Getting more out of my X850 Pro?

[quadomatic]

I'm trying to see if I can squeeze a little more juice out of my X850 PRO.

It's a Sapphire Radeon X850 PRO 256MB PCI-Express VIVO.

Is it possible for me to mod my card to an X850 XT Platinum Edition? If so, can someone point me in the direction of a guide?

If that isn't possible, is there anything else I can do to increase performance?

Thanks.

 

[Rottie]

I think it will only work with AGP based card I will find a link for you when i get home

 

[Jevon]

I'm pretty sure Rottie is correct in that you can only do this on the AGP card, although it is really easy (I did it on my old x800 Here's a good link to to start you off, although it may not matter since you're on PCI-E

Might want to Google something like 'unlocking x800 PCI-E possible'

Good luck!

 

[sutahz]

If your X800 has a yellow (CD audio looking) connector on the back then it can probley be unlocked. Using ATi Tool to look at your BIOS also lets you know if you can or can not.
Not true that only AGP cards can be unlocked (though both that I did unlock were AGP). The Sapphire X800GTO2 was availible in PCI-E only, and thats the card that got all the press.

Oh duh, the yellow connector is what physically shows VIVO, yeah your card can be unlocked.
But even unlocking those 4 pipes and overclocking it (at a min remove the HSF, and apply some good thermal paste vice the crap they have on there) won't net you any real performance. the X800 is 2 generations old (same class as the 6800). Like I saw the 8600GT beat out the 7900GTX in Crysis (if i rem correctly). And in CoD4 as well. New games just req more power in the shader department.

 

[quadomatic]

Originally posted by: sutahz
If your X800 has a yellow (CD audio looking) connector on the back then it can probley be unlocked. Using ATi Tool to look at your BIOS also lets you know if you can or can not.
Not true that only AGP cards can be unlocked (though both that I did unlock were AGP). The Sapphire X800GTO2 was availible in PCI-E only, and thats the card that got all the press.

Oh duh, the yellow connector is what physically shows VIVO, yeah your card can be unlocked.
But even unlocking those 4 pipes and overclocking it (at a min remove the HSF, and apply some good thermal paste vice the crap they have on there) won't net you any real performance. the X800 is 2 generations old (same class as the 6800). Like I saw the 8600GT beat out the 7900GTX in Crysis (if i rem correctly). And in CoD4 as well. New games just req more power in the shader department.

Hmmm, i see. The X850 Pro still beats out a lot of cards that aren't heavy on shader performance though. It's a real champ. I wish I didn't need a new card.

I'll probably save up for a 3850.

 

[kmmatney]

I had an X800GTO2 which I unlocked to 16 pipes and overclocked to X850XT speeds (which is what I list in my sig). It noticably improved my performance in Oblivion and older games. I used the TechPowerUp! website to get the mod to 16 pipes - worth a try.

I'm also eyeing the HD3850 as my next upgrade...