9600XT vmem/vgpu and lack of power

[NST6563]

I've done the vmem and vgpu mods on my Sapphire 9600xt a couple weeks ago. Got my speeds to 630/745 with 1.35v to gpu and 2.95v to mem.

however, when I up the vgpu, I cannot clock the mem as high as before. For instance, if I up the vgpu to 1.45 or 1.5 (which gets me a nice solid 660 on the core) I can only clock the ram to around 340/350 (ddr would be 680/700).

is there a way to run a 3.3v line straight to the mosfets on the card so that it can pull the power it needs direct from the psu instead of loading the mb?

[funktional]

Cant you just give the RAM more voltage with your vmem mod? This happened on my card, too. Upping the vmem helped.

[NST6563]

well, when I try that I get artifacts on my ram if I go above 3.05v

[NST6563]

pic of my card in case this helps...
front....
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/9600xtfront.jpg

back....
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/9600xtmods.jpg

back without the text....
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/9600xtback.jpg

[skate2snow]

on www.unoid.net/9600PRO in the power modding, you will see something called the FDD mod, its exactly what youre asking for.

NOTE: if you have a PSU 3.3V rail mod, it wont work.

[NST6563]

yeah, I'm quite familiar with Unoid's site. Very good and informative...but hasn't been updated much since he received the 9600xt bios'.

I'd love to do the mod, and I don't have a 3.3v psu mod. However, if you take a second look at the pics of my card, it is a rev. 2.0 board and is missing all the components to make the fdd mod work.

If I had a list of those components , I could possibly order them and perform the mod by adding all the missing parts. It would be fairly tough and time consuming...but hey...what fun is modding if it's a 5 minute fix?? :p:

I've got an lm63 on order to add the thermal monitoring. However, I won't be adding it until I get the values of the missing caps/resistors that are around it. There's only a few, but it's getting the values that is the problem.

[L337 M33P]

I was thinking about doing an LM63 mod as well - but there are two patches where a chip could go - one has a standarc SOIC landing zone, the other has a more dense pin arrangement. What we really need is someone WITH thermal monitoring on their 9600XT to take a closeup pic and report the component values.

As for the 3.3V mod, have you checked to see what voltage is on the caps?

The GPU MOSFETs are the two little chips side by side at the top left of the picture above. Soldering a power line to the drain legs of the upper MOSFET (in circuit diagram, may not be same on the board!!!) should give you a boost - but you need to confirm which line voltage powers the GPU.

[NST6563]

this may help. I've been googling the idea for a couple weeks now. I have some pics and links I can post for you if you can make anything else out of them. This would be a kickass mod, and not all that hard to do IMO as long as we had the right parts (which I think is just the LM63 and surrounding resistors and caps).

EDIT: It looks as if the right part is an LM63CIMA. There are 3 or four versions of the LM63, all the ones I've seen that are related to the 9600xt are CIMA. And from the pics I've seen, it looks as if the chip is mounted on the larger set of contacts.

check these out...
www.computerbase.de (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/grafikkarten/ati/2004/februar/overdrive_overdrive/&prev=/search%3Fq%3D9600xt%2Blm63%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den% 26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN)

and some pics I've collected. When I've run across a site that has info on this, they all usually have the same pic... and none are very detailed...disappointing.

http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/lm63.jpg
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/gigabyte96xtback.jpg
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/9600xtvolts.jpg

[L337 M33P]

Here's the bit where I say :eh?:

That pic you posted at the bottom is exactly the same design as mine, yet it has an LM63 :mad: - Sapphire obviously didn't get their heads screwed on right when ordering components for this card :p

I want one too!

[NST6563]

really? bummer. Mine's a Sapphire also...but a *slightly* different design. The only difference I see offhand (not by close inspection) is the area where the vgpu mod is done.

at least we have something to go by though. All we need is someone with that chip to take a macro shot of that area so the other components can be matched.

I'll see if I can find the source of that last pic. I'm pretty sure I grabbed it from a forum...either a thread on Xtreme or OCForums.

[NST6563]

I pm'd the person that had that photo of the lm63. Hopefully they can take and post a hi-res pic of the lm63 area.

I think I know what color codes of the smt caps are missing, but I don't know what value corresponds to them. They are all a shade of yellow. One is a darkish-brown yellow, the other a lighter color of yellow. One just looks like mustard.

[NST6563]

I took some voltage readings from those vr's you mentioned. check out the pic as to what they output.

Looks as if they both output the same thing. However I did notice that the legs that aren't even reading 1v (which should be the ground) have a voltage differential from the rest of the case...which I found odd.

however, if I measure the output pin to the gnd, I get 1.25v on BOTH regulators. but if I measure the vOut to the case gnd, I get a reading that is 1.86v on one vr and 1.5v on the other.
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/9600xtmodvolts.jpg

[L337 M33P]

Oops, not those :S

On the other side of the card, directly underneath/on top of where the GPU controller is there are 2 8-pin packages that are most likely the GPU MOSFETs. You should read the voltages from these, but MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SHORT THE PINS!!!

[NST6563]

oh...haha...oops...

That'll be a little more difficult to measure in the case...I'll see what I can do though :)

thanks.

as far as the lm63, I think all that is needed besides that chip are 3 caps. which I'll be getting the values of fairly soon.

[skate2snow]

where is the GPU controller? and is that for the 9600PRO too(the voltage reading)?

[NST6563]

the reading for vgpu should be the same spot for both 9600pros and XTs.

look at my pic of the back of the card with the labels, where it says "VGPU ISL6522CB pins 5 & 7" with the green arrow pointing to the IC...that's the controller for the gpu.

[skate2snow]

Im so sad, when i try to read on the 3 points i dont get anything(anymore) i hope i didnt fry my board!:(

[NST6563]

for vgpu, I use the set of points closest to my 10k pot in the picture above.

If you're getting video, but aren't reading anything from those points...I'm not sure what to tell you other than make sure you're reading them right. If the card still works, you prolly didn't fry it.

double check unoid's site, he has a lot of pics of 9600pros. www.unoid.net

[skate2snow]

Its becoze i dont know if i have video or no...LOL. I dont have my CPU yet, so i cant check. I will have my CPU in 2 days. If its dead i will go check for a 9800XT, i have found one for 600$ CND, 375$ US. Good price. But i still hope i didnt fry anything.

[NST6563]

sux man. well, either way, you'll be very happy with a 9800 card. runs circles around the 9600xt...but since I didn't have the money for a 9800 card, I got the 9600xt...and man...it's fun to tweak :)

don't think I've ever had a card that was this much fun to mod and overclock.

hell, once I took out my sblive and went with the onboard sound on my p4p800-d, my framerates increased a BUNCH! I could actually play Splinter Cell at 1600x1200 with all the eye candy turned on, 2xaa, 16xaf. Now the live lives in a box :)

[skate2snow]

The problem, is i dont have the money for a 9800XT. But instead of buying a new card that performs not better....

