# maxing out the 9550



## wazzledoozle (Sep 4, 2004)

*Maxing out the 9550/9600 series*

I got an Iceberq (original, copper 5000 RPM). Im stable at 420 core now(dropped down from 425 ATITool limit)  
My Iceberq is motherboard chipset and vga kit, so now i have a nice little copper southbridge heatsink  
P.S. The Iceberq 4 does not fit on the Powercolor 9550 256 MB  

Memory is now at 215x2 mhz which is 100% stable (dropped down from 225x2 ATITool limit)
Memory manufacturer is "Mira" if anyone knows of them contact me immediately!
Memory is 3ns but will only do 215x2 mhz  

Im going to get these copper ramsinks: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-116-012&depa=0


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## ati.bob (Sep 20, 2004)

Which card manufacturer is yours? For my results, I got my Sapphire 9550 card to a stable level of 440.10 MHz for GPU and 229.50 x 2 MHz for the RAM by using the stock fansink on the CPU and no heatsink on the VRAM..


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## Nobru_rv (Sep 21, 2004)

connect3d with stock goes 450/240 100% stable with hynix 5ns ram.


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## ati.bob (Sep 21, 2004)

I havn't tried that speeds with the 9550 original BIOS though, I think it will give better overclocking.. As I'm now using Radeon 9600 BIOS, I think the memory timings in 9600 are a little more agressive than 9550 (I think..), I can still push the card at a little bit higher, (I tried it brfore at ~240 MHz RAM) but I prefer to keep the card longer.. 

BTW: Sapphire 9550 uses Samsung 5ns RAM chips.. What a waste for the overclocking side.. 5ns!!, compared to some 9600 uses 3.3, even 2.8ns chips


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## Nobru_rv (Sep 22, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> I havn't tried that speeds with the 9550 original BIOS though, I think it will give better overclocking.. As I'm now using Radeon 9600 BIOS, I think the memory timings in 9600 are a little more agressive than 9550 (I think..), I can still push the card at a little bit higher, (I tried it brfore at ~240 MHz RAM) but I prefer to keep the card longer..
> 
> BTW: Sapphire 9550 uses Samsung 5ns RAM chips.. What a waste for the overclocking side.. 5ns!!, compared to some 9600 uses 3.3, even 2.8ns chips



The best i saw for 9600np was 4 NS. I never saw 3.3,2.8 ns.
Best i saw for 9550 was gigabyte with 4 NS


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## ati.bob (Sep 22, 2004)

4ns? Not really flashy, but can really improve chances of overclocking.. I did remember to see 9600 series card sporting 3.3ns RAMs.. Although I forgor who was it from though..


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## [-Yoshi-] (Sep 22, 2004)

I have a ASUS Radeon 9550GE/TD with the original Bios and it has 5ns Samsung memory and it runs 100% stable with stock cooling at 440/250, ATITool says top is 462/252.   I will fit it with some extra ram heatsinks and better GPU Cooler to try to go higher.


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## amd (Sep 26, 2004)

I have a Gecube 9550 extreme edition with hynix 2.5 memory chips.  I've flashed the vcard bios with a vcore running @ 475 Mhz,  and memory running@ 320mhz x 2 (640 mhz). this is the default speed  right now with no problems whatsoever.


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## wazzledoozle (Sep 27, 2004)

Powercolor 9550 has MIRA 3 ns memory.... But can only do 215x2 mhz


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## ati.bob (Sep 29, 2004)

amd said:
			
		

> I have a Gecube 9550 extreme edition with hynix 2.5 memory chips.  I've flashed the vcard bios with a *vcore[/v] running @ 475 Mhz,  and memory running@ 320mhz x 2 (640 mhz). this is the default speed  right now with no problems whatsoever.*


*

Doesn't Vcore means Vontage Core?? (Hence the "V"?) I think you mean core speed..  *


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## ati.bob (Sep 29, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Powercolor 9550 has MIRA 4 ns memory....



Hey Wazzeledoozle, I think I found the manufacturer of MIRA memory chips.. It's made by Arestech Electronic Corp. Taiwan .. [Click here for URL] 

I found it while I Google it at Tyan M/B's website where they list their recommended memory modules [Click here for URL]

*EDIT*
Oops.. I think that's one of the company that uses MIRA chips.. sorry...


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## wazzledoozle (Sep 29, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> Hey Wazzeledoozle, I think I found the manufacturer of MIRA memory chips.. It's made by Arestech Electronic Corp. Taiwan .. [Click here for URL]
> 
> I found it while I Google it at Tyan M/B's website where they list their recommended memory modules [Click here for URL]
> 
> ...


Any clues are very welcome thankyou very much!


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## Nobru_rv (Sep 30, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Powercolor 9550 has MIRA 4 ns memory....



MIRA 4 NS???

4 ns means 250 MHZ at default. So u should be able to OC it up to 270 without HS.
215 is sloooow.


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## wazzledoozle (Sep 30, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> MIRA 4 NS???
> 
> 4 ns means 250 MHZ at default. So u should be able to OC it up to 270 without HS.
> 215 is sloooow.



I actually have 3 ns cas timings, i got RaBiT and checked, but that means i should be able to do 300 mhz right? Are there any other factors which could hinder performance? When i try to change the CAS timings, even to slower timings, i get lines thorugh my screen


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## amd (Oct 14, 2004)

here's my benchmark result for 3d mark 03. I've flashed it with a sapphire 9600 pro fireblade bios and clocked it at 500mhz core speed, 325 (650 mhz) mem speed using radeditor. No problem whatsoever. Still using the stock fan and attached 2 mem sinks at the back of the card....My only drawback is I only have a 256 mb ram


3dmark 03







3dmark 05


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 14, 2004)

Thats a great 3dmark 03 score for a 9600, check if it has the RV360 core, and if it does try your hand at flashing it to 9600XT


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## amd (Oct 15, 2004)

Yes, it has an RV360 core. I Tried flashing it with several types of 9600 xt bioses but i have no luck with it. Forcing to flash this card with XT would give me black screen. Good thing i have a spare pci card to bring back the original bios. If there is only a member here who could modify a bios xt for this type of card will be gladly appreciated. =D


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## ati.bob (Oct 15, 2004)

Isn't this supposed to be a "9550" section? Discussion of other models should be taken to another thread.. (mods might call this thread hijacking.. )

And amd, how do you get your card to run at 500MHz core and 325Mhz RAM?!?!? is the card a 9600 or is it a 9550??!?


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## amd (Oct 15, 2004)

it is a gecube 9550 extreme edition with hynix memory rated at 2.5 nanoseconds.  I have successfully flashed the bios with a saphire 9600 pro fireblade bios. other 9600 xt bioses that i  tried would result to a black out screen.


