# X800 Pro VIVO to XT PE Bios Mod



## W1zzard (Jul 1, 2004)

Show article


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## Xenn0X (Aug 17, 2004)

Jup i tried this mod too with succes!

transformed my sapphire x800 pro vivo into a full x800 xt pe
stable @ 520/560 stockspeed of the xt.
did not try to clock furter cause i'm stuck with the original cooling in my barebane.
no space for artic kinda stuff

ahh well happy as it is.. went from 11k 3dmark03 to 13k
doom 3 goes @ 1280/1024 high quality 4x fsaa and 8x asf. fps not getting under the 40
most of the time 60 fps limit in doom 3!


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## NemoNada (Aug 18, 2004)

I've been trying to buy an X800XT PCI-X card and I can't find one anywhere--not even ATI has one! First time in my life that I've had money and can't spend it

Anyway... maybe this would be a better answer (and cheaper) than waiting or doing without. Would the card being PCI-X affect any of the procedures?

Take care...


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## Urlyin (Aug 18, 2004)

I did the BIOS flash from a Sapphire X800pro VIVO to an X800xt PE. The flash worked and I now have 16pipes. I used the Sapphire XT BIOS first and had lockup problems. Also the performance was still at the OC'ed pro speed. I then flashed to the ATI XT BIOS and what a difference. I now see XT speeds but all is not perfect. I tried ATITool to scan for artifacts and it locks after a few minutes. When I loop 3DMark03 VPU recover pops up. I would assume that I need a volt mod. It has been mentioned that some pros come with a 1.3 volt and not the 1.4 volt of a XT. I can still play Doom3 and PainKiller without any issues. I changed the stock fan to a Zalman ZM80d-HP running idle at 35c and 54c at the highest so far... I still like to see if I can change it back to 12 pipes but I'm enjoying the XT mod to much..  pencil time ...


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## Urlyin (Aug 18, 2004)

The X800 series doesn't come in PCI-X... X600XT/X600pro and X300/X300se for ATI PCI-Express


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## kovenant (Aug 18, 2004)

thanx w1zzard so much 

this will help a lot of ppl here to beat the 6800gts...

hehe

kov


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## Damn you logon (Aug 18, 2004)

PCIe X800s are coming soon...

W1zzard, you're the man... even though I can't use this mod.


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## Urlyin (Aug 18, 2004)

W1zzard I'm confused about the Gigabyte Flash to an XT. If you use the regular Ati flash tool and Gigabyte XT BIOS to mod. You then have broken pipes are you stuck with them? Can the Flashrom and Empty BIOS get you back to 12 (flashing original BIOS before reboot)?

Thanks for posting the files


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2004)

use modified flashrom and flash your original bios back to get 12p


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## Urlyin (Aug 18, 2004)

Excellent...


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## NemoNada (Aug 19, 2004)

> The X800 series doesn't come in PCI-X... X600XT/X600pro and X300/X300se for ATI PCI-Express



 I couldn't believe that!   I was sure I'd seen something somewhere...  

Anyway, my apologies,   you were correct and ATI has indicated they do not have a planned release date for the X800 as PCI-X.

I know this is not the correct thread but I can't make new ones yet and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for me? Should I go w/the X600XT or something totally different. I'd also read that ASUS has made some modifications to their version of the X*00 cards. Do you know anything about that?

Thanks for your assistance (and straightening out!  )...

Take care,

Jim

*"Guam: Where America's Day Begins!"*


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## Urlyin (Aug 19, 2004)

Well you're right about them being made. Their just not available yet, read this review for some good info http://firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_x800_x600_xt/ . 

ASUS doesn't put anything different on their boards than any other mfg (other than PCB color and HSF mfg specific). There is a difference between an XT and a XT Platium Edition, about 20mhz I believe. All XT's come with VIVO (ati rage theater chip)

Which brand might depend on the bundled software and price. Each card preforms differently. ASUS usually has a good software bundle but is priced 20 to 50 dollars more than say a Powercolor with a limited bundle or why get the ASUS if you already have the software. ASUS does throw in a videocam as well...

Also don't buy a high end card if you're running a low end system. The card will never reach it's potential...


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## NemoNada (Aug 20, 2004)

> Well you're right about them being made. Their just not available yet, read this review for some good info ...



Thanks *Urlyin*, that link you provided cleared up the last of my confusion and I can see now why I thought there was supposed to be PCI-X cards.

I couldn't get ASUS to answer me regarding when they were going to release the X800XT Platinum PCI-X and ATI just said they "had no date projected".

So I decided to buy the ASUS X600XT card for now. Doesn't have near the specs but it'll work for now. Plus I want to check out mod'ding the card to a FireGL version. I saw some info on turning the Radeon 9800 into a FireGL, so I'm sure something similar will apply to the X*00 series cards. I'm not a gamer and I use multiple monitors so the firegl card is more in line w/what I need.

I didn't notice anything on this site regarding the firegl mod'ding. Is anyone here familiar with it?

Also, will ATITool work w/PCI-X? Guess I'll find out soon enough...

BTW, you're correct about needing a system to support the X800XT type of card. I'm pretty sure I'll be okay w/a P4 550, ASUS P5AD2 Premium MB, and 2GB of DDR2-533MHz RAM.

Take care,

Jim

*"Guam: Where America's Day Begins!"*


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## Unregistered (Aug 20, 2004)

Just making sure that does it matter if its something els too like "CLUB 3D RADEON X800 PRO VGA+DVI+VIVO" for example ?


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## pablofrogo (Aug 20, 2004)

If it's VIVO, it will work. VGA and DVI are just different types of plug sockets on the card, VGA is the blue one, DVI is the round black one.


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## Urlyin (Aug 20, 2004)

Cool... Glad I could help. 
W1zzard should be able to help you with AtiTool... 

I'd like to also note anyone doing the Pro to XT mod should seriously consider upgrading their stock HSF 

I did the pencil vmod on my modded XT. It took longer to take off/on the ZM80D-HP than to do the vmod. I checked the voltage and it was 1.39   before the mod. The card out I then checked the resistance which read 418ohm. I dropped it down to 400ohm. With the card back in and running the voltage read 1.45. Now having done that I went straight to the AtiTool and scanned for artifacts(stock XT settings). No lockups   

Didn't have time to run max core/mem ...


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## Paxil (Aug 22, 2004)

excellent work!!! did anyone hear anything about ati wanting to change that possible flash?


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## Unregistered (Aug 24, 2004)

*shit - flash failed*

i used the modified flashrom to try and flash my Sapphire Pro Vivo to unlock the other 4 pipes. Everything seemed to go ok, and I used the ati x800xt bios. However, after i rebooted, my motherboard barks at me..

system failed vga test

F... any way to correct this other than getting a pci card?


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## Unregistered (Aug 24, 2004)

Hallo Wizzard,

wie ich sehe bist du aus Deutschland, ich hoffe du kannst mir meine Frage beantworten.

Ich bekomme diese Woche noch eine HIS X800 Pro geliefert, kann ich die mit deiner Methode auch zu einer XT PE hoch"patchen"?

Ich denke schon, es steht ja zumindest hier in deinem Artikel, aber sage mir Bitte, man hat mir schon Hilfe bei dem BIOS flashen usw angeboten, dieses Verfahren für das man Disketten benötigt usw, leider ist mir dies nicht sehr geheuer ...

Ist deine Methode einfacher und löscht man damit nicht sein Normales BIOS? In meinem Falle ein MSI BIOS?

Lieben Gruß, Sven.


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## Unregistered (Aug 24, 2004)

Ich nochmal:

Ich glaube so langsam bei deiner Methode geht es wirklich nur ganz konkret um das "Bios" der Karte nicht wahr? Das heißt selbst wenn es fehl schlagen würde, könnte man mit diesem Flash ROM das Alte Standard BIOS wieder draufladen nicht wahr? Habe nämlich Angst dass das BIOS des Boards flöten geht oder dergleichen, weil man ja bei der Anderen Methode ein ganz Anderes "Board Bios" laden muss gell?

Ciao


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## Unregistered (Aug 24, 2004)

Huhu ...

ich mal wieder, kann ich mit dem hier: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=11

meine Karte flashen, wenn ich nicht diese ViVo habe?

Gruß.


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## papashex (Aug 24, 2004)

Has anyone tried this on an AMD64 s939 system? I have found some tools do not work outside of windows, i.e. memtest86 and the Acronis trueimage restore CD will not boot the system.

Standard dos floppies appear to boot ok but I would hate to crash mid flash!


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## W1zzard (Aug 24, 2004)

es geht nur mit einer Pro _VIVO_

ja es geht nur um das bios das du drauf flashst


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## Urlyin (Aug 25, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> i used the modified flashrom to try and flash my Sapphire Pro Vivo to unlock the other 4 pipes. Everything seemed to go ok, and I used the ati x800xt bios. However, after i rebooted, my motherboard barks at me..
> 
> system failed vga test
> 
> F... any way to correct this other than getting a pci card?



At this point the answer would be Yes you'll need a second card...
Did you use the BIOS from the link http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ ? 
Did you verify your Pro could run at XT speeds?
There's two ATI XT BIOS one is 520 and the other is 526. Perhaps it might be that your card is a 1.3v and not 1.4 as some people have noted. 
Have you checked your voltage? 
The memory is 1.6 right? 
You did do the backup for original BIOS as per instructions... 
Sorry the flash went bad... do you have a pci card?


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## Unregistered (Aug 25, 2004)

W1zzard said:
			
		

> es geht nur mit einer Pro _VIVO_
> 
> ja es geht nur um das bios das du drauf flashst



So,

that means ... i only can flash up the card if it is an "ViVo" ???? OMG please don't tell me, that it is the truth ... to be honest ... then it would be 430€ for nothin' ...

I thought i can do it with an Normal Pro too?


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## Xenn0X (Aug 25, 2004)

nop flash only with vivo,
normal pro has lasercut on pcb you need to unlock that..


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## Unregistered (Aug 25, 2004)

Yeah ..

i have seen that ... the Memory on it has 2,0ns right? So it is protected i think ... oh boy ... *sigh*.

Well i hope the card is not shipped yet, so i can give it back to the merchant.

 ... bye


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## Freddy23 (Aug 25, 2004)

First of all great Mod Description, thx W1zzard !

Does anybody know if the Vivo to XT mod is always successful? Are there possible checkerboards or other interferences after modding?
And which Heatsink do you guys recommend?


...looks like I don't have to wait for a XT card  ;-)


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## Urlyin (Aug 26, 2004)

Freddy23 said:
			
		

> First of all great Mod Description, thx W1zzard !
> 
> Does anybody know if the Vivo to XT mod is always successful? Are there possible checkerboards or other interferences after modding?
> And which Heatsink do you guys recommend?
> ...



Defiantly not 100% ... research the specs and make sure your card meets the requirements... then it's a toss up on the 4 pipes working. However with the flashrom tool here you can flash back to the original BIOS if you have issues....


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## Freddy23 (Aug 30, 2004)

I bought a Sapphire x800 pro VIVO yesterday, 1.6 ms Ram from Samsung on it.
Well, after flashing the card was recognized as XT PE , works perfectly with standard clock speed 520/560 and the nice Overdrive thing even overclocks the card...ahhh great 
Thx every1 and good luck with overclocking


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## babalou (Aug 31, 2004)

I could use some advice if you folks don't mind.

I bought a BBA ATI X800 Pro, 
I tried to flash using the gigabyte bios/utility, but after checking with ati tool, it still had 12 pipes.
SO I flashed back to my original.

Ati Tool shows my device as a  4A49.
I have Samsung ram on my board, although I'm not sure where to tell if its 1.6 or not.

I had read that the 4A49 was a no go, but I have also read that it does work..
As you can see, this is a pretty confusing scenerio.

Does anybody beleive that I can unlock those extra pipes?


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## Urlyin (Aug 31, 2004)

Baboula... It needs to be a X800Pro VIVO ( look for the ATI Theater chip on the back ) to do the softmod... Just a Pro has a laser cut and can not be softmodded


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## Unregistered (Aug 31, 2004)

Thanks for your reply
Looking at the card now, I see a Rage Theater chip.
I can always take the card out if you need numbers from it.
I'm looking through my side window


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## babalou (Aug 31, 2004)

oh well I tried again using your instructions, and the ATI Bios, and it won't unlock the extra pipes.
So I guess my card even though a VIVO, must be laser locked.


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## Babalou (Aug 31, 2004)

Sorry for the double post..
But I spoke too soon..
I re-installed my drivers and checked ATI Tool again, now it says 16 pipes!
Is this for real I wonder?


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## W1zzard (Aug 31, 2004)

benchmark the card and you know


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## ronsha (Sep 1, 2004)

*From X800Pro to X800XT*

I did the bios flash and this happend !

In atiTool I still have 12 pipeline's
My default core is 520 / memory 560

After flashing I should have 16 pipeline's ?

Help needed, how can I fix this ?????

Thanks,

Ronsha


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## babalou (Sep 1, 2004)

ronsha

After I flashed, ATI Tool still said I had 12 pipelines.
It was after I installed the drivers that I got 16 pipelines to show up.

So try to install drivers, and check again


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## ronsha (Sep 1, 2004)

Thanks, babalou, I'll try it later on

Ronsha


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## LogaII (Sep 1, 2004)

Hi all

I flashed my Club 3D vivo with the modified flashrom and ATI X800XT bios and rebooted.
It still said 12 pipes, then I flashed with the Gigabyte flash program and still 12 pipes. 
My fault was not to wait for the display drivers to reinstall it turned out, because after they where reinstalled it said 16 pipes. GREAT. Thanks W1zzard 

I still have one problem VIVO does not install - I have two unknown devices - and pointing to the right drivers does not work - is this normal or do I have to use a different XT bios. I still have the Gigabyte bios.??? Is there a XT PE VIVO driver ??

Thanks in advance
LogaII


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## Totenmond (Sep 1, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> Baboula... It needs to be a X800Pro VIVO ( look for the ATI Theater chip on the back ) to do the softmod... Just a Pro has a laser cut and can not be softmodded



Hello, by reading this post i think its clear that i can´t flash my X800 Pro non-vivo to a XT, but i just wanted to ask because i want to know an not to believe   So it´s impossible to flash a non-vivo X800 Pro to a XT?


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## pablofrogo (Sep 2, 2004)

Yes, it is unfortuantely. At this point in time anyway....


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## Urlyin (Sep 2, 2004)

LogaII said:
			
		

> Hi all
> 
> I flashed my Club 3D vivo with the modified flashrom and ATI X800XT bios and rebooted.
> It still said 12 pipes, then I flashed with the Gigabyte flash program and still 12 pipes.
> ...


I had that problem when I used the Doom3 fix 4.9 cat beta drivers... try the 4.8 cat drivers... it worked for me ... also I thought the ATI BIOS worked the best...


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## Lt.Nutter (Sep 2, 2004)

hi guys,

 i have a vivo version of the x800 pro, so this thread has caused some interest from me. I was wondering the first step - to check that the card can run at the stock X800XT speeds of 520 core/ 560 on the ram - through ATi Tool? If so, how long should i run it for.

if no errors are found, is it unlikely i will have to do any volt modding or anything? i am just thinking if i do this bios update, and it enables 16 pipelines, that more juice will be required?


thanks, in advance.


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## W1zzard (Sep 2, 2004)

set xt pe clocks and PLAY your favourite games .. that the best test imo .. atitool artifact detection on x800 isnt that great yet .. 

should have no power/heat issues when going to 16p .. pro vivo is physically the same card as xt pe


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## Lt.Nutter (Sep 2, 2004)

hey W1zzard, thanks. how long would you game for before classifying it capable of XT speeds?

also should loops of 3dmark03 do the trick too? come back after a while and see if theres any artifacts?

also, is the arctic cooling ATI 4 cooler recommended? i think i should look at aftermarket cooling if i do this bios upgrade.

thank you


*update*

i have played games for several hours, ran 3dmark 03 in loops and used the ati tool to test. it looks like it runs fine over XT speeds! does this mean the only thing stopping it from being flashed to x800xt its now the 50/50 as to whether the 4 Additional pipelines aren't bad or anything?


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## babalou (Sep 3, 2004)

Thats pretty much it!
Use ATI Tool perhaps to verify the heat after playing your card for awhile.
If your not too high, then your probably safe and can set those clocks.
but theres always the modified bios that runs at pro speeds with 16 pipes.
That is what I used for now, I plan on putting cooling on the ram since ATI doesn't beleive in that.


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## Lt.Nutter (Sep 3, 2004)

thanks babalou,

i left it on last night running 3dmark03 in loops. when i woke up, there were no visible artifacts (question: i assume i am looking for white specs or out of place stuff or corruption in the screen colours?) so it had ran for quite a while.

i decided what the hell. i purchased that VGA Silencer ATi 4 cooler. currently ATi Tool has been scanning for artifacts at 520/560 for around an hour or so now. Its a bit bulky but it is overall pretty good. i like the ram cooling.

temperature reported fluctuates from 43|42 to 42|43 (GPU Temp|Temp of Temp chip) i assume this is not too high.
i admit i have used ATi tools override option and i have the fan set to 100% and i still can't hear it, so that would probably explain the lowish GPU temperature? 


forgive me. i like to be 110% certain things are stable before attempting to flash it to XT speeds   

P.S. am i wrong to assume that the 4 currently disabled pipelines should be error-free? (as it's a VIVO) or is it still a gamble if theyre not still erroneous? (as in, result in artifacts or something?)

thanks!


*update*

hellooooo X800XT     
i see core temperature has gone up 5-6 degrees under load , with the additional 4 pipelines activated.

thank you to W1zzard, for your knowledge.


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## Babalou (Sep 3, 2004)

Seems like you got a stable card!

I haven't gotten into permanently clocking mine to those speeds yet, I'd like to get better cooling.
But I have used Ati Tool to clock it to XT speeds for gaming, and it runs great, still runs at the same temps as it does a Pro speeds.
Although I can't speak for the memory, as AtiTool only registers the Core.

As far as the extra pipes being faulty, I guess its possible as these Pro cards possibly might have been the ones that didn't make the cut to XT's.

You likely would notice with some sort of visual problems if that was the case with your card,
as your trying to utilize 4 pipes that are damaged.


I shall begin my search for better cooling ;-)


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## Unregistered (Sep 5, 2004)

*16pipes & xtpe bios on x800provivo*



			
				W1zzard said:
			
		

> use modified flashrom and flash your original bios back to get 12p



I have flashed my card with gigabyte, and it worked ok, but now I want to fash it back to 12 pipes & original bios.

your description does not seem to work! I use your modified flashrom and try to flash the 56kb-bin file bios but get only "ERROR01F1"

however if I then try to flash a 54kb rom file bios it works ok. but then again... I'm stuck with 16pipes.

how do I flash the renamed X800PROVIVO (BIN file) without getting ERROR? (tried "everything"! I even managed to reboot without working bios, so I had to flash again without seeing anything on my screen! I was pretty hot at one point there


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## mariuski (Sep 5, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have flashed my card with gigabyte, and it worked ok, but now I want to fash it back to 12 pipes & original bios.
> 
> your description does not seem to work! I use your modified flashrom and try to flash the 56kb-bin file bios but get only "ERROR01F1"
> 
> ...



oh, by the way! Now I'm registerred!

Marius


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## eliSha (Sep 5, 2004)

*nice!*

thx 2 all, who make this possible!!


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## Urlyin (Sep 5, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have flashed my card with gigabyte, and it worked ok, but now I want to fash it back to 12 pipes & original bios.
> 
> your description does not seem to work! I use your modified flashrom and try to flash the 56kb-bin file bios but get only "ERROR01F1"
> 
> ...


From Wombat...When you are using a boot floppy you should use the naming specification of this mode.
8 letters and extension. Just rename the rom file 
Which means rename the X800PROVIVO to 8 characters are less... 

Does that help?


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## pablofrogo (Sep 5, 2004)

mariuski, you flashed with Gigabyte... Doesn't that mean you can't flash back?


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## Urlyin (Sep 6, 2004)

pablofrogo said:
			
		

> mariuski, you flashed with Gigabyte... Doesn't that mean you can't flash back?



Your suppose to be able to with the flashrom here or use empty.bios and flash to your original bios


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## mariuski (Sep 6, 2004)

*x800provivo to xtpe mod*



			
				pablofrogo said:
			
		

> mariuski, you flashed with Gigabyte... Doesn't that mean you can't flash back?



Never say never!

I THINK I can flash back with the modified flashrom! (I just have to learn how to make an "emty.bin" and make it "swallow" my bios)   At least I can flash other Bios'es, either xtpe or provivo or whatever.

However, so far I'm not satisfied with performance and would like to reset the bios by flashing it with a "blank" bios, folowed up with the original ProVivo bios and hopefully close the last 4 pipelines.

I think I've got a "not so good"- card, and that I should keep default speeds and pipes!

Now, with original vga-bios, running 3dmark03 on default speed vs 500/500 the results differs only by 2-300 points at the most.

If I, instead of tweaking clock/mem speed on VGA card, tweak up FSB on mobo-bios from default 200 to 225 I get an encrease in 3dmark03 of about 2000 points, and if I try vga speed 500/500 with fsb on 225 3d-score dont get any higher. only decrease quality on frames. (I get spikes and triangles on screen)
I'm not even close to reach xtpe speeds even when I use xtpe bios.
winxp recognize my card as xtpe when using that bios, but it's just like putting a star from Mercedes on a Fiat. (Look's better but is just the same)


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## mariuski (Sep 6, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> From Wombat...When you are using a boot floppy you should use the naming specification of this mode.
> 8 letters and extension. Just rename the rom file
> Which means rename the X800PROVIVO to 8 characters are less...
> 
> Does that help?



I think I'm gonna try renaming ATI.X800PROVIVO (bin-file) to ax800pv (or something). I hope maybe ati-bios is better than my sapphire bios.

the "rom-bios'es" I have are only 53,5kb but the "bin-bios'es" is 55,5kb.
isnt it better to use the bin-files?


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## mariuski (Sep 6, 2004)

Don't EVER give up trying!

Managed to flash back to 12 pipes and no problems! (so far)

modyfied flashrom from W1zzard's receipt and Sapphire x800provivo bios from the bios collection. (renamed the bios to x800pro)

thanks guy's! knowledge is everything!


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## Coppertop (Sep 7, 2004)

*does the official X800 pro 256 from Ati.com have VIVO connectors*

does the official X800 pro 256 from Ati.com have VIVO connectors... 
I´m looking into getting one for myself but the only computerstore i get discounts at in the area, only has the official card direct from ati....

Do you think that is softmoddable to XT ??

With thanks
Stefán


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## Babalou (Sep 9, 2004)

I got my card through Futureshop.
It is a Built By ATI product.

I had no problem unlocking the extra pipelines, using the method provided here.

Correct me if i'm wrong but ATI's own live of cards are all VIVO's
I've not had one that wasn't since the original radeon.


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## cowboyb (Sep 13, 2004)

I just got the x800 pro and then I read this post, doh!  
Will there ever be a way that I can open the remaining 4 piplines?  I just updated the flash and it increased the mem/clockspeed, but I still have only 12 piplines.  Should I keep this card or get the PNY 6800GT 1gmem/350clock?


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## Unregistered (Sep 13, 2004)

I just got a MSI RX800 Pro TVD 256 (==> X800 Pro VIVO) here in France. Unlocked the 16 pipes without any problem, but I run with the X800 Pro speed 16 pipes BIOS, because I can only be at 520/490. A VGA Silencer will maybe help, but I won't buy it now, because this card is far enough powerfull for a lot of months


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## Xenn0X (Sep 13, 2004)

i pushed the voltmod to 1.5v and getting 570/610 now on a external waterchiller. hitting 15k in 3dmark 03. oc'd my cpu from 3.2 ghz till 4 ghz and that in a shuttle barebone lol. just wanted to test the max


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## Unregistered (Sep 15, 2004)

I have a PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 Pro 256MB DDR3 VIVO but the ati xt bios caused problems and so did the 16 pipeline only bios.
But the card will run standard 12 pipelines at 520/560 ???
What can i use to see gfx voltages , im using a gigabyte 8penxp mobo and in bios you can change agp voltage 0.01+ , 0.02+ or 0.03+


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## Babalou (Sep 16, 2004)

========>cowboyb

Did you install the drivers after the flash?
Myself after flashing still only saw 12 pipes, untill I installed the video drivers.


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## cowboyb (Sep 19, 2004)

yeah I did, its a x800pro not VIVO.  I just returned it and got the 6800gt.  Did you manage to get a standard x800pro to work with 16piplines?  are all x800pro's vivo?  Mine didnt work right.


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## Sick (Sep 20, 2004)

I have a Sapphire X800 Pro ( laser cut  ) and i try this hardmod (pic), i still have 12 pipes ...
Someone knows another way to unlock the 4 pipes??? Thnx :....


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## cowboyb (Sep 20, 2004)

This is the only thread I can type in, how do I get to type in the other threads under videocards and such?  Also anyone know where I can get a x800 XT for a good price?


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## mr-rusty (Sep 23, 2004)

Works a treat   Ordered my HIS X800 Pro IceQ II from www.ebuyer.com on Monday and when it arrived it was a VIVO (what an unexpected and very pleasant surprise)... checked the GPU and no laser cut, 1.6ns RAM so after re-assembling with some Artic Silver on GPU & RAM and checking it would run at 520/560 I flashed with the HIS X800 XT BIOS and 16 pipelines enabled fine... superb...   thanks W1zzard.. Far Cry never looked so good!  8-D


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## SoCa (Oct 3, 2004)

Hey Wizzard.
Ich hab mir mal die Sapphire x800pro toxic Vivo angeschaut.. die dürfte man doch auch flashen können, oder?


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## Unregistered (Oct 6, 2004)

Greeting,

what is considered a safe temperature? I have X800XT PE bios running, fine in games and no artefacting. ATITool reports no errors for 8 - 9 hours

temperature reported : 59/55 Degrees Celcius - is this fine?


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## Urlyin (Oct 7, 2004)

55/59c would be a good temp for your XT.... I would be concerned if you went over 80c... the cards are rated for higher temps but that's a lot of heat in your case and with the after market HSF out there why would you let it...


----------



## Tiago (Oct 8, 2004)

*X800 pro ViVo*

Hi to all. My name is Tiago, and i´m from Portugal. 

I recently purchased a X800Pro, and i was searching the www to check if i could "Mod" it to XT and i crashed at this excelente site. I downloaded ATItool and checked if my card eas ViVO. IT is !!  i´m very pleased with that ... but i am not sure if i should flash my bios. 
I have absolutely no experience with this and i´m afraid i just to greedy cause this card is excellent and i can play all games. 
Do you really think it worth doing this?
How cab i check my card hold´s up to that temperatures. 
How can i flahs the Bios (detailed instrutins please i really am a noob here) 

Thanks a lot to all.


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## Unregistered (Oct 9, 2004)

hi, i just scanned for artifacts on my unflashed asus x800 pro vivo with atitool.
When i put it on 520/560 it gives me 1 pixel that doesn't match after 3 minutes.
Also the temps in atitool go to 72/55 when i scan for artifacts.
If i put it on 510/550 it gives me no artifacts after 7 minutes of scanning, but the temps stay high ( 71/55 )

Is that to high to convert it too a XT ? Also, is it possible to permanently use the 510/550 values?

And if i flash it to an XT, should i use an asus XT bios, or the ati xt bios ?


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## W1zzard (Oct 9, 2004)

dont worry about temperature or additional cooling needed - the pro, pro vivo and xt all have the same cooling


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 9, 2004)

yeagh, but i wondered, if you scan for artifacts or open 3D tool, what's the maximum 'safe' temperature ?


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## Unregistered (Oct 9, 2004)

Hmm, I have a HIS Radeon X800Pro ICEQ II 256MB ViVo.

I ran the artifact scan with 520/560 for 5 minutes with no dead pixels 35/50.
Isn't it so that 2.0ns memory only can handle 560, and 1.6ns up to 600. If I clock over 560 with my card and run stable should I presume I can safetly flash my card? It's ordered from 20 August.

I'm a bit afraid of removing the cooling.


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## Iax (Oct 11, 2004)

*Thanks*

Thank you!!!!
This saved me! 
I have a saphire pro vivo and had previously done the gigabit flash, then flash back to original and keep the 16 pipes.   And it worked great for most things,  dawn of war,  rome total war.   BUT in doom3 and in the ATI demo 'crowd'  I would get this annoying grid of blocks effect ontop of what was supposed to be the smoke effect. (the black smoke in crowd, and the spaceship engines in doom3)
Then when I went and checked atitool, the same block effect was in the background,  not on the 3d object!






I tried everything to fix it, but it didnt go away,  new cat drivers just made it more pronounced in doom3.
I thought I had wrecked a 500 dollar card.
But your modified flashrom, and the stock saphire pro vivo bios, and now im back to 12 pipes   and im not seeing those blocks anwhere yet.
If anyone knows how I can get 16 pipes and no blocks please tell.
thanks again.


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## Spyder187 (Oct 11, 2004)

Yes you should be able to presume that you can safely flash your card. I haven't done it myself but it looks like I'll be picking up a Sapphire X800Pro Vivo really soon. Can't wait to try this.

After flashing, even if you get some artifacts, I think it should be alright just as long as you don't play any games on it. Seems if you do get artifacts, the best thing to do is to dload the x800pro16 bios or the 500/500xt bios before doing anything else.

Good luck with the flash~


----------



## Frumpco_ (Oct 11, 2004)

Is there a way to get a AGP card to post after accidenly clearing the BIOS and having the machine restart on you? I have put in a PCI card set it to the default display int he bios but when I put the X800 in there the comptuer will not POST it just cont to beep

any idea's? I know once I get it post I will be fine and able to flash it again


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## Lucas-10 (Oct 11, 2004)

Frumpco_ said:
			
		

> Is there a way to get a AGP card to post after accidenly clearing the BIOS and having the machine restart on you? I have put in a PCI card set it to the default display int he bios but when I put the X800 in there the comptuer will not POST it just cont to beep
> 
> any idea's? I know once I get it post I will be fine and able to flash it again



It’s a not solution but can help you  
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=699


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## Frumpco_ (Oct 11, 2004)

Thanks, I tried that advice but no luck it would either A not get past post or if it did get past post flashrom was unable to see any ATI cards. I also tried that in 2 diff machines and still no luck so I am thinking that this maybe a paper weight, a nice looking very expensive paper weight


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 11, 2004)

Frumpco ... just a thought but have you tried the pci card in a different slot? or even a different pci card? for instance try slot three instead of slot one ...


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 12, 2004)

*ASus x800 Pro TD*

Hi all,

Played around with my Asus x800 pro TD non vivo version last night  seemed to work fine with the asus x800XT bios found on the webite, but when i started windows everything looked fine till the system tried to detect the RAge Video Chip set on the Vivo Version then restarted the machine. I'm hoping that i can get around the Plug and play detecion, Luckly i backup my old bios and was able to go back with out any issues.

Does anyone have any ideas on how i can get around the auto detect, i ahve tried to boot in VGA mode, and safe mode but cant see the device to diable it. 

JOLLI


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## Urlyin (Oct 12, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> 
> Played around with my Asus x800 pro TD non vivo version last night  seemed to work fine with the asus x800XT bios found on the webite, but when i started windows everything looked fine till the system tried to detect the RAge Video Chip set on the Vivo Version then restarted the machine. I'm hoping that i can get around the Plug and play detecion, Luckly i backup my old bios and was able to go back with out any issues.
> 
> ...



You might try the beta cat 4.9 drivers ... When I tried them that was an issue with the beta that they didn't install the VIVO drivers .... Use the ATItool to see if you have enabled the 4 extra pipes... I don't think they will ... good luck


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 12, 2004)

Thanks Urlyin,

I'll give it a go, i was just interested to see if this thing would work anyways once i get home ill give it a go, One thing i did notice is that when the system restsrted after the mod the system first detected the X800 pro again.... let see what happens

JOLLI


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 12, 2004)

Jolli... you may need to reinstall the video drivers before it will detect it as an XT... still think it's highly unlikely that you'll have the 16 pipes though... sorry


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 12, 2004)

Just to be clear:

I have a HIS Excalibur X800 Pro IceQII ViVo.

Following your guide, would I download the BIOS for a "X800 XT PE IceQ II (AGP) 256 MB" as written on the BIOS page?

Thanks.


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 12, 2004)

You can try that one... certain cards seem to do better with different BIOS. I like the ATI BIOS myself... works well on my Sapphire X800 pro @ XT. Have you read through the thread?  Some steps you should take before you flash... like ocing the card to XT speeds to see if it can handle it..... good luck


----------



## beanfondler (Oct 13, 2004)

I made a little bit of a mistake, I have a Powercolor x800pro vivo.  I'd flashed it to enable the extra four pipes, they were enabled but either I wasn't getting enough volts or the extra pipes weren't functional.  So I wanted to flash back to 12 pipes, I used the "empty.bin" to get rid of all the bios that I had flashed before, and I had my original x800pro vivo bios ready to flash afterwards.  The empty.bin bios went nicely but the x800pro bios were corrupted and wouldn't access off of the floppy, so I was going to wait until I could get on another computer and get the bios....  That was yesterday, now I get home today, and I am ready to try and reinstall the x800 pro vivo bios, but a pesky member of my family had turned my computer off...  Now the card isn't functioning too well.

So to summarize, I flashed the "empty.bin" file to clear all the old bios and my computer was turned off before I could reinstall the x800pro bios.

So my question is this... Is my card raped, or is it possible to flash it back to an x800 pro?


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 13, 2004)

beanfondler said:
			
		

> I made a little bit of a mistake, I have a Powercolor x800pro vivo.  I'd flashed it to enable the extra four pipes, they were enabled but either I wasn't getting enough volts or the extra pipes weren't functional.  So I wanted to flash back to 12 pipes, I used the "empty.bin" to get rid of all the bios that I had flashed before, and I had my original x800pro vivo bios ready to flash afterwards.  The empty.bin bios went nicely but the x800pro bios were corrupted and wouldn't access off of the floppy, so I was going to wait until I could get on another computer and get the bios....  That was yesterday, now I get home today, and I am ready to try and reinstall the x800 pro vivo bios, but a pesky member of my family had turned my computer off...  Now the card isn't functioning too well.
> 
> So to summarize, I flashed the "empty.bin" file to clear all the old bios and my computer was turned off before I could reinstall the x800pro bios.
> 
> So my question is this... Is my card raped, or is it possible to flash it back to an x800 pro?



Bean... you'll need a pci video card to boot the system to retry the flash. Go here to find your model cards BIOS. Go here for instructions on how to recover from a bad flash... it's near the bottom...


----------



## beanfondler (Oct 13, 2004)

Thanks for the help it is working nicely now.


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## nd (Oct 14, 2004)

*Asus X800pro 12p VIVO -> X800xt 16p*

I flash my Asus X800pro VIVO with the "Asus.X800XT.256.Samsung16.bin" and with the "ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16_0609.bin" Bios (flashrom v2.40), the Card ins now running with the X800XT PE clocks, but It is still running with only 12 Pipelines? is it possible to unlock the Pipelines und the clocks? Did somebody this with the ASUS Card ? THANKS!


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## Urlyin (Oct 14, 2004)

nd said:
			
		

> I flash my Asus X800pro VIVO with the "Asus.X800XT.256.Samsung16.bin" and with the "ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16_0609.bin" Bios (flashrom v2.40), the Card ins now running with the X800XT PE clocks, but It is still running with only 12 Pipelines? is it possible to unlock the Pipelines und the clocks? Did somebody this with the ASUS Card ? THANKS!



Have you tried to re-install the video drivers? Couple of members have mentioned that they still had 12 pipes until they re-installed the video drivers....


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## Unregistered (Oct 15, 2004)

Can i use WINflash to flash my X800 pro vivo bios ?


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## E1sK4lt (Oct 15, 2004)

just did the mod with my new asus ax800pro/tvd and it worked flawlessly! damn nice to have a x800xt pe for about 450 euros


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## tom_12345 (Oct 21, 2004)

Question to "E1sK4lt" - Did u use the "ATI - X800 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB" or "Asus - X800 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB" bios for ur Asus AX800 pro/TVD??? I ask u this becos i happen to have the same card as u do and i am a real chicken in these matters, so i aint sure which bios to use.