[NST6563]

well, glad I'm not the only one that doesn't have the money for the high end cards :)

I hope you didn't fry it though...the 9600xt is so fun to mod and overclock.

[skate2snow]

the 9600PRO too!!!! I love this card. And ive said(to me) that i dont whant to spend more money on this gen, and wait the Tejas, R423=AMAZING!!!!!(if its as good that i think it will)

[NST6563]

FYI:!!!

I found the values of the capacitors that are needed. ther are as follows:

2 caps are connected near pin 1 with the values of 100pf and .1uf.
1 cap is between pins 2 and three with the value of 2.2nf.

see diagram below.
I'll be doing this mod as soon as my caps come in!!!!


http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/lm63 diagram.jpg

[L337 M33P]

Those values on the datasheet are designed to be used with the Pentium 4's internal diode. I think the behaviour of the diode in the 9600XT GPU may be different and so using the default values of caps and resistors may give you different readings.

I thought you needed the transistor and extra resistor but it seems that you don't as it's a PWM controller. I have my fan on full all the time, which by the way I modded :D

I also have some more high-res pics for you to figure out what goes where as you can see the PCB traces in them. Yell if you want them, I will create a gallery of them.


http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/9600XTmod1.jpg

[enzoR]

Why wont the FDD mod work if your 3.3v rail is high?

[skate2snow]

Its only a sefety on the 9600PRO. The PSU will shut down when the 9600PRO wont accept that voltage. But i dont care, i have three PSU:p:

[enzoR]

oh i see... hmmm waiting for hipro to tell me how to hook up 5v to the mosfets of the IC7-G :D

[NST6563]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Those values on the datasheet are designed to be used with the Pentium 4's internal diode. I think the behaviour of the diode in the 9600XT GPU may be different and so using the default values of caps and resistors may give you different readings.

I thought you needed the transistor and extra resistor but it seems that you don't as it's a PWM controller. I have my fan on full all the time, which by the way I modded :D

I also have some more high-res pics for you to figure out what goes where as you can see the PCB traces in them. Yell if you want them, I will create a gallery of them.



some more hi-res pics would be great.

as far as the values, I noticed it said P4 on there AFTER the post...got excited :rolleyes:

anyway, I cannot find a source that says what the possible values of caps are with certain colors. I'm assuming they can be "anything", and the color is up to the manufacturer.

The only other way I know to find out would be to de-solder the 3 caps and measure them in a meter, then solder them back on.
If someone feels up to it, that would be great, if not...I can just try the cap for the p4 and see what temps show.

I think the one that really matters is the one for pins 2 & 3 since it's the one from the thermal diode.

I'm not an EE, so please correct me if I'm wrong....

[Unoid]

I really havne't had much more content to add to the site, I've been given more pics and mroe bios files but really bios files are worthless for our cuase, and the extra pics don't relaly help.

If anything new comes laong like different vmods for diff layout cards or a new type of mod I'll work on getting a new write up it, the stuff you guys are doing looks interesting.

as far as the fdd power mod that works sometimes and othertimes it doens't I wish some ati engineers could help us out o nthe issue

[hkalex]

hi all, i'm new here..

i have got 2 pieces of LM63CIMA, how can i do the LM63 mod??

[L337 M33P]

Basically what we were thinking of was soldering the LM63 on the place where it usually goes. We don't know the resistor and capacitor values yet, and I don't have an LM63 :( so nobody has done it.

[hkalex]

i can tell you where can get a LM63 for free, and then you can do that too~~

i have bought some SMD Caps too~~

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
i can tell you where can get a LM63 for free, and then you can do that too~~

i have bought some SMD Caps too~~

Where can a LM63CIMA be gotten for free??? The cheapest I found was actually from National Semiconductor themselves, and for a 2-piece sample it was around $5 + shipping.

Digi-key rips you a new one if you don't order a $20 minimum, and mouser didn't seem to have the CIMA.

what are the values of the caps you have? I *think* the ones I listed in the diagram will work (even though the example is for a P4, it's the EXACT same layout as on the 9600xt's), the worst thing that would happen is that the temp would be off. at that point it's just trial/error to get the right value...unless an engineer somewhere could figure that one out....or someone de-soldered the caps on their 9600xt w/lm63 and hooked them up to a dmm and tested them (I'd do it since I can do smt soldering, and have access to a smt machine...but don't have a card w/lm63).

[hkalex]

i have just recived the UPS express pack, it carry 5 of LM63 for me, so...i'm now got 7 pieces of it~~:D

the SMD that i have got now :

Series 0805 - 100pf 50V +10% / -10%
Series 1206 - 100pf ?V +5% / -5%
Series 0603 - 100pf 50V +5% / -5%
Series 0805 - 0.1uf 50V +20% / -20%
Series 0805 - 1uf 16V +80% / -20%

and i dont know which voltage should i use, so i bought all of them~~:(

and i cant found 2.2nF caps~~:(
do u know what is the manufacturer of it??:confused:

incase, i am confused at what is the voltage of the caps~

[hkalex]

OT: what is the manufacturer of P27AJ ???:confused:

[L337 M33P]

Originally posted by NST6563
Where can a LM63CIMA be gotten for free??? The cheapest I found was actually from National Semiconductor themselves, and for a 2-piece sample it was around $5 + shipping.

Digi-key rips you a new one if you don't order a $20 minimum, and mouser didn't seem to have the CIMA.

what are the values of the caps you have? I *think* the ones I listed in the diagram will work (even though the example is for a P4, it's the EXACT same layout as on the 9600xt's), the worst thing that would happen is that the temp would be off. at that point it's just trial/error to get the right value...unless an engineer somewhere could figure that one out....or someone de-soldered the caps on their 9600xt w/lm63 and hooked them up to a dmm and tested them (I'd do it since I can do smt soldering, and have access to a smt machine...but don't have a card w/lm63).

When National Semiconductor asked you to sign up for all their stuff, what did you do? Just fill out the "company name" and such with random names? I would like some modestly priced samples :)

It's not so much the capacitor values (those are for prevention of noise screwing up the readings, so they can be substituted for the data sheet ones), it's the few but critical resistors on the datasheet. These bias the RV360's internal diode properly, and if you get it wrong then the temp monitoring will be nonlinear as well as offset.

