Meaning you need a boot disk booting into A: then manually running atiflash from there. Use a USB stick or something. BUT DONT keep trying what your doing, your gonna fry your cards.

Also, obviously changing a few things here and there, this is a good guide to follow. Its the same one I used to Flash my 2900 pro to the XT bios. You can also get the ATI flash utility here for download.

http://nickfire.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=29&limit=1&limitstart=1


ALSO, if these "tips" have gotten you to a point where you get no graphics on the screen, but the pc turns on. You can always do the famous "Blind flash". Meaning boot up with the boot disk, even tough you see nothing on the screen, and make sure you type everything correctly and flash the cards. It sucks, but its possible if oyu think your cards are Fubar'd right now.

[asb2106]

I know im really coming in this late. But for the flash, I noticed your inside of the atiwinflash directory when your trying to flash. Just copy every file into the same place. Dont locate things in different folders and what not. Put all your boot files, winflash utility, and BIOS in the same base Directory A:/ (All Files Here). For the cards, I would pull the cards, clear the cmos, throw a new single card in to kick it into a new state. Power up (See what happens),if all is good, then power back down and remove card, install the two new ones and fire again. Also, this will show if its your cards or the board having a brain fart.


OMG Broski!! OK, after taking a second look, YOUR FLASHING YOUR CARDS WHILE IN WINDOWS. thats a BIG NO NO. you will crap your cards if you do this. You need to reboot your PC into PURE DOS command prompt. Meaning you need a boot disk booting into A: then manually running atiflash from there. Use a USB stick or something. BUT DONT keep trying what your doing, your gonna fry your cards.

Also, obviously changing a few things here and there, this is a good guide to follow. Its the same one I used to Flash my 2900 pro to the XT bios. You can also get the ATI flash utility here for download.

http://nickfire.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=29&limit=1&limitstart=1


ALSO, if these "tips" have gotten you to a point where you get no graphics on the screen, but the pc turns on. You can always do the famous "Blind flash". Meaning boot up with the boot disk, even tough you see nothing on the screen, and make sure you type everything correctly and flash the cards. It sucks, but its possible if oyu think your cards are Fubar'd right now.

cool, thanks for the tips. I have a different working card. Ill boot the computer with that card, and flash my cards individually in the second PCIe slot. I was under the impression you can flash in windows no problem. Im sure it was something I did wrong and not the directions given to me. :(

good luck to you asb! i hope you get it all sorted and we see some mad benchies from you soon :)

:toast:

MY GOAL IS TONIGHT!!

I did notice something funky though, when I had it running with the stock BIOS, I bumped up both cards to 885, and left the RAM at 1052, and the voltage of the cards was at 1.65, it wasnt running as fast as it should have been, i noticed some spots were it dips down it went down much farther than usual, like down to 25fps. I hope that I dont have those issues when I get this going tonight!

[Dr. Spankenstein]

This could be the Powerplay issure raising it's ugly head. It it continues to plague you, we'll just mod the BIOS so that the lower power 3D states have some more umph! to them.

If cybrnook2002's comments put any doubt in your mind, by all means create a bootable usb pen drive with atiwinflash and your OC BIOS on it.

Download the HP USB Stick creator AND the Boot Files from this (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2820588&postcount=1) post.

Run the stick creator, select "make bootable", browse to the location you unzipped the Boot Files. Drag atiwinflash folder and BIOS into USB stick. Set BIOS to "Boot from USB device"

or I could stop blabbing and link you to W1zzard's guide (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=11)...

[asb2106]

This could be the Powerplay issure raising it's ugly head. It it continues to plague you, we'll just mod the BIOS so that the lower power 3D states have some more umph! to them.

If cybrnook2002's comments put any doubt in your mind, by all means create a bootable usb pen drive with atiwinflash and your OC BIOS on it.

Download the HP USB Stick creator AND the Boot Files from this (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2820588&postcount=1) post.