And I am more confused with this "nd" guy saying he used BOTH the "ATI - X800 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB" and "Asus - X800 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB" on his ASUS AX800 pro/TVD. How is this possible?!???????!

I thought u just flash one bios with the flashing tool, not 2.

"nd" can u plz clarify exalty what u did.

And W1ward, u really r a great man, working tirelessly and helping us out of every nook and corner. Can u help on this issue?? Which bios should i use, surely using the ASUS 1 makes sense as my card is built by them. ANother thing, can u plz write in details exactly how I can flash my ASUS X800 pro/TVD to an ASUS X800XT Pt e??? I have checked out the links u gave in ur original article, but it aint a great help for an amatuer like me. Also in "http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/34" they seemed to have generalized everything, also they go on about clickin some "Advanced" key or something, which i couldnt find. Moreover, they talk about creating boot disks from some website which i found horribly out of sorts and confusing. I have a winME boot disk, can i work with it?? (If i can) What am i meant to do with it? Copy the bios files in it and reboot my PC???

[I happen to run WinXP (with SP2) by the way.]

I wanted SPECIFIC instruction to flash my bios, as i have no past experience in such things. PLZ, plz. plz help me out W1zard and any1 who is bothered to help out this chicken guy. THx to u all.



------

Sorry for posting twice, i just registered so thought it was better to post again, so some1 can address me.


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## nd (Oct 21, 2004)

*Asus X800pro 12p VIVO -> X800xt 16p*

Hallo tom_12345!

i tried both BIOS but it dont works, only the clock changes!
i use the wrong flashtool!

use the *modified flashrom * and the the last *ATI X800XT PE (AGP) 256MB Bios*
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip
http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16_0609.bin

follow the instruction:
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/34

short instruction:
rename ati.x800xt.265.sam... to x800xt.bin
flashrom and x800xt.bin on the bootdisk
1. save the x800pro bios -> a:\flashrom -s 0 x800pro.bin
2. flash the XT bios -> a:\flashrom -p 0 x800xt.bin -f
reboot
install the newes catalyst or omega driver
finish

Verify the number of clock and active pipelines using ATITool (settings)
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/

run 3dmark03 -> 12000 - 13000 points

i made it and it works!!!
ASUS X800pro VIVO to X800XT PE in 5 minutes

greetings
nd

ps: sorry about my bad english


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## tom_12345 (Oct 21, 2004)

Thank ND, thx a lot mate. I really owe u 1. 

So basically have to change the bios file name to make it work. So u change Ati's bios name and got it to work. But have u (or any1 u know) tried changing the name of "ASUS X800XT" bios to say "X800XT" (or sth) and tried to flash with it as well???? My concern is - since its an ASUS card, isnt it safer to use a ASUS bios instead of Ati's ones??? Another thing, did u have any probs with ur voltages. I ask u this becos i have the same card as u do, and i dont know how to check out the cards' volt ratings. Do u know how to do it?? If so, plz tell me how.


A lot of Saphire X800pro VIVO owners seemed (in this forum and in ohters as well) had problems (stability and heating mainly) with their cards after flashing it to a XT pte. It seems it becos their ones r 1.3v cards (atleast they say it).  How do u know its 1.3/1.4v anyway?

So, did u have to change ur voltage with the "pencil" method?? I hope not, since i dont know how it works. And how about artifacts and spooky/broken images, have u experienced any of it after flashing?? If u had any probs, plz give me an account of it, i would possibly flash back instead of having a problematic card. But  I sincerely hope u have had no such problems!! 

ThX u again, i really cant thank u enuff!!!!!!


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## nd (Oct 21, 2004)

*hallo tom_12345*

the filename of the "bin" is not importent, but not longer as 8 and no symbols.
i try the asus XT PE bios and i cant unlock the 4 pipelines, but at my first run i use the wrong flashrom version, i think both are nearly the same?

use the ati.x800xt.256.sam..... it works by me with no problems!
i play farcry, doom, cod,.... never have any problems or errors!
i read the ASUS AX800PRO/TVD is 100% similar to the AX800XT/TVD
only the bios and the packing are different

and wenn you have problems flash the backup of your original bios back

greetings
nd


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## tom_12345 (Oct 22, 2004)

thx for the reply nd,

But i still have a couple of questions for u :

1.  Did u have to voltmod (u know the pencil method) ur card?? Or was it 1.4v by default. If so, r all these ASUS X800pro/TVD cars 1.4v by default??

2.  Where did u read that ASUS AX800PRO/TVD is 100% similar to the AX800XT/TVD?? Can u plz provide me the link??

3.  How long have u been running ur card as a X800XT?? Is it stable??

4.  I ask u again, have u had ANY problems after flashing, problems ranging from artifacts, temperatures to stability.

Thx again!!


----------



## tom_12345 (Oct 23, 2004)

*URGENTLY calling ALL ASUS AX800 Pro/TVD users,*

I have a couple of questions to AX800pro/TVD  users who have flashed their cards to a XT Pte. Just a quick look in this message boards told me that there at least 3 other AX800pro/TVD users, namely "E1sK4lt", "nd" and "Fahim".

1. Did u have to voltmod (u know the pencil method) ur card?? Or was it 1.4v by default. If so, r all these ASUS X800pro/TVD cards 1.4v by default?? Have u read about this any where?

3. What Bios did u use to flash the card?? The "ASUS X800XT" 1 or the "ATi X800XT"??

4. To those of u who tried using both bioses - which one works best?????


4. I have stripped the hsfs off my ASUS AX800PRO/TVD and an AX800XT/TVD to compare them?? Physcically they r 100% same, not even a transistor/capacitor a hair this way or that. So, have any1 of u seen any article in the www comparing the two cards, if so, then plz provide the link.

5. How long have u been running ur card as a X800XT?? Is it stable??

6. I ask u again, have u had ANY problems after flashing, problems ranging from artifacts, temperatures to stability.

Thx again!!


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 24, 2004)

I have also a msi rx800VTD (vivo) flashed to an x800xt succesfully.
BUT i have NO artifacts at all in doom 3 at 1600*1200 but i have sometimes triangles in BF:V.... not always, those are glitches that appears and dissapears..... dont have it all the time.
What can it be? I use 4.10 drivers, artifact scanning gives me no faults.....
Greetings!


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## Urlyin (Oct 26, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have also a msi rx800VTD (vivo) flashed to an x800xt succesfully.
> BUT i have NO artifacts at all in doom 3 at 1600*1200 but i have sometimes triangles in BF:V.... not always, those are glitches that appears and dissapears..... dont have it all the time.
> What can it be? I use 4.10 drivers, artifact scanning gives me no faults.....
> Greetings!


What BIOS did you use? Are you overclocking you MOBO too?


----------



## Urlyin (Oct 26, 2004)

tom_12345 said:
			
		

> I have a couple of questions to AX800pro/TVD  users who have flashed their cards to a XT Pte. Just a quick look in this message boards told me that there at least 3 other AX800pro/TVD users, namely "E1sK4lt", "nd" and "Fahim".
> 
> 1. Did u have to voltmod (u know the pencil method) ur card?? Or was it 1.4v by default. If so, r all these ASUS X800pro/TVD cards 1.4v by default?? Have u read about this any where?
> 
> ...



Tom I see you posted in more than one thread... Did NRP answer all your questions?


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## Unregistered (Oct 27, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> What BIOS did you use? Are you overclocking you MOBO too?




I use the last ATI bios on the Bios page, the ****0609.bin

My system is not OC'd....
What's the best bios on that page?

Greetings


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## Reservoir_Dog (Oct 27, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I use the last ATI bios on the Bios page, the ****0609.bin
> 
> My system is not OC'd....
> What's the best bios on that page?
> ...


I use the last ATI bios on the Bios page, the ****0609.bin

My system is not OC'd....
What's the best bios on that page?


Now i am registered!
I have been reading that the glitches was dissapeared in those games i mentioned when that person used new 4.11 beta drivers......


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## Urlyin (Oct 27, 2004)

Reservoir_Dog said:
			
		

> I use the last ATI bios on the Bios page, the ****0609.bin
> 
> My system is not OC'd....
> What's the best bios on that page?
> ...



I think some cards do better with a certain BIOS, while others do better with another. You'll need to test a couple to see which one works best for your card. I have tried several and can say my card seems to run best with the older dated ATI BIOS. Some like the Connect3D BIOS, so it's more the card than any one BIOS. You may want to try to uninstall your video drivers and use a driver cleaner to clean the .dll files left, then re-install them.


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## Reservoir_Dog (Oct 27, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> I think some cards do better with a certain BIOS, while others do better with another. You'll need to test a couple to see which one works best for your card. I have tried several and can say my card seems to run best with the older dated ATI BIOS. Some like the Connect3D BIOS, so it's more the card than any one BIOS. You may want to try to uninstall your video drivers and use a driver cleaner to clean the .dll files left, then re-install them.



I also have the 4.11 Beta drivers, and i must say, u should try it, it gives me a performance boost....
Those glitches are gone too....
Which older dated bios do u mean? So i can try it also.

Greetings!


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## Urlyin (Oct 27, 2004)

Dog... it's the one dated 2004-04-30 17:24 under Date compiled...


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## corny (Oct 30, 2004)

What R420 ROM settings are not preserved with the modified flash, pipes aside?


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## Unregistered (Oct 31, 2004)

i think the pipes are the only setting preserved.. and the modified bios flash tool only changes that.


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## GoLLuM4444 (Oct 31, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> i think the pipes are the only setting preserved.. and the modified bios flash tool only changes that.


Does this mean that certain flashtools will disable 4 pipes with x800pro bioses?


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## W1zzard (Oct 31, 2004)

GoLLuM4444 said:
			
		

> Does this mean that certain flashtools will disable 4 pipes with x800pro bioses?



they will not update the area where the # of pipelines is stored in the bios


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## GoLLuM4444 (Oct 31, 2004)

so how do i re-disable the 4 pipes?


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## Urlyin (Oct 31, 2004)

I answered you here in the other thread ... Gollu


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## Unregistered (Nov 4, 2004)

simply flash the backup bios back again!!


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## MonGalak (Nov 19, 2004)

Hello

I am a powercolor X800 pro vivo flashed to xt 16 p 
atitool sees the 16 pipes.
When i change catalyst 4.6 (bundle) to 4.11, the directX games don't fonction with the error : "CreateVertexBuffer failed(D3DERR_OUTOFVIDEOMEMORY)." The opengl games fonction correctly.
When i use 3dmark03 with x800pro 12p, no problem. But now, the message "direct3d init failed".
I install catalyst 4.6 and i am the same problems. 
I reflash with my origin bios (X800 pro 16p) and all the games fonction correctly but not 3dmark03.

How to make to install the new catalyst ?

Thanks and sorry for my english.


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## orakulo (Nov 23, 2004)

Hy guys i , a make all in this link

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles...ing/vidcard/100

But after restart i no have de 16 pipes only 12 my MSI x800 is VTD 256 (VTD = VIVO) but the clock is = XT PE, so a i returned to original bios  

Ahhh I Use the latest ATI X800XT PE bios....
Found here 
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles...ing/vidcard/100

Any ideas ?  

Bye...


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## Urlyin (Nov 23, 2004)

MonGalak said:
			
		

> Hello
> 
> I am a powercolor X800 pro vivo flashed to xt 16 p
> atitool sees the 16 pipes.
> ...



MonGalak...
What OS are you using? You should try to uninstall ATI drivers from the add and remove programs. Use Driver Cleaner or something like it to clear out all the drivers. Reinstall ATI cat drivers 4.11 and then reinstall DirectX, you can download it from Microsoft are if you have purchased a new game lately it should have the latest Directx on the CD...


----------



## Urlyin (Nov 23, 2004)

orakulo said:
			
		

> Hy guys i , a make all in this link
> 
> http://www.techpowerup.com/articles...ing/vidcard/100
> 
> ...



Orakulo... make sure you have the VIVO by looking on the back of the card to see if the ATI rage theater chip is there. If so make sure you uninstall and reinstall the video drivers after you flash the card....


----------



## orakulo (Nov 23, 2004)

No ati theater buahhhhhh, how i can turn my x800 non vivo ? i listen rumors  but i cant find nothing about...
Maybe hard mod ?


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## Urlyin (Nov 23, 2004)

orakulo said:
			
		

> No ati theater buahhhhhh, how i can turn my x800 non vivo ? i listen rumors  but i cant find nothing about...
> Maybe hard mod ?



I had seen a couple of pages that showed how to connect the laser cut, but  I don't think to many were successful .... That doesn't mean it can not be done... just not sure it's worth the trouble...  sorry


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## Unregistered (Nov 25, 2004)

*Where to get the modified pro bios with 16 pipes but pro clocks?*

Hi!
Since I just want the 16 pipes and not overclock my card, Im looking for the modified bios with 16 pipes enabled, but the standard core/memory clocks for x800pro.

This bios has been mentioned numerous times in this thread, but I cant find it on the bios download page. Where can you download it? Or am I just blind?


----------



## MonGalak (Nov 25, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> MonGalak...
> What OS are you using? You should try to uninstall ATI drivers from the add and remove programs. Use Driver Cleaner or something like it to clear out all the drivers. Reinstall ATI cat drivers 4.11 and then reinstall DirectX, you can download it from Microsoft are if you have purchased a new game lately it should have the latest Directx on the CD...


thanks Urlyin.
My os is wxp pro. i already uninstall catalyst from the add and remove programs then i use drivercleaner. This evening, i reinstall directx.
I have a question: under catalyst 4.11, i have no problems with atitool when i use find max core and find max mem (531 -573 no artefact) then why direct3d games don't fonction ?


----------



## Urlyin (Nov 25, 2004)

MonGalak said:
			
		

> thanks Urlyin.
> My os is wxp pro. i already uninstall catalyst from the add and remove programs then i use drivercleaner. This evening, i reinstall directx.
> I have a question: under catalyst 4.11, i have no problems with atitool when i use find max core and find max mem (531 -573 no artefact) then why direct3d games don't fonction ?


Hi MonGalak,
This behavior can occur if any of the following conditions is true:
• Your monitor is not configured correctly. 
• Another program has locked the display resolution of your monitor. 
• The video driver installed on the computer is incompatible with Microsoft DirectX. 
• The video driver installed on the computer does not support a color palette higher than 256 colors. 
• The video adapter installed in the computer does not meet the minimum requirements to run the game. 
• DirectDraw or Direct3d are disabled in DxDiag. 
From Microsoft Article Q229998 
More info to check
310353 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP 
179113 How to Download and Install DirectX


----------



## Ikasu (Nov 27, 2004)

*question*

Before I say anything I Want to apologize for all the questions that are gonna be on this post..I have a lot on my mind to get sorted out and I'm hoping you guys can help me out..^_^

Well..My current pc just died on me...Motherboard/cpu problems but I've decided to upgrade my computer instead of buying replacement parts for a agp system. I was just hoping to get some information reguarding this..

Graphic card wise I'm planning on transfering over to a x800 xt..Is there even a difference between platinum edition and the plain XT? I was trying to get my hands on the Asus x800 XT platinum edition card but after reading reviews is it even worth the extra 100 or so dollars? Also, What's the difference between the Ati 800XT/Platinum Edition to the Asus models?..If there isn't a big difference besides gaming packages? I'll probably just go with a ATI model if there isn't a difference but I wanna find out before I Start purchasing parts...

ATM I "had" a MSI Neo-Fis2r motherboard with a 3 gighz northwood cpu (800 fsb) and a 9800 pro...I'm probably going to be buying a Asus 915 or 925 chipset mobo and a 3.2 gigahertz prescott cpu...Am I going with the right type of hardware or (more related on prescott vs northwood)?...also which of the asus motherboards are actually worth buying?

Intel 925X  =  P5AD2 Premium  |  P5AD2 Deluxe    
Intel 915P  =  P5GD2 Premium  |  P5GD2 Deluxe 

God I feel like a jackass with so many questions...But about ram...ATM I have 2 gigs pc3200 400 mhz dual channel value ram from kingston...I bought them when I didn't know much about ram but now I'm going to be buying top quality ram. I was taking a look at Corsair and I was trying to figure out what's their BEST ram for 533 mhz Dual Channel DDR2?...I was looking at their chips and they said that some of their stuff has been tested to operate at 538 mhz and one of them says 675...I'm just trying to get 533 ram..but top of the line...that site has REALLY confused me and if anyone could comment on which is the best ram to go with that would be nice..^_^..Once again I apologize for all the questions...Just trying to get my thoughts sorted out on what to go with and what to not buy.


once again sorry about all the questions....especially the fact that most of these questions are off topic..>_<..sorry!..lol..=D


----------



## Urlyin (Nov 30, 2004)

Ikasu said:
			
		

> Before I say anything I Want to apologize for all the questions that are gonna be on this post..I have a lot on my mind to get sorted out and I'm hoping you guys can help me out..^_^
> 
> Well..My current pc just died on me...Motherboard/cpu problems but I've decided to upgrade my computer instead of buying replacement parts for a agp system. I was just hoping to get some information reguarding this..
> 
> ...



LOL... yep that's alot of questions ... I'm not 100% sure of the difference between the two ASUS boards, both use the 775 socket. They both have PCI express and DDR2, but what I find confusing is they both offer HyperPath which I thought was ASUS (Intel) PAT. They offer or state the P5AD2 has Intel Pat and Hyperpath. Of course they have different chipsets. Anyway for the money you may be better off going AMD64 say a 3700 or FX53. I don't lean either way so I'm not trying to start a debate on Intel or AMD. If you're sure you want to go ASUS then take the P5AD2. 

Don't get caught up in the 533 ram thing, I'm getting better performance at 1:1 which is 400mhz out of my OCZ PC4000 than I do at 500 or 533. It limits my FSB depending upon which setting I use. That's just my opinion though, you'll get better bandwidth at 500 or 533. I would reconsider getting DDR2 memory at this time sense it's more expensive and not really any faster at this time. Check the prices of the OCZ PC4200 verus the DD2 sticks... good luck


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 1, 2004)

is the VIVO function still in order or not after all the flashing, would be some waist of money though
if you would lose that

was surprised i couldnt find that question answered here or is it 2 logical u go from pro vivo to
xt pe


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## Urlyin (Dec 1, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> is the VIVO function still in order or not after all the flashing, would be some waist of money though
> if you would lose that
> 
> was surprised i couldnt find that question answered here or is it 2 logical u go from pro vivo to
> xt pe



It has been asked before and the answer is the Pro VIVO, XT, XT PE all have the Ati Theater chip on board which is not lost due to flashing ... should not be an issue


----------



## LouieV (Dec 2, 2004)

Success !!!
I bought one of BB ATI X800 Pros being sold by COMPUSA. The box says it's a standard Pro, but a Pro VIVO is actually what was inside. It has the Rage Theater Chip and GC 16 RAM.

I flashed the card and enabled the four extra pipelines with no problems. Though I decided to use the X800 Pro VIVO/16P bios. It runs at default clock speeds but keeps the additional pipelines active. I'll need additional cooling before moving up to XT PE clock speeds.

I used the modified flashrom 237 and Bios files located in the article below. Worked great!

http://www.techpowerup.com. Look under articles for X800 Pro VIVO to XT PE Bios Mod by W1zzard.


----------



## MonGalak (Dec 7, 2004)

Hello.
I ended up finding what did not go. Flashrom or the bios that I had used were to be bad bus I started again with the modified flashrom and another bios and since everything works well.
Now, I have X800pro @ 16p and I make 5012 under 3DMark05.
All goes for best.
Thanks.


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 7, 2004)

*X800Pro -> XT*

I want to soldering the laser-cutted bridge... it will enable the 16pipe if I reflash bios after this hw modding?
Help!!


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 8, 2004)

I recenlty bought a Powercolor X800Pro w/ Vivo and when my girlfriend found out, she's like, "$440 bucks!!??!! Are you out of your freaking mind?" I was like, "Don't worry sweetie, I just save a bunch of money from flashing Powercolor x800Pro vivo to X800xt PE and I save a couple cent by switching my car insurance to Geico. (smirk)

Thanks guys.

Question: Can ATI tool alarm myself or shutdown the system incase of Video Card fan fail? I just want to protect my investment...

Thanks again...


----------



## mR Yellow (Dec 8, 2004)

MonGalak said:
			
		

> Hello.
> I ended up finding what did not go. Flashrom or the bios that I had used were to be bad bus I started again with the modified flashrom and another bios and since everything works well.
> Now, I have X800pro @ 16p and I make 5012 under 3DMark05.
> All goes for best.
> Thanks.



Do u have a x800pro or pro vivo?
Also, which bios did u use?


----------



## mR Yellow (Dec 8, 2004)

Ive got a ASUS x800pro (non vivo).  I flashed the card with x800xt bios (after connecting the lasercuts). I used the ASUS x800xt pe bios (edited the clock speed).

The device ID b4 flash is 4A49 (using ATI Tool)
The device after flash *still* reads as 4A49 (using ATI Tool)

But if i use rabit to check out the bios it reads 4A50?  







BTW i wasn't able to unlock xtra pipes. ATI tool still reads it as 12.
So maybe their is some other hardware lock. That doesn't allow u to change device ID even when the bios ID reads as 4A50!

Any insight will be appreciated


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 8, 2004)

Yelllow... First there has not been a high success rate on modded laser cut GPU. You could try to use the empty.bin BIOS to clear out any preserved settings like this and try the 16pipe BIOS. Also make sure you are using the Flashtool from here. The empty BIOS is here. Also be careful using the empty BIOS, you need to have the 16pipe BIOS on the disk as well, because you have to flash another BIOS to the card after the empty BIOS are it when not come back up.


----------



## mR Yellow (Dec 9, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> Yelllow... First there has not been a high success rate on modded laser cut GPU. You could try to use the empty.bin BIOS to clear out any preserved settings like this and try the 16pipe BIOS. Also make sure you are using the Flashtool from here. The empty BIOS is here. Also be careful using the empty BIOS, you need to have the 16pipe BIOS on the disk as well, because you have to flash another BIOS to the card after the empty BIOS are it when not come back up.



I've done the above. Used empty bin and modified ATI Flashrom!
But had no success. Ive only tried the ASUS x800xt bios. Maybe i should try some others.

What bios do u recommend?


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 9, 2004)

mR Yellow said:
			
		

> I've done the above. Used empty bin and modified ATI Flashrom!
> But had no success. Ive only tried the ASUS x800xt bios. Maybe i should try some others.
> 
> What bios do u recommend?



I see that W1zzard replied to the same message in another thread and I would agree that It does not look as though you'll be able to enable the 16pipes. You can review this page to see if you can be successful .... good luck


----------



## mR Yellow (Dec 10, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> I see that W1zzard replied to the same message in another thread and I would agree that It does not look as though you'll be able to enable the 16pipes. You can review this page to see if you can be successful .... good luck



Thanx


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 10, 2004)

*Cooling*

Hey I just wanted to know what kind of temps are acceptible when OCing a card, especially this one. What kind of fan or cooling do I need in my case or on the card to keep those temps safe? I am planning on buying a Sapphire Pro Vivo and modding it to the 16p AND 1040 core 1120 mem clocks.

Thanks for helpin a n00b

Aaron


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 10, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hey I just wanted to know what kind of temps are acceptible when OCing a card, especially this one. What kind of fan or cooling do I need in my case or on the card to keep those temps safe? I am planning on buying a Sapphire Pro Vivo and modding it to the 16p AND 1040 core 1120 mem clocks.
> 
> Thanks for helpin a n00b
> 
> Aaron


Read the begining of this article  it talks about temps and the links for W1zzards HSF reviews... you'll never reach 1040 for the GPU ... only the mem is x2, I know you mean 520/560 .... good luck


----------



## alteredNate (Dec 14, 2004)

*Damn...*



			
				Urlyin said:
			
		

> I see that W1zzard replied to the same message in another thread and I would agree that It does not look as though you'll be able to enable the 16pipes. You can review this page to see if you can be successful .... good luck



I'm in the same boat.  Tried everything but ATI Tool always reports 12 pipes.  I've got a powercolor X800Pro VIVO.  This is dissapointing, I would have grabbed a 6800GT instead, but I read so many reviews that said this worked I believed it!  Oh well.


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 14, 2004)

alteredNate said:
			
		

> I'm in the same boat.  Tried everything but ATI Tool always reports 12 pipes.  I've got a powercolor X800Pro VIVO.  This is dissapointing, I would have grabbed a 6800GT instead, but I read so many reviews that said this worked I believed it!  Oh well.



AlteredNate, If it is a VIVO then you should be able to flash it to an XT ... Have you uninstalled/reinstalled the drivers? Look for the ATI Rage Theater chip ...


----------



## JC (Dec 18, 2004)

*Step by Step Rolling back BIOS*

Hey guys;
I flashed my card the Gigabyte route.  Full on XT PE with 16 pipes... but, I have had a little instability now and then even if I drop the clocks down to XT speed.  I want to go ahead and flash her back to the original BIOS.

To get the steps correct let me run through what I think to be the correct procedure (make sure and get it right):

1.  Pull the modified flashrom files onto a bootable floppy
2.  Have my "backup.bin" and "empty.bin" on the same floppy
3.  Boot to created floppy
4.  Run "flashrom -p -f 0 empy.bin"
5.  Run "flashrom -p -f 0 backup.bin"
6.  Reboot and reinstall drivers

Is this exactly, step by step the correct way to do it?

The reason I am so ultra caustious is I dont have a PCI card handy and dont want to botch a flash.

Thanks in advance!
Josh


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## Urlyin (Dec 18, 2004)

JC said:
			
		

> Hey guys;
> I flashed my card the Gigabyte route.  Full on XT PE with 16 pipes... but, I have had a little instability now and then even if I drop the clocks down to XT speed.  I want to go ahead and flash her back to the original BIOS.
> 
> To get the steps correct let me run through what I think to be the correct procedure (make sure and get it right):
> ...



JC ... it should work that way, but do you want to go back to 12 pipes? Have you tried any of the other BIOS? The ATI or Connect3d, maybe one of the XT BIOS before you go back to the pro VIVO(assuming that is what it was)


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## ThreeNiL (Dec 18, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> JC ... it should work that way, but do you want to go back to 12 pipes? Have you tried any of the other BIOS? The ATI or Connect3d, maybe one of the XT BIOS before you go back to the pro VIVO(assuming that is what it was)



Thanks for the quick reply.

No, in fact I havent tried any other BIOS than the ones outlined in the Gigabyte walkthrough found 
HERE.  I would love to at least stay with the 16 pipes if possible, I just dont want to risk burning a $400 card for a couple extra FPS.

Do you think that the set of BIOS they provided could be the  problem?  I am doing this all to a new ABIT RX800 PRO VIO (VIVO) w/the Samsung 1.6ns mem.  I was hoping it would be at least a decent overclocker.  I will try and flash to another set of XT PE/XT/VIVO 16P BIOS before going back to stock.  Which do you recommend?

BTW.. Got registered.. Im JC from above.


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## Urlyin (Dec 18, 2004)

Some cards do better than others with certain BIOS... I have used the ATI BIOS mostly, some like the Connect3d and others the Sapphire... there is only one Pro 16pipe BIOS and you may want to try the XT BIOS at 500\500 first... Use ATITool to test your card to see if it can handle the 500\500 XT  BIOS then the XT PE 520\560 by setting the speed with ATITool and play some graphic intense games ... good luck


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## Unregistered (Dec 18, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> Some cards do better than others with certain BIOS... I have used the ATI BIOS mostly, some like the Connect3d and others the Sapphire... there is only one Pro 16pipe BIOS and you may want to try the XT BIOS at 500\500 first... Use ATITool to test your card to see if it can handle the 500\500 XT  BIOS then the XT PE 520\560 by setting the speed with ATITool and play some graphic intense games ... good luck



OK, I will give it a go.  Thanks Urlyin!


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## ThreeNiL (Dec 19, 2004)

*ABIT = Bad OCer *

Well Urlyin, I took your advice.

I based it mostly on the artifact checker in ATITool.  I flashed back to XT BIOS.  I tried the Sapphire and Conn3D versions.  I came up with artifacts on both after only a few seconds.  That sucks.  Who would have thought ABIT would put out such a bad OCer.

So I went ahead and used the X800Pro 16p BIOS.  Everything seems to be wonderful now.. 

Just glad I got the pipes open.  Too bad though, its a nice lookin card.






Thanks for the help all the same!


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## Unregistered (Dec 19, 2004)

Hello, I just ordered an Sapphire Atlantis x800 pro vivo but I see it has 2.0ns memory. Can I flash it with an xt pe bios which has 1.6ns memory or what should I do?


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## Urlyin (Dec 19, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hello, I just ordered an Sapphire Atlantis x800 pro vivo but I see it has 2.0ns memory. Can I flash it with an xt pe bios which has 1.6ns memory or what should I do?



If it's a VIVO you should be able to use the 16pipe pro BIOS... backup the original one first. You could try the Sapphire XT Bios 500\500 ....


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## Urlyin (Dec 19, 2004)

ThreeNil,

Some cards need a shot to get to the XT PE speeds via a voltmod. I thought most would do the XT BIOS of 500/500... did you use a XT BIOS or PE BIOS ? Still nice to have the 16pipes though


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 19, 2004)

Could I also flash it with the XT PE and put the speeds back to 500/500 or maybe 520/520 or is that not possible?


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## Urlyin (Dec 19, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Could I also flash it with the XT PE and put the speeds back to 500/500 or maybe 520/520 or is that not possible?



You can flash it with the PE BIOS and use a BIOS editor to change the default speeds... you're a little handicapped with the 2.0ns memory... you can use ATITool to change the settings for memory so the timings aren't as tight... I would go with one of the XT BIOS first at 500\500 and work from there ... find what the card likes and where it tops out at... take your time


----------



## ThreeNiL (Dec 19, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> ThreeNil,
> 
> Some cards need a shot to get to the XT PE speeds via a voltmod. I thought most would do the XT BIOS of 500/500... did you use a XT BIOS or PE BIOS ? Still nice to have the 16pipes though



I orignally was using the ATI XT PE BIOS.  I then flashed to the Sapphire and Connect3D regular XT versions.  Something really strange is that with the Pro 16P BIOS I am using now, I can overclock to XT speeds and be fairly stable.  I get one artifact after several minutes on the artifact checker.  As with the XT PE and regular XT BIOS at 500/500, I couldnt even go more than 10 seconds without getting tons of artifacts.






Im not too disappointed, I got the pipes open and overclocking to 500/500 I can get 3DMARK03 scores over 11,500.

Thats good enough to play Doom and HL2 at the upper settings.  Thats all I was looking for.

EDIT:
As for a voltmod, I came in with this card with the attitude that if I could flash it to an XT, great.. but if there was any hard modding neccessary, I would pass.  Besides, when I was doing some tests at the 520/560 clocks, It was running smoking hot with 70+C load temps.  With my current settings, 
I dont even top 55* at full load.  (stock HSF)


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 20, 2004)

ThreeNiL said:
			
		

> I orignally was using the ATI XT PE BIOS.  I then flashed to the Sapphire and Connect3D regular XT versions.  Something really strange is that with the Pro 16P BIOS I am using now, I can overclock to XT speeds and be fairly stable.  I get one artifact after several minutes on the artifact checker.  As with the XT PE and regular XT BIOS at 500/500, I couldnt even go more than 10 seconds without getting tons of artifacts.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What you look for is lock ups and artifacts in games... ATItool will show artifacts way sooner than in any highres game... Do some back to back benchmarks or play your favorite game for some length of time ... as for the temps, obviously lower is better but the GPU is rated above 90c , so 70c isn't a big issue. If you have a well vented case it should be fine ... just running like you are is fine as long as you're happy, enjoy the speed


----------



## ThreeNiL (Dec 20, 2004)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> What you look for is lock ups and artifacts in games... ATItool will show artifacts way sooner than in any highres game... Do some back to back benchmarks or play your favorite game for some length of time ... as for the temps, obviously lower is better but the GPU is rated above 90c , so 70c isn't a big issue. If you have a well vented case it should be fine ... just running like you are is fine as long as you're happy, enjoy the speed



With the 520/560 settings and XT PE BIOS, I was getting some artifacts in the Trolls Lair game part of 3DMark03.  I imagine I can get slightly better than XT speeds with this card but not quite 520/560.  So it isnt as bad an OCer as I thought, it just didnt like the BIOS I was throwing at it.  I can live with _only_ XT speeds.. hehe


----------



## JJF007 (Dec 23, 2004)

*Weird blocks after enabling 16 Pipelines*

Hi!

I patched the bios from my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO with the X800XT PE (ATI and Sapphire), even with the X800 Pro 16p Bios from the download Page. But everytime i have strange blocks over the screen.

I removed all Drivers, installed Catalyst 4.12 with no luck. Then the included from Sapphire - even no luck. With ATITool it runs perfect with 520/560 (even higher), but when i enable the 16 Pipelines (tried the X800 Pro 16p Bios too) i get this blocks you can see on the screenshot. Someone seen this before. I think that some of the disabled Pipelines are broken. I get the same blocks (not wild mixed over the screen, just like a nice build mask with same sized rects and the same space between them) when starting a DirectX Game (HL2 / Lord of the Rings).

<a href="http://jjf007.funpic.de/x800_blocks.htm">Screenshot</a>


Any help would be great. If someone can proofe that it is a Pipeline Problem it would be great too.


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 28, 2004)

JJF007 said:
			
		

> Hi!
> 
> I patched the bios from my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO with the X800XT PE (ATI and Sapphire), even with the X800 Pro 16p Bios from the download Page. But everytime i have strange blocks over the screen.
> 
> ...



It's not a pipe problem ... make sure your're not loading any profiles from atitool and use drivercleaner3 to remove all the drivers and reinstall. Have you tried to go back to the original BIOS?


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 29, 2004)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hallo Wizzard,
> 
> wie ich sehe bist du aus Deutschland, ich hoffe du kannst mir meine Frage beantworten.
> 
> ...



Hallo Sven

habe eben meine Asus X800Pro VIVO gepatcht, funktioniert gut. Wie beschrieben, eine Bootdisk ziehen, mit dem Flashtool dein derzeitiges Bios speichern. Dann das passende Bios von der Biosseite flashen und ab sofort hast Du eine XT PE.

Wichtig, Deine MSI Karte muss eine VIVO also Video In und Out sein, nur dann klappt es!

Gruss
Adrian


----------



## Unregistered (Dec 29, 2004)

Hello

works fine with my Asus X800 Pro VIVO  

Now I have a full XT PE an save 100$

Adrian


----------



## Sarek (Dec 30, 2004)

Does this modification work with all x800 pro vivo cards? Or just with a special brand?

I want to buy an MSI or Asus x800 Pro Vivo and want to know if all x800 pro can be used for the mod


----------



## Urlyin (Dec 30, 2004)

Sarek said:
			
		

> Does this modification work with all x800 pro vivo cards? Or just with a special brand?
> 
> I want to buy an MSI or Asus x800 Pro Vivo and want to know if all x800 pro can be used for the mod



So far Sarek to the best of my knowledge all VIVO have modded to at least a 16 pipe pro or XT...


----------



## Unregistered (Jan 1, 2005)

*Asus x800PRO/VIVO TVD*

For those who care:

Have an Asus X800PRO VIVO TVD which flashed to 16pipes fine, and OC's stable to 520/560 under ATITool, using Omega drivers.

Very happy!


----------



## JJF007 (Jan 4, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> It's not a pipe problem ... make sure your're not loading any profiles from atitool and use drivercleaner3 to remove all the drivers and reinstall. Have you tried to go back to the original BIOS?




Hello!

I got back to the original BIOS and everything works fine. I tried this on two systems (the other one had a NVIDIA before). I will try drivercleaner3 to remove all the drivers. 


Regards


Matthias


----------



## JJF007 (Jan 5, 2005)

Well, removed all drivers with DriverCleaner3, but after installing the latest Drivers the blocks appeared again. I had no ATITool installed.