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 15, 2004)

No one knows why my 3 ns CAS timings ram on my 9550 cant do more than 215 mhz? Any other imporant timings?


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## ati.bob (Oct 16, 2004)

Maybe that's because it's the limits of those chips.. Maybe you should put some TSOP RAMsinks on it.. maybe overheating..


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 16, 2004)

Oh geeze, I burnt my hand when i touched a DDR chip while playing doom 3 for 2 hours. Ouch!

TSOP sinks coming soon!


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## amd (Oct 17, 2004)

The same thing happpened when I was playing far cry for three hours. I think DX9 games really makes the DX9 cards too hot.


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## ati.bob (Oct 17, 2004)

I'm also thinking of getting some copper TSOP RAMsinks from Cooler Master.. looks quite nice.. Maybe can give my mem a little more overclocking..


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## Fahim (Oct 17, 2004)

SAPPHIRE 9550 256MB has Mezza 5ns memory which is overclockable to only 215 (430)MHz from stock 400. This card is a crap.


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## ati.bob (Oct 17, 2004)

Don't know what you are talking about.. My Sapphire 9550 have Samsung 5ns chips which can overclock to 230MHz (460MHz DDR) without any cooling on it...


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 17, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> I'm also thinking of getting some copper TSOP RAMsinks from Cooler Master.. looks quite nice.. Maybe can give my mem a little more overclocking..


Ive been looking all over the net for those, and cant find them. Know where??? Link???


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## ati.bob (Oct 18, 2004)

I believe Xoxide.com have the supplies of an overclocker's dream..  

Here's a link to the memory/chipset cooler section.. there's the ThermalTake Aluminium and Copper RAMsinks priced at $5.99 and $6.99 respectively (each pack with 8 RAMsinks).. I'm not sure if Xoxide is reliable or not since Xoxide don't ship its products outside the US (I think they wil ship the product to Canada)..

Yea.. the link..  
http://www.xoxide.com/memandchipco.html

Further searching at newegg.com showed up some similliar products, the Thermaltake RAMsinks are more expensive at newegg compared to Xoxide..

The Link: http://www.newegg.com/app/searchPro...A=0&bop=and&description=RAMsink&InnerCata=129

Hope that helps..


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## Rayray (Oct 18, 2004)

I have a 9550 Extreme with 3.3ns ram. The card comes stock with core/ram 400/250, I've only been able to overclock it to 430/285 without artifects. I tried to mod the bios with rabit and slower the memory timings but it still doesn't help, the ram just would not even go to it's suppose speed of 300 without artifects, I suppose it's the damn cheap design of the board that does not allow it to go higher speed. It might also be the design which supplies less voltage to the ram, who knows .....


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 19, 2004)

Rayray said:
			
		

> I have a 9550 Extreme with 3.3ns ram. The card comes stock with core/ram 400/250, I've only been able to overclock it to 430/285 without artifects. I tried to mod the bios with rabit and slower the memory timings but it still doesn't help, the ram just would not even go to it's suppose speed of 300 without artifects, I suppose it's the damn cheap design of the board that does not allow it to go higher speed. It might also be the design which supplies less voltage to the ram, who knows .....


Oh i never thought of voltage... might look into a hardvoltmod


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## Rayray (Oct 19, 2004)

> Oh i never thought of voltage... might look into a hardvoltmod



Do you know of any voltmod for 9550? or can we just use the 9600 voltmod?


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 19, 2004)

Rayray said:
			
		

> Do you know of any voltmod for 9550? or can we just use the 9600 voltmod?


A 9600 voltmod would prob work as they have the same core.


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## ReconCX (Oct 21, 2004)

Rayray said:
			
		

> I have a 9550 Extreme with 3.3ns ram. The card comes stock with core/ram 400/250, I've only been able to overclock it to 430/285 without artifects. I tried to mod the bios with rabit and slower the memory timings but it still doesn't help, the ram just would not even go to it's suppose speed of 300 without artifects, I suppose it's the damn cheap design of the board that does not allow it to go higher speed. It might also be the design which supplies less voltage to the ram, who knows .....



I run a Radeon 9550 made by a Chinese company called Dataland that looks like it's supported (or owned) by powercolor cause it has the logo on the heatsink and the packaging says powercolor. Apparently, this card is fairly hard to find and was a little more expensive from the other 9550's.  I run this thing up to 520 core and 300x2 memory, but I keep it at 450 core and 300x2 memory.. I wish the memory could be overclocked some more, would ramsinks help?


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 21, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> I run a Radeon 9550 made by a Chinese company called Dataland that looks like it's supported (or owned) by powercolor cause it has the logo on the heatsink and the packaging says powercolor. Apparently, this card is fairly hard to find and was a little more expensive from the other 9550's.  I run this thing up to 520 core and 300x2 memory, but I keep it at 450 core and 300x2 memory.. I wish the memory could be overclocked some more, would ramsinks help?


Ramsinks always help


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## jmattick (Oct 22, 2004)

Rayray said:
			
		

> I have a 9550 Extreme with 3.3ns ram. The card comes stock with core/ram 400/250, I've only been able to overclock it to 430/285 without artifects. I tried to mod the bios with rabit and slower the memory timings but it still doesn't help, the ram just would not even go to it's suppose speed of 300 without artifects, I suppose it's the damn cheap design of the board that does not allow it to go higher speed. It might also be the design which supplies less voltage to the ram, who knows .....



I have the exact same card. Been able to get the oc up to 515core/290mem, watercooled and ramsinked. I need to get some better ramsinks, as mine are crap and keep falling off of the video card (No AS5, yet   ... only ceraminque)

I think, given the fact that if I can get my ramsinks properly affixed, I should be able to get over the 300 on my mem.

See how they are crooked... And they aren't even that good, I need to fix them and get some better ones.


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 22, 2004)

Nice computer   
How big is the radiator on that?


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## jmattick (Oct 22, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Nice computer
> How big is the radiator on that?



Thanks. It's a single 80mm radiator. Does a good enough cooling job, as I idle CPU wise at around 33 degrees Celcius, 38 degrees load.

It was a pain in the ass to get a rad, pump/res, and everything internal. But, I got it done... And no leaks   

More pictures and details here: http://omgomgwtfbbq.info/mysystem.htm


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## ReconCX (Oct 23, 2004)

I should slap myself cause i screwed up my 9550 with a bad BIOS flash to a 9600 pro. Well, it's not working so I decided to go get a pci card to fix things up... I used the same command: flashrom -p 0 -i 9550.rom however, it flashed the PCI card instead... now i got a really screwed up PCI card as well.... sigh.... Am i doing something wrong here? please help!


