Overclocking my ATi Radeon X1950 Pro

[HannibalX]

I decided to take a stab at overclocking my X1950 Pro today just for fun. I have the Asus 256MB model which does not use the ATi cooler but has a funky looking heatpipe cooler designed by Asus.

My card was running stock at 581 core and 702 memory (1404 ddr).

Using ATi Tray Tools I bumped the fan up to 100% (3500 rpm) and started slowly increasing. I ended up with 655 core and 815 memory (1630 ddr). I was able to take the memory up to 828 but anything over 815 produced a lot of artifacts and random lockups, which is not good eats. The core simply wouldn't go any higher at all without locking up. I ran the video stress test in CS:S before and after.

CS:S Video stress test @ 1280x1024, 4xAA, 16xAF, all setting on high or full.

Stock 581/702: 167.4 fps
Overclocked 655/815: 188.7 fps

Not a huge gain but a gain none the less. =)

Edit: New numbers with Zalman cooler.
Overclocked/ZV9 Cooler: 678/841

 

[osage]

try giving it a bit more voltage, core and memory....

 

[HannibalX]

I have read that you need a custom bios to do that with these boards so I think I will forgo that route for now.

 

[HannibalX]

Well I am thinking of getting an aftermarket cooler. After several hours of CS:S the temp slowly rises from 40c to 50c. Once the card hits 50c the machine freezes and that's it. I can solve this by switching back to the desktop for about 5 minutes and setting the clocks back to default, but that is sort of a nuisance.

 

[HannibalX]

I purchased a Zalman ZV9 cooler in an attempt to tackle my freezing problems which I believed to be heat related. After installing the ZV9 I was able to get achieve a much higher stable overclock than with the stock cooler. The voltage was stock for the below results.

Clocks/Cooler/Core/Memory:
Stock Clocks/Stock Cooler: 581/702
Overclocked/Stock Cooler: 655/815
Overclocked/ZV9 Cooler: 678/841

After playing a few hours of CS:S the card remained at a steady 46c. During light use the temps hovered around 32c. Once again I ran the CS:S video stress test.

CS:S Video stress test @ 1280x1024, 4xAA, 16xAF, all setting on high or full.

Stock 581/702: 167.4 fps
Overclocked 655/815: 188.7 fps
Overclocked 678/841: 207.2 fps

 

[nyker96]

pretty good boost from the OC nice!