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 5, 2005)

JJF007 said:
			
		

> Well, removed all drivers with DriverCleaner3, but after installing the latest Drivers the blocks appeared again. I had no ATITool installed.



That's strange .... worked fine then re-installed drivers caused the blocks to return? Are you using cat 4.12 or OEM drivers from the card manufacture? Did you reflash the card or is it still the original BIOS?


----------



## JJF007 (Jan 5, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> That's strange .... worked fine then re-installed drivers caused the blocks to return? Are you using cat 4.12 or OEM drivers from the card manufacture? Did you reflash the card or is it still the original BIOS?



Yes, thats very strange 

I removed the old drivers from Software Panel. Then flashed the BIOS with the Sapphire X800 XT PE Bios from the Bios Page (tried the original from ATI and the 16pipe enabled X800 Pro before, but not after DriverCleaner3). After that i started into Safe Mode while removing all Drivers with DriverCleaner3. Started Win XP and installed the drivers. Then restartet Win, without blocks. The first time, the Login Screen looks fine, but after loading the Desktop the blocks appear. If i restart Win the second weird is, that i have this blocks at the login screen!

Don't know if i should reinstall Win XP, because i had the same blocks on another System where was a NVIDIA Card was installed before and no NVIDIA ever. But i didn't use DriverCleaner3 on this System.


----------



## Unregistered (Jan 5, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> That's strange .... worked fine then re-installed drivers caused the blocks to return? Are you using cat 4.12 or OEM drivers from the card manufacture? Did you reflash the card or is it still the original BIOS?



Sorry, forgot that i installed the current Catalyst drivers from ati.com


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 5, 2005)

JJF007 said:
			
		

> Yes, thats very strange
> 
> I removed the old drivers from Software Panel. Then flashed the BIOS with the Sapphire X800 XT PE Bios from the Bios Page (tried the original from ATI and the 16pipe enabled X800 Pro before, but not after DriverCleaner3). After that i started into Safe Mode while removing all Drivers with DriverCleaner3. Started Win XP and installed the drivers. Then restartet Win, without blocks. The first time, the Login Screen looks fine, but after loading the Desktop the blocks appear. If i restart Win the second weird is, that i have this blocks at the login screen!
> 
> Don't know if i should reinstall Win XP, because i had the same blocks on another System where was a NVIDIA Card was installed before and no NVIDIA ever. But i didn't use DriverCleaner3 on this System.



So as long as you use your original BIOS everything is fine, right? Now my assumption is all VIVIO have 1.6ns memory and I assume your VIVO does correct? If the blocks appear on both systems then obviously it's in the card. Especially if it works fine with the original BIOS. Have you tried one of the XT BIOS? Not an XT PE BIOS ... If the XT BIOS does not work I would RMA the card. It should be able to handle the 500/500 speeds of an XT. But remember since ATI introduced the XT the waffers for the Pro VIVO are of a lesser quality ...


----------



## JJF007 (Jan 5, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> So as long as you use your original BIOS everything is fine, right? Now my assumption is all VIVIO have 1.6ns memory and I assume your VIVO does correct? If the blocks appear on both systems then obviously it's in the card. Especially if it works fine with the original BIOS. Have you tried one of the XT BIOS? Not an XT PE BIOS ... If the XT BIOS does not work I would RMA the card. It should be able to handle the 500/500 speeds of an XT. But remember since ATI introduced the XT the waffers for the Pro VIVO are of a lesser quality ...



Hi!

Yes, the card has 1.6ns memory. I tried the Sapphire XT PE Bios and the original from ATI (XT PE), even with the patched 16 Pipes opened X800 Pro Bios! With ATITool i can extend the speed over XT PE spezifications without any problems, so this isn't the problem. I think its something with the card, because when i try to capture with the TV In i have huge color bumbing / flickering from a VCR (which works fine with a USB MPEG Encoder).


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 5, 2005)

JJF ... there are XT BIOS and then there is  the XT PE BIOS... different clock speeds. Your Pro may not be able to handle the XT PE clocks .... try a XT only BIOS ... the 16pipe pro BIOS does not work with all cards ... But like you said it can handle the speeds of a PE ...  if you still have an issue after using the XT only BIOS .. then RMA it ..


----------



## truevader (Jan 7, 2005)

*Saphire X800 Pro ViVo with GC20*

Hello guys!

This is the knowledge i collected so far reading through all those threads and forums etc.:

1. No matter what manufacturer, you should be able to mod a X800 Pro VIVO card so that it runs with 16 pipes. Is that correct?

2. What bios / or what clock speeds it will be able to handle later on, depends how good GPU and mem you have on your card. right?

3. In other Forums i read though, that the card MUST HAVE Samsung 1.6ns on it, in the bios collection it says Saphire X800 Pro VIVO´s do have the Samsung 1.6ns on them. But mine has GC20, i think that means 2.0ns chips on it. Does that mean probably my card is some kind of "protected" and i wont be able to do anything now? or will i at least be able to unlock the 4 other pipes?

4. If by messing with these Bios flashes etc. your card breaks into two parts, you still own the 2 parts, is that correct?  but you most probably cannot RMA it anymore hehe

Thank you very much your help is very appreciated!


----------



## Unregistered (Jan 7, 2005)

I had Serious problems with my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO. I have the 1.6 memory and first overclocked the card to 520/560 and ran 3DMark to make sure it was stable at those speeds, no problems. I flashed with gvf11 as the flash program and r80x256v.f1 for the bios. I then had 16 pipes and more artifacts than you can shake a stick at!!! Lowering the clocks using ATI Tool had no effect on the artifacts. Temps are not bad. I flashed back to my "backup" bios and it's still had 16 pipes and all the artifacts. I also used Flashrom to use Sapphires original bios linked on this site, I still could not get back to 12 pipes!

I also read somewhere where the the Catalyst Control Center Drivers caused a problem like this for one user, but where uninstalling the CCC drivers and going to the Control Panel version seemed to get rid of his artifacts, I was not so lucky!

It's was so bad that I had to drop from 32bit to 16bit color just so I didn't have artifacts on my desktop and text!!! So, imagine what Far Cry looked like!

Finally, I used the "Modified Flashrom" to flash the "empty.bin" that I found on this site, and all is again well at 12 pipes!

Now, the question is do you think my cards extra pipes are bad, or was it the Gigabyte Bios? The modified flashrom allows flashing to any Bios, so I could try another one.
Ha, yes I like living on the edge! What do you think?

My card overclocks very well as a True X800 Pro Vivo;
Core up to 585 before having any problems, and a max temp of 64c
Memory up to 570 before any problems.

So the clocks are not a problem... I think it must be the Bios I flashed to, or bad pipe.

Thoughts?


----------



## Unregistered (Jan 7, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I had Serious problems with my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO. I have the 1.6 memory and first overclocked the card to 520/560 and ran 3DMark to make sure it was stable at those speeds, no problems. I flashed with gvf11 as the flash program and r80x256v.f1 for the bios. I then had 16 pipes and more artifacts than you can shake a stick at!!! Lowering the clocks using ATI Tool had no effect on the artifacts. Temps are not bad. I flashed back to my "backup" bios and it's still had 16 pipes and all the artifacts. I also used Flashrom to use Sapphires original bios linked on this site, I still could not get back to 12 pipes!
> 
> I also read somewhere where the the Catalyst Control Center Drivers caused a problem like this for one user, but where uninstalling the CCC drivers and going to the Control Panel version seemed to get rid of his artifacts, I was not so lucky!
> 
> ...




Well, I guess I'm stuck with 12 pipes. I tried several different bios flashes, including ATI's X800 Pro Vivo w/16 pipes bios. I can do nothing it seems to get rid of the artifacts when I have 16 pipes. The extra pipes on this card must be bad.

So I'm back to my original bios w/12 pipes and OC'd it to the 520/560 XTPE settings. Everything is running fine and I get a 3DMark of 11566... not to bad, but I sure would have liked the 16 pipes.

If anyone can think of anything else I could try, please let me know.


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## badkclark (Jan 7, 2005)

When I tried to flash the BIOS, I heard 3 successive tones from my computer. I'm going to reload drivers, etc, and see if this worked.

Anyone else heard these tones?

*Edit....check that....four successive tones. I've tried a number of BIOSes...seems that none of them are taking.

I have the Sapphire Pro Vivo card.


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## Unregistered (Jan 7, 2005)

the sapphire card I just got today has the stupid laser cut, looks like this mod is done. time to hardmod.


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## badkclark (Jan 11, 2005)

Got it to work. I have my 16 pipes enabled. Too bad my memory won't hit the 560 mark. Funny that my Core hits 570....memory hits about 480 and even that's close.

My most stable speed (and I haven't tested since I've opened the pipes) seems to be 520 core / 480 memory.

Anyone know of a more stable overclocking tool than ATITool? When I use that and try to benchmark with 3DMark03, looking at the 3DMark system settings, it's not correct. It boosts the speed for some reason. I think it's due to ATITool's instability with X800 series cards (from what I've read).


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 11, 2005)

badkclark said:
			
		

> Got it to work. I have my 16 pipes enabled. Too bad my memory won't hit the 560 mark. Funny that my Core hits 570....memory hits about 480 and even that's close.
> 
> My most stable speed (and I haven't tested since I've opened the pipes) seems to be 520 core / 480 memory.
> 
> Anyone know of a more stable overclocking tool than ATITool? When I use that and try to benchmark with 3DMark03, looking at the 3DMark system settings, it's not correct. It boosts the speed for some reason. I think it's due to ATITool's instability with X800 series cards (from what I've read).



ATITool isn't unstable if you set the speeds using ATITool manually... just artifacts sooner than it will in games or benchmarking. Have you tried one of the XT 500/500 BIOS ? Some BIOS have more aggressive memory timings than others or some cards needed a little more juice to OC to XT PE speeds


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## Urlyin (Jan 11, 2005)

truevader said:
			
		

> Hello guys!
> 
> This is the knowledge i collected so far reading through all those threads and forums etc.:
> 
> ...



True

1. appears to be that way.. yes
2. generally speaking ... yes
3. memory will be handicapped but yes ... you should be able to run an XT BIOS
4. technically yes and no... flashing the BIOS in itself should not void the warranty, flashing it to an XT BIOS probally does... 2 parts only means you modded it ... 4 parts means it's an extreme mod ... 6 parts... you lost it and need to stay away from the caffine ... hehe

Remember to back up the original BIOS and maybe try the Pro 16pipe BIOS first ...


----------



## truevader (Jan 11, 2005)

where do i find that Pro 16 pipe or XT 500/500 bioses? in the bios collection? i didnt seem to see them

And Uri many many thanks taking your time answering


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## Urlyin (Jan 12, 2005)

truevader said:
			
		

> where do i find that Pro 16 pipe or XT 500/500 bioses? in the bios collection? i didnt seem to see them
> 
> And Uri many many thanks taking your time answering



ATI BIOS Collection is here 

Review the this thread from the begining ... some good reading material on flashing how to
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask... and your welcome


----------



## runmc (Jan 12, 2005)

I flashed my vivo bios to the latest ATI X800XT pe bios in the collection using flashrom. Everything went fine. Card seems to run okay. I am getting the checkerboard effect in Lobby and Nature. I haven't done any vmods . Vcore is 1.42v

Thanks for the good information.   Any ideas on what causes the checks?


----------



## marcus2704 (Jan 12, 2005)

Problems Im afriad...  I have flashed my Powercolor X800 Vivo to X800XT using the guides kindly provided and I used the Powercolor X800XT bios, and ATI tool confirms that 16 pipes are now unlocked, and the clock speeds are 520/550.  

All was well until Ive been playing Far Cry, and several times now the card has reset itself.  Am I to assume that the card wont run safely at that speed, in which case Id need to revert back to the original bios?  I did try this earlier, however upon running atiflash Im told 'Adapter 0 not found'.  The fan is notably noisier now also, which I guess is to be expected.  Any help/advice on this would be great.


----------



## badkclark (Jan 12, 2005)

I'm going to be doing the volt mods sometime this week. My memory is still only able to run effectively at a max of 480. For memory slated to run at 600 mHz, this is interesting. I'm hoping the volt mods will provide more stability.


----------



## marcus2704 (Jan 12, 2005)

What does the volt mod involve?  I ran a search on this thread but nothing came up.


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## badkclark (Jan 12, 2005)

Go here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=194


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 12, 2005)

marcus2704 said:
			
		

> Problems Im afriad...  I have flashed my Powercolor X800 Vivo to X800XT using the guides kindly provided and I used the Powercolor X800XT bios, and ATI tool confirms that 16 pipes are now unlocked, and the clock speeds are 520/550.
> 
> All was well until Ive been playing Far Cry, and several times now the card has reset itself.  Am I to assume that the card wont run safely at that speed, in which case Id need to revert back to the original bios?  I did try this earlier, however upon running atiflash Im told 'Adapter 0 not found'.  The fan is notably noisier now also, which I guess is to be expected.  Any help/advice on this would be great.



Marcus ... Alot of the VIVO cards could not run the XT PE speeds without a voltmod. Try one of the XT BIOS with the 500/500 speeds... or use a BIOS editor and set the speeds to something the card can handle.


----------



## aL Doom (Jan 12, 2005)

Hello everyone,

I have a PCIe Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO. Ive done exactly whats written on the guide and I used both the ATI and Sapphire X800XT (not pe) bios. However when I restart, the system detects a x800se. ATI tool reports 500/500 speeds but only 12 pipes. My systems only has 2.0ns membory rather than 1.6 

When stress testing at 500/500 levels i experianced no problem... just a small fps boost. 

Anyone?


----------



## marcus2704 (Jan 12, 2005)

Thanks, Ive set the speed to 520/530 as after lengthy tests using ATITool it provided those as the relavant maximums.  So far Ive not had any issues since, so I expect Ill stick with this for the time being.


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 13, 2005)

marcus2704 said:
			
		

> Thanks, Ive set the speed to 520/530 as after lengthy tests using ATITool it provided those as the relavant maximums.  So far Ive not had any issues since, so I expect Ill stick with this for the time being.




Good to hear Marcus ... enjoy!


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 13, 2005)

runmc said:
			
		

> I flashed my vivo bios to the latest ATI X800XT pe bios in the collection using flashrom. Everything went fine. Card seems to run okay. I am getting the checkerboard effect in Lobby and Nature. I haven't done any vmods . Vcore is 1.42v
> 
> Thanks for the good information.   Any ideas on what causes the checks?



Use ATITool to set your speeds to 500\500 and try the bench then... let us know if that helps. I also remember someone posting something with the checkerboard in another thread, I'll try to find it. As I recall I think they found the issue ...


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 13, 2005)

aL Doom said:
			
		

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have a PCIe Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO. Ive done exactly whats written on the guide and I used both the ATI and Sapphire X800XT (not pe) bios. However when I restart, the system detects a x800se. ATI tool reports 500/500 speeds but only 12 pipes. My systems only has 2.0ns membory rather than 1.6
> 
> ...



Al  ... I'm not up on the PCie boards yet but from what I've seen they are flashing the BIOS successfully... not to many PCIe BIOS to pick from as of yet... have you reflashed back to the original? Anyone have a PCI XT BIOS you can send to Run ? Maybe W1zzard has some he hasn't posted yet ... W1zzard?


----------



## aL Doom (Jan 13, 2005)

Seems my card is a bit unique  W1zzard did mention something about PCIe and thought its a-o-k to go ahead and flash. I never read about anyone who had a x800se identified instead of a pro. odd.

Thanks anyway,
aL


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 13, 2005)

aL Doom said:
			
		

> Seems my card is a bit unique  W1zzard did mention something about PCIe and thought its a-o-k to go ahead and flash. I never read about anyone who had a x800se identified instead of a pro. odd.
> 
> Thanks anyway,
> aL



AL... don't know how a Pro VIVO can flash to a SE unless the SE BIOS has been used... Did you backup the original BIOS? Use the empty.bin BIOS and then flash a PE BIOS. Remember use the empty BIOS with caution and make sure you have the BIOS you intend to use on the floppy to flash right after you use the empty BIOS ... with the PE BIOS you can still set the speed that your card can handle.

You can check the BIOS with Rabid to see if it is the correct BIOS
Make sure you use the Flashrom16p here 

I'll send Mad Maxx a PM to see if he can take a peek at one ....


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## Unregistered (Jan 13, 2005)

I've just done this mod and it has all gone ok except for one thing. I can't run games and windows has poor performance on visual elements. Dxdiag says this:
"Direct3D functionality not available.  You should verify that the driver is a final version from the hardware manufacturer."
I have tried reinstalling the latest drivers from ati but to no avail. My card is an asus x800 pro tvd and i am running xp pro sp2.


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## Unregistered (Jan 13, 2005)

Never mind, i changed the driver for my primary monitor from plug and play monitor to default monitor and all is well. Thanks for the free upgrade!


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## aL Doom (Jan 13, 2005)

@Urlyin: I was talking to w1zzard earlier. Something is definitly amiss. Perhaps things will become clearer when pcie is more prevelent. I was using ATI x800xt bios. No idea whats going wrong. 

Anyone have a PCIe card and want to share their modding experiance?


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 13, 2005)

aL Doom said:
			
		

> @Urlyin: I was talking to w1zzard earlier. Something is definitly amiss. Perhaps things will become clearer when pcie is more prevelent. I was using ATI x800xt bios. No idea whats going wrong.
> 
> Anyone have a PCIe card and want to share their modding experiance?



Al I'll look but I thought we had a member who successfully did the mod with a PCIe ...


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## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> Al I'll look but I thought we had a member who successfully did the mod with a PCIe ...



AL check out this thread... here ... Bumpy did it just following W1zzards instructions and using his Flashrom tool from here 

I'm seeing more issues with people trying to flash their cards and the only problem is their not using the modified flashrom by W1zzard .... read and follow the instructions to save yourself some time   

Al this is not pointed at you ... I'm sure that was one of W1zzards first questions... but check out the thread and see if it helps ...


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## truevader (Jan 14, 2005)

*Sapphire X800 Pro PCIE GC20 VIVO red PCB*

Ok guys, at this point I can now jump in with some additional infos:

I have the above card. I experienced EXACTLY the same shit that happened to Al.

1. I flashed the AGP 16P Pro bios onto the card (of course using the 16p flashrom), Win XP SP2 detected a new card, but atitool showed 12 pipes still.

2. I tried the Sapphire X800 XT PCIE bios, winxp would detect an X800 SE, still 12 pipes.

3. Tried the ATI X800 XT PCIE bios, same

4. Ultimately formatted the whole bios with empty.bin, then flashed the Gigabyte r80x256v.f1 X800XT PE bios = you guess it... X800 SE with 12 pipes...


Well my conclusion is a bit unorthodox but read it:

- When ATI has a new GPU, at production beginning, faulty pipes happen quite often and the clocks dont go as high by far. It would be stupid from them to block OCing or modding totaly at the beginning. Let thoso modders pick out a few cards and mod them, if it wasnt possible that would be bad for sales, very bad. We all like to buy cards for lower $ from which we hope we can squeeze out the power of cards 100+$ more expensive.

but now i guess, the production process became so good, the yield is almost no defective chips and very high OC-ability, because the card went to 520 GPU and even 500 Mem easy and totally stable, giving 5000 3DMark05, with its 12 pipes even, which is slightly below an 6800 Ultra! and that was without an Arctic Silencer 4 on it even. if i put it on i will let you know how high it goes without voltmod.


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

truevader said:
			
		

> Ok guys, at this point I can now jump in with some additional infos:
> 
> I have the above card. I experienced EXACTLY the same shit that happened to Al.
> 
> ...



First it's more like the other way, in that they have added more steps down before a chip makes it to a pro. THE X800XT PCIe and the X800 XT which means they have lower quality waffers left for the Pro. I never did understand why the VIVO boards came out without the laser cut, maybe now it is something they are doing.  Have you checked the GPU to see if it has the laser cut?  Maybe the OEM of your board decided to make a change with the PCIe boards ...


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## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

4. Ultimately formatted the whole bios with empty.bin, then flashed the Gigabyte r80x256v.f1 X800XT PE bios = you guess it... X800 SE with 12 pipes...


AL is what Truevader did in step 4 the way you flashed using the Gigabyte BIOS


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## aL Doom (Jan 14, 2005)

I'll try. But i only have 2.0ns memory

Lets see.....


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## aL Doom (Jan 14, 2005)

x800se is still here..... ATI must have done something to its cards.

@Urlyin: I followed w1zzards instructions to the letter. Oh well.


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## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

aL Doom said:
			
		

> x800se is still here..... ATI must have done something to its cards.
> 
> @Urlyin: I followed w1zzards instructions to the letter. Oh well.



Sorry to hear Al    ....


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## kurik (Jan 14, 2005)

Hi all,

First of all, damn this thread is long  Ive read almost every post but the real issue for me is the pcie version of the BBA x800pro vivo card.

Has anyone successfully unlocked the 4 pipes on *ATI RADEON X800PRO 256Mb DDR3 2XDVI VIVO bulk PCI Express* ? link to a swedish page with the card. http://www.datorbutiken.com/se/default.php?artId=ATIX800PRO

Im considering to buy this card, but im not sure yet, i would like to know what my chances are of unlocking, and yeah i know its hard to say, but has *anyone* done it successfully?

Also, lets say that this card has lasercut pipes, i know you can just do some pencil mod on it, silverpen, does it have to be any special silverpen ?

Cheers!
//Kurik


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

kurik said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> 
> First of all, damn this thread is long  Ive read almost every post but the real issue for me is the pcie version of the BBA x800pro vivo card.
> 
> ...



Kurik ... looks like the jury is still out on the PCIe cards ... couple of members have done the mod and it seems a few who can not link 

If you think that you need to do the hardmod.. then try  to stay away from it ... I did ask Truevader to see if the card had Laser cuts ... All did you look to see if your card did?


----------



## truevader (Jan 14, 2005)

I will do that this weekend and see if it has the lasercut, which it most probably does have. (The Card is installed in the PC of a friend)

If it has the lasercut and that is the reason the softmod doesnt work, there exists a hardmod? if so where can i find it, i would try that maybe then too


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

truevader said:
			
		

> I will do that this weekend and see if it has the lasercut, which it most probably does have. (The Card is installed in the PC of a friend)
> 
> If it has the lasercut and that is the reason the softmod doesnt work, there exists a hardmod? if so where can i find it, i would try that maybe then too



There is a hardmod but very few have made it work .... besides don't void the warranty for a less than 10 to 30 percent or less chance of it working ...


----------



## truevader (Jan 14, 2005)

and what about the voltmods guru?   

12 pipes @ 650 MHz GPU i think would also not be bad hehe could install a watercooling for that.

and what about the GC20 RAM i picked up on some forum that 500 MHz is the resulting Maximum theoretical clock rate, which is the reason they are putting it on the new XTs? or how high can it go?


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

truevader said:
			
		

> and what about the voltmods guru?
> 
> 12 pipes @ 650 MHz GPU i think would also not be bad hehe could install a watercooling for that.
> 
> and what about the GC20 RAM i picked up on some forum that 500 MHz is the resulting Maximum theoretical clock rate, which is the reason they are putting it on the new XTs? or how high can it go?



Yeah ... what's that about .. I like the stars better ... The voltmods on the PCI are on the same chips as the AGP. But they have moved the locations of the VGPU measure point to the middle of the card... and then turned some resistors around... have you looked at the X800 Voltmod here 

Maybe W1zzard can post some pics of the backside of the PCIe card ... but if you can locate the same areas on the PCIe card the same settings and resistors in the article should appy ...

I thought the 1.6ns on the Xt was rated 600mhz ... with the 2.0ns I think you'll be  slightly handicapped ..


----------



## kurik (Jan 14, 2005)

thing is... i dont now at all if the card has 1.6ns memory or if it has lasercuts... because i cant find any decent info about it. ATi.com doesnt say much and i cannot find much info on other boards.

i could buy it i guess and report back, but i rather have more info before i decide which card to buy... considering 6800gt.


----------



## Urlyin (Jan 14, 2005)

kurik said:
			
		

> thing is... i dont now at all if the card has 1.6ns memory or if it has lasercuts... because i cant find any decent info about it. ATi.com doesnt say much and i cannot find much info on other boards.
> 
> i could buy it i guess and report back, but i rather have more info before i decide which card to buy... considering 6800gt.



It should tell you the specs for the mem ... only way to find out about the laser cut is to either wait to see if that is the issue with True or buy one ... nothing wrong with getting the GT either... tuff call


----------



## Unregistered (Jan 14, 2005)

searched around a bit and cant find any specs on the memory, so i will email the company that sells the card. www.datorbutiken.se 

atm it looks like im gonna buy the ati card as the nvidia 6800gt is so much more expensive. if im lucky i get a kickass card, if not ... i still got one of the better cards on the market today. no shame in that.


----------



## kurik (Jan 16, 2005)

hmms.. still no info found, so i guess i will buy the card anyways and hope for the best.


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## Unregistered (Jan 20, 2005)

*Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO ----> X 800 XT PE*

Hello @ All !

I followed this tread all 22 sites. But found a little problem no one had mentioned so far.

I have a Sapphire X800 Pro VIVI (bought in Jan05)

I tryed flashing the Card with the Latests ATI X800 XT PE Bios, using the mentioned Flashrom16..

Now the report:

Bios DeviceID =  0x4A50
ASCI DeviceID = 0x4A49
Existing SSID =   0x0002
New SSID     =   0x0002

Existing   P/N  113-A26107-103
New Bios P/N  113-A26105-102

and got this error:

Bios P/N does not match with Bios File P/N !
ERROR

Yes i know the force command (-f), but is that occuring error normal within the fashing prozess ?
I said it in the first lines ... no one reportet this error so far.

Hope someone read this post, because i would like to hab an X800XT PE too =)


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## Unregistered (Jan 30, 2005)

Yeah its normal, i have the exact same card as you just force it with -f and it works fine


----------



## Gorro (Feb 8, 2005)

I would to know if do exist ViVo cards(with Rage theatre) without the yellow cd audio connector.
Thanks.


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## storkman (Feb 9, 2005)

*going back to 12 pipes*

Thanks for including that empty.bin file!

I had flashed to x800xt pe, but I was getting major artifacts at any clock speed because of the 4 extra pipes. 
I had also used the gigabyte bios without realizing that it would stop me from returning to 12 pipes. 
That empty.bin bios finally allowed me to return to 12 pipes!

ps My memory also was not stable at 560mhz. I must have picked from the bottom of the x800pro vivo barrel.


----------



## Urlyin (Feb 10, 2005)

storkman said:
			
		

> Thanks for including that empty.bin file!
> 
> I had flashed to x800xt pe, but I was getting major artifacts at any clock speed because of the 4 extra pipes.
> I had also used the gigabyte bios without realizing that it would stop me from returning to 12 pipes.
> ...



Stork I recommend trying one of the XT BIOS at 500\500 ... get the 4 extra pipes you'll see the difference ... make sure you use the Flashrom tool from this web site ...


----------



## J. Ro (Feb 10, 2005)

Just bought a PCI-Express Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO and stumbled on this thread when doing some reasearch on the card. I have the card now and buy the looks of it it seems to have 2.0 ms RAM. Is there a chance that I could still try to unlock the full 16 pipes? What BIOS would I use? My new mobo is being shipped soon so I can't really test anything just yet, but I was just wonderin' about it.


----------



## aL Doom (Feb 10, 2005)

I have the exact same card and w/o a hard mod most likely you won't be able to get the additional 4 pipes since the newer cards have a lasercut.


----------



## storkman (Feb 10, 2005)

Urlyin, I tried several bios versions, including the x800pro 16 pipe one that is clocked at normal x800pro speeds, with the same result. You think it would make a difference if it was a x800xt bios at lower speeds? 

oh well, worth a try


----------



## storkman (Feb 10, 2005)

storkman said:
			
		

> Urlyin, I tried several bios versions, including the x800pro 16 pipe one that is clocked at normal x800pro speeds, with the same result. You think it would make a difference if it was a x800xt bios at lower speeds?
> 
> oh well, worth a try



No dice... whenever I enable the extra four pipes I get a light pattern of squares all over any 3d graphics. Definitely not an improvement. I guess I'll just overclock the 12 pipes that work.


----------



## Urlyin (Feb 10, 2005)

storkman said:
			
		

> No dice... whenever I enable the extra four pipes I get a light pattern of squares all over any 3d graphics. Definitely not an improvement. I guess I'll just overclock the 12 pipes that work.



I thought it was your speed not bad pipes ... sorry Stork ... might try to RMA to see if you luck changes ...


----------



## Norbert (Feb 13, 2005)

When i try to get the BIOS for the ATI X800Pro ViVo16P i get a Message " The requested URL /bios/dl/4057bd9e476cd2fb3db4432763b6677a/ATI.X800PROVIVO16P.256.Samsung16.040511.bin was not found on this server."
This Message also come on other Download-Links in the Bios Collection.
What`s wrong?
Sorry for my bad Englisch (I´m from Germany)


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## Unregistered (Feb 17, 2005)

*couldnt get file to work*

i couldnt get the file to work i put in flashrom command <0> <x.bin> [r] is there something i did wrong any help is apreciated


----------



## AceRimmer (Feb 17, 2005)

*No probs*

After reading a few posts in this thread i'd thought i'd give it a go.
I got bios from http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16.040609.bin
And the Flashrom from this link http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip
followed all instructions as mentioned, held my arms around my head for about 5mins as my computer rebooted. Hay presto, i had change my Asus AX 800Pro/Tvd 256 into a Radeon X800xt Platinum Edition. All Sixteen pipes going. Thanks all in the thread who helped, you all know who you are!


----------



## mR Yellow (Feb 17, 2005)

AceRimmer said:
			
		

> After reading a few posts in this thread i'd thought i'd give it a go.
> I got bios from http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16.040609.bin
> And the Flashrom from this link http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip
> followed all instructions as mentioned, held my arms around my head for about 5mins as my computer rebooted. Hay presto, i had change my Asus AX 800Pro/Tvd 256 into a Radeon X800xt Platinum Edition. All Sixteen pipes going. Thanks all in the thread who helped, you all know who you are!



Congrats AceRimmer, is ur ASUS a vivo?


----------



## AceRimmer (Feb 17, 2005)

It's a Vivo ATI = TVD came in a big box with a web cam and a bunch of games. i'm getting 12000 in 3dbench2003 does that sound alright for this card? What do you get dude?


----------



## mR Yellow (Feb 17, 2005)

AceRimmer said:
			
		

> It's a Vivo ATI = TVD came in a big box with a web cam and a bunch of games. i'm getting 12000 in 3dbench2003 does that sound alright for this card? What do you get dude?



Ur score sounds about right  
Im getting -  
11 600 in 3Dmark2003
5 300 in 3Dmark2005
64 000 in Aquamark

But thats because ive overclocked my card. U can get much higher scores if u start overclocking ur card


----------



## Tek (Feb 23, 2005)

Hello,

Sorry I am noob at this whole OCing, but I am looking to purchase an AGP X800 Pro Vivo since the X800 XT PE is very overpriced and hard to get...

Now I have been reading on a couple of forums in regard to people's success in overclocking the X800 Pro Vivo by flashing bios to enable the extra 4-pipelines, and the result seems very promising (and more cost effective than buying the PE)

I would like to know which company makes the most overclockable agp vivo card right now? Some of the threads I read said that the Gigabyte X800 Pro Vivo is actaully PE, but I can't seem to find one anywhere... So I am looking to find a stable card that is easy to overclock without ruining the card. 

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.


----------



## Unregistered (Feb 27, 2005)

*Works like a charm*

Got an Asus x800pro Vivo (also called TVD on their website). Did the biosupgrade with the modified flash utility and it works like a charm. Got myself a x800xt pe now. Gained about 30% in 3Dmark05 compared to the "ordinary" x800pro 

My setup is watercooled, so it stays around 36 degrees celcius all the time.


----------



## Unregistered (Feb 28, 2005)

Ok My card will run xt speeds but gets alittle 2 hot so my question is this.

Can I just flash it with the modified ATI X800PRO 16 PIPES bios and then just overclock it?

And also can it be undone by flashing the orginal bios that i have saved back on to it?

thanks again


----------



## Urlyin (Feb 28, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Ok My card will run xt speeds but gets alittle 2 hot so my question is this.
> 
> Can I just flash it with the modified ATI X800PRO 16 PIPES bios and then just overclock it?
> 
> ...



What's the temp? Read the Before you begin section here to see where your temps fall ...


----------



## Unregistered (Feb 28, 2005)

temps r around 74 after running ati tool for 2 hours.

I am just goin to use the modded x800pro 16 pipe bios.

Can i flash it back in the future if i need to?


----------



## Urlyin (Feb 28, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> temps r around 74 after running ati tool for 2 hours.
> 
> I am just goin to use the modded x800pro 16 pipe bios.
> 
> Can i flash it back in the future if i need to?



Use ATITool to max fan at 100% which will decrease temps around 5c -7c degrees. Yes you can flash back at anytime. I'd try one of the XT 500/500 Bios ... still 16 pipes and should work fine for your card ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 1, 2005)

thanks. going to give it a try just have to go out and get some new floppy disks.  going to back up my orginal bios many times incase I need it in the future.

core goes to 543 stable and ram does 593 stable but temps r alittle high goin to get a new cooler for it and then let it rip but for now 16pipes is my goal.


Can u flash a dead card? just curious.


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 2, 2005)

Ok I flashed it and all 16 pipes r up and running but went to flash back with the empty.bin and i get this error what should i do.

SSID does not match with bios file "empty.bin" SSID!
Use F to force flashing

Error OFLO1: Press 1 to continue


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 2, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> thanks. going to give it a try just have to go out and get some new floppy disks.  going to back up my orginal bios many times incase I need it in the future.
> 
> core goes to 543 stable and ram does 593 stable but temps r alittle high goin to get a new cooler for it and then let it rip but for now 16pipes is my goal.
> 
> ...



Depends on what dead means, you can use a PCI card to boot from to reflash if you need to. You need the empty.bin BIOS for? Be careful using the empty BIOS, if you do not flash a Flash Bios back to the card right after using the empty BIOS before rebooting, the card will not boot .... use  Flashrom -f -p 0 empty.bin


----------



## unregistred (Mar 3, 2005)

*a little issue*

hi everybody

i tried to flash my BBA ATI X800Pro vivo with the ATI X800Pro 16P and everything goes OK, on the Atitool i see X800Pro and the nbr of active pipes is 16...but when i launch the scan for artifacts module everything hangs.

i lowered the GPU speeds but nothing goes right. what should i do?


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 3, 2005)

unregistred said:
			
		

> hi everybody
> 
> i tried to flash my BBA ATI X800Pro vivo with the ATI X800Pro 16P and everything goes OK, on the Atitool i see X800Pro and the nbr of active pipes is 16...but when i launch the scan for artifacts module everything hangs.
> 
> i lowered the GPU speeds but nothing goes right. what should i do?



The modified 16pipe BIOS doesn't agree with all cards... try one of the X800 XT 500/500 BIOS ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 3, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> The modified 16pipe BIOS doesn't agree with all cards... try one of the X800 XT 500/500 BIOS ...



is the gigabyte XT 500/500 are good to try? or even another one from another Builder?


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 3, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> is the gigabyte XT 500/500 are good to try? or even another one from another Builder?



You can try that one... some cards work better with certain Bios than others, sort of trial and error. I lean towards the ATI BIOS ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 5, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> You can try that one... some cards work better with certain Bios than others, sort of trial and error. I lean towards the ATI BIOS ...



oh my god..my PC hangs after the empty.bin flash....my card is bios-less now, what should i do? i dont have a PCI VGA Card should i buy one or my X800 is ....Dead?

pls help


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 7, 2005)

finally i got a savage4 PCi and i reload my original bios back...ouf

but for now i will let down the upgrade.....only for now


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 7, 2005)

Just tried on Powercolor x800pro and get artifacts no matter what clock speed :-(
Flashing back to PRO bios now


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 8, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> The X800 series doesn't come in PCI-X... X600XT/X600pro and X300/X300se for ATI PCI-Express



Hmmm so I guess my Saphire x800Pro VIVO PCI-E fell from the sky as a gift from the god . . . hehe

Neways you may talk about it some more over the next 23 pages but I dont wana look over it and it was an old post so im sure you updated it. Anyhow I have -=Saphire x800Pro VIVO PCI-E=- just wondering what the best bios flash would be for it, its running the r423 chip type 450/475 12 pipes. LEmmy know  thanks a lot guys


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 8, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hmmm so I guess my Saphire x800Pro VIVO PCI-E fell from the sky as a gift from the god . . . hehe
> 
> Neways you may talk about it some more over the next 23 pages but I dont wana look over it and it was an old post so im sure you updated it. Anyhow I have -=Saphire x800Pro VIVO PCI-E=- just wondering what the best bios flash would be for it, its running the r423 chip type 450/475 12 pipes. LEmmy know  thanks a lot guys



On the next page ... 