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## ati.bob (Oct 23, 2004)

Get another PCI card..  Then use the command flashrom -i .. That should give the information of your card like the adapter ID etc etc.. use the correct Adapter ID and replace the "0" in "flashrom -p 0 -i bios.rom" with the selected adapter..


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## ReconCX (Oct 23, 2004)

Thank God for onboard graphics chips. I used that to reflash the PCI card.. now it's just ugly but readable. Then I reflashed my Dataland 9550 with the BIOS from their website... now the graphics card is working, it's just really really messed up. any suggestions? any other BIOS usable? on my vid card ram, it says hy5du283222 af-28 339a if that helps. really appreciate the help! If i ever get thru this with my card intact, i'll never do it again...


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## ReconCX (Oct 23, 2004)

More information, here's the card, sorry, it's in Chinese ^_^;;

http://www.dataland.com.cn/product_view.asp?id=32


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## ati.bob (Oct 23, 2004)

Hmm.. Looks like a Hynix 3.3ns RAMs.. I think should reach a speed of 300MHz or something for the RAM chips.. (not really sure, someone please confirm it).. in the mean time, get a BIOS for a 9600/Pro card with Hynix 3.3ns


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## ReconCX (Oct 23, 2004)

Well, I got it back working.. I reflashed it into a 9550.. but then, I flashed it into a 9600 Pro and I'm getting about the same score on 3dmark 05, are there any benefits really besides the default clock speed being higher? And while I"m at it, what about flashing it to a 9600 XT?   It's cause I know my clock can go up to 500 (guess i'll never learn to stop messing w/ my computer =) )


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## ati.bob (Oct 23, 2004)

If your current card can reach 9600XT speeds, by all means, go ahead and flash it (with a suitable BIOS of course..).. Make sure proper cooling is available if things get to hot..


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## ReconCX (Oct 23, 2004)

gonna get me some ramsinks and a slot cooler =) I can't find an appropriate 9600XT Bios though... the only one with hynix 3.3ns ram is a 256mb one...


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## amd (Oct 24, 2004)

Did that flashing bios to xt. All of the result will give you a black out screen. Look for a 9600 pro bios because it doesnt have overdrive feature.


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## ReconCX (Oct 24, 2004)

the overdrive feature is the main reason I wanna flash up to a XT.. but I don't really care that much.. Having a "9600 Pro" is good enough =)


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## ati.bob (Oct 24, 2004)

I think using a BIOS with different -ns speed rating is OK, but as long as you edit the BIOS to run at your current card's stable speed, there should be no problem...

For example, the Powercolor 9600XT 128MB with Hynix 2.8ns RAMs SHOULD work.. click on advanced and tune the BIOS'es core and mem speed before downloading it..


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## jmattick (Oct 24, 2004)

A Pro to XT flash often won't work because every XT has a temp probe on it. Not many cards other than the XT have temp probes, and if the bios does not see that temp probe, it won't work.


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## ati.bob (Oct 24, 2004)

Unless ReconCX's card has the temp sensor chip onboard and with an XT PCB.. it will probabaly support temp monitoring and Overdrive.. If not, he can just use the card with the BIOS clock-lock unlocked (almost all 9550 are clock-locked in the BIOS) and overclock it manually.. that won't be too hard isn't it..


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## ReconCX (Oct 24, 2004)

Hmmm. you do have a point there.


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## ati.bob (Oct 24, 2004)

Well, you can't expect too much for getting a 9550, these cards are designed originally to cater the budget market.. you can count yourself lucky to be able to clock your card to 9600Pro/XT speeds..


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## ReconCX (Oct 24, 2004)

Just removed my heatsink and removed the so called thermal tape then applied some Arctic Silver 5. Now the 200 hour burn-in period begins =) Hopefully, I'll get even better result. I can already overclock to 520 core =) I'm thinking about ramsinks and also, i would like to know you all's opinions on silencer fan/heatsinks?


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## Tower[pl] (Oct 24, 2004)

Hi! I'm new to this forum and my English isn't perfect but maybe someone will help me so here goes:
Generaly speaking I do not like the soft-mod so I wanted to flash bios in my Gigabyte 9550128D Radeon. Unfortunatly FLASHROM does not work. I get a 
*Error: block protect not disabled, status-0E* Error 
How to disable this block protect? I used
*flashrom -f -p 0 9600ez.bin* command


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## ati.bob (Oct 25, 2004)

I've seen many people with Gigabyte cards have these problems.. I'm not sure the actual solution. but try using the BIOS flash utility from Gigabyte instead...


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## traile_25 (Oct 25, 2004)

hi I just finished installing the iceberg cooler that wazzledoozle advised me and put ramsink on my powercolor 9550 after testing I was able to max it out to 412 for the core and 460 for the mem and everything seem to be stable.. ramsink surely helps alot to push  and get the 460 mark...


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## Tower[pl] (Oct 25, 2004)

I reed lots of OC forums and it looks like Gigabyte cards have locked BIOS -> I'll just try to exchange my card for a Sapphire card. Unfortunatly only Sapphire, HIS and Gigabyte R9550 cards are avalible in Poland and it's hard to get a 4ns Sapphire.


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## ati.bob (Oct 25, 2004)

HIS cards seems to be better (not really sure, but their high end cards are targeted at the overclocking segment).. just find a card with proper RAM chips.. you don't want to end up unable to clock the vRAM much higher.. (like me..  )


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## Tower[pl] (Oct 25, 2004)

hmm Do You have 4ns memory chips? I do not want to risk with HIS ;-) I thought (good spelling?) that Gigabytes card is going to be good (nice hitsink - beter/biger than Sapphire and I had a free FAN for it) but this bios lock thing really sux. I never saw flashed HIS-only Sapphire. My card works OK at 430/500 - I have 3300marks (2003) 1250 (2005) (Athlon2400@Sempron2800) and 44fps Doom3 (medium 800x600) Nice but I cant be 100%happy without this HardMod ;-)


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## ReconCX (Oct 25, 2004)

460(230x2) effective or 460x2?

I always talk in effective terms.. make it seem bigger =)


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## BobMarley (Oct 26, 2004)

*Need Sapphire 9550se original 128 meg BIOS!!!!*

Bios flash went bad..so did my backup of original.
HELP !!!

BobMarley


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## ati.bob (Oct 26, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> 460(230x2) effective or 460x2?
> 
> I always talk in effective terms.. make it seem bigger =)



My sig clearly states it.. 230MHz x 2 = 460MHz DDR Speed

BTW, I have 5ns Samsung RAM chips.. that's why I can't budge anything higher than 230 for the RAM.. wazzledozle's even worst (no offence   ) only ~210MHz x 2.. get a card with MINIMUM 4ns RAMs if you're planning to overclock..


