# Sapphire X1600Pro AGP Pipelines



## Sh0dan (Jan 31, 2006)

I recently bought a Sapphire X1600Pro AGP card, and after using ATITool (v0.25.12) to check the specs I noticed that under the "Active Pipelines" info it says 4 Pipelines Active.

Doesn't the x1600pro have 12 pipelines?? Can anyone verify this situation with a AGP version or PCI-E version plz, I have 15 days to get a refund and I don't want to have a crippled card.

I've also tested several other tools and all say 4 active pipelines.


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## spectre440 (Jan 31, 2006)

hmm... here's a stab in the dark, but i hope it helps...

could be a driver related issue, something misdetecting or something like that...
what drivers are you using?


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## Sh0dan (Jan 31, 2006)

I'm using the latest Catalyst version, v6.1

Driver Version	6.14.10.6587


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## ukmunkyman (Jan 31, 2006)

*1600xt with "4 pipelines"*

I got a sapphire 1600xt, im using cat version 6.1 and atiTool 0.25 beta 12.

AtiTools says ive only got 4 pipelines aswel.

My card seems to be working fine, I can play games etc ok. It would be totaly noticeable if only 4 pipelines were enabled. Maby its a bug in ati tool.


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## Sh0dan (Jan 31, 2006)

Ok, thanks, must be a bug or ATITool is reporting the output pipelines instead of the pixel pipelines


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## ukmunkyman (Jan 31, 2006)

lookin at other posts its a common problem, but this is the fist time any1 has mentioned it happening with 1600 cards.


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## Bull Dog (Jan 31, 2006)

Its not a "problem".  Its becuase the ATi X1600 series only have 4 true pixel pipelines.  However, they have 3 pixel shader units per pipeline for a total of 12 shader units.  Nothing wrong with your cards and there also isn't anything you can "unlock".


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## ah_khoo (Feb 9, 2006)

how bout temp monitorin on these cards (x1600 series) for u guys?  

anyone get the graph showed? I've tried to modify the registry keys (in regedit) all i get is just the plain graph w/o any temp... Guess my card doesn't have onboard lm63 chip... :shadedshu

Edited: I'm on pci-e, but I supposed the card layout are the same rite? Pls correct me if I'm wrong...


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## [Muad|Dib] (Feb 10, 2006)

ah_khoo said:
			
		

> how bout temp monitorin on these cards (x1600 series) for u guys?
> 
> anyone get the graph showed? I've tried to modify the registry keys (in regedit) all i get is just the plain graph w/o any temp... Guess my card doesn't have onboard lm63 chip... :shadedshu
> 
> Edited: I'm on pci-e, but I supposed the card layout are the same rite? Pls correct me if I'm wrong...


I can see the temp graph with temps in ATI Tool .25.  I have it show up on my sys tray too.  I have it alternating between GPU temp and temp of temp chip.  I am not OC right now because I just got the x1600 Pro 256mb two days ago.  I am running at 54 degrees during normal system use with the stock fan at 35% fan speed.  I am using AGP also.  ATI Tool is a nice program for sure.  Anyone use Rivatuner with this card yet?

[Muad|Dib]


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## 15th Warlock (Feb 10, 2006)

Sh0dan said:
			
		

> I recently bought a Sapphire X1600Pro AGP card, and after using ATITool (v0.25.12) to check the specs I noticed that under the "Active Pipelines" info it says 4 Pipelines Active.
> 
> Doesn't the x1600pro have 12 pipelines?? Can anyone verify this situation with a AGP version or PCI-E version plz, I have 15 days to get a refund and I don't want to have a crippled card.
> 
> I've also tested several other tools and all say 4 active pipelines.



Yes, is must be driver related, my card has 16 pp and Atitool reports 0 active pipelines


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## Josh (Feb 11, 2006)

Try downloading ATI Catalyst _*6.2*_?


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## P4-630 (Feb 11, 2006)

Also atitool 0.25 says 4 active pipelines with my Sapphire x1600


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## Bull Dog (Feb 12, 2006)

Bull Dog said:
			
		

> Its not a "problem".  Its becuase the ATi X1600 series only have 4 true pixel pipelines.  However, they have 3 pixel shader units per pipeline for a total of 12 shader units.  Nothing wrong with your cards and there also isn't anything you can "unlock".




Read above


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## P4-630 (Feb 14, 2006)

*Answer from Sapphire*

I have contacted Sapphire about the pipelines.

Question:
*ATItool 0.25 says that my card has only 4 active
pipelines, I expect it to have 12 pipelines, is there something wrong with my card?*


Answer from Sapphire:

_Dear Customer,

ATI Tool is not reporting the number of pipes correctly - please
try to get the latest version or wait until a version is released that fully
supports your card.