			
				Urlyin said:
			
		

> Well you're right about them being made. Their just not available yet, read this review for some good info http://firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_x800_x600_xt/ .
> 
> ASUS doesn't put anything different on their boards than any other mfg (other than PCB color and HSF mfg specific). There is a difference between an XT and a XT Platium Edition, about 20mhz I believe. All XT's come with VIVO (ati rage theater chip)
> 
> ...



...long ...long thread .... first backup your original one and I haven't looked lately to see what BIOS W1z had for the PCI-E cards. But I'd try the latest ATI BIOS first, it may be you'll need to test a couple to which one works best for your card ... update to my last quote is that ASUS does use a different temp chip in some of it's cards. Maybe W1zzard can verify that ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 9, 2005)

Is there a 500/500 or 520/520 ATI X800xt bios out?
I looked in the collection but only have one listed under pci-e


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 10, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Is there a 500/500 or 520/520 ATI X800xt bios out?
> I looked in the collection but only have one listed under pci-e



AGP XT 500/500 BIOS under Connect3D and Sapphire ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 11, 2005)

*X800pro VIVO PCI-EXPRESS bios flashing*

I recently bought a retail sapphire X800 pro vivo card and attempted to flash the bios.After about six different bios files i found this post and decided to remove my heatsink.Imagine my shock when i seen that the laser cut was on my card which contains the yellow vivo plug.I guess they caght on and nixed anyone buying the newer pro vivos to activate the extra pipes.So if  you are having trouble this is probably why.


----------



## Ropey (Mar 11, 2005)

I bought a Sapphire x800 pro VIVO with 1.6 ms Samsung Ram. Flashing went well with recognition as XT PE, flawless at stock speed and mem 520/560.



			
				Urlyin said:
			
		

> I had that problem when I used the Doom3 fix 4.9 cat beta drivers... try the 4.8 cat drivers... it worked for me ... also I thought the ATI BIOS worked the best...


The two unknown devices are:

1.  ATI WDM Rage Theatre Video NSP

and

2.  ATI WDM Specialized MVD Codec

I let windows search the install Sapphire disk and it found the proper drivers.



			
				Frumpco_ said:
			
		

> Is there a way to get a AGP card to post after accidenly clearing the BIOS and having the machine restart on you? I have put in a PCI card set it to the default display int he bios but when I put the X800 in there the comptuer will not POST it just cont to beep, any idea's? I know once I get it post I will be fine and able to flash it again


You need to clear the cmos and remove the AGP card leaving the video card in the PCI Slot.  Then go into the bios and set to boot to  PCI first rather than AGP.  Then install the AGP card again and startup.  The bios will initialize the PCI video card first and you will be able then to reflash the bios of the agp card.

Regards and thanks for the clear method to give me this rocking Mod 

Ropey


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 11, 2005)

Ropey ... those are for the VIVO, use drivercleaner3 to uninstall the ATI drivers and then install the latest cat drivers from ATI ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 12, 2005)

*it dont works*

when i type flashrom -s 0 oldbios.bin for save the old bios , it says that the command or the filename is wrong!!!!


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 13, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> when i type flashrom -s 0 oldbios.bin for save the old bios , it says that the command or the filename is wrong!!!!



Review the page here, make sure it's a zero and not the letter 0 .... which flashrom tool are you using?


----------



## codestrom (Mar 14, 2005)

Sorry to post a bit off topic, but this is clearly where advanced users are looking.  I have Dell 5150 with ATi mobility 9000 m9.. atiflash, flashrom and atitool all dump 0 byte rom file.  I'm guessing this is a Dell/ATi locking the rom issue.  Dos prompt > debug does give output, but not savvy enough to create a .rom file from it.  Normally, I use Linux and have a spare HD for my laptop and trying to get some permanate boost from my video card.  *Unaware of any way to do this from xorg or ati closed Linux drivers.  Thanks thanks and sorry for off topic.  It doesn't make any difference if I'm booting off USB device?  Device ID is 4c66


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 19, 2005)

*Help!!*

I have a PCI-E Club 3D X800 Pro ViVo.Which BIOS should i use for the 16 pipes Mod? I`ve tried with the ATI X800 XT BIOS for PCI-E but it don`t work!!!!!!!  
(when you can , answer in German)


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 21, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have a PCI-E Club 3D X800 Pro ViVo.Which BIOS should i use for the 16 pipes Mod? I`ve tried with the ATI X800 XT BIOS for PCI-E but it don`t work!!!!!!!
> (when you can , answer in German)



Sorry... I don't know German. But in what way did it not work... A lot of the PCI-E Pro VIVO have laser cuts and the BIOS flash does not enable 16 pipes ...


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 28, 2005)

*new sapphire*

are the new sapphire x800 pro vivos 8xagp

*Manufacturer SKU:
100580VIVO

are they laser cut or uhh no?
and what is the percentage rate of flashing rate to xt pe?

i plan on getting one. i know it's kinda late in the game. i'm just wondering if its too late and that sapphire has blocked it. i tried reading lotsa forums :-/ havent found any answers.. so any reply would be great


----------



## Unregistered (Mar 28, 2005)

*same guy as above, jsut wanted to add..*

sorry abotu the mess.. just wanted to add.. to flash and obtain same power/speeds as x800 xt pe, should i get a new heatsink/fan or is the current one good


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 28, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> sorry abotu the mess.. just wanted to add.. to flash and obtain same power/speeds as x800 xt pe, should i get a new heatsink/fan or is the current one good



Your chance are still good that it will flash to a XT at 500/500 may need a vmod to get it to a PE .. should be okay with the stock fan with the XT PE speeds


----------



## uselessnanhai (Mar 28, 2005)

volt mod.. is using the pencil thing?


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 29, 2005)

uselessnanhai said:
			
		

> volt mod.. is using the pencil thing?


Pencil or Varible resistor


----------



## jammnrose (Mar 30, 2005)

*can it be done*

i am almost certain that i do not have the VIVO card...no yellow connector...but are there any markings on the outside of the box that would tell me otherwise??
i also read somwhere in this thread that non-vivo cards made by ati themselves do not have the cut... is this true? is there a way to verify this w/o taking heatsink off? 
otherwise i would have to do a hard mod i which i dont think is a good idea....right?

thanks


----------



## Urlyin (Mar 30, 2005)

jammnrose said:
			
		

> i am almost certain that i do not have the VIVO card...no yellow connector...but are there any markings on the outside of the box that would tell me otherwise??
> i also read somwhere in this thread that non-vivo cards made by ati themselves do not have the cut... is this true? is there a way to verify this w/o taking heatsink off?
> otherwise i would have to do a hard mod i which i dont think is a good idea....right?
> 
> thanks



Look at the back of the card to see if there a Rage Theater Chip... you can save your original BIOS try the flash and if it doesn't work flash back .. no it will void the warranty and it's only a slim chance it will work ...


----------



## zaptone (Apr 6, 2005)

Are the current PCI-e x800 PRO VIVO's still moddable by doing this?


----------



## Mr. Howard (Apr 6, 2005)

*Help!!!*

Hi.... I Tried to flash my bios with modified flashrom and stuff on my powercolor x800 pro vivo!!!
It worked.... Windows spotted a x800 xt pe after flashing

But when I opened Atitool I saw that my active pipelines where still 12 and not 16!!!

I Did it the way you told us to do it W1zzard but I do not have 16 pipelines yet!!!

Please help....

btw!
The Flashing went very well and no error messages or something like that!!
Everything exept unlocking the pipelines went successful!!

Please help me....


----------



## Urlyin (Apr 7, 2005)

Mr. Howard said:
			
		

> Hi.... I Tried to flash my bios with modified flashrom and stuff on my powercolor x800 pro vivo!!!
> It worked.... Windows spotted a x800 xt pe after flashing
> 
> But when I opened Atitool I saw that my active pipelines where still 12 and not 16!!!
> ...



Mr. Howard is your card a PCI-E?


----------



## Mr. Howard (Apr 7, 2005)

*X800 Pro VIVO modding*

Nope... My x800pro vivo card is not a pci-e its agp!!

Bought it for about 5 months ago!!


----------



## Mr. Howard (Apr 7, 2005)

Btw.. 

Do I have to use gigabyte bios perhaps??


----------



## Mr. Pipi (Apr 8, 2005)

hi,
first:i´m from germany and so i hope u excuse for my english.
well, i got a sapphire x 800 pro vivo and flashed my bios to different xt pe bios from diffrent producer like sapphire,connect 3d etc. benchmarks like aquamark 3 or 3d mark 05 work without problems but when starting far cry, in some levels i got a bluescreen or freeze.and when i check this problem with ati tool "scan for artifacts" there appears the first error after 0.0 sec. so i flashed my old bios again and checked for my max core and mem.it increased up to 530/570 and perhaps it would increas more and more if i didn´t stop the test.so i thougt that my x 800 could run stable with a xt pe bios and so i´ve checked out an other bios. i ´ve chosen the power colour xt pe bios.far cry runs now stable and there doesn´t appear a bluescreen yet. but when testing with ati tool "scan for artifacts" there still come errors, but now after 3.5 min. a little improvement. so i increased the fan speed up to 100%.
and then the error appears after 7.5 min.i have the ac ati silencer 4.
could anyone help me with my problem. i want the scan test run for infinity min without problems.
so what could i do without flashing a xt or pro bios, i want the best matching xt pe bios for my x 800.
so i ´d like to thank u for ur answers


----------



## EC (Apr 8, 2005)

*Problems after flashing BIOS*

I just got a sapphire x800 pro vivo card to replace my 9800 pro.  I removed my 9800 pro from my mb and put the x800 in and started up.  I loaded up ati tool and tested core and memory at xt speeds without any problems.  I then flashed the bios to ATI x800xt pe.  When I check the pipes in ati tool, I saw that it was now reporting 16 pipes, however when I started the scan for artifacts test, my computer froze immediately.  I rebooted and decided to start up quake3 to see if it would have any problems, it froze immediately and I got an ATI GPU error after a few seconds.  I flashed it back to x800 pro bios and have been running it for a couple of days without any problems.  I just can't figure out why I can't do anything after flashing to xt.  I tried the regular xt bios and had the same problem.  I flash the xt pe bios again and underclocked the core and mem back to pro speeds.  same lockup problem.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.


----------



## Urlyin (Apr 9, 2005)

Mr. Howard said:
			
		

> Btw..
> 
> Do I have to use gigabyte bios perhaps??



If the Flashrom by W1zzard didn't do it... I am not sure the Gigabyte will ... It's worth a try though ... I don't recall any of the AGP cards having the lazer cut and having it for 5 months as well ... have you tried to uninstall and reinstall the ATI cats?  It should have worked, does your card have the Rage Theater chip on the back?  ...


----------



## Urlyin (Apr 9, 2005)

EC said:
			
		

> I just got a sapphire x800 pro vivo card to replace my 9800 pro.  I removed my 9800 pro from my mb and put the x800 in and started up.  I loaded up ati tool and tested core and memory at xt speeds without any problems.  I then flashed the bios to ATI x800xt pe.  When I check the pipes in ati tool, I saw that it was now reporting 16 pipes, however when I started the scan for artifacts test, my computer froze immediately.  I rebooted and decided to start up quake3 to see if it would have any problems, it froze immediately and I got an ATI GPU error after a few seconds.  I flashed it back to x800 pro bios and have been running it for a couple of days without any problems.  I just can't figure out why I can't do anything after flashing to xt.  I tried the regular xt bios and had the same problem.  I flash the xt pe bios again and underclocked the core and mem back to pro speeds.  same lockup problem.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.



With the Original BIOS do some testing and see if the card can handle the XT or XT PE speeds ... I have yet to see a Pro VIVO not handle at least the XT speeds of 500/500 ... or like you said run the XT PE BIOS at the Pro speeds ...


----------



## EC (Apr 9, 2005)

*tried that*

I reloaded the original bios and had not problems at either xt or xt pe speeds.  I loaded the XT PE bios and I can't start up the ati tool artifact test at any speed, pro speeds or less even.  I loaded the new ATI drivers that came out yesterday and it didn't improve my problem.  I'm at a loss here.  I haven't seen or heard of anyone having a problem with this mod.  Any additional help would be much appreciated.


----------



## Urlyin (Apr 9, 2005)

EC said:
			
		

> I reloaded the original bios and had not problems at either xt or xt pe speeds.  I loaded the XT PE bios and I can't start up the ati tool artifact test at any speed, pro speeds or less even.  I loaded the new ATI drivers that came out yesterday and it didn't improve my problem.  I'm at a loss here.  I haven't seen or heard of anyone having a problem with this mod.  Any additional help would be much appreciated.



Your right I have not heard of anyone having issues like that either... Which BIOS have you tried? ATI XT PE and one of the XT BIOS ... are you using the flashrom tool from W1zzard? First use the empty.bin BIOS and then flash it to a Sapphire XT 500/500 bios or try the 16pipe Pro VIVO BIOS ... IMPORTANT that you have the Sapphire and empty BIOS on the disk to flash the Sapphire BIOS right after you use the empty.bin BIOS ...


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 9, 2005)

who got also a sapphire x 800 or know sth about my problem?thx


----------



## Mr. Pipi (Apr 9, 2005)

sorry,it was me who asked that question.i forgot to log in.


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 10, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> If the Flashrom by W1zzard didn't do it... I am not sure the Gigabyte will ... It's worth a try though ... I don't recall any of the AGP cards having the lazer cut and having it for 5 months as well ... have you tried to uninstall and reinstall the ATI cats?  It should have worked, does your card have the Rage Theater chip on the back?  ...




I have tried the softmodded drivers but with no success... and my card have the Rage Theater chip on the back!!!
I will try to uninstall my drivers and try the originals!!!!

btw...
I have a powercolor x800pro agp card!!!!
Does that make any sense to you???


----------



## LouieV (Apr 10, 2005)

*Are my video card temps within the acceptable range?*

I bought one of BB ATI X800 Pros being sold by COMPUSA.  I started this business by flashing the card with the X800 Pro VIVO/16P bios to enable the 4 extra pipelines. No problems, worked great.

Well after running artifact tests on my card for 5-6 hours using ATITool set at 520/560. I haven't received any artifacts/errors. So I decided to flash to the ATI X800 XT/PE bios and like before, the flash went perfect, no problems encountered.

After re-installing my video drivers, the card is recognized as a X800 XT/PE and the drivers load with no problem.

Video card temps are at 35C (idle) and 54C (at load) after 2 hours of playing UT2004 and Brothers in Arms. Also, after 3 more hours of testing, temps are staying at 53C/54C (at load) and I haven't received any errors with any other game or program I've tried.

From what I've read in this thread, 54C is well within the acceptable heat range for this video card at load. Will someone please correct me, if I am not understanding this right.

I used the modified flashrom 237 and ATI XT/PE Bios files that are linked at the beginning of this thread. I not 100% sure about the temps, but so far, I think this has worked great.

A big thanks to Wizzard for sharing your modified flashrom tool & knowledge.


----------



## djbbenn (Apr 11, 2005)

*Back tracking to 12p*



			
				W1zzard said:
			
		

> use modified flashrom and flash your original bios back to get 12p



So w1zzard you can flash back 12p? because i did the mod and my card artifacts like crazy now!!    I tried to go back to orginal just by flashing the old bios but the 16p are still enabled...  plz help!! thx


----------



## chrisnic0 (Apr 12, 2005)

*Newbie help*

hi guys was looking for a little help im a newbie so bear with me.
Ive got a gigabyte x800 pro vivo, and i have 16 already enabled out of the box.
I was wondering what i do now in terms of flashing the bios. (ive never done this b4)
Also can u use other companys bios over gigabyte as the gigabyte X800 XT only runs at 500 500 and i was looking for 520 560?
thanks for ur help
Nico


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 12, 2005)

chrisnic0 said:
			
		

> hi guys was looking for a little help im a newbie so bear with me.
> Ive got a gigabyte x800 pro vivo, and i have 16 already enabled out of the box.
> I was wondering what i do now in terms of flashing the bios. (ive never done this b4)
> Also can u use other companys bios over gigabyte as the gigabyte X800 XT only runs at 500 500 and i was looking for 520 560?
> ...




If u have the 16p already enabled u don;t have to flash the bios. u can download atitool and just overclock to those speeds. Hope it helps 

Dan


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 13, 2005)

x800 pro sapphire flashed to ati x800 16p ati tool shows 16 pipelines. will post back after a few hours of hl2.


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 13, 2005)

Ok it all looks stable no artifacts


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 16, 2005)

*question*



			
				Unregistered said:
			
		

> x800 pro sapphire flashed to ati x800 16p ati tool shows 16 pipelines. will post back after a few hours of hl2.



Is that AGP or PCI-E? Thanks.


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 24, 2005)

*Recommendation for MSI x800PRO 256 VIVO Please*

I have an MSI x800 PRO VIVO AGP card.  I've confirmed that it has the Samsung 1.6ns memory.  Unfortunately, it begins to show artifacts in ATITool a bit lower than 560 on the memory clock.

Is my best option to use the ATI x800 PRO VIVO 16p BIOS and then overclock from there?

Or, would I want to use the MSI x800 XT PE BIOS and underclock from there?

Also, how do I save my current BIOS, or is that an option inlcuded in the modified flashrom utility?

Thanks!


----------



## Unregistered (Apr 24, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have an MSI x800 PRO VIVO AGP card.  I've confirmed that it has the Samsung 1.6ns memory.  Unfortunately, it begins to show artifacts in ATITool a bit lower than 560 on the memory clock.
> 
> Is my best option to use the ATI x800 PRO VIVO 16p BIOS and then overclock from there?
> 
> ...



Answered my own questions with a little more research.  I dumped the old BIOS with the atiflash utility.  Then, I flashed it with the MSI x800 XT PE BIOS.  As expected, I had a few artifacts at 520/560, but still stable.  So, I just reflashed my old BIOS without using the "-newbios" command line with atiflash.  Now, I've got the original OEM BIOS and 16 pipelines enabled.  I can overclock from the factory defaults, now.

The only odd thing is that my CPU fan maxes out on bootup now.  I have to run corecenter and apply CoolnQuiet to get it to auto-adjust.  I wouldn't have expected a video BIOS flash to mess with the system fan speeds...   Guess I'll have to investigate that, now.  I never used to run CoreCenter at all, but now I have to click apply for C&Q everytime I restart the machine if I don't want all the fans maxed constantly.


----------



## intoruble (May 4, 2005)

*..*

Hi I have a Sapphire X800pro which i modded to X800XT PE about 3 months ago, I also added an ATI4silencer/cooler to the card, which has run happily for about 3/4 months at stock speeds.. now however the card has started crashing or the screen has started to break down into either big purple or yellow blocks and sometimes a white grid all over the screen, after about half an hours use - i'm being told that there is an error with my Graphics accelerator, and that VPU is resetting the card.  Is my card burnt out? or can this be fixed

Thanks in advance..


----------



## introuble (May 5, 2005)

got it sorted thanks for all your help you kind people...


----------



## Unregistered (May 7, 2005)

*Which bios, and where?*

I just got a x800 pro vivo pci-e today. Just wondering where I can download a x800 XT/PE PCI-E bios.


----------



## nixus (May 9, 2005)

*x850 Pro Vivo?*



			
				Unregistered said:
			
		

> I just got a x800 pro vivo pci-e today. Just wondering where I can download a x800 XT/PE PCI-E bios.


There is a link on the upper left side of this site's home page (www.techpowerup.com) to a list of ATI bios files.

Does anyone know if this can be done on an x850 Pro Vivo?  I have one (PCI-E) but I have not had any success in getting the last pipe quad unlocked.  I'd just like to know if there is any point in continuing to try.  If not - fine - but if there is a chance then I will continue to research it.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.


----------



## I love ATI (May 9, 2005)

so, can someone tell me which brands have X800 Pros PCI-Express cards that don't have laser cut pipelines? I hear a lot of them do and I don't want to get one that I wouldn't be able to flash.


----------



## Unregistered (May 9, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I just got a x800 pro vivo pci-e today. Just wondering where I can download a x800 XT/PE PCI-E bios.



I couldn't find one ether man! I finally found a Asus one, I uploaded it to my geocities site here. Heres the link: 

http://www.geocities.com/kraytdragon2003/AsusX800XTPEPCIe256MBSamsung-Rev01.zip

Good luck man and let me know how it works. BTW, what brand is your card?


----------



## nixus (May 10, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I couldn't find one ether man! I finally found a Asus one, I uploaded it to my geocities site here. Heres the link:
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/kraytdragon2003/AsusX800XTPEPCIe256MBSamsung-Rev01.zip
> 
> Good luck man and let me know how it works. BTW, what brand is your card?


There are x800 xt pci-e bios files on this site!
http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/

Do a search (ctrl-f) for x800 xt - there are at least two.  I stopped searching after that because I don't need it.  You can also find some at mvtech.net.


----------



## Unregistered (May 10, 2005)

no, I was talking about finding a X800XT PE, you know, the Platinum Edition. There aren't any officail PCI-E versions of this card. Thats why it took me forever to find a BIOS for one. I think someone just took a X800XT BIOS, changed the clock speeds and what it shows up as in Windows. Trust me, search newegg.com and you won't find a X800XT PE PCI-Express card.


----------



## nixus (May 10, 2005)

I'm not sure what you mean by "official" - if you mean you cannot find them at the sites of manufacturers then perhaps you are correct, but I believe these at this link are dumps contributed by users with those cards:
http://www.mvktech.net/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=26&func=selectfolder&filecatid=8


----------



## schwill (May 13, 2005)

I have a ati x800 pro vivo, and flashed the bios to x800 xt pe, everything goes good.  ati tool shows im runnin 16 pipes, fps are way up, but I am getting some ugly vertical lines all over my monitor.  Uninstalled all drivers, lines go away, reinstall drivers, lines come back.  Tried several different bios from the site, same problem.  The lines are no where to be seen when i am running 12 pipes at pro and xt speeds.  Is this a problem with the drivers, the card, the bios,  or what?


----------



## schwill (May 13, 2005)

update, the lines are only visible when i am on the windows desktop.  When I load a game (I used Risk II), the lines dissappear, and the graphics work flawlessly.  This is sounding more and more like a problem with the drivers I used, which are new stock catalyst drivers.  I have uniinstalled and reinstalled the drivers in every imaginabable order, but still no success.  I have just reinstalled windows and have not been able to connect to the internet to download sp2 or direct x c yet, could this be contributing to the problems? ANyone have any ideas?


----------



## gR3iF (May 13, 2005)

hm u have to have dx 9 to let the driver work,
sp2 isnt necessary but it includes dx 9 so install it fast


----------



## djbbenn (May 13, 2005)

schwill said:
			
		

> I have a ati x800 pro vivo, and flashed the bios to x800 xt pe, everything goes good.  ati tool shows im runnin 16 pipes, fps are way up, but I am getting some ugly vertical lines all over my monitor.  Uninstalled all drivers, lines go away, reinstall drivers, lines come back.  Tried several different bios from the site, same problem.  The lines are no where to be seen when i am running 12 pipes at pro and xt speeds.  Is this a problem with the drivers, the card, the bios,  or what?



I had a very simular problem. The mod seemed to work great. Nothing looked wrong, Atitool had no errors and temps were good. But as soon as I played a game I got the checkard board effect. I tried uninstalling the drivers. I played a game with just windows drivers and the blocks were gone. But it didn't work with the offical drivers installed. Put it back to 12p at XT PE speeds and it worked great. Must be deffective pipes for me, but it sounds to be the opposite for you were you get it in windows and not games.   

-Dan


----------



## gR3iF (May 13, 2005)

for him it might be better  or ati was just doing some kind og thing?
maybe try dna or omega driver just to see if they are gone.


----------



## Unregistered (May 16, 2005)

wait, and you guys are all using the PCI-Express version?


----------



## schwill (May 16, 2005)

I tried the omega drivers, and still the same problem.  I am assuming that I got a card with bad pipes.  My x800 is agp(in response to previous post)


----------



## djbbenn (May 16, 2005)

Same here, got AGP.

-Dan


----------



## dnile (May 17, 2005)

Well, I can confirm another success with this mod - I got a Powercolor X800 pro vivo, and after running the various 3DMarks, I flashed the bios using the modified flashrom program. I used the Powercolor X800XT-PE bios, just because my card was Powercolor to begin with. After I restarted and reinstalled drivers, I opened ATITool to confirm, and now my card is running at X800XT-PE speeds (520/560) with 16 active pipelives. The highest temperature it's ever been to is 67C, and that's at 66% fan speed, using the automatic settings. All this with stock cooling. Before I bought it, I had some concerns about the number of people having to buy 3rd party coolers, but I looked at pictures of the X800 pro vivo and the X800XT-PE, and they use exactly the same cooling anyway, at least the Powercolor ones do. I figured then, that with a bit of luck, my card should run at XT-PE speeds with stock cooling - and it did, so I guess I was just lucky.

Good luck to anyone else who tries this mod.


----------



## nixus (May 17, 2005)

Was that AGP or PCI-E?


----------



## gR3iF (May 17, 2005)

agp stands for advanced graphic port
and pci express is an port for a new type of cards which gives u a theoretic performance boost


----------



## Eigner (May 17, 2005)

*x800pro 12p @16p*

Hi
My new power Color X800 pro can't run at 560mhz on mem - only 552mhz, so I have to just do the 16pixel line flash. How do I do that?
1) how/which files do I need to make the boot disk for WinXP SP2
2) Which flash software?
3) Which flash file?

Thanks.


----------



## djbbenn (May 17, 2005)

Eigner said:
			
		

> Hi
> My new power Color X800 pro can't run at 560mhz on mem - only 552mhz, so I have to just do the 16pixel line flash. How do I do that?
> 1) how/which files do I need to make the boot disk for WinXP SP2
> 2) Which flash software?
> ...



Well if you flash the XT PE bios you can just clock it down a bit. Or you can use the X800pro 16p bios. For a bootdisk I used drdflash.exe . For the flashrom . And for the bios, you can either use th XT PE bios or the X800pro16p bios found here . If you use the XT PE bios makesure you turn the mem clocks down if your card can't handle it. Flashing instructions are here . And save you orginal bios first. Is your card a VIVO? Becuase it has to be to unlock the pipes. Hope it helps.

-Dan


----------



## gR3iF (May 17, 2005)

or unlock the pipes manuall


----------



## djbbenn (May 17, 2005)

You mean hardmod gR3iF?

-Dan


----------



## gR3iF (May 17, 2005)

jup i did one yesterday night S) i was bored and so i tried but it worked


----------



## djbbenn (May 17, 2005)

Nice. 

-Dan


----------



## Unregistered (May 18, 2005)

gR3iF said:
			
		

> jup i did one yesterday night S) i was bored and so i tried but it worked


Cool...  Can you briefly describe your method?  Did you do any cutting or just connect the dots?

Do you know anything about the x800se cards as far as unlocking pipes go?  They come with 8 enabled but should have 16 and seem to ramp up well when overclocked.


----------



## Eigner (May 18, 2005)

*x800pro 12p @16p*

Hi.. its a vivo. ill try your guide in a moment - hopefully it will work


----------



## Unregistered (May 18, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Well if you flash the XT PE bios you can just clock it down a bit. Or you can use the X800pro 16p bios. For a bootdisk I used drdflash.exe . For the flashrom . And for the bios, you can either use th XT PE bios or the X800pro16p bios found here . If you use the XT PE bios makesure you turn the mem clocks down if your card can't handle it. Flashing instructions are here . And save you orginal bios first. Is your card a VIVO? Becuase it has to be to unlock the pipes. Hope it helps.
> 
> -Dan



Thx.. It took about 3 mins and now I have 16Pixel pipelines. great! and the core clock speeds are atleast xt - unfortunately my mems could only go to 552mhz - just 8mhz from xt pe - but what the **** its all right anyway


----------



## djbbenn (May 18, 2005)

That extra 8MHz wont make any difference to what you see. It might give your mem another .5Gb/s bandwidth, but you wont notice it. The pipes are the main thing and where you get them, your set. 

-Dan


----------



## dnile (May 19, 2005)

My card is an AGP card, Nixus - I managed to get an increase of about 1200 in 3DMark05 after doing the mod. At the moment I'm getting about 6000, but that's because I can't overclock my processor and run the XT-PE at the same time - need a beefier power supply.


----------



## Aksu (May 20, 2005)

*thanks*

i initially had some difficulty with the proper bios (I have a Asus X800 Pro TVD) - but after trying the ati bios, and uninstalling all drivers with driver cleaner and installing the latest catalyst 5.4 - everything is running smoothly - im waiting for my ati silencer rev 4 to see if i can up the frequenciess -  ive had about a 1000 increase in 3d mark 05.

I would like to whoever came up with this and those who keep on giving advice - you guys are awesome - peace.


----------



## nixus (May 21, 2005)

Aksu said:
			
		

> i initially had some difficulty with the proper bios (I have a Asus X800 Pro TVD) - but after trying the ati bios, and uninstalling all drivers with driver cleaner and installing the latest catalyst 5.4 - everything is running smoothly - im waiting for my ati silencer rev 4 to see if i can up the frequenciess -  ive had about a 1000 increase in 3d mark 05.
> 
> I would like to whoever came up with this and those who keep on giving advice - you guys are awesome - peace.


AGP or PCI-Express?  I'm curious about the success rate for pci-e since that's the kind of board I have.

Thanks!


----------



## Unregistered (May 22, 2005)

*Strange... Artifacts*

Hi.. 

I have just bought a Gecube x800PRO Vivo AGP card. It clocked just fine, 520/553 aproxx.

I have tried to falsh the bios to ATI 16 pipes, no clocking and now with ATI x800xt pe bios.

HL2/CSS, doom3, warhammer 40000 runs great, but I get artifacs in 3dmark 2001 SE, and ATI tool. They are like squares in the background in ATI tool, looks nasty. What can i do?? Do I have broken pipes?? My card doesn't complaine running x800 pro 520/560, in any test??

Please help me.


----------



## djbbenn (May 22, 2005)

Sounds like you have defective pipes. The only why to get rid is to go back to the orginal bios. Sometimes...omega drivers will clear it up, but is doubtfull. I had the same problem and I had to go back to 12p  

-Dan


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 27, 2005)

Well, I bought a GeCube X800 Pro VIVO with the entire purpose of ramping it up to XT PE. I bought a Thermaltake Giant 3 for my old videocard, so I was pretty sure it would run at XT speeds. After the flash, everything went fine. 16p, around 40% speed boost. But it soon started artifacting. Most noticible in ATITool, it was kind like a grid of flashing white pixels. But all my games were handling it fine, only being able to see them when you look really really hard. But Vampire: Bloodlines hated it. It looked terrible, lagged like crazy, and then crashed. Reverting back to my Original BIOS it all went fine. I tried a number of XT PE BIOS's (3 Stock ATI ones, 2 GeCube ones, and a Gigabyte one) to no avail. I also tried the ATi Pro VIVO 16p one, but it still rooted up. I figured that I had dodgy pipes, and was fucked. But maybe not. For no good real reason, I tried other X800 Pro VIVO 12p Bios's (An ATi one and a Gigabyte one) and got the exact same problems as with the 16p ones, except ATItool only found 12p, so I started thinking what the problem was, and figured that it had to be a problem with the chip, or something...

And how do i tell if its 1.6ns ram? All the online specs I found just say GDDR3, nothing about the ns specs. Dont tell me I have to rip off the stupidly large hsf again, the shitloads of thermal paste just go everywhere.

So, any thoughts oh masters of the uber ATi hack-y ness?


----------



## nixus (May 27, 2005)

Azrael_NZ said:
			
		

> And how do i tell if its 1.6ns ram?


You look on the ram chips.  Look for a number ending in either gc20 or gc16.  This will indicate 2.0ns or 1.6ns ram.


----------



## Unregistered (May 30, 2005)

After reading the thread I'm still a little confused. Has anyone been able to get the 16 pipes to work with the PCI-X versions of the card? I'm looking at the SAPPHIRE 100600L-Red Radeon X800PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466) and am curious if this card has the laser cuts or not. Actually it's almost certain I'm going to get the card regardless as it fits my needs/budget right now, and I'm only really interested in the 16 pipes and not the higher speeds, but I'm wondering what (if anything) to expect.


----------



## Urlyin (May 30, 2005)

Azrael_NZ said:
			
		

> Well, I bought a GeCube X800 Pro VIVO with the entire purpose of ramping it up to XT PE. I bought a Thermaltake Giant 3 for my old videocard, so I was pretty sure it would run at XT speeds. After the flash, everything went fine. 16p, around 40% speed boost. But it soon started artifacting. Most noticible in ATITool, it was kind like a grid of flashing white pixels. But all my games were handling it fine, only being able to see them when you look really really hard. But Vampire: Bloodlines hated it. It looked terrible, lagged like crazy, and then crashed. Reverting back to my Original BIOS it all went fine. I tried a number of XT PE BIOS's (3 Stock ATI ones, 2 GeCube ones, and a Gigabyte one) to no avail. I also tried the ATi Pro VIVO 16p one, but it still rooted up. I figured that I had dodgy pipes, and was fucked. But maybe not. For no good real reason, I tried other X800 Pro VIVO 12p Bios's (An ATi one and a Gigabyte one) and got the exact same problems as with the 16p ones, except ATItool only found 12p, so I started thinking what the problem was, and figured that it had to be a problem with the chip, or something...
> 
> And how do i tell if its 1.6ns ram? All the online specs I found just say GDDR3, nothing about the ns specs. Dont tell me I have to rip off the stupidly large hsf again, the shitloads of thermal paste just go everywhere.
> 
> So, any thoughts oh masters of the uber ATi hack-y ness?




Try one  of the XT 500/500 BIOS ....


----------



## Urlyin (May 30, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> After reading the thread I'm still a little confused. Has anyone been able to get the 16 pipes to work with the PCI-X versions of the card? I'm looking at the SAPPHIRE 100600L-Red Radeon X800PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI-Express x16 Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466) and am curious if this card has the laser cuts or not. Actually it's almost certain I'm going to get the card regardless as it fits my needs/budget right now, and I'm only really interested in the 16 pipes and not the higher speeds, but I'm wondering what (if anything) to expect.



Most of the X800 Pro VIVO PCI-E have had the lazer cut ....


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 30, 2005)

Urlyin said:
			
		

> Try one  of the XT 500/500 BIOS ....



The only ATi 500/500 one I could find was an PCI-E card. I have AGP...

But I did find a few others, preferring to go with a Gigabyte one and a Powercolor one. Not too sure If them shall work right, But I shall get back to yall.


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 30, 2005)

Well it still artifacted. The artifacting in ATiTool is kinda hard to describe, so I took a screenshot. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





But I made a pretty imporant discovery. Final Fantasy 7 goes fine. No biggie. But Diablo 2 in DirectDraw goes fine too. Switching to D3D it immediatly roots itself. So maybe my RAM is 1.6ns (I'm not really all that sure, but everything goes fine). But, does DirectDraw actually use the Pixel Pipes??? I'm just not too sure...

Oh, took a screenie of Morrowind's water effects, in which you can see the artifacting only slightly. Apart from Vampire: Bloodlines, pretty much every D3D game looks like this. V:B rooted itself really badly. As did D2...


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 30, 2005)

Stupid fucking thing


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 30, 2005)

Oh, just fucking great. Mods!?!?!?!