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## ReconCX (Oct 26, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> My sig clearly states it.. 230MHz x 2 = 460MHz DDR Speed
> 
> BTW, I have 5ns Samsung RAM chips.. that's why I can't budge anything higher than 230 for the RAM.. wazzledozle's even worst (no offence   ) only ~210MHz x 2.. get a card with MINIMUM 4ns RAMs if you're planning to overclock..



I was referring to traile, not you bob =)


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 26, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> My sig clearly states it.. 230MHz x 2 = 460MHz DDR Speed
> 
> BTW, I have 5ns Samsung RAM chips.. that's why I can't budge anything higher than 230 for the RAM.. wazzledozle's even worst (no offence   ) only ~210MHz x 2.. get a card with MINIMUM 4ns RAMs if you're planning to overclock..



My memory is 3ns. I dont know what is holding it back. Ill be gettting some ramsinks, as my memory gets quite hot under load. I dont know how much that will help. If it doesnt help much I will try flashing the bios.

And where did you see 210x2? Its 215x2


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## ati.bob (Oct 26, 2004)

Heehee.. sorry my bad..


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## ReconCX (Oct 26, 2004)

hehe, bob's losing it.


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## ati.bob (Oct 26, 2004)

Because some electro-static charge got pass through my brain and causing some electronic malfunction..


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## ReconCX (Oct 26, 2004)

Whoever updated you should have ground themselves properly first to prevent ESD =)!


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## ati.bob (Oct 27, 2004)

Hahaha.. no grounding made.. so, the CPU's damaged..


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 27, 2004)

I think your southbridge chipset might have been fried also


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## ati.bob (Oct 27, 2004)

Replace the whole system..

<System offline>
. .
. . .

<Installing ATI.Bob OS V2004...>
. . .
.


<Performing configuration...>
.. . .

<System online>
..
. .

There.. a new system..


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 27, 2004)

ati.bob said:
			
		

> Replace the whole system..
> 
> <System offline>
> . .
> ...



-/command
Who will win the world series?
-/command_submit


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## ati.bob (Oct 27, 2004)

>Bad command or file name..


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## ReconCX (Oct 27, 2004)

This thread is getting way off track thanks to bob =) j/k.

Ok, here's a question, anyone try flashing their 9550 to a 9600XT and does it/does it not work?

Also, is it possible to flash to anything more than the 9600 series? e.g. like 9700 or something? I'm guessing hardware changes will prevent that. but just wondering if anyone tried


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## ReconCX (Oct 27, 2004)

Also, i am considering getting a Zalman ZM80 or something like that for VGA cooling. Which is better? the silencers or the zalman?


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 27, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> This thread is getting way off track thanks to bob =) j/k.
> 
> Ok, here's a question, anyone try flashing their 9550 to a 9600XT and does it/does it not work?
> 
> Also, is it possible to flash to anything more than the 9600 series? e.g. like 9700 or something? I'm guessing hardware changes will prevent that. but just wondering if anyone tried



Nope the 9600/9550 cant be modded to anything


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## ReconCX (Oct 28, 2004)

I'm thinking about getting a Zalman ZM80 + fan (unless there's something wrong with it..?) along with a new flat crt in preparation for HL2 =) mwhaha.. now where am i going to get the money....?


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## ati.bob (Oct 28, 2004)

Hehe.. sorry for the off-topic posts..  

Go for such huge-sized cooling??!? Hmm.. might not worth it.. In my opinion, the core is already performing at their best performance (400MHz++ is already at 9600Pro speeds).. you might want to try your luck with the memory speed (if you have slow memory speeds)..

But if your memory speed is already very high (~600-700 DDR), go and bump up the GPU speed then.. What I have found out about Zalman ZM80D-HP cooler with OMP1 fan is that it will MOST PROBABLY be fit for a 9550.. 

List of MOST PROBABALY-fitting GPU coolers for 9550:
* Zalman ZM80D-OP - Will most probabaly fit (my guess is around 98%).. but make sure there's clearing between your AGP slot and northbridge chipset cooler/memory slots..
* Cooler Master CoolViva - I think will fit (chance of fitting it : 95%).. but same as Zalman ZM80D-HP, get a good clearing between the AGP slot and northbridge chipset cooler/memory slots..
* Vantec Iceberq4 - Most probably will not fit (chance of fitting it : 10%).. It will not fit MOST of the 9550 since there are nearby electronic components (capacitors) that interfear with it.. I think boards from HIS will fit..
* ATI Silencer (I think it's the 2nd ATI Silencer) - Will probably fit if you have BGA memory chips (the RAM heat spreader are for BGA memory).. it's offically for 9600NP/Pro/XTs...


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## Nobru_rv (Oct 28, 2004)

I think that there is no need for putting zalman on 9550/9600 series. You allready got 50-100% oc with stock. Gecube 9550 extreme pl is a 9600XT (rv360) with hynix 2.5 ns memory allready. YOu ccan OC it to 500/400(800) and i dont think that u can get more than that. If u want more just buy 9700,9800,or nvidia 6800LE and oc/softmod it.


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## ReconCX (Oct 28, 2004)

I can only overclock to 525/325x2 right now. My memory is kinda low for Hynix 3.3. I've seen people who overclocked to 50 so I'm aiming for more. I'm trying to reach a 600 core =). Besides, Just cause I want a Zalman doesn't mean it's gonna stay on this 9550 forever =) gotta plan ahead =)


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## ReconCX (Oct 28, 2004)

And yes, I'm crazy, but this is for fun too! Also, is there such a thing as a MAX FPS possible for a graphics card? I seem to cap at 930 FPS when I raised the core and mem. (more core, more mem = more fps =) )


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 28, 2004)

Im going to..... OMG!!!!
Im going to rearrange my sig!!!!!!!!!!!


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 28, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> And yes, I'm crazy, but this is for fun too! Also, is there such a thing as a MAX FPS possible for a graphics card? I seem to cap at 930 FPS when I raised the core and mem. (more core, more mem = more fps =) )


Your true frames per second go as high as your monitors refresh rate.


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## ReconCX (Oct 28, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Im going to..... OMG!!!!
> Im going to rearrange my sig!!!!!!!!!!!



...random?


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## ati.bob (Oct 28, 2004)

.. no comments..


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## wazzledoozle (Oct 29, 2004)

You copied me! just kidding

I was wondering... How would i do a voltmod on the memory?


----------



## ati.bob (Oct 29, 2004)

Hehehe.. 

