what BIOS for a 6800GT to ultra?

[mr_knowitall15]

Well, im trying to decide what to do. Use a "stock" Ultra BIOS, or modify my own current BIOS using OmniExtremeEditFX. I was thinking about asus BIOS, as they supposedly dont throttle, but when i looked at them in the edit program, it showed higher clock speeds for 2d mode, 425 instead of the normal 400. Is it just reading it wrong? Im starting to think ill just Mod the current BIOS, and keep a backup copy of teh originals in case something goes bad. What i want teh most is the extra 0.1 V that the ultra has, as my card currently tops out at only 420/1.14 :(. pathedic considering the dough i dropped on the cooler...http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=64&cat=48&page=1

[The Stilt]

You can edit Asus bios to use lower 2D clocks, if your card can´t run at those speeds. 425MHz gpu is correct for Asus, not a misreading.

[mr_knowitall15]

hmm. interesting. The thing that confused me was that under 3D mode, it listed 400/1.1, but for 2D mode, it listed the 425/1.1. I think im going to try the asus BIOS tonight, i just have to wait for a friend to get off work, he has DOS boot disks.

[jimmor]

hmm. interesting. The thing that confused me was that under 3D mode, it listed 400/1.1, but for 2D mode, it listed the 425/1.1. I think im going to try the asus BIOS tonight, i just have to wait for a friend to get off work, he has DOS boot disks.

I believe you will find what you are reading for 2D is a OmniExtremeEditFX problem. This bios editor is not valid for 6800 bioses.

For 6800 Bioses, you must use NiBiTor, which at present is version 2a !

:)

[Nubius]

Is the throttling issue only for really cold temps? I'm not sure if I fully understand what's happening when it 'throttles' could someome slap me with a quick explination please :D I'd be much obliged.

Also I hear of a couple people that had ultras that flashed to the GT simply because the GT had faster RAM timings....is this true?

Beyond that I heard of a lot of the GT's being picky with the volts, so how safe would it be to flash with an Ultra BIOS....that'll automatically give it .1 extra volts correct? I believe I've heard a lot of people doing that and I guess they have had no probs.

I have an eVGA 6800GT....gonna get WC soon with a MAZE4 GPU, just wondering what the best route would be...

Use nibitor to raise voltage with a GT bios? Use a different companies BIOS? Flash To ultra BIOS?

Sorry for all the questions and noobish ones =/

[kryptobs2000]

Throttling will happen for many reasons not just cold. Most obvious is cold, but it will also throttle if it artifacts alot, or if it does not get enough power. If you disable throttling it can just freeze, but I wouldn't worry about this, if you have a decent psu, you shouldn't have a problem. I'd probably try flashing it with an asus GT bios edited to 400/1100.

[Nubius]

Hmmm aright...wondering if that's what was happening to me last night....previously I had done 400/1100 no problem in 3dmark05, 03, 01 and aquamark and it was noticable difference. Went from 4800 to 5400 in 05 going from stock GT to Ultra speeds....then when i was trying 430/1183........according to rivatuner monitor........it never moved from 350 core and gave me a score of 4900! It was barely higher than stock GT which I attribute to the higher memory, but the core remained at 350 the whole time......I guess throttling was kicking in?

I just boosted up the 2D power to meet the performance 3D though and it worked like it should, but I don't necessarily want 2D being that high.

Also I assume it's completely safe to flash with another manufactures BIOS? Anyone ever had problems with that?

I could flash it with ATI's or simply download eVGAs and use nibitor to change it via the BIOS or even rivatuner to select 'start up with this speed'........but I'm not gonna do that until WC because I don't like it hitting 90C full load

[kryptobs2000]

Don't flash it with ATI's that would fux ur card up lol. I'm sure you mean asus though. But yeah, sounds like ur card throttled the other day. I'd find ur highest max stable and flash both 2d and 3d clocks to that, that way no throttling.