----------



## Unregistered (May 30, 2005)

Azrael_NZ said:
			
		

> Oh, just fucking great. Mods!?!?!?!



What do you need mods for? lol


----------



## Azrael_NZ (May 31, 2005)

To delete my fucked up posts. Thats why.


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 4, 2005)

*frustration much!*

Ok, I have tried flashing my powercolor x800 pro vivo, but it refuses to flash. No error messages or anything, it just goes through the procedure, but doesnt change the bios. I run the -l command and it came up serial rom locked, does this have anything to do with it. I am using the modified flashrom from w11zard and bioses from this site. Any help would be much appreciated. 
thanks guys - pete...


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 4, 2005)

*ahahhah sorted*

nevermind got it sorted. 16 glorious pipes, 0 artifacts! thanks guys
pete...


----------



## wolfran (Jun 8, 2005)

I have a question regarding this bios flashing thing.
Well, I just bought a MSI X800pro VIVO and have successfully enabled the 16 pipelines by  using the ATI X800pro VIVO 16P bios with no problems whatsoever. I'm very grateful to W1zzard for this.

My question: is it better to leave the bios with this ATI bios or should I flash it back to the original MSI bios while still enabling the 16 pipelines?
My worry is that bios is the one that driving the functions and features of a hardware. Now if I keep this ATI bios will I lose image quality or some other functions/features that MSI has but not ATI?


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 8, 2005)

Azrael_NZ said:
			
		

> Well, I bought a GeCube X800 Pro VIVO with the entire purpose of ramping it up to XT PE. I bought a Thermaltake Giant 3 for my old videocard, so I was pretty sure it would run at XT speeds. After the flash, everything went fine. 16p, around 40% speed boost. But it soon started artifacting. Most noticible in ATITool, it was kind like a grid of flashing white pixels. But all my games were handling it fine, only being able to see them when you look really really hard. But Vampire: Bloodlines hated it. It looked terrible, lagged like crazy, and then crashed. Reverting back to my Original BIOS it all went fine. I tried a number of XT PE BIOS's (3 Stock ATI ones, 2 GeCube ones, and a Gigabyte one) to no avail. I also tried the ATi Pro VIVO 16p one, but it still rooted up. I figured that I had dodgy pipes, and was fucked. But maybe not. For no good real reason, I tried other X800 Pro VIVO 12p Bios's (An ATi one and a Gigabyte one) and got the exact same problems as with the 16p ones, except ATItool only found 12p, so I started thinking what the problem was, and figured that it had to be a problem with the chip, or something...
> 
> And how do i tell if its 1.6ns ram? All the online specs I found just say GDDR3, nothing about the ns specs. Dont tell me I have to rip off the stupidly large hsf again, the shitloads of thermal paste just go everywhere.
> 
> So, any thoughts oh masters of the uber ATi hack-y ness?



There is no guarantee that the cards the downloaded bios files came from and your card have the same block of four pipelines faulty, those 12p bioses are probably switching four of the good pipelines off. For various reasons I was not able to back up my Gecubes bios, and  am now having to find one that switches the right four pipelines off just in case I need to revert to 12p later, although all the games that I have run including Bloodlines are fine.


----------



## Cisko (Jun 8, 2005)

did someone succed the hardmod on laser cut ??? and get the 16 pipe stable on a sapphire x800pro vivo pci-e ?


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 9, 2005)

W1zzard said:
			
		

> es geht nur mit einer Pro _VIVO_
> ja es geht nur um das bios das du drauf flashst



Hi W1zzard.
Scheine irgendwie zu blöde zu sein,meiner Sapphire X800Pro Toxic 256 die 4 zusätzlichen pipelines "einzuhauchen!!?
Darf ich Dich mal bitten mir,mit Links,zu den Dateien die ich dafür brauche und evtl.zu ner deutschen Anleitung wie es geht,zu antworten??Ich möchte NUR die 16 Pipelines nutzen können und nicht die Karte hochtakten oder ne XT draus machen,da die Karte ja einiges selber hochtaktet!
Ich wäre Dir sehr dankbar dafür!

Gruß
       Der Unregistered User "Bueller"


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 9, 2005)

W1zzard said:
			
		

> es geht nur mit einer Pro _VIVO_
> ja es geht nur um das bios das du drauf flashst



Hi W1zzard.
Scheine irgendwie zu blöde zu sein,meiner Sapphire X800Pro VIVO Toxic 256 die 4 zusätzlichen pipelines "einzuhauchen!!?
Darf ich Dich mal bitten mir,mit Links,zu den Dateien die ich dafür brauche und evtl.zu ner deutschen Anleitung wie es geht,zu antworten??Ich möchte NUR die 16 Pipelines nutzen können und nicht die Karte hochtakten oder ne XT draus machen,da die Karte ja einiges selber hochtaktet!
Ich wäre Dir sehr dankbar dafür!

Gruß
       Der Unregistered User "Bueller"


----------



## obvious (Jun 10, 2005)

I've seen reports that the x800 pro's now have the fourth quad (pipelines 13-16) burned out to prevent modding but don't know if this is just a rumour so I wonder if any of the current PCI-E lineup at newegg would be worth trying?

http://tinyurl.com/8eo6g (newegg.com)

Thanks !


----------



## nixus (Jun 10, 2005)

I got one and I haven't had any luck, either with soft or hard mod.  I won't be buying anymore x800 pro pci-e vivos in hopes of that mod.  Card's great though - runs xt pe bios stable @ 520/560.


----------



## Azrael_NZ (Jun 10, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> There is no guarantee that the cards the downloaded bios files came from and your card have the same block of four pipelines faulty, those 12p bioses are probably switching four of the good pipelines off. For various reasons I was not able to back up my Gecubes bios, and  am now having to find one that switches the right four pipelines off just in case I need to revert to 12p later, although all the games that I have run including Bloodlines are fine.



So I'm fucked then...
Great. Oh, and I know that the card can handle XT PE speeds. Cranked both GPU and RAM voltages up to 650MHz each, and ATiTool only artifacted a little after about 10 mins.


----------



## obvious (Jun 11, 2005)

Just got a Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO and it has this core :-






It doesn't look good


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 12, 2005)

Azrael_NZ said:
			
		

> So I'm fucked then...
> Great. Oh, and I know that the card can handle XT PE speeds. Cranked both GPU and RAM voltages up to 650MHz each, and ATiTool only artifacted a little after about 10 mins.


I d/led all the x800 pro vivo agp bioses and tried then one after the other (Gigabyte and ASUS required a repair reinstall of the ATI control panel) and found on the ninth try a bios that gave me 12 pipelines with no artifacting. I don't know how many times a card can be safely flashed but it should be quite a few.
I would assume that doing a second atiflash (with a bios from the cards manufacturer), this time without -newbios would allow the manufacturer data to be reset without the pipelines being affected by the second flash.


----------



## Azrael_NZ (Jun 14, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I d/led all the x800 pro vivo agp bioses and tried then one after the other (Gigabyte and ASUS required a repair reinstall of the ATI control panel) and found on the ninth try a bios that gave me 12 pipelines with no artifacting. I don't know how many times a card can be safely flashed but it should be quite a few.
> I would assume that doing a second atiflash (with a bios from the cards manufacturer), this time without -newbios would allow the manufacturer data to be reset without the pipelines being affected by the second flash.



No no no. I have a 12 pipe GeCube X800 Pro VIVO bios on it now, the one it came with. It goes fine. But I'm still after 16p...


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 16, 2005)

Hi,

ich hoffe ihr könnt mir ein paar Tipps geben.

Also ich habe gerade meine HIS X800Pro IceQII nach der anleitung auf die XT Platinum geflasht.
Nun habe ich 16 Pipelines. Allerdings bekomme ich abundzu kleine Bildfehler.
Woran könnte das liegen ?

Also ich habe den Coretakt vor dem Flashen getestet und ATITool sagt maximal 583.20 MHZ möglich
also über 100 mhz mehr als normal. Den Speicher habe ich nur auf 500MHZ getestet lief aber ohne
probs. Wenn ich nun den Speichertakt und den Coretakt runtersetzte habe ich immernoch ein paar
kleine Bildfehler. Einer is immer am "Start"-Button in Windows.

THX für die Hilfe

und klasse anleitung !


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 17, 2005)

So,

also ich habe nun mal getestst woher die Bildfehler kommen könnten.
Also wenn ich den 16 Pipelines flash mit x800 Takt flashe habe ich auch Bildfehler.
Also müssten die Bildfehler doch an den 4 extra-Pipelines liegen oder ?
Oder kann es daran liegen, dass ich die Karte auf einem 860mhz Duron 256MD Sdram
und 2x AGP-Board betreibe ?

Also hier die getesten maximalen Taktraten ohne Hänger.

Core: ca. 555 MHZ
Mamory: ca. 550 MHZ

Besteht für mich noch eine Hofnung, dass ich meine Karte mit dem XT flash (muss nicht der PE sein)
zu 16 Pipelines flashen kann ohne Bildfehler zu bekommen ?

THX !


----------



## Sled Dog (Jun 19, 2005)

Hmmm, I should really register... ;-) 

I am choosing between an x800 pro and an x800 XL. I can can the pro for 350$ CAN. That versus the 450 needed for the XL! SO that's why this whole modding thing appeals to me. Its a sapphire that I can get so its reassuring to know that there are others who have done it with sucess! So. I checked out the BIOS collection here and there are no Sapphire XT PE for PCI-e. Where did y'all get yours???

Also in light of ATIs crossfire, does the driver recognize the Pro as a full blown XT PE? Like as in 100%? As in it doesn't know the difference???

Thanks very much... I should join this forum.


----------



## orac07 (Jun 19, 2005)

Cheers worked well on my GeCube 800pro .
The extra pipes were worth another 600 3D Mark 2005  bench points over the same speed pro .


----------



## Azrael_NZ (Jun 20, 2005)

orac07 said:
			
		

> Cheers worked well on my GeCube 800pro .
> The extra pipes were worth another 600 3D Mark 2005  bench points over the same speed pro .



What BIOS did you use, and did you have to do anything special? My GeCube X800pro refuses to work properly...


----------



## Sled Dog (Jun 21, 2005)

OK, I've figured out my former question on my own, but thanks anyway... but still one really simple question...

When getting the new BIOS, does it matter what brand the BIOS is? For example, if I had a Sapphire x800 Pro VIVO, would it matter if I used an ASUS XT PE BIOS, or Powercolor XT PE BIOS, or HIS XT PE BIOS??? Just wondering this because their is no Sapphire x800 XT PE BIOS for PCI-e.

Thanks... just a "yes" or a "no" will do.


----------



## Bruno_Ratnieks (Jun 21, 2005)

*Msi Vivo Pro Vtd .. duh*

Hey guys,
 ive read all the forums but i couldnt find people modding this board,
 MSI VIVO PRO 256 VTD.

 Following this steps, 
 Clean all drivers uninstalling and using driverclean
 flash the bios with success (ive tried x800pro16.bin, gigabytex800xt.bin, atix800xt.bin) with success.
 I restart the box.
 Windows boot up in vga mode, then it ask for drivers (X800 XT Platinum Edition).. then ask for reboot
 So I reboot, and during the boot process, on the windows logon, with good resolution (Win 2k SP4), the monitor turns off (led blinking), and the system hang..

 The specs of the board: MSI RX800Pro 256-VTD, has the yellow connector and 1.6 ns Samsung memory.
 Note: After the flash, in windows with standard VGA driver, ive look at AtiTOOL, shown the XT clocks (520/560) but in the pipelines shown 0 (zero).. this is show after the drivers are loaded only?

 I rollback the bios flash to the backup, x800orig.bin and windows boot up again..

If YOU! can help me reply this thread or contact me by email/msn..

Email: sniffer@sniffer.net
MSN: brulacerda@hotmail.com

thanks,
Bruno Ratnieks


----------



## Unregistered (Jun 29, 2005)

HI. I AM COMPLETLY NOOB wen it comes to most OCing. I am planning on building my own pc soon and im thinkin x800 pro vivo is the way to go. But seeing as i am noob i was wondering how hard it is to do this. How much experience i need. Is all i do to do with bios cuz on another forum at another site ppl said i had to souter stuff and be good with electrical stuff. Also what is "flashing" and "flashrom". Last thing, do i need the PSU watts of the x800 xt or can i have x800 pro's


----------



## gR3iF (Jun 29, 2005)

buy a pcie x800xt


----------



## Urlyin (Jun 29, 2005)

Bruno_Ratnieks said:
			
		

> Hey guys,
> ive read all the forums but i couldnt find people modding this board,
> MSI VIVO PRO 256 VTD.
> 
> ...



Bruno ... if's it a PCI-E card then it's more than likely has the lazer cut ... which means you'll not be able to open the pipes with a flash ..


----------



## Dyno (Jun 30, 2005)

Hey guys can this crad be modded to 16 pipes?
Sapphire X800Pro Toxic 256MDDR AGP8X VIVO

The reason i ask is because it has other features that normal X800Pro's dont have.
If it will work should i use the ATI XTPE bios or Sapphire XTPE bios?



> Developed for the enthusiast, Sapphire believes in empowering our family of hardcore tweak addicts by including a built-in calculated performance enhancements with the inclusion of the A.P.E. , TMR and Lethal Cooling technologies . The Automated Performance Enhancement (A.P.E.) allows for the optional increase of memory clock speed to pre-tested levels while maintaining the hardware's health.



Thanks for any help


----------



## Urlyin (Jun 30, 2005)

Dyno said:
			
		

> Hey guys can this crad be modded to 16 pipes?
> Sapphire X800Pro Toxic 256MDDR AGP8X VIVO
> 
> The reason i ask is because it has other features that normal X800Pro's dont have.
> ...



Dyno... Most if not all of the AGP VIVO flashed to XT or XTPE .... I'd go with the ATI first but generally the mem settings are the main difference between the BIOS ... you may have to try more than one to find the one that works best for you card ... If you read through some of the threads there are post from members using BIOS editors that go more into the BIOS settings


----------



## Azrael_NZ (Jul 6, 2005)

My AGP ViVo still refuses to go right, even though another guy bought the exact same card, and his goes fine....


----------



## delas52 (Jul 9, 2005)

whaT are my chances of getting a non lazer cut saphire x800pro vivo from newegg?? PCI.E.


----------



## PCI-E Sadness (Jul 10, 2005)

Hi all,

I have tried and re-tried multiple bioses and hardmod attempts on my PCI-E X800Pro VIVO(Sapphire, was laser cut).  I cannot get 16P.  Has anyone got 16P on their PCI-E cards?

Have I spent the last 2 days trying for nothing?

Would love to hear people's experience with PCI-E!


----------



## Dyno (Jul 11, 2005)

Succesfully flashed Sapphire Toxic X800 Pro to XT PE
Used sapphire bios and it works perfectly.

Very happy chap at the moment, so thanks W1zzard for the excellent guide


----------



## SilentEcho (Jul 12, 2005)

I have been trying this I have the HIS x800 pro VIVO. I did everything right did driver cleaner, but when it reboots it doesnt automatically installs it says it cant find it, than I cancel that one and the next one pops up and installs the pro. I checked with ATITool and still have 12pipelines but with the high default clocks. Can anyone help me out on this?


----------



## Unregistered (Help!) (Jul 13, 2005)

*X800 pro with empty bios*

i did the flash and then tried to turn it back using empty bios and then put on the old bios like it said and it came up with an error, rebooted the pc and then it didn't recognise my graphics card


----------



## celloman (Jul 14, 2005)

Thank you guys for good instructions. I got my connect3d x800 pro VIVO agp card modified by using the ATI x800pro vivo 16p -bios. Now everything works great and faster than before, but the noise from the fan almost vanished after the flash. To get both less noise and more pipes is fantastic, but i was just wondering whether the fan speed is meant to be this slow. Connect3d uses the default x800 fan, so shouldn't the fan rpm:s be same with both connect3d and ati bios?


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 14, 2005)

Unregistered (Help!) said:
			
		

> i did the flash and then tried to turn it back using empty bios and then put on the old bios like it said and it came up with an error, rebooted the pc and then it didn't recognise my graphics card



Don't ever restart after doing the empty flash and then the other not working. Your probably going to need to do a blind flash or if you have a pci video card, you can set that up and see what your doing. Go here and read the article down the bottem on how to recover form a bad flash.

-Dan


----------



## Unregistered (Jul 21, 2005)

Just to say thankz for all the help that i got from the guide at the beggining of this thread, was really helpfull. I managed to flash my Connect3D X800 Pro VIVO to a XT PE. Not running at XT speeds tho as i prefere to run at pro stock speeds. Had a bit of bad expierence with the 9800 Pro flashed to a 9800 XT.  The card just gave up eventually after a year running at XT speed. I just wanted to unlock the pipelines on the x800 pro, which unlocked first time with no problems. Also got the ATI silencer 4 and it works a treat.. current temp is 38C. On full load it goes to about 55C. I think thats pretty cool. Anywayz thankz all!!


----------



## w167akm (Jul 22, 2005)

*Flashed as described....ERRORS !!*

Hiya,
I just flashed my X800 PRO VIVO  and have got bad picture: *Attached.

Have tried going back, but still same. (**still got 16 pipes enabled*)
Have wiped and reinstalled: Catalyst 5.3 5.5 5.7. same
Have tried latest MB Bios. same
Have tried different GPU Bios'. same (saphire x800pro/x800xt/x800xtpe connect3D x800xtpe)
Have wiped+reinstalled Battlefield 2. same

I'm guessing I have faulty Extra pipelines.
all other games purfect. I cant get back to only 12 pipes. Accidently wiped Original backup bios.
Can you please help? 
Does any1 have original Connect3D x800provivo Agp Bios?
Does any1 know how to restore original 12pipes?
Thanx All....Michal


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 22, 2005)

Did you use the modified flashrom to go back to 12p?

-Dan


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

*Still Got Problem*

YES / NO !!!

Yes got back to 12 pipes........
No, still got graphics problems????

1 Does any1 have any suggestions why I could have this graphics problem?
 Even now that I have gone back to original Bios I am still having problems.

2 Do you think this rules out Bios issues ? and leaves me with hardware problem?
3 Is it possibly software? as it only happens in Battlefield 2.


Thanx Michal.....................   :..(


----------



## armzilla (Jul 23, 2005)

*quax*

Long time reader, first time poster  

I am out of luck! I cannot find Sapphire's X800 XT PE for pci express.  I have the X800 pro vivo by sappire. I am reluctant to use the ati bios in fear of creating paperweight. Please recommend a course of action.

thanks,
arm


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

armzilla > Are your trying to flash a PCI-E card, if so, you have a very small chance of it working. Very few have suceeded with it. Just a heads up.

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

w167akm said:
			
		

> YES / NO !!!
> 
> Yes got back to 12 pipes........
> No, still got graphics problems????
> ...



Try reinstalling your drivers.

-Dan


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

*No Joy*

Hey Thanx Dan, I do appreciate the tips. But the Mofo card even after fresh wipe/install of drivers still has the problem!

The only thing left that I can think of is that even after a Flashrom back to original Pro Bios(12 pipes 450/475), the card still has a 210+ fps in ATItool. Originally it was 185fps. So this proves its not flashed back to Original x800 PRO VIVO Bios that it had. Maybe thats why it has ATRIFACTS at ANY speed I set it at.

Any Ideas Any1, plz Mike.......


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

What are your default clocks then at the moment?

-Dan


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

12 pipes 450/475


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

One thing, don't use Atitool as a benchmark, the average FPS can change a lot on that program. If your card is reading as a X800PRO and the device ID is 4A49, then its back to the orginal. So this only does it in BF2 aswell? Do you get aritfacts in Atitool? Try reinstalling BF2.

-Dan


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

Yeh m8, I get Artifacts in AtiTool at any speed I set it at.    its funny coz when the cube is spinning it looks purfect, but when i press checking for artifacts key, it has exactly the same faults, in the same places on the fluffy cube picture every time.
I'm guessing that the card is damaged................


----------



## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

Hmm...doesn't sound to good. What kind of temps do you get?

-Dan


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

I have tried cooling the card down with additional fans and it was deffo cold. So cant be that either.
Well at least it still works kindof.....could be worse.


----------



## w167akm (Jul 23, 2005)

pic


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## djbbenn (Jul 23, 2005)

That is defective pipes my friend. Thats called the checkard board effect. Cause by super tiling, certain parts aren't being rendered properly because of the defective pipes. You might have to flash an empty bios and then your orginal.

-Dan


----------



## sin4me (Jul 24, 2005)

Ok, after reading this thread I was gonna see if I could get some opinions.  Basically, I can pick up a ATI x800xl from my local BB for 249.99 on sale or I can get a refurbed Sapphire x800 pro vivo agp from newgg for 280.  so my question, is it worth it to pay the extra money on a refurbed card (never bought a refurb before...) and try to flash it with the xt bios or just get the x800xl?  i'm current running a 9800 pro 128mb that i have flashed to an xt.  any thoughts/input/suggestions would be appreciated.  thanks.


----------



## gorber (Jul 31, 2005)

*Powercolor X800VE AIW bios mod ?*

I just bought this card and it comes with 425/400 clock and only 4 pipelines. It is now overclocked to 571/598 but... how about those pipes?!?! Does it need a different bios mod than the usual VIVOs?


----------



## Citrus Man (Aug 2, 2005)

Righto, first thanks for the guide, was nice and easy to follow. I now have a Connect 3D X800 Pro made into a X800 XT PE. However I have a few questions.

What would be the best option to use in ATITool for the fan settings? I'm using the stock cooler. I currently have it at 'try to keep GPU at 70 celsius'. Is that good?

Also, I have one of those generic 400W PSUs. Bad idea or will it be fine?


----------



## 3dconnect fella (Aug 3, 2005)

*3d connect "pro vivo" to "xt pe"*

Interesting to hear some fellow users comments on this card. 

I followed the guide, but my mem doesn't like it above 530, core is happy right up to 560 and beyond on stock cooling.

I installed xt Pe bios anyway with success. However I get artificing in Atitool, and if I enabled overdrive in drivers, all manner of strange things were happening.  

Settled back to ATI pro vivo 16 bios and totally stable at 530/550 mem/core

How come some 3D connects are getting xt pe stable? Is it possible we have different memory chips? 1.6s or 2.0s? not samsung??

I have a crappy dell dimension 8300, which I believe has poor cooling properties? but card temps where in the 60 idle/ 70 load when testing in Atitool

I am happy with what I have (probably load xt bios 500/500 next) just curious as regards more successful 3d connect soft mods???


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 3, 2005)

Citrus Man said:
			
		

> Righto, first thanks for the guide, was nice and easy to follow. I now have a Connect 3D X800 Pro made into a X800 XT PE. However I have a few questions.
> 
> What would be the best option to use in ATITool for the fan settings? I'm using the stock cooler. I currently have it at 'try to keep GPU at 70 celsius'. Is that good?
> 
> Also, I have one of those generic 400W PSUs. Bad idea or will it be fine?




Your better off using dynamic fan settings. So have it something like above 30C-50%, 40C-55%, 50C-65%. Something like that. And once you get to say 60C, put the fan at 100%. For the PSU, it should be fine, a better one will help, but that should be fine as long as your stable in voltages.

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 3, 2005)

3dconnect fella said:
			
		

> Interesting to hear some fellow users comments on this card.
> 
> I followed the guide, but my mem doesn't like it above 530, core is happy right up to 560 and beyond on stock cooling.
> 
> ...




For starters the clocks for the XT PE ar 520/560 (Core/Mem). Turn you core to 520 and try to get the mem up 560. Also make sure your mem is 1.6ns, if not that will hurt your overclock and you chance for the mod to work good. And you said your card aritfacts, did it make block like things on the cube?

-Dan


----------



## 3dconnect fella (Aug 3, 2005)

*1.6ns mem stuck at 530*

I know the stock xt pe speeds, but can't get memory to 560 (safely/stable), 530 is error free though. 

Opened up and checked the memory modules and they are the required 1.6ns samsung units. So why can't it run higher than 530?

Environmental temperature on idle is in the high 40s (47-49) and under load rises to 60 (surely this is high), card is fixed at 70, and the fan kicks in on 100%. 

The artifacts are yellow dots, and sometimes they form cloud like shapes (not regular shapes).

Installed regular xt bios (500/500) with no problems.

It maybe my low Oem dell psu or high in case temperatures? (Card is very close to OEM p4 cooler)

Ps. I am over the moon to get the performance boost where it is already, just confused why I can't unlock the cards full potential safely...


----------



## 3dconnect fella (Aug 3, 2005)

If i have 1.3 voltage across mem & gpu would this explain the discrepency? Where's that digimeter..


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 3, 2005)

3dconnect fella said:
			
		

> I know the stock xt pe speeds, but can't get memory to 560 (safely/stable), 530 is error free though.
> 
> Opened up and checked the memory modules and they are the required 1.6ns samsung units. So why can't it run higher than 530?
> 
> ...



I was just making sure that you didn't have the clocks mixed up, because you were talking about a 560 core and thats what the mem should be. Back to subject, not all of the pro vivo's can get to the clocks of the XT PE. Some need to be voltmodded. It could be your PSU but it might not be. If you managed to flash it to a the XT bios unlocking the 4 remaining pipes, your doing good. The only difference with the XT and XT PE bios is a little higher clocks and tighter mem timings. If I were you, I'd just keep it at the XT bios and overclock your core/mem more if you can, form what you are saying.  

-Dan


----------



## Veggie (Aug 4, 2005)

*2.0ns*

Hi, I have Sapphire X800Pro Vivo, but the memory is 2.0ns not 1.6ns So this means i can't flash to XT or PE?


----------



## Veggie (Aug 4, 2005)

*Re*

Forgot to add it's OC, GPU is 550mhz and memory is at 550mhz with no error's ,With stock cooling when idle temp is around 37-38C, When the card is maxed out 74-75C.At stock card scored 4929 in 3Dmark 05 free edition, OC scored 5768.One thing confusing me, I have AMD 3500+64 venice which scores around 4450 in 3Dmark 05 in the CPU test, Since i OC my x800 pro in the CPU test th CPU is scoring 4990-5010.I've ran it 4 times now over past few days.Any idea's why this is happening?


----------



## Unregistered (Aug 6, 2005)

*Drivers?*

He people, just a quick question to all the connect 3D card holders out there, which drivers are u using and did u use the connect 3d XT PE bios? or the ATI XT PE bios?? Thankz.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 6, 2005)

Veggie said:
			
		

> Forgot to add it's OC, GPU is 550mhz and memory is at 550mhz with no error's ,With stock cooling when idle temp is around 37-38C, When the card is maxed out 74-75C.At stock card scored 4929 in 3Dmark 05 free edition, OC scored 5768.One thing confusing me, I have AMD 3500+64 venice which scores around 4450 in 3Dmark 05 in the CPU test, Since i OC my x800 pro in the CPU test th CPU is scoring 4990-5010.I've ran it 4 times now over past few days.Any idea's why this is happening?



It still runs through the graphics card, so with the higher clocks might have boosted it a bit. Hard to say, wouldn't worry about it though. As for the 2.0ns mem, I am pretty sure you can still mod, as long as the mem can do the 560MHz. You have less of a chance of it working with 2.0 mem.  

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 6, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> He people, just a quick question to all the connect 3D card holders out there, which drivers are u using and did u use the connect 3d XT PE bios? or the ATI XT PE bios?? Thankz.



Use the bios that is the same make as your card. If it doesn't work, then try another bios. For drivers, most just use Cats, but others use the Omega's. Your choice most of the time.

-Dan


----------



## icywater (Aug 7, 2005)

hi guys, i have a sapphire x800pro vivo AGP (no laser cut and the mem is 1.6ns), 
I was able to clock it to 575 core and 600 mem. The problem i have is blackscreen when i softmod it to xt. I followed the procedure step by step and try like 20 bioses, i get black screen at the same place verytime. The OS dectect the card and install the new driver and reboot. It loads the OS and i got in windows up to the part where the monitor screen flash, normally the monitor screen flash twice in windows. For me the first monitor screen flash is ok, but the second one stay black screen and the light on the monitor is flashing. I am run out of idea what to do next. Anyone have any suggestions what to do next?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 7, 2005)

icywater said:
			
		

> hi guys, i have a sapphire x800pro vivo AGP (no laser cut and the mem is 1.6ns),
> I was able to clock it to 575 core and 600 mem. The problem i have is blackscreen when i softmod it to xt. I followed the procedure step by step and try like 20 bioses, i get black screen at the same place verytime. The OS dectect the card and install the new driver and reboot. It loads the OS and i got in windows up to the part where the monitor screen flash, normally the monitor screen flash twice in windows. For me the first monitor screen flash is ok, but the second one stay black screen and the light on the monitor is flashing. I am run out of idea what to do next. Anyone have any suggestions what to do next?



You might have to reinstall your drivers. Go through safemode to delete them.

-Dan


----------



## icywater (Aug 7, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> You might have to reinstall your drivers. Go through safemode to delete them.
> 
> -Dan




I did a clean os install and still got the problem, I runout  of ideas what to do next.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 7, 2005)

Sounds like the card is shutting down from VPU Recover. It may not be able to handle the new settings for some reason. What temps were you getting when you overclocked the card? Also, what flashrom did you use?

-Dan


----------



## icywater (Aug 8, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Sounds like the card is shutting down from VPU Recover. It may not be able to handle the new settings for some reason. What temps were you getting when you overclocked the card? Also, what flashrom did you use?
> 
> -Dan



These are the bioses that i used  gigabyte xtpe, powercolor xt, sarphire xt, ati xtpe, ati provivo with 16 pipe, gexcube  and other , i use so many that i can't remeber all of them. 

it definitely not the temperature, because the gpu is water cool , never go over 33 degrees under load. that is run at 12 pipe core 575 mem 595. So i don't really know what is the problem. It drives me crazy when so many with sapphire card mod to xt and i can't.


----------



## icywater (Aug 8, 2005)

forgot to say, i use the modify flashrom from this site.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 8, 2005)

Not all cards can do it, I know mine didn't so your not alone. If you can get an overclock like you just said stable, I envy you for that. Thats a huge overclock for a non-modded card, if its isn't. Maybe try flashing an empty bios then your new bios. If not, just overclock that baby to its max and enjoy it.  

-Dan


----------



## icywater (Aug 8, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Maybe try flashing an empty bios then your new bios.
> -Dan



this is one option i haven't try,  i will try it when i get home .


----------



## icywater (Aug 8, 2005)

well i guess i stuck x800pro vivo can't mod, it is like sapphire has some kind of protection to stop the card from working 16 pipes, it works ok under safe mod, but if very time it load the driver "boom" blackscreen. My hard disk still loading but the screen is black.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 8, 2005)

That sucks, but at least you can get a sweet overclock.

-Dan


----------



## The_NME (Aug 9, 2005)

I modded two AGP MSI x800 Pros some time ago and had no problems with the mod. Now I'm moving up to PCI-E so I bought the 100600SR x800 Pro Sapphire card from NewEgg ($231 after rebate). Today I flashed the only XT PE PCI-E BIOS in the collection (Asus) and guess what I have now? (see attached) 8 pipes in ATITool and unknown clocks. RaBiT reports XT PE speeds though...

Anyhow, this is after connecting the cut bridge via silver pen. Just wondering if anyone who does have a stock XT PE PCI-E card would be willing to post their BIOS...

Edit: Everest reporting x800 SE with 12 pipes and 520/400 clocks. Weird...


----------



## Richyp (Aug 9, 2005)

*problem flashing*

I just got my x800 pro VIVO from sapphire. Im trying to flash the bios and have read all instructions. However when i restart my pc and boot using floppy drive i just get a blank screen with white flashing (-) in the top left for a while then windows loads. I have put all flashrom drives and the downloaded bios onto a floppy. However im not sure which files to use from bootdisk.com to make it bootable. I tried the files for XP PRO QUICK and the one above that. I am using XP PRO service pack 1. Can somebody please help me with this, to which files to use and to make it bootable. Maybe i am writing the files wrong?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 9, 2005)

Try drdflash.exe Richyp.

-Dan


----------



## Richyp (Aug 9, 2005)

thanks a lot dan that did the trick. i now got 16 pipelines and x800 XT PE! however i scan for artifacts and theres a few. running at 520/560 and im using Zalman VF700-CU. do i need to give it more power?? crappy PSU??  or is it just a bad cooler? lol. ill lower the clock speeds for now.

i saw u mention something about voltmodding. can you explain? maybe i need more power to get higher clock speeds and no artifacts.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 10, 2005)

Richyp said:
			
		

> thanks a lot dan that did the trick. i now got 16 pipelines and x800 XT PE! however i scan for artifacts and theres a few. running at 520/560 and im using Zalman VF700-CU. do i need to give it more power?? crappy PSU??  or is it just a bad cooler? lol. ill lower the clock speeds for now.
> 
> i saw u mention something about voltmodding. can you explain? maybe i need more power to get higher clock speeds and no artifacts.




Congrats...ya some of the vivo's need higher voltages to get the higher overclocks. Try lowering your clocks, but if that doesn't the trick you may have defective pipes.

-Dan


----------



## cableguy (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi everybody, I've bought a Sapphire x800 pro PCI-E (Vivo) version graphics card. It came with 2ns samsung memory modules that can be overclocked to 570mhz (stable), and the Gpu to 580mhz (stable). Question: was anybody ever in human history successful in unlocking the missing 4 pipelines on THESE Sapphire cards?? I've read a lot about the topic but it is very confusing.. What I would like to know if there is PROOF that somebody really made it and it worked after... I don't want to ruin my card so I would only try if somebody was ever successful... (if yes, then which bios was used?)


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 11, 2005)

It is possible, but the chances of it working are very slim. First you will have to hardmod the card (connect what the lazer cut disconnected) if it has a laser cut. All of the PCI-E cards have to laser cut to my knowledge. You can check by removing the cooler. Then you have to do the softmod (flashing the bios with the XT PE bios). You can try but it probably will not work.

-Dan


----------



## slayer322 (Aug 11, 2005)

wht has everyone used to connect the 2 contacts on the card to get the extra 4 pipes??


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 11, 2005)

Most people use a conductive pen.

-Dan


----------



## The__NME (Aug 12, 2005)

cableguy, I'm with you. Only problem is the only BIOS I have seen (the one hosted here) doesn't work right


----------



## slayer322 (Aug 12, 2005)

where would you find one of thoose


----------



## icywater (Aug 13, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> That sucks, but at least you can get a sweet overclock.
> 
> -Dan


since i can't unlock the 4 pipes, i did the next best thing.
i just did VR volt mod on the card, now i run it at 626/590 stable. 
What is the maximum volt i should use? Right now GPU 1.60v underload is 36 degrees.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 13, 2005)

icywater said:
			
		

> since i can't unlock the 4 pipes, i did the next best thing.
> i just did VR volt mod on the card, now i run it at 626/590 stable.
> What is the maximum volt i should use? Right now GPU 1.60v underload is 36 degrees.



Nice job on the overclock, for water I wouldn't go over 1.7 volts.

-Dan


----------



## colcliff (Aug 14, 2005)

*flashing an asus x800xt to a x800xt pe*

Anyone know if this method of flashing the bios will work to flash an asus x800xt vivo to an asus x800xt pe, or will it only work when starting with a Pro? and if it does work will it be worrth doing? 

thanks


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 15, 2005)

Hey are the asus x800pro vivo cards still packed with 1.6ns?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 15, 2005)

colcliff said:
			
		

> Anyone know if this method of flashing the bios will work to flash an asus x800xt vivo to an asus x800xt pe, or will it only work when starting with a Pro? and if it does work will it be worrth doing?
> 
> thanks



Yes you can flash the card to a XT PE. Just makesure the card can handle the higher clocks of 520/560.

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 15, 2005)

DarkSol said:
			
		

> Hey are the asus x800pro vivo cards still packed with 1.6ns?



They should be, but I am not sure.

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 15, 2005)

Oh well =] Guess I'll find out, it should be arriving tomorrow. I'll let you guys know if it still has 1.6


----------



## Veggie (Aug 15, 2005)

*x800 pro*

Got core 555mhz,Memory will go upto 580mhz with couple error's so i left memory at 570mhz all is stable.Now all thats left is to find out where to buy this conductive pen and to get brave enough to proform the mod lol.I'll let you guys no how it turns out


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 15, 2005)

Good luck there Veggie.  

