the chip and legs is freaking small i'm afraid if i try to voltmod it i will kill the card
the chip and legs is freaking small i'm afraid if i try to voltmod it i will kill the card
Nice!
EDIT: So just one point is needed such as the red one in the top-left of the picture in the OP (I read through the thread, looked like you had found a few spots) for this? It'll be my first time modding a GPU, I've soldered before but want to be sure before I put the iron to my pair of boards?
EDIT2: Would RadioShack have any suitable variable resistors? I don't see any in their online catalog , would hate to have to order them online for such a small item.
EDIT3: Would this work? http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search
EDIT4: OK, and one REALLY stupid question, how exactly does a multimeter "clip on" to the measure points on this sort of board?
Last edited by GoldenTiger; 11-01-2007 at 05:08 AM.
GoldenTiger,
That one is single turn (revolves only <360º. Not good because a single turn VR causes a really steep decrease in resistance once you tune it.
I always use multiturn Spectrol VRs for applications where accuracy of the resistance is critical.
Here's a good 500Ω 24 turn VR from Spectrol:
http://export.farnell.com/jsp/Passiv...sp?sku=9608710
Last edited by largon; 11-01-2007 at 05:14 AM.
You were not supposed to see this.
One final thing... what exactly is the procedure for this? Solder the red point (or one of the orange optional points) to a wire, the wire goes onto the variable resistor while a ground-soldered wire goes onto the other leg of the VR? Set it to max resistance, and then... ? How do I measure the vGPU exactly, with a clipping multimeter leg? How do I determine the actual voltage with these cards? Sorry for so many noob questions, but better safe than sorry on this .
"Out for delivery" my favorite phrase
So we're looking at a VR to get voltage increase? Any chances of a 8600GTS-like "Solder here and solder there" kind of mod? Also, what kind of core speeds are we looking at?
Cheers! and thanks a ton! Ya'll ROCK!
Pretty much like you described.
First solder a wire onto the middle leg of a VR (they have 3 legs) and another wire onto either of the outer legs. Tune the VR to 500Ω. Solder one wire into a ground and the other to red/orange dot. Measure the circuit's resistance (should be close to 14.5Ω by now), easiest way is to probe the legs of the VR. Also, make sure the third (unused) leg doesn't touch 'n' accidentally short things.
Plug the card in and power up. Immediately measure the vGPU by sticking the black lead in molex ground and poke one of the vGPU measuring points with the multimeter's red lead. You'll see a bit over 1.1V. Tune down the resistor for more voltage. If you used a multiturn VR you will need to turn the VR's dial couple rounds before you start seeing results.
Sorry, I'm not very familiar with US based electronics resellers.Any U.S. based vendors of that sort of thing?
The vGPU mod can be done by soldering a fixed resistor (valued <500Ω) instead of a VR...
But exact values for fixed resistors are not available ATM.
Last edited by largon; 11-01-2007 at 05:59 AM.
You were not supposed to see this.
largon, I really appreciate your help. That makes things much clearer for me !
Very nice information! I will have to try this once I get my new card (step-up from 320GTS...eVGA ROCKS!). I would like to see more results first, though. This is my 1st gfx card vMod. Good w/ a soldering iron, though. I modchipped my PS2, and Wii...had an R/C car when I was a kid as well.
So, 1.4v is safe for the GPU...how far can you push these things, and how easy is it to kill a chip? Should I just crank it to 1.4v, see how far I can OC (while observing temps), and then proceed w/ caution if I want more?
The memory mod sounds more dangerous. I know DRAM can fry easily, so I'm guessing vRAM is the same. 2.0v is safe, right? How dangerous is it to mess w/ the vRAM voltages?
How about shader clocks? Will the additional vGPU also allow me to OC the shader clock higher?
I've seen reports of 8800GT's running in the 60's and other reports of the cards running in the 90's. I'm not sure what to believe yet, but I'll know for sure when I get my card. I'm guessing a good aftermarket cooling solution is recommended for these vMods, correct? I'm thinking about getting the HR03.
I just got an email from eVGA, and they are ready for me to send in my 320GTS for step-up. I may have to wait for Monday...I don't want to go the weekend w/o my PC.
