# Questions about X850Pro AGP



## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 6, 2005)

*X850Pro AGP VIVO: How to get 16 pipes and still have variable speed fan*

_edit - go to page 3 for the instructions on how to unlock pipes and retain variable speed fan_ 

Hello all,

Just picked up an X850Pro AGP, and am happy to report that unlocking all 16 pipes was as easy as flashing the BIOS with one from an X850XT-PE, and then de-clocking it to X850XT speeds (the stock cooler can't handle 540/580).  Unlocking the pipes bumped performance by about 20%, and increasing the speeds from 500/500 to 520/540 gave another 5% or so.  Very nice.  

However, after flashing the card and installing ATITool, I started to notice odd behaviour from the fan.  It is now either on or off - it is not working as a variable speed fan no matter how I configure ATITool.  I don't know if it was before the flash.  Also, the default on/off temperature is 90degC, which seems very, very high.

So using ATITool I've got it set to come on at 50degC instead, and have an Arctic Cool Silencer 5 on the way.

Now for the questions:
If you have a X850Pro AGP, is your fan variable speed or is it just on/off?
If just on/off, does it cycle at 90degC?
Will replacing the stock cooler with the Arctic Cool unit allow variable speed fan control?

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## dolf (Sep 6, 2005)

I have had the same "problem" with my X800XT AGP. The fan works only on/off reaching 70C/50C. After flashing X800XT PE BIOS the propblem has gone and the fan speed depends on the GPU temperature as in between fan doesn't completely stops  .
It is probably matter of BIOS. You should try some other XT BIOSes. You can check whether the BIOS changes the fan RPM using RivaTuner by chooseing "Hardware monitoring" you can see the "Fan duty cycle" graphic.  

Success


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## SPHERE (Sep 7, 2005)

lol yet another flashed x850 pro agp wow almost all of them are flashing!!!!

is it a vivo?


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 7, 2005)

Yeah, it's an AGP VIVO.  Unlocked with just a BIOS flash, and runs great at 520/540 with the stock cooler.

ATITool says max is 540/580 with stock cooler.  I have a Silencer5 on the way - not to go faster, but because the stock fan is so damn noisy.  Any extra speed afforded by the better cooling will just be a bonus.  

BTW, the X850Pro AGP is on sale this week at Best Buy for $250, so you can effectively get an X850XT for that price.


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## SPHERE (Sep 7, 2005)

lol thats 6 success stories so far... and 7 trys wow this is better than the x800 agp pro vivo to xt mod....

damn i realy want a lian li case but it looks like that money may go to a x850 pro lol!


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## blinker0 (Sep 7, 2005)

Make that 7 ... Now all I need is to find the right Voltmod for this board.. As I have My water blocks made for the memory.. But want to do voltmods first.. Alot easier to not have to work around the blocks


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## SPHERE (Sep 7, 2005)

wow..

is that a vivo aswell?


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## blinker0 (Sep 7, 2005)

yes  its a vivo   with 16ns chips.. and cant wait to Vmod it and get some dedicated water on there... It isnt sweating at all at 560 GPU and 620 Mem.. so  patiently waiting... Have water on the GPU already.. Just not dedicated yet


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 7, 2005)

So you guys with X850Pros, is your stock fan variable speed or just on/off?


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## SPHERE (Sep 7, 2005)

my xtpe is dynamic  but its controllable via ati tool


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## Weigy104 (Sep 7, 2005)

i'm not 100% sure but but i know that the fan speed control is in the bios. so instead of just flashing the bios you can use a bios editor to try and change it. but as i say not sure if it will work. plus you mihgt not want to flash to a different bios incase it doesn't work aswell as the one you have.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 7, 2005)

Yes, the PE bios has the ability to control the fan.  However, for all bios fan speed values < 90%, the actual fan speed is zero.  For all values >= 90%, the actual fan speed is 100%.  So I'm thinking the fan has a fixed speed motor, and won't run below a certain supply current (about 90% of spec).


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## 20PPC (Sep 7, 2005)

*Stock ATI X850 Pro Fan Control*

My new stock ATI X850 Pro (AGP) has dynamic fan control. I verified it using ATITool and I can hear it. When in 2D desktop it is running 54% and actually has an annoying "rattle" noise. When I launch 3D apps the fan increases speed and actually gets less annoying.

I want to try flashing mine to get the 16 pipes but want to keep the stock clocks for now. Can you guys point me to a BIOS that will give me 16 pipes (if I'm lucky) and that will retain the dynamic fan control?


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 7, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> I verified it using ATITool and I can hear it.



I recommend checking it visually.  ATITool says my fan is on at 54% too, but visual inspection shows it's not moving.  I understand the aural comment but there are probably more than a few fans in your case.  If you could visually verify that it's spinning when ATITool says it's at 54%, that would be awesome.


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## JocelynLeigh (Sep 7, 2005)

Guys I'm confused from the write up....(or X850 XT Bios if you are modding an X850 Pro VIVO)

DId he forget to add the PE? or should we just use the newest X850 XT Bios?


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 7, 2005)

I'm confused by your question.    Here's a clip from my first post:



> Just picked up an X850Pro AGP, and am happy to report that unlocking all 16 pipes was as easy as flashing the BIOS with one from an X850XT-PE



I also experimented with an X850XT bios, and it also unlocked all 16 pipes, but it did not perform quite as well in benchmarks at the same clock speeds.  I don't know if the PE has more aggressive memory timings, but in any event, it offered the best performance so that's what I'm running (currently de-clocked from PE speeds to 520/540 until the stock cooler can be replaced).


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## 20PPC (Sep 7, 2005)

Yes, I did verify the fan is moving and that it is the fan making the noise.

edit: This is a stock VIVO ATI card I bought at BB this past weekend on sale in case you were wondering.


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## 20PPC (Sep 7, 2005)

I also just verifed that I can dynamically adjust the fan using ATITool. Funny thing is the rattle is there even as I crank the fan speed up, it is just that at the higher speeds the fan noise masks the rattle noise coming from the fan on the card.

So back to your main issue, I think another BIOS needs to be found if the one you are using doesn't allow you to adjust the dynamic fan control.

Does anyone know of a BIOS that will allow for this on the X850 Pro VIVO AGP and also give us the 16 pipes?


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

One more question Squid, what specific X850XTPE BIOS did you use on your card that ISN'T allowing for dynamic fan control? Got a link or version?


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## ctrl-alt-del (Sep 8, 2005)

*Workarround for fan - needs speed tests*

Unlocking all 16 channnels on X850 PRO 

I have the same situation with the loss of variable fan control after the XT or XT PE flash. Here is a way to unlock all 16 and keep the fan control. 

You can try this...

1. Make a backup of the original X850 pro bios
2. Use the MODIFIED flashrom to flash a x850xt or X850xt pe bios. This will enable all the 16 pipelines
3. Use the UNMODIFIED flashrom to restore your original bios. This will NOT overwrite the new pipeline information and allow the fan to function.

Of course you will still be runing 500/500.
My temps are at 75C with the fan running at 95% during the ATI tool test at 500/500 for over 1 hour.  But its stable.

If you want to run any faster you really should get a ATI Silencer 5 (Rev. 2)

I do not know what this offically makes your board or if the full 16 are really used. RIVATUNER says they are there. I need to run more tests. But it does work.


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## blinker0 (Sep 8, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> My new stock ATI X850 Pro (AGP) has dynamic fan control. I verified it using ATITool and I can hear it. When in 2D desktop it is running 54% and actually has an annoying "rattle" noise. When I launch 3D apps the fan increases speed and actually gets less annoying.
> 
> I want to try flashing mine to get the 16 pipes but want to keep the stock clocks for now. Can you guys point me to a BIOS that will give me 16 pipes (if I'm lucky) and that will retain the dynamic fan control?


 use any of the 850 Xt or XT PE bios and set clocks to stock in ATI tool.. Just the XT Bios only increases clocks to 520 GPU and 540 Memory. But you get the 4 extra pipes but dont know about the fan controll


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> One more question Squid, what specific X850XTPE BIOS did you use on your card that ISN'T allowing for dynamic fan control? Got a link or version?



