7900GT over voltage protection?

[loser7787]

The point to using a pencil is to lower the resistance slightly. If you use conductive paint you will short it out completely, which would put way to much voltage through your ram.

Alright, so when i shade in the resistor with a pencil the memory voltage will increase only to 2.23? Theres not a chance that the voltage will be more or less than that? Will any pencil work? and does it matter how much it is shaded? Just making sure not to fry my memory...ive had to RMA way to many video cards

[quijonsith]

The more you shade it the more voltage you will get. Unless you caked lead onto the resistor you couldn't increase the voltage enough to utterly fry the ram (though I recommend using ramsinks whether or not you do this). I used a standard mechanical pencil, but I can't find my multimeter to check the voltage. I shaded lightly over it back and forth in criss cross patterns until it was evenly covered and I can run my mem at 925 artifact free so mine could stand a lil more lead, though I'm planning to solder in a variable resistor in parallel so I can control the voltage with accuracy (once I find my multimeter).

[Per Hansson]

Alright, so when i shade in the resistor with a pencil the memory voltage will increase only to 2.23? Theres not a chance that the voltage will be more or less than that? Will any pencil work? and does it matter how much it is shaded? Just making sure not to fry my memory...ive had to RMA way to many video cards

Can i solder the 2 points whitout resistor? like the picture

No, you can not solder the points, since you will then leak all current to ground that would otherwise go to the vsense pin on the voltage regulator
it will think the chip is not getting any current at all and ramp it up as high as it can, blowing it up!

So as long as I don't go any further I should be perfectly fine?

What I was saying is that the 7900GT was never even deigned to handle 1.4v, i.e. it is a scaled down design from the 7900GTX... And there is never such a thing as perfectly fine...

Per Hansson, you think my vf900cu is well enough for active cooling of the mosfets as far as air cooling goes or should I try to augment that? One of my case fans is also directly supply fresh air towards my 7900gt.

It's allot better than only stock cooling, or water, which does nothing for the VRM layout, As I said in me first post (I think) check the temps with the card stock and then voltmodded, try to keep the temps low...

[loser7787]

alright, so i did the pencil mod to increase the memory voltage....my question now is im running my memory at 850x2 and using ati tool to check for artifacts and im not getting any but while checking for artifacts the ram is very hot to the touch, is this normal? Im sure ati tool must be stressing the memory as much as it possibly can....its hot but im not receiving any artifacts, right now im gonna run 3dmark06 a bunch of times to make sure it gets through fine.....i was just wondering if I should stop now because of the heat, or if its safe to slowly test the memory higher and higher as long as im not artifacting/locking up?

[Per Hansson]

alright, so i did the pencil mod to increase the memory voltage....my question now is im running my memory at 850x2 and using ati tool to check for artifacts and im not getting any but while checking for artifacts the ram is very hot to the touch, is this normal? Im sure ati tool must be stressing the memory as much as it possibly can....its hot but im not receiving any artifacts, right now im gonna run 3dmark06 a bunch of times to make sure it gets through fine.....i was just wondering if I should stop now because of the heat, or if its safe to slowly test the memory higher and higher as long as im not artifacting/locking up?

As a general rule of thumb an increase of 10°C reduces a cheramic comonents life of 50%
You should provide cooling for the memory, it is only rated at 1.8v +-0,1v, so they are even being run out of spec from the start at 2.0v

Also, atleast for me ATI Tool does not work with my 7900, but that might be just me or something, i.e. it does not find any artefacts when I enable "compatible mode" but if I try the regular mode it finds artefacts even after a 5mhz OC... (when 3dmark03 and Rthdribl does not)

[nn_step]

As a general rule of thumb an increase of 10°C reduces a cheramic comonents life of 50%
You should provide cooling for the memory, it is only rated at 1.8v +-0,1v, so they are even being run out of spec from the start at 2.0v

Also, atleast for me ATI Tool does not work with my 7900, but that might be just me or something, i.e. it does not find any artefacts when I enable "compatible mode" but if I try the regular mode it finds artefacts even after a 5mhz OC... (when 3dmark03 and Rthdribl does not)

you have to use the latest version for it to work
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
it wont change your voltage but it will detect artifacts and your max speeds

[Per Hansson]

you have to use the latest version for it to work
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
it wont change your voltage but it will detect artifacts and your max speeds

Well, I am using v0.25 Beta 14...

[loser7787]

I actually just added some mini heatsinks to the memory that came with my old Epox mobo, hopefully that would help the memory a little, i was only actually able to put them out 7 out of the 8 ram chips, being as one of them is basically under the gpu heatsink, I dont really mind that 10 degrees extra kills the life by 50%, i mean the average graphics card should live at least 5 or 6 years if not alot longer, and i doubt in 5 or 6 years i'll still have this card anyway, and the performance of these modded 7900 gt's is just sick!

[Per Hansson]

loser7787; and following that analogy say your chips runs 25°C varmer now then before? That's why I said take measurements...