Voltmod? I never did that kind of stuff.. it's a wee bit risky if you ask me..  Of course, if it will increase the performance, sure, I will try do it.. 

I need a good explanation on how a voltmod work and how does it improve the performance of the hardware..


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 29, 2004)

Finally got all my benchmark scores tested =)


----------



## ati.bob (Oct 29, 2004)

Hmm.. nice, very nice, compared to mine.. Guess what my 3Dmark 2001SE score was?... 5700 3Dmarks only!!  .. most probably due to my slow CPU and RAMs..


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 30, 2004)

I went home and found my 9550 box... and i found something out.. My RAM isn't hynix 3.3 as i though (which is probably why that one flash went bad...).. it's a 2.8. Now i'm definately getting ramsinks and seeing what this thing can really do =)


----------



## alien_ (Oct 30, 2004)

Hi! Im' to buy an abit r9550-v 128mb/128bit card, but i donno that can i overclock it to be a 9600pro?


----------



## wazzledoozle (Oct 30, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> I went home and found my 9550 box... and i found something out.. My RAM isn't hynix 3.3 as i though (which is probably why that one flash went bad...).. it's a 2.8. Now i'm definately getting ramsinks and seeing what this thing can really do =)


Your box had the ram CAS times?? Thats strange...


----------



## Tower[pl] (Oct 30, 2004)

2000/2.8~=700MHz


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 30, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Your box had the ram CAS times?? Thats strange...



Because this card company is known for it's above-average cards (the 9550 in particular is the most overclockable one in china).  It's using 2.8 RAM and has a massive front heatsink, and it makes it known on the box. I rather prefer if it had all the specs on the box too, I tend to buy products that have numbers rather than adjectives such as "fast" or "excellent"


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 30, 2004)

Tower[pl] said:
			
		

> 2000/2.8~=700MHz



Does that mean I'll max at 350x2 or, if with proper cooling, be able to surpass that?

Also, anyone know where I can buy ATi Stickers? =)


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 30, 2004)

alien_ said:
			
		

> Hi! Im' to buy an abit r9550-v 128mb/128bit card, but i donno that can i overclock it to be a 9600pro?



Find the specs for that card and match a bios that has the same memory. Be sure your card can overclock that much first


----------



## Tower[pl] (Oct 31, 2004)

This is a rule - 2000/time=freaq 
5ns memory = 400MHz (2x200) 4ns - 500Mhz 
those are standard values - sometomes memory chips run faster (if You buy a 333DDR Memory it must work on 166FSB and may work on 170 ;-) )


----------



## GoLLuM4444 (Oct 31, 2004)

Tower[pl] said:
			
		

> This is a rule - 2000/time=freaq
> 5ns memory = 400MHz (2x200) 4ns - 500Mhz
> those are standard values - sometomes memory chips run faster (if You buy a 333DDR Memory it must work on 166FSB and may work on 170 ;-) )


Does this rule apply for maximum cooling or maximum frequency for stock cooling?


----------



## Nobru_rv (Oct 31, 2004)

Tower[pl] said:
			
		

> This is a rule - 2000/time=freaq
> 5ns memory = 400MHz (2x200) 4ns - 500Mhz
> those are standard values - sometomes memory chips run faster (if You buy a 333DDR Memory it must work on 166FSB and may work on 170 ;-) )



I tried a lot of 333ddr and almost all can go more than 400 mhz (200).
Difference is that on graphic card there are GDDR memory. I didnt try yet,but i suppose that if u put cas latency to 3,you should be able to overclock it higher. Stock is 2 so for great OC you will need to be a little lucky. Like corsair and samsung for example. If u try cas latency 2 on 400 mhz p3200,most samsungs cannot get with stock voltage. Corsair can manage it without problems. I will try with gddr,i am really courious.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Oct 31, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> I tried a lot of 333ddr and almost all can go more than 400 mhz (200).
> Difference is that on graphic card there are GDDR memory. I didnt try yet,but i suppose that if u put cas latency to 3,you should be able to overclock it higher. Stock is 2 so for great OC you will need to be a little lucky. Like corsair and samsung for example. If u try cas latency 2 on 400 mhz p3200,most samsungs cannot get with stock voltage. Corsair can manage it without problems. I will try with gddr,i am really courious.


My corsair XMS PC2700 2-3-3-6 does PC3200 without any voltage changes and is stable!

Also, your in China ReconX?


----------



## Tower[pl] (Oct 31, 2004)

stock cooling = no cooling
Sorry for the RAM OT


----------



## ReconCX (Oct 31, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> My corsair XMS PC2700 2-3-3-6 does PC3200 without any voltage changes and is stable!
> 
> Also, your in China ReconX?



Nope, went there for the summer =)... Anyone know where I can get ATi stickers? =)


----------



## wazzledoozle (Oct 31, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> Nope, went there for the summer =)... Anyone know where I can get ATi stickers? =)


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=40158&item=5134268365&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://search.ebay.com/ati-case-bad...3DC6QQsotrZ2QQsosortpropertyZ1QQsosortorderZ1


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## ReconCX (Nov 1, 2004)

ooo stickers... just ordered a zm80 and op1 =)


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 1, 2004)

once those come in, I'll be sure to post my new overclockable speeds =)


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 2, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> My corsair XMS PC2700 2-3-3-6 does PC3200 without any voltage changes and is stable!



As i said. Crosair can do it without problems. And maybe you can get better oc like 2.2.2.11 on 400mhz with little vdimm up


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 2, 2004)

Between 512MB and 1024MB of DDR Ram, is there a big performance difference in games and such?


----------



## amd (Nov 2, 2004)

> Hi! Im' to buy an abit r9550-v 128mb/128bit card, but i donno that can i overclock it to be a 9600pro?



I've seen it on their website and the default core speed is 250mhz. I don't know if it can match or exceed the speed of a gecube videocard.


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 4, 2004)

Alright, got my zalman. Installed it.. right now, I'm at 500/666 stable. that's stable increase of 25/8. I'm expecting more.. I used AS5 so it'll take some time for it to become effective and I haven't tested the ram too much yet.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 4, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> Between 512MB and 1024MB of DDR Ram, is there a big performance difference in games and such?


No


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 4, 2004)

Pictures =) I'm up to 515 core stable.. still working on memory a bit.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 4, 2004)

Very nice, microatx mobo!

You should get some shots of your case put all together, with the stickers applied!

Also, if you happen to have any pics of your cards mainboard without the heatsink i would very much like to see how or if it differs from my powercolor 9550 256mb.

Also, is that heatsink/fan pretty heavy?

And last but not least... Can you mount the fan where the heatpipes are, and the heatpipes where the fan is?