EDIT: I will email hardware.monitor.team@nsc.com to find out if any compensation is required. My inclination is "bung the chip in and see what happens" - we don't need the PWM, Alert or tachometer functions so all we need are 3.3v, ground, SMBus and diode pins, which are already wired :)

I think that we may be able to scan the SMBus using MBM5 once we get the thing soldered on - it has a fixed address so we would maybe get MBM to read from it? Address is $4C, btw.

Edit2: The datasheet says the chip is backwards compatible with LM86 - MBM5 doesn't list either as supported sensors, but I suppose we could come up with an ini hack :) - all the info and register details are in the datasheet.

Also the chip has a remote and local thermal diode, it seems. There are registers for both so we get an extra one free :D - remote temperature is accurate to +- 1°C and precise to 0.125°C, local temperature is +- 1°C precision. Both registers go from -55°C to +125°C...

[NST6563]

haha, no I didn't enter random info. I actually entered my real info in there. I figured what would it hurt, since I do work for a telecommunications company and I do support the workstations there...so I really wasn't lying about my position. And for the reason I wanted the samples, I simply told them to implement a circuit for monitoring system temperatures that could be utilized on different components of the pc such as the video card or motherboard.

They'll send you an email asking to verify everything and include a link to complete the order. sImple process really. If you don't want to fill in company info, you can always say you're a student doing research...in which case I suppose that's true too :)

I'm not sure what voltage the caps I have are for...I got them from a friend here that owns an electronics company. He can't get the LM63's though. I honestly don't think the voltage will make much of a difference since the card isn't running with high voltage anyway...especially with the lm63.

There are already resistors in place on my card...so I'm assuming all that is needed to complete the circuit is the lm63 and the three caps. The resistors may be of different values though...which is where the screwey temps would come in

[L337 M33P]

Gah, needs credit card. I'm not 18 so I can't get one, and the user I created is in my name :-/

I have access to SMT capacitors, flux, paste and I have extra teeny bits for my soldering iron. Looks like I am all set, except for the LM63 :s

All I need to find is the right size of capacitors to use - voltage shouldn't be a problem as we are dealing with <5V here.

[hkalex]

so, thats mean you guys has already ordered the LM63 samples for free??

and means really doesnt matter with the voltage of the caps??:confused:

PS, please dont tell the others can get the LM63 for free, i dont want to see National stopping release free samples in the future :(

[NST6563]

National Semiconductor doesn't "give" away the samples for free. You can simply order them straight from N.S. in a number of pieces <100 as a sample. You still pay for them, you just don't have to buy from them in bulk quantities (Ie, 1000+) like the resellers do.
I think 5 LM63's would cost me about $10 shipped to me. I may just complete the order on Friday. Then have 5 of them shipped to me. I may offer the spares up if I don't think of another use...but they could be used on the regular SMBUS connection and with a little programming, you could do some really cool temperature control with them.

[hkalex]

hey guys, big news...........

i got a photo of HIS 9600XT with LM63 photos form my friend bought today.......

http://hk-submit.no-ip.com:2/bbs/attachments/rqkX_Resize%20of%20card%204.jpg

i got a bigger one of the photo, i will go to find another friend tomorrow to see him can get the cpas or not..

[L337 M33P]

Good work, HKalex.

OK I have done some more digging around the barren LM63 area and my findings are: We only need to put on the supply decoupling capacitors and the one across the thermal diode. There are resistors in place on the SMBus lines and there is power to the landing pads (+3.28V measured at where pin 1 would be, and on the landing pads of the caps).

It looks like the circuit designers at Sapphire tech wanted an easy day off so just copied the datasheet diagram. The #Alert/Tach pin seems to be set to "Alert" mode as the trace from the pin disappears somewhere in the board. Dunno what it will do when it overheats, but ALERT will go low and probably turn off the card. The PWM pin is routed with component spaces exactly as shown in the datasheet, but the PCB is without the resistors and transistor associated with it. We don't need it so I am not going to bother with these.

The caps we need to put on are: (I handily have a backup Radeon 9000 Pro with exactly the same size silk screen all over it, so I just found out the cap sizes from that card :))

C620 - 10uF capacitor, 1206 SMT package
C256 - 0.1uF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C257 - 2.2nF cap, 0603 SMT package.

As 10uF ceramic capacitors are about 10x more expensive than smaller value caps I went with a Tantalum 10uF 10V one.

Voltage ratings don't really matter as we are dealing with 3.3V here. I can buy tubes of 25 of these babies from Radio Spares for like 1.5 pence each :D

[NST6563]

sweet work L337 M33P, my lm63's should arrive shortly. The shipping information said 3-15 days, and that was last week when I ordered them. They're coming from Singapore, so probably leaning toward a 7-10 day delivery time if they use standard shipping.

can't wait to get them in. I have a few of the caps already, but I'm pretty sure I can get the rest w/ no problem. Got the first ones for free, maybe I can get the others that way too :)

man...if it works...what a kickass mod. in reality, not that hard, but still kickass to add a feature to a card that doesn't initially have it.

:toast:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Good work, HKalex.

OK I have done some more digging around the barren LM63 area and my findings are: We only need to put on the supply decoupling capacitors and the one across the thermal diode. There are resistors in place on the SMBus lines and there is power to the landing pads (+3.28V measured at where pin 1 would be, and on the landing pads of the caps).

It looks like the circuit designers at Sapphire tech wanted an easy day off so just copied the datasheet diagram. The #Alert/Tach pin seems to be set to "Alert" mode as the trace from the pin disappears somewhere in the board. Dunno what it will do when it overheats, but ALERT will go low and probably turn off the card. The PWM pin is routed with component spaces exactly as shown in the datasheet, but the PCB is without the resistors and transistor associated with it. We don't need it so I am not going to bother with these.

The caps we need to put on are: (I handily have a backup Radeon 9000 Pro with exactly the same size silk screen all over it, so I just found out the cap sizes from that card :))

C620 - 10uF capacitor, 1206 SMT package
C256 - 0.1uF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C257 - 2.2nF cap, 0603 SMT package.

As 10uF ceramic capacitors are about 10x more expensive than smaller value caps I went with a Tantalum 10uF 10V one.

Voltage ratings don't really matter as we are dealing with 3.3V here. I can buy tubes of 25 of these babies from Radio Spares for like 1.5 pence each :D

how can i know the value of the caps which they are on the other card?:confused:


Originally posted by NST6563
sweet work L337 M33P, my lm63's should arrive shortly. The shipping information said 3-15 days, and that was last week when I ordered them. They're coming from Singapore, so probably leaning toward a 7-10 day delivery time if they use standard shipping.

can't wait to get them in. I have a few of the caps already, but I'm pretty sure I can get the rest w/ no problem. Got the first ones for free, maybe I can get the others that way too :)

man...if it works...what a kickass mod. in reality, not that hard, but still kickass to add a feature to a card that doesn't initially have it.

