# Successful flash 9550 extreme edition to Sapphire 9600xt Fb.



## DFT (Oct 29, 2004)

i have a 9550xt with hynix 2.5ns flash with sapphire 9600xt bios(i decrease core to 425mhz and run with normal memory as default 9600xt fb).   
the card wouldn't work or start function when the memory is below 325mhz*2.
when i run 3d mark 2001,my pc is freezing after one of the test is running.  
i don't not what is happen.Can't somebody solve my question.


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## ati.bob (Oct 29, 2004)

The thing you posted here and title of your post doesn't match.. how can a successfully flashed card contain problems? 

Anyway, my guess is that don't use a 9600XT BIOS.. 9550XT cards are not scaled down 9600XT cards.. they are just normal 9550 with a better memory/core clock.. I think they don't have those 9600XT features (temp monitoring. Overdrive. etc..).. Try flashing with a 9600 Pro BIOS instead..


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## Nobru_rv (Oct 29, 2004)

I have a 9550 gecube extreme platinum with rv360 and 2.5 ns ram. When i install drivers,winxp recognizes the card as 9600xt card. But there's no temp monitor.


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## Ramine (Oct 29, 2004)

i would expect problems with flashing from 9550 to 9500XT, best bet is to go for the 9600 pro bios or just the 9600, due to the lack of temp monitoring!

Ramine


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## bios (Oct 30, 2004)

> I have a 9550 gecube extreme platinum with rv360 and 2.5 ns ram. When i install drivers,winxp recognizes the card as 9600xt card. But there's no temp monitor.



Have you actually looked at the core itself? Or did Ati Tool just tell you it was a RV360 ?


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## ati.bob (Oct 30, 2004)

Yeah.. My Sapphire 9550 card also shows up as 9600XT with RV360 core when I flashed the card with ANY 9600 BIOS.. I must make it clear that ALL 9550 cards have RV350 core..


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## bios (Oct 31, 2004)

I asked that question because my 9550XT shows as a RV360 core in Windows. But when I was replacing the HSF on the card the core was a 9550.


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## GoLLuM4444 (Oct 31, 2004)

bios said:
			
		

> I asked that question because my 9550XT shows as a RV360 core in Windows. But when I was replacing the HSF on the card the core was a 9550.


What exactly do you mean by the core being a 9550?


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## bios (Oct 31, 2004)

Well the core just had 'Radeon 9550' on the core itself. Here's some pics.


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## Nobru_rv (Oct 31, 2004)

I dont really care what core it has. I can OC it up to 540/420(840) (stock cooling),and win XP recognizes it as 9600XT. What do i need more? Even it has rv350 core who cares. It has 2.5 NS so basically 420 for memo is not hell of an OC. When stock should be 400mhz for 2.5 ns memo.


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## bios (Oct 31, 2004)

> I dont really care what core it has. I can OC it up to 540/420(840) (stock cooling),and win XP recognizes it as 9600XT. What do i need more? Even it has rv350 core who cares. It has 2.5 NS so basically 420 for memo is not hell of an OC. When stock should be 400mhz for 2.5 ns memo



How many 3Dmarks do you get with that setup? Also are you sure you get those overclocks on stock cooling? Cause they are pretty dam high.


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 2, 2004)

bios said:
			
		

> How many 3Dmarks do you get with that setup? Also are you sure you get those overclocks on stock cooling? Cause they are pretty dam high.



Why high? As i read 500 is stock for rv360 core. 
And 400 is stock for 2.5 ns. So 540 is not even 10% of oc and 420 is bad oc for 2.5 ns memo.
So i dont think i got good OC with this settings. Only thing that im satisfied with is that i payed it about 110 USD.


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## bios (Nov 2, 2004)

> Why high? As i read 500 is stock for *rv360 core*.
> And 400 is stock for 2.5 ns. So 540 is not even 10% of oc and 420 is bad oc for 2.5 ns memo.
> So i dont think i got good OC with this settings. Only thing that im satisfied with is that i payed it about 110 USD.



