7800GT Vmod (BIOS or Soldering?)

[moonlightcheese]

I've been reading a bit on the different mods available for this card and i'm wanting to bump up my voltage +0.1V. my question is... is there any advantage to using the hardware mod over the software mod? i've seen different users doing each of them but i haven't seen a comparison between the two.

is there any difference?
will one yeild a better overclock than the other?
does one have a greater chance of frying my card than another? (NOTE: i have great soldering skills, so outside the skill factor, is there a greater chance?)

i'm not sure which one to do and i need the absolute maximum out of my GFX card as i made a bet with a friend that i'd beat his 3DMark'03 score >_>

any help is great. also please post links if you reference outside sources. thanks a lot.

[moonlightcheese]

two days... 24 views and no responses? surely someone has an opinion on the matter...

[persivore]

I don't think it is possible to raise the voltage using a BIOS mod. The maximum voltage is limited by the hardware available on the card.
There is always a risk with doing any volt mod, but as long as you are careful it should be ok. Increasing voltage using a BIOS flash (if it is at all possible) is probably less risky than hard modding, but hard mods are much more reliable and predictable.

[moonlightcheese]

I don't think it is possible to raise the voltage using a BIOS mod. The maximum voltage is limited by the hardware available on the card.
There is always a risk with doing any volt mod, but as long as you are careful it should be ok. Increasing voltage using a BIOS flash (if it is at all possible) is probably less risky than hard modding, but hard mods are much more reliable and predictable.
fair enough. i think i've already decided on the hardmod since i'm used to stuff like that, but the softmod is possible. using NiBiTor and nvflash to flash the BIOS on the card you can change the 2D and 3D voltage (same as enabling or disabling throttle) and increase the base voltage. i was just wondering if people had a preference on the matter.

[4Qman]

Well ive read that there are bios Mods that can actually increase
the GPU Voltage. However some cards have resticted this "so ive read".

Anyway with regards to doing a Voltmod there are big Risks and id only recommed it if you have the Balls and skill. Ok its not hard but just image what you will feel like if u kill the Card.

Anyway thats just a little warning, Ive volt modded my 7800GT as you will see from the Pics and it works 100% fine with a Massive increase. Hard Mod is definatly the way to go.

Stock 425/10250 Voltages - GPU 1.36v Mem 2.08v

BFG 7800GT @ 550/1280 24/7 - GPU 1.52v Mem 2.2v
Max 580/1320 - GPU 1.64v Mem 2.6v

Temps: Stock: Idle: 43oC Load: 55oC+
Water Cooled: Maize 4 GPU Idle: 31oC Load: 36oC

3DMark 03
19400

3DMark 05
9700

I will post 3DMark Link Once my new Ram has arrived.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/3339/dscf05937ug.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf05937ug.jpg)http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/3130/dscf05911jg.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf05911jg.jpg)http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/562/dscf05909vf.th.jpg (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf05909vf.jpg)

[moonlightcheese]

why in the world are you using an external power source? you're only increasing by .3 volts at max...

[p00 p0wer]

the molex is there so he can plug his volt meter in there and monitor the volts as he adjusts it.

[K404]

4QMan... 1.64V on the core is a fair amount... I know you`re watercooled, but I`d recommend either pelting, waterchilling or phase-cooling it if you wanna keep those speeds. :)

Kenny (RHCF)

Need better cooling on my card :( i`m only at 505 (volt-mod from BIOS) and 1300 on the RAM (hardwire mod)

[flutie98]

4QMan... 1.64V on the core is a fair amount... I know you`re watercooled, but I`d recommend either pelting, waterchilling or phase-cooling it if you wanna keep those speeds. :)

Kenny (RHCF)

Need better cooling on my card :( i`m only at 505 (volt-mod from BIOS) and 1300 on the RAM (hardwire mod)


idk man i keep mine at about 1.62 24/7 at 575 core and temps never go above 38c under load so this card deff wont die of overheating

now how well the chip likes voltage long term is a diff story

[brandinb]

so Q4man you really run 2.6 volts on the mem of your card??? from 2.2-2.6 for only 40mhz?? that seems wierd!!

my 7800gt did about 1175mhz mem with stock 2.08 volts and with 2.2 volts it does 1300 fine but crashes hard at 1320.
i havent tried harder but if you are really running 2.6 volts lol then maybe ill try a little higher

[K404]

Its not temps that`ll kill the card... im getting into this...discussion... with a lot of ppl. The temps wont kill the card- the temperature sensor says 38, but the internal junction temperature will be much higher.