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

Got my asus x800pro vivo today, still 1.6ns memory and no artifacts when unlocking the pipes. BUT, it worked after installing the drivers, then i was trying to play some cs source to test it out and it crashed after a little while (like 2-3min). after that it wont boot windows anymore and just hang at the loading screen. Anyone else had this problem before? I flashed the bios with the asus x800xtpe bios agp 256mb samsung 1.6.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 16, 2005)

Go into safemode and delete your drivers and then reinstall them. If it does it again, you might have to go back to a pro.

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

hmm okay, I'm going to see if the x800pro 16p bios works


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

ah dammit, i flashed with x800pro bios 16p and now its not even booting anymore
any way to reflash it? will a pci graphics card work?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 16, 2005)

So you get no picture on your screen? You ill have to put a PCI card in there and flash with that. If you get no picture from the PCI card, yo will have to take the AGP card out and just boot with the PCI card and go int the bios. The set the PCI card as the primary device. The put the AGP card back in and flash. Or you can blind flash...

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

yeah i've blind flashed before but the system hangs...  so i guess i'll be looking for a pci card then hehe


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 16, 2005)

It hangs? flash your orginal...did you backup your old BIOS? It shouldn't hang with the orginal.

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

yeah it doesnt boot at all / show boot screen or anything it completely prevents the system from doing anything. i hope it doesnt  do the same when i try the pci card...else im screwed and will probably have to rma it .. :/


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

Didn't work out with pci either, the pc still wouldnt boot, tried it in 2 comps and they both wouldnt boot(black screen nothing else works) I guess i'll have to rma then


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 16, 2005)

Try flashing the card with the empty bios found here. Then fllash your regular bios afterwards. Don't reset between the flashes cause you don't need to. What flashrom are you using?

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

How? Monitor shows no signal screen and there arent any p.o.s.t. beeps or anything.. And it doesnt boot with a pci graphics card set to primary either.. 

[edit]I used the modified flashrom from the 1st post.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 16, 2005)

Flash it blind...put it ths way, the state your at, it doesn't hurt to try anything. And if you do RMA, don't tell that you flashed the bios. You shouldn't really RMA it cause its not truthfull, but what can ya do. 

-Dan


----------



## DarkSol (Aug 16, 2005)

the pc doesnt show any sign of activity at all besides the fans/hdd's that are on. I don't see 3,5'' activity either...it just stops before it can even show the boot image/ post message.

btw, the shop might just give me a brand new one and rma mine for themselves if i tell them that it never worked to begin with


----------



## Gonzito (Aug 18, 2005)

*c3d X800 Pro Vivo to XT PE*

Hey,

I bought the Connect3d Radeon X800 Pro Vivo and put the XT PE bios on it.  The PC immediately recognised it as the XT PE but when I checked the settings with ATITool, although it was running at 520/560 there were still only 12 active pipes? I have tried cleaning off the drivers and reinstalling them but it didn't make any difference.  I've also tried the 16 pipe X800 pro Vivo bios but that still only ran 12 pipes?

At the moment I am running it with the XT PE bios and WOW runs great but it would be nice to have those extra 4 pipelines!  Please does anyone have a suggestion of how I can activate the extra pipes or why it won't work for me?

Thanks


----------



## KsK (Aug 18, 2005)

one question masters ... if i have a X800PRO (not VIVO) and solve the laser cut as in AMD XP processors  ... it will work?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 18, 2005)

Gonzito said:
			
		

> Hey,
> 
> I bought the Connect3d Radeon X800 Pro Vivo and put the XT PE bios on it.  The PC immediately recognised it as the XT PE but when I checked the settings with ATITool, although it was running at 520/560 there were still only 12 active pipes? I have tried cleaning off the drivers and reinstalling them but it didn't make any difference.  I've also tried the 16 pipe X800 pro Vivo bios but that still only ran 12 pipes?
> 
> ...



Did you use the modified flashrom found here. 

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 18, 2005)

KsK said:
			
		

> one question masters ... if i have a X800PRO (not VIVO) and solve the laser cut as in AMD XP processors  ... it will work?



Yes it should work, but it doesn't mean that it will work. If the pipes are defective it wont.

-Dan


----------



## Gonzito (Aug 19, 2005)

*Modified Flashrom*

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the reply.  I'm not sure I used the modified flashrom.  The link you gave me downloads an invalid archive but the file size is different to that of the flashrom I previously downloaded so I would guess that I didn't originally use it.  I used the link to flashrom from the instructions originally.

Please can you tell me where to get a good copy of the modified version?

Thanks


----------



## RoadKruuzer (Aug 20, 2005)

*Doesn't Work on Sapphire*

Put my order in 7/13/05 and the card I got (Sapphire Radeon X800 Pro VIVO 256MB) is laser cut.  Not sure when the revision was made.  Just an update


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 20, 2005)

Gonzito said:
			
		

> Hi Dan,
> 
> Thanks for the reply.  I'm not sure I used the modified flashrom.  The link you gave me downloads an invalid archive but the file size is different to that of the flashrom I previously downloaded so I would guess that I didn't originally use it.  I used the link to flashrom from the instructions originally.
> 
> ...



Do you have winrar to open the file with? Cause the link I gave you is to the officasl site for it. Get winrar here. . And then try to open the file with that.

-Dan


----------



## sacharja (Aug 20, 2005)

Hello,
I have a Sapphire X800 Pro ViVo with 1,6ns and flashed it with a bios of XT by the modified flashrom. After reboot when no driver is installed 2 uknown devices are recognized, how it should be. After I installed catalyst the card is correctly recognized as X800 XT and Secondary Device, but there are 2 more devices (both unknown "driver cannot be installed for this device"). 

Means with the new firmware and after catalyst installation there are 2 unknown devices that are not existing physically.

Has anybody recognized the same?


----------



## Skombekje (Aug 22, 2005)

*asus ax800 pro*

It worked! 16 pipelines. Had to force the bioschange (-f) in flashrom, but then it did the job. Thanx!


----------



## Gonzito (Aug 22, 2005)

*Modified Flashrom did the trick*

Just to say thanks to Dan for putting me right.  I hadn't used the "modified" flashrom and once I found it I ran through the process again and it worked!  Yeah! 16 pipes now  

Great instructions, great forum, great advise!  thanks again!


----------



## Redshock (Aug 22, 2005)

First time post so go easy.

I’ve tried the softmod on a Connect3D X800 VIVO card I got from ebuyer. I removed the heatsink and fan and theirs no laser cut.

I’ve run the BIOS mod for an X800XT and ATITOOL says that I’ve unlocked the four pipelines, I now have 16, but in no way can I get the card to anywhere near XT PE speeds.

I’ve tried most of the BIOS’s for an X800XT, all with out success, ATITOOL crashes in a few seconds when I run scan for artifacts. I’ve started at an XT core and memory speeds and gone backwards trying to find a stable overclock speed. I’ve tried the 500/500, core/memory BIOS, again with no luck.

The only BIOS that works is the original BIOS, clocked at the original speed of the card, perhaps I’ve just got a card that doesn’t clock very well, if at all. 

Unless I’m doing something wrong, but I think I’ve followed the guide carefully and didn’t encounter any errors when flashing the card.

So anyone with any ideas?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 22, 2005)

sacharja said:
			
		

> Hello,
> I have a Sapphire X800 Pro ViVo with 1,6ns and flashed it with a bios of XT by the modified flashrom. After reboot when no driver is installed 2 uknown devices are recognized, how it should be. After I installed catalyst the card is correctly recognized as X800 XT and Secondary Device, but there are 2 more devices (both unknown "driver cannot be installed for this device").
> 
> Means with the new firmware and after catalyst installation there are 2 unknown devices that are not existing physically.
> ...



Did Windows install drivers for eh ATI Rage chip? Some people seem to have problems with the Rage chip not working and becaue its not working another device wont show. Try another bios, and see how it works. You might also have to get drivercleaner to completely get ride of everything that has t do with ATI and then reinstall your drivers.

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 22, 2005)

Redshock said:
			
		

> First time post so go easy.
> 
> I’ve tried the softmod on a Connect3D X800 VIVO card I got from ebuyer. I removed the heatsink and fan and theirs no laser cut.
> 
> ...



Did you try to overclock the card without the pipes enable to the XT PE speeds? If the card just can't handle the the speeds use the X800Pro Vivo 16P bios , that is just the the pro bios modified for the 16 pipes.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 23, 2005)

hello all,
i've got a Sapphire x800 pro vivo (pci-e) and i've flashed the bios with a asus X800 XT PE (PCI-E) (asus seem the only one's to have the bios (xt pe) for a pci-e card.
after flashing the speeds are running correct 520/560 (atitool) but windows sees the graphcs card as X800GT and not x800xt pe, could that be changed some how, every thing else if fine and stable.

Thanks all in advance


----------



## dil (Aug 23, 2005)

1 more question can i unlock the 4 pipelines from 12 to 16 (i cant find a bios for it)

after flashing the bios to x800xt pe the pipelines were at 12.

Thankyou


----------



## highwind86 (Aug 24, 2005)

dil said:
			
		

> hello all,
> i've got a Sapphire x800 pro vivo (pci-e) and i've flashed the bios with a asus X800 XT PE (PCI-E) (asus seem the only one's to have the bios (xt pe) for a pci-e card.
> after flashing the speeds are running correct 520/560 (atitool) but windows sees the graphcs card as X800GT and not x800xt pe, could that be changed some how, every thing else if fine and stable.
> 
> Thanks all in advance



I have the same exact card and the same exact problem.  It says X800GT after I install the asus x800 xt pe pci-e bios and still says 12 pipelines...its very strange.  Also, once windows automatically installs "x800 GT" drivers, the clock speeds in ATI tool become symbols like "=#%" or something like that...I'm using the modified flashrom and everything...I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.  Maybe I need a different bios.  I've also tried the sapphire x800 XT pci-e bios and it was pretty much the same thing except with the non PE speeds before it loads the drivers and becomes...symbols.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 24, 2005)

Just try another bios. I have heard of them dectecting as x800se, and that meant you have the wrong bios. So its should be the same if it detects it as a GT. 

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 24, 2005)

i have tried  4 different bios's (ati) x800xt, (asus) x800xt pe, (asus) x800xt, (Sapphire) x800xt, according to ati tool the core and memory are at the correct settings but windows wil not recognise it as a x800xt or x800xt pe.
the bios flashes i have used have been for the pci-e as mine's a pci-e (sapphire).
and i'm doing this in win 64bit! could that be somert to do with it. or could someone recomend what bios i should flash it with. 
Thanks in advance

 (can i use agp bios's on my pci-e, i havent tried that)


----------



## highwind86 (Aug 24, 2005)

dil said:
			
		

> i have tried  4 different bios's (ati) x800xt, (asus) x800xt pe, (asus) x800xt, (Sapphire) x800xt, according to ati tool the core and memory are at the correct settings but windows wil not recognise it as a x800xt or x800xt pe.
> the bios flashes i have used have been for the pci-e as mine's a pci-e (sapphire).
> and i'm doing this in win 64bit! could that be somert to do with it. or could someone recomend what bios i should flash it with.
> Thanks in advance
> ...



Like I mentioned earlier, I have the same exact problem as you and the same card, sapphire x800 pro vivo on PCI-E, and I'm not on 64bit windows.  Although I did mention that the clockspeeds looked verrry strange in ATI Tool after windows loaded the x800 gt drivers or whatever but then I switched from using modified flashrom to the ATI Flasher and that still gave me x800 gt but the ATI control panel actually works with it and everything seems stable.  My 3D Mark 05 scores went up 600 points but it still says 12 pipelines...and I'm unsure how comfortable I am with the bios being listed as X800GT...

So yeah, I'd also love to know if it would be okay to try an AGP bios with my PCI-E x800 pro vivo.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 24, 2005)

DO NOT use a AGP bios on a PCI-E card! That will mess the card up. Did you guys hardmod to get unlock the pipes? You have to hardmod the PCI-E versions before flashing or else it will only show 12p cause thats all there is. If you don't hardmod, it doesn't matter what bios you flash, you will not get the pipes, because they are physically cut on the chip. Where it showing up as a GT, I really don't know. The GT was just released, and I don't even think you can get the GT bios form this site. The GT is also based on the R480chip with 8p, while the X800pro's are the r420(AGP) and the r423(PCI-E). So I don't know why its showing as a GT. Sorry but I can't help you there.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 25, 2005)

i have not done the hardmod, i have been looking all over but i need instructions on how to do it, could you post a link in you know one where i can follow the instructions for the hard mod.

will i still be able to hard mod it now eventhough i have flashed the bios to the asus x800xt pe or will i have to revert to the original bios before hard moding it.

Thanks.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 25, 2005)

You don't have to revert to do the hard mod. To to the mod simply take the heatsink off and get a conductive pen and join where you see the laser cut. Theres a pic of the laser cut on the softmod site.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 25, 2005)

http://img.techpowerup.org/050825/r420lasercut.jpg 







the only pic i can find with the lazer cut is the one at the start of this forum page, i have looked all over

this is one with out the lazer cut (taken from the start of the forum again)
http://img.techpowerup.org/050825/r420nolasercut.jpg 





what should i bridge together

with the lazer cut

1     2             
*              (* is lazer cut)
3  4  5        (4 is big blop in middle)



 or without lazer cut:-

1 2 3     (no 2 is the big blob in middle)
4    5



please help


----------



## dil (Aug 26, 2005)

highwind86 have you found where to do the soft mod on the softmod site, i cant find it anywhere all i get is the old graphic cards.


----------



## sacharja (Aug 27, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Did Windows install drivers for eh ATI Rage chip? Some people seem to have problems with the Rage chip not working and becaue its not working another device wont show. Try another bios, and see how it works. You might also have to get drivercleaner to completely get ride of everything that has t do with ATI and then reinstall your drivers.
> 
> -Dan


I´ve tried flashing it with the ati bios, screen got black and I flashed it back. 

Same thing even after a new windows installation. If I install the driver directly from device manager I click at one of the 2 unknown devices (XT and XT secondary) and say install driver. During installation it finds 2 more unknown devices which remain after XT and secondary is installed and which cannot be found a driver for.

Has nobody the same problems with a tweaked Sapphire?


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 27, 2005)

dil: Connect 1 and 4, or the top circle with the bottem on the left side of the big circle. So it just connects the two dots with the laser cut in between them. Then do the softmod. If you get artifacts, just flashback to orginal bios, you shouldn't have to remove the mod but you might. Not a big deal. 


-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 27, 2005)

sacharja said:
			
		

> I´ve tried flashing it with the ati bios, screen got black and I flashed it back.
> 
> Same thing even after a new windows installation. If I install the driver directly from device manager I click at one of the 2 unknown devices (XT and XT secondary) and say install driver. During installation it finds 2 more unknown devices which remain after XT and secondary is installed and which cannot be found a driver for.
> 
> Has nobody the same problems with a tweaked Sapphire?



Come to think of it now, I think I know why. Some of the Xt bioses don't have the rage chip in the bios, but windows finds it, but can't install it because its not enable through the bios. Try a XT PE, or another XT bios and see if that clears it up.

-Dan


----------



## sacharja (Aug 27, 2005)

Yes, that´s a good idea. There´s a symbol of a chip in device manager of the 2 unknown devices.

So what can I do? I tried flahing the sapphire PE, but got artifects and green textures. With the original ati bios I got only a black screen. Which can I try? I´m frightened of beeing unable to flash it back


----------



## dil (Aug 27, 2005)

djbbenn: i have opened the heat sink have seen the lazer cut, just to clarify i need to connect the top left to the bottom left with the lazer cut in between, connecting 1 and 3 and nothing touching the big blob at the bottom and not touching the lazer cut.

i'm just making sure because you said to touch  1 and 4, and then "connects the two dots with the laser cut in between them"


and what do you recomend using to touch the dots together,


thankyou for your previous posts they have been a great help.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 27, 2005)

sacharja said:
			
		

> Yes, that´s a good idea. There´s a symbol of a chip in device manager of the 2 unknown devices.
> 
> So what can I do? I tried flahing the sapphire PE, but got artifects and green textures. With the original ati bios I got only a black screen. Which can I try? I´m frightened of beeing unable to flash it back



Don't worry about having to do a blind flash...did you try all of the Sapphire XT PE bioses? There are three I believe. Also, try the ATI X800PRo Vivo 16p bios, if nothing else works.

-Dan


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 27, 2005)

dil said:
			
		

> djbbenn: i have opened the heat sink have seen the lazer cut, just to clarify i need to connect the top left to the bottom left with the lazer cut in between, connecting 1 and 3 and nothing touching the big blob at the bottom and not touching the lazer cut.
> 
> i'm just making sure because you said to touch  1 and 4, and then "connects the two dots with the laser cut in between them"
> 
> ...



Just the top left and bottem left dots yuo connect. Te ones with the laser cut between them. I would use a conductive pen, or paint, pens easier. If the mod doesn't work you can just scrape the connection away with a knife. Heres a link that I looked up that might be able to explain it better for you. Good luck dil.  

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

hi djbbenn,
I have done the joining with a conductive pen, and still stuck with 12 pipelines. the system still reports x800gt for some reason i tried a different bios to see if there will be any change. nope no change.
could that mean the pipelines are locked within the memory or somert like that.

(just to let you know nothing is connecting to the lazer cut and i did scrape the top left and bottom left with a knife to see the copper heads and used the conductivity pen to do the joining)


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

What flashrom are you using? And you are sure that you have a good contact between the two points. Also dump the bios with Atitool and get RABIT  and open up the dumped bios. Take a screen shot of the Device ID so I can see what it says about the bios.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

i've been using atiflash v3.09 to flash the bios in dos and i couldnt find how to dump the bios with atitool (i had to put the bios in rabit that i have flashed the x800 with), 

i had the connection verified by my brother that all was intact and have done the connection and reconections 4 times with all same results.

here's the screen shot 


http://img.techpowerup.org/050828/screen shot.jpg


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

Use this flashrom and try. Replace "atiflash" in the comand line with "flashrom", so it will look like this "flashrom -p -f 0 bios.bin"

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

just tried it with the same bios (asus x800xt pe) exactly the same no change,


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

Use a different bios and try.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

from ASUS x800xt pe to ATi x800xt still no changes still geting recognised as x800gt and with 12 active pipelines.


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

1 thing has chaned though i used to get 2 unknown devices now they have gone.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

Is it showing the extra 4 pipes? It should, because that flash tool was made to do this mod. If the pipes are ther it will enable them. Sounds to me that the flashrom is working though, where you say there is no unknow devices now. Just try some more bioses.  

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

is atitools reliable for checking pipelines as it only shows 12,

i flashed it again with SAPHIRE x800xt and no changes and i got the two unknown devices again.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

Yes Atitool is reliable, you might have to reinstall Atitool to confirm the pipes. A lot of people had to. Give that a try.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

nope still reporting 12 pipelines. after uninstalling and reinstalling atitool (0.25 beta 5)


----------



## dolf (Aug 28, 2005)

The reason for these strange appearances like GT, SE ect. on flashed X800 PCIx is partly connected with the BIOS but mainly with the core. After flashing some data remains unchanged whatever BIOS is used because the number of active pipelines is permanently  assigned within the core (somehow).

I have seen a forum with the debate with the creator of RivaTuner about collecting data for moddability of the new cores on PCIx cards. It becomes clear that the the chance to unlock extra pipes on X800Pro could be detected in RivaTuner within the core registers scripts. Also it becomes clear that core registers can tell us a story about almost zero chance to unlock the pipes on the new R423 cores, because ATI uses almost all cores with working pipes for high-end cards (probably every single core is manualy tested) . I know that is very interesting for the owners of such cards, that's why I will look for the address of this issue and will post it as soon as possible  .     

Flashing the new BIOS changes everything but the number of active pipelines (set in the core) which just confuses the driver (the new drivers supports GT) and it shows strange things like described above X800SE, GT and so on.

Regards


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

thanks dolf that will be a great help.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 28, 2005)

Yes very true indeed, and that was the main reason for the modded flashrom, so it would not preserve the settings of pipes and so on. If you flash a pro vivo agp, with the regular Atiflash and a XT PE bios, it will still have 12p. No matter what bios you use because it preservers the rom settings. That was the problem I had when I first started doing this mod, then I found this flashrom by W1zzard and it cured it for me (but i had defective pipes  ). It has been done on the PCI-E versions, but the chances of it working are very slim. Thanks for that little info with rivatuner dolf.  

dil: you might have to flash a empty bios for this to work, so it will erase all remains of you bios. 

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 28, 2005)

djbbenn how do i flash a empty bios?

would i have to flash it empty and then flash it with a real bios,


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 29, 2005)

Yup you have it right, you flash the empty bios as if it were a real one, execpt and this important, you do not reset the computer, you flash the real straight afterwards. If you reset after doing just the empty bois, you will have to blind flash or get a PCI card, or the card may not work at all. So its empty flash, true bios flash, then reset. Heres the empty bios.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 29, 2005)

do i force flash the bios's


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 29, 2005)

Yup.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 29, 2005)

done it, and no changes, i've uninstalled the atitools and reinstalled it, still x800gt and 12 pipelines.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 29, 2005)

Sigh, you might have to give up, I was at a point with mine where I knew no matter what I did I couldn't have those damn pipes.   Sorry man, I know how you feel. Just overclock that bad boy and enjoy what you got before something gets broke do to messing with it so much.

-Dan


----------



## dil (Aug 29, 2005)

yup your right, it looks like i'll have to give in, they must have locked it in the core thank you for your help your have been a true star. i guess i'll cherish my 12 pipelines for now.


----------



## dolf (Aug 29, 2005)

Guys here it is the promised links to the X800 pipe issue:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?threadid=129374&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=1

Also see something old but corresponding with today discussion (and absolutely the same like my opinion concerning the way of locking) some interesting ideas from ViperJohn:

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?mode=hybrid&t=33776798

On the Russian forums are widely discussed the possibilities for pipe unlocking but till now the cases of success are few  .

I will also post picture of my result after running RivaTuner on my X800XT PE AGP just for comparison with the above.

There is no promises for successfull pipe unlocking but reading this all of us will know what to expect. At present most of the cards with new cores are hardly cocked but don't lose your faith some day (hope soon) the secret probably will be solved 

Hope that the post will put a litle more light in this area.
Success to all of you!!!


----------



## dil (Aug 29, 2005)

dolf: according to your first link the forum quotes "Guys, if you have AGP / PCIE X8..0 - please run RivaTuner with the following command line and post your results here:

RivaTuner.exe /rr990 /rr994 /rr99c /rr402c"

i've downloaded "RivaTuner20RC156" and installed. and i dont understand how i'm suppose to do the command line like the guy says.

 (By the way thanks for the links)


----------



## dolf (Aug 30, 2005)

Yes I had the same problem and finaly solve it doing this in Total Commander.
Start Total Commander and open the directory wherever the Riva Tuner is installed for example "c:\Program Files\RivaTuner v2.0 RC 15.x\" copy and paste RivaTuner.exe /rr990 /rr994 /rr99c /rr402c in the command window on the bottom of Total Commander and press enter and you will get the information.

If register 990 shows something different than xxxxfxxx you can forget for unlocking the pipes. If you have xxxxfxxx in 990 and laser cut it will reflects (according the results of the statistic) in 994 register with xxxxxxx*x*. After connecting the lasercut probably you will see for 994 register xxxxxxxf. It is reasonable to connect the laser cut only if you can prove xxxxfxxx in register 990.

But who knows you can be one lucky guy who receive moddable card .

Dil I have one personal reques in case that you have digital camera. Can you make some detailed pictures of the both sides of the card (if posible without heatsink) and also of the core itself. You can send it to me on private mail vgd_new@yahoo.com. I haven't such card but it will be interesting for me to play around. Thanks in advance.

Despite of almost zero chance I wish you success


----------



## dil (Aug 30, 2005)

Done it, this is what i got:-

http://img.techpowerup.org/050830/total com.jpg 





will i be able to unlock the pipelines?

and i do have a digital camera, do you want the pic's close up as pobbile with out blurry, the core it self has thermal grease on, but you will see the outer bits, will that be ok for you.


----------



## djbbenn (Aug 30, 2005)

I still believe, that if you don't get the pipes after connecting them and flashing them, you stand no chance of getting them at all. I have seen numorous people do the mod to the PCI-E cards and only very few have succeeded. And the ones who did succeed, some had defective pipes, so they couldn't keep them. Sometimes you need to find a point where you just stop, before you wreck your card for good, and have none at all.

-Dan


----------



## dolf (Aug 30, 2005)

Unfortunately you will not be able to unlock the pipes because you haven't xxxxfxxx in 990 register.   You got xxxxexxx but not f in 5-th position. Looking 994 probably you haven't laser cut on the core. Am I right?

About pictures YES I do want them. (Back side can be very interesting because there are a lot resistors near core with posibility to be soldered on two places.) I am looking on my X800XT PE AGP and will try to make some resurch on this. After that I will post the results of course.   If you can also find from somewhere pictures of the back / front side of the same card but with 16 pipes it will be very usefull.  

I do believe that the secret is hiden not in the core (laser cut is just additional locking method) but on the PCB. Please in connection with this see what is the Part Number of your PCB (left front side near fan connector, if should be something like: PN 109-Axxxxx-xx).
(Who knows maybe I can find something that slips out of the other people  )

Thanks in advance for the support.


----------



## dolf (Aug 30, 2005)

Please all the owners of X800PRO's (doesn't matter VIVO or not) and XT's to chech the resistor configuration on the back side of the PCB on the right side of the cooler holding-plate. There are 7 resistors (R339, 340, 337, 338, 341, 342, 576, 577, 580, 581, 582, 583, 578, 579) which have the following configuration on X800XT:

x=resistor, 1234567 - position number, - no resistor

1234567   R579       
xx--x--     
1234567  
--xx-xx
1234567   R578

But on X800PRO I could see something else (it is posible to make mistake because of the picture that's why I want to check by your eyes.) 

1234567   R579
xx-xx--
1234567  
--x--xx
1234567   R578

I will attach the PRO picture with the checking area marked. Also I consider that it could be the key for unlocking the damn pipes  .

Thanks to all for the support


----------



## dolf (Aug 31, 2005)

Dil you are one lucky guy. After the last post to you and long night I solve the problem with the pipes unlocking. I will tell you what should be done with your card to unlock the pipes. Please send me the pictures of it and be patient few hours  . Also I will need info about your core. Do it have laser cut?


----------



## dil (Aug 31, 2005)

yes it does have a lazer cut on it and i will send the pic's to you, hopefully by tonight


----------



## SANE (Aug 31, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> I still believe, that if you don't get the pipes after connecting them and flashing them, you stand no chance of getting them at all. I have seen numorous people do the mod to the PCI-E cards and only very few have succeeded. And the ones who did succeed, some had defective pipes, so they couldn't keep them. Sometimes you need to find a point where you just stop, before you wreck your card for good, and have none at all.
> 
> -Dan




^I agree....I am one of the people who tired the mod....it didnt work...so I sent the card back and forked out a little more for the XT.


----------



## duke21 (Sep 1, 2005)

*problem*

please help.
i ve tryed this mod: x800pro to x800pe. i have vivo version: i ve updated bios, windows recognize card like platinum, core and memory 520/560, but there are still 12pipelines. what i ve done wrong?


----------



## dil (Sep 1, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> I still believe, that if you don't get the pipes after connecting them and flashing them, you stand no chance of getting them at all. I have seen numorous people do the mod to the PCI-E cards and only very few have succeeded. And the ones who did succeed, some had defective pipes, so they couldn't keep them. Sometimes you need to find a point where you just stop, before you wreck your card for good, and have none at all.
> 
> -Dan



djbbenn dolf sane: it looks like i will be taking that advice. so much i could do to it before it would stop working thank you guys for helping me out.


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 1, 2005)

Well, thanks to this forum I've turned my Club3d X800Pro VIVO into a fully fledged X800xt pe! complete with 16 pipes.
I also upgraded the cooler to a ATI arctic silencer 4 rev2
Here's the results:
Clock speed 520
Mem speed 560
Idle temp 40-42 
Maximum temp under full load 62

Thanks everyone for your help.


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 1, 2005)

duke21 said:
			
		

> please help.
> i ve tryed this mod: x800pro to x800pe. i have vivo version: i ve updated bios, windows recognize card like platinum, core and memory 520/560, but there are still 12pipelines. what i ve done wrong?



Have you used the modified flashrom ?

-Dan


----------



## Omniverse (Sep 2, 2005)

*Worked great!*

I followed the instructions in this guide to the letter and successfully unlocked all 16 pipelines on my ATI Radeon X850 Pro VIVO. I just wanted to thank the author of this thread for this nice FREE performance gain!


----------



## duke21 (Sep 5, 2005)

yes i used modified flashrom


----------



## duke21 (Sep 5, 2005)

i did it!!!
well it seems that i did not use modded rom


----------



## Cretin (Sep 8, 2005)

Just bought  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121519

...i'm gonna do the mod....was looking for a suggestion on the bios...and about the Heat issue....why should there be an issue if the same type of cooling is used on the x800xt pe ?


----------



## sin4me (Sep 10, 2005)

would be curious to know if you are able to flash this card successfully and unlock the 16 pipes, thanks.




			
				Cretin said:
			
		

> Just bought
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121519
> 
> ...i'm gonna do the mod....was looking for a suggestion on the bios...and about the Heat issue....why should there be an issue if the same type of cooling is used on the x800xt pe ?


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 10, 2005)

I purchased the Xtasy X800 XT last fall, (almost a year ago now and paid $492.50 del) I have upon occasion OC'ed the card to PE speeds, but I have not left it with that OC all the time. I decided on flashing the bios to a X800 XT PE bios and see if this works. The Xtasy X800 XT is the only bios listed under VisionTek brand. Since I already have this card, that would not help me at all. So I began looking for a X800XT PE bios that matches exactly in size and the X800 XT bios in my card. I found a match, under ATI's line of cards. I downloaded all the necessary files and made the floppy. I saved a copy of the old bios to the floppy. The first time I attempted to flash to the PE bios, I did get an error about the card ID was different than for the ATI bios. After studing about this for a few minutes. I did not see any problem in using the ATI bios. I flashed the bios again using the /f switch added to the command line. WALA the flash went perfect, all verification passed without a hitch. The card had to install the drivers all over again, when finished, it is ID'ed on the screen as IDE X800 XT Platinum Edition, this is for the primary and secondary both. I have played HL2 and MaxPayne2 last night for a couple hours without any serious problems. The only problem I have encountered is if I select restart from the desktop. The system will not restart, I have to turn off the power and then turn back on, then the system starts perfectly. If you can give me good info about that, please do.
ATI Tool shows the fan on the GPU running at 100% and the temp is steady at 41c. GOOD


----------



## Battousai5000 (Sep 11, 2005)

*Can X800GT R480 core be able to open pipes ?*

cause i saw somone who open it to 16 pipes ! 

see here : 

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4237367

and i just bought the PowerColor X800GT 256MB


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 11, 2005)

I didn't think you could, that link makes no sense in the persons cpu either, they have a 2700MHz Athlon with a 201fsb...that doesn't work. Theres not even one thats stock at 2700. Plus I'd think his score would be way higher than it is. With my pro running 12p, and my Athlon at 2400 stock, and 512mb of ram I get a better score than him. It could be a PCI-E card flashed to a XT, cause sometimes they show up as GT's for some reason or another. Just my thoughts on this.  

-Dan


----------



## Battousai5000 (Sep 11, 2005)

*ok.. I'm new in this*

all i know is OC ...
but i know nothting in pipes opening...
so exept OC i can't improve my card ? 

thanks


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 11, 2005)

Opening pipes is the best performance increase for such a simple task (sometimes). But overclocking will always help, and can give a big performance increase aswell. Depends on how much you overclock. 

-Dan


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 11, 2005)

Here is an honest to goodness benchmark::

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4009641

My specs are listed just as they should be for all components.


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 11, 2005)

Nice bobyjo, now yours makes sense, but the other one has a 200fsb yet the cpu is running 2700MHz.  

-Dan


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 12, 2005)

Amen Bro


----------



## Lunar Aura (Sep 12, 2005)

Cretin said:
			
		

> Just bought
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121519
> 
> ...i'm gonna do the mod....was looking for a suggestion on the bios...and about the Heat issue....why should there be an issue if the same type of cooling is used on the x800xt pe ?


I got the same card, flashed it to the Asus X800XT PE bios (edited with RaBIT to 500/500). 

It runs XT PE speeds flawlessly but the card ran too hot for my tastes, so I'm leaving it at XT speeds by default.

Regarding your heat issue question, it's because not all cores are created equal. Some do XT PE speeds effortlessly (and are branded as XT PE's), some run slower (thus are branded XT's), and some have defective pipelines (disabled and then sold as X800Pros).


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 12, 2005)

What temp did your card run at PE speeds?  
I have flashed mine to PE and if I leave it at 520/560 my card core runs at 41-42c. 

This is only about 81f. 
I don't feel this is too warm. IMO::


----------



## Battousai5000 (Sep 12, 2005)

*I didn't understand yet... ^_^*

Can i open Pipes in my card ( Powercolor X800GT R480 Core) or not ?  #_#

and if i do - how ?  

thanks


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 12, 2005)

Battousai5000 said:
			
		

> Can i open Pipes in my card ( Powercolor X800GT R480 Core) or not ?  #_#
> 
> and if i do - how ?
> 
> thanks



Are far as people know, no you can't.

-Dan


----------



## MillerDuck (Sep 14, 2005)

*ATI Branded X800 Pro VIVO PCIE 256 on it's way!*

Has anyone had any experience with this particular card?  I am planning on trying the softmod, but wanted to know of any issues/pitfalls that anyone else ran into.

Thanks in advance,
MD


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 14, 2005)

Theres probably a 95% chance that you can't mod it. It will have a laser cut (may not, but no one has heard of that before) and most of the PCI-E cards mess up by showing up as a GT and the pipes just don't unlock. You can hardmod, but it still prabably wont work.  

-Dan


----------



## MillerDuck (Sep 14, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Theres probably a 95% chance that you can't mod it. It will have a laser cut (may not, but no one has heard of that before) and most of the PCI-E cards mess up by showing up as a GT and the pipes just don't unlock. You can hardmod, but it still prabably wont work.
> 
> -Dan


 Thanks for the info, I will post here with my results after I take a shot at it.

MD


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 14, 2005)

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8718993

This is the score of my system with the new flashed video card and the new Patriot XBLK memory. 

Quite a bit of improvement over the std X800 XT and the Corsair Value Select Memory. 
I am happy with this. Don't see any need to OC any farther. 
I have had this board to 296x9 the other day. 
The Corsair memory would not hold these settings for over a few hours, then began to reboot. 
I checked the temps of the cpu=47c, the video card core=42c, have no idea what the temp of the memory was. 
Anyway I have things pretty much the way I want them.


----------



## k800 (Sep 14, 2005)

have you done 3d mark 05 testing ?

as for the vivo pci-e thing, I tried the 16p pro bios, but no display on the monitor at all..
I will try the XT bios next, my card runs 3d mark 05 fine @ 500/500

Depending on the difficulty and danger I might check whether the pipes are actuall laser cut (?).  Anyone have any advice on the removal of the heatsink?


----------



## AceFactor (Sep 14, 2005)

Heat it up with a hair dryer, this will make the thermal turn into its liquid state   

-Adam


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 14, 2005)

I have ran 3DMark05 on the system prior to the new memory. 
I have not ran it today.


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 14, 2005)

MillerDuck said:
			
		

> Thanks for the info, I will post here with my results after I take a shot at it.
> 
> MD



Good luck man. 

-Dan


----------



## k800 (Sep 15, 2005)

I flashed my card to x800 xt.  This time it booted up, however, it first recognized as x800 SE, and when I installed the drivers it said either x800 se or gt drivers would be compatible.  I forced it to install the x800xt drivers, restarted, but it detected only 12 pipelines in rivatuner.. as predicted i guess.  Clocks are 500/500. Tested and confirmed to be within ten points to the 3d Mark 05 performance of a overclocked x800 pro to 500/500.  