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 4, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Very nice, microatx mobo!
> 
> You should get some shots of your case put all together, with the stickers applied!
> 
> ...



The case i'm still working on, the motherboard and case are both stock from my compaq, I'll get rid of it sometime then I'll fix it up nice =) Right now, I'm just saving up money for a new monitor and Half-Life 2 =) and another 512 MB of ddr if possible.

I wish you asked BEFORE i put on the heatsinks, this was my first time doing it.. took me an hour ^_^;;  this is the stock picture of my card on the manufacturer's web page, it's identical to mine: 





. 

The company isn't powercolor, but i believe it's supported or a branch of it. the logo is only a silver sticker on the heatsink... I messed mine up =(

The ZM80 + OP1 isn't really that heavy (350g i think?) as much as it is BULKY. It just takes up a bit of room. As you can see, I lose a PCI slot because of it. Next mobo i buy i make sure has a space between AGP and PCI. It doesn't bend the card out of shape either. I think the weight is fairly balanced.

And finally, no you can't switch the heatpipes and the fan (although I would like to do that too.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 4, 2004)

Thanks, one more final question   

Is the half of the heatsink sitting on top of the card for heat dissapation, or does it touch the card? (would have to have some sort of a resistive sheet between it and board)

Also, if you have the old fansink i might buy it from you if your willing.


----------



## amd (Nov 4, 2004)

i believe that that video card isnt a 9550xt . It's  a 9600 pro or xt. Ive seen it before.


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 4, 2004)

Wazzle: The heatsink doesn't touch the back side, it hovers a bit on two rubber spacers. A transparent sticker is applied on the bottom side of the back heatsink to prevent it from conducting electricity if it did touch the PCB.

Sorry, I need my heatsink still as a backup =)

AMD: The board I believe is a 9600, printed on it is R96A. However, the GPU has RADEON 9550 printed on it.


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 5, 2004)

ReconCX said:
			
		

> Wazzle: The heatsink doesn't touch the back side, it hovers a bit on two rubber spacers. A transparent sticker is applied on the bottom side of the back heatsink to prevent it from conducting electricity if it did touch the PCB.
> 
> Sorry, I need my heatsink still as a backup =)
> 
> AMD: The board I believe is a 9600, printed on it is R96A. However, the GPU has RADEON 9550 printed on it.



What does it say in atitool ? RV350 or RV360? Because 9550 gpu doesnt exist. All 9550 use 9600 or 9600 xt gpu.


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## ReconCX (Nov 5, 2004)

rv350 before flash now rv360


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## ati.bob (Nov 5, 2004)

I think most 9550 cards have RV350 core.. If it has a "Radeon 9550" etched at the core.. chances are you got a RV350 core.. unless the manufacturer runs out of 9550 and use 9600 cards and relabel them as 9550..


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 6, 2004)

I'm slowly crawling up the mhz ladder for the core. the AS5 sure is taking it's time going into effect (appox 200 hours of on and off). My case is poorly cooled right now, I RMAed my 92mm Fan cause it's so freak'n loud, gotta get a new one. RAM seems to work on and off at 333x2. 

*****
9550 users rejoice!

I got initial results on HL2 video stress test. 64 fps average. My speed was (400/300x2). 800x600 res, trilinear filter, no AA, high models, only water reflections, medium texture, some shadows, etc etc, medium-high qualities. I haven't tested it at max core/mem yet at 1024x768 but I have tested with the 9600 speeds with 1024 res, high everything, 16x aniso, 6x AA, average fps = 30.6. this was also at 400/300x2. When I get the chance (probably sunday) I'll tested it at clock speed around 515-525/300-333x2 and post some results.

My test system was

ASUS A7V8X-LA <- Yes, it's a compaq =(
Athlon 2800+ Barton (2.08ghz)
512MB DDR333
120GB 5400RPM Samsung HDD <-- I really need a SATA 10,000rpm... =(
Realtek ALC658 AC97 6 Channel w/ 5.1 Config

Windows XP SP2
DirectX 9.0c

My system holds promise for HL2 =)


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 6, 2004)

Meh, i have a 9550 CE! (Crappy edition) -Labeled so for the craptastic ram


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 6, 2004)

You should still be able to run 800x600 res medium everything no AA, Aniso for ~40 or so FPS. My roommate is running CS:S on a GeForce 2 32MB. Granted it looks ugly, but it works with nice FPS.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 6, 2004)

Oh I still like this card very much, but it doesnt compare to others. Only a year ago i was using a 333 mhz celeron, 64 mb ram, and a PCI TNT2 32mb.


So no one can inform us of 9600 series voltmods?


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 7, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Oh I still like this card very much, but it doesnt compare to others. Only a year ago i was using a 333 mhz celeron, 64 mb ram, and a PCI TNT2 32mb.
> 
> 
> So no one can inform us of 9600 series voltmods?



I feel your pain, I had a 1ghz p3 w/ 384mb ram, mx440, a r7000, then a fx5200u, then a r9100, then the r9550.

Before that I had a 400 cele.... onboard graphics intel 810 chipset... at least it had opengl...

voltmods eh? sounds interesting, who's got the info?


----------



## 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.


----------



## bios (Nov 8, 2004)

When you say you got 370 on the memory on your previous 9550XT, do you get artifacts when running ati tools artifact finder?


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 12, 2004)

bios said:
			
		

> When you say you got 370 on the memory on your previous 9550XT, do you get artifacts when running ati tools artifact finder?



That is the value that atitool found as a max stable value before artifacts came across my monitor.


----------



## bios (Nov 12, 2004)

Did you attain thoese overclocks with stock cooling? If not what type are you using?


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## Nobru_rv (Nov 13, 2004)

bios said:
			
		

> Did you attain thoese overclocks with stock cooling? If not what type are you using?



Are u a cop in your private life??   

Yes,stock cooling,i dont know why it is so unbeliavable. All cards are different. Even when they are same type. For ex. i had an 9800 pro 128 mb that could overclock only 20 core clock even with vga silencer cooler.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Nov 13, 2004)

That crack isnt mine i swear, its a plant!


----------



## ati.bob (Nov 13, 2004)

New personal record:

Sapphire Radeon 9550 128-bit/128MB with 5ns Super Slow & Crappy Samsung RAMs.. 
New core clock : 445MHz (most stable at 440MHz)
New RAM clock : 250MHz (most stable at 240MHz)

3Dmark2001SE results : 6000 3Dmarks
Aquamark3 results : 18848 Aquamark Triscore

The results is obtained with my P3 CPU running at 840MHz/140MHz FSB and RAM at 140MHz FSB/CL2.. plus I changed the original thermal paste that comes with my VGA card with Cooler Master HTK-002 (leftover from my CPU HSF application ).. I also tweaked the card's memory timings with more agressive timings.. 