Sapphire Technology
English Speaking European Technical Support

Tel. +44 08701 288320
www.sapphiretech.com_


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## egras (Feb 16, 2006)

I also had the same showing in ATI tools. Sapphire tech said the same to me and that it truly is a 12 pipe card. I almost went with the 6600gt from Nvidea but didnt trust it in comparison.
Graphics in Radeon are much better plus it is 256mb which i prefer.Also I must believe them and other people when they tell me it has 12 pipes.
I do know it is a killer card for me and I have no problems running any game!!


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## [Muad|Dib] (Feb 17, 2006)

egras said:
			
		

> I also had the same showing in ATI tools. Sapphire tech said the same to me and that it truly is a 12 pipe card. I almost went with the 6600gt from Nvidea but didnt trust it in comparison.
> Graphics in Radeon are much better plus it is 256mb which i prefer.Also I must believe them and other people when they tell me it has 12 pipes.
> I do know it is a killer card for me and I have no problems running any game!!


Hey Egras, what kind of temps are getting on your card?  What is the hottest your card has gotten?  Glad you enjoy it.  I have enjoyed mine too on every game but FEAR.  It completely pwnes on BFMEII Demo on Ultra Settings.  Well, it's been great on FEAR but when I use AF I have issues.  I may have a bad card.  It only gets up to 67 degrees celsius when playing FEAR on HIGH, no soft shadows, AAx2 and AFx2, 4 or 8 doesn't matter which AF I still have problems.  This causes sounds problems, missing sound channel, I only hear Alma's voice, black skinned models and my escape menu disappears.  I am switching back to the 6.1 driver from 6.2 tonight.  If that doesn't work I am probably going to RMA it this weekend when I get some time.  Sapphire sent me an email stating they think it sounds like a bad card and to RMA it.  

Thanks,

[Muad|Dib]


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## rubes_mn (Feb 24, 2006)

I just got the 512MB version and this thing runs way too hot.  At Idle, my card runs at 64C.  Playing Battlefield 2 for a mere 15 minutes at 1024x768 causes overheating issues to appear.   Textures turn black; zooming sniper rifle turns entire screen black; enemy markers have black squares round them; text is scrambled.  Sapphire needs to do something about their design.  Running Aquamark overheats the card before it even finishes.   Perhaps mine is junk... lets hope.


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## egras (Feb 25, 2006)

Hello Again,

My card does seem to be running fine.
I am wondering about temperature settings in ATI tools.
I believe it is showing celcius?? , my GPU temp is 64 and chip temp is 44 , and fan speed is 26% also not sure about this one.

64c=147f
44c=111f
are these ok temps?
and should I change fan speeds... why not 100%

Thanks


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## egras (Feb 25, 2006)

Anyone comment on temp settings


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## papubhai (Feb 26, 2006)

*tru tru true*

the world's poorest overclocking software is atitool no doubt abt it use powerstrip 3.63 a better one ?????why not overdrive


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## OOTay (Feb 26, 2006)

no atitool is not "the poorest overclocking software" it works great. And egras those temps are very high and should be lowered by raising the fan speed to a either a dynamic or a fixed percentage through ati tool. The x1600 series has been known to have very high temps and thats a simple way to fix it. Make sure that any temperature above 50 has 100% fan speed. That will make sure that your card doesnt have a short life span and will be ok while playing games.


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## egras (Feb 26, 2006)

so all i need to do is raise fan speed to 100%. ?

Why isnt fan running at 100% allready without ATI tool?

Please help me to understand.

Is ati tool good or should i be using other program.
What about Riva tuner with ATI???

WHAT SHOULD I TRY TO KEEP GPU TEMP AT?

Thanks


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## egras (Feb 26, 2006)

can anyone help please?


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## trog100 (Feb 26, 2006)

"Why isnt fan running at 100% allready without ATI tool?"

because fans make noise.. they are not needed to be at 100% all the time.. only when the card starts to heat up over fifty or sixty C.. the makers let cards run hotter to keep the noise down.. your card isnt really too hot.. but setting the fans to run 100% over mid fifties c wont do it any harm..

trog


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## rubes_mn (Mar 3, 2006)

I used Riva Tuner and pumped the fan to 98%.  I heard no disernable difference in noise.   Btw, I plunked heat sinks into the memory chips on the back as well as onto the mysterious "thermal pad chip".   Memory can now be overclocked 15% easily.


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## KennyT772 (Mar 3, 2006)

well heres the basics. try to keep it at 35c idle and under 60c load (assuming a 25c room temp). if you cant get those temps with stock cooler the upgrade. if anyone needs extra help just contact me on aim or msn.