:toast:

they shipped me with UPS:p:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by L337 M33P


C620 - 10uF capacitor, 1206 SMT package
C256 - 0.1uF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C257 - 2.2nF cap, 0603 SMT package.



where is C620 on the card??:eek:

is it C260??:)

[L337 M33P]

Oh I should have put

These values are for the Sapphire 9600XT ONLY! Other cards may not have the same layout or indeed the same components missing!

EDIT: Yes, it is 260 :)

[hkalex]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Oh I should have put

These values are for the Sapphire 9600XT ONLY! Other cards may not have the same layout or indeed the same components missing!

EDIT: Yes, it is 260 :)

:eek:

i cant find C260 on my Gecube 96XT :eek:

[L337 M33P]

Hence, ONLY FOR 9600XT BY SAPPHIRE!!!!

I may be able to figure out a mod for the GigaCube version of the card IF you can post extra-high-resolution pictures.

[hkalex]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Hence, ONLY FOR 9600XT BY SAPPHIRE!!!!

I may be able to figure out a mod for the GigaCube version of the card IF you can post extra-high-resolution pictures.

ok ok, please wait, i will post it now~:D

[hkalex]

Originally posted by hkalex
ok ok, please wait, i will post it now~:D

:D
it is 2048*1536

http://www.anti-x.org/Alex/PICT0986.JPG

[NST6563]

the area with the lm63 looks to be the same layout as on the Sapphire. nice high res pic too...it could use a little work on the lighting for better detail, but does the job :)

[L337 M33P]

Hmm. Excellent pic :)

The capacitor is not missing, it has merely been replaced by an electolytic one. You can see the leads poking through the board, so that problem has been solved :)

Also they have missed off the PWM circuitry as well, which is redundant in any design without an RPM sense wire, which most graphics cards don't have. I don't know why the Sapphire designers kept it on, laziness maybe?

I agree with NST6563, it is the same layout. Therefore

C256 - 0.1uF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C257 - 2.2nF cap, 0603 SMT package

And you should be good to go.


hkalex,
One thing you need to check with the card plugged in is CAREFULLY read the voltage on the pin marked in yellow. If you have 3.3V then you are good to go, there is power to the chip.
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/3.3Vmeasure.jpg

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
the area with the lm63 looks to be the same layout as on the Sapphire. nice high res pic too...it could use a little work on the lighting for better detail, but does the job :)

oh~thats great:toast:

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Hmm. Excellent pic :)

The capacitor is not missing, it has merely been replaced by an electolytic one. You can see the leads poking through the board, so that problem has been solved :)

Also they have missed off the PWM circuitry as well, which is redundant in any design without an RPM sense wire, which most graphics cards don't have. I don't know why the Sapphire designers kept it on, laziness maybe?

I agree with NST6563, it is the same layout. Therefore

C256 - 0.1uF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package
C257 - 2.2nF cap, 0603 SMT package

And you should be good to go.


hkalex,
One thing you need to check with the card plugged in is CAREFULLY read the voltage on the pin marked in yellow. If you have 3.3V then you are good to go, there is power to the chip.
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/3.3Vmeasure.jpg

thats mean just add the chips and those 3 caps is ok now??
but i still cant find the 2.2nF caps:(

and~

read the voltage with one pins connect to ground, right?:)

[L337 M33P]

Ironically, I have 2.2nF capacitors but the 100pF caps are out of stock :lol:

Yes, read the voltage with respect to ground.

[hkalex]

all of the caps on my hand are all not suitable for the mod~~:(

i have to buy the others today~:(

[L337 M33P]

Oh dear god

These capacitors are TINY!

http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/SMT-004.jpg

[NST6563]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Oh dear god

These capacitors are TINY!


haha! I noticed that too. I was thinking, "WTF? was I thinking!" when I got my original few.

the barrel type electrolytics wouldn't work would they? They'd be ugly, but for people having a hard time with smt it could be an alternative.

[L337 M33P]

They would require some bodging, but they would be easier to solder on than SMT caps. If electrolytics are used then a ceramic one must also be used to bypass the high-frequency noise.

I found National Semi's own program for reading and messing around with the LM series chips, but there is an eensy problem. It refuses to work on XP/2k and the PC running 98 didn't have an SMbus :p

http://www.national.com/appinfo/tempsensors/files/LMxx_v2.0.exe

Great operating system support, National :rolleyes:

[hkalex]

have u guys already done that??:confused:

[NST6563]

not yet.

l337, I wonder if they have the source code available.

[L337 M33P]

I have a new soldering iron bit - it's an 0.8mm point tip, which is almost a must for working with components this small. I recommend you find out about how to solder SMT chips on before doing the mod...

As for the National Semi app, there are plenty of good ones out there that read the SMBus so I don't think we need to bother with it.

[NST6563]

I've done SMT before, and If I'm feeling shaky, I can always run over to where my friend works and use their SMT machine to do the work.

I filed a normal tip down to around the .8range too.

[hkalex]

i can just found this caps in Hong Kong :(

C258 - 100pF cap, 0603 SMT Package X 60 pieces~~

would you guys mail me the others ~~:D

[NST6563]

If I have any extras, I can send them. However, since I'm getting them for free, I'm not sure how many I can get.

Digikey and Mouser ship worldwide I believe. I'd order from Mouser before Digikey though...Digikey has a minimum order requirement that if you don't meet, they charge you for it.

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
If I have any extras, I can send them. However, since I'm getting them for free, I'm not sure how many I can get.

Digikey and Mouser ship worldwide I believe. I'd order from Mouser before Digikey though...Digikey has a minimum order requirement that if you don't meet, they charge you for it.

would you telling me where can i order the cpas whcih i didnt got yet~~:toast:

[NST6563]

www.mouser.com should have what you need. fairly cheap prices too.

[hkalex]

but why cant i found 2.2nF (0603) in there :(

[Unoid]

would you guys stop bothering with that damn temp sensor crap and work on some performance voltage boosting stuff? :)

[STEvil]

lol unoid.

If the solder points are still in place for the floppy connector on the newer cards you should just have to add the connector and a few capacitors.

If they arent, you will have to find out what the +5v and +12v from the floppy connector provided power to on the old boards and then do basically that.

[STEvil]

Here is what needs to be done that I can see.

- Add the SMD capacitors (must be same size or larger)
- Add the 8 legged chip
- Add the missing diode (measure both sides of it on a card that already has it)

I also marked some locations in blue that I would suggest measuring the pads to see what they are handling voltwise. It may be a good idea to play capacitors there also (if thats what is meant to be there).