I'm done tweaking my old P3 now.. it's time to get a new PC..


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 13, 2004)

good job, I'm still hoping I can get to 350x2!


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## ReconCX (Nov 13, 2004)

I'm able to get to 337.5x2 now... only 13mhz more! =)


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## jmattick (Nov 13, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> Are u a cop in your private life??



Huh, cop?!? Who said cop?!!?
*drops baggie*
_What ever can I do for you officer?_


----------



## ReconCX (Nov 14, 2004)

*ahem* back on topic... once again. =D


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## wazzledoozle (Nov 14, 2004)

Hey recon where can i get that Half Life 2 stress test?


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## ReconCX (Nov 14, 2004)

You have to have preordered HL2 via steam. Counter-Strike:source was released for beta testing to those that preordered and the videostress test is included.


----------



## bim27142 (Nov 18, 2004)

Nobru_rv said:
			
		

> That is the value that atitool found as a max stable value before artifacts came across my monitor.


what's an artifact?  and by the way, does it necessarily take some time to scan for artifact? how long does it usually take? and also, how long does it usually take to scan maximum core OC and ram OC using ati tool? stopped scanning mine when i tried it because i got bored waiting and the progress in scanning those frequencies are very slow...


----------



## wazzledoozle (Dec 2, 2004)

bim27142 said:
			
		

> what's an artifact?  and by the way, does it necessarily take some time to scan for artifact? how long does it usually take? and also, how long does it usually take to scan maximum core OC and ram OC using ati tool? stopped scanning mine when i tried it because i got bored waiting and the progress in scanning those frequencies are very slow...


It all depends on many variables, see what time frame is average for you. An artifact is when the gpu or ram is overheating or over oc'd, it processes data incorrectly and causes visual *artifacts* or defects (Dont call it defects though)


----------



## bim27142 (Dec 4, 2004)

amd said:
			
		

> I have a Gecube 9550 extreme edition with hynix 2.5 memory chips.  I've flashed the vcard bios with a vcore running @ 475 Mhz,  and memory running@ 320mhz x 2 (640 mhz). this is the default speed  right now with no problems whatsoever.



guys, is it still safe to OC a GeCube? because this is already heavily OC'ed by GeCube itself... i really love to max out this card but i'm kinda afraid to...im just OC'ing the mem from 250 to 300, i find it stable in all my current games but i really don't notice significant improvements in actual gameplay though atitool shows an ave gain of 10fps (looking at the 3Dwindow)...what can i do to really notice a certain "boost" in this card's performance?


----------



## wazzledoozle (Dec 4, 2004)

bim27142 said:
			
		

> guys, is it still safe to OC a GeCube? because this is already heavily OC'ed by GeCube itself... i really love to max out this card but i'm kinda afraid to...im just OC'ing the mem from 250 to 300, i find it stable in all my current games but i really don't notice significant improvements in actual gameplay though atitool shows an ave gain of 10fps (looking at the 3Dwindow)...what can i do to really notice a certain "boost" in this card's performance?


Go play a game like Doom 3 or Half life 2, and you will notice the difference.

Or it could be that your card is locked, what drivers are you using?


----------



## bim27142 (Dec 4, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> Go play a game like Doom 3 or Half life 2, and you will notice the difference.
> 
> Or it could be that your card is locked, what drivers are you using?



nope it's not locked, i think gecube already flashed their 9550XT's with a 9600 bios because it was natively detected by windows as 9600 series and also atitool as RV360 chip, device id 4152.

i'm using ati cat 4.11... are omega drivers really better and is it stable? i haven't tried using omega yet...

and yes, i do play doom3...i play it while running stock(400/500) speed then i tried it on OC(400/600) and i can't seem to notice any boost at all...  what i want to eliminate is the stutter(when playing doom3 and far cry) i usually experience when i fire a weapon if the game is just starting, though after a couple of seconds it runs smoothly already...


----------



## wazzledoozle (Dec 4, 2004)

bim27142 said:
			
		

> nope it's not locked, i think gecube already flashed their 9550XT's with a 9600 bios because it was natively detected by windows as 9600 series and also atitool as RV360 chip, device id 4152.
> 
> i'm using ati cat 4.11... are omega drivers really better and is it stable? i haven't tried using omega yet...
> 
> and yes, i do play doom3...i play it while running stock(400/500) speed then i tried it on OC(400/600) and i can't seem to notice any boost at all...  what i want to eliminate is the stutter(when playing doom3 and far cry) i usually experience when i fire a weapon if the game is just starting, though after a couple of seconds it runs smoothly already...


You wont be able to get rid of the stuttering.


----------



## bim27142 (Dec 4, 2004)

wazzledoozle said:
			
		

> You wont be able to get rid of the stuttering.



so you mean this also happen to you guys? i mean, using 9550 series cards only... i presume this don't happen to high end cards...


----------



## bim27142 (Dec 4, 2004)

a friend of mine suggested to make my ram 1GB... i'm currently running on 512MB dual channel.


----------



## wazzledoozle (Dec 4, 2004)

bim27142 said:
			
		

> a friend of mine suggested to make my ram 1GB... i'm currently running on 512MB dual channel.


More ram wont help the stuttering unless your running a high end card. More ram on the video card is what helps the stuttering, but right now 256 Mbyte is the most available. IDSoft has said that 512 Mbyte of ram on the video card would be ideal for doom 3.


----------



## Alley Cat (Dec 6, 2004)

*A few more questions about the Radeon9550*

Hi there. I have a few questions, and I would be *extremely* happy if you would answer any one of them (yes, even answering one question should be nice enough of you):

I just bought a Gigabyte Radeon 9550 - the one with the 128 bit. Don't remember the exact model.

I want to mess a bit with overclocking as I read in many places that the 9550 begs for it.

So I will start in cooling solutions:
My first question would be if one of the Arctic coolers is appropriate for it? I didn't see any '9550' listings, only whole hundreds (9600, 9700, 9500 etc..)

If I won't find an arctic cooler model than I consider buying the ZALMAN Heatpipe VGA Cooler ZM80D-HP as I heard it is appropriate for any model and I don't have many other efficient options. Is it any good?

It would also be nice if someone knows of a guide that explains throughoutly how to remove existing cooling solutions (that came with the card) and installing new ones (and by saying throughoutly it should say that I want explanations for many types of cooling  ).