MillerDuck this  may be of some use to you since we are in the same situation


I will try now to look under the heatsink and spy the lasercut!   



k800


----------



## MillerDuck (Sep 15, 2005)

Did you happen to get yours direct from ATI on their "REFURB" clearance?  Mine is still in FedEx's hands.  It only cost me $179 so I figure I can abuse it a little to try and make this work.

Hurry up FedEx!!

MD


----------



## k800 (Sep 15, 2005)

Yes, I did.  Cool we will try to work together on this...  

Although I couldn't get any video on the 16p pro bios, with the XT bios I was able to get into windows, though it did recognize as an SE or GT. So if you are flashing, be prepared to blind flash back, the flash utility has a nice chime that it plays through the speaker when its done, so that's nice.


----------



## k800 (Sep 15, 2005)

Millerduck, read this thread: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=129374

especially the posts by the thread starter, underwind, i think, over the first two pages.  What are then your results from his check using rivatuner?, I will post mine when I go home later today.  

IOW do you have xxxxfxxx ?


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 15, 2005)

My card was purchased from Visiontek. 
The Xtasy X800 XT PE line was on backorder for over 6 months. After my order was in for over a month. I cancelled it and took a X800 XT instead. 
I had that card within a week after changing the order. 
I actually purchased this card for a customer. He got defiant over the fact it was not the PE version. This was after I called him and explained the situation to him. 
He stated go ahead and order the card and call me when it arives. 
Needless to say, I became a little agrivated and refused to give back the deposit he had put up on the card. 
I had witness to verify my calling him and his agreement to take the non PE card. 
When I confronted him over this, he threw a fit and stated this guy would agree to say anything for me. 
This card cost us $492.50 including shipping to our shop. I flashed the bios to the XT PE version last week. 
I do not feel bad over the flashing, the card is performing flawlessly before and after.


----------



## k800 (Sep 16, 2005)

So I guess that's that =/:

256-bit R423 (12x1) with 256MB DDR3 memory
Reg      00000990: eff37fff
Reg      00000994: fffff71e
Reg      0000099c: 00000660
Reg      0000402c: 000227a4

laser locked & an on-die lock according to Unwinder..

k800


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 16, 2005)

*X850 Fan issue*

have tried this mod on my X850 Pro VIVO and no success on the pipes, is a new card so not sure if it would work, but having flashed back to my original bios, I can not get the fan on the card to function atall, any ideas why?
thanks
iZonus


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 16, 2005)

The card may be damaged. 
I don't think the bios would have control over the fan as to wheather the fan runs or not.  
I am sure there are controls over fan speeds and temp regulation, but as to the fan not even turning. 
I think I would take it back to where you purchased it and exchange for a new one.


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 16, 2005)

cheers, will look into it further and let you kno wat happens, thanks for the responce
iZonus


----------



## MillerDuck (Sep 16, 2005)

I will post my RivaTuner results tonight as the card should be here and installed by then.


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 16, 2005)

*X850 again*

hey, iZonus here, I posted regarding the fan failure on my card post Bios swapping, well after looking into it a bit more, even after flashing an empty bios, and then my original card bios, under Sisoft Sandra's video system information it recognises the chipset as X850 Platinum Edition even though the bios and the chipset is actually X850 Pro, any ideas how I can return it to its proper state?
cheers.


----------



## Zoors (Sep 16, 2005)

Looks great, but im unsure about one thing...  I have a Club3D X800PRO VIVO and it has no bios in the list  (want the XT PE)  so what BIOS could I use, if I could?


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 16, 2005)

Run ATI Flash -i this will download a copy of your present bios to the floppy disk. 
Then look at the file and write down the size of the bios file. 
Say if it is 54kb, then go to SapphireTech and find a new bios file that is 54kb and is a XT PE bios. 
That bios will work with your card.

The reason I am suggesting Sapphire Tech, they make most of all the ATI Radeon cards out there. You may get an error about the ID does not match, if that happens then run atiflash biosfile -f.   

If you are wondering what I ment by "biosfile", this is where you would type in the exact name of the bios file you are wanting to flash your card with. 

This f forces the flash to finish on your card.


----------



## iZonus (Sep 17, 2005)

would having used Flashrom instead of ATIFlash caused any problems? I can't see how as your merely just changing the bios file, Have tried a number of Bios files and to no evail, the fan still wont come back on, I have read somewhere that you can get problems with voltage peaks on the board fans, and that the motors can go, to save the hassle of returning the card, I have ordered a Zalman VF700CU and will go that route, was going to get an Arctic Cooling ATI V5 Rev2 Silencer, but it attaches to the cards fan socket, so thought I better not risk it, Thanks tho bobyjo for the advice etc. Kudos


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 17, 2005)

I have never used flashrom, so I can't give any advise on that. 
I always have used ATIFlash and never had a problem with anything.


----------



## k800 (Sep 18, 2005)

Hi,

bobyjo, does the size of the bios really matter? all the bioses I flashed varied in size with my original bios..

thanks, k800


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 18, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> Run ATI Flash -i this will download a copy of your present bios to the floppy disk.
> Then look at the file and write down the size of the bios file.
> Say if it is 54kb, then go to SapphireTech and find a new bios file that is 54kb and is a XT PE bios.
> That bios will work with your card.
> ...




Thanks for the advice, bobyjo. 

The flash did work, thanks w1zzard for that input!

Thow I have a strange problem...

When scanning for artifacts it ATITool says "Delta...bla bla... No Errors"  and I got some yellow dot flickering around. This wont go away on any clockspeed, core or mem.  

I have stock cooler, but I guess it doesnt have to do with temperature, as it shows up at around 40 
C.

Now, playing Battlefield 2 is a boost.  No artifacts whatsoever, but with 1600-1200 and all on high I get the normal FPS-tango. 

Any idea about those yellow dots? Voltmod needed?  My AGP is boosted up to 1.7, but it didnt make a diff. 

And 3DMark05 did start up, and after the ballon escape from the monster, it froze. Cant use that. Will try the 03 instead.


Great work, man.


----------



## Zoors (Sep 18, 2005)

Well the abov msg was from me...


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 18, 2005)

Hey MillerDuck! What about the board? Is it R480 w/ 256MB DDR3??

 I need to know if it is possible to activate those pipes, cause I might get one of those from PowerColor tomorrow...

Please try to make it work!


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 18, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Thanks for the advice, bobyjo.
> 
> The flash did work, thanks w1zzard for that input!
> 
> ...




The yellow dots are showing you artifacts...but you say you don'y get any in BF2? Try changing the scanning method of Atitool, to more compatible/old method. Its under artifact scanning in settings. You may have defective pipes, but its weird you don't see any problems in BF2. Myabe try the Pro vivo 16P bios and see if that clears it up.

-Dan


----------



## Tawton_Pro.uk (Sep 18, 2005)

im buying a x800pro tommorow ..... i wos wondering what is better a pro or XL ???


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 18, 2005)

Well if your not overclocking and not going to do the mod, the XL...if you want to makesure you have the 16p, the XL. If you want to overclock, the PRO, cause a good overclocked pro will beat a Xl even with 12p. And if you get a AGP PRO Vivo, you can try to mod it to a XT PE.

-Dan


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 18, 2005)

*Hey MillerDuck! What about the board? Is it R480 w/ 256MB DDR3??

 I need to know if it is possible to activate those pipes, cause I might get one of those from PowerColor tomorrow...

Please try to make it work!*


----------



## djbbenn (Sep 18, 2005)

What is the card? More than one card uses that core and mem.

-Dan


----------



## Zoors (Sep 18, 2005)

*Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 4  OR Zalmans Fatal1ty FS-V7?*



			
				djbbenn said:
			
		

> The yellow dots are showing you artifacts...but you say you don'y get any in BF2? Try changing the scanning method of Atitool, to more compatible/old method. Its under artifact scanning in settings. You may have defective pipes, but its weird you don't see any problems in BF2. Myabe try the Pro vivo 16P bios and see if that clears it up.
> 
> -Dan




Thanks for the reply, djbbenn

Yes it was much less of "Delta" errors with the old scanning mode. Now it can run for up to ten seconds b4 ne artys detected. And when it does, its 1 or 3 pixels. Seem to be like the BF2 experience. Not noticable.  BTW BF2 runs in 1280x1024 2xAA half high half medium.. @ 100 fps !
Couldnt do that with unmodded x800PRO.  W1zzard... ur my idol.  

Now the clocks r 520/560 and idle temp on GPU is 43C with stock fan. (tempchip 36C)
But after a couple of minutes with the 2D artifacts scan, the computer freezes.  Allthou BF2 can run forever at above resolution.

I see no need to do a voltmod, but I see a need to buy a aftermarket cooler.  My current idea is either the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 4  OR Zalmans Fatal1ty FS-V7...

Any hint on whats the best one?


Update! :  As I played around with AGP latency, and resetted it from 128 to 250, suddenly I have no artifacts at all.... Gone. They are history. Not even at XTPE default speeds.  
But when I reset latency to initial 128... still no artifacts.  The card appear to have bin muture in the process...  No idea why.  

And another thing.  When running BF2 in X800PRO default clocks, the temp just goes down 2 or 3 degrees. Its high, around 70 - 75, but the difference is minor. Fan at 100%.  
So with a ATI Silencer 4 I oughta bring the card to cousy bedwarmer temp... with dynamite power fps.  This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.


----------



## MillerDuck (Sep 18, 2005)

k800 said:
			
		

> So I guess that's that =/:
> 
> 256-bit R423 (12x1) with 256MB DDR3 memory
> Reg      00000990: eff37fff
> ...



I get:
256-bit R423 (12x1) with 256MB DDR3 memory
Reg     00000990: eff3efff
Reg     00000994: fffff71e
Reg     0000099c: 00000861
Reg     0000402c: 00006e48

So according to unwinder's data, I'm hosed huh?  Has anyone ever successfully completed this mod on a 990: xxxxexxx card?

Thanks,
MD


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 18, 2005)

I am not on top of what you have done. Did you make your card unusable?  
Did you save your original bios before you flashed the upgrade? 
If you did, you can go back to the original bios very easy.


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## k800 (Sep 19, 2005)

afaik no


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## Zoors (Sep 19, 2005)

iZonus said:
			
		

> would having used Flashrom instead of ATIFlash caused any problems? I can't see how as your merely just changing the bios file, Have tried a number of Bios files and to no evail, the fan still wont come back on, I have read somewhere that you can get problems with voltage peaks on the board fans, and that the motors can go, to save the hassle of returning the card, I have ordered a Zalman VF700CU and will go that route, was going to get an Arctic Cooling ATI V5 Rev2 Silencer, but it attaches to the cards fan socket, so thought I better not risk it, Thanks tho bobyjo for the advice etc. Kudos



Hey iZonus,

Isnt the 5 version of Arctic for another GPU?
My card seem to need the 4 version as I have the R420 GPU. Correct?

And I also wonder if it is impossible to use the old VGA Silencer of my unemplyed 9800PRO on this x800pro...


----------



## iZonus (Sep 19, 2005)

Zoors, there are two lines of Arctic cooling solutions, one is the NV line (for nVidia GPUs) and the other is the ATI line (for ATI GPUs), according to their site (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=61) the ATI Silencer 5 rev. 2 is compatible with the R420 (X800pro) but also yeah the 4 version is compatible with the R420, just not stated as compatible with the R480s. I would advise against using the 9800 Pro solution with your X800Pro, as it will likely not be effective enough, especially when overclocking, that's if your able to fit it atall. From my reading the best route to go is either with one of the Zalman solutions, or as you suggested the Arctic cooling ATI 4 (rev.2), to give better than stock cooling. Hope this has helped a bit, any more Qs just post.
iZonus


----------



## iZonus (Sep 19, 2005)

Bobyjo, yeah I backed up my bios, and tried to restore it, seemed to work fine, but as I said think I have a dead fan, strange I know, but ah well, what can I do. The card is functioning fine, runs 3D fine, no artifacts but gets very hot very quickly, I have a pretty good cooling system in the system, so Iv got all the fans on max to keep it from dying on me, idles around 63degs. which isn't ideal, but shouldnt do any damage. Note for everyone though, when I hadn't noticed I had a problem with the fan, I presumed ATI Tool was reporting incorrectly, I hit temps over 110 degs. and had no artifacts or problems running 3dMark 05, although I wouldn't recommend running this hot for any period of time. Also X850PRO (PCI/e) softmodding does not seem to work, well not for me anyhow, stuck with 12pipes all the way no matter which bios Iv tried. Hope some of this infos handy to some of you guys.


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## MillerDuck (Sep 19, 2005)

iZonus said:
			
		

> Bobyjo, yeah I backed up my bios, and tried to restore it, seemed to work fine, but as I said think I have a dead fan, strange I know, but ah well, what can I do. The card is functioning fine, runs 3D fine, no artifacts but gets very hot very quickly, I have a pretty good cooling system in the system, so Iv got all the fans on max to keep it from dying on me, idles around 63degs. which isn't ideal, but shouldnt do any damage. Note for everyone though, when I hadn't noticed I had a problem with the fan, I presumed ATI Tool was reporting incorrectly, I hit temps over 110 degs. and had no artifacts or problems running 3dMark 05, although I wouldn't recommend running this hot for any period of time. Also X850PRO (PCI/e) softmodding does not seem to work, well not for me anyhow, stuck with 12pipes all the way no matter which bios Iv tried. Hope some of this infos handy to some of you guys.




Check out this post in another thread, he claims his fan stopped too, but was able to get it going agian:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=33055&postcount=221

MD


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## bobyjo (Sep 19, 2005)

You could purchase a new UGA cooler, and connect the fan header to a 12v lead from the powersupply. 
I think the VGA Silencer that uses the 120mm fan actually uses this connection default.


----------



## Zoors (Sep 19, 2005)

iZonus said:
			
		

> Zoors, there are two lines of Arctic cooling solutions, one is the NV line (for nVidia GPUs) and the other is the ATI line (for ATI GPUs), according to their site (http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=61) the ATI Silencer 5 rev. 2 is compatible with the R420 (X800pro) but also yeah the 4 version is compatible with the R420, just not stated as compatible with the R480s. I would advise against using the 9800 Pro solution with your X800Pro, as it will likely not be effective enough, especially when overclocking, that's if your able to fit it atall. From my reading the best route to go is either with one of the Zalman solutions, or as you suggested the Arctic cooling ATI 4 (rev.2), to give better than stock cooling. Hope this has helped a bit, any more Qs just post.
> iZonus



Yeah, I noticed that version 5 was only for X800Pros with R430's  (see this one: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=61&data=7&disc=   )

And, well if the 9800 does attach to the GPU it indded would be enuff as 9800 is way hotter than the X800. fain.

Thanks for reply anyway!


*Anybody that has Zalmans fan-solution and a modded X800Pro that can report temperatures? 
(That is the ATITool 3d image temperature vs idle.)
And those who have Arctic 4 or 5?*


Club3D X800PRO (only flashmodded to Sapphire X800XTPE)  

Idle at X800PRO clocks *475/450* (no 3D view):  42/35 degrees with stockfan at 80%

and running at X800PRO clocks *475/450* with
3D View and *277fpsAVG* after about 5 minutes *77/48 degrees with stockfan * at 100%

and running at X800XTPE clocks *520/560* with
3D View and *329 fpsAVG* after about 5 minutes *84/51 degrees with stockfan * at 100%


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## Unregistered (Sep 20, 2005)

I have a powercolor X850 Pro VIVO it matches all the stats required for this mod, but i dont know how to make a back up of my bios, i am just getting into this stuff, and i realy want the extra pipelines because i bought this card to make it into a xt pe but im starting to feel real uncomferable doing this becasue i dont want to mess up. ive already over clocked my card to 540/560 and its running nice a cool (around 65-75 degrees while playing games in the 50's not playing games). will this mod work on the x850 pros? and is it pritty easy to do?


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## dolf (Sep 20, 2005)

AGP or PCIx?


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## Unregistered (Sep 20, 2005)

Pci


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## Unregistered (Sep 20, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Pci


PCI Express 16x


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## BigD6997 (Sep 20, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> I have a powercolor X850 Pro VIVO it matches all the stats required for this mod, but i dont know how to make a back up of my bios, i am just getting into this stuff, and i realy want the extra pipelines because i bought this card to make it into a xt pe but im starting to feel real uncomferable doing this becasue i dont want to mess up. ive already over clocked my card to 540/560 and its running nice a cool (around 65-75 degrees while playing games in the 50's not playing games). will this mod work on the x850 pros? and is it pritty easy to do?



i just became a member so i can get updates on this thread, it is a PCI x. it handles the xt pe 's clock speeds 540/590 it could go higher just i have a very badly ventiated case and dont want it to get to hot, put i am getting a power color heatblaster pci fan that should help. ive read the Guide to Video BIOS flashing, but the Boot Sector Image Link does not work for my usb card, and im not sure hot to make a back up of my cards bios. Will the flash work on the x850 pro to give it the extra pipelines and flash it to the x850 xt pe. the manufactuer is Powercolor

thanks


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## dolf (Sep 20, 2005)

About BIOS save you can choose between flashrom, atiflash or ATITool (I think that it is easier to use the last). Install ATITool and start it. Go to "settings", chose "MISCELLANEOUS" from the fall-down menue on the top. Press "BIOS dump" button. You will have the BIOS dump in the ATITool's directory. Save it on few other places just in case.

At present you will probably not succeed to unlock the last 4 pipes but you can try. (If your card accidentally is dual DVI PRO you will have much much higher chance  ).

Please stay online because I am working on something and probably I will need some information related with R480 cards.

Success and post whatever the results you obtain.


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## Tawton_Pro.uk (Sep 20, 2005)

Yes im gettin a x800pro agp vivo djbbenn for 170£ (English Pounds)


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## dolf (Sep 20, 2005)

Great, AGP yessssssssss you probably will have XT PE easy. Just for our information could you please run ATItool, press "settings" button and "shift" and show us what do to have about fuses (bottom of the window .


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## djbbenn (Sep 20, 2005)

Tawton_Pro.uk said:
			
		

> Yes im gettin a x800pro agp vivo djbbenn for 170£ (English Pounds)



Nice, you can mod it to a X800XTPE. Just hope you don't have defective pipes.  

-Dan


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## BigD6997 (Sep 21, 2005)

now that i made a copy of the bios on my card, how do i get the video bios onto my usb flash drive when i type in the mbtk and all that stuff into my comand prompt it doesnt recongnise it


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

hiho.. i flashed my bios of the x800pro iceq II and now the computer wont start. 

i found some good ideas on the internet for reflashing the backup, the blind flash i cannot do, cause the computer dont start up with the x800 card in. 

now i get a pci video card to boot up from them and reflash the x800 in dos. now the problem:

i cannot go to dos when i`ve both cards in... the first init thing in bios is set to pci but the computer doesn't really start up, i see a little bit of the start screen but the bios beep from the motherboard dont comes. 

whats the problem? do i have to change some more settings in the bios!?

thx 4 help.. and sorry for my bad english -> swiss ;-)


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

Try taking the AGP card out and boot with the just the PCI card. Then put the AGP card back in. It works for some people.

-Dan


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

i tried this but nothing happens... 

or do you mean to plug in the card while the pc's running?


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

No don't put the AGP card in while its running, it could damage something. Althought someone did that once and it caused the card to be reconised, but it was a different situation than yours.

When you say the computer doesn't start up, do you mean it doesn't boot at all, or just no screen?

-Dan


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

the computer don't start... in one computer i see the bios screen but only the cpu clock and ram then nothing goes on. 
at once i started the bios screen comes full and before the system goes to the disk to boot it comes black and on the left upper side appears a blinking " _ " and nothing goes on.. but this don't happen again-

i just test the option that the bios continue if an error appears.. but the same thing

in the other computer the screens black and nothing beeps.


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

Hmm, not good. So will it boot with no PCI card, like just the X800? I know you said its a black screen, but if you have the floppy in the drive it might just boot. Sorry i'm not much help, but theres not much you can do but just keep trying different combinations.

-Dan


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

the pc boots up when i've only the pci card in..!! no problems, and also when i put my old 9600xt card in the agp slot (without the pci) it works.. so the problem must be on the x800 card.

the dos startdisk works, i testet it with the pci card in (without the x800).


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

I remember when a guy had a problem...the guy I mentioned before. Now that I got a better understanding for your problem, his seems very simular. What he did was stick the AGP card into the slot when the computer was on...that was at boot I believe. He did it, cause the card wasn't working at all, so he said might aswell try, cause theres nothing to loose. It worked too, the card was reconised and he did the flash with the PCI card. I still don't recommend doing it, but if you feel your at a point where you might aswell try, well try. But I would use that as a last resort, cause it could damge the card more than it is, or the main board. I know thats not much help...  

-Dan


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## Unregistered 1 (Sep 21, 2005)

*How can I tell what speed memory I have?*

I just got my card back from RMA today and find that it is a completely new card. The serial and part numbers don't match up to what I did have when it was sent. I knew my old memory was the 1.6  memory but how can I tell what this new memory is? I took these numbers off the chips

Samsung 422
K4J55323QF - GC16
AWD236PAS

Now I am not positive the Q is a Q or an O It is pretty hard to tell even under magnification.


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

Its 1.6ns... GC16 stands for 1.6.

-Dan


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

no problem.. im very happy about your help..! 

hmm its very weird.. now im on the 3rd and last computer in our house ;-) 
now i know that i can start windows when i put first the 9600xt in and boot, shut down... put the x800 and the pci in and then i can start windows.. but not dos -> then appear the blinking " _ " in the edge..

now i make the dos bootdisk new and test it again.. if i have the pci card not in, i can flash blind, the dos starts.. but there comes a error (i hear it on the speaker) but i cannot see whats the error is, i want to save the bios again in a file (blind) and then i looked in windows to find the generated file, but the file isnt here.. i think the computer cannot see the x800 and make no backup. 

now i try it with the new dos startup disk and post again  hope im lucky


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## djbbenn (Sep 21, 2005)

What are you typing to flash the bios to the card?

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 21, 2005)

*Need some help.*



			
				djbbenn said:
			
		

> Its 1.6ns... GC16 stands for 1.6.
> 
> -Dan




Good to know thank you.

Now I have never flashed a video card bios before and am a bit nervous about doing it. I have flashed the MB bios once and that went ok. I downloaded the xt bios and the modified flashrom program. So I am guessing I copy the modified flashrom program to a floppy along with the xt bios and boot up the computer? Do I need to make a bootup disc on the same floppy? Does it make any difference what I rename the new bios?
 I apologize if these questions had been asked before. I did read through the forums posts and didn't find all the information about this to feel comfortable. I sure hate to screw up a brand new card if I do this wrong.


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

so i've tested it again with the new bootdisk.. no succsess.. :-( i think i fucked up the card, but dont know how.

tomorrow i will contact the online shop where i buyed it and maybe they make it free, and if not, i pay something.. i think this is cheaper than a new card. 

thx for your help!! and i've you have a idea again, write it, i will try 

greez nicus


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

ah.. this i write to flash:

flashrom -p -f 0 old.bin

and to save

flashrom -s 0 save.bin

greez nicus


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## Unregistered (Sep 21, 2005)

I tried to modify my powercolor x850 pro vivo PCIE with 3 different bios' Still not luck, it can handle the extra speed for about 30 mins then I have to underclock it. What a damn shame no one pays attention to the x850 series. Guess ill stick to my crudy 12 pipelines


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## Zoors (Sep 22, 2005)

iZonus said:
			
		

> I would advise against using the 9800 Pro solution with your X800Pro, as it will likely not be effective enough, especially when overclocking, that's if your able to fit it atall.




Hey folks,

I just took off the stock fan from my X800PRO (flashed to sapphire XTPE) and guess what?

It cooled off the card pretty ok!  To do a quick compare...

Running a BF2 Session, before and after, I came upp with the following:
(I have another post where I compare the PRO default clocks and the ATITool 3D screeen)


Battlefield2 peak temperatures GPU/GPU Environment during a looong session.
=========================================================

Fan...........................Clocks.............................................Temps

*Stock PRO..................Earlier Profile "Stable" = 500/540......73.4 / 47       

VGA Silencer..............The XTPE Profile = 520/560................60 / 48  * 
(for 9800)



Interestin, huh? 
Did the 9800 Arctic Cooling "VGA silencer" fit?   *Yes.*

But...   The fan goes opposite direction, sucking outside cool air into the GPU and further into the PC.
Tryed to swap polarities, but then fan didnt wanna move.
And fan speed is on max all times.  (Like I allways had on the 9800)
The fan contact did fit even as it was not 3 but 2 pin. Just check the colors and press it in.
So... the PC oughta be hotter inside, you might say. Nope.  Idle temp are still 26 for the mobo.

So I prooved it work.  But I will anyway buy the ATI Silencer soon as possible. But, hey, no rush!  =)


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## Unregistered (Sep 22, 2005)

Zoors said:
			
		

> Hey folks,
> 
> I just took off the stock fan from my X800PRO (flashed to sapphire XTPE) and guess what?
> 
> ...



Not having great luck with the longevity of the AC coolers I am buying the Zalman VF 700 CU next week. I have had 2 AC silencers "wear" out on me. One started making noise upon bootup and the other just plain got too noisy and finally quit running. I thought this time out I would try a different approach to cooliing. The cost is aobut the same for either product.


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## Cally (Sep 22, 2005)

*need some specific help*

Before I get myself into trouble I need to know if I only put the flashrom and the new bios on the floppy or do I need some other files for dos?

Is the flashrom program specific enough in its running so I will know what to type and when to type it?

Does it matter what I rename the new bios file to before I copy it onto the floppy?

Should I use the modified Flashrom or the ATI one?


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## djbbenn (Sep 22, 2005)

You need to make the disk bootable. After that just put the bios, and the flashrom on the disk. You have to rename the bios fiel to 8 letters or less. So call it it "newbios.bin" for example. Use the modified flashrom, the ATI one preserves pipes settings so it wont enable the extra pipes. Make sure you save the orginal bios.

-Dan


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## bobyjo (Sep 22, 2005)

IMO::I recommend that you use "ATIFLASH", I have never used Flashrom so I can't say anything about it. 

If you use atiflash this would get the flash done. Copy atiflash and the bios you want to use to a floppy disk. Be sure this is a boot disk. Does not matter what OS it boots to, as long s it is pure dos.

Boot on the disk, 

type atiflash -p 0 -r bios file
atiflash -i  copies your original bios to the floppy disk. 

where I typed bios file, you would use the dir command and write down the exact dos name of the new bios. Then type that name in there. IE::X800XT_040624.bin just for example. All bios files differ in thier exact name.

I know nothing about any pipes etc. So if you have issues with the pipes. I can't help you there.


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## djbbenn (Sep 22, 2005)

I recommend the modified one, becuase a lot of people have problems with the Atiflash not enabling the extra 4 pipes. The modified one was designed for this mod. But if Atitflash works, sure use it, but if it doesn't use the modified one.

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 22, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> You need to make the disk bootable. After that just put the bios, and the flashrom on the disk. You have to rename the bios fiel to 8 letters or less. So call it it "newbios.bin" for example. Use the modified flashrom, the ATI one preserves pipes settings so it wont enable the extra pipes. Make sure you save the orginal bios.
> 
> -Dan



That helps a great deal thank you.


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## Zoors (Sep 23, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Not having great luck with the longevity of the AC coolers I am buying the Zalman VF 700 CU next week. I have had 2 AC silencers "wear" out on me. One started making noise upon bootup and the other just plain got too noisy and finally quit running. I thought this time out I would try a different approach to cooliing. The cost is aobut the same for either product.



Great, then maybe you could post your temps and clocks?
I have not decided yet =)

Oh, and the fan does change speed. Its so damn quiet that I didnt hear any difference. 
Its controlled by pulse width modulation from the X800, and that explains it.  There is a third wire on the stock fan, and I guess its for measuring rpm's.  On 9800 silencer its just 2 wires.

And I saw the problem with noisy rev 1 of Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer. 
My opinion is that they should replace all sold products, asit is a factory defect.- They used a wrong component in the fan, that didnt "survive its duty".  The component, a capacitor, job was to just reduce noise, and as it blew, it didnt do its job. So on rev 2 silencers, it has a higher voltage rating.
AC is responsible for that, and Im surprised that people take that sh**.

ANyway the methode to hear the fan speed change is to gently touch the fan with the very tip of your fingerip. Then you can hear the fan frequency louder.  

Would be nice to see what your new Zalman does about temps.  My CPU all cupper Zalman "flower" heatsink is a total success in my system.  But AC is a much quieter solution, I think with th encapsulated fan. Did u know that the police buys Eurocopters because their rear rotots are encapsulated the same way? And the reason is that those choppers gives MUCH lower noise.


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## Zoors (Sep 23, 2005)

Zoors said:
			
		

> Club3D X800PRO (only flashmodded to Sapphire X800XTPE)
> 
> Idle at X800PRO clocks *475/450* (no 3D view):  42/35 degrees with stockfan at 80%
> 
> ...




This test was a flashed Club3D X800PRO with stockfan, using the sapphire bin.

Now, I also moved over the old Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer for the previous 9800Pro  card.
Heres the temp results, and I added an OC value, just to show the temps of that:  
(old values and temp gain in paranthesis)  


Club3D X800PRO (only flashmodded to Sapphire X800XTPE) with old AC VGA Silencer (9800) 

Idle at X800PRO clocks *475/450* (no 3D view):  35/34 (42/35 gain=7/1) degrees with AC VGA Silencer at 80%

and running at X800PRO clocks *475/450* with
3D View and * 287 (277, gain=10) fpsAVG* after about 5 minutes * 63/52 (77/48, gain=14/-4) degrees with AC VGA Silencer * at 100%

and running at X800XTPE clocks *520/560* with
3D View and *345 (329, gain=16) fpsAVG* after about 5 minutes * 67/55 (84/51, gain=17/-4) degrees with AC VGA Silencer * at 100%

(and running at OC clocks *550/580* with
3D View and 362 fpsAVG after about 5 minutes 68/56 degrees with AC VGA Silencer at 100%
(However... here the computer frooze. Clearly indicating that a Voltage mod is required. Temp is obvioulsy not the problem.)


*Conclusion.* The stock fan is about 4 degrees better for environment temp.  However this diff is neglectable. The old 9800 Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer really does its job. In any case, a voltage mod is required to go higher than the XTPE defaults. I am altough very grateful for coming so far so easy.  Next step is to buy the correct silencer and do the Voltage mod for the GPU.

*3DMark03 Benchmark: 12341    3DMark03 result*


----------



## Unregistered (Sep 24, 2005)

Does this work with PCI-E models too?


----------



## bobyjo (Sep 24, 2005)

The temps of your vga card with the pe bios are almost identical to mine. 
I flashed back to the original bios due to, I felt excessive heat. 
I am led to believe that thse temps are OK, then. 
I probably will go back to the pe bios. 
I have replaced two fans in my case to increase air flow. 
That should help. BJ


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## Zoors (Sep 25, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> The temps of your vga card with the pe bios are almost identical to mine.
> I flashed back to the original bios due to, I felt excessive heat.
> I am led to believe that thse temps are OK, then.
> I probably will go back to the pe bios.
> ...




I finally went and purchased an Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 rev2.
I am very happy with it, as it includes memory chip cooling, that is really needed.
Heres an outprint from the log during a session of Battlefield 2, video settings on HIGH, and 1280x1024 screen resolution.  The card is now max OC'd with help of ATITool, and I allways reduce -20 mhz from the "craschvalue":  *core 561 memory 600*  (craschvalues 581/620mHz)

Note: A also did the Voltage mod.  I used a 10k resistor to make my core VCore 1.45V, and used pecil to get the VMEM and the VDDQ maximum as in the text.  I left the IGPU current limiting alone, as I feel comfortable at this temp level, dont want a higher Core speed now.



2005-09-25 03:55:09	Temperature:	GPU: 56.6°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:55:19	Temperature:	GPU: 56.5°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:55:29	Temperature:	GPU: 56.5°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:55:39	Temperature:	GPU: 56.4°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:55:49	Temperature:	GPU: 56.1°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:55:59	Temperature:	GPU: 57.4°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:56:09	Temperature:	GPU: 56.5°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:56:19	Temperature:	GPU: 56.6°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C
2005-09-25 03:56:29	Temperature:	GPU: 57.0°C	GPU environment: 48.0°C



I think its just beautiful    


Thanks again W1zzard, Urlyin and all you guys that made this possible.


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

Looks good Zoors. 

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 25, 2005)

*Good Grief what do I Do now?*

I screwed up like I was afraid I would.  I am not real good at these things and I was afraid I would make an error that would screw up my card this is what I did.
 I get a red flashing error message That says ERROR 0FL0I file open error. 
First I copied my current bios with ATI Tool and saved it both on the floppy and in a folder.
I made a bootable floppy disc, put the flashrom file and the Sapphire x800xt pe bios I needed on the disc, plus the original bios.
I changed the new bios to Sap.x800xt.bin
I rebooted the computer and the floppy kicks in. I type in flashrom.exe and it runs. Then I type in f
flashrom -p o ( that's O not zero) and sap.x800t.bin. When it stopped I got the message.
So I retried typing Flashrom -p 0 (Zero this time not O) sap.x800xt.bin
Again I got the error message. I ran dir command and see the new bios labeleld as sapx800~1Bin So like the fool I am I typed flashrom -p 0 (Zero ) sapx80~1.Bin
Still I get the error message.

The card is still in the machine and the machine is still running I have not and will not shut it down until I am sure I have corrected this problem.

Can Someone Please help me get out of this mess I made for myself? And please be very specific on what I do so I can understand it all. Thanks

*Edit* I see one thing I did was not make the bios name to 8 characters, mine is nine I will rename it then.


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

It didn't flash, flash using this command "flashrom -f -p 0 bios.bin" Put the name of your bios where it says bios.

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 25, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> It didn't flash, flash using this command "flashrom -f -p 0 bios.bin" Put the name of your bios where it says bios.
> 
> -Dan



Is the O in front of the bios an O or a Zero?
Ok I renamed the new bios to s.x800xt.bin.
So this is how the line should look before I hit enter: Flashrom -f -p 0 (zero) s.x800xt.bin?


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

Yes it is zero. Try renaming the bios to like 'xt.bin", something simple.

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 25, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Yes it is zero. Try renaming the bios to like 'xt.bin", something simple.
> 
> -Dan




Ok Here are the results:
I got this message after doing the last command
Serial Rom
Bios DeviceID = 0x4A50
ASIC            = 0x4A49
Exsisting SSID = 0x0002
New SSID      = 0x1576
Existing Bios P/N = 113-A26107-103
New Bios P/N = 113-AA15901-101
Flashtype      = ST M25P05/C
65536 of 65536 bytes verified.

I don't know if it has been said here before But you are a genius! You saved a darn fool and made him look like a hero. THANK YOU Very Much!

So I take out the floppy and reboot? I already increased the fan speed to 100% through ATI Tool for the reboot.


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

Yes you just take the floppy out and rebout. If you get a blank screen, just do a blind flash or with a PCI card so you can see, and flash your old bios back on there.

Ps: I am no genuis, I'v just done this a bunch of time, and I learnt it form W1zzard. 

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 25, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Yes you just take the floppy out and rebout. If you get a blank screen, just do a blind flash or with a PCI card so you can see, and flash your old bios back on there.
> 
> Ps: I am no genuis, I'v just done this a bunch of time, and I learnt it form W1zzard.
> 
> -Dan



All I know is you helped me out and I really appreciate it. I rebooted uninstalled the drivers, booted into safe mode and used driver cleaner, rebooted and reinstalled the 5.9's. When the computer settled down I checked ATI Tool and it showed 16 pipes core running 520 memory running at 560. I checked CCC and it shows a X800XT PE card in the slot. The card temps are running 41 idle with the stock cooler on it. In 2 weeks I will install a better cooler and see what changes.
 I never would have tried the mod without this forum. Modding is just not something I am even close to being good at. I get very nervous and tense when it comes down to actually doing the mod. Before that I had convinced myself I could pull it off. If I hadn't read all the positive posts by those that did the mod effortlessly I wouldn't have done it. But now WOW it is exhilarating to know that this can be done and what you have when you are finished. WOOT! Thanks again!