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## moe300 (Mar 11, 2006)

I have the x1600 pro as well.  With stock cooling and no overclocking mine idles at about 66-68°.  Playing counterstrike source it hits the 80° mark plus a little.  This worries me, but I don't have any issues while playing the game.  Are you guys saying the stock cooling is insufficient?  Why do they design the card this way?  What is the best heatsinc fan combo to get?


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## moe300 (Mar 11, 2006)

Update...  I decided to remove the stock heatsink and use some artic silver.  Absolutely jaw dropping temp. drop.  Down to 48°C idle!  I can't beleive removing the silvery stock junk and using artic silver made so much of a difference!  Still want to get a better heatsink/fan combo.   Any suggestions on what fits are appreciated!


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## devnulllore (Mar 28, 2006)

moe300 said:
			
		

> Update...  I decided to remove the stock heatsink and use some artic silver.  Absolutely jaw dropping temp. drop.  Down to 48°C idle!  I can't beleive removing the silvery stock junk and using artic silver made so much of a difference!  Still want to get a better heatsink/fan combo.   Any suggestions on what fits are appreciated!



Hi,


I just got an X1600pro as well. How do you monitopr the temp?

I have some Arctic Silver paste left over from my CPU fan overhaul. Do you think it is a good idea to replace the stock paste now?

Thanks,

~dev


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## moe300 (Mar 28, 2006)

devnulllore said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> 
> I just got an X1600pro as well. How do you monitopr the temp?
> ...




I would definitely use the artic silver.  It really lowered the temps on mine with just the stock cooling.  I bought a zalman heatsink/fan combo and it lowered my temps even more.  I am now at about 35°C idle 45°C under load.  Use ati tool 0.25 beta to monitor the temp.


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## infrared (Mar 28, 2006)

papubhai said:
			
		

> the world's poorest overclocking software is atitool no doubt abt it use powerstrip 3.63 a better one ?????why not overdrive



Hey... have you noticed that the version for this card is a "BETA" version that is still in progress. And works very well if used correctly. *Keep stupid comments like this to yourself, or don't post on these forums.*


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## devnulllore (Mar 28, 2006)

moe300 said:
			
		

> I would definitely use the artic silver.  It really lowered the temps on mine with just the stock cooling.  I bought a zalman heatsink/fan combo and it lowered my temps even more.  I am now at about 35°C idle 45°C under load.  Use ati tool 0.25 beta to monitor the temp.



Ok, I just checked and it was 60c idle. I bumped the fan up to 50% from 28% and it dropped to 55 and still dropping slowly.

Was it difficult to get the old heat sink off of the GPU? That is the only part that worries me. Is it the hard cement like stuff or loose like the Arctic Silver? I've done it before with my Radeon 9800 and that came off easy as the paste flaked off but I have also had an instance where I pulled a chunk out of the chip because the paste was as hard as a rock.

Thanks so much for the info!

~dev


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## infrared (Mar 28, 2006)

Hmm, the paste must have dried, on all the new cards at least, they use thermal grease, instead of an epoxy based adhesive. Those temperatures are very high though, no wander your having problems.


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## devnulllore (Mar 28, 2006)

infrared said:
			
		

> Hmm, the paste must have dried, on all the new cards at least, they use thermal grease, instead of an epoxy based adhesive. Those temperatures are very high though, no wander your having problems.



Ok, I will give that a try and post the results.

~dev


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## devnulllore (Mar 28, 2006)

moe300 said:
			
		

> I would definitely use the artic silver.  It really lowered the temps on mine with just the stock cooling.  I bought a zalman heatsink/fan combo and it lowered my temps even more.  I am now at about 35°C idle 45°C under load.  Use ati tool 0.25 beta to monitor the temp.




Hmm, Maybe I didn't do it properly but I don't see much of a difference. How did you apply the grease and how much do you recommend? I removed the heat sink, cleaned it up then applied a small bead in the middle of the GPU. Then I spread it over the surface with a thin piece of cardboard to even it out. I think I did it the way they say on the Arctic website. Maybe I just used too little. I was conservative because there was a LOT of the old stuff there and it made a mess, they say you don't need as much of the Arctic stuff and although it's not supposed to be conductive I didn't want it to oose over the surface mount resistors. They also say that after time it works better.

~dev


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## moe300 (Mar 28, 2006)

devnulllore said:
			
		

> Hmm, Maybe I didn't do it properly but I don't see much of a difference. How did you apply the grease and how much do you recommend? I removed the heat sink, cleaned it up then applied a small bead in the middle of the GPU. Then I spread it over the surface with a thin piece of cardboard to even it out. I think I did it the way they say on the Arctic website. Maybe I just used too little. I was conservative because there was a LOT of the old stuff there and it made a mess, they say you don't need as much of the Arctic stuff and although it's not supposed to be conductive I didn't want it to oose over the surface mount resistors. They also say that after time it works better.
> 
> ~dev



I just put a small bead in the middle and let the heatsink smash it down.  That is how I have always done it.  I found the stock cooling to be inadequate.  My temps with the stock cooling were much like yours.  Get a zalman and it will lower your temps by 10 deg. C.


