I need help with my X800Pro to XT hardmod...

[SickBeast]

Ok, so I did the MadShrimps hardmod on my X800Pro. Upon inspecting the GPU, I indeed have an XT core (there is a .1 at the end of the revision number). The card is 100% stable at 520/560, and the BIOS flash to the XT BIOS works fine.

I connected the bridge that is factory-cut using a pencil, then I went over it with conductive paint just to be safe.

What I didn't do was to scrape the top of the GPU a bit as some people reccomend; I could see the copper connects just fine so I figured I would get a good connection.

So: Should I scrape the GPU a bit and try again? What did I do wrong? I reinstalled the drivers, and ATI Tool is saying I still only have 12 pipelines.

 

[Killrose]

Do they spray a light protective coating over the PCB? maybe you can see the copper connects, but they might be under a clear coat and insulated.

Dunno.

 

[imported_Woody]

Is this an X800Pro VIVO?

I just modded mine to 16 pipelines. All softmod, never opened my case. Flash the BIOS and that's it.

Some people find they need to reinstall the video drivers for the card to be recognized as an X800XT after the mod but I didn't need to do that. On the other hand, I modded mine to an X800Pro with 16 pipe BIOS so it wouldn't overclock automatically.

My benchmark performance improvement was significant. I'm now just under 6000 3DMarks '05 and played a few hours of BF2 with no hiccups at 550/490. This is a great mod if you can pull it off but I don't know why you need to mess with the card phyically.

 

[mOeeOm]

Just wondering what is the % of success on this mod?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: mOeeOm
Just wondering what is the % of success on this mod?

Very high.

Woody, it's not a VIVO, so I have to do the hardmod unfortunately.

Any chance you could email me that 16 pipe BIOS?

 

[imported_Woody]

Nice article on how to complete the mod:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/printthread.php?t=188

Complete archive of BIOS files:

http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/

Details on completing the flash:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/34

Just FYI I didn't use the modified flashrom described in the article. I used the ATi flashing utility with the -newbios command line switch in DOS to force the old BIOS to be overwritten. The modified flashrom didn't work for me.

I got these links from another thread in these forums posted by someone else and just copied them to this thread.

I also didn't need to reinstall my video drivers for the new card BIOS to be recognized. Maybe that's only necessary if you use an X800XT BIOS. My card still shows up as an X800Pro VIVO but after I overclock it a little it behaves exactly like the XT card but with working VIVO still.

The flash should be completely reversible if you save your original BIOS as described. I haven't tried going back and I probably never will unless I need to return the card for warranty or something.

It seems to run a degree or two hotter at idle but still cool enough. I used ATi Tool to notch up the fan speeds to counter this. The XT comes with a more impressive HSF.

 

[SickBeast]

Thanks Woody. The flash/drivers are not my problem tho; I'm having problems with the physical mod (my bridge is cut). What I'm wondering is if I need to fill the pit w/ epoxy, similar to the Athlon XP modding days.

The other thing I'm curious about is the scraping; do I need to scrape the GPU? The thought of doing so scares me...