X1900 Series Overclocking and Feedback thread

[EastCoasthandle]

Ok For those of you that have purchased this card lets us know of your experiences and what voltage settings you use to overclock it if you use programs like ATI Tool and Overclocker. Also, any working bios & other tweaking with the board like lapping HSF or show us your After Market HSF combo and tell us if its worth getting?

Link that reflects setups for OCs using ATI Tool and x1900xt and x1900xtx
ATITOOL Bios page
http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/?se...0&Submit=Search

Here is a link for Overclocker
To use Overclocker properly you have to enter CCC's ATI Overdrive and uncheck "preserve ATI Overdrive settings at logon". Hit apply, then ok, then reboot. then use Overclocker in 3d only

Here is a link for ATI Tool

Here is a link for ATI Tray Tools 1.0.5.824

Here is a link for ATI ATI Homepage

Here is a link for Overclocker
To use Overclocker properly you have to enter CCC's ATI Overdrive and uncheck "preserve ATI Overdrive settings at logon". Hit apply, then ok, then reboot. then use Overclocker in 3d only

Here is a link for RivaTurner Can be used on the X1800xt to monitoring temps of the core, enviro., and vregs.

Here is a link for ATI ATI Homepage

And check this out regarding IMAGE QUALITY



If it's BJ11 then it's at 1.1ns

Also make sure that the pins are pushed all the way down to make sure there is contact between the mosfets and the HS.

Unsecured


Secured



X1900XTX with AS5 on the mosfets post application of AS5 on the Core and Mem. (starting with the bottom 2), not for the faint of heart . If you know that you are sloppy with apply thermal compound this is not for you, period. The Mosfets are very small and requie a steady hand. Took me 15 minutes to do this. The mosfets should be the metallic square blocks next to the Vregs. The Idea: The cooler the mosfets the stable the voltage, should help produce a better OC



X1900xtx with ramsinks on VRegs to keep them as cool as possible.
The Idea: The cooler the mosfets the stable the voltage should give a better OC. Looking for ramsinks? Swiftech MC14 BGZ Memory Ramsinks are the best I've come across. Swiftech MC14 BGZ Memory Ramsinks Remember, Ramsinks are 1/2 the solution now you want to put a fan on it to to keep the mosfets cool. I found this method better then mosfets/fan without ramsinks. But as with anything results will very.


Wow, look at those drill teeth marks embedded in that copper heatsink. No wonder temps are so High for the x1800 and x1900 series VCs. Regardless of what Thermal Compound you use thats a lot of valleys to fill in order to get maxmium heat transfer.


After Mild Lapping, prior to using Brasso.


Post mild lapping, I used Brasso and rubbed it on the HS for 5-8 minutes. As you can see it doesn't take a lot of Brasso but I would apply a second coat. Removing the diryt Brasso from the HS took 20 minutes and the equivalent of 5 small, clean rags. Please note:
When using Brasso its easy to apply but more time consuming taking off. It took me the equivalent of 5 small clean rags to remove all the brasso/dirt (whatever its called) from this small core HS. Please make sure you take the time to wipe off all "black stuff" until a clean portion of your rag remains clean (after an attempt to rub more off). Afterwards, I use some Rubbing alcohol @ 90% to remove the thin layer of oily film left behind. Some will argue that Brasso is impossible to remove even with alcohol. I have tried this myself and have found this statement false. There are some that will still argue it does but there are no facts to back it up. However, it is true that Brasso does leave a film behind after use but using alcohol appears have removed it.


The next 2 snapshots show the setup,

This shows the reflection of ProGold through the HS


Look at that Mirror Finish...you can do this too with a little TLC for your HSF


I will post temps when the AS5 has cured, for me it takes over a week :0 but I want to give an accurate reading this time.

Ok it's only been a few days and temps are around 37C now at idle. Rivaturner will not allow me to enter it's monitorwhen using the x1900 series but does work for the x1800xt. What gives man this is bogus!!!