[Nubius]

whoa holy crap dude, sorry I'm going between freakin 3 forums, tons of discussions and threads...........blah I meant ASUS.......the other day I meant to say 'ATI has a bias towards blah blah' and I said BIOS instead haha.....

[jimmor]

Also I hear of a couple people that had ultras that flashed to the GT simply because the GT had faster RAM timings....is this true?


Yes, some 6800Ultra owners appear to be flashing with GT bioses because of perceived performance benefits from tighter timings diff's ?

However, GT timings are likely to put an appreciable limit on memory overclocks. Also, if all that a ultra owner wanted was tighter timings then it would make more sense to just change the stock ultra bios timings to that of a GT, or somewhere in between !



Beyond that I heard of a lot of the GT's being picky with the volts, so how safe would it be to flash with an Ultra BIOS....that'll automatically give it .1 extra volts correct? I believe I've heard a lot of people doing that and I guess they have had no probs.


Not that it has yet been tied down to a cause, but it does appear that many GT's don't like long term running with more than 1.3v on the GPU. Don't even know if it is a gpu problem or something else on the card failing. So could just be certain manufacturers using cheaper components ?

What would make me believe it wasn't a GPU problem however, is that some of the stories have come from people who stated that gpu and ambient temps were well within spec just before the failure ?



I have an eVGA 6800GT....gonna get WC soon with a MAZE4 GPU, just wondering what the best route would be...

Use nibitor to raise voltage with a GT bios? Use a different companies BIOS? Flash To ultra BIOS?



If it was me, then apart from maybe wanting my 6800GT to post as a 6800Ultra, I would be inclined to start by just moding my original bios for 1.4v and Ultra timings. In theory, your original bios should be more compatible with your cards components ?

However, other than there being weak components on your GT, if my Leadtek A400LE can run the gpu at 425 and 1.4v with a 6800Ultra bios, then there should be no reason why yours cant do the same.

[kryptobs2000]

mainly bfg are the ones with issues, havn't heard of really any suddenly dying besides them.

[jimmor]

But yeah, sounds like ur card throttled the other day. I'd find ur highest max stable and flash both 2d and 3d clocks to that, that way no throttling.

Don't know that anybody has tried it, but why not just disable 2D in the bios rather than setting 2D and 3D at same speeds ?

Most, if not all, lesser than ultra cards only have one mode.

[jimmor]

I just boosted up the 2D power to meet the performance 3D though and it worked like it should, but I don't necessarily want 2D being that high.

Also I assume it's completely safe to flash with another manufactures BIOS? Anyone ever had problems with that?


I normally run with 2D at 300 and 1.1v, and 3D at 425 and 1.4v. But have had problems doing this with some Ultra Bioses, because of driver sentinel problems. With some 6800U bioses, the "sentinel" keeps randomly kicking in unless I set 2D at 1.3 and 340+ speeds ?

No similar problem occurs if I use any other bios type, ie LE/NU/GT. Obviously therefore must be caused by the power regulator/monitoring/control functions of certain manufacturers Ultra bioses ?

And can't think why it should be unsafe for you to flash with any manufacturers bios, as long as you remember that for any real incompatability you may need to either, do a blind flash recovery, or, find yourself a PCI card !

[kryptobs2000]

Don't know that anybody has tried it, but why not just disable 2D in the bios rather than setting 2D and 3D at same speeds ?

Most, if not all, lesser than ultra cards only have one mode.


Didn't even think of disabling 2d speed, didn't know you could. But some people have tried flashing them the same, it does disable the throttling, I mean, whats it going to throttle to :p:

[jimmor]

Didn't even think of disabling 2d speed, didn't know you could. But some people have tried flashing them the same, it does disable the throttling, I mean, whats it going to throttle to :p:

No problem selecting whether your card should run with both 2D and 3D, or just one mode, but what is a bit unclear is any effect it has on throttling functions. Although with my 5900nu card it was most important to stop throttling, I haven't yet experienced any similar issues with my 6800LE.