I used this version:
http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X850XT.256.Samsung16_050118.bin

Which one did you use?


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

I haven't done mine yet. I want to be the eighth person successful at this but I also want to retain control over my fan. I like ctrlaltdel's suggestion. Where can I get the unmodded flasher to restore the pertinent Pro BIOS values after getting the 16 pipes?


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

This is all making sense now. After reading various posts on X850 Pro modding the conclusion is that folks loose control over their fans. This is probably because the fan controllers on the XT and XT-PE are configured differently. So what us X850 Pro modders need is a BIOS that retains fan control but gives us the 16 pipes. Either that or we need a work around as ctrl-alt-del has suggested.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

Or we need to get a Silencer 5.  Mine should be here early next week.


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

But that is just another fan. I think the issue lies in the fan controller on the PCB. I think you will run into the same problem with an aftermarket fan. Have you seen the other posts by folks who have commented on how hot their cards get even after clocking them back to 500/500? I believe it is because their fans are whacko after the flash.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

ctrl-alt-del said:
			
		

> You can try this...
> 
> 1. Make a backup of the original bios
> 2. Use the MODIFIED flashrom to flash a x850xt or X850xt pe
> ...



It just so happens I made a backup of the stock BIOS before flashing the XT and XT-PE BIOS'.  So, I'll be back in a few minutes to report the results....


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

Success!  And I still have 16 pipes as verified by ATITool (and the performance in ATITool's 3D test - with 12 pipes I was getting around 190fps, with the current X850Pro BIOS and 16 pipes I'm getting 240 - about the same as the XT-PE BIOS).

Steps:
1: Download the XT-PE BIOS, the modified flashrom, and the standard ATI flash.
Modified flashrom: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip
AGP XT-PE BIOS: http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X850XT.256.Samsung16_050118.bin
Standard ATI flash: http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/bios/atiflash309.zip
2: Make a backup of your current BIOS with modified flashrom.
3: Flash your AGP X850Pro with XT-PE BIOS with modified flashrom.
4: Use ATITool to verify you have 16 pipes.
5: Flash your original AGP X850Pro BIOS using ATIFlash.
6: Use ATITool to verify you have 16 pipes.

Voila ... a 16 pipe card AND you have variable speed fan control.    

I used ATITool to clock it back up to 520/540 to get X850XT-performance ... now without hte WHOOOSH-silence-WHOOOOSH-silence-WHOOOSH-silence of the XT-PE BIOS and on/off fan.

It's working so well, it makes me wonder if it's worth installin the Silencer 5 when it gets here.

And yeah, my fan is kinda rattling now too.


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

Great news. I think others will now be linking to this thread.

I believe the "rattle" is the PWM fan controller but I could be mistaken. You need to get your ear near the card or have a particular case to hear it, but it is there. I guess I have sensitive ears or it may be my Lian-Li PC-1000 case. But I believe it is normal.

What commend line did you use when you re-flashed with ATIflash?


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

BTW you should retitle this thread to something like "X850 Pro AGP to X850 XT-PE Fan Controller Issue Work Around"


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> What commend line did you use when you re-flashed with ATIflash?



atiflash -p -f 0 x850pro.bin (substitute name of your bios file, of course)


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> BTW you should retitle this thread to something like "X850 Pro AGP to X850 XT-PE Fan Controller Issue Work Around"



Yeah it's kind of evolved to that, hasn't it.


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

Thanks, I'll try it later tonight!


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

Success! Another confirmed mod.

ATI X850 Pro AGP VIVO for $249.99 - 10% coupon = $224.99 out the door (no sales tax in Oregon)

Flash to X850XTPE using modified flashrom = worked great, got 16 pipes and all XTPE settings, but the fan doesn't come on until card gets real hot, i.e. no control over the fan.....

Flash back to original X850 Pro BIOS using atiflash = I still have the 16 pipes, but all other X850 Pro attributes, including control over the fan!

Before mod:

3DMark05 (1.2.0 free version) scores 5159

After mod:

3DMark05 (1.2.0 free version) scores 5684

So the extra 4 pipes gives me a nice performance kicker even at the default 500/500 X850 Pro speeds.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 8, 2005)

Awesome!  Congratulations!  Not bad performance for $225, is it?  That's the same price I got it for too - $250-10%=$225.  Cept here, we pay sales tax.    

Have you had ATITool check max core/mem speeds yet?  It reports 540/580 here - so I'm running an easy 520/540 until the Silencer 5 gets here.  That was good for about another 5% in benchmarks over 500/500.


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## 20PPC (Sep 8, 2005)

I haven't tried it yet. I will later I'm sure. But right now I am very satisfied with the performance gain from the 4 pipe increase. I bet with better cooling we might reach near XT-PE speeds.


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## JocelynLeigh (Sep 9, 2005)

Also Best Buy x850 pro for 250, minus ex's 10% discount.  I tried it before through following overclock.net;  Result = didn't unlock 4 extra pipes....
    Followed the one here, *POOF* 16 pipes, back to x850 pro bios...Thanks guys  =D


~Jocelyn~


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## cactus22minus1 (Sep 9, 2005)

Hey guys, I've been a lurking non-member of this forum for a few days while I tried to figure out what I need to know about flashing a videocard BIOS.  Curiousity took over and I am now attempting to mod my X850 pro AGP VIVO to get these extra 4 pipes.  I've tried the method using the modified flashrom and got an error message "file open error 0FL01".  Then I tried to force it using the -f command but got the same result.  So I decided to try using atiflash with the added -newbios command and got the same error.  Same with -f command.  

I tried all of these methods over again with a different BIOS- same error.  All of my BIOS files are in fact on the boot disk and are .bin files.   

Any ideas on what could be going wrong here?   Keep in mind I've never done this before so it could be something really stupid that I'm doing.


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## blinker0 (Sep 9, 2005)

cactus22minus1 said:
			
		

> Hey guys, I've been a lurking non-member of this forum for a few days while I tried to figure out what I need to know about flashing a videocard BIOS.  Curiousity took over and I am now attempting to mod my X850 pro AGP VIVO to get these extra 4 pipes.  I've tried the method using the modified flashrom and got an error message "file open error 0FL01".  Then I tried to force it using the -f command but got the same result.  So I decided to try using atiflash with the added -newbios command and got the same error.  Same with -f command.
> 
> I tried all of these methods over again with a different BIOS- same error.  All of my BIOS files are in fact on the boot disk and are .bin files.
> 
> Any ideas on what could be going wrong here?   Keep in mind I've never done this before so it could be something really stupid that I'm doing.


 Here is the command I used , flashrom -f -p 0 ATIX85~1.bin make sure you put a space between each command and the little~ between ATIX85 and the 1.bin 
 And you can use all lower case letters


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## cactus22minus1 (Sep 9, 2005)

Scratch that, my problem was the name being too long for DOS so I renamed it in Windows and all went perfectly.   Initial flash was successfull to the XTPE with 16 pipes detected in ATItools.  Just flashed my original bios back and kept the 16 pipes and regained fan control.   I'm a VERY happy guy right now- thanks guys and add me to the list of successfull x850 pro 12 -> 16 pipe mod!


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## SPHERE (Sep 10, 2005)

can you dump the 16 pipe pro bios and upload it here plz


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## cactus22minus1 (Sep 10, 2005)

There's no 16 pipe pro bios.  It's the original 12 pipe pro bios, but the 16 pipes are still enabled because I flashed back to the old bios using a utility(atiflash) that will not change pipes unless you force it.  It's a matter of "tricking" the card the first time you flash it with the modded or forced command utility, then switching back under normal bios flashing operation.  And the only reason anyone is even flashing back to the pro bios is to regain fan control.


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## 20PPC (Sep 10, 2005)

I dumped the BIOS that is in my modded X850 Pro with 16 pipes. Here it is:


ATI X850 Pro VIVO 16 Pipe BIOS

I don't know if it will work in one flash step however........


