Faulty x1900xt?

S

Slo Gun

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
302
I had my card flashed to xtx speeds, however during gaming it was artifacting, so i flashed it back to stock.
I thought it try oc'ing it manually using ati tool.
I started by setting the speeds to stock 625 core 725mem, and it was artifacting slightly. This was detected by ati tool (small yellow dots), and as such underclocked the card, i cant remember exactly but ati tool ended up setting the core to about 621
i set the fan speed to 100% this kept the temp at around 60 degrees, i did this to eliminate heat as a source, and it would still artifact at stock speeds.
Does this mean i have a faulty card? Shouldnt the card be able to go slightly higher than stock without artifacting.
 
bad card yup. might just be the part of the mem not making good contact with the HS but yeah if it artifacts at 60C then it's an RMA.
 
reflash the stock BIOS. You might have messed something up in the flash. If it was not artifacting at stock speeds before the flash than it probably was user error.
 
Could be ATiTool, it's crap for "Artifact Scanning"...

Use your eyes, run highly intensive games for an hour or so.
 
With my X1800XT using Rivatuner, I noticed that in 3d mode the core voltage went up .1 v, from 1.3 to 1.4. One use for a dual monitor setup. :)

Using ATI Tool to set the clocks I found that the card stayed at 1.3v and did not change the core voltage during 3d mode. This cause alot of issues even at stock 3d clocks.

The ATI Tool is not using a true 3d mode at least on the X1800XT.

You might try using the standard ATI overdrive panel and run 3dmark2001 or 2003, both of those can show artifacting easy when run in loops. Like someone said, just use your eyes. Thats what we did in the old days......
 
As mentioned, you will have a hard time getting to stock clocks without modifying the voltage as well. ATI Tool prompts you to disable the 2D/3D voltage switch the Catalyst driver normally employs. So, try to OC the card using Catalyst only and see if there is any difference.
 
621 MHz core is not a downclock - my stock XT clocks are 621/721. It's normal to have a *slightly* different clockspeed to what the manufacturer states. You'll have a hard time getting an RMA if you get no artifacts with the stock bios and stock clocks. Unless they are incredibly lenient, you're looking at simply incurring a testing fee and the postage costs to send it back to you. What posessed you to flash to XTX bios without testing 650/775 first? My card can't manage those speeds, therefore I haven't flashed. Pretty simple really. Much as I wanted to send it back, I didn't have a valid reason for doing so.
 
hi thanks for all the feedback fellas.
ive managed to oc the card using overdrive got it running at 650 core and 773 mem, seemingly artifact free. only tried with brothers in arms so far tho.
Will try with some other games later.

I flashed to the xtx because i read in a lot of places that there should be no probs doing it.
Another thing worth a mention is that i have managed to overclock to the xtx speeds without the artifacting i got before when playin bia using the flashed bios.
Theres obviously more to it than just higher clock and mem, prehaps tighter timings?
 
To OP:

You didn't say what volts you set in ATI Tool (need to set them to what they should be for 3D).

Also, did you try just overdrive (or stock) with the XTX BIOS? i.e. Were games etc. OK with the XTX BIOS without ATI Tool installed?
 
nemesis.ie said:
To OP:

You didn't say what volts you set in ATI Tool (need to set them to what they should be for 3D).

Also, did you try just overdrive (or stock) with the XTX BIOS? i.e. Were games etc. OK with the XTX BIOS without ATI Tool installed?
Click to expand...

I see, i didnt realise about the voltage. I have never used ati tool before.
I did not have ati tool running when i had flashed the to XTX
 
Slo Gun said:
I see, i didnt realise about the voltage. I have never used ati tool before.
I did not have ati tool running when i had flashed the to XTX
Click to expand...


In that case it sounds like you do indeed have a not-so-hot card.

That said, it might still be worth disabling the ATI Smart and key poller, installing ATI Tool, setting the volts right and seeing what you get ....... :)

You could start with: VGPU: 1.42, RAM at 2.05v each and VDCI (or whtever the last one is called at 1.46.

Make sure you have the fan running full bore when testing though and only lower it when you are happy the temps are not too high at 100%.

As always: no responsibility if you fry your card!
:D
 
Im just gonna leave it for the moment, at least until i do the lapping thing, or get a new heatsink.
 
I think there's more to it also....Mine was artifacting quite a lot in 3DMark05 when I flashed to XTX - it looked like a polka dot overlay....This was at stock XTX speeds after the flash. After firing up ATITool and setting the fan to 100%, it did make a difference as there was much less artifacting, but it was still there. However, when I flashed back to stock BIOS and overclocked to XTX speeds with Overdrive and then ATITool, there was no artifacting at all even after a few hours. In fact, I was able to get another 20MHz at stock volts without ill effect. My card must not like the BBA XTX bios either!
 
Synful Serenity said:
I think there's more to it also....Mine was artifacting quite a lot in 3DMark05 when I flashed to XTX - it looked like a polka dot overlay....
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what happend to me!
 
Good news! I used a Sapphire X1900XTX bios and just flashed my Sapphire X1900XT and guess what?? No more shower curtain effect! And this after the BBA X1900XTX bios which was supposedly the same....weird! You should try it too....I've heard some people being able to clock further than they could with the stock XT bios.
 
any chance you could send me a copy of that, or know where i could get it from?
ta
 
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