Radeon 9600 XT 256 Mb Overclocking

[nick_t]

Hey guys, I'm a total newbie when it comes to overclocking. I just got ATI tool and I have a few questions. As mentioned, I have an ATI Radeon 9600 XT 256 Mb graphics card but I only get 90-100 fps on the cube test and I have the latest (4.9) drivers. I really want to get more fps. If anyone has done this with their 9600 xt, to what speed can I safely incrase my Graphics Processor and Memory speed? And what change in fps do you get with these increased speeds?

PC specs
---------
p4 2.4 GHz
512 Mb RAM
keyboard + two button mouse :)

P.S. Why don't the video card developers already overclock the cards to the optimal level (without additional cooling)? Does overclocking shorten the life of your video card or does it have any other consequences? Thanks in advance.

- Nick

[Frozen]

USe findmax. Itll tell you your max speeds. OC speeds are different for every card so you might get a bad or good OC...

Oh and OCing can shorten life, create heat, cause artifacts etc...thats why manufacturers dont OC them...

[Ramine]

ive got the same card, i can get 580/350 with stock cooling and no ram sinks, but on stock frequencies, i get 130 on cube test. when it is OC'ed i can get 160-70.

There could also be the problem with fast write that is turned on, just goto the ATI props, and in SMARTGart, turn it off, and also turn off in bios, however it could low due to the CPU load! make sure you only have that window open!

Oh and leaving it the size that its default at!

Ramine

[nick_t]

thx Ramine. Write Fast was turned off in the SmartGart option (at the catalyst control center). How can I turn it off in bios? I perform the test with only that window and program running and I always get 99-100 fps. :( I paid a lot of money for this card, I expected better. You probable get the extra 30 fps initially because you probably have faster RAM and perhaps a faster CPU (my comp is 2 years old with the motherboard replaced one month ago).

[coolmig77]

I have a Sapphire Radeon 9600PRO (400/300(600))and I get 110fps on the D3D cube render screen. When I OC it to 492/345(690) I go up to about 132fps... if your FPS don´t go up look at your D3D performance settings, play with that settings, if you have AA/AF active at some level you may get lower FPS... also check vsync is off... Your card can do a lot better than the FPS you mentioned on "balanced" setting and AA/AF off...

[15th Warlock]

W1zzard has said before the cube should not be used as a benchmark, as it is not its main purpose and the FPS can vary if there are programs running in the background.
Why don't you try using some game benchmarks as Doom3 or Farcry for referrence, or free synthetic benchmarks like 3dMark.
You can download benchemall (google for it) for obtaining benchmarks in most recent games at different resolutions and IQ settings, it's very user friendly and avoids the hassle of using commands in game consoles; then post your scores so we can compare them.
Good luck. :)

[wazzledoozle]

ive got the same card, i can get 580/350 with stock cooling and no ram sinks, but on stock frequencies, i get 130 on cube test. when it is OC'ed i can get 160-70.

There could also be the problem with fast write that is turned on, just goto the ATI props, and in SMARTGart, turn it off, and also turn off in bios, however it could low due to the CPU load! make sure you only have that window open!

Oh and leaving it the size that its default at!

Ramine
Why would fast write decrease performance? And should I disable it if I would want to increase performance based on my comps specs?? Look below.

[Ramine]

well it has been know to slow down performance, to be on the safe side, just disable it, your specs are good, however you should maybe find a way to unlock your CPU,(pencil method), have a look on google for that, but yes, fast write does slow down performance!

Ramine

[nick_t]

okay, I got my radeon 9600 xt to o/c to 534/313 but I might go back to the default since there is only a minimal and unnoticable increase - only 3-5% (98-100 fps -> 102-104 fps AVG). That makes no difference in my gameplay such as Far Cry where I get 20-40 fps (what help is one more frame?). Anyway, what type of affordable cooling do you recommend if I am to go higher? I'm aiming for Ramine's settings of 580/350. And please, if you've o/c'ed your 9600 xt, what change in fps (on the cube test or games) do you get? I really want my card to handle Half Life 2 on high settings and still get 40+ fps.