Run the stick creator, select "make bootable", browse to the location you unzipped the Boot Files. Drag atiwinflash folder and BIOS into USB stick. Set BIOS to "Boot from USB device"

or I could stop blabbing and link you to W1zzard's guide (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=11)...
hehe, thanks, I just made a bootable flash drive actually, thanks to crackerjack!

Im gonna flash them in my backup computer as soon as I get home.

But first, just in case, Im gonna pop out the video cards and see if the problem was something else. Im really thinkin it was the videocards, but trust me, I would LOVE to be wrong. And Im gonna make sure I have worked out everything else before I attempt to flash again.

Hey Doc, you have any ideas on the low FPS rate when I tried to max both cards in CCC?? I put the second card back to 800(stock) and used riva to bump the first card to 954, and it performed 10 times better..... odd

[Dr. Spankenstein]

There is always the chance that heat is an issue (I know you don't want to think about that after the effort you've put into your recent fill/drain-ad nauseum jag). Or as I stated above, could be a Powerplay issue.
You didn't state how you came to this conclusion so I can't even make a guess. Was it a 3DM run, FurMark, LightMark, gaming, etc. Each scenario could have it's own particular snag.

Either your PCI-e bus needs to be sped up or you are experiencing the normal byproduct of CF-you generally won't be able to clock CF the same as a single card.

I can run a single card over 1GHz, but forget it in CF (that may change when I get my mobo back tonight!) Plus, they seem to dislike extreme voltages unless they are under EXTREME cooling. There is a sweet spot, like anything else.

RE: you flash tonight, guess there would be no harm in popping the card from the other PC in your new rig to verify the cause of the DET RAM hang.

[asb2106]

There is always the chance that heat is an issue (I know you don't want to think about that after the effort you've put into your recent fill/drain-ad nauseum jag). Or as I stated above, could be a Powerplay issue.
You didn't state how you came to this conclusion so I can't even make a guess. Was it a 3DM run, FurMark, LightMark, gaming, etc. Each scenario could have it's own particular snag.

Either your PCI-e bus needs to be sped up or you are experiencing the normal byproduct of CF-you generally won't be able to clock CF the same as a single card.

I can run a single card over 1GHz, but forget it in CF (that may change when I get my mobo back tonight!) Plus, they seem to dislike extreme voltages unless they are under EXTREME cooling. There is a sweet spot, like anything else.

RE: you flash tonight, guess there would be no harm in popping the card from the other PC in your new rig to verify the cause of the DET RAM hang.

oh it was in 3dmark. And i remember having this issue before the volt mod too. Im sure its not a heat issue, I monitored the cards, when running 1.65volts at 877/1052,877/1052, during full usage they only got to 42C. Which I was very impressed with. I have a good feeling that my MAX run(when i get it all working) is gonna be a HOT one. A q6600 @ 4 ghz and two volt modded 3870s. Im gonna crank the fans on the radiators and open the window to get a breeze going through, but I bet Ill still be seeing 60+ on the proc and probably almost 50 or more on the GPUs. Ive been on water for so long 60 on the proc scares the hell out of me. With my p5b dlx i could never get the proc that high to cause that much heat!!

Should I bump up the PCIe bus speed a bit? do you think that will help the video cards?

[Dr. Spankenstein]

If you are seeing degraded performance at increased speeds it can be narrowed down to PCI-e bandwidth or throttling of the GPU.

[asb2106]

W00T!!!!! Sees back. I popped the cmos battery, popped the proc out for a minute, and put it back in with a stick of 667 ram, and she booted right up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank goodness!!

Doc, I hope your on here, because Im jumpin in to the bios very very soon!

Ok CCC just crashed on me, so Im gonna figure that out real quick!

[asb2106]

Figured out what the problem was !!!!!! as crazy as this may sound, it had nothing to do with the ram, the proc, the cmos, nothing. It was a fan!