Thats about all I can see from the pic, would need a high res pic of front and back to tell more.

[Unoid]

there is actually a good bit more parts required. I jsut highlighted a few of the apparent ones to prove a point that it shouldn't not be attempted if you'r emissing some parts. (I shoulda used a pic of the front corner isntead)

even if you add the parts the bard might even be missing the traces....

[STEvil]

I doubt there are traces missing as changing PCB design just to remove traces but leave the extra component locations available is a bit costly at times ;)

BUT you're right, we would need a full list of parts to do it.

[Unoid]

not to mention it prolly won't help much at all anyways haha

[NST6563]

Originally posted by Unoid
would you guys stop bothering with that damn temp sensor crap and work on some performance voltage boosting stuff? :)

Because the point is to mod something that provides a *bit* of usefulness to a card that doesn't have it. Thermal monitoring can prove to be a useful feature if you're itching to get more performance.

besides, the LM63 does provide output to a PWM controller to adjust fan speed based on temperature or through software. Add this to a card and have a feature similar to the Abit FanEQ and that would be a pretty cool mod for someone that wants performance during gaming, but quiet when not.

figure out what parts are needed to add a floppy connector mod to a board that doesn't have the parts and we'll probably be doing that too...b/c I'd love to do that also.

[NST6563]

Just got my LM63's in. Now I'm just waiting on my friend to deliver the caps to me. Hopefully I can have it all by the weekend and then burn about an hour soldering the parts together.

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
Just got my LM63's in. Now I'm just waiting on my friend to deliver the caps to me. Hopefully I can have it all by the weekend and then burn about an hour soldering the parts together.

sounds good~~:toast:

[NST6563]

Well, my friend didn't get those caps to me in time for the weekend. He said early this week...bummer...I was just ITCHING to do this today. :(

What do the caps on the 3.3v power to pin 1 do??? are they REALLY necessary??? :rolleyes:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
Well, my friend didn't get those caps to me in time for the weekend. He said early this week...bummer...I was just ITCHING to do this today. :(

What do the caps on the 3.3v power to pin 1 do??? are they REALLY necessary??? :rolleyes:

o~~too bad:(

btw, i bought some caps use for this mod form China yesterday....:toast:

[L337 M33P]

Originally posted by NST6563
Well, my friend didn't get those caps to me in time for the weekend. He said early this week...bummer...I was just ITCHING to do this today. :(

What do the caps on the 3.3v power to pin 1 do??? are they REALLY necessary??? :rolleyes:

They supply line noise rejection - on a PCB as densely packed as a graphics card you get a load of crosstalk and noise on power lines, and when the voltage you are trying to measure fluctuates by a few millivolts you need all the filtering you can get.

You definitely need the 2.2nF near the D+ and D- pins, and you definitely need the 10uF decoupling capacitor. The rest I'd say are optional.

Hehe - you have LM63s but no caps, I have caps but no LM63s :D

[NST6563]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
They supply line noise rejection - on a PCB as densely packed as a graphics card you get a load of crosstalk and noise on power lines, and when the voltage you are trying to measure fluctuates by a few millivolts you need all the filtering you can get.

You definitely need the 2.2nF near the D+ and D- pins, and you definitely need the 10uF decoupling capacitor. The rest I'd say are optional.

Hehe - you have LM63s but no caps, I have caps but no LM63s :D

lol...they're on their way though at least.

[L337 M33P]

Got the LM63CIMAs today in the mail - a moddin' here I come...

Thanks NST6563 ;)

[NST6563]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Got the LM63CIMAs today in the mail - a moddin' here I come...

Thanks NST6563 ;)

DAMN! Got your stuff before I got mine! (that was pretty fast actually...I thought the USPS were going to be dumb about it and make it take a couple weeks)

Good luck man...can't wait to get the rest of my caps. Gonna have to go harrass my friend for them I guess....

[L337 M33P]

Mod failed :( :shrug:

I soldered everything on without a hitch, it didn't explode or smoke and I have exactly the same components on as BigZ has on his LM63'd card. Speedfan doesn't detect it and a dump of the SMBus fails to see any values at 0x4C.

One of two theories - A) the LM63 died of heat exposure when I put it on. Unlikely since it is running cool and without fuss.
b) the SMBus isn't connected to the card's landing pads - another resistor set somewhere controls access maybe?

And to top it all off I burned my left middle finger to the 2nd degree :(

[hkalex]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
Mod failed :( :shrug:

I soldered everything on without a hitch, it didn't explode or smoke and I have exactly the same components on as BigZ has on his LM63'd card. Speedfan doesn't detect it and a dump of the SMBus fails to see any values at 0x4C.

One of two theories - A) the LM63 died of heat exposure when I put it on. Unlikely since it is running cool and without fuss.
b) the SMBus isn't connected to the card's landing pads - another resistor set somewhere controls access maybe?

And to top it all off I burned my left middle finger to the 2nd degree :(

O~~~~~~~~~:slobber:

i have everythings ready now..........

[L337 M33P]

I will attempt diagnostics with an oscilloscope - which is what I have been lacking all this time. I defintely need "eyes" rather than plug 'n' pray. I am leaning towards dead LM63 at the moment though.

[hkalex]

The hope only is just the LM63 question

[NST6563]

could be the dead LM63. I looked at the datasheets again and it has a maximum storage temp (which should be the one that counts during soldering) of 150c.

If it got hotter than that it may have caused damage. It seems that the max operating temp is about 85c.

I can't imagine the chip being damaged though...holding the iron on there long enough to overheat the chip would most likely also damage the pad.

:confused:


The only other thing I can think of is that the card needs the bios flashed with the bios from a card that supports the lm63 in order to enable it. Could be as simple as that. I'm at work right now, but when I get home I'll check to see if I have a bios from a card w/lm63. I'm pretty sure I do, but I had to format a couple weeks ago and may have to get them again.

[L337 M33P]

Hmm

The AGP pinout for 8X cards locates SMB0 and SMB1 pins on the other side of the card connector - pins A66 and B66 are farthest from the PCI bracket - that's a hella long way for the traces to run O.o - unless I have is ass backwards and the LM63 is actually right next to the pins.

Edit: I'm fairly sure I didn't crisp the chip, but would a BIOS flash affect the detection of the chip on the SMBus? There are no connections, other than possibly the #Alert pin (to turn the GPU off in case of overheating) that would go to the GPU or BIOS chip. I'm still betting on something else missing or *possibly* dead LM63.

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
could be the dead LM63. I looked at the datasheets again and it has a maximum storage temp (which should be the one that counts during soldering) of 150c.