CCC settings:
------------
AA - 2x (can't go lower)
AF - 2x (let the applicationn decide - cant check it off!)
texture preference: 3/4 (Quality)
Mipmap detail level: 3/4 (Quality)
Truform: 1/4 (off)
Wait for display refresh: 3/4 (On, unless application specifies)
Smartshader: wtf and no.

Please tell me any tips for cooling and or configuring. Thanks.

[wazzledoozle]

okay, I got my radeon 9600 xt to o/c to 534/313 but I might go back to the default since there is only a minimal and unnoticable increase - only 3-5% (98-100 fps -> 102-104 fps AVG). That makes no difference in my gameplay such as Far Cry where I get 20-40 fps (what help is one more frame?). Anyway, what type of affordable cooling do you recommend if I am to go higher? I'm aiming for Ramine's settings of 580/350. And please, if you've o/c'ed your 9600 xt, what change in fps (on the cube test or games) do you get? I really want my card to handle Half Life 2 on high settings and still get 40+ fps.

CCC settings:
------------
AA - 2x (can't go lower)
AF - 2x (let the applicationn decide - cant check it off!)
texture preference: 3/4 (Quality)
Mipmap detail level: 3/4 (Quality)
Truform: 1/4 (off)
Wait for display refresh: 3/4 (On, unless application specifies)
Smartshader: wtf and no.

Please tell me any tips for cooling and or configuring. Thanks.
You WONT get 40 FPS with high detail in half life 2 no matter how much you overclock that card.

[nick_t]

You WONT get 40 FPS with high detail in half life 2 no matter how much you overclock that card.

you can't be 100% sure since HL2 isn't out. But if people with my card can get 40-60 FPS on FarCry with Med/High settings I wouldn't totally rule it out.

[wazzledoozle]

you can't be 100% sure since HL2 isn't out. But if people with my card can get 40-60 FPS on FarCry with Med/High settings I wouldn't totally rule it out.
Half Life 2 graphics are better than Doom 3, and light years better than Far Cry. Do not start to wish for these speeds you WILL be dissapointed!

[nick_t]

Half Life 2 graphics are better than Doom 3, and light years better than Far Cry. Do not start to wish for these speeds you WILL be dissapointed!

Yea, I doubt I'll get over 40 fps on High, more like 30 on Low (lol, you guys destroyed my dreams). If any of you have played the leaked version, that's the only way you know the graphics. I have played the leaked version when I had my radeon 9000 128 mb :) and the graphics weren't "light years away". They were amazing in my opinion, but not too far off from Far Cry. Although, it was not the final version and the graphics will definitely be improved, I'm pretty sure some of the models and environments can't be changed much more (looked exactly like the ones in teasers) and I was getting like 5-40 fps (mostly 20). Although more detail and what not will be added to the game, it will also be far more optimized (especially for ati cards). So it's not too much to expect 40 fps steady on medium (I know 40 on high is too much but I always aim high). And btw, didn't the 9600 xt come with the HL2 voucher? If it did (I might be wrong), it will definitely run it at an acceptable level.

[wazzledoozle]

Yea, I doubt I'll get over 40 fps on High, more like 30 on Low (lol, you guys destroyed my dreams). If any of you have played the leaked version, that's the only way you know the graphics. I have played the leaked version when I had my radeon 9000 128 mb :) and the graphics weren't "light years away". They were amazing in my opinion, but not too far off from Far Cry. Although, it was not the final version and the graphics will definitely be improved, I'm pretty sure some of the models and environments can't be changed much more (looked exactly like the ones in teasers) and I was getting like 5-40 fps (mostly 20). Although more detail and what not will be added to the game, it will also be far more optimized (especially for ati cards). So it's not too much to expect 40 fps steady on medium (I know 40 on high is too much but I always aim high). And btw, didn't the 9600 xt come with the HL2 voucher? If it did (I might be wrong), it will definitely run it at an acceptable level.
Usually leaked and beta verions of games have the graphics settings locked down (doom 3 beta anyone?) so the framerates you saw with the leaked version were probably at low at 640x480 resolution.