I know you think Im crazy right now but get this, I have an antec spot cool fan, I mounted it with a mobo screw and i would bend it up to point it at the NB. Well I had left it flexxed out(like it is in the pic) because I had to pop the video cards and what not for the cmos. Well I shut down, put the screws back in for the video card, and put the fan back in place, booted, nothing. DET DRAM! F***!!! So I pulled the fan down to pop the video cards, and for some reason, I said, no way that can be it, but Im gonna try, pushed the power, booted right up! To be sure it doesnt happen again, I tried it once more, same thing!! That was my problem. DET DRAM can be caused by a bad ground!!! When I flexxed the fan it strained the screw on the mobo and grounded it out. Perfect explaination. Im so mad it was so simple! DAMN! I Could have had this running last night!
check the pic!
http://img.techpowerup.org/080415/IMG_2046.jpg

[asb2106]

Yah, so I tried to atiwinflash my cards again, I got the exact same thing as last time, nothing. Well this time I restart my computer, and I literally have nothing. It gets past VGA Bios, it basically completely boots, expect it doesnt show a video feed. So now I really have to pull the cards. Damnit, I wish I would of have just been patient and used the dos version. So now I have to pull them and move on.

[asb2106]

Both cards have been sucessfully flashed, now I have to rebuild the water rig

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Methinks I hear the sound of Crown Royal cascading over a short stack of ice cubes in a highball glass. Doth mien ears deceive me?

[erocker]

I can't take it anymore!!! The excitement! I know a big score is coming man!:)

[Dr. Spankenstein]

I hear ya! Tonight has been a nail-biter what with fit hookin' up the tri-fire/Q6700/X38 combo and asb2106's voltmodded CF goodness!

We need a benchie fix!!:banghead:

[erocker]

Plus I've been going nuts with my 790fx and trifire myself the past 24 hours. Took the whole day today to figure my motherboard out. Many fine people here helped with that!:toast: Asb's scores are already insane, and with this I'm very intrigued!

[intel igent]

just got back in and i gotta say w00t!

glad to see its on the go asb :rockout:

this rounds on me Dr.S

:toast:

patiently waiting............

[asb2106]

ok guys, just got back from dinner, had quite a few drinks:toast:, and the girl friend wants some "quality time" hehe:pimp:. so ill be workin on the puter in about 30 minutes, should have some benchies in about an hour. the computer is back together and it is working the bubbles out now. YEAH!! Im excited! See you in a few:)

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Yeah, it's like we're right back where we left off yesterday.

This is turning into a Prime Time soap opera!
(The ups, the downs. The triumphs, the FAILures.):laugh:


*edit*

30min :wtf:
You gotta treat your woman better than that! Your computer can't love you like she can...

[intel igent]

30min :wtf:
You gotta treat your woman better than that! Your computer can't love you like she can...

+2 on that ;)

i can wait for benchies

go do your :pimp: thang :cool:

:toast:

[asb2106]

Your computer can't love you like she can...

you sure bout that:laugh::laugh:

Just kiddin!!!

Well I just wanted to keep you posted, the computer is still running and everything is looking good. Im just having difficulties making it through a full run of 3dmark, Im working out the issues now, Ill have a result up very soon!

Oh and with my girl, shes cool, we went out to dinner with my ma and her boyfriend, she made me leave the bed room anyways, cause she wanted to check her myspace, she said its been like 2 weeks so she was freaking out!

http://www.myspace.com/spartyandfriends, thats her, I think there is some pictures of our lizards too! We have 5 lizards!(3 leopard geckos, an iguana, and a bearded dragon!)

[asb2106]

So Im not really happy with it, but hey, its results
http://img.techpowerup.org/080416/20119.jpg

[Dr. Spankenstein]

See if you can kick up the memory speed a little. It seems to be shorting you on bandwidth as compared to this:
http://img.techpowerup.org/080330/21551.jpg

[erocker]

The more he gets the quad up there the more the other scores will come up. Getting the cores up there you'll probablly have to cut back on the memory a little. Pretty good card scores so far though. :toast:

[asb2106]

The more he gets the quad up there the more the other scores will come up. Getting the cores up there you'll probablly have to cut back on the memory a little. Pretty good card scores so far though. :toast:

Thanks guys! I have been trying the last 30 minutes to get a stable 4ghz out of my quad, but I just cant do it tonight. :( :(. Im gonna pick back up tommorow,

Im alittle suprised with the scores though, Im almost thinking something is wrong.