If it got hotter than that it may have caused damage. It seems that the max operating temp is about 85c.

I can't imagine the chip being damaged though...holding the iron on there long enough to overheat the chip would most likely also damage the pad.

:confused:


The only other thing I can think of is that the card needs the bios flashed with the bios from a card that supports the lm63 in order to enable it. Could be as simple as that. I'm at work right now, but when I get home I'll check to see if I have a bios from a card w/lm63. I'm pretty sure I do, but I had to format a couple weeks ago and may have to get them again.

i have a bios that support overdrive and temp monitoring

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Download/Download.asp?DownloadPath=/VGA/FileList/BIOS/bios_r96x128d_f2.exe

that is a giga-byte bios, i am using it with my GeCube 96XT with overdrive support:toast:

[L337 M33P]

Also MBM saved my life today - I forgot to plug the fan in and it beeped at me :)

[enzoR]

maybe the LM63 just got fried with static? or is it not that static sensitive?

[L337 M33P]

nah - they are pretty resilient with ESD clamps on all the inputs. There isn't much in them to zap.

[NST6563]

any new developements?

I haven't had a chance to follow the traces on my card to see which AGP pins they go to. Was going to do that...but had to do "more important things" around the house (like change the lightbulbs in the garage, basement, and some damn yardwork..:mad: )

[L337 M33P]

Yep, the SMB0 and SMB1 pins are at the other end of the tab. I could check them for continuity but if I get it wrong I will be applying -1.5V to the GPU. Not good :s

http://wired.hard.ru/data/pin_agp.shtml

[L337 M33P]

I took the card out again and there is continuity between the SMB1/0 pins and LM63, but it was about 9K so I don't know if it was travelling through some other circuit. Anyway, here are some pictures (800K each)

http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/lm63ness-013.jpg
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/lm63ness-014.jpg
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/lm63ness-015.jpg
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/lm63ness-016.jpg
http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/lm63ness-017.jpg

[NST6563]

Looks like you did a good job on that. :)

I also noticed your pictures got progressively better :)


I wonder what would happen if you just ran a jumper to the smb pins on the agp bus and bypassed the original circuit on the card? It may not directly support overdrive, but whoop-de-doo on that....it's the temp monitor that really matters.


Still waiting for my caps. They were loaded into the smt machine last I spoke to my friend. Gonna have to bug him to pull a couple off the real again... :stick:

[L337 M33P]

Heh, after-effects of adrenaline wearing off meant my hands got steadier again :D

I think I will wait to see how yours turns out before ripping mine apart - it could still either be the dead LM63 or non-connected pins as I don't have an oscilloscope for definite proof.

[NST6563]

I'm hoping to get mine done early next week. You can bet I'll be working on it the day I get the rest of the parts.

[NST6563]

well...I got the parts in. warmed up the iron, relaxed a bit...then soldered away. (damn that stuff is tiny...shoulda got a magnifying glass!)

Here's an aftershot:
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/mod/saph-LM63.jpg

did better on the soldering than I thought I would...but alas...no thermal tab/overdrive tab in the drivers. I've even re-installed the drivers (albeit I installed the Omega's...will try the ATI brand tomorrow.) and nothing. was going to flash the bios....but realised I don't have a bios that will work with this card AND has the thermal monitoring/overdrive support.


know of anyone with a Sapphire card that has overdrive/thermal monitoring support?????

I don't have access to a scope...so I'm outta luck there. Ideas anyone???

[L337 M33P]

It is unlikely that both of us killed our LM63s. This is leaning towards some other connection that needs to be bridged or made, even though there seemed to be continuity between the SMB0 and SMB1 AGP pins and pins 7/8.

Dragging my PC into college ain't gonna happen though :/ - I might just buy an oscilloscope off Ebay since they are indispensible.

[hkalex]

oh no~~

everyone is failed~~~

wanna cry~~:(

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
oh no~~

everyone is failed~~~

wanna cry~~:(

HAHA! GUESS AGAIN! :eek:

Check it out. It was the bios as I suspected. All the connections are there and ready, but the function must be turned on in the 9600xt bios. Here's a screenshot and the bios that I used.

http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/mod/OVERDRIVE!.jpg

Links to the files....
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/mod/r9600xt.rom
http://pages.prodigy.net/jamesweber/mod/rambios.exe


One thing to note. Use RAMBIOS.EXE *FIRST* to load the bios and make sure it's compatible with your card. I first tried a gigabyte bios and it didn't like it. The r9600xt.rom I think is a true BBA 9600xt bios.

I haven't tested the overclocking on it yet though, so I'm not sure if I can still hit 650/370 or if I can go higher or have to go lower.

anyone that's good at Bios code could come in handy now to find the bits in the file that are different and responsible for turning the feature on.


WOOT!!!

-----Am I the first one to do this??? :banana: :banana: :banana:

:toast:

[NST6563]

ok, just did some quick tests with ATITool and my overclock hasn't changed.

sweet! now a fully functional 9600xt. I'm almost glad it didn't come with the thermal monitoring to begin with...then I wouldn't have gotten to do this mod :)


oh, the highest my temps got were 43c and that was with the core clocked at 650Mhz. There was only a 4c difference between stock 500Mhz and 650Mhz. Maybe I need better cooling? I'm not using a copper heatsink, it's an aluminum P233MMX heatsink that I dremeled to fit on the 9600xt. it's about 3 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, and 1 inch tall with a 60mm fan blowing on it (that was pulled from a P3 heatsink).

I hit 650Mhz on the core with no artifacts but when I go above 650, GPU recover kicks in after a couple minutes of 3d action. so I'm thinking heat may be holding me back. might have to invest in a 1u copper heatsink.

[funktional]

Great work :toast:

I always had a look at this thread and I must say Im quite impressed how much time, research and work you invested.
Im glad that it works for you :banana:

Maybe we could go a bit deeper into modding those 9600XTs. I found out that the cards can go to about 1.6V and slightly above before I get artifacts in the Boot screen already. by upping the Vref (which is the mod that I first claimed as Vddq in the 9600xt vmods thread) I can go much higher with the voltages (1.8V and more).
But when I raise GPU clocks or Vref I have to raise the vmem to make the current clocks stable. If I raise the Vref above 1.5V I have to lower the clock frequencies no matter what Vmem.
As the Vref should be twice the vddq the vddq mod might help. What do you guys think? Any Idea where to mod the vddq?