Also... phase users normally run WAY below zero, but still keep the voltages at 1.7V or less? Their temperatures arent an issue.

I`m not out to prove you wrong, but I dont wanna see ppl posting saying their card overheated. :(

Kenny

Maybe someone who REALLY knows what they`re talking about could post....

[BioVader]

Sup K404... Finished my stuff...

http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1753_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=827&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1756_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=828&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1757_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=829&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1760_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=831&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1759_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=830&c=24)

These score are just my first runs. 513/1255
3dmark05 8780 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1472503)
3dmark03 18696 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4420774)
3dmark2001SE 31936 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8800247)
AQ3 = 108,544

[cronic]

i think its time to volt mod my 7800 gt.

[brandinb]

Sup K404... Finished my stuff...

http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1753_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=827&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1756_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=828&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1757_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=829&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1760_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=831&c=24) http://www.team-undercover.com/gallery/files/1-DSCF1759_thumb.jpg (http://team-undercover.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=830&c=24)

These score are just my first runs. 513/1255
3dmark05 8780 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1472503)
3dmark03 18696 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4420774)
3dmark2001SE 31936 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8800247)
AQ3 = 108,544
what volts for those clocks biovader??

[Pyr0]

K404, what bios are you using to get a bios volt-mod
is there any chance you could post a link to the file or something please?

[Dr.Leary]

I don't think it is possible to raise the voltage using a BIOS mod. The maximum voltage is limited by the hardware available on the card.
There is always a risk with doing any volt mod, but as long as you are careful it should be ok. Increasing voltage using a BIOS flash (if it is at all possible) is probably less risky than hard modding, but hard mods are much more reliable and predictable.

It is possible to run 1.5 volts with biosmod no hardmod needed. I have tried and i have mesured.

[persivore]

It is possible to run 1.5 volts with biosmod no hardmod needed. I have tried and i have mesured.
Thanks for clearing that up :). I had heard in a few places that BIOS mods had no effect on the voltages.

[ghost_03]

Its not temps that`ll kill the card... im getting into this...discussion... with a lot of ppl. The temps wont kill the card- the temperature sensor says 38, but the internal junction temperature will be much higher.

Also... phase users normally run WAY below zero, but still keep the voltages at 1.7V or less? Their temperatures arent an issue.

I`m not out to prove you wrong, but I dont wanna see ppl posting saying their card overheated. :(

Kenny

Maybe someone who REALLY knows what they`re talking about could post....

Well, if your temp sensor says 38 as opposed to 60 then regardless of what the internal junction temp is it's likely cooler, but higher voltages are going to stress the core and the power circuitry more.

the power circuitry on the card however, isn't recorded in the reported temp and is going to be MUCH hotter. on a phase change set up temperatures are so cool as cool a lot more of the board (i.e. images of boards snow-white).

When running real high voltages with straight water I like to put ramsinks on all the mosfets etc. that I can, seems to help. I actually lost a 6800 by ignoring mosfet temp.

[moonlightcheese]

so apparently this isn't much of a hot topic eh? it seems that many didn't even know the BIOS voltmod existed...

[4Qman]

I run 1.64v on GPU and 2.6v on Meme just to see what scores id achieve. From rasing the me to 1.51v to 1.64 i achieved not a big increase as with the mem from 2.2v to 2.6v.

I agree its not worth the incree from my 24/7 setup which is GPU 1.51v and Mem 2.2v

My temps are idle 31oC and load 37oC on water cooling.

Here is a link to the results and voltages i used.
http://4qman.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=22

[smurfmods]

so apparently this isn't much of a hot topic eh? it seems that many didn't even know the BIOS voltmod existed...


No kidding! :rolleyes: I had no idea either till i strolled over to vr-zone forums. There is a lot of info there too.