[loser7787]

When running ATI Tools scan for artifacts option are you supposed to see all of those little yellow dots on the 3d cube, i figure those would be artifacts but it tells me no artifacts are being found, but I am getting little yellow dots, thanks for any help.

[loser7787]

well i just realized the artifacts were actually coming from the 650 core clock and not the memory, still wierd that its not telling me theirs artifacts but after lowering the core down to 630 the yellow dots are gone, guess thats the max my cores gonna get to, now testing the memory, im just hoping i can see the artifacts because of the program saying im not getting any, anyone now why this is happening?

[graham_h]

is there any way to check if the 1.4v mod is successful without using a volt meter ?

[Per Hansson]

well i just realized the artifacts were actually coming from the 650 core clock and not the memory, still wierd that its not telling me theirs artifacts but after lowering the core down to 630 the yellow dots are gone, guess thats the max my cores gonna get to, now testing the memory, im just hoping i can see the artifacts because of the program saying im not getting any, anyone now why this is happening?

That is exactly what I am seeing, and the "artefacts" follow a pattern on my system, just located on a line about 1/3 down on the thing being rendered...

As I said I get artefacts real early in ATI Tool but can go way way high in real apps, the Pixelshader 2.0 test in 3dmark03 is a very good test to see if you have artefacts, it is what I use, in combination with Rthdribl...

[quijonsith]

is there any way to check if the 1.4v mod is successful without using a volt meter ?

If the "detect optimal" setting selects a higher clock than before the mod.

[quijonsith]

When running ATI Tools scan for artifacts option are you supposed to see all of those little yellow dots on the 3d cube, i figure those would be artifacts but it tells me no artifacts are being found, but I am getting little yellow dots, thanks for any help.

I've seen that happen aswell. I'm pretty sure it's happened if I adjust the frequencies while the artifact scanner is running. The only way I've gotten it to detect artifacts after that is by restarting atiTool. Try stopping the artifact scanner before changing your clocks and see if it still does this. I'm not sure if that's when it's happening and I'm bout to go to bed or I'd go ahead and try it to make sure. I'll give it another go when I get up.

[***Deimos***]

Alright, so when i shade in the resistor with a pencil the memory voltage will increase only to 2.23? Theres not a chance that the voltage will be more or less than that? Will any pencil work? and does it matter how much it is shaded? Just making sure not to fry my memory...ive had to RMA way to many video cards

I really hate people who continually break video cards because of their incompetence, and dont take responsiblity for their actions (like you).

You SHOULDN'T be overclocking/overvolting or touching anything, and expect the manufacturer to compensate you because you dont have a clue how to volt-mod ("will any pencil work?"). People who break cards and then RMA them, cause low availability and high prices for the rest of us...
--------

ATITool
There is no good software means to detect all artifacts. Those yellow dots are "artifacts", typically because GPU or MEM clocks or too high (or overheating). However, sometimes ATITool still says no artifacts detected even if there is the odd dot or two. And even if it doesnt detect anything for hours, there are many kinds of errors that would not be visible as artifacts. It is insufficient to just run some game benchmark, and if it passes (even without any graphical glitches), to conclude that everything is ok. Afterall, after a short 4-5min benchmark, the card has just begun to heat up. Looping 3DMark is a good place to start.

[loser7787]

I really hate people who continually break video cards because of their incompetence, and dont take responsiblity for their actions (like you).

Well, I can understand that, but I've never actually been responsible for any of the cards that I've had to RMA, I got a 6800 vanilla from newegg and it died after about 2 days of use, then rma'd that for a 6600gt that was DOA and then rma'd that just to get another 6600gt with the heatsink ripped right off the card I dont see how that is because of my incompetence, Ive never fried a card before and i dont want to start now. Especially since it voids any warranty my card has. Im just asking all these question cause ive never physically modded a card before and i'd rather be safe then sorry, I thought maybe a harder/softer pencil type may have a better/worse effect and i'd like to know before i just start doing something to where i may damage the card and alot of people on these forums really seem to know what their talking about.

I also understand that these yellow dots are artifacts but like Per Hansson was saying they are following a strange pattern on my system also and I can run my core higher in other programs and not get any artifacts and was wondering maybe theirs a problem with ATI Tool and 7900's possibly?

Im gonna try the Pixel Shader 2.0 in 3dmark03 to check for artifacts although after every few mhz I do overclock I always run 3dmark2001, 03, and 06 along with aquamark and letting 3dmark06 loops for around an hour just to get everything nice and warm to make sure its stable at these speeds along with benchmarking most every graphically intense FPS around, does anyone have any suggestion on other programs to use for checking artifacts and stability? Thanks for any help.

[Per Hansson]

I also understand that these yellow dots are artifacts but like Per Hansson was saying they are following a strange pattern on my system also and I can run my core higher in other programs and not get any artifacts and was wondering maybe theirs a problem with ATI Tool and 7900's possibly?