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## SPHERE (Sep 10, 2005)

cactus22minus1 said:
			
		

> There's no 16 pipe pro bios.  It's the original 12 pipe pro bios, but the 16 pipes are still enabled because I flashed back to the old bios using a utility(atiflash) that will not change pipes unless you force it.  It's a matter of "tricking" the card the first time you flash it with the modded or forced command utility, then switching back under normal bios flashing operation.  And the only reason anyone is even flashing back to the pro bios is to regain fan control.


the bios that you guys are using  is a modified one (a pro bios without the pipes locked via bios)

the bios is the only thing on the card you can "trick" without busting out the solder or pencil lol  (sometimes you can trick via driver aswell)


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## SPHERE (Sep 10, 2005)

here can someone beta test this bios for me its the bios listed above but moded for 520/540 clocks (as they should be lol) 

but im mostly intersted in using it to avoid the need for the complex flash


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## cactus22minus1 (Sep 10, 2005)

sean478 said:
			
		

> the bios that you guys are using  is a modified one (a pro bios without the pipes locked via bios)
> 
> the bios is the only thing on the card you can "trick" without busting out the solder or pencil lol  (sometimes you can trick via driver aswell)




Actually, no, I did not use a "pro bios without the pipes locked via bios"  - I used an XTPE bios.  Then switched back to the original pro bios while keeping the 16 pipes.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 10, 2005)

sean478 said:
			
		

> the bios that you guys are using  is a modified one (a pro bios without the pipes locked via bios)



No.  Read the instructions on page 3 of this thread.

And no, I won't flash my card just so you can see if it will save you the step of flashing YOUR card.


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## SPHERE (Sep 10, 2005)

cactus22minus1 said:
			
		

> Actually, no, I did not use a "pro bios without the pipes locked via bios"  - I used an XTPE bios.  Then switched back to the original pro bios while keeping the 16 pipes.


in other words the pro bios was moded by the flashing utility to disable the pipe lock aka now you have a 16 pipe pro bios 


serously guys the only place on the card where (changeable) settings like that are stored is in the bios


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## chris052 (Sep 10, 2005)

Thanx for the help guys.  I followed Squid's method and it worked out fine. Flashed with PE bios, got the 16 pipes and then back to original Bios and still have the 16 pipes.


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## 65tweet (Sep 10, 2005)

Great thread guys! I have a question for you all please before I buy one.
What are your max GPU/Mem. Speeds with ATI Tool using the “new” method after flashing to 16 pipes? 

Thanks in advance


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 10, 2005)

65tweet said:
			
		

> What are your max GPU/Mem. Speeds with ATI Tool using the “new” method after flashing to 16 pipes?



540/580 with the stock cooling.  Silencer5 should be here next week, and then I'll retest.


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## 20PPC (Sep 10, 2005)

Looking forward to your results Squid. I may have to order one as well. With stock cooling mine easily runs XT speeds, 520/540.


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## rivlez (Sep 11, 2005)

well i bought the card last night, after learning about this mod a few months back. on my box from best buy it says directly where the UPC is X850XT. does anyone else have that also? well i flashed my card last night and i can't get any gaming action to work with the X850 XT PE bios and the X850 XT bios. why does this not work, i can't run 3dmarks or any kind of gaming, it just crashes. i'm gonna try flashin the x850 pro bios and keep the 16 pipes and see if that works, if not i'll just exchange the card and try again. i did the same thing to a x800pro last year and its been a x800 xt pe for almost a year and working flawlessly. hopefully i can do the same and get this card working correctly. any help is appreciated thanx


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

rivlez said:
			
		

> on my box from best buy it says directly where the UPC is X850XT. does anyone else have that also?



Yes.  My UPC code says "X850XT".



			
				rivlez said:
			
		

> well i flashed my card last night and i can't get any gaming action to work with the X850 XT PE bios and the X850 XT bios. why does this not work, i can't run 3dmarks or any kind of gaming, it just crashes.



Did you reinstall the latest release drivers from ATI after flashing the BIOS?

BTW, don't forget to flash your original BIOS back using ATIFlash to regain control of the fan.


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## rivlez (Sep 11, 2005)

ya i uninstalled old drivers and put new ones and still couldn't do a single thing with the card. no 3dmarks or any gaming works, the card just dies out. i will try putting back the original bios, can someone post their original bios they had before flashing, i forgot to backup the bios from the card without thinkin about it. if someone can post that , that would be nice. thanx in advance.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

rivlez said:
			
		

> can someone post their original bios they had before flashing



Try this out ... this is the dump from my AGP card after unlocking 16 pipes.  Default speed is 500/500.


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## rivlez (Sep 11, 2005)

do u possibly have the original backup before u did anything? i would like to try that and see if the card is actually functioning normally and its not a dud card. thanx


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## lesabre (Sep 11, 2005)

*Thanks From This Happy Camper*

OK fellow OC'ers the support here is tremendous!   If anyone's keeping score add my card running OC'ed and stable using the 520_540 bios and ATI's heatsink.
Just a thought here? This GPU runs real hot real fast! Then cools down as fast as copper dissappates heat.I know Of the Silencer 5 by Arctic Cooling.Does anyone know if the standard fan connnector on the video card can handle the wattage drawn by the Silencer 5 and thru the fan controller built into the card?


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

lesabre said:
			
		

> OK fellow OC'ers the support here is tremendous!   If anyone's keeping score add my card running OC'ed and stable using the 520_540 bios and ATI's heatsink.
> Just a thought here? This GPU runs real hot real fast!



Did you follow the instructions on page 3 and then flash back your original bios with ATIFlash?


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## lesabre (Sep 11, 2005)

JustAnotherSquid said:
			
		

> Did you follow the instructions on page 3 and then flash back your original bios with ATIFlash?


followed directions exactly!   Including the -p -f command changed the bios w/flashrom-restored it w/atiflash..
BTW: It's too soon to tell but I'm pretty sure the fan went back to its normal gradient speeds?
more benchmarks will tell!


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

lesabre said:
			
		

> BTW: It's too soon to tell but I'm pretty sure the fan went back to its normal gradient speeds?
> more benchmarks will tell!



If you've got fan control back and are still having trouble with heat, you can use ATITool's Fan Control to speed up the fan.  I think the default control doesn't give 100% fan speed until 100degC and that's way too hot for us tinkerers.  

I've got mine set to go to 100% at 70degC, dropping 10% for every 5degC, and the card is happy so far at 520/540.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

rivlez said:
			
		

> do u possibly have the original backup before u did anything?



Here's the BIOS that came with the card.  You'll have to use the modified flash to get it to overwrite the entire BIOS:


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## 65tweet (Sep 11, 2005)

Did anybody try flashing with the ASUS XT PE bios from the bios page? I noticed it is 64 Kb and all the others are 57. I was wondering if ther were any differences? I'm waitin' on fed ex to deliver mine so I can't try anything yet.


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 11, 2005)

I think that's because user-dumped BIOS' are the full 64K of BIOS space even if some of that BIOS space is not used, whereas the ones obtained from ATI have only the actual BIOS information - and in this case there is only 57K of actual BIOS data to be flashed.

The reason I assume that is because I dumped one of the 57K BIOS' and the dump was 64K, and in a hex viewer the last 7K or so was all FF's.


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## SeLrAhC (Sep 12, 2005)

hmm hmm... so many success stories... but all agp

have any1 tried wif a pci-e x850pro vivo? >>> x850xt pe?

is there any diff?

i m now thinking whether 2 get a powercolour x850pro vivo... pls help guys


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## SeLrAhC (Sep 13, 2005)

bump.. pls help me! i noob


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 13, 2005)

My (admittedly very limited) understanding is that only AGP X8x0 cards can be unlocked with just a BIOS flash.

But you should give it a shot anyway.  Just make sure to dump your original BIOS so you can flash it bac k if you have to.

Also, you might want to read through this thread as it may have some tips for you:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=4971


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## SPHERE (Sep 14, 2005)

^just some of them. 

the pcie x850 pro is not known to be unlockable as far as i know but w1zzard says he saw someone do it a while back


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## SeLrAhC (Sep 14, 2005)

thanks squid for d info,... but it didn't provide much info regarding my prob..

i wouldn't dare take the risk to buy d card not knowing that it can really b modded

thanks sean for d tip also...