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## devnulllore (Mar 28, 2006)

moe300 said:
			
		

> I just put a small bead in the middle and let the heatsink smash it down.  That is how I have always done it.  I found the stock cooling to be inadequate.  My temps with the stock cooling were much like yours.  Get a zalman and it will lower your temps by 10 deg. C.



hmm, ok. Well maybe it worked after all. I left the PC running and walked away and the temp of the GPU reads 48.3-min 52.9-max 51.0-avg while idle. I am going to fire up 3 games in a row and see what the numbers do. I am willing to bet I am not going to do much better with the stock fan unless I drive the speed up. I have it on 50% and if it goes over 65 it will go up to 76% then 100% if it reaches 85.

Which fan did you get? Any chance you can post a link?

~dev


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## moe300 (Mar 29, 2006)

devnulllore said:
			
		

> hmm, ok. Well maybe it worked after all. I left the PC running and walked away and the temp of the GPU reads 48.3-min 52.9-max 51.0-avg while idle. I am going to fire up 3 games in a row and see what the numbers do. I am willing to bet I am not going to do much better with the stock fan unless I drive the speed up. I have it on 50% and if it goes over 65 it will go up to 76% then 100% if it reaches 85.
> 
> Which fan did you get? Any chance you can post a link?
> 
> ~dev



Those numbers are close to what I got with the stock cooling, which is very hot!  This is the setup I got from newegg http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118125

It will lower you another 10°C I suspect.  It's pretty easy to install and very quiet.  Good luck!


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## devnulllore (Mar 29, 2006)

moe300 said:
			
		

> Those numbers are close to what I got with the stock cooling, which is very hot!  This is the setup I got from newegg http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118125
> 
> It will lower you another 10°C I suspect.  It's pretty easy to install and very quiet.  Good luck!




Your not going to believe this. I have that unit! It's the same one I bought for my older Radeon 9800Pro. The only problem is the memory heatsinks. they are stuck on the 9800 card and I don;t think they come off. I do not think it will be a huge issue anyway. Those memory chips don't get too hot do they? Think it will be an issue if I don't use them?

Come to think of it, it may be better if I don't. I have a 1 year replacement plan. If something happens to the card I can always replace the stock fan but if I put the memory heatsinks on and cannot get them off I void the plan.

I am going to put that on the new card tomorrow.

~dev


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## moe300 (Mar 29, 2006)

devnulllore said:
			
		

> Your not going to believe this. I have that unit! It's the same one I bought for my older Radeon 9800Pro. The only problem is the memory heatsinks. they are stuck on the 9800 card and I don;t think they come off. I do not think it will be a huge issue anyway. Those memory chips don't get too hot do they? Think it will be an issue if I don't use them?
> 
> Come to think of it, it may be better if I don't. I have a 1 year replacement plan. If something happens to the card I can always replace the stock fan but if I put the memory heatsinks on and cannot get them off I void the plan.
> 
> ...



I would think you can put the memory heatsinks on with a little artic silver if you really want to take the time.  You just may have to let it sit so it takes hold and they don't fall off.  As far as I can tell, the ram doesn't get that hot anyway.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Mar 29, 2006)

You should get an Arctic Cooling or Zalman cooler to lower your temps.  I wouldn't recommend anything over 50 degrees.  I get about 31 load/42 idle on an X800XL @ 432/531 w/ a Zalman VF700-Cu LED.  Great cooler, just doesn't exhaust out of case.


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## P4-630 (Mar 30, 2006)

Azn Tr14dZ said:
			
		

> I get about 31 load/42 idle on an X800XL @ 432/531 w/ a Zalman VF700-Cu LED.  Great cooler, just doesn't exhaust out of case.



If you mean 42 degrees celsius idle on load, then you are using the fan probably at 100% speed at 12V.. Plus it is very cool in your office or computer room.

Or you just don't have the right 3d applications that really heat up you card...


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## devnulllore (Mar 30, 2006)

Ok, new fan is on and it's much cooler. 38-40 idle and so far no higher than 48 after playing games. I am wondering if I should remove the memory heatsinks as I thought that now that I removed them from my orher card some of the sticky part is gone. This may inhibit the heat transfer. Do you think I would be better off just leaving them off? I have a good cross breeze over the card anyway.

~dev


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## devnulllore (Apr 2, 2006)

Actualy I have to send the card back for a replacement. I keep getting video memory errors at the end of the Aquamark3 tests. Maybe that's the cause of all the stuttering i've been getting.

~dev


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