ATI Radeon 9550 Overclocking and BIOS modding FAQ Guide

Alright, I've decided to make a FAQ guide for the ATI Radeon 9550 for overclocking and BIOS flashing because I think about a hundred people ask about this everyday. Please post your suggestions, Q & A so I can revise this and keep it up to date. Thanks!

ATI Radeon 9550 Specifications (ATI Standard)

# 4 parallel pixel pipelines
# 2 programmable vertex shader pipelines
# 128-bit dual-channel DDR memory interface
# AGP8x/4x
# Support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 programmable vertex and pixel shaders in hardware
# 2x/4x/6x Anti-Aliasing modes
# 2x/4x/8x/16x Anisotropic Filtering modes

Standard clockrates are 250/200x2*.
Variants include 128MB/256MB RAM and 64-bit memory.

*GeCube 9550XT's are overclocked by default.

Question #1 - How do I overclock my ATI Radeon 9550?

By far, this is the question that is asked the most. Simply download ATITool and use that!

Question #2 - Why can't I overclock my 9550?

There is a driver lock in the ATI drivers that prohibits the card from being overclocked. Everytime an attempt is made, the drivers defaults back to original clock speeds. You have three options here. First, you can download softmod drivers. Second, you use ATITool's disable overclock lock option (in settings). Third, you can flash your 9550 BIOS into a 9600 where the overclock isn't disabled.

Question #3 - How do I reflash my 9550?

Go HERE.

Please test your card to see if it can run at 9600Pro speeds first (400/300x2) beforehand or you MAY wind up with a paperweight!

Question #4 - Does XXXX BIOS work with my card/Which BIOS works with my card?

I really get tired of this question because it gets asked over and over again. It's a hit and miss chance, one BIOS might work with yours and not work with someone elses. Manufacturers change things through revisions be it memory, architecture, or materials. Somethings may work with yours while others don't. Get yourself a PCI VGA card and download a bunch of BIOS. Backup your own BIOS first and then go at it. You may get lucky, or you may not.

Question #5 - Should I get better cooling?

You should ALWAYS get better cooling if you're going to overclock. Especially if your 9550 features only a cheap aluminum heatsink! Arctic Silencers are a good choice. For more extremes, get the Zalman ZM80D + OP1 combo.

Question #6 - How fast can I get my card going/What can I expect?

As fast as it goes without producing artifacts in ATITool. Like I've said many many times, you get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap $50US 9550, then you're gonna get cheap results. Why? Because manufacturers cut corners then. They use cheaper PCB's (less layers), cheaper resistors and capacitors, slower memory, redesigns that vary from the standard.

For memory, you can calculate theoretically how fast your card can go. For example, 5ns RAM: 1000/5ns = 200. That's 200mHz is your "theoretical" speed. That doesn't mean you'll get to it, it also doesn't mean you can't surpass it. That's what it's suppose to be able to run at. And since it's DDR SDRAM, then it is written as 200x2 (dual) which is 400mHz effective.

My personal best is 500/333x2.

Question #7 - What kind of RAM do I have?

Look on your graphics card. Look at your RAM chips. Then look at the model number that is displayed. Then GOOGLE that and you'll find what type of memory you have. Remember, Google is your friend!

W1zzard also made this nice table of memory types that you can compare to as well.

Question #8 - Which is better? Flashing or overclocking?

Overclocking is best considering the risks involved: First, overclocking doesn't void your warranty like flashing does; Second, it's easier; Third, there's much less risk in killing your card than it is with a bad flash.

Overclocking is recommended for the cheaper 9550's where you just can't squeeze that much out of them... For the rest of you guys with the better ones, read on:

Through my experience with my 9550, I came across several things that will increase your performance more than just overclocking will. It seems in the 9600Pro BIOS, the memory timings are more aggressive which allows for better performance. Also, it seems that voltages are increased as well (unconfirmed). I was able to overclock more with a 9600Pro BIOS than with a 9550 BIOS (both with the SAME memory timings).