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## 20PPC (Sep 15, 2005)

I installed a Silencer 5 today onto my modded X850 Pro. I ran it at 520/540 and got 5912 in 3DMark, so yet another nice gain on my system. And to top it off this heatsink works really well. I have it hardwired to 12V due to the LM63 issues but it is still quieter then the stock ATI heatsink running at only 54%. My peak core temps are hitting 47C now instead of in the 70s. The Silencer 5 is a really nice cooling solution for you X850 Pro modders. Now I need to try XT-PE speeds.


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## 65tweet (Sep 15, 2005)

Add another success! Flashed to XT PE then to XT. Results pro 12 pipes max 535/590, XT 535 571. I was hoping to have a higher core but that’s probably due to the cooling. This card has the exact cooler that my x800 had. The memory dropped more than I thought it would as well. An ATI silencer is a must. Did anybody else drop that much? A quick question for those of you that have and ATI silencer 5 rev.2. Did you use the pads it came with or use Arctic silver?
thanks


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## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 15, 2005)

20PPC said:
			
		

> I installed a Silencer 5 today onto my modded X850 Pro. I ran it at 520/540 and got 5912 in 3DMark, so yet another nice gain on my system. And to top it off this heatsink works really well. I have it hardwired to 12V due to the LM63 issues but it is still quieter then the stock ATI heatsink running at only 54%. My peak core temps are hitting 47C now instead of in the 70s. The Silencer 5 is a really nice cooling solution for you X850 Pro modders. Now I need to try XT-PE speeds.



Glad to hear it's everything people said it was!  Mine arrived yesterday, and this weekend I should have time to install it, then we'll see how fast this puppy can go!


----------



## SeLrAhC (Sep 15, 2005)

ARGGH!!!

can some1 come up wif a success story for PCI-E? so far all AGP... zzz


----------



## txbitt (Sep 15, 2005)

*Another success!!*

Hey thanks a lot Guys, 
I am a newbie to this forum, just found a link on Futuremark. Used the information on this forum to successfully onlock my 850pro AGP(Sorry pci ex guys). I just bought the card at Best Buy for $249.00. I think it was a great buy now !!! This mod was so easy I almost felt like I was stealing or something. Again many thanks and I look forward to learning more on this site.


----------



## SPHERE (Sep 15, 2005)

vivo aswell?


----------



## 20PPC (Sep 15, 2005)

The Silencer 5 has pads for the memory and pre-applied thermal paste for the gpu. Don't monkey with it. Use it as it comes. The only thing you may want to do is wire the fan directly to 12V so the LM63 doesn't blow the fan as has happened on some.


----------



## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 15, 2005)

Gah, I'm in deep now.  The Silencer 5 is a really amazing piece of hardware.  Solid, well made, and easy to install.  But I plugged the fan into the header on the card and it won't turn.  It's trying, but it doesn't go anywhere.

I'd hook it up to the PS but the fan plug is one of those tiny 3-prong affairs that PS's don't have.  Any ideas?  Does any local-type store like Radio Shack sell adapters?  I'd hate to have to mail-order something, as my gaming rig is effectively down until I get the fan working.

Oh, btw, I did try flashing it to a PE bios but still nada.


----------



## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 15, 2005)

OK I got it spinning by butt-splicing the power leads from the fan to the 12V leads on one of the PS's molex connectors.  Here are the results of testing:

Stock Cooling:
540 GPU / 580 mem
48 degC idle / 70 degC load

Silencer 5:
548 GPU / 580 mem
36 degC idle / 54 degC load

So, not much additional overclocking with the Silencer 5, but the card does run a lot cooler and a lot quieter, and the Silencer 5 dumps the GPU heat outside the case instead of recirculating it inside.  I do have to emphasize how much quieter this thing is - the stock fan sounds like a vacuum cleaner under load but the Silencer 5 is not audible above the PS fan.

But, you'll have to decide if that's worth $37 and the loss of one and a half PCI slots, not to mention the hassle of having to splice it into a Molex connector, to gain lower temps and a quieter fan.  Personally, as nice as the Silencer 5 is, I don't know if I'd do it over again.  I don't have anywhere to put my Audigy 2, since the Silencer 5 fan sticks out just far enough to hit the Audigy 2 that is two PCI slots away.


----------



## Eron (Sep 21, 2005)

Hi all..

I just want to post a so far success story here.. I just got a x850pro from best buy here in Canada. And managed to follow intructions on page 3 to get 16 pipes and noticeable improvements.

I also seem to be getting about  572 GPU and 580MEM

I think it can be pushed a bit further..

I went from 4642 3dmark05 stock score

to over 5100..    Mind you, I am using an older MB with AGP4x so my results may very well be low end.

All in all however so far so good..


----------



## dolf (Sep 21, 2005)

CONGRATULATIONS but mention what type AGP (probably) or PCIX?


----------



## JustAnotherSquid (Sep 21, 2005)

dolf said:
			
		

> CONGRATULATIONS but mention what type AGP (probably) or PCIX?





			
				Eron said:
			
		

> I am using an older MB with AGP4x


----------



## Eron (Sep 21, 2005)

Hey again guys!.

Ok.. So here are my latest findings..

Using the latest OMEGA drivers I have 2 unkown devices.. can any one comment on this?

Also, as I am sure you vets are already aware of, ATI Tray tools overclocking is no where near as good as ATITOOLs.  In reality I was only able to muster 560GPU and 599MEM. But I am still in testing.

My temps get very hot. 80C.. Thinking of getting one of those sliencer 5's.. So if anyone has more comments on this heatsink and fan lemme know too..

Now. I assume this card is performing better than the x800xl....

Also, is there any disadvantage going back to the DEFAULT X850PRO BIOS as opposed to leaving the X850XT PE bios in and override the fan to 100%?


----------



## SPHERE (Sep 22, 2005)

Eron said:
			
		

> Hey again guys!.
> 
> Ok.. So here are my latest findings..
> 
> ...



get the zalman vf700-cu it pwns the silencer!

all you lose is the cool name bt using a 16 pipe pro bios instead


----------



## SeLrAhC (Sep 22, 2005)

u sure zalman pawns silencer?.. ne way... for success stories... pls mention whether it is a AGP or it is a PCI-E... tq

coz so far there's no success stories for x850pro PCI-E


----------



## 65tweet (Sep 22, 2005)

I use the silencer have had no problems and my temps have dropped about 6 degrees idle and at least 15 under load.   The only time I go over 55 is when I'm torturing it with ATI Tool then it may go up to 63. My X800 has silencer 4 and my X850 has the 5. I had fan issues at first on the X850 as an XT but upgrading from ATI Tool .24 to .25 B8 fixed that problem. I no longer need to flash to a pro to keep the fan working properly. The silencer works on either AGP or PCI E. Space is not an issue with me so there's no regrets here.


----------



## SPHERE (Sep 22, 2005)

yes im verry shure ive had both the silencer and the zalman and i have to say the silencer is pitifull it was too big it ran into everything it SLID around on the card and it had god awfull contact and not to mention i instantly droped my idle by about 7c and 10c load when i went to the zalman btw the silencer wasnt much better than the stock as far as cooling is conserned


and and and and........


----------



## 65tweet (Sep 22, 2005)

sean478 said:
			
		

> it SLID around on the card and it had god awfull contact




Sounds like you have a few loose screws!


----------



## SPHERE (Sep 22, 2005)

no they where realy tight


----------



## Rowland_2004 (Sep 26, 2005)

Well just wanted to say thanks guys. I Flashed my X850pro to XT PE and it runs great. 

Went from 66,000 to 72,000 on Aquamark3d

So that rocks. Thanks agian.


----------



## coleco (Sep 27, 2005)

Another successful 12->16 pipe flash.. I'm keeping clocks at stock 500/500 until I get better cooling. Card hits 60oC under load.

Bought this x850 pro at bestbuy for $329 canadian.. had a $25 off coupon.. so $304. Great deal.

atitool says chip type: r481

I'm not sure how that's different from r480.. but the flash worked.

