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Powercoler 9800SE - signs softmod didnt work?

3

351Cleveland

Golden Member
I installed the card, and then installed the Omega softmod drivers. Everything was fine until I got into 3DMark03. I THOUGHT I was seeing pixel artifacting, but it could have been part of the sequence. What I KNOW I was seeing was a studdering or even maybe a skipping of a frame on a regular pattern.

I am guessing both of these mean the card wont softmod? Are there any adjustments to be made to the card to make it softmod or not? If not that is fine. its a big jump over my GF2 GTS, so I dont LOSE anything.

Thanks in advance!
 
the mod shouldn't cause stuttering and I've never heard of it doing so. Try using ATItool. It has a built in artifact tester.
 
Make sure you are not running applications in the background. For me, even motherboard monitor would cause momentary pauses in 3dmark03. Also, what part did you think you saw artifacting?
 
Well, what I think is irrelevant now. The ATItool shows continuous artifacting, so I guess that makes it official.

So now I am to... what can be done, if anything?

I was getting killer 3D03 marks... 5400+ I then noticed the studdering, so I switched to non-modded drivers. I got 3800+ in 3D03.

Will better cooling help? More voltage (if that is possible)? Or do I just get the clock and core as high as I can and roll with it unmodded?
 
Which SE did you get? The C3L, C3 OR C3G? C3L has 128bit memory, while C3 and C3G have 256bit memory and come at the 9800Pro stock speeds, they also have a better chance for a successfull softmod. Mine is a C3, and it runs flawlessly as a Pro. But I never heard of a softmod causing studdering or skipping, you could check this site http://www.techpowerup.com/softmod/,, it covers everything on softmods.

edit: gosh, the comma was added automatically to the link causing it not to work, just fixed that.
 
Mine is a C3. It says 256 bit on the box too 🙂

L shaped memory pattern. It is the right flavor to do it, but I guess I just got one of the minority that wont do it.

I am gonna try the tricks listed at that website. I played a couple games with it and I didnt notice it for the most part. I only thought it might not be working because of that studdering, but I do think I had stuff running in the background, so that was probably that.

All in all, I think I will probably leave it softmodded as long as it doesnt look REALLY bad.

EDIT: I have the UNMODDED drivers in now, and I am getting that studdering while searching for max core speed with ATItool. Could it be heat related or ???
 
Originally posted by: 351Cleveland
Well, what I think is irrelevant now. The ATItool shows continuous artifacting, so I guess that makes it official.<BR><BR>So now I am to... what can be done, if anything?<BR><BR>I was getting killer 3D03 marks... 5400+ I then noticed the studdering, so I switched to non-modded drivers. I got 3800+ in 3D03.<BR><BR>Will better cooling help? More voltage (if that is possible)? Or do I just get the clock and core as high as I can and roll with it unmodded?
Click to expand...


Are you using the default cooler that came with the 9800SE? that thing is really crappy and when you enable all 8 pipelines you may nead better cooler, especially if you want to overclock. try modding a CPU heatsink for it, that worked really well for me. also, you may want to take a case fan and possition it more directly over the heatsink of that card.
 
or you can return and get another 9800SE that can be mod
Click to expand...

Don't be a TOOL, that kind of stuff only hurts the rest of us. That is exactly the kind of mentality that raises prices at places like Newegg and others. Please refrain from making stupid comments and use some common sense!


And by the way, i'd try a better cooler for your card personally and some ramsinks. 🙂
 
I am sure there's no difference in heat between 4 or 8 enabled pipelines (personal experience), and if you're willing to overclock that card you REALLY have to install an aftermarket HSF since the stock one is crappy, it barely keeps the card cool at stock settings.
And since your games are running well I say keep your card softmoded and enjoy its full speed 🙂
As for your stuttering problem, it's most probably related to background applications, try to disable all the useless programs using the msconfig command.
If you're seeing checkerboards then your softmod is a failure for sure, but I heard that enabling AA/AF might resolve this problem.
 
The stock HSF on that thing is indeed lousy. I also recommend getting an aftermarket cooler if this is to be your primary gaming card.

Hey, 1000 posts! 🙂🙂
 
Before you give up, some people have had success UNDERCLOCKING a core that doesn't properly softmod. It's a stretch, but 8 pipelines at 80% speed is still faster than 4 at 100% speed.

I don't think the chances are that great, but it's worth a shot.
 
Note that the last post from the OP was 30 days ago, maybe he's not reading the thread anymore,
If you do, then keep us updated.

p.s:Congrats Avalon, you're a Golden Member now :beer:
 
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