Yeah but you said in your first original post you had a *9550XT * which uses a *9550* core (unless you have visually seen the core itself and prove me wrong) So since the stock 9550XT speed is *400*, a 140mhz overclock is pretty dam good! But yes the memory overclock isn't the greatest overclock.


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## ReconCX (Nov 2, 2004)

I'm not sure about the 2.5 ns reaching only 420, try getting some cooling, I got 2.8ns and mine's at 650. And that's before I install my new ZM80 + OP1 in a few days =)


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 5, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> I'm not sure about the 2.5 ns reaching only 420, try getting some cooling, I got 2.8ns and mine's at 650. And that's before I install my new ZM80 + OP1 in a few days =)



I meant 420 (840). 1000 : 2.5 ns = 400mhz (800 ddr) so 20 mhz is 5%. Not a good OC.



			
				bios said:
			
		

> Yeah but you said in your first original post you had a 9550XT which uses a 9550 core (unless you have visually seen the core itself and prove me wrong) So since the stock 9550XT speed is 400, a 140mhz overclock is pretty dam good! But yes the memory overclock isn't the greatest overclock.



9550 core doesnt exist.It is often written on the core itself ,but it doesnt exist.9550 card use or RV350 (9600 core) or RV360 (9600xt core).
So,atitool recognizes mine as 9600xt (RV360).Stock for RV360 is 500. 540 is not a good oc AFAIK.
But if i look to my default clocks in its bios (400/300) , i can say that 540/420 is a good OC.


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## amd (Nov 5, 2004)

funny thing thou, I have a gecube 9550 xt and tried several types of 9600 xt bioses under the bios section and i didnt get any luck on boot. Instead it gave me a black out screen. There is only one 9600 pro bios which is compatible with this card. Sapphire 9600 pro FB.


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## Nergal (Nov 5, 2004)

I heard that some 9550's has a RV360 core.
I suppose it depends if you bought the cheap 9550 version, or a better one. 
My bro has a ASUS 9550 GE/TD, an I clocked it to 415MHZ core, and an insane increase in his mem. 
It has a sad 5.0ns, but I put some tt heatsinks on it, and it went WOW. 

he has a +2400 and 1GB ram, and gets almost 4000points in 3d03
not bad if I think os


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## ati.bob (Nov 6, 2004)

How much did he clock on the RAMs? I still don't know how to decipher the number codes on the GPU core.. I've got a 9550 also with Samsung 5.0ns RAMs.. I only can clock the core up to 440MHz with the stock cooler and up to 230MHz (460MHz DDR Effective Speed) for the memory chips with no heatsinks.. want to try to put some heatsinks when I got the time..


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## Nergal (Nov 6, 2004)

it's worth it's money bob.

He reached almost 300MHZ with it. 
his card now runs stable@ 389 MHz / 284 MHz
with his +2400@+2800 he runs 3d03 around 3600

ofc, my 9500NP@9700PRO runs it @ 5400


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## ReconCX (Nov 6, 2004)

It's almost certain an 9600XT BIOS won't work because the card doesn't have a built in thermo probe so when the BIOS checks for it, it won't find it.

Now, memory timings are a different thing, I've compared 9550 and 9600 bioses and the 9600 timings are more aggressive. I've edited my 9550 BIOS to match a 9600 BIOS and I'll be doing a comparison between them to see if there's any real differences.


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 7, 2004)

I got today a brand new gecube 9550 extreme edition,all ok recognized as 9600XT (rv360) and guess waht? Overclock from stock 400/250 to 450/370 ????? Whatta f**k? After that i get artifacts??? I put back previous 9550 extreme and it runs 540/420 without problems?? It seems that u have to be a little lucky to get a good OC for a gpu. I saw later that 370 for memory i can get because of 2.8 memo,not 2.5 like previous one.


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## ati.bob (Nov 7, 2004)

Hmm.. memory timing comparison between 9550 and 9600.. nice.. please post the results here.. thanks..


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## land (Nov 7, 2004)

RenconCX, can you please post the 9600 memory timings (possibly side by side with 9550 timings). Also, a performance / oc-ability comparison would be great. Thanks.