Doesn't look like anyone has had problems so far.. dead pipes or whatever.

Thanks guys!!


----------



## SeLrAhC (Sep 27, 2005)

alll agp?


----------



## coleco (Sep 28, 2005)

SeLrAhC said:
			
		

> alll agp?



So far. The pci-e crowd can buy a x800 GTO2 and pull the same trick though.

I'm having 'issues' with heat.. if I run the card for 10 minutes it tops out at 75oC.. that seems pretty hot to me.. I'm going to slap the zalman vga cooler on there so I can o/c this bad boy.

After buying a sempron64 2800+ and o/cing it to 2560mhz, I'm pretty happy with my rig.


----------



## Rowland_2004 (Sep 30, 2005)

Yea i kinda have that problem too. Iam hitting 70-75 on load but mine is in a shuttle. And i have to use the stock cooler. But the flash Went great. Here some pics. 











   But i have a watercooled desktop with a 6800gt but like the shuttle for lans.


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 2, 2005)

First would like to say hi to everyone! K I want to flash my X850pro but would someone please do a step by step of how its done? I read page 3 and everything but what I want to know is how to prepare the disk to boot from and what comand lines were used. It would be awsome if someone could do this please! Thank you very much!


----------



## SeLrAhC (Oct 2, 2005)

is ur x850pro a agp or a pci-e?


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

It is the AGP! I would just like to see a step by step on how to do it, like boot disks and stuff like that!


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

http://www.overclock.net/showthread.php?t=44936


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Ok just tried to flash and getting a FL01 error does anyone know what that means? Thanks for any help!
K another sucess story right here! Got 16 pipes and still got my fan controls. Just got 10,892 with 500/500 clocks and my AMD 64 2800+.


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

^ congrats dude  are you on the pro bios?

in the guide he tells you how to get the pipes the xtpe and the fan control


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Yeah I used Flashrom with the XT PE bios, then Atiflash with my old bios to get my fan controls back! Man this is awsome its like going out and buying a new card!


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

Ostate21 said:
			
		

> Yeah I used Flashrom with the XT PE bios, then Atiflash with my old bios to get my fan controls back! Man this is awsome its like going out and buying a new card!


lol kool 

 so you have pro clocks on the xtpe bios? how come?


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Cause if you run the XT PE clocks on stock cooler it will over heat. It was running @ 82c before it froze up on me!


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

^oh lol yah time for a new cooler  btw thats the mem overheating


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Yeah but the Silencer 5 will take care of all that!


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

^ id recomend the zalman vf700-cu infinatly over the scilencer


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Yeah but will that cool my memory too though?


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 3, 2005)

Ostate21 said:
			
		

> Yeah but will that cool my memory too though?


it cools my mem a hell of alot better than my scilencer did (serous) and it droped my core by 10c load 8c idle


----------



## Ostate21 (Oct 3, 2005)

Well might have to look into that then!


----------



## Grizzy78 (Oct 6, 2005)

Sweet.  I just modded my ATI x850pro(agp) to the x850xt pe.  I picked the card up from Circuit City last week.  Everything seems to be ok.  16pipes enabled.  I am also using a zalman vf700cu fan on my card and it hasn't passed 52 degrees under load yet.  I'm happy


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 7, 2005)

Congrats dude!


----------



## Hakaori (Oct 7, 2005)

*Problems*

Hey guys, I got a Connect3D x850Pro and I did the following:
-used flashrom to backup my old bios (flashrom -s 0 backup.bin)
-flashed new x850xt bios (flashrom -f -p 0 850xt.bin)
until now everything worked out smoothly,
then I rebooted to see if I had 16 pipelines but AtiTool said I still had 12.
So I decided to flash back to my Pro bios but encountered another problem.
-atiflash -p 0 backup.bin 
it then said B/N not identical error 
So I could not flash it back, 
I had to use 
-atiflash -f -p 0 backup.bin
to make it work..

really disappointed that I cannot use 16 pipelines, any suggestions ?


----------



## JustAnotherSquid (Oct 7, 2005)

AGP or PCIE?

And yes, you have to use -f to flash it back, since it thinks it's a bios from a different model card.


----------



## Hakaori (Oct 7, 2005)

Connect3D x850 Pro AGP 
doesn't seem to work unlocking them, 
maybe cause its lasercut?


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 7, 2005)

I've never seen a lasercut x850 



			
				Hakaori said:
			
		

> Connect3D x850 Pro AGP
> doesn't seem to work unlocking them,
> maybe cause its lasercut?


you need to use the moded flashrom  or atiflash with the -newbios switch


----------



## Hakaori (Oct 7, 2005)

http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36661
he says its lasercut but who the hell knows for sure...

Whats the newbios parameter, I just followed basic instructions as
flashrom -f -p 0 <newbios>.bin 
is that wrong? thats what they said verywhere else ...

Whats the command line for newbios ?
If we could figure this out I would buy you a beer


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 7, 2005)

Hakaori said:
			
		

> http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36661
> he says its lasercut but who the hell knows for sure...
> 
> Whats the newbios parameter, I just followed basic instructions as
> ...


those peeps in thatlikn are noobs lol  

you need to use ither the moded flashrom or (atiflash with the -newbios switch)

atiflash.exe -newbios -p -f 0 x850xtpe.bin
flashrom.exe -p -f 0 x850xtpe.bin

you can find ati flash in the bios collection and the moded flashrom in he 850/x800pro to xtpe mod guide


----------



## Hakaori (Oct 7, 2005)

I downloaded the modified flashrom from Squids post and Atiflash as well, got the bios he posted (x850XT) too...

Didn't I already flash it the way you did? I made a backup of my x850pro one and
did (modified) flashrom -f -p 0 x850xt.bin
So its "flashrom -p -f 0 x850xt.bin" ?

Thanks for your fast help I really appreciate it

EDIT: ACTUALLY I used the X850XTPE bios now and ATITOOL said I had *0* Pixel Pipelines,
thank god I was able to reverse that process... doesnt seem to work with my gpu


----------



## lazyparrott (Oct 8, 2005)

*fan blower is the cooling solution!*

I got me an ATI Radeon X850 Pro and turned it into an XT with no probs. Before I did the mod though, I tested my temps using RivaTuner, sorry I dont use ATI Tool. Anyways, my temps were identical when running 3dMark03 all the way through with the Pro and with the modded XT. At first i would get 65-70C on full load, then i got a blower, and WOW i get 55C-62C and even less with the AC on full blast. The Pro card is designed to suck in the air comming from the front fans and then pushes the air out toward the bottom of the case or with a blower out of the back of the case , not like the old cards where the air would be sucked from the bottom of the case and pushed toward the card and or out toward the front of the case. ATI 4 life!


----------



## Hakaori (Oct 8, 2005)

Since I tried flashing my rom back and forth again my PC seems to be all stuttery, it boots up slowly, mouse cursor lags every couple seconds and programs start up slowly.
I reinstalled drivers to no appeal...

This really sucks, gotta reinstall my windows
I hope I didnt damage anything in my rom or did permanent damage


----------



## lazyparrott (Oct 8, 2005)

If i was u Hakaori, if u just purchased that card and if u have a chance to take it back to the store u baught it, i would. I got mine from BesBuy, and before the 14 day return policy was up i goofed with the X850 Pro by inputing an X800 XT bios, and the card didnt work, i returned to bestbuy saying "i dont know what happened the card just doesnt work" they said "no problem we accept exchanges within 14 days just go get the exact same card to exchange it". Then with the new card i inputed the X850XT bios and all is well ^_^. If u can not exchange it, then i would try the empty.bin file then inputing your back up bios and sending it to ATI. Good luck. ^_^


----------



## diduknowthat (Oct 11, 2005)

hey guys im new i've been reading this thread lately and found it very helpful but i still have questions. I'm trying to flash my x850pro vivo bios to w/e unlocks the pipelines. I tried some of the bioses that have been posted but i get the "error opening *name of bios here*.bin Can anyone confirm a bios that works and i'll try again.  thanks


----------



## Punkenjoy (Oct 12, 2005)

*unable to use x850XT frequency*

Hi i'm new to this forum and i recently bought a x850 pro AGP board. 


stock, i can run it at 510 / 540. and it's not enough to use a XT bios. I have downloaded the 16p activated bios on this thread but i haven't test it. 