But you are absolutely right, full throttling of any bios usually means dropping the gpu to 2D speeds. So keeping 2D and 3D the same should certainly stop throttling issues.

Of course you could use Rivatuner to force your card to always run in Performance 3D mode, which also stops throttling functions.

[kryptobs2000]

rivatuner dosn't always work, and I don't like it. Nothing works for me, can't even overclock with it. Very finicky and the layout is crap imo.

[Nubius]

If it was me, then apart from maybe wanting my 6800GT to post as a 6800Ultra, I would be inclined to start by just moding my original bios for 1.4v and Ultra timings. In theory, your original bios should be more compatible with your cards components ?

However, other than there being weak components on your GT, if my Leadtek A400LE can run the gpu at 425 and 1.4v with a 6800Ultra bios, then there should be no reason why yours cant do the same. Well as far as I've known eVGA and leadtek are among the best quality manufacturers out there. I've heard many problems with XFX, BFG, PNY companies like that, but I haven't heard anything about yours and mine........

I'm guessing if it came down to a blind flash.....I just gotta basically keep my floppy first in the boot sequence....and my computer will POST, but there just won't be anything on the screen, and I just simply have to remember the exact senquence in which the card was flashed and how long it took? Scary stuff...no PCI card here so that'd be my only option.

I'm just terrified honestly because it took forever to get money for the 6600GT, then to step up to the 6800GT and by far this is the best system I've ever had so ruining it definitely can't be on the agenda lol.

According to eVGAs website the ultra is 400/1100...for their card anyway, is it actually 425/1100 or are you using a specific OC'd brand 6800Ultra BIOS or what?

It makes sense about the timings of the RAM though, I guess that'd only matter if you were leaving it stock and not OC'ing it muchlike low frequency with tight timings vs high frequency looser timings on system RAM...there's always a trade.

Jimm - what is your idle and full load temps on your card with the Ultra bios? Mine would probably easily hit 90C during the day since it's getting hot here....it'll probably be atleast 2 or more weeks before I go water cooling so I'm thinking it'd be best to wait until then if it's going to be 1.4v and a higher core.....

You suggest the ASUS 6800Ultra BIOS over say a eVGA 6800Ultra?

Did you flash your leadtek with an ASUS BIOS?


rivatuner dosn't always work, and I don't like it. Nothing works for me, can't even overclock with it. Very finicky and the layout is crap imo. Never had a problem with it myself

EDIT: Snap jimm I just realized you have a regular 6800LE 128mb running at a 6800Ultra BIOS settings and BIOS!?!

[Nubius]

Got this BIOS - 5.40.02.15.12

From here:

http://whitebunny.demon.nl/hardware/chipset_nvidia.html

used nibitor to check it, integrity is green, 425/1100 for 3d, nothing set at 2d.....this BIOS should be trustworthy right, or should I continue somewhere else =/

[mr_knowitall15]

EEEK im glad to know that omni isnt compatable with 6800 BIOS. That makes me think if i would have just modded the BIOS, it could seriously mess stuff up. ill go look for nibitor, i think the best route now is to keep GT BIOS, but simply gain the extra .1V. i really want 450ish like most ultras can get.. BTW, could anyone provide some links to 'hard' volt mods for this card? maybe it would be better...
edit: also, if i just use nibitor instead, will the 2.0a i just downloaded work?

[mr_knowitall15]

well, ive played aroud with this nibitor2.0a for a while, and downlaoded a couple ROM files from MVKtech, to get to know the program, and view info about the BIOS's. I got a Gainward 6800GT GS BIOS, and an Asus 6800GT BIOS. both say they get 1.4V, not 1.3 :confused: . also, i think it may be reading info incorrectly because for the Gainward one, it says the core clock is 65535, and the mem clock is 255(510 DDR) wtf???