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## ReconCX (Nov 7, 2004)

I'll work on that tonight sometime, got homework up the a**.. man i hate college. stay tuned.


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## land (Nov 7, 2004)

OK, I'm waiting then. Thanks.


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## ReconCX (Nov 8, 2004)

Ok, here are the memory timing differences in this format radeon 9550/radeon 9600 pro

Radeon 9550/Radeon 9600Pro

Write Latency tWL = 1.0/1.0
CAS Latency tCL = 4/4
RAS to CAS Read Delay tRcdRD = 5/*4*
RAS to CAS Write Delay tRcdWR = 3/*2*
Row Precharge Time tRP = 5/*4*
RAS Latency tRAS= 10/*9*
Row Activate to Row Active Command Time tRRD = 4/*3*
Read to Write Turnaround Time tR2W = CL+3/CL+3
Write Recovery Time tWR = 3/3
Write to Read Turnaround Time tW2R = 2/2
Write to Read Turnaround Time for Same Bank tW2Rsb = Use tWR Rule/Use tWR Rule
Read to Read Turnaround Time tR2R = 2/2
Memory Refresh Rate MemRR = 24/24
Refresh Row Cycle Time tRFC = 17/*15*
Shift of RBS Signal for Read Data tRBS = CL+3.5/CL+3.5
Shift of ERST Signal for Read Data tERST = CL+0/CL+0
Shift of QSREQ Signal tQSREQ = CL+0/CL+0
Shift of OE Signal for Write Data tDQM = WL-0.5/WL-0.5
Shift of OE Signal for Write Data Strobe tDQS = WL-0.5/WL-0.5


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## ReconCX (Nov 8, 2004)

Now, do you want benchmarks on R9550 again R9600 Pro with the 9550 altered mem timings or original? Both will be running at 500/~325x2 clock speed.

Note that with original mem timings, the 9600p BIOS is almost most certainly going to be faster than the 9550... now if the altered 9550 mem timings are still considerably slower than the 9600p's performance, there may be something in the 9600p's bios that isn't in the 9550 perhaps?


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 8, 2004)

Tro to lower mem timings of 9550 to match 9600 pro exactly and do a 3dmark or similar and post here. Because i dont believe that tweaking memory will get you much difference in 3dmark or similar test.
BR


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## land (Nov 8, 2004)

Thanks, Recon.


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## ReconCX (Nov 8, 2004)

Here's something interesting.. with the original 9550 timings, it seems I can't GET to 333x2 for the ram... artifacts like crazy, tops around ~300... hmmm, I'm gonna try my modified BIOS


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## ReconCX (Nov 8, 2004)

In fact, the modified timings also can't exceed 300 or so.. when I flashed back to the 9600 Pro, viola, it went back to 333 no problem... hmmmmm =)


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

This seems to prove that there IS something else besides simply a higher clock speed.. hmm, gonna experiment a bit...


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## amd (Nov 9, 2004)

ReconCX, what particularly 9600 pro bios did you use with your 9550? I tried most of the 9600 xt bios with no luck. Only the sapphire 9600 pro fb got me luck  and still using this bios up to now.


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

I use a custom modified BIOS that was posted in the forum of the manufacturer of my card.


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## land (Nov 9, 2004)

So basically what you're saying is that with the 9600pro bios you can reach high memory speeds with more aggressive timings than with the 9550 bios and less aggressive timings. Seems very counter-intuitive.


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

What I'm saying is, the 9550 BIOS can't reach the 9600pro memory speeds AT ALL, even with modified timings that are EXACTLY the same as the 9600 pro's. I used my modified 9550 BIOS but couldn't exceed 300x2 for my memory without getting artifacts like crazy. As soon as I got my 9600Pro bios back in, it went up and beyond 333x2 a bit.


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## land (Nov 9, 2004)

The only explanation I can find is lowered current for the 9550 part through the bios. Otherwise I don't seem how it could make sense. Makes me reconsider the notion that a bios update to 9600 would be pointless.


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

maybe, that would be a possibility. but a BIOS flash is always more risky than a simple overclock so if anyone is afraid of losing their card, don't do it.