For the card overclocking, i think it's my mainboard(Gigabyte K8NSNXP) that give me sucking overclocking. it does the same with my 9800 pro. I was able to get better overclocking with my asus A7V333. 

So i have few question

if i got defective pipeline, i only need to flash back my backup bios with the -newbios flag?

thanks


----------



## diduknowthat (Oct 13, 2005)

that's wierd, only 510/540? I got mine to go at 570/630 and still kept it under 50 normal load with stock everything.


----------



## SeLrAhC (Oct 16, 2005)

hmm... diff ambient temp?

lousy casing? bad ventilation mayb?


----------



## Racer X (Oct 16, 2005)

Hi all,

I hope this thread is still getting viewed. I have a question for the successful flashers and/or the think tank involved with this BIOS flash. I bought an ATI X850 Pro VIVO AGP from Best Buy yesterday. It appears to be the exact same one that everyone else is buying. I have tried unsucessfully for the better part of this evening to unlock the extra 4 pipes but to this piont I am unsucessful. I have tried several different BIOS, I tried flashing the "empty.bin" first then the X850XTPE BIOS, I used the flashrom as well as the atiflash but every time I reboot after a flash, ATITool tells me I have only 12 active pipes. Can it be that I have an X850 Pro that can't be modded? The UPC sticker on the side of the box says "RAD X850XT AGP" and it has the yellow connector and I believe 16ns chips. I don't understand why it won't mod. I am using the -f command with the flashrom. Anybody have any ideas...?

Thanks in advance for any info/thoughts.

edit: I reinstalled the 5.9 Cats and ATITool after I posted this message but it didn't seem to make any difference. Still showing 12 pipelines. Just thought I would add that...


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 16, 2005)

Racer X said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> 
> I hope this thread is still getting viewed. I have a question for the successful flashers and/or the think tank involved with this BIOS flash. I bought an ATI X850 Pro VIVO AGP from Best Buy yesterday. It appears to be the exact same one that everyone else is buying. I have tried unsucessfully for the better part of this evening to unlock the extra 4 pipes but to this piont I am unsucessful. I have tried several different BIOS, I tried flashing the "empty.bin" first then the X850XTPE BIOS, I used the flashrom as well as the atiflash but every time I reboot after a flash, ATITool tells me I have only 12 active pipes. Can it be that I have an X850 Pro that can't be modded? The UPC sticker on the side of the box says "RAD X850XT AGP" and it has the yellow connector and I believe 16ns chips. I don't understand why it won't mod. I am using the -f command with the flashrom. Anybody have any ideas...?
> 
> ...



http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367 post what it says to do in the first post


----------



## Racer X (Oct 16, 2005)

I was looking at the post you linked to. It looks like I am screwed. Here are my settings...

Chip Type: R481

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES             0xFFFFBFFF
CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES  0xFFFFFFFE
CONFIG_ROM_FUSES            0xa60

What do you think?

BTW, thanks for the quick reply.


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 16, 2005)

Racer X said:
			
		

> I was looking at the post you linked to. It looks like I am screwed. Here are my settings...
> 
> Chip Type: R481
> 
> ...


yah looks that way to me too 

but just incase are you using the moded flashrom or atiflash with the -newbios switch?


----------



## Racer X (Oct 16, 2005)

I've tried it both ways. I tried an XT and an XTPE BIOS but neither one will unlock the last 4 pipes. Do you think this "hardlocking" has anything to do with how old the card is? As in maybe finding one that has been hanging around a retail store for a while it might have a better chance of unlocking? I was hoping with the X850XT sticker on the side it was just a rebadged card and would mod easily. It is still quite a bit faster than the 6600GT I pulled out of this system, but I am kind of bummed about the BIOS mod. May I will pick another card up and see if it mods, then return the one that didn't in its original condition. 
I dunno at this point...

Thanks again for your input.

The funny thing is, Circuit City has the X850XT AGP for $319 with free shipping. I guess I was hoping for too much getting a 16 pipe X850 (BIOS modded) for less than $250...


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 16, 2005)

Racer X said:
			
		

> I've tried it both ways. I tried an XT and an XTPE BIOS but neither one will unlock the last 4 pipes. Do you think this "hardlocking" has anything to do with how old the card is? As in maybe finding one that has been hanging around a retail store for a while it might have a better chance of unlocking? I was hoping with the X850XT sticker on the side it was just a rebadged card and would mod easily. It is still quite a bit faster than the 6600GT I pulled out of this system, but I am kind of bummed about the BIOS mod. May I will pick another card up and see if it mods, then return the one that didn't in its original condition.
> I dunno at this point...
> 
> Thanks again for your input.


if possible get them to give you another one  (one that didn't come with the latest shipment )


----------



## SeLrAhC (Oct 16, 2005)

ermmm.. try 2 make d fan mal function n burn it lor.. .so can rma... hahahaa


----------



## Racer X (Oct 16, 2005)

Maybe I will return the card for another at BB. I have flashed the original BIOS back and it is working perfectly as a 12-pipe card right now. 
Of course now the question is do I gamble for another card that may unlock or do I just bite the bullet and order a true X850XT from Circuit City for $319 with free shipping? That one should do XTPE speeds, is a true 16-pipe card and has a better cooling solution but is also $70 more than what I paid for the Pro. 

(Actually I just noticed that Best Buy has the BFG 6800GT OC for $299 this week. And it's in stock all around here. Too bad the XTPE will kill it in almost everything.)

Hmmm... now what?


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

Hi,
i'm new here, but i also just bought a x850 pro vivo from bestbuy.  I've been following the threads and all, but just one thing.  Do any of you know where i can find a step-by-step instruction on how to flash a bios.   I downloaded the atiflash, the x850xt bios, and the flashrom, but i've never used these apps before. Your help would be appreciated.
thanks!


----------



## sniviler (Oct 22, 2005)

dko said:
			
		

> Hi,
> i'm new here, but i also just bought a x850 pro vivo from bestbuy.  I've been following the threads and all, but just one thing.  Do any of you know where i can find a step-by-step instruction on how to flash a bios.   I downloaded the atiflash, the x850xt bios, and the flashrom, but i've never used these apps before. Your help would be appreciated.
> thanks!



http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=417884

I finally have 16 pipes now after 3 trys lol, someone should mentioned that i needed to re-install my drivers in order to see 16 pipes in ATitool. I was checking in VGA mode duh.


----------



## SeLrAhC (Oct 22, 2005)

dun 4get 2 tell him bout d fan prob also..

dko i think u should try asking willard... he writes a lot of articles n i m sure he can help u on that... good luck ^^


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

sniviler, 
still don't understand about the bootdisk. Can i  use the flashrom16p utility to make the disk and copy the new bios and flashrom executable files on there.  Or do i actually have to make a bootdisk from some other utility.  Maybe already in windows xp somewhere?  I don't know.  Please help me for the love of god!
selrahc, 
i think i know about the fan prob, but can't i fix that by flashing my old bios after successfully (and hopefully) flashing the new one, right.  
thanks for the help ppl.


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 22, 2005)

dko said:
			
		

> sniviler,
> still don't understand about the bootdisk. Can i  use the flashrom16p utility to make the disk and copy the new bios and flashrom executable files on there.  Or do i actually have to make a bootdisk from some other utility.  Maybe already in windows xp somewhere?  I don't know.  Please help me for the love of god!
> selrahc,
> i think i know about the fan prob, but can't i fix that by flashing my old bios after successfully (and hopefully) flashing the new one, right.
> thanks for the help ppl.



DKO ... just use the article W1zzard wrote here .. has all the information you need


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

okay,
i think i got it.  But anyone know the command i should use to flash my original bios.  Also, do i even need to use the ATIflash to do this.  Could i just use the backup bios with the mod flashrom?
HOpefully i can get this to happen today!