So Im running the proc at 3.825, the memory at 1021
The cards at 877, I get about 114fps at the beginning of the test
The cards at 945, I get about the same
and with the cards at 999, it did not get any better at all.

Whats the deal with that? Am I limited because of my proc now? Or you think I should pull out the solderin iron again for the Vmem? If thats the case, Im gonna wait for a month or so, Id like to take a break from scaring the hell out of myself for alittle while.

Either way, now its just a matter of tweaking and buying a new proc, damn q6600 @ 3.8ghz, your too slow!!! :laugh::laugh:

Alright guys, to me this has been a sucess, now I just have to tweak to get the max score, which is my goal through the rest of the week. Im sure you will all see if I break the 23k mark that I am going for. Im really thinking its gonna take CPU to do it :((didnt feel like spending 1k yet)

[Dr. Spankenstein]

Congratulations on a job well done! You do deserve a break and a breakthrough!

We're all behind you!

[intel igent]

really nice clocks there asb! almost 1ghz GPU :rockout:

i think if you could get your CPU higher youd see some better #'s (never thought you could choke a 3.8 quad but hey) either that or you have some small tweaks still left to do to get some extra points.

i wonder what youd get with a wolfdale at 4.0+?

this has been a crazy couple of days/nights for ya, you should take a rest and just enjoy life :)

then come back with a vengence :rockout:

:toast:

[asb2106]

really nice clocks there asb! almost 1ghz GPU :rockout:

i think if you could get your CPU higher youd see some better #'s (never thought you could choke a 3.8 quad but hey) either that or you have some small tweaks still left to do to get some extra points.

i wonder what youd get with a wolfdale at 4.0+?

this has been a crazy couple of days/nights for ya, you should take a rest and just enjoy life :)

then come back with a vengence :rockout:

:toast:

Yah, Im ready to take a small breather from it. But I plan to work out some kinks and try to get a better run.

I think either way Im gonna end up getting a qx9650 or a qx9770. Im just so hesitant to do it with the next lineup of chips

[asb2106]

These are my 24/7 stable gaming clocks!!!

I will do benches on all the games I can soon!
http://img.techpowerup.org/080416/21031.jpg

[asb2106]

BUMP FOR SOME GREAT TIPS

If you are thinking of volt modding your 3870, anything you may want can be found here! Dr Spankenstein, Erocker, and IntelIgent has some good tips and tricks through the way. This thread can get you to you desired voltage and clocks!

[intel igent]

BUMP FOR SOME GREAT TIPS

If you are thinking of volt modding your 3870, anything you may want can be found here! Dr Spankenstein, Erocker, and IntelIgent has some good tips and tricks through the way. This thread can get you to you desired voltage and clocks!

heh man i was just along for the ride ;)

hows it treating you?

:toast:

[asb2106]

heh man i was just along for the ride ;)

hows it treating you?

:toast:

been good, Im running a stable 975/1296 for gaming @ 1.47 volts. And it runs fine all the time in all games(great actually), but now Im running the new vantage software and it freezes when I run anything higher than 950 - its pretty gay. I think Im not gonna care and just keep running my 975 cores! The speeds are great. Oh and I added another radiator with all new fans for the rads(i had some low RPM sykthes) and the temps are right were I want them :)

I got panflo ultra high speed x 6 for the 2 320s and the temps are SOLID now. It was my fans that sucked, I prob didnt even need the third radiator!

[intel igent]

I'm not really into benching myself so as long as it is stable for my apps I'm happy

The panaflo's are great fans I use 3 of them myself ;) 1 med and 2 ultras :)