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## land (Nov 9, 2004)

It's not a question of risk (I have the PCI card readied), but of there being apparently no adequate bioses for my Gecube 9550XT.


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

I'm saying anyone who has a cheap version of the 9550 e.g. only heatsink, no fan, or cheap ram, or such run the risk of frying their card. GeCubes are no problem, should run just fine =)


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## land (Nov 9, 2004)

yep, but still no good bios


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## iamthe1ne (Nov 9, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> I'm saying anyone who has a cheap version of the 9550 e.g. only heatsink, no fan, or cheap ram, or such run the risk of frying their card. GeCubes are no problem, should run just fine =)


so.... it is safe for me to flash 9600pro bios using stock cooling? i have a Gecube Radeon 9550XT Platinum Edition, what bios do you suggest? because im kinda new to this flashing stuff, thanks!


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## ati.bob (Nov 9, 2004)

As long as your card can handle the overclocked speed.. it should be fine.. but many cards only work with certain type of  BIOS.. just like ReconCX's


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## land (Nov 9, 2004)

To my knowledge there has been as yet no successful attempt to flash a 9600pro/xt bios on the Gecube 9550xt. I hope such a bios will be found soon, but until then we can only wait and hope...


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## amd (Nov 9, 2004)

I have a gecube 9550 ee vcard and the only successfull bios that i flashed is the sapphire 9550 fb 128 with samsung 2.8ns.


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## ReconCX (Nov 9, 2004)

try my custom BIOS, i think u may need 2.8ns memory for this to work....

http://members.cox.net/reconcx/9600.rom

use at ur own risk!!


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## ReconCX (Nov 10, 2004)

Anyone try my BIOS?


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## iamthe1ne (Nov 10, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> Anyone try my BIOS?



is this compatible for a 3.3n memory? i read from a review about Gecube 9550XT
uses 3.3n, and is there a way of flashing it on windows? because by FDD is broken


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## wazzledoozle (Nov 10, 2004)

ReconCX, how far were you able to OC your ram when you still had the 9550 bios?


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## amd (Nov 10, 2004)

Reconcx

Would like to try this bios but from what kind of 9600 bios did this come from? Is it from 9600 pro or 9600xt?


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## ReconCX (Nov 10, 2004)

wazzle, I reached about ~310x2 tops with the 9550 BIOS, 333x2 with the 9600 pro bios.

amd, it's a 9600pro bios, i don't think XTs will work correctly ever because XT cards have an additional temp probe feature.


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## amd (Nov 10, 2004)

ReconCX,  Flashed my bios with your modded bios @ 500, 325 mhz (core/memory). It works with my gecube 9550ee. The problem is when playing 3d games for more than an hour, the screen first shows up garbled images then blacks out, but still you can hear the sound. The only remedy is to press alt+f4 or alt+tab just to exit from the game. 

I already put a coolermaster cooler viva on my video card and copper ram sinks on the memory.  Do you have any idea why my memory hangs me up at 325 mhz? My card has a hynix 2.5 ns. 


My last question is, did you only modify the memory timings or you have other software tools to edit the vpu core ?


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## ReconCX (Nov 10, 2004)

the bios is designed for 2.8hynix so it may not work correctly

i modified only mem timings in the 9550 BIOS


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## land (Nov 11, 2004)

amd, did you get any additional overclock with recon's 9600 bios vs. what you got with the original bios? can you tell whether your problems are bios related or clock-related?


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## OVERKILL (Nov 14, 2004)

Has anybody experienced slow 2D performance during post after flashing their card to a 9600? I have the ASUS 9550GE and after flashing it, I'm experiencing just such results. I've tried all the BIOS's for the cards with the 5ns Samsung RAM, but all yield the same result. The 3D performance is great, and its fine once it posts, but being in the BIOS and during POST, its insanely slow drawing.


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## ReconCX (Nov 14, 2004)

yea, i think the BIOS is not fully compatible with your card, I had that happen once, try using a different BIOS


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## OVERKILL (Nov 14, 2004)

Hmmmm, I've tried the MadView, the PowerColor and another and all yield the same results, currently, I'm using the 17D version of the PowerColor BIOS....