[Nubius]

???? Don't know why you'd be seeing weird crap like that.

I just opened that BIOS from the place I linked up there and it said 425/550 and 1.4v but that was an Ultra BIOS.

[coop]

I have a 6800 gto, it has bios "05.40.02.17.15". I changed the 3D volts from 1.3v to 1.4v and all it did was raise the temp about 5 degrees. Also made it artifact when I tried to raise the core even slightly over normal acceptable clocks. So since it was no benefit I flashed it back to original unmodded 1.3v bios. I may try anither bios from another card later but I don't think it will be much better actually. It seems about 420 is the max on mine, I don't know if better cooling is needed or what.

[Nubius]

420ish seems to be the max from the few people that I've seen with these cards short of anything besides water cooling and volt moddage

[mr_knowitall15]

well, i think i need a new psu, i am gonna wait for that and see if that helps before i get new BIOS. im pretty sure my psu needs more bawls because when i OC teh processor, i lose a little overclockability on teh vid card compared to at stock speeds. also, one day i almost got windows to boot at 4.2 Ghz, but it crashed and restarted, so i entered setup, and upped the voltage one more notch. after i chose save & exit, the whole computer powered down, so i know i need a beefier psu. maybe ill buy the 850W Pcp&c, to be futureproof for a while.

[Nubius]

damn lol, 850w will be settin you up for the next 10 years haha....definitely future proofing that

[jimmor]

rivatuner dosn't always work, and I don't like it. Nothing works for me, can't even overclock with it. Very finicky and the layout is crap imo.

Before overclocking a 6xxx series card with Rivatuner, you must first enable the "DisableInternalClockTest" option in the "overclocking" sub section on Rivatuner's "Power User" database.

[jimmor]

Jimm - what is your idle and full load temps on your card with the Ultra bios? Mine would probably easily hit 90C during the day since it's getting hot here....it'll probably be atleast 2 or more weeks before I go water cooling so I'm thinking it'd be best to wait until then if it's going to be 1.4v and a higher core.....


Core temp for me typically idles in 40's, but has maxed into low 60's when stress loaded. And I use a Arctic NV5 for cooling. Also, generally means my cards core temp runs about 15C above its ambient temp. And unlike for yourself, local temps here never get too hot.




You suggest the ASUS 6800Ultra BIOS over say a eVGA 6800Ultra?

Did you flash your leadtek with an ASUS BIOS?


Because of past experience with 59xxx mods, I have usually avoided using ASUS bioses. The manufacturer has a bad habit of doing things their way by producing inappropriately named proprietry products. They seem to like making GT's and Ultra's that aren't actually GT's or Ultra's from a Nvidia design spec perspective. So the bottom line is, don't worry if you find incompatability issues when trying ASUS bioses, just move on to bioses of other manufacterers.

And, yes I did flash my 6800le with ASUS GT and Ultra Bioses, but found no real advantage in sticking with either.

Also, one of the unacceptable problems I have found with some Ultra bioses, is a tendency for the driver sentinel to periodically popup and downclock everything during booting. Fortunately it has only happened with some bioses, and only during bootup into 2D. The coure for the bioses, that exhibeted it was to either, disable 2D, or, set 2D at 340+ with core of 1.3v. Neither solution was however any good since I want to run 2D at 300 with 1.1v. Just means I have to be a bit selective with which manufacturers Ultra bios I use, especially if I decide to finally stick with one.

Best bios so far for my 6800le, is actually a Inno3D NU type. Just appears that bit more stable than anything else i've tried.



EDIT: Snap jimm I just realized you have a regular 6800LE 128mb running at a 6800Ultra BIOS settings and BIOS!?!

Before flashing my 6800le with a 6800Ultra bios, I usually make slight change to memory latency timings and reduce speed to the 920 I generally run with. Without the latency change, my card's memory tops out around 880.