Im gonna try the Pixel Shader 2.0 in 3dmark03 to check for artifacts although after every few mhz I do overclock I always run 3dmark2001, 03, and 06 along with aquamark and letting 3dmark06 loops for around an hour just to get everything nice and warm to make sure its stable at these speeds along with benchmarking most every graphically intense FPS around, does anyone have any suggestion on other programs to use for checking artifacts and stability? Thanks for any help.

Well, I actually asked Wizzard about them and his reply was "Wizzard, 2006-04-01 14:35 : dunno .. send me a 7900 and i can try "

The apps you use are the best for the purpose, atleast AFAIK

EDIT; reading the beta thread on ATI Tool@Techpowerup I found this "The last version that would detect artifacts was 25B12a" so use either it or go back to 0.24 stable...

[Roger_D25]

Hey Guys,
I've been away from the forum for a few days because my 7900GT has not been very consistant, lol! Somedays it will work just fine, I can overclock manually using sliders in control panel sometimes but others as soon as I click "Test Changes" and then click "OK", bam, it all goes to hell (reboots, shutdowns, massive articfacts, blinking on/off, etc... Sometimes only one of these things happen, others they all happen, and others everything worked great with no problems). The only consistant thing that happens, takes place when I hit "Detect Optimal Frequencies", after I click the "OK" to start testing for Optimal Frequencys my screen alwasy breaks out with hundreds of tiney green and red dots, starts blinking on and off, than goes all black even though computer is still running.

I know other's have posted this same stuff over and over but it helps to know that others are having same problem. I've also been in touch with eVGA who have been very helpful and already gave me an RMA number. I'd like to cross-ship the RMA (They ship out replacment and then you have 30days to return defected card) but I read on the webite this is only possible with 7800GT cards, can anyone give me there experiance with their cross-ship RMA's through eVGA please? That would kicka** because we all hate to be without out computers, even for just a few days!

Also I wanted to thank everyone for all the great info in this forum and especially in this thread, keep it up guys! o-yeah, I've tried 2 official eVGA BIOS versions for the 7900GT but the same problems continue.

[skankinred]

Hey Guys,
I've been away from the forum for a few days because my 7900GT has not been very consistant, lol! Somedays it will work just fine, I can overclock manually using sliders in control panel sometimes but others as soon as I click "Test Changes" and then click "OK", bam, it all goes to hell (reboots, shutdowns, massive articfacts, blinking on/off, etc... Sometimes only one of these things happen, others they all happen, and others everything worked great with no problems). The only consistant thing that happens, takes place when I hit "Detect Optimal Frequencies", after I click the "OK" to start testing for Optimal Frequencys my screen alwasy breaks out with hundreds of tiney green and red dots, starts blinking on and off, than goes all black even though computer is still running.

I know other's have posted this same stuff over and over but it helps to know that others are having same problem. I've also been in touch with eVGA who have been very helpful and already gave me an RMA number. I'd like to cross-ship the RMA (They ship out replacment and then you have 30days to return defected card) but I read on the webite this is only possible with 7800GT cards, can anyone give me there experiance with their cross-ship RMA's through eVGA please? That would kicka** because we all hate to be without out computers, even for just a few days!

Also I wanted to thank everyone for all the great info in this forum and especially in this thread, keep it up guys! o-yeah, I've tried 2 official eVGA BIOS versions for the 7900GT but the same problems continue.

It's actually for all 7800 series cards and up. So you willl be fine with cross shipping.

[graham_h]

Shark-357 can you post your pic of the 1.5v mod again it doesn't load for me on page 8

[loser7787]

EDIT; reading the beta thread on ATI Tool@Techpowerup I found this "The last version that would detect artifacts was 25B12a" so use either it or go back to 0.24 stable...

Yup, i went to the same forums and eventually downloaded 25B12a and it will beep and tell you when it finds the artifacts which does help, my gpu starts to artifact at 650 although this is oooonly with ATI Tool no other programs show any at 650 or even 675, but as for now im running at 630 just to be safe. At 630/900 I get a good 20fps increase from a stock 7900gt in most games. Which I am happy with

[Per Hansson]

Yup, i went to the same forums and eventually downloaded 25B12a and it will beep and tell you when it finds the artifacts which does help, my gpu starts to artifact at 650 although this is oooonly with ATI Tool no other programs show any at 650 or even 675, but as for now im running at 630 just to be safe. At 630/900 I get a good 20fps increase from a stock 7900gt in most games. Which I am happy with

Interesting, ATI Tool v0.25 b14 does the same, i.e. it shows artefacts at exactly 650Mhz, I can go up to 690Mhz without issues in other apps though. But with the stock HSF I reach 70°C here so I have not gone higher, waiting for a waterpump for my cooling system, then will push the card higher and v-mod it with a dipswitch...

[alpha0ne]

After doing the simple 1.4V mod I have found that two IC's get VERY hot when under load so small HS may be needed. just my opinion

[jVIDIA]

After doing the simple 1.4V mod I have found that two IC's get VERY hot when under load so small HS may be needed. just my opinion

Have you put some HS in those IC's ?

Anyone more confirms this ?