Radeon 8500 clock speed

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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OK, will try that out right now.

What is the clock speed for the Radeon 8500 supposed to be?
 

Theslowone

Golden Member
Jul 30, 2000
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275/275 for retail, 250/250 for oem/le, 230/230(or something like that) for 3rd pary manufactuers lele.
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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How can I tell if mine is LE, it was OEM, and the clock is currently 250/250.

Is it safe for me to go to 275/275 or would I need to get a better chipset cooler?

Which is a good chipset cooler for it?
 

Theslowone

Golden Member
Jul 30, 2000
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It should be safe to go that high, but it might not handle it, you will get artifacts/freezing if it can't take it. Just slowly bump up the numbers, and test it. You will know when its to high.
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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Thanks Erik,
I will start going up about 5/5 at a time and keep going up until I get there, and if all goes well I will keep it there.

If I go up on the clock speed, do I have to have powerstrip running to keep it overclocked or will the settings stay?

I'm no expert at video card overclocking...

Thanks in Advance
 

Theslowone

Golden Member
Jul 30, 2000
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Powerstrip runs most of the time(shows beside the clock) and will keep your settings, radeonator only runs when you pull it up, but it will save your setting so you don't have to keep adjusting them.
 

Killrose

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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Powerstrip runs on start-up and your overclocked settings will be saved. If you can't get 275/275 (retail speeds), you can up the voltage to the ram chips with a pencil, or replace the resistor that controls the voltage to the ram chips. The proceedure can be found over at Rage3D forums.

If your OEM has a fan and is made by Ati, then it is the same fan shipped with the Retail cards and is plenty sufficient.
 

Daemon_UK

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
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My Radeon 8500 LE, can do 290 on the core with no problems. But the memory will do no more than 260 :( I guess the pencil trick will have to be done? or is this because the chips have to much heat. Why adding ram sinks help? Anyone know?

I really want the memory to go further than 275!
 

Killrose

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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Core voltage for the core is the same for OEM or Retail. The voltage supplied to memory is different however. OEM usually runs 3.16v, Retail 3.56v . Try the pencil trick if you don't have the SMD equipment for resistor replacement.
 

Alex

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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hell just slap on some extra cooling (like 5 bucks) and do it the safe way... you can never air-cool stuff enough!!!
 

bbarnes

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Mar 18, 2000
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<< hell just slap on some extra cooling (like 5 bucks) and do it the safe way... you can never air-cool stuff enough!!! >>


franguinho, what would you recommend I get?

Also, to anyone, how can the pencil trick, or the resistor thing be done?
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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2 Questions:

How can I tell the amount of voltage my card has?



<< My Radeon 8500 LE, can do 290 on the core with no problems. But the memory will do no more than 260 >>



I have it set to 270/270 in PowerStrip right now, so does that mean that they are both running at that, or how do I know if it is like Daemon_UK's and won't go above a certain number?
 

Killrose

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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If your ram is 3.6ns, it's rated to run above 275MHz by default with-out any cooling needed. You need to first try the pencil trick if you cannot obtain that speed using a simple overclocking utility. You need to search the Rage3D forums for the info. It will be the largest thread in the 8500 disscussion area.

The stock Retail boards obtain 275MHz with-out ram sinks, so you should have no problem doing the same as long as you have 3.6ns ram and 3.3-3.6volts to the ram.

For those poor voltage impaired LE/OEM's
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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How can I tell if the RAM on mine is 3.6ns and the amount of voltage it is getting?

Also: Would me increasing from 250/250 to 270/270 increase my case temp by 2°C and my CPU by 3-4°C?
Because for some reason, they have gone up...
 

Killrose

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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Off to the right of the ram ID#'s there will be a: -36 (for 3.6) or: -4 (for 4ns).

Get your red hot ram voltage reading here

Pay NO attention to the wire's soldered in the pictures. They are for another mod for an adjustable pot.
Three strokes across the TOP of the resister with a soft lead pencil is said to be enough, and then check your voltage.
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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Looked and confirmed that the RAM is 3.6ns

But I still don't understand about the pencil thing, what is it needed for, and how does it help?

Sorry for any signs of stupidity, but like I said, this is the first time I've tried to do anything to a video card...
 

Killrose

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 1999
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On that particular resitor, lowering the resistance raises the voltage. Take a pencil, "draw" three strokes directly accross the top of it in a straight line from one side to the other. That will generally lower the resistance sufficiantly to raise the voltage to the ram chips. But you should have/use a voltmeter to confirm your results. The graphite of the pencil is conductive, but does not provide zero resistance.
 

bbarnes

Senior member
Mar 18, 2000
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Which resistor do I need to do this to?

And I still don't quite understand why this is done, I mean I know that it increases the voltage to the RAM, but why does that need to be done?