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

well, i'm not sure i prevailed, cuz when i rebooted, my screen was all jacked up.  I think my card was running at core540 mem590 (xtpe settings?) cuz' i think there were artifacts everywhere.  I went back to DOS and flashed my original bios.  Everything is back to normal, and i still have 12 pipelines.  =~(
I'm gonna update my ati drivers and maybe it'll show up?  Or maybe i need to download the x850xt and not the x850xtpe bios and try that?  Cuz' i know my card can handle that.  what do you guys think?


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

Okay, 
i guess i was right about the bios being xtpe vs. xt.  I used the xt bios and installed the ati drivers, and i finally got the 16 pipelines.  I didn't want the fan problem, so i flashed back the original bios using the modified flashrom typing in the command "flashrom -f -p 0 backup.bin"
When i went back to check the pipelines again with atitool, it said that i had 12 pipelines!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe i need to use the atiflash to flashback the original/backup vs. using the modified flashrom?  what do you guys think?


----------



## dko (Oct 22, 2005)

success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks everyone!  Urlyin, thanks for the link.  It was very helpful with the whole bootdisk and bios info.  BTW, anyone have any suggestions for settings for core and mem, and fan speed if my computer is completely stock?


----------



## harbinger (Oct 26, 2005)

Just to let everyone know,here is another successful mod to 16pipes.Im also back on my original pro bios to get the fan control back...


----------



## SPHERE (Oct 26, 2005)

there is a fan control xtpe bios on this page  http://www.overclock.net/showthread.php?p=252116#post252116


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 26, 2005)

dko said:
			
		

> success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Thanks everyone!  Urlyin, thanks for the link.  It was very helpful with the whole bootdisk and bios info.  BTW, anyone have any suggestions for settings for core and mem, and fan speed if my computer is completely stock?



Use ATItool


----------



## desadarius2002 (Oct 27, 2005)

ati tool say mine is running on variable. ive got mine at 560 core and 600 mem. i hit aroung 70 degrees celcius, but from what i read this is ok.


----------



## desadarius2002 (Oct 27, 2005)

i just flashed my x850pro to a x850xtpe and opened up all 16 pipes. but the temps were really high. like 60c at idle and close to 80c at load. i used modified flashrom to program bios and then i reloaded my old bios with ati tool. this left the 4 extra pipes unlocked. now my temps are 38c at idle and about 65 at load. my fan is still runs at varible speed. hope this helps


----------



## dko (Oct 29, 2005)

sean 478,
just bought the zalman zf700cu..i think you recommended it.  I don't think you can get fan control with it cuz' it can't plug into the video cards 3prong thingy...so in this case would i even bother flashing back to the x850pro bios...cuz technically i wouldn't regain fan control with this fan, right?


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## SPHERE (Oct 29, 2005)

pull the white housing off of the pins and it  will fit perfectly onto the fan plug 

but yah the fan controll bios is for people who still use stock cooling  and other coolers that plug into the card


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## dko (Oct 29, 2005)

okay,
problem guys.  Had successfully softmodded my x850pro to 16 pipelines, and atiflashed it back to the original bios. Temps and core and mem were fine.  Got the zalman vf700cu fan 2 days ago, installed it, and it fried my card.   when i looked at it, the heatsink wasn't making good contact with the gpu, so i suspected that this was the problem.  went bestbuy yesterday, got new x850pro, and reinstalled the zalman fan, took the white 3prong housing off the card, and plugged it in.  Fan did not work and idling temps were way to high.  so now i thought the fan doesnt' work.  Well, put all the stock ati fans and parts back on , and the fan is still NOT working!  What the heck is going on?  Is there something wrong with my agp port now?  I have no idea.  Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that i put a new card in, even though the same drivers are all in there.   should i uninstall and reinstall atitool?  
suggestions would be great.  Maybe i got too greedy about the pushing the limits.  now i just want the stock card (or fan...the card works but right now my idling temps are at 67C)to work!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## sniviler (Oct 29, 2005)

did you set the fan to 100% manually using ATitools ?


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## dko (Oct 29, 2005)

sniviler, Yes i did, and it is still not running.   I just flashed the original bios using
flashrom -f -p 0 backup.bin so that i could start all over...maybe there was some kinda conflict with the bios from the previous (now dead R.I.P) video card which i did successfully softmod.  Then i did the softmod over again with
flashrom -f -p 0 xt.bin.   In this situation, shouldn't the fan be whooshing or something?  Well, it didn't.  atiflashed it back to 
atiflash -p -f 0 backup.bin  
Now i have another successfully 16pipeline x850pro but no fan.  Any input.  I've been messing around with the fan control using atitool.  Trying all settings, but nothing seems to work.  I mean, this is my second card, there shouldn't be anything wrong with it.  So maybe is it my computer.  when i fried the previous card, did i do something to the motherboard or agp slot?


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## dko (Oct 29, 2005)

maybe i should somehow flash the original bios from somewhere.   Maybe i should have used atiflash to get the original ( i mean from the beginning where nothing was modded) bios and flash it back.  I used flashrom just the last time as i mentioned above, so i think that should've worked.


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## sniviler (Oct 29, 2005)

try ATIFLASH -NEWBIOS -F -P 0  original bios.BIN

Is your card built by ATi? if it is I have the same and i'd be happy to send you my original bios.


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## dko (Oct 29, 2005)

sniviler,
sorry bro.  But luckily i got it going!  I think when i put the power connector housing for the card back on, i put it on backwards.   I turned it around, and plugged it back in and now it's working. what's weird is that i tried the zalman power connector in both directions and it didn't work. I also hooked up the zalman to the psu connector and it still didn't work.  I think that's what threw me off.  Looks like i'm returning the fan, and just be happy with stock (with 16pipes!).  thanks to the ppl who replied to my cry of help!


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## wseyller (Nov 18, 2005)

I just got an ATI Radeon X850 Pro agp w/ vivo.  I tried flashing it with the modified flasher.  I've used different bios recommended like the xt and the xtpe bios.  It will not unlock my pipes.  Help please...


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## dolf (Nov 18, 2005)

Do the fuse research and post your result here.
Info how you can find on: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367


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## SPHERE (Nov 19, 2005)

dolf said:
			
		

> Do the fuse research and post your result here.
> Info how you can find on: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367


agreed


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## Bazzaah (Nov 19, 2005)

I have a Connect3D X850PRO VIV0 AGP.

The chip's an R481 according to ATI Tool.

I would like to be able to flash it to a X850XT PE.

Here's my fuse information

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES              0xFFFF7FFF
CINFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES    0xFFFFFF9E
CONFIG_ROM_FUSES             0x861
GB_PIPE_SELECT                  0x227A4

Would somebody tell me please whether I can unlock the extra 4 pipes please? If I can, how can I tell which BIOS it's safe to use? Connect3D don't seem to make an AGP X850XT PE so I assume that BIOS for that card from Connect3D will be unavailable.

Thanks much in advance.


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## dolf (Nov 19, 2005)

Unfortunately NO WAY to unlock :shadedshu .


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## Bazzaah (Nov 19, 2005)

dolf said:
			
		

> Unfortunately NO WAY to unlock :shadedshu .



oh bugger!!!!!   thanks for the quick reply.

never mind, it's still a very nice card; maybe I'll see if I can return it or flog on ebay and get a mate to get me an unlockable one.


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## wseyller (Nov 19, 2005)




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## SPHERE (Nov 20, 2005)

^ if that's a x850 pro then no 16 pipe for you sry


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## desadarius2002 (Nov 20, 2005)

*x850 pro*

i have an x850 pro. you need the modified flash program avalible on this site. the x850 xtpe bios on this site and the ati flash on this site.  put all three on a start up disk. reboot with this in your drive and run the modified flash. when the a promt comes up enter flashrom-p -f 0 backup.bin this will save the original bios which you will need. then enter flashrom -p -f 0 "new bios".bin.   rename the new bio x850xtpe before you put it on disk. after flashing the new bios in. use atiflash to reflash in the old bios. atiflash -p -f 0 oldbios.bin.   this will unlock all 16 pipes. besure to use modified flash to program in the new bios and atiflash to reprogram in the old bios. this will keep it from relocking the pipes. i have done this to my card and it works great. i reflashed the old bios in because the x850xtpe bios caused my card to run hot. i am running bf2 on all high with no problems at all.

xp 2000 @ 2125mhz. 1gb ddr 333 ram. x850pro with 16 pipes. giga-byte ga-7n400 pro 2 (rev 2.)


