# X800GTO problems



## NeoGeo (Nov 22, 2005)

Hi,

I'm pretty new to this forum, but I do use ATITool.  I just purchased a Sapphire X800GTO.  I've been trying to learn how to overclock it, but I don't understand the results that I'm seeing.  

For one this, *the level to which I can overclock the GPU core, seems to depend on the current clock rate of my memroy*.  I believe my memory is the 2.0ns Samsung type.  I don't have the GTO2.  Do these results make sense to anyone?

Also, I am able to run at *434RAM/534GPU in ATITool... stable*. Not great, but not bad either.  I can even run an artifact scan for over 10 minutes.  I'm running an Arctic Cooling Silencer 5, so I don't have any heat issues.  I think the card gets as hot as 46C, maximum.

After overclocking to the afore mentioned levels, I decided to try F.E.A.R. out.  The results on the F.E.A.R. test show a 25% improvement in the range of 0-25fps, and 4% improvement in the >40fps range, with 21% imrpovement in the 26-39fps range.   Essentially the distribution was right shifted towards the 40fps mark.

However, visually something doesn't look right.  I can seen tonnes of Artifacts everywhere.  Little flasshy dots, Army Men that flicker and half disappear.... generally the picture sucks  !

So I'm just wondering why these issues were not picked up in ATITool.  I am using the Catalyst 5.11 drivers.  I even tried running the game with Alternate Pixel Center enabled.

Does anyone here have any ideas as to what setting I must be getting wrong when I play the game.  I'm all out if ideas. Hoefully some of ther gurus over here can help me out  .


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## NeoGeo (Nov 22, 2005)

*No Takers on this one???*

 

I really need some help guys... totally confused here...


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## Thermopylae_480 (Nov 22, 2005)

ATI Tool's artifact detection is pretty good, but nothing is perfect.  You need to run it for more than 10 minutes to see if its stable.  Try an hour at minimum.  If you play games longer than an hour try running it for as long as you would typically play a high end game if you want to be absolutely certain.  Heat is not the only thing that can cause artifacts, but it is a main contributor.  Artifacts can occur from too high of an overclock also.  How high you clock your core or memory can limit the maximum overclock of the other.  How high your OC can be is also limited by the energy supplied by your PCI-E/AGP slot, and the power of your PSU.  If you run ATI Tool's artifact scan for a longer time, and it still doesn't get any artifacts, but artifacts persist in FEAR, you will just have to bring your clocks down some anyway.  The best overclock will occur when you get no artifacts in any program you run.  Good luck.


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## NeoGeo (Nov 22, 2005)

Hi,

Thanks for the response.  I have run the test for at least 15 minutes and I see no artifacts.  It must be that F.E.A.R. jus stresses the GPU more than ATITool.  

Do you think 3dMark05 would let me know how good my overclock is?

Also, how far appart whould the memory clock and core clock be spaced.  Right now I have it at 100Mhz.  Is there a value that is particularily good?

ng


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## Thermopylae_480 (Nov 22, 2005)

Run ATI Tool longer than 15min.  I don't know what a typical OC for a GTO is like, and every card of even the same make and model OCs differently. Some are good overclockers and some don't, its just the luck of the draw .  How well you overclock depends on your system specs too, all you can do is find the maximums for your card and your system.  Its been my experience that memory usually get higher than core speeds though.  Sorry I can't be more help.


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## NeoGeo (Nov 22, 2005)

Hi,

Thanks for all your help.  I understand things a little better now.  I'll try running ATI tool for longer than 15 minutes to see what happens.  Maybe the clock speeds that i have selected jsut don't work well together, or, the momory clock is just set too high.  I doubt it's heat... I think the memory is the bottleneck here.

Thanks agian.

I'd love to know if anyone else is having this problem.


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## NeoGeo (Nov 22, 2005)

NeoGeo said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> I'm pretty new to this forum, but I do use ATITool.  I just purchased a Sapphire X800GTO.  I've been trying to learn how to overclock it, but I don't understand the results that I'm seeing.
> 
> ...



If I drop the memory clock to 525, things work well.  I guess I just reached the theoretical maximum of the memory (2.0ns ~ 1000mhz)?


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