How are your experiences with turning the Gigabyte model to 9600 pro? I don't know how to do it, what BIOS to look for, and I have absolutely no idea what is this 4ns you keep talking about... I don't want to mess up my card (when I looked at the Gigabyte part of the BIOS page it gave unknown information about the 9600 pro model). Should I use the flashing tool from Gigabyte?

Do you know any good guide on how to twick/ocerclock/optimize/whatever the Radeon 9550?

And last but not least - it seems that the VTool 2 I downloaded from Gigabyte just get's 'stuck' in it's image after I start it - it means I see all the options and they beg for me to click on them (by changing their color) but when I actually click on them or try to move the slider of the MHZ nothing happens at all.

Here is my system specs:

Biostar U8798 Pro motherboard with VIA P4X400 / VT8235 chipset
P4 2.66GHZ
512 DDR 333 MHZ
Gigabyte Radeon 9550 (I installed the softmod 4.11 drivers. Should this remove the overclocking protection completely?)
100 GB HD


----------



## bim27142 (Dec 6, 2004)

Alley Cat said:
			
		

> Hi there. I have a few questions, and I would be *extremely* happy if you would answer any one of them (yes, even answering one question should be nice enough of you):
> 
> I just bought a Gigabyte Radeon 9550 - the one with the 128 bit. Don't remember the exact model.
> 
> ...



just to give my opinion on some of your questions: first, what you have in mind is quite risky(BIOS flashing) and chances of getting messed up is just around the corner. so, if you haven't tried it yet, mind as well think twice or just risk it is completely up to you. luckily i bougth the one from GeCube which is already being flashed by a 9600 BIOS. first thing you've got to do is try an OC'ing software first and see if you can get it to work by just that alone with no BIOS flashing. i suggest you get ATITool and check it if it does report something like this: (goog thing)

device id: 4152
chip type: RV360

if it's like this: (not so good thing)

device id: 4153
chip type: RV350

then, most probably your card is OC locked that's why nothing happened to slider you made mention above..if it is OC locked, i think ATITool can remove it real time but don't know if it's gonna be permanent.. and as for BIOS flashing, check this link:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/107 

and for additional info, just browse within this site(techpowerup) and/or read the threads all along...


----------



## ReconCX (Dec 8, 2004)

flashing gives it slightly better performance too (different mem timings, also possibly volt differences too). It's worth the risk if 1) you know what you are doing, 2) you have a backup PCI card to do a restore.


----------



## Alley Cat (Dec 8, 2004)

bim27142 said:
			
		

> just to give my opinion on some of your questions: first, what you have in mind is quite risky(BIOS flashing) and chances of getting messed up is just around the corner. so, if you haven't tried it yet, mind as well think twice or just risk it is completely up to you. luckily i bougth the one from GeCube which is already being flashed by a 9600 BIOS. first thing you've got to do is try an OC'ing software first and see if you can get it to work by just that alone with no BIOS flashing. i suggest you get ATITool and check it if it does report something like this: (goog thing)
> 
> device id: 4152
> chip type: RV360
> ...



ATITool did report the RV350 thing. But as far as I can understand from browsing this site this only means my card came with the factory defaults of the 9550. That is what I saw in the flashing the BIOS guide.
I installed the softmoded drivers. Only than I installed the Vtuner by gigabyte. Aren't the softmoded drivers supposed to remove the OC lock? If so, why do I have problems with the VTuner? Perhaps it's the other way around? That the VTuner doesn't understand the Softmoded drivers?


----------



## sweeper (Feb 3, 2005)

How do you guys get your core up so high? I can only achieve 400 / 270 (540DDR) with a Zalman ZM80-C HP & AS5? I also have ramsinks on the underside of card. Non at the top (at the moment) due to the Zalman HP sits so low to the card.


----------



## ati.bob (Feb 3, 2005)

Most probably their cards have faster memory chips (lower -ns rating)... mine is only 5ns chips and I was lucky to be able to clock up to 240x2 MHz (245x2 MHz with copper RAM heatsinks) from the 200x2 MHz default..


----------



## sweeper (Feb 3, 2005)

Look at your core speed though: 442 <-----------

I can only get mine @ 400 maxed!!!!!!!!


----------



## ati.bob (Feb 3, 2005)

core speed is nothing.. ... I need more speed on the RAMs..  I'm willing to trade 42MHz of GPU speed for extra memory speeds..  The perfect solution would be having a balanced speed of both GPU and memory..


----------



## warlock110 (Feb 10, 2005)

i just got an Abit 9550, it has 3.6ns, so anyone one grab one, it's there, the card is only 65 bucks, it comes with active cooling, the same cooling that abit placed on their 9600 XT, completely crap cooling IMO, but i'm pushing it and i feel that i need some ram sink, right now it's stable @ 420/250


----------



## blizzard-cro (Feb 11, 2005)

i agree with ati.bob, core doesnt boost performance so much, the most important is ram and how high he can go.
I have recently bought an asus 9550 GE and i put ramsinks, and OC at 400/275 @ 9600 pro bios, it works stable    
My memory is Samsung 4.0 ns...


----------



## sweeper (Feb 11, 2005)

Sorta stuck in a rut becuz mine has Hynix 5.0ns memory


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## warlock110 (Feb 12, 2005)

i can confirm that the zalman 80 doesn't fit my 9550 abit, for some reason i can't fit the very first part onto the predrilled hole, so no way it's gonna fit.


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## sweeper (Feb 12, 2005)

That's odd. The boards should be the same as the 9600 series? I had no problems installing it on my card. Fit without any problems at all. Sorry to hear that. The ONLY problem I had was I was unable to attach my other 4 Mosfet BGA Ramsinks due to the height of the HP opposite side of the GPU. I need to have them cut much shorter, then I will probably have to pick up 4 more and cut those then place them 2 per ram module. Other than that I am currently at 400/250 R9600 Bios, 400/290 benchmark<--- only till I get some more ramsinks.


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## stordoff (Jun 8, 2005)

My 9550 will reach 475/220 MHz Stable


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## MarsI (Jul 1, 2005)

asus 9550 ge td with hynix 5.0 and thermaltake Giant III.
513/277.


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## Patrick Bateman (Aug 11, 2005)

Tower[pl] said:
			
		

> Hi! I'm new to this forum and my English isn't perfect but maybe someone will help me so here goes:
> Generaly speaking I do not like the soft-mod so I wanted to flash bios in my Gigabyte 9550128D Radeon. Unfortunatly FLASHROM does not work. I get a
> *Error: block protect not disabled, status-0E* Error
> How to disable this block protect? I used
> *flashrom -f -p 0 9600ez.bin* command




czesc...czy udalo ci sie rozwiazac problem?
mam ten sam komunikat...nie wiem co zrobic.

pozdro


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