[NST6563]

Originally posted by funktional
Great work :toast:

I always had a look at this thread and I must say Im quite impressed how much time, research and work you invested.
Im glad that it works for you :banana:

Maybe we could go a bit deeper into modding those 9600XTs. I found out that the cards can go to about 1.6V and slightly above before I get artifacts in the Boot screen already. by upping the Vref (which is the mod that I first claimed as Vddq in the 9600xt vmods thread) I can go much higher with the voltages (1.8V and more).
But when I raise GPU clocks or Vref I have to raise the vmem to make the current clocks stable. If I raise the Vref above 1.5V I have to lower the clock frequencies no matter what Vmem.
As the Vref should be twice the vddq the vddq mod might help. What do you guys think? Any Idea where to mod the vddq?

hmmm....that would be a good one too wouldn't it? I have the same problem as you. I haven't modded vref, but when I raise vgpu above 1.45v, I have to lower the memory clock (which I think was actually was this thread was originally about...is just took a turn). I would think that vddq would help that a little...maybe not as much as we'd like, but any gain is a bonus :)

[L337 M33P]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Good work

Heh you are the first person to do this - ever - congrats :D

Time for a little flashing of my own :)

Just for a little diagnostic - what happens when you dump the SMB in motherboard monitor 5? Anything at address 0x2C?

General - system info pane - debug dump - SMB dump (will take a while)

Does speedfan pick up the temp also? I have a feeling since it is BIOS controlled that ATi pulled a proprietary interface on us - i.e. the temp is read by the GPU and drivers read the GPU.

[L337 M33P]

OK I attempted the flash with FlashROM 2.23 - it threw a wobbler saying that the memory parameters were different. I did not flash - is your card a 256MB one?

[hkalex]

oh...great:banana: :banana: :banana:


i am supprise that you really found what's the problem ~~:eek:

as u said, the giga-byte bios <<--- is that one i posted before??
:confused:


as you gus known, i am using the GeXcube 9600XT(-2.8ns Samsung BGA 128MB), it seems using the 96Pro's PCB, how about is your cards??
is it 96XT PCB or 96Pro PCB:confused: :confused:

as above, why i can use the giga-byte's BIOS with my card??:confused:
also enabled the overdrive:p:

the GeXcube's BIOS dosent.....:mad:

i will go to use the [rambios.exe] to test my card later when i'm back to home....just a few hours i think:rolleyes:

(now i am in my friend's home, his computer got the MS.Blaster...:cool: )

i will going to test whih the [rambios.exe] with my card first, even i didnt solder the LM63 and the SMD to it yet.....:(

[NST6563]

Originally posted by L337 M33P
OK I attempted the flash with FlashROM 2.23 - it threw a wobbler saying that the memory parameters were different. I did not flash - is your card a 256MB one?

mine's not 256Mb, and I got the same wobbler you're talking about. I used the RAMBIOS first to verify my card would boot with it. Once I saw that it would boot the card in RAMBIOS, I flashed it with:

flashrom -p 0 r9600xt.rom -f

that forces it to flash, takes less than 3 seconds I think. reboot, check the advanced button in the display settings and the Overdrive Tab should be there.

I haven't tried MBM5 or Speedfan yet. I'll do that if I have time this weekend. I've got a lot of work to do this weekend for my job (110 new workstations need setup by Monday)

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
oh...great:banana: :banana: :banana:


i am supprise that you really found what's the problem ~~:eek:

as u said, the giga-byte bios <<--- is that one i posted before??
:confused:


as you gus known, i am using the GeXcube 9600XT(-2.8ns Samsung BGA 128MB), it seems using the 96Pro's PCB, how about is your cards??
is it 96XT PCB or 96Pro PCB:confused: :confused:

as above, why i can use the giga-byte's BIOS with my card??:confused:
also enabled the overdrive:p:

the GeXcube's BIOS dosent.....:mad:

i will go to use the [rambios.exe] to test my card later when i'm back to home....just a few hours i think:rolleyes:

(now i am in my friend's home, his computer got the MS.Blaster...:cool: )

i will going to test whih the [rambios.exe] with my card first, even i didnt solder the LM63 and the SMD to it yet.....:(

Not sure why my card didn't like the Gigabyte Bios. I know that the Sapphires use a slightly different design than the reference 9600xt/pro boards. That may be why.

But like I said, Use Rambios to verify the card will boot with that bios, and if it does, flash it and see if the overdrive tab appears. Keep a PCI card handy just in case. I made a .bat file to restore the original bios in case the flash went bad.

[hkalex]

oh~~no........:(

when i using the Command Line in winxp with [rambios r9600xt.rom]

it shows this.......:(

thats mean i cannt use this BIOS file??:confused:

[hkalex]

but even i test with the original BIOS and the giga-byte's one.....
it shows the same screen, why???????????????

i am using the giga-byte's one....why will shows that too??

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
but even i test with the original BIOS and the giga-byte's one.....
it shows the same screen, why???????????????

i am using the giga-byte's one....why will shows that too??

it's b/c you're running it from within XP. Boot to a dos boot disk and then try it (you can make a Dos boot disk in XP in the Format menu). You must be in pure dos w/no drivers or TSR's loaded to use Rambios. Same thing to flash the bios. I wouldn't trust the new ATI Winflash...even though the winflash programs for most MB's seem to work ok, I still don't trust it.

[hkalex]

o~~ic...

i though i can test it in the windows.....

cos i will nerver shut down my computer if is not required to....

ok then, i will test it now....

and one more thing, which Flash program shuold i use, i have a Flash program called [ATIFLASH.EXE] with [DOS4GW.EXE], i think they are the offical Flash program, right?

[hkalex]

i have finished the test...

it shows like below....(i have test for 4 bios files)


1. rambios r9600xt.rom -->>
P/N113-PC1910-14
RAMBIOS loaded at 091F:0000

2. rambios -r9600xt.rom -->> (this bios i downloaded from http://www.radeon2.ru/bios/r9600xt.zip)
P/N113-PC1910-14
RAMBIOS loaded at 18AE:0000

3. rambios original.bin -->> (this one is the stock bios when i bought)
GC-R96XTG-C3 S1G
RAMBIOS loaded at 283D:0000

4. rambios r96x12d.f2 -->> (this one is the giga-byte's one)
R96X128D F2
RAMBIOS locaded at 37CC:0000



thats mean i can use these four BIOS anyway??:toast:

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
i have finished the test...

it shows like below....(i have test for 4 bios files)


1. rambios r9600xt.rom -->>
P/N113-PC1910-14
RAMBIOS loaded at 091F:0000

2. rambios -r9600xt.rom -->> (this bios i downloaded from http://www.radeon2.ru/bios/r9600xt.zip)
P/N113-PC1910-14
RAMBIOS loaded at 18AE:0000

3. rambios original.bin -->> (this one is the stock bios when i bought)
GC-R96XTG-C3 S1G
RAMBIOS loaded at 283D:0000

4. rambios r96x12d.f2 -->> (this one is the giga-byte's one)
R96X128D F2
RAMBIOS locaded at 37CC:0000



thats mean i can use these four BIOS anyway??:toast:

If Rambios came back and said Loaded at xxxx:xxxx then you should be alright to use that Bios. Mostly just make sure that the ram on your card matches the ram on the card that the bios came from. For instance, if the imported bios came from a card with 2.8ns ram, you wouldn't want to put that on a card with 3.3ns ram. Timings and cas ratings would most likely be different and cause the card not to boot.