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## OVERKILL (Nov 14, 2004)

VER008.017D.016.000

That's the version of the old BIOS, the new one is the same, but PowerColor


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## ReconCX (Nov 14, 2004)

that happened to me when I used the powercolor one with the 2.8 ns one... try a few more companies?


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## OVERKILL (Nov 14, 2004)

Hmmmm, I'm pretty sure I used the 5ns Powercolor one, at least according to the BIOS chart.


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## bim27142 (Nov 18, 2004)

bios said:
			
		

> Have you actually looked at the core itself? Or did Ati Tool just tell you it was a RV360 ?


ATItool tells it is a RV360 but ATI utility tells that it is RV350...i think this is alll just marketing stuff, but basically the 9550 is a 9600 chip as natively detected by windows...but it is just a stripped down version of the 9600 chip...in this way ATI can save manufacturing cost instead of totally designing new chips, why not just use the aging 9600 chips and release it as another version(stripped down)? then ATI is again coming up with a new product...it's pure marketing!  note that, 9600's are starting to fade in popularity so why not utilize all those chips in ATI's warehouse?


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## bim27142 (Nov 18, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> I dont really care what core it has. I can OC it up to 540/420(840) (stock cooling),and win XP recognizes it as 9600XT. What do i need more? Even it has rv350 core who cares. It has 2.5 NS so basically 420 for memo is not hell of an OC. When stock should be 400mhz for 2.5 ns memo.


your card is from gecube right? 9550xt with hynix 2.5ns ram right? did you still OC the core when in fact it is already heavily OC'ed? and for the ram, what's your maximum stable OC? did it go well stable at stock cooling? we have the same card, i guess i can take some words from you, thanks men... i believe gecube already has bundled this card with a very good cooling solution...


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## OVERKILL (Nov 19, 2004)

Anybody else tried flashing an ASUS 9550GE with another BIOS and experiencing slow 2D on post but fine everywhere else?


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## minniss (Nov 20, 2004)

fI flashed my Sapphire 9550.  and i got a blank screen at startup. i mad a backup of the original bios.how do i reinstall the original when the card isnt showing PLEASE HELP!!


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## ati.bob (Nov 20, 2004)

Just get a PCI graphic card, remove your current AGP card, plug the PCI graphic card in, go to the BIOS, select it to boot from PCI instead of AGP.. turn it off.. plug in both the PCI and AGP graphic card.. remember to plug the monitor cable to the PCI graphic card output... recover your AGP card using flashrom/atiflash by identifying the adapter ID (type flashrom/atiflash -i to get the adapter ID).. then use the default command to force it flash the original BIOS to your AGP card..


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## rudi (Dec 7, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> Ok, here are the memory timing differences in this format radeon 9550/radeon 9600 pro
> 
> Radeon 9550/Radeon 9600Pro
> 
> ...



It's good to use the exact RAM specific timings, they can be found for almost all modules on manufacturers pages eg. this Hynix one: http://www.hynix.com/datasheet/pdf/dram/HY5DU323222Q(Rev0.4).pdf

I was testing lots of Radoen 8500 BIOS-es earlyer and found many interesting things. NOT ONLY the frequency matters! I had a BIOS which fired RAM up to 350 MHz but was slower (got lower fillrate and other results) than other BIOS-es on 320 MHz. Recently I got two ASUS A9550GE-s (9550 with 128 bit memchannel). They had Samsung 5.0 ns moduls (200 MHz by ref) and both went up to 300 MHz BUT JUST WITH THE Catalyst 4.5! With the 4.7 versions both artifacted around 250 MHz. When I changed the BIOS ID to 9600 series (4150), they did 300 MHz with the 4.7 version too.


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## minniss (Dec 7, 2004)

*Success*

I did what you told me to do ati.bob and it worked   (i use an old VooDoo3 PCI,worked like a charm  ). Which bios can you recommend for me for an overclock .I have a sapphire radeon 9550 128-bit interface, 256MB of DDR (The Ram modules type are"Mezza").anyone have any suggestions or recommendations....?