Update
I wanted to apply some more rubbing alcohol (50%, didn't have 99%) on the Heatsink (to make sure Brasso residue was removed). Once finished I forgot to plug the fan on and booted the computer. When I released this I took a quick snap shot of the temps. 46C at 2D mode for 45 minutes with NO FAN is nothing to sneeze at. This photo shows how effective a proper lap method is against heat.


Update

3DMark Score........5927 3DMarks
SM2.0 Score..........2588
HDR/SM3.0 Score...2978
CPU Score..............1289

Using ATI TOOL
720 VGPU
855 Mem
1.450V on GPU
2.121V MVDDC
2.121V MVDDQ
1.498V VCDDI
With fan on mosfets/vregs.

As you can see I didn't break records here that is not the point of my post. However, you should get above average scores if you keep your VC cool.

Note:
If for any reason you attempt to duplicate what I have posted in this thread I cannot guarantee that you will have the same results. Please keep that in mind if you do in fact attempt these methods. You do so at your own risk.

[Rattle]

I havnt had anyluck overclocking with anything thus far, the driver that comes with the card kinda sux and i think we need a new driver. I tried various things and Atitool would just hard lock me and same with overlocker program, after I disabled the 2d/3d switch it would only run at 500/600 which is stock 2d clocks and wouldnt pick up the settings from either....

[Rattle]

I can however clock it as high as overdrive allows without a hitch....

[ThorAxe]

Haven't tried yet apart from Overdrive, which sets it to the maximum.

[OneCool]

[EastCoasthandle]

Originally Posted by OneCool

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

x1900xt or xtx??

[hotrippr]

X1900xt
Why is mine stuck at 500/600? overdrive shows it has requested higher 690/800, but will only show current at 500/594? Is this an 1800 in disguise???

[hotrippr]

Ok got it now, I am a dummy when I get new stuff(no patience). The overdrive only put clocks during 3d, thats why it shows current clocks to be 500/600, but I left CCC open during 3dmark and saw that the clocks went up to requested values 690/800.

Anyone know what maxClocks requested are in overdrive for the XTX cards???

Wow I didnt know the card came with a hairdryer, what a bargain!
Might get some air duct to direct the air from the back of my case to my feet to use in the winter.

And how do u make sure mem is 1.1ns????

[hotrippr]

X1900XTX Bios now at techpowerup.com, tempted to try but will wait to see if others have seen any benefit.

[Rattle]

I just flashed my sapphire x1900xt with 1.1 chips with the sapphire 1900xtx bios without issue

[Rattle]

Originally Posted by hotrippr

Ok got it now, I am a dummy when I get new stuff(no patience). The overdrive only put clocks during 3d, thats why it shows current clocks to be 500/600, but I left CCC open during 3dmark and saw that the clocks went up to requested values 690/800.

Anyone know what maxClocks requested are in overdrive for the XTX cards???

Wow I didnt know the card came with a hairdryer, what a bargain!
Might get some air duct to direct the air from the back of my case to my feet to use in the winter.

And how do u make sure mem is 1.1ns????

max clocks is same on the xtx i overdrive 690/800

[hotrippr]

Did you use ATI flash??? I want to do but I cant find the thread where it tells you how, I had it bookmarked but I crashed the computer awhile ago and lost it, anyhelp would be appreciated.

I am wondering, if the max clocks are the same on both, and the stock is the same, what is the difference? And why would ATI gouge 150bucks from customers?

[Rattle]

Originally Posted by hotrippr

Did you use ATI flash??? I want to do but I cant find the thread where it tells you how, I had it bookmarked but I crashed the computer awhile ago and lost it, anyhelp would be appreciated.

I am wondering, if the max clocks are the same on both, and the stock is the same, what is the difference? And why would ATI gouge 150bucks from customers?

CUZ ATI is retarded, if you have the 1.1ns chips on the xt like I do there is no difference in the cards aside from stock clock speed

xt is 625/725

xtx is 650/775



http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/?se...0&Submit=Search

download the appropriate bios...

on the same page download winflash 1.05

no open the proggy and save your old bios...

then load the new one and flash it... then reboot when prompted...

simple as that...