[jimmor]

Got this BIOS - 5.40.02.15.12

From here:

http://whitebunny.demon.nl/hardware/chipset_nvidia.html

used nibitor to check it, integrity is green, 425/1100 for 3d, nothing set at 2d.....this BIOS should be trustworthy right, or should I continue somewhere else =/

Can't think of any reason against you trying that particular bios !

And, other than some general incompatability with specific bioses (like maybe asus types), you should have no real problems flashing with any manufacturers 6800 bios.

And not that I am recommending anything, but if you are looking for extreme core overclocks, then both GT and Ultra Bioses will allow gpu volts settings of up to 1.5v.

[jimmor]

BTW, could anyone provide some links to 'hard' volt mods for this card? maybe it would be better...
edit: also, if i just use nibitor instead, will the 2.0a i just downloaded work?


6800 hard volt modding,

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=48876

And currently, NiBiTor v2a is latest available. But be aware it still has problems with some 6xxx bioses !

[jimmor]

well, ive played aroud with this nibitor2.0a for a while, and downlaoded a couple ROM files from MVKtech, to get to know the program, and view info about the BIOS's. I got a Gainward 6800GT GS BIOS, and an Asus 6800GT BIOS. both say they get 1.4V, not 1.3 :confused: . also, i think it may be reading info incorrectly because for the Gainward one, it says the core clock is 65535, and the mem clock is 255(510 DDR) wtf???

NiBiTor v2a has problems reading some 6xxx bioses. Mainly happens with bioses that have deviated from nvidia spec's. Like with Gainward's special cards. For example, sometimes it is only that the manufacturer has used a modded GT bios rather than a true Ultra bios, or vice versa, for their special vga card. Nibitor therefore has a problem with proper identification, the result of which is usually that 2D speeds will show as rubbish.

[jimmor]

I have a 6800 gto, it has bios "05.40.02.17.15". I changed the 3D volts from 1.3v to 1.4v and all it did was raise the temp about 5 degrees. Also made it artifact when I tried to raise the core even slightly over normal acceptable clocks. So since it was no benefit I flashed it back to original unmodded 1.3v bios. I may try anither bios from another card later but I don't think it will be much better actually. It seems about 420 is the max on mine, I don't know if better cooling is needed or what.


It seems that a lot of GT type cards, don't like 1.4v on the gpu. And not yet identified if it is directly related to poor quality GPU chips or other compenents on the card.

With gpu of 1.4v, my 6800le tops out around 440. At the 425 I normally run with, core temp never goes above low 60's with any card/bios combination I have tried so far. However I did change to using a Arctic NV5 cooler.

[Nubius]

Hmmmmm........well see the thing is about setting it to 1.5v even with a GT BIOS is the fact that as you've said, some cards can be picky about 1.4v muchless pushing even further to 1.5

I think as soon as I get water cooling, if I can simply flash it with a Ultra BIOS and have it running 1.4v and Ultra specs it'll go up to a fairly decent overclock.

I've heard of a lot of people flashing to Ultra with no probs, but I guess when it comes down to doing it I'm kind of scared lol, it's just that it's taken me forever to get this system to what I consider a nice system that can run games maxed out, so damaging this card would not be good at all.......but I always get worried before trying something new.

[jimmor]

Hmmmmm........well see the thing is about setting it to 1.5v even with a GT BIOS is the fact that as you've said, some cards can be picky about 1.4v muchless pushing even further to 1.5

I think as soon as I get water cooling, if I can simply flash it with a Ultra BIOS and have it running 1.4v and Ultra specs it'll go up to a fairly decent overclock.

I've heard of a lot of people flashing to Ultra with no probs, but I guess when it comes down to doing it I'm kind of scared lol, it's just that it's taken me forever to get this system to what I consider a nice system that can run games maxed out, so damaging this card would not be good at all.......but I always get worried before trying something new.