How much voltage for mem and gpu would be good for the card on an arctic cooler? Could you safely do the 1.5v for the gpu in bios and use a pencil for ~2.2v on the ram? Still considering the bios mod vs hardmod because the bios is pretty limited on adjustments. It's either 1.4 for 3d or 1.5 if you do the 6800 trick.

[don_vercetti]

i had no clue, but i'm gonna give it a go tonight (the BIOS voltmod) see if i can't break 8400 and hit 500 core. I'll do hardmods another time, im still learning them.

[K404]

Oh...sorry to everyone who was asking stuff...I forgot i`d posted here....DUH!!!


@Biovader...You got skills! The only thing better than seeing successful volt-mods, is seeing them done neatly! The molex to help measure voltage is alos a damn nice idea!

@Don_Vercetti... if you aint ready for hardwire mods, myself or Warlord_Shigs both do volt-mods. All you need is trust, and a bit of money..

@Pyr0... I use Nibitor to mod my BIOS myself.... you`ll need NVFlash and a way of backing up your original BIOS in case things go pear-spared, but a quick trawl from Google will bring up instructions...I`ll need to search the same thing, coz i`ve totally forgotten how to backup my BIOS and setup an NVflash floppy...

Actually...coz i`ve been so crap about this thread...i`ll send this stuff via PM

:) sorry!

Kenny

[don_vercetti]

i did my first hardmod today! Taking a radeon 9700 up to 400 core so far, with 1.7v. But that's £30, doing that to £230 is another matter.

[BioVader]

what volts for those clocks biovader??

Well I'm running 570/1280 1.62/2.3 24/7 right now without any problems... I've just been working a lot of overtime and playing BF2 and really haven't tried to do anything more with overclocking. The highest I did with this card was 609/1320 at like 1.67/2.4. But with little time right now I've just not had the time to test it anymore.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1490586 05
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4422858 03
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8808247 2001se

[IvanAndreevich]

Anybody got a link to the 1.5V bios?

[Andrew LB]

I tried running nvflash in dos and it said something about it not being a dos based program.... wtf?

[t024484]

It is possible to run 1.5 volts with biosmod no hardmod needed. I have tried and i have mesured.

Dr Leary, there are certainly boards that accept your Bios mod, but the XFX 7800GT with the black PCB definitely does not.
Setting the 3D voltage to 1.5 Volt, has exactly the same effect as setting it to 1.2 Volt.

[omga14]

BioVader i see your using an Arctic cooling solution from the pics. what are your temps and also what are the ambient temps of your room. i seem to get rather high temps for my card (66C load in F.E.A.R demo). i was thinking of getting another cooling solution before did the hard mod for the gpu. i have a spare A64 HSF i wanted to see if i could fit it to go cheap:D what were you stock level temps with the stock cooler?

i want to give 1.55v's to the GPU and 2.3-2.5v's on the ram for 24/7 use but still want to stay aircooled since i don't have the loot for water right now.

[nobody_here]

i ran a 1.5v BIOS mod on my 7800GT, simply used NiBiTor2.8a to extract my own BIOS, saved original, made copy, edited for 1.5v VID, flashed to card with NVFlash, done!

it worked but it didn't help much, maybe if i had gone to 1.6v it would have, but my particular core was already a great clocker, 445/1070 was stock and it would do 530/1260 artifact free BEFORE the mod, stock right out of the box, after the mod it would do 540/1280

my last scores before sending it off to be "Step Upped"

06 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=42034)
05 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1808222)
03 (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4567077)
01SE (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8872510)

the Thermalright V1 Ultra kept it running at no more than 45-46*c fully loaded, here's the Rivatuner Hardware Monitor recording of my last 3DMark 06 run before the mod, never actually bothered to run it after the mod as it didnt help much and i flashed it back to stock ;)

http://xs67.xs.to/pics/06062/3dmark06run.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs67&d=06062&f=3dmark06run.jpg)

[JohnnySK]

hi ppl..
just wondering, what is the max recommended voltage for GPU (please specify whether in 2D or 3D) and the MEM.

Thanx

[couppi]

Also, anyone have a link to the mod? VR-zone's doesn't have any pictures. I think I'm going to try this, and if my card dies, it's upgrade time :p