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## bim27142 (Dec 7, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> I have a 9550 gecube extreme platinum with rv360 and 2.5 ns ram. When i install drivers,winxp recognizes the card as 9600xt card. But there's no temp monitor.



same card as mine...


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## kurik (Dec 8, 2004)

Hi.

I recently bought this budget card, Sapphire Radeon Atlantis 9550 128MB with Hynix memory. http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9550.asp

Default core and memory is:  core:250mhz  mem:200mhz

Now, i replaced the stock cooler with a socket A heatsink + cooler, and started to overclock with ATITool. I got the core up to 400mhz and memory to 230mhz(460mhz effective). Im not getting any artifacts atm and i was thinking that i would flash bios.

Found this bios in the collection:  Sapphire 9600 Non-Pro 128 MB    324 / 203 Hynix
I just choose advanced mode, select the core and mem mhz to 400/230 and fire away?

Im a little new to this, but i have been lurking these forums for quite some time, and i think i know a little more about biosflashing now...  have a pci card ready etc etc.

Some things that strike my mind...   i mean   core mhz from 250 to 400? isnt that alot? As soon as i go over 240mhz on memory i get artifacts for example, no heatsinks on them tho. 

Anyone done this kind of flash successfully?

Last thing  ... am i forgetting something?

Cheers

EDIT:  Did some more max mhz testing and found stable result at:  (core/mem)  400mhz/255mhz(510 effective)

//Kurik


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## kurik (Dec 8, 2004)

right.

i flashed my card... and everything seems to be ok....

used the 9600 non pro 12mb sapphire bios, that i moddified to 400core 2x255mem.

now both windows and aida32 recognize my card as 9600xt which is weird cause i didnt flash in that bios. ah well .. not that i care that much about that,  so far i have had no problems whatsoever.


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## ReconCX (Dec 8, 2004)

It seems to do that for some reason, I flashed mine to a 9600 Pro but it says its an XT, probably just a windows thing...


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## kurik (Dec 8, 2004)

reconcx...   how the hell did you manage to get your memory up to 2x300?  :<

mine starts to do flashy things on my screen at 260-265mhz :<


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## INSTG8R (Dec 8, 2004)

Yeah I have a BB ATI 9600AIW with Samsung 4.0ns and I know its good for 250mhz  I have recently Flashed it to a 9600NP as I lived in Canada when I bought it and Im in Norway now and well the AIW bit is Useless, would never dream of pushin the Memory past 250


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## ReconCX (Dec 8, 2004)

kurik said:
			
		

> reconcx...   how the hell did you manage to get your memory up to 2x300?  :<
> 
> mine starts to do flashy things on my screen at 260-265mhz :<



I'm using Hynix 2.8 memory, what are you using? I also got the Zalman ZM80D + OP1 HSF =)


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## kurik (Dec 8, 2004)

im not totally sure which datasheet it is...

but i believe this hynix memory is what i use..  http://www.hynix.com/datasheet/pdf/dram/HY5DU284(8,16)22ET(Rev0.4).pdf

reconcx you have heatsinks on your memory yes?

edit:  ah yeah you do... was thinking bout that zalman gfx cooler.... anything you would recommend?
easy to install ?


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## ReconCX (Dec 10, 2004)

no, to be honest, it's not the easiest thing to install.. kinda makes you wish you had 3 hands... but it did improve my performance by a little bit after i was done with it and it also looks cool. it takes up a pci slot though, keep that in mind.


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## kurik (Dec 12, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> no, to be honest, it's not the easiest thing to install.. kinda makes you wish you had 3 hands... but it did improve my performance by a little bit after i was done with it and it also looks cool. it takes up a pci slot though, keep that in mind.



heh well.. my own modded cooling,  socket A heatsink with cpu cooler takes up 2pci slots atm   as poor as i am atm, i think i wish that gpu cooler as a christmas gift  perhaps then i can improve my mem mhz a little bit  

btw.. reconcx have you changed your mem settings to more aggressive?

//cheers


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## iamthe1ne (Dec 12, 2004)

it there a successfull bios flash of Gecube Radeon 9550XT to 9600PRO already?


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