[hotrippr]

Originally Posted by Rattle

CUZ ATI is retarded, if you have the 1.1ns chips on the xt like I do there is no difference in the cards aside from stock clock speed

xt is 625/725

xtx is 650/775



http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/?se...0&Submit=Search

download the appropriate bios...

on the same page download winflash 1.05

no open the proggy and save your old bios...

then load the new one and flash it... then reboot when prompted...

simple as that...

Thanks I will do after I run some 3dMarks to compare before and after flash.
Have you seen any benefits?

This thing is annoyingly noisy while playing games. Cant wait to see some of the aftermarket cooling.

[EastCoasthandle]

does anyone else have any x1900 benches, tweaks, settings???

[hotrippr]

3dm06-5277
3dm05-9282
@Max overdrive 690/800

if any of you have flashed 1900xt to xtx PLEASE leave some feedback to any differences you have noticed besides the increase in default clocks. Still trying to fig out the price differnce

[Nyte]

BBA X1900XT @ 625/725 default
3DMark06 - 5445
3DMark05 - 9612

BBA X1900XT @ 667/782 using an experimental BIOS (A modified XT BIOS with some ASPM features turned on).
3DMark06 - 5589
3DMark05 - 9789

BBA X1900XTX @ 650/750 default
3DMark06 - 5621
3DMark05 - 9734

No Overdrive used in all cases.

I don't see much difference in all 3 test scenarios (I don't want to overclock the XTX because I only have one of those and I will get killed if I kill it).

[EastCoasthandle]

Originally Posted by Nyte

BBA X1900XT @ 625/725 default
3DMark06 - 5445
3DMark05 - 9612

BBA X1900XT @ 667/782 using an experimental BIOS (A modified XT BIOS with some ASPM features turned on).
3DMark06 - 5589
3DMark05 - 9789

BBA X1900XTX @ 650/750 default
3DMark06 - 5621
3DMark05 - 9734

No Overdrive used in all cases.

I don't see much difference in all 3 test scenarios (I don't want to overclock the XTX because I only have one of those and I will get killed if I kill it).

Do you mind if you use overdrive this time and clock it at 667/782 and bench 3dmark06 again?

[Rattle]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.p...ighlight=x1900

my initial results.

stock system and stock xt 9898 in 05
system at 2.6 and stock card 11,066 in 05
havnt benched since been gaming my ass off which is the whole reason you buy a $500 video card...

[hotrippr]

Originally Posted by EastCoasthandle

X1900XTX with AS5 on the mosfets (starting with the bottom 2), not for the faint of heart . Post application of AS5 on the Core and Mem. Also not needed if you have very good air circulation (IE a fan position right behind the VC). The mosfets should be the metallic square blocks next to the Vregs. The Idea: The cooler the mosfets the stable the voltage, should help produce a better OC
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...5onmosfets.jpg

X1900xtx with ramsinks on VRegs to keep them as cool as possible.
The Idea: The cooler the Vregs the stable the voltage should give a better OC
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...e/IMG_4578.jpg
Looking for ramsinks? Swiftech MC14 BGZ Memory Ramsinks are the best I've come across. Swiftech MC14 BGZ Memory Ramsinks

For those of you out there that may be doing this for the 1st time, ba very careful with AS5, specially on ram, you should use AS Ceramique. Read about thermal pastes here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/134

[hotrippr]

so did u see any diff in temp initially? so far?

[Steevo]

I did the same with my X1800XT and gained 20Mhz on the core. I used Mothers aluminum wheel polish, then a hand glaze compund from 3M to get that mirror shine.

Nice pics and good advice!!

[EastCoasthandle]

Originally Posted by Steevo

I did the same with my X1800XT and gained 20Mhz on the core. I used Mothers aluminum wheel polish, then a hand glaze compund from 3M to get that mirror shine.

Nice pics and good advice!!

oh come on, you gotta give up some pics...

[EastCoasthandle]

does anyone have photos of their lap jobs?

[EastCoasthandle]

ok I updated temps after a few days. It's on the first post.