Because there have been past failures using a 6800gt at 1.4v, I can totally understand your concerns. However, since I believe failures typically occurred after "months" of use, all I can suggest, apart from regularly checking for gpu temp issues, is that you also check for temp issues on any of the other components on your card. So poke a finger around your card looking for hot spots. My suspicion is that at least some of the failures were likely because of certain manufacturers having used cheaper quality components. May even just be a batch problem ?

[Nubius]

Ya know I was just at this store today called 'PC Club' it's nothing like best buy because these people know whats up, I was talking to one of the guys there and he has a 6800GT....he's heard that generally the cards tend to die after 3-4 months so now I'm thinking the best and safest route is to simply water cool it and push it however far that'll get me.

I had considered getting microsinks though and putting it on the mosfets that are on the cards. If a regular motherboard can benefit from it, surely the graphics card can too, but still I think I"ll just be safe than sorry :D

[Garrett]

Do you guys think it's safe to flash the Gainward 6800U bios in my XFX 6800GT ?
(of course with the clockspeeds and voltages doublechecked :D )

[jimmor]

Do you guys think it's safe to flash the Gainward 6800U bios in my XFX 6800GT ?
(of course with the clockspeeds and voltages doublechecked :D )


My 6800LE has no problems with 6800Ultra bioses, so other than maybe setting gpu volts on a GT no higher than 1.3v, I can't think why flashing with a 6800U bios would be unsafe for your 6800GT ?

Mind you, like for all flashing activities, if it turns out that there are some compatability issues, make sure you either, have a spare PCI card, or, a blind flash floppy, for bios recovery with original bios. And one of the reasons I make this comment is because Gainward bioses can sometimes be a bit tricky to deal with when cross flashing to other cards.

[kryptobs2000]

Hey jimmor, just looking at ur sig:

A400LE (16x1,6) @ 300/425/920

Whats the 300 there? Stock, or... I'm confused lol. Nice clocks on the core tho.

[jimmor]

Ya know I was just at this store today called 'PC Club' it's nothing like best buy because these people know whats up, I was talking to one of the guys there and he has a 6800GT....he's heard that generally the cards tend to die after 3-4 months so now I'm thinking the best and safest route is to simply water cool it and push it however far that'll get me.

I had considered getting microsinks though and putting it on the mosfets that are on the cards. If a regular motherboard can benefit from it, surely the graphics card can too, but still I think I"ll just be safe than sorry :D

The stories of "months of life" for 6800GT cards are really getting around then. Cant be good for Nvidia/partner business ?

And because you are determined to overclock the hell out of your card, microsinks sound like a very good idea. However, remember to also poke your finger around for any unusual hot spots, just in case your card has been fitted with any underrated resistors, etc ?

[jimmor]

Hey jimmor, just looking at ur sig:

A400LE (16x1,6) @ 300/425/920

Whats the 300 there? Stock, or... I'm confused lol. Nice clocks on the core tho.


I have my bios moded to run 300 in 2D with GPU at 1.1v, and 425 in 3D with GPU at 1.4v. And obviously memory at 920 for both 2D and 3D modes.

Original spec for my LE card was 300/700, with gpu at 1.1v.

EDIT:

Since a large part of my time is with 2D activities, saw no point in always running at 425 and 1.4v. So created the two seperate modes.

[Nubius]

However, remember to also poke your finger around for any unusual hot spots, just in case your card has been fitted with any underrated resistors, etc ? lol I'm highly paranoid of putting my finger in there when it's on :p

I was terrified when I hot flashed my BIOS for my NF7 when I fuxed it up way back when.

Hmm, if you had latex gloves on, that would completely prevent electrical shock wouldn't it? :D

I don't think I'm going to do the over-volt honestly.