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## desadarius2002 (Nov 20, 2005)

ps. make sure the bios is for your card. if you have pcie card then make sure it is the x850xtpe pcie pios or things will be majorlly screwed up.


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## udrink (Nov 20, 2005)

I recently picked up an 850 pro.  




Can't unlock it but I guess if it's any consolation it oc's to 590/600 without any troubles.
Hopefully a work around comes to enable all the pipelines.


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## TurboGLH (Nov 20, 2005)

udrink said:
			
		

> I recently picked up an 850 pro.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I you sure you can't/didn't unlock it?  The config_rom_fuses shows 0x860, that should be a 16p card, if it was a 12p card it would end in 1, not 0.


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## SPHERE (Nov 20, 2005)

TurboGLH said:
			
		

> I you sure you can't/didn't unlock it?  The config_rom_fuses shows 0x860, that should be a 16p card, if it was a 12p card it would end in 1, not 0.


 there are no bios locked pipes true.. but you can see that the card has h/w perminantly locked pipes


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## TurboGLH (Nov 20, 2005)

SPHERE said:
			
		

> there are no bios locked pipes true.. but you can see that the card has h/w perminantly locked pipes



I tried to do a side by side compare between the screen shots and atitool running on my system (agp x850 /w 16p), however atitool isn't returning the CONFIG_XX data on my system.  It stops at the default clock speeds.  What variable, and what value for that variable show that the core is hard locked.


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## Gaga (Nov 20, 2005)

Damn i hate it that i cant unlock my Connect3D 850 Pro Card. Does anybody know where to buy a card in germany which works with the mod ?

Btw is a AMD XP 2500 @ 3200 with 1GB Memory fast enough to handle the speed of a X850 Pro or XT card ?

I read that the cpu is too slow .. is that true ?


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## desadarius2002 (Nov 21, 2005)

i have an xp 2000, 1 gb of pc2700 ram. and my x850 pro w 16 pipes works great.


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## TurboGLH (Nov 21, 2005)

Gaga said:
			
		

> Damn i hate it that i cant unlock my Connect3D 850 Pro Card. Does anybody know where to buy a card in germany which works with the mod ?
> 
> Btw is a AMD XP 2500 @ 3200 with 1GB Memory fast enough to handle the speed of a X850 Pro or XT card ?
> 
> I read that the cpu is too slow .. is that true ?



I'm running an 850pro at 550/600 16p on a 1800 @ 2.2, runs great on every game I play, HL2, 1280x1024, all options set to high, 8xAA 16xAF and it's still very playable.  If you want benchmarks, 6250 in 3dmark05.


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## monkeyboy442 (Dec 10, 2005)

i have an ati x850 pro and flashed the bios to unlock the 16 pipes and works fine. i am trying to build a near silent system and want to know is there a fanless vga cooler that can handle the card, without going to the expense of water cooling


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## iaminea (Dec 11, 2005)

I downloaded ATItools and it doesnt display "The config_rom_fuses" info how are you able to view that to find out if my card can be unlocked aside from the yellow outlit on the card? I threw in a pic of what I see. Am I mising somethign that adds more features?


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## dolf (Dec 11, 2005)

Hold down the shift key and then click on "settings"  .


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## internal (Dec 11, 2005)

monkeyboy442 said:
			
		

> i have an ati x850 pro and flashed the bios to unlock the 16 pipes and works fine. i am trying to build a near silent system and want to know is there a fanless vga cooler that can handle the card, without going to the expense of water cooling



I'm by no means an expert but it's pretty safe to say the answer to this question is NO.

I hear the arctic 5 ATI cooler is very quite and moves probably the most air. That an the Zalman are the best fans and use bigger, slower moving fans to take care of the heat.


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## iaminea (Dec 14, 2005)

Thanks Dolf, I should have known to do that. I think it says so when installing it or runinng it for the first time. heh


<edit> So I looked at my info in ATItools and  it looks like I can't unlock the 4 pipelines becasue my Rom_Fuses shows 0x861 instead of 0x860??? I read on this website that you just need to make sure the card had that yellow cd audio connector on it. im going to go cry now. should I try and take it back and get the same card hoping that it will show up as 0x860 instead of 1?
I bought this card at bestbuy becasue at the store nearby they had a 1 day sale on this model for $200. that was the cheapest I found anywhere when I looked online. I guess that for $200 it still is a good upgrade from my 128mb 98pro so im happy reguardless but I sure would liek to tweek it a bit.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat01151&id=1118842670249

Funny story. Before I bought this card I was using a 128mb radeon pro for the last 3 years. yeah I know thats a long time to have 1 card. But until I was messing around with this new one I discovered that I have always had my card set to 2x AGP instead of 8x in the SmartGart settings. whenever I tried to push it up to 8x it would run a test on my computer then set it back to 2x after a reboot. So I have never gotten to use my 98 pro at its full potential. LOL. Is anyone able to explain in easy words what the dif is between 2x and 8x agp?


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## dolf (Dec 14, 2005)

Unfortunately Config_DIE and SUBSTRATE fuses shows that 12 pipes are only possible :shadedshu .


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## eymix (Dec 17, 2005)

What does that E mean anyways?

Bad news for me too huh?


Can i still Flash the bios and use it at XT PE speeds tho?
since i just got my Zalman Vf700-Cu


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## TurboGLH (Dec 17, 2005)

eymix said:
			
		

> What does that E mean anyways?
> 
> Bad news for me too huh?
> 
> ...



Yeah, no 16p for you.  But if you want to use it at xtpe speeds, try just using ati tool to o/c it.


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## Predi (Dec 18, 2005)

#

Is there a way to turn on the 4 pipes ?

Connect 3D X850 Pro -> I think its lasercutted and hardlocked, just buyed.


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## SuperQ (Apr 23, 2006)

thanks to this post and all the others, I have successfully moded my 850 pro to 16 pipes and have it running at 519.75/540.00 . Thanks to all you who post exactly how to do things, including all the steps! I am a computer idiot, but thanks to all your info I was able to get it done. I even did the fan mod so my fan is always on!


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## DeeZNutZ (Jun 17, 2006)

JustAnotherSquid said:
			
		

> Success!  And I still have 16 pipes as verified by ATITool (and the performance in ATITool's 3D test - with 12 pipes I was getting around 190fps, with the current X850Pro BIOS and 16 pipes I'm getting 240 - about the same as the XT-PE BIOS).
> 
> Steps:
> 1: Download the XT-PE BIOS, the modified flashrom, and the standard ATI flash.
> ...



Having tried everything suggested in THIS thread with no luck on my X850 Pro, I finally had success using a variation of your procedure.
When I attempted to use flashrom to flash my card with the XT-PE BIOS, I got the dreaded "0FL01" error on my card.  
Flashrom couldn't identify my card residing at ID 0.
I used ATIFlash with the XT-PE BIOS (from the link you refer to) using the -f and -newbios switches, and rebooted.
BANG!  16 pipelines! 

I then reflashed my card back to an ATI-X850 Pro without the -newbios switch, and the 16 pipelines stayed intact.
The variable fan speeds are working fine, and I performed a visual inspection while my system was idle and under stress (F.E.A.R. will indeed stress test any video card that'll run it...).
The weird part is that since unlocking those last 4 pipes, my temps have actually *decreased*.  WTF?
Before unlocking the last 4 pipes: 
Temperature:	GPU: 55.4°C	GPU environment: 49.0°C
Temperature:	GPU: 55.4°C	GPU environment: 49.0°C
After unlocking the last 4 pipes:
Temperature:	GPU: 50.8°C	GPU environment: 44.0°C
Temperature:	GPU: 50.6°C	GPU environment: 44.0°C
These readings are both with the card running at 521 core/542 memory clock speeds.

Thank you for sharing this solution here!

DeeZNutZ


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