Thus are the benefits of each, it's up to you to decide. Just, when you're flashing, ALWAYS ALWAYS have your original BIOS saved and have a PCI VGA card!

Non-flashable brands: ASUS, GeCube, Gigabyte


-Revision 01-

Question #1 - How do I find the maximum clock speeds on my 9550?

It is recommended that you run ATITool's "Find Max" function for 6 hours (3600 seconds). This will give you the best stable clock speeds.

However, some people report this as not too reliable so the way I personally do it is manual adjust the clock speeds, then "scan for artifacts" and if none are detected then run several hours of 3dMark 2003. If no problems arise, rinse, lather, then repeat.

Question #2 - What are artifacts/How do I know if I found an artifact?

I asked the same question before I started overclocking my card. Artifacts are graphical glitches caused by hardware malfunction either by heat or incompatible hardware/software (such as BIOS modding). You'll know it when you see it. It could be simply bad pixels (different colors, inverted), geometric errors (extended shapes, abnormal models), or a completely fuzzed out screen. Clipping in games isn't an artifact, that's just bad programming.


-Appendix 01-

Example Radeon 9550/Radeon 9600Pro Memory Timings (May Differ)

Write Latency tWL = 1.0/1.0
CAS Latency tCL = 4/4
RAS to CAS Read Delay tRcdRD = 5/4
RAS to CAS Write Delay tRcdWR = 3/2
Row Precharge Time tRP = 5/4
RAS Latency tRAS= 10/9
Row Activate to Row Active Command Time tRRD = 4/3
Read to Write Turnaround Time tR2W = CL+3/CL+3
Write Recovery Time tWR = 3/3
Write to Read Turnaround Time tW2R = 2/2
Write to Read Turnaround Time for Same Bank tW2Rsb = Use tWR Rule/Use tWR Rule
Read to Read Turnaround Time tR2R = 2/2
Memory Refresh Rate MemRR = 24/24
Refresh Row Cycle Time tRFC = 17/15
Shift of RBS Signal for Read Data tRBS = CL+3.5/CL+3.5
Shift of ERST Signal for Read Data tERST = CL+0/CL+0
Shift of QSREQ Signal tQSREQ = CL+0/CL+0
Shift of OE Signal for Write Data tDQM = WL-0.5/WL-0.5
Shift of OE Signal for Write Data Strobe tDQS = WL-0.5/WL-0.5

Thanks, yea, hopefully, this will cut down on the amount of repetitive questions people post about the 9550, or at least keeps it focused in one thread so it's not spamming the forum...

bump, can a mod please sticky this?

in order to fit one of those coolers, your HSF must be clipped onto the card itself through two pins/screws. If it's just pasted on with thermal compound then better cooling won't work.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT:

You mean i need to remove the stock cooler from my 9550GE, and put on for instance a zalman which i hold together with 2 clips/screws?

Isnt artic cooling better, or is that working with pasting it on the chip?

Im a nOOb as this thing...

those clocks aren't bad, good on the mem and core is pretty high up.

I posted memory timings for the 9550/9600pro. I wrote this a while ago but I feel it would be more convenient to add it here as well...

you could if you want. I recommend some ramsinks then, tweaking the BIOS mem settings might work too... you could try a better cooler but i'm not sure about investing in an AS or ZM though... anyone got a second opinion?

zAAm said:

ReconCX, what brand memory do you have on your dataland?

btw, my memory timings are much more aggressive than what you posted:

...

Is that the reason why I can only get to 260MHz on the memory you think?

Click to expand...

On my Dataland, I got 2.8ns Hynix memory. What vid card do you have?

LOL zaam. that's a lengthy procedure. I just kinda *ripped* mine off ^_^

if you managed to flash to a 9600pro, it should overclock a few more mhz...

what do you mean? does it not void the warranty?

yea, typing the same answers over and over again started getting on my nerves...

hmmm. maybe i should reword it to make it more clear...