Gonna just water cool it, see how far she'll go, get RAM Sinks and microsinks for the mosfets and just hope she goes far :D

[jimmor]

lol I'm highly paranoid of putting my finger in there when it's on :p

Hmm, if you had latex gloves on, that would completely prevent electrical shock wouldn't it? :D


Hi Nubius,

All cards are covered in some form of conformal/varnish coating to prevent contamination/oxidisation effects. But even if the card had no protective coating, there are no voltages high enough to cause electrical shocks. So stop worrying about poking around with a finger.

However if you like wearing latex gloves, then by all means do so !

:cool: :)

EDIT:

And even if you don't intend to increase GPU volts, it is still probably a good idea to check for hot spots. Because microsinks won't help much, if one of the remaining unsinked chips on the card is getting too hot. Or as I previously said, maybe something like an underrated resistor, etc.

And definately not trying to scare, but it generally good to understand potential weaknesses, by knowing which parts normally run hot, and get hotter by overclocking and/or overvolting. Especially with all the scare stories now going around about some 6800GT cards ?

[Garrett]

My 6800LE has no problems with 6800Ultra bioses, so other than maybe setting gpu volts on a GT no higher than 1.3v, I can't think why flashing with a 6800U bios would be unsafe for your 6800GT ?

Mind you, like for all flashing activities, if it turns out that there are some compatability issues, make sure you either, have a spare PCI card, or, a blind flash floppy, for bios recovery with original bios. And one of the reasons I make this comment is because Gainward bioses can sometimes be a bit tricky to deal with when cross flashing to other cards.
I've found the XFX 6800U bios so I can discard the Gainward bios :)

I'll try and see what happens :)

[Nubius]

Jimm - I understand it's good to have a knowledge of the weaknesses, and I foresee of course mosfets and a like having the most potential towards heat, but I didn't think a resistor could put off enough heat to the point where one could easily identify it giving a lot of that heat off.

If it overheats on some weakness then I'd be RMA'ing it back since I think now I've been scared out of raising the volts haha.

Also, basically you're saying as long as I'm grounded and have no built up static charge I could in essence just touch my card whil it's running and chances are nothing would happen?

I've fried a motherboard doing a volt mod before so I guess that's just made me paranoid now of ruining anything, especially cause I'm poor haha

I do appreciate your hints, tips, and suggestions though

[jimmor]

I've found the XFX 6800U bios so I can discard the Gainward bios :)

I'll try and see what happens :)

Good choice !

Probably best that you start with same manufacturer bios. And if everything ok, then no reason against trying some other manufacturer bioses.

However, I doubt that just a bios flash will give best from your card, so remember you can also mod any bios's timings and gpu volts to potentially gain more.

[jimmor]

Jimm - I understand it's good to have a knowledge of the weaknesses, and I foresee of course mosfets and a like having the most potential towards heat, but I didn't think a resistor could put off enough heat to the point where one could easily identify it giving a lot of that heat off.

If it overheats on some weakness then I'd be RMA'ing it back since I think now I've been scared out of raising the volts haha.

Also, basically you're saying as long as I'm grounded and have no built up static charge I could in essence just touch my card whil it's running and chances are nothing would happen?

I've fried a motherboard doing a volt mod before so I guess that's just made me paranoid now of ruining anything, especially cause I'm poor haha

I do appreciate your hints, tips, and suggestions though


Generally any static you might have is not going to affect your card while it is powered !

Carefull handling of static sensative chips really started as a problem on production lines where people could be required to pick and place such items onto pcb's. Since manufacturing systems now do this sort thing using automatic pick and place machines, assembly failures due to static charges no longer happen. However, if involved with the repair industry, including replacing static sensative chips, then it is essential that you are properly grounded at all times.

And I wasn't trying to scare you when mentioning potential problems with resistors. It is just that when overclocking or overvolting any of my kit, I usually poke a finger around for hot spots. Since, anything running extremely hot is unlikely to have a lenghthy lifespan. And when you don't find any unusual hot spots, it gives you better peace of mind.

And not to scare you further, but, when poking your finger around, also check for any capacitors that may be getting hot ---> because only faulty ones will !