I use flashrom.exe. I think I got it from that same .ru site you listed.

[hkalex]

oh, thanks....

btw, which is the ram timming of the BIOS you have listed ??

is your card using -2.8ns Samsung??

cos mine is.....thanks anyway :D

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
oh, thanks....

btw, which is the ram timming of the BIOS you have listed ??

is your card using -2.8ns Samsung??

cos mine is.....thanks anyway :D

my card uses samsung 2.8ns. so does the r9600xt.rom bios I posted.

[L337 M33P]

I flashed your BIOS after checking with rambios that it would work - result = winnar!

BUT: Rivatuner, speedfan, MBM5 all fail to detect the sensor :( - looks like I am stuck with the control panel :stick:

[NST6563]

:toast:


SWEET!

That's 2 mods confirmed...good enough for me!

hkalex - your next :stick:


Hey Unoid, you can add this one to your site now.

[enzoR]

Originally posted by funktional
Great work :toast:

I always had a look at this thread and I must say Im quite impressed how much time, research and work you invested.
Im glad that it works for you :banana:

Maybe we could go a bit deeper into modding those 9600XTs. I found out that the cards can go to about 1.6V and slightly above before I get artifacts in the Boot screen already. by upping the Vref (which is the mod that I first claimed as Vddq in the 9600xt vmods thread) I can go much higher with the voltages (1.8V and more).
But when I raise GPU clocks or Vref I have to raise the vmem to make the current clocks stable. If I raise the Vref above 1.5V I have to lower the clock frequencies no matter what Vmem.
As the Vref should be twice the vddq the vddq mod might help. What do you guys think? Any Idea where to mod the vddq?


Isnt VDDQ the "Vmem"? :stick:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
:toast:


SWEET!

That's 2 mods confirmed...good enough for me!

hkalex - your next :stick:


Hey Unoid, you can add this one to your site now.

yeah:toast: :toast:

i will try my best for it~~

[funktional]

Originally posted by enzoR
Isnt VDDQ the "Vmem"? :stick:

Vddr and Vddq are both vmem. As far as I know Vddr is the supply voltage and the vddq is the signal voltage.

[L337 M33P]

Originally posted by funktional
Vddr and Vddq are both vmem. As far as I know Vddr is the supply voltage and the vddq is the signal voltage.

Not quite [from a PM I wrote explaining this]

VDDQ is the voltage supplied to the input and output buffers on a DDR RAM.

http://www.uploadit.org/L337M33P/VDDQ.JPG

In the pic above, which is a schematic of a Samsung RAM chip off a graphics card, the items circled in red are usually powered by VDDQ. Increasing the voltage to DDQ can result in better overclocking as the input/output buffers can switch faster, but it is more risky as you are also increasing the voltage of signals on the bus - which could fry GPUs or northbridges.

The data on DDQ mods is varied, and most people don't do the actual mod so exactly how much it affects overclocking in a particular situation, I can't say.

[NST6563]

I did a vddq mod to my old GF2GTS card awhile back. It gave a NICE boost in memory overclock if I remember correctly. I believe it was in the area of 20Mhz (which was a huge amount for that card)

Is there a formula for calculating what vddq should be? like half of the supply voltage?

also, since there seem to be conflicting statements on the issue, where exactly is the vddq read from? And if the original vmem mod is the supply voltage, then does anyone have an idea as to what the vddq *should* be (safe ranges).

If I could get another 20Mhz out of my ram, that would put me at the 780Mhz ddr range.

also....what and where is Vref?

and since I haven't mentioned it...THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT THAT MADE THE LM63 MOD POSSIBLE!!! :toast:

[enzoR]

Here are my notes that i gathered from samsung:

VTT = VREF (in value)

VREF = 0.5 * VDDQ

VDD = VDDQ (again, in value) standard these are both at 2.5v

[funktional]

http://www.samsungusa.com/download/semiconductors/graphics_memory/ds_k4d263238e_gc_rev10.pdf

Thats a Samsung Datasheet. The important notes are on the bottom of page 10.

[hkalex]

yo men~~~:D

i finally done that too~~~

i am the No.3 :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

i am so happy with that :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

i found that the BIOS we are using is belongs to Sapphire:p:

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
yo men~~~:D

i finally done that too~~~

i am the No.3 :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

i am so happy with that :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

i found that the BIOS we are using is belongs to Sapphire:p:

Your driver window seems to be messed up. See, I can't read it...obvious graphical corruption since all the text came out in small lines and squiggles :p:


really though...congrats. Cool isn't it? I'm almost glad that the feature wasn't on the card in the first place. When I get back home, I'm going to do the vref mod. I'm dying without my pc and some good gaming. crappy job training....:mad:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
Your driver window seems to be messed up. See, I can't read it...obvious graphical corruption since all the text came out in small lines and squiggles :p:


really though...congrats. Cool isn't it? I'm almost glad that the feature wasn't on the card in the first place. When I get back home, I'm going to do the vref mod. I'm dying without my pc and some good gaming. crappy job training....:mad:

my card is not as cool as yours, cos it is summer in Hong Kong here~~:p:

i think i have to upgrade my Display card water-cooling stuff~~:(

[NST6563]

Originally posted by hkalex
my card is not as cool as yours, cos it is summer in Hong Kong here~~:p:

i think i have to upgrade my Display card water-cooling stuff~~:(

hehe...I think you missed my joke there...I meant because the text was in Chinese, nothing to do with heat.

Have you modded the heatsink? got rid of the tin-foil stock hsf and replaced with a 1u or similar hsf? That will drop your temps quite a bit.

[STEvil]

i think i have to upgrade my Display card water-cooling stuff~~

sounds like he's running water to me

[hkalex]

Originally posted by NST6563
hehe...I think you missed my joke there...I meant because the text was in Chinese, nothing to do with heat.

Have you modded the heatsink? got rid of the tin-foil stock hsf and replaced with a 1u or similar hsf? That will drop your temps quite a bit.

i am using a water block with that incase~~:banana:

[hkalex]

Originally posted by STEvil
sounds like he's running water to me

yes, you are right~:banana: