sysfailur
07-04-2002, 03:34 PM
I don't know how many of you are aware of volt modding a geforce3, but it's quite possible and it'll give you more juice to get a higher overclock. I decided to take a little time and make a better guide than whats out there. What's out there being: http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/geforce3-overclocking/ Now if you want to get all the technical data of how to do this modification then you can go there and read a zillion lines of text.
I tried to make a guide that was a little easier to read, a little shorter, and a little more to the point. So here it is... I hope you guys enjoy this guide and hope it's helpful to anyone wanting to volt mod their gf3. Now personally I've tried this on my gf3 ti200 and it worked as well, so I would presume if your card looks the same as this one, the same design, be it a ti200 or a ti500 this mod would work for you, as it has for me. If your ti200 or ti500 has a drastically different layout then don't try this mod.
Also before I start, as always do this at your own risk. If you mess it up, I'm sorry but it's not my fault, you took the chance of something going wrong.
(all images are clickable for a larger picture)
__________________________________________________ _
The first thing you need is a geforce 3! Now I'm using a Visiontek gf3 (normal, not a ti200 nor a ti500). This is about as plain jane of a gf3 you can get.
You will need these following parts for this mod:
- one 510 Ohm resistor (radioshack.com)
- two 820 Ohm resistors (radioshack.com)
- a geforce 3
- a soldering iron with a fine point
I recommend you buy a few more resistors than what I said incase you lose one or whatever have you, you drop one and step on it, you know, mishaps ;)
First off I'm going to give you a picture of an overview of the back of my geforce 3 so you can see which chips I will be working with.
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg)
The first chip we're going to start with is the one on the top right. On this chip we're going to use a 510 Ohm resistor. Because ths is only one chip it's quite self-explanatory what to do. Solder it to the two points I have marked out in red in this picture:
COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/510_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/510_ohm.jpg)
NON COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/510_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/510_ohm.jpg)
That was the first chip. Now go back to the first image showing the overview image (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg) of the graphics card. We will now modify the left chip with the two resistors on it. I have two images that show two different angles. Look at the two pictures below and also the overview image (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg). With these picutres you should understand what to solder to what as the two images below are color coded and there are instructions on the images.
COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_2.jpg)
NON COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_2.jpg)
The next step is optional, but I recommend using it. This would be lapping your core and ram of your geforce 3. To do this take fine grit sand paper and just start rubbing until you start getting something that looks like these two images below.
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_core_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_core.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped.jpg)
The last thing you want to do is work on cooling. Cooling these now hot ram chips and the core can be elaborate such as this:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gf3_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gf3_2.jpg) or http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_cold_plate/new/cold_plate_idle2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_cold_plate/new/cold_plate_idle2.jpg)
Or you can use an upgraded cooling such as something like this:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gts-top_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gts-top.jpg)
And that's it. I hope this guide will help you out if you feel the need to do a voltage mod, or if you don't plan on doing it, at least it was informative.
And finally, I recommend, if you want more detail than what I've given you here or you just want to cross refernce please do check out the original geforce 3 voltage mod @ xbitlabs.com (http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/geforce3-overclocking/)
-sysfailur
I tried to make a guide that was a little easier to read, a little shorter, and a little more to the point. So here it is... I hope you guys enjoy this guide and hope it's helpful to anyone wanting to volt mod their gf3. Now personally I've tried this on my gf3 ti200 and it worked as well, so I would presume if your card looks the same as this one, the same design, be it a ti200 or a ti500 this mod would work for you, as it has for me. If your ti200 or ti500 has a drastically different layout then don't try this mod.
Also before I start, as always do this at your own risk. If you mess it up, I'm sorry but it's not my fault, you took the chance of something going wrong.
(all images are clickable for a larger picture)
__________________________________________________ _
The first thing you need is a geforce 3! Now I'm using a Visiontek gf3 (normal, not a ti200 nor a ti500). This is about as plain jane of a gf3 you can get.
You will need these following parts for this mod:
- one 510 Ohm resistor (radioshack.com)
- two 820 Ohm resistors (radioshack.com)
- a geforce 3
- a soldering iron with a fine point
I recommend you buy a few more resistors than what I said incase you lose one or whatever have you, you drop one and step on it, you know, mishaps ;)
First off I'm going to give you a picture of an overview of the back of my geforce 3 so you can see which chips I will be working with.
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg)
The first chip we're going to start with is the one on the top right. On this chip we're going to use a 510 Ohm resistor. Because ths is only one chip it's quite self-explanatory what to do. Solder it to the two points I have marked out in red in this picture:
COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/510_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/510_ohm.jpg)
NON COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/510_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/510_ohm.jpg)
That was the first chip. Now go back to the first image showing the overview image (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg) of the graphics card. We will now modify the left chip with the two resistors on it. I have two images that show two different angles. Look at the two pictures below and also the overview image (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/gf3_overview.jpg). With these picutres you should understand what to solder to what as the two images below are color coded and there are instructions on the images.
COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/labeled/dual_820_ohm_2.jpg)
NON COLOR COATED:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/dual_820_ohm_2.jpg)
The next step is optional, but I recommend using it. This would be lapping your core and ram of your geforce 3. To do this take fine grit sand paper and just start rubbing until you start getting something that looks like these two images below.
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_core_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_core.jpg) http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_volt_mod/lapped.jpg)
The last thing you want to do is work on cooling. Cooling these now hot ram chips and the core can be elaborate such as this:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gf3_2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gf3_2.jpg) or http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_cold_plate/new/cold_plate_idle2_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/gf3_cold_plate/new/cold_plate_idle2.jpg)
Or you can use an upgraded cooling such as something like this:
http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gts-top_small.jpg (http://www.maximumoc.com/img/hardware/misc_hardware_pictures/gts-top.jpg)
And that's it. I hope this guide will help you out if you feel the need to do a voltage mod, or if you don't plan on doing it, at least it was informative.
And finally, I recommend, if you want more detail than what I've given you here or you just want to cross refernce please do check out the original geforce 3 voltage mod @ xbitlabs.com (http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/geforce3-overclocking/)
-sysfailur