EDIT:

And any resistor, no matter how small, can give off enough heat to cause concerns, but still appear to be working ok.

In good designs, unless space is a premium, a resistor should always be rated a good margin above the worst case loading of its in circuit requirement.

[grimREEFER]

Generally any static you might have is not going to affect your card while it is powered !

Carefull handling of static sensative chips really started as a problem on production lines where people could be required to pick and place such items onto pcb's. Since manufacturing systems now do this sort thing using automatic pick and place machines, assembly failures due to static charges no longer happen. However, if involved with the repair industry, including replacing static sensative chips, then it is essential that you are properly grounded at all times.

And I wasn't trying to scare you when mentioning potential problems with resistors. It is just that when overclocking or overvolting any of my kit, I usually poke a finger around for hot spots. Since, anything running extremely hot is unlikely to have a lenghthy lifespan. And when you don't find any unusual hot spots, it gives you better peace of mind.

And not to scare you further, but, when poking your finger around, also check for any capacitors that may be getting hot ---> because only faulty ones will !
you asking someone to touch a capacitor? the place where electricity is stored,enough to kill you?

[jimmor]

you asking someone to touch a capacitor? the place where electricity is stored,enough to kill you?

Where are these killing capacitors that you are talking about ?

In this instance we are talking about a VGA card, where you check a capacitor for running hot by touching the plastic covered can ---> not the live terminals. But even if he were to accidentaly touch the live terminals, then so what, the vga card has max of 12v on it !

[Garrett]

Good choice !

Probably best that you start with same manufacturer bios. And if everything ok, then no reason against trying some other manufacturer bioses.

However, I doubt that just a bios flash will give best from your card, so remember you can also mod any bios's timings and gpu volts to potentially gain more.I tried 1.4v as I wanted to... started 3Dmark03 @ 450 core :D
Then after 10 seconds 1 big pixel festival :eek: and I was really like NOOO WTF :(
Turned off the computer, back on... nothing... I thought I had FUBARED my card... luckily it wasn't the case...
Flashed it back to original bios and now I don't even dare to flash any 1.4v bios again :rolleyes:

[Nubius]

lol garrett, think you pretty much sealed the fact I'm not boosting to 1.4v haha

[Garrett]

lol indeed... ah well at least it does 445 core @ 1.3v with a simple Innovatek waterblock and 1220 on the mem without heatsinks... without artifacts :thumbsup:

[Nubius]

Definitely, that's very nice dude. Highest I could get on air was like 425/1175 so I'm hoping for something around yours hopefully with just water cooling.....will be another 3 weeks before I get that though so plenty of burn in time indeed :)

Just ordered some tweakmonster BGA RAMsinks though so I will be using those whenever the water cooling gets all nice and setup ;)

[Garrett]

What really helped me was that I made sure the card gets enough power.

I have the OCZ520 adj. PSU and the 2 VGA/HDD labeled connectors come together at the vga card...

Here's a pic of what I mean...
http://img217.echo.cx/img217/4372/vga4hv.th.jpg (http://img217.echo.cx/my.php?image=vga4hv.jpg)

I've created the opposite of a normal molex splitter cable :D
normal splitters have 1 male and 2 female plugs
this splitter has 1 female and 2 male plugs :)

This has gained me a massive extra 20mhz on the core :D

[mr_knowitall15]

Ya know I was just at this store today called 'PC Club' it's nothing like best buy because these people know whats up, I was talking to one of the guys there and he has a 6800GT....he's heard that generally the cards tend to die after 3-4 months so now I'm thinking the best and safest route is to simply water cool it and push it however far that'll get me.

I had considered getting microsinks though and putting it on the mosfets that are on the cards. If a regular motherboard can benefit from it, surely the graphics card can too, but still I think I"ll just be safe than sorry :D
you know, water cooling didnt gain me crap. i got no more speed than being on air. thats why i want more voltage to the card.