The stock vGPU on these is 1.1v, I wouldn't adjust it to 1.4 off the bat as a "safe" voltage if I were you . You can cause damage to the chip, and with these, you can't just lower it back down to fix it like with a CPU usually. You will *definitely* need a beefy after-market cooler for a voltmod on these, the stock cooler can handle some overclocking but runs borderline scorching when doing so, let alone volt-modded. The HR03 would be an excellent cooler (make sure it's the NON-plus version, the plus one *doesn't mount* on these cards), just be aware it takes up a few slots. I'm personally trying a pair of Thermaltake ND1's, which are coming in with my two cards tomorrow:
Picture of it mounted on a 7900GT (Thermaltake ND1):
These should cool well for me , assuming they fit (which it looks like they will, but I can confirm tomorrow).
Golden Tiger - I followed you over here from OCForums, so I know all about it!
So it sounds like setting the 500VR to max is the best starting point. See how high I can OC at that vGPU, and then raise a little bit at a time. Once I start getting to the point where extra voltage doesn't seem to help more or temps get too high, stop. Is there a voltage I should definitely stop at no matter what?
I know these are new chips, but are there generally accepted guidelines like:
up to 1.2v is safe
1.2-1.4v should be OK
1.4+v is dangerous?
I said 1.4v earlier b/c of this post:
You were fine (no roughness detected). I just found it funny the way you responded w/ your explanation of which HR03 to get. I was the main guy telling everyone over at OCForums that there are different versions of the HR03, and just b/c one review said "the HR03 doesn't fit" it was b/c they used the one designed for the GTS/GTX (HR03+), not the one designed for the 6/7 series (HR03-Rev.A). Rev.A "should" fit, but I may wait a bit and see if TR releases a specific version for the GT, to make sure I get the right sinks for the RAM and Vregs. Or I'll just buy a bunch of small sinks and make it work!
I should be good on slots. I plan on staying single-card. I have the P5K-Premium. Only PCI device is my Auzentech Xplosion sound card...I might get a HD Tuner card at some point, though.
Also your pic, which I've seen posted several times over there, made me laugh just b/c I've seen it so many times.
I can't wait to see your results! I may let you be my guinea pig if you don't mind.
Ahhhhhhh LOL, I didn't realize you were the same person . Yeah, that is pretty funny then .
I'll guinea pig... , but only if I can get the 1k ohm one locally and have it work I think, the cost because of minimum order + shipping is too high online at the place I found with 500 ohm VR's . Anyone know if the 1k ohm will work (i.e. could I just turn it to 500 ohms with the knob and it would work)?
btw,
Is there someone kind enough to take a pic of the backside of the board of the area of the RAM chips? I could pinpoint vMEM measuring points if a pic was available. I'm afraid no.
Such a high value VR would have way too big change of resistance per degree of rotation of the dial.
edit: Meaning dangerously steep, sudden increase of voltage after a certain amount of rotations. 1kΩ VR is OK.
Last edited by largon; 11-01-2007 at 08:14 AM.
You were not supposed to see this.
Does increasing vGPU allow you to OC shaders higher as well?
Golden Tiger - Do you plan on vModding the memory as well?
What do you guys think these cards are capable of w/ good aftermarket cooling, and some volt modding goodness? Any speculations? 850/2200/2200?
Great! I will take a picture of the backside tomorrow if no one has at that area, as that's when my pair comes in.
vGPU affects the entire core, including shaders.
I'm considering the vmem mod, yes.
Honestly, I saw someone who got up to 770ish with aftermarket air cooling but was volt-limited, had temps of 45ish load celsius, so who knows how high they could go with a voltmod... I have a hunch VERY high. Clocks like you are speculating would not surprise me !
Card's here, but I have work to do still for a few hours. Stupid job.
My first impression is that while I was able to do the easy part of the 8600GTS voltmod on two different cards, this one looks very cramped and very small. I'm quite scared to be honest. I think that unless we see some serious clock increases like we did with the G84, I'm gonna have to pass on this one.
Anyone have working clock speeds yet?
Evga SSC is @ home on the table waiting. Will have some prelim numbers up tonight with vGPU and vMEM mods using an MCW-60 water block and Swiftech H20-220, single loop on GPU.
:cheers:
Edit: and some pictures, finally I get to use the Canon 40D on computer parts, should be a good night.
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