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

Did you try a game to make sure you have no defective pipes yet?

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 25, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Did you try a game to make sure you have no defective pipes yet?
> 
> -Dan


No not yet later tonight I will. How will I know any are defective?


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## djbbenn (Sep 25, 2005)

Trust me, you'll know. But if nothing seems to be wrong,  your good and you have  yourself a X800XTPE. 

-Dan


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## Cally (Sep 26, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Trust me, you'll know. But if nothing seems to be wrong,  your good and you have  yourself a X800XTPE.
> 
> -Dan



I think I know what you were trying to say. I couldn't run Gothic 2 or D3 without it crashing, freezing, or artifacts. 
 What I did next was reflash the bios to the original one. Then I ran ATI Tool and found max core which was 510.75 & max mem which was 570.86.  I don't know anything about this stuff but it seems the core is the problem not being able to reach XT PE requirements?
 I played around with the core/mem settings and found the card would be stable at the normal XT speeds. I downloaded that bios and reflashed the card. I can play D3 and the other games without a hitch. I didn't get a PE out of it but I did get a XT how can I complain?


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## BigD6997 (Sep 28, 2005)

ive heard some sucesses with the x800 but i havnt heard any with the x850, i have the 850pro and realy want to do this but i dont want to screw it up. does this work with the powercolor x850pro?


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## bobyjo (Sep 28, 2005)

I don't think there would be any problem with the X850 Vivo Pro going to the XT pe version flash.  
I think you should go to the bios page and download the proper bios you need for your card. 
The X850 bios is listed on the page. Just follow the same instructions as the X800.


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## Unregistered (Oct 4, 2005)

But what bios do you pick?  I know your supposed to match 1.6 mem with 1.6 mem but does manufacturer matter?  

If i have an ASUS x800 pro vivo do I use ASUS x800 xt pe bios?  This is the last step i need clarification on before i do my flashing


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## bobyjo (Oct 4, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> But what bios do you pick?  I know your supposed to match 1.6 mem with 1.6 mem but does manufacturer matter?
> 
> If i have an ASUS x800 pro vivo do I use ASUS x800 xt pe bios?  This is the last step i need clarification on before i do my flashing



That would be the best option. 
Any X800 XT pe bios that matches the size of your bios will work without problems.


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## Overfusion (Oct 5, 2005)

Hi i am a new italian member 

I would want to buy the x850pro VIVO PCI-E by Sapphire, because in Italy I have found her to an exceptional price of 245 €. 
I wanted know if will be possible to mod in X850XT PE, and if it is worthwhile to sell my X800XL to buy the X850pro Vivo@XT

Thanks!
Excuse me for my english


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## Bull_Mastiff (Oct 5, 2005)

Hey guys...I have read this forum till my eyes are bleeding.
I've got a Sapphire X800 pro vivo...i used the X800 xt bios provided from this site...and the modded flash program.  When i boot up im getting x800GT card recognition and card at 500/500. No real frame rate increase with ati tool..actually think its a bit lower...also getting spotted graphics in Americas Army till i turn it down to 475/450....ati still showing 12 pipes...tried uninstalling card and reinstalling...no avail...Q. Voltage in bios next step? Im at aggravatyion level 9/10...HELP ME HELP ME....IM IN NEED OF HORSEPOWER


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## k800 (Oct 5, 2005)

BERY BERY GOOD CHANCE U HAVE ON-DIE locked, or 'laser-cut' locked pipes.  IF you have really read this forum you should know what to do.. here's a reminder:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367

using this as a reference:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=724

^ if you don't have an 'F' in the fifth character after the 'x' on the CONFIG_DIE_FUSES (i.e. 0xXXXXFXXX) line then you have on-die locks for which so far there are no solutions and your stuck with overclocking. 

if you don't have an 'F' in the final character of the CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES line then you have a laser-cut on the chip which needs to be connected, called by some a laser-lock.  

You may have a combination of locks, any of which will prevent solely a bios flash from unlocking the extra pipes.


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## Bull_Mastiff (Oct 5, 2005)

Will check...didnt see this info...thanks for the help.

Moochose grassy azz amigo


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## ShaTR (Oct 7, 2005)

OK, so i in all these 63 pages of discussion, has anyone successfully modded an X800 Pro VIVO PCI-E card?????????????????????

Please, somebody give me good news


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## djbbenn (Oct 7, 2005)

Very and I mean very few have. And the ones that did get them unlocked, where on the first PCI-E cards. All the new seem to have on-die locks.

-Dan


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## ShaTR (Oct 7, 2005)

well, i got my refurb off ATI, so it might be an old one. so ill give it a shot still. thx for the reply djbbenn


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## lazyparrott (Oct 8, 2005)

*Awesome*


You gotta love ATI for allowing this to even be possible, and thank you very much for showing us how to do this awesome mod TechPoweUp! I got my ATI Radeon X850 PRO turned it into an X850 XT! I put a blower under the card which helps cooling a lot, keeps it on 38C on idle and no more than 60C full load on a warm day. 3dMark03 on the Pro - 10656 and on the XT - 12025. Thanks again! ATI 4 Life!


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## Unregistered (Oct 8, 2005)

*Problem*

Ok Here is my issue i check to make sure my sapphire x800 pro would run at 800 xt pe speeds and it did so i did the flash and to gigabyte first for the 16 pipelines and it worked then steped it up to the x800xt pe and again sucess.  got a 71,000 on auqa mark and a 6000 on PC mark 05.  It was great for bench marks.  Then i started to play my games i play a MMOPG and i have to run to instence of the game at one time on my computer well i could play for 15 minutes and then the video card would crap out.  I figured this is understandable at the speed i had the card at so i tryed to trun down the GPU and MEM using the ATI tool.  Well it droped me down to 45,000 on aquamark where before i did anything to my card i was getting 65,000 so i was like hmmm..... i will reflash my bios and go to a x800xt or a x800pro with 16 pipelines flash.  I tried this frist flash for the x800xt and my computer would boot, post, begin loading windows, and then hand up and restart.  i have since tried everything from the gigabyte flash, x800xt pe, and the backup.bin i made as well.   Any one have a sugestion?  this is confussing and hopeing im not out a card ;-/  Let me know what you think.  Thanks


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## lazyparrott (Oct 8, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Ok Here is my issue i check to make sure my sapphire x800 pro would run at 800 xt pe speeds and it did so i did the flash and to gigabyte first for the 16 pipelines and it worked then steped it up to the x800xt pe and again sucess.  got a 71,000 on auqa mark and a 6000 on PC mark 05.  It was great for bench marks.  Then i started to play my games i play a MMOPG and i have to run to instence of the game at one time on my computer well i could play for 15 minutes and then the video card would crap out.  I figured this is understandable at the speed i had the card at so i tryed to trun down the GPU and MEM using the ATI tool.  Well it droped me down to 45,000 on aquamark where before i did anything to my card i was getting 65,000 so i was like hmmm..... i will reflash my bios and go to a x800xt or a x800pro with 16 pipelines flash.  I tried this frist flash for the x800xt and my computer would boot, post, begin loading windows, and then hand up and restart.  i have since tried everything from the gigabyte flash, x800xt pe, and the backup.bin i made as well.   Any one have a sugestion?  this is confussing and hopeing im not out a card ;-/  Let me know what you think.  Thanks






OK, in your post u stated u have a Saphire card, then inputed a Gigabyte bios...... honestly im not an expert but that doesnt sound safe. I heard using empty.bin then inputing your backup bios solves issues and puts the card back in its original state. Well goodluck. If anything, if u can try sending the card back to the store or site u got it from for another one, just act dumb like u dont know why but its not workin right. I know for a fact BestBuy has a 14 day return policy and will exchange the card with no probs, i know cuz i messed up my first X850 pro -_-, but got a new one ^_^. if all fails and the card still acts up after using empty.bin then inputing the backup bios u made, send it to ATI with the backup bios in it. well goodluck again!


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## bobyjo (Oct 8, 2005)

It doesn't matter which bios from which make card you use as long as it matches the card you wish to flash. 
If you were able to run these benchs with no problems, then there should have been no problems in games. 
Benchmarks is where the problems usually become visable. If the benchmarks do well, there is not a reason that the games do not run. 
Did you go into the game settings and make sure that they were set properly? 
It does not matter on iota if you have a Sapphire card and flash it with a Gigabyte bios. 
I would have used the Sapphire bios since they have more bios than anyone else. 
Sapphire makes virtually all the ATI video cards anyway. 
Flash back to the origianl bios, check the card and see if your games will play properly. Then go to the Sapphire bios and pick out a X800 XTpe bios that matches your card. 
I did this and I have no problems at all. 
My original bios was 55kb. I matched this with a Sapphire pe bios of 55kb and flashed using that bios, both were for 1.6 memory chips. 
As far as I know these are the only checks that need to be made. 
There are several persons that flashed from a 55kb bios to a 57kb bios and all is working well. 
I am just telling you what I do before I flash.

Since you flashed from the OEM bios to a 16pipe bios, then up to the pe bios, this may be a problem. If I were you I would only flash one time to what you want to run.


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## lazyparrott (Oct 9, 2005)

well I guess it is logical for it to be possible to be able to put a Gigabyte bios on a saphire card. But at the same time, why bother having different bios' from and for different brand cards? Not to say your wrong, I do agree with your theory, but at the same time its best to be safe. But if it is infact perfectly healthy and harmless to grab one bios from one brand like Gigabite and slab it on a Radeon or saphire per-say, this can open doors to other possibilities now and maybe in the future. Very interesting......


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## bobyjo (Oct 9, 2005)

Since Sapphire is the largest mfg of ATI video cards, yes he could have found a Sapphire bios for X800XT pe bios and flashed that bios to his card. 
As long as he matches the bios to his card. 
This is not saying the Gigabyte bios would not work. 
I think he should read my prior post and pay close attention to what I asked and stated there.


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## bobyjo (Oct 9, 2005)

lazyparrott said:
			
		

> well I guess it is logical for it to be possible to be able to put a Gigabyte bios on a saphire card. But at the same time, why bother having different bios' from and for different brand cards? Not to say your wrong, I do agree with your theory, but at the same time its best to be safe. But if it is infact perfectly healthy and harmless to grab one bios from one brand like Gigabite and slab it on a Radeon or saphire per-say, this can open doors to other possibilities now and maybe in the future. Very interesting......



The simple fact is that some cards do not have a X800 XTpe bios listed by thier mfg. 
My Xtasy card is made (sold under the Visiontek brand) 
There is no pe bios listed for this card. 
So I must have to find a bios that will match my card. 
It was just that I picked the Sapphire bios for my card. 
I could have picked any of a large number of other cards. 
I just preferred the Sapphire due to the fact they make such a super product.


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## lazyparrott (Oct 9, 2005)

Cool, i totally understand now, and WOW you respond faster than lightning crashing! And i figured out that its nice to have every bios from every manufacturer posted on this site, becuz of the old "I lost my backup.bin" lol, anyways awesome replys and learning somehting new every now and then is nice.


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## sniviler (Oct 9, 2005)

check your memory timings on the card before and after you flash, also  try unpluging the comp after the flash.


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## zOaib (Oct 10, 2005)

*Asus Vivo X800 Pro 256ddr Agp*

has anyone here flashed an asus x800 vivo to xt pe speeds , and unlocked the pipes , sorry i am totally new to this just wann get some info , since i have one and also would like to know how i save my original bios for the card before doing so , thx a lot in advance


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## djbbenn (Oct 10, 2005)

Yes, it doesn't matter the make of card. As long as its a X800pro Vivo AGP. Just make sure the card can handle XT PE clocks before you go flashing it. To save your orignal, use Atitool and dump the bios. Or when you are in the dos prompt with the flashing tool, you can use this command, "flashrom -s 0 backup.bin"

-Dan


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## zOaib (Oct 10, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> Yes, it doesn't matter the make of card. As long as its a X800pro Vivo AGP. Just make sure the card can handle XT PE clocks before you go flashing it. To save your orignal, use Atitool and dump the bios. Or when you are in the dos prompt with the flashing tool, you can use this command, "flashrom -s 0 backup.bin"
> 
> -Dan



thx man ! also my AMD 64 is a *clawhammer* core , whats the diff b/w your *san diego* core and mine , just curious ?


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## djbbenn (Oct 10, 2005)

Clawhammer is 130nm, while San Diego is 90nm, so it has lower power consumption and heat output. The San diego has support SSE3 (kind of pointless really, nothing uses it), and an improved memory controller over the Clawhammer. With the new memory controller, you can run four moduals at 400MHz 2T command rate. And the San Diego's overclock very well.

-Dan


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## lazyparrott (Oct 11, 2005)

Jus wondering if its recommended to mod the X850 PRO to XT PE, im really just afraid of over heating issues and reliability. My card is an X850 Pro modded to the XT, but not the PE. So far the XT speeds give me the same temp readings as when it was at stock Pro. And also since its already modded to the XT, would it hurt to mod it again making it a PE? Thanks, and WOW THERE ARE A LOT OF THREADS ON THIS TOPIC!


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## bobyjo (Oct 11, 2005)

lazyparrott said:
			
		

> Jus wondering if its recommended to mod the X850 PRO to XT PE, im really just afraid of over heating issues and reliability. My card is an X850 Pro modded to the XT, but not the PE. So far the XT speeds give me the same temp readings as when it was at stock Pro. And also since its already modded to the XT, would it hurt to mod it again making it a PE? Thanks, and WOW THERE ARE A LOT OF THREADS ON THIS TOPIC!



I flashed my XT to pe and I haven't had any increase in core temps that are too high at all.
I have ATITool running always. 
The temp of the VPU core is always on in "RED" inside the taskbar. 
My card is running at 42c under heavy load, there is times that it will go higher if running benchmarks.


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## Cally (Oct 12, 2005)

Cally said:
			
		

> All I know is you helped me out and I really appreciate it. I rebooted uninstalled the drivers, booted into safe mode and used driver cleaner, rebooted and reinstalled the 5.9's. When the computer settled down I checked ATI Tool and it showed 16 pipes core running 520 memory running at 560. I checked CCC and it shows a X800XT PE card in the slot. The card temps are running 41 idle with the stock cooler on it. In 2 weeks I will install a better cooler and see what changes.
> I never would have tried the mod without this forum. Modding is just not something I am even close to being good at. I get very nervous and tense when it comes down to actually doing the mod. Before that I had convinced myself I could pull it off. If I hadn't read all the positive posts by those that did the mod effortlessly I wouldn't have done it. But now WOW it is exhilarating to know that this can be done and what you have when you are finished. WOOT! Thanks again!




*Edit* I installed the Zalman 700VF CU cooler yesterday. My idle temps dropped to 35 and load to 53. I have the fan plugged into my MB and it runs as quiet as can be. When I pulled off the stock cooler I couldn't believe how much paste was on the chip. Boy they just gob it up on the chip. It was grey though so I am thinking it was AS5 which is what I used also.


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## zOaib (Oct 12, 2005)

okay done saving the x800 pro bios , now which x800 xt pe bios should i get from the bios collection i am asuming the asus x800 xt pe bios since my card is an asus x800 pro vivio ????
thx 

or any ati or saphire ones can work too ???


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## djbbenn (Oct 12, 2005)

Any bios will work, but try the Asus one first.

-Dan


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## zOaib (Oct 12, 2005)

please correct me about these steps , thx 

- run card at 520/560 pe speeds (check)
- save original bios so u dont get screwed j/k  (check)
- boot computer with either iso image cd or floppy
- flash the modified flashrom or asus xt pe bios ????? ( i am retarded here , plz help ) ????


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## djbbenn (Oct 12, 2005)

Boot off the floppy or what ever with the flasrom and bios/backup bios on it, type the command line "flashrom -p -f 0 bios.bin". Put the name of your bios where it says "bios" in the command like. Ex: "flashrom -p -f 0 xtpe.bin" If it all goes well it will say varified 65473kb of 65473kb or something like that, then reboot. You may have to reinstall your drivers and/or Atitool to varify the pipes and card. If you get blocks or artifacts on your screen, flash to backup bios back. If you flash and then restart and get a blank screen, try to flash blind or use a PCI card to see. Good luck... 

-Dan


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## PhAnToM (Oct 13, 2005)

Ok so I bought a X850 Pro AGP and a Zalman VF700-Cu today.  My max core is 560, however my max mem is only 560.  I've seen other people's mem go way over their max core, what am I doing wrong?  Right now I have my card flashed to X850 XT specs and is running stable and at about 40 degrees idle.

Sorry, I meant 560 max mem.  If I go much beyond 560 I start to get artifacts .


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## bobyjo (Oct 13, 2005)

PhAnToM said:
			
		

> Ok so I bought a X850 Pro AGP and a Zalman VF700-Cu today.  My max core is 560, however my max mem is only 560.  I've seen other people's mem go way over their max core, what am I doing wrong?  Right now I have my card flashed to X850 XT specs and is running stable and at about 40 degrees idle.
> 
> Sorry, I meant 560 max mem.  If I go much beyond 560 I start to get artifacts .



If 560 is where the celing on your memory. 
Leave it there, Set your core to 520 or 525 whichever you want. 
Check for any odd looking colors on the monitor. 
If everything is good, leave it where you set it. 
You are going from a 850 Pro to the XT pe, that is a great jump in performance. 
You have done nothing wrong. Every card has different max mhz on the memory. 
Some may go higher, some may not even reach where you are. 
Count your blessings and stay where you are.


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## Unregistered (Oct 13, 2005)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466&ATT=Video+Cards&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r
says it has VIVO but the reviews says it has laser cut so is it still modable?


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## PhAnToM (Oct 13, 2005)

It's really weird but I tried to find my max memory again afterwards and got up to 585.  The thing is, while everything is perfect when I use the X850XT bios, when I switch to the X850XTPE bios games won't start and 3DMark05 won't recognize my card.  I haven't seen any artifacts so far with 560 core and 585 memory.  16 pipes have been unlocked and I'm running at 40 degrees idle and about 65 max load.  Maybe there's something wrong with the bios on the bios page?


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## bobyjo (Oct 14, 2005)

PhAnToM said:
			
		

> It's really weird but I tried to find my max memory again afterwards and got up to 585.  The thing is, while everything is perfect when I use the X850XT bios, when I switch to the X850XTPE bios games won't start and 3DMark05 won't recognize my card.  I haven't seen any artifacts so far with 560 core and 585 memory.  16 pipes have been unlocked and I'm running at 40 degrees idle and about 65 max load.  Maybe there's something wrong with the bios on the bios page?



After you flashed to the X850 XT pe, did you completely install the 5.10 drivers again?


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## zOaib (Oct 14, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466&ATT=Video+Cards&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r
> says it has VIVO but the reviews says it has laser cut so is it still modable?




yeah looks that way if u have it then u can see if it has a laser cut or not , if u dont , i'd recommend getting the asus x850 pro VIVO since newegg doesnt have the x800pro vivo in pci express asuming that its pci express card u r looking for , get the x850 pro vivo asus it wont le tu down not bad for the price either. 250 dollars somewhere around there !  

p.s thx for the last tip DAN , i am running my asus x800pro at xt pe speeds and 16 pipes unlocked , although i did have the ati silencer 4 rev 2 at hand , which eventually i needed i didnt wanna run the card at 70 degrees C whenever i played now its at 51-55 c max load .......... very nice , thx !


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## djbbenn (Oct 14, 2005)

Glad I can be of help.  

-Dan


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## PhAnToM (Oct 14, 2005)

I reinstalled the 5.9 drivers again after I flashed to X850XTPE.


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## Unregistered (Oct 14, 2005)

*A little bit confused*

I have read this large post now, and I have been looking specially for the ASUS AX850Pro Vivo with PCI-E. In the start of this thread from august 2004 it is mentioned that with modified flashrom program you can mod all AGP and PCI-E cards ! No matter it is a 800 or 850 card and where you bought it, but it must be a vivo card. Later reading I understand that there is problem with modding x850pro vivo with PCI-E. Since I'm a newbie but want to learn about this, I am reading this great thread with big interest, and thanks for all the posting. But I hope all of you can precise whether you are using a AGP or PCI-E card. I do believe many have been confused here ? 
So is it still not possible to flash / mod a 850Pro vivo PCI-E to eg. xt or xt pe ? If not; the start of this thread should be edited because of confusing people. And again; Thanks for a grat forum !

Sverre, Norway


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## djbbenn (Oct 14, 2005)

It seems that all the PCI-E versions have a on-die lock on them. So just because the laser cut is connected, you still can't seem to unlock the pipes. You can check to see if your card is moddable by going here.

-Dan


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## 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...


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## sniviler (Oct 16, 2005)

Hey Racer-x I'm having the exact same problem as you. My card is ATi x850 pro with yellow connecter and rage theater chip with 1.6 memory.

On the box it doesn't say VIVO though, but it came with a video-in cable.

I flashed with the ATi XT and XTPE Bios's used ATiflash -newbois -f -p 0 xx.bin , I had the increase in speed core/mem but still only 12 pipes.

I'm getting an artic cooler so I'll get a look at the GPU when it arrives.


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## Vrgn86 (Oct 16, 2005)

Hello, I have just flashed my x850 PRO AGP from Comp USA. Yesterday!
Looks like you forgot to in clude the command "-newbios" to overwrite the ROM.
Try this then see if you have 16 Pipes. I do!!!!___


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## Racer X (Oct 16, 2005)

I have tried every combination of flash tools/commands I can think of. According to the register dumps I am screwed:

Chip Type: R481

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES 0xFFFFBFFF
CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES 0xFFFFFFFE
CONFIG_ROM_FUSES 0xa60

Apparently the "B" in the first fuse and the "E" at the end of the second means they are locked some other way than just the BIOS. 

Maybe I will return the card for another. 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?


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## Vrgn86 (Oct 16, 2005)

Racer X said:
			
		

> I have tried every combination of flash tools/commands I can think of. According to the register dumps I am screwed:
> 
> Chip Type: R481
> 
> ...






I guess it does look like the Fuses have you blocked for unlocking. 
Sorry to see that. You could try again, Thats up to you. Just trying to help.


----------



## sniviler (Oct 16, 2005)

I'm having trouble getting 16 pipes 'read^up'

looks flashable though ?

Chip Type: R481

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES 0xFFFFFFFF
CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES 0xFFFFFF9F
CONFIG_ROM_FUSES 0x861

Maybe I'll try a different bios.


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 16, 2005)

Hello, 
I used the ATI X850xt bios, with this command" atiflash -p -f -newbios 0 x850xt.bin".
After saving original! After verifing 16 pipes in ATItool, I reflashed with the original
bios with this command "atiflash -p -f 0 original.bin" To RESTORE CONTROL OF 
DYNAMIC FAN FUNCTION. That did not work right after flash with the XT bios. 
I hope this helps.


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 16, 2005)

*kik*

kik


----------



## mongoled (Oct 17, 2005)

VTwedge said:
			
		

> well i left my core running at 450 and tried to overclock memory just for kicks, well the limit before was 520/520 now memory got pushed up to 565 before givin up instead of 520! thats 65 over the rated limit mind you time ti bench at 450/550 just to be safe hold on!


Hey, 

Is tht a Connect3D X800GTO card you have, if it is and it has modded to 16 pipes then those are good clocks for a supposedly inferior core and memory. I sure hope you have a Connect3D as I will have one with me soon also


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 17, 2005)

*16 pipes not showing up...*

Hey Racer X, if you read in some of the earlier posts you'll find this issue is already addressed. The 16 pipes won't show until you upgrade the driver. Try that, if you haven't already, and see if they show up. If not, let us know.

Hope this helps! I'm gonna take a close look at my ATI x850Pro when I get home to make sure I can unlock it. Keeping fingers crossed!

Annah


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 19, 2005)

*Is this card vivo?*

Other than teh yellow connector, i see no way of identifying a card as vivo. what is vivo anyways? its the x850 pro, and i plan to take it to XT PE after i get it.

http://images.andale.com/f2/107/114/13148546/1129547838808_1131137413622_DSCF0013.jpg


----------



## sniviler (Oct 19, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Other than teh yellow connector, i see no way of identifying a card as vivo. what is vivo anyways? its the x850 pro, and i plan to take it to XT PE after i get it.
> 
> http://images.andale.com/f2/107/114/13148546/1129547838808_1131137413622_DSCF0013.jpg



VIVO = video-in/video-out 

I have the same card, it should say vivo on the side of the box if its a ATi card.

goodluck trying to flash it xtpe with 16 pipes, I had no luck getting 16 pipes


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 19, 2005)

Hello, This looks like an AGP x850 PRO? I have two of these cards, Both are running 
16 pipes and 520/540 with NO PROBLEMS. Use ATITool to check registers.


----------



## Unregistered (Oct 19, 2005)

*Connect 3D x800 Pro*

Hi guys, i have a connect 3D x800 pro Vivo which i have currently flashed to the 16 pipe Bios. All works fine, all pipes unlocked and have had it like that for a few months now. I have tested the card to see if it can run at XT PE speeds and it runs fine without any artifacts. Would it be worth my while to flash it to a XT PE or just keep the bios that i got now and overclock to the XT PE speeds? Im not sure if it would make any difference speed wise? Any advice would be great, thankz.


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 19, 2005)

*VIVO* simply means video in video out. This means you could watch TV on your computer monitor. You could use the TV as your monitor. *This is great for gaming*. 
I have flashed several cards for myself and others, friends, relatives etc. 
So far I have never had a flash go bad with a video card.


----------



## zOaib (Oct 19, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Other than teh yellow connector, i see no way of identifying a card as vivo. what is vivo anyways? its the x850 pro, and i plan to take it to XT PE after i get it.
> 
> http://images.andale.com/f2/107/114/13148546/1129547838808_1131137413622_DSCF0013.jpg



MAKE SURE there is a rage theater chip on the back of the vivo card , some vivos didnt have that apparently those cards will have problems runnign at xt pe speeds and 16 pipes unlocked cause the bios for all the xt pe includes the rage theater chip function so if u dont have one then u will have problems ............... i have an asus pro vivo which had the theater chip i didnt know this first , flashed the xt pe bios for a friend of mine who had a ati pro vivio , but things didnt go well on his card , so i compared and saw it didnt not have the rage theater chip on the back ........... anyone else can confirm this i am just making sense out of what i experienced , =)


----------



## zOaib (Oct 19, 2005)

Unregistered said:
			
		

> Hi guys, i have a connect 3D x800 pro Vivo which i have currently flashed to the 16 pipe Bios. All works fine, all pipes unlocked and have had it like that for a few months now. I have tested the card to see if it can run at XT PE speeds and it runs fine without any artifacts. Would it be worth my while to flash it to a XT PE or just keep the bios that i got now and overclock to the XT PE speeds? Im not sure if it would make any difference speed wise? Any advice would be great, thankz.



i checked my asus pro vivo by doing only the 16p bios first , and did what u are doing test n see if it will run smooth on xt pe speeds , which it did then i went ahead flashed the xt pe bios , the card runs great , even did the overdrive feature on the catalyst and am runnign very stable at 526/560 .......... temps on stock were 41-43 idle 67-73 max load .............. so i fitted a ATI silencer 4 rev 2 cooler on it which keeps it at 34-36 idle and 55-59 max load !


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 19, 2005)

zOaib said:
			
		

> i checked my asus pro vivo by doing only the 16p bios first , and did what u are doing test n see if it will run smooth on xt pe speeds , which it did then i went ahead flashed the xt pe bios , the card runs great , even did the overdrive feature on the catalyst and am runnign very stable at 526/560 .......... temps on stock were 41-43 idle 67-73 max load .............. so i fitted a ATI silencer 4 rev 2 cooler on it which keeps it at 34-36 idle and 55-59 max load !



Definately flash to the XT pe bios. Not just the speed is different. 
The memory timings are different in the pe bios as well. 
This is why there are cards that refuse to run OC'ed to 520/560 by just upping the speed. Then if the bios is flashed to the pe version, that card may run just fine. 
This is due to the memory timing in the bios mkes the card run really fine. 
In fact some of these cards can even be OC'ed to above pe speeds due to the timings of the bios makes this possible.


----------



## MalachiConstant (Oct 19, 2005)

I've been looking for info on whether cards manufactured by ATI itself work.  I'm looking into buying one at AllStarShop.com (http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=9963&sid=8NNWSC5WU2BA8GRGWX4D7NEKBFUJ9DC7#), and truth be told I probably will anyway.  I just want to know, for future reference, if anyone has managed to flash the BIOS on this particular card (or on any 100% ATI card) to the XT PE.


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 20, 2005)

How does the VIVO feature work anyways? how does this compare to an all-in-wonder card? i have a motorola dvr box, feed through a wintv card, but the svideo on it is crapy, can i feed DVI or component into the card?


----------



## djbbenn (Oct 20, 2005)

The vivo uses a svideo/av cables cable for in/out, and have high definition tv support. The AIW have coaxial support and others. They are just a more beefed up version of the vivo really. DVI is an output only for displays.

-Dan


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 20, 2005)

djbbenn said:
			
		

> The vivo uses a svideo/av cables cable for in/out, and have high definition tv support. The AIW have coaxial support and others. They are just a more beefed up version of the vivo really. DVI is an output only for displays.
> 
> -Dan



does it have stereo sound? ive been living in a mono world, and when i listen to something i captured via the box's firewire, i notice the stereo difference.


----------



## djbbenn (Oct 20, 2005)

I don't think they have sound, when I used the vivo on my card, I just went though my sound card. But the AIW, I'm not sure about them with sound support. Do some googling.

-Dan


----------



## zOaib (Oct 20, 2005)

MalachiConstant said:
			
		

> I've been looking for info on whether cards manufactured by ATI itself work.  I'm looking into buying one at AllStarShop.com (http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=9963&sid=8NNWSC5WU2BA8GRGWX4D7NEKBFUJ9DC7#), and truth be told I probably will anyway.  I just want to know, for future reference, if anyone has managed to flash the BIOS on this particular card (or on any 100% ATI card) to the XT PE.



if i were u i'd get the ASUS X800 PRO VIVO from www.newegg.com , only 239.00 dollars and this card is capable of being moded to run as a full XT platinum edition x800 ............ so for 30 mor bucks u should go for that for sure , just my advice !


----------



## ericlikeseatin (Oct 20, 2005)

i picked up a refurbished sapphire x800pro vivo for $214 2 days ago at newegg. its no longer listed but if you wait a few days, its bound to show up. i wonder if buying refurb from newegg is risky...

anyway, i cant wait till the card comes. i'll post my unlocking experiences


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 20, 2005)

Most of the referb stuff at NewEgg are returns that have absolutely nothing wrong with them. Otherwise the person did not like the item, so they dream up something wrong with the item just to get the return. When it gets to thier test shop, the item works as it should therefore it goes out for sale.


----------



## Cally (Oct 20, 2005)

ericlikeseatin said:
			
		

> i picked up a refurbished sapphire x800pro vivo for $214 2 days ago at newegg. its no longer listed but if you wait a few days, its bound to show up. i wonder if buying refurb from newegg is risky...
> 
> anyway, i cant wait till the card comes. i'll post my unlocking experiences



It is a good card I hope you will enjoy it. I might have gone to the ATI Clearance shop and bought one for $179.00 with a 3 yr warranty. There is a discount code 1010 I think it is ,you can get online that reduces the cost by 5% making the cost of the card $170.05.  Most of the ones they ship are new. This is a PCI-E version and that is the only kind they have. Maybe you need a AGP version.

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39


----------



## ericlikeseatin (Oct 20, 2005)

yeah, i would have bought the card from ati but i need the agp version. sigh..using agp, i cant help but feel shafted. there are no longer bleeding edge cards made for agp. nor is there an x800gto2 in the agp version  

this is my last upgrade for my s478 system. it has been through some good times ..


----------



## Cally (Oct 21, 2005)

I hear that  ericlikeseatin. I bought my last AGP card 2 months ago. This system I hope will last me 2 yrs then a complete change over will be due. For a AGP card you got a good price so you can be happy about that.


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 21, 2005)

ericlikeseatin said:
			
		

> yeah, i would have bought the card from ati but i need the agp version. sigh..using agp, i cant help but feel shafted. there are no longer bleeding edge cards made for agp. nor is there an x800gto2 in the agp version
> 
> this is my last upgrade for my s478 system. it has been through some good times ..



The X850 XTpe card comes in AGP format. This is about as high a bleeding edge as you can get. IMO::


----------



## Vario (Oct 21, 2005)

*ATI's clearance refurb. work?*

Hey I'm building a new comp without breaking the bank and have been researching this mod for awhile.

I was looking to buy this x800 pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466R) from newegg, but the 15 day warrenty seems pretty poor, so I was happy to see an above poster locate one at the ati shop.

Will the ati clearance refurb. work with the 4 pipe unlock?  http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2707477&section_id=8

If so Ill buy it right now!  

Does anyone have a discount code?

Thanks.

edit: am I better off buying a x800gto2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102595 and doing the x850xt pe unlock for the money?
Is there a significant difference in x850xt pe performance versus x800xt pe?

Trying to factor price/performance into my budget.

-Vario


----------



## scitmon (Oct 21, 2005)

*flashing bios*

I have a Powercolor X800 Pro Vivo with a Powercolor X800 XT bios at the moment, however i'm having to clock the speeds down with Ati Tray Tool  

I noticed the is a Ati x800 XT PE 16p bios which keeps stock speeds but unlocks the pipelines. 

My Question is: is it ok to flash this Ati Bios to my powercolor card?  I looked for a 'powercolor X800 XT PE 16p' bios but there wasn't one...


----------



## Vario (Oct 21, 2005)

I am pretty sure you can.  They all have the same core.


----------



## Cally (Oct 21, 2005)

the code is 1010 as posted. Enjoy


----------



## zOaib (Oct 21, 2005)

Vario said:
			
		

> Hey I'm building a new comp without breaking the bank and have been researching this mod for awhile.
> 
> I was looking to buy this x800 pro (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102466R) from newegg, but the 15 day warrenty seems pretty poor, so I was happy to see an above poster locate one at the ati shop.
> 
> ...




that ati card is not a vivo , so 4 pipes cannot be unlocked !


----------



## scitmon (Oct 21, 2005)

Vario said:
			
		

> I am pretty sure you can.  They all have the same core.



can anyone confirm this for sure?


----------



## ericlikeseatin (Oct 21, 2005)

yep, reading the previous pages in this thread, other people have used the ati bios to flash cards from other makers. the other makers just put a new sticker on the heatsink...the core remains unchanged. my x800pro vivo is coming in the mail today!


----------



## Vario (Oct 21, 2005)

Anyone got advice on the cheapest x800 pro?  Looking to go under $200 on a new card, preferably not refurbished.

Ive seen some weird brands with vivo on newegg.


----------



## ericlikeseatin (Oct 22, 2005)

im pretty sad...the refurb card i received from newegg was DOA and now i have to pay a $30 restocking fee, AND shipping. argh..anyone see any good deals on x800pro vivo AGP version? :shadedshu


----------



## Vario (Oct 22, 2005)

Well I came close to buying a x800xt pe for $208 from ebay, but I was in a hurry and my max bid was $200   Im an idiot.


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 22, 2005)

You do not have to pay a restocking fee, if you return the component for exchange or repair. 
I never have anyway. I have bought a bunch of stuff from them.


----------



## opp (Oct 23, 2005)

*Help!!!*



			
				djbbenn said:
			
		

> I remember when a guy had a problem...the guy I mentioned before. Now that I got a better understanding for your problem, his seems very simular. What he did was stick the AGP card into the slot when the computer was on...that was at boot I believe. He did it, cause the card wasn't working at all, so he said might aswell try, cause theres nothing to loose. It worked too, the card was reconised and he did the flash with the PCI card. I still don't recommend doing it, but if you feel your at a point where you might aswell try, well try. But I would use that as a last resort, cause it could damge the card more than it is, or the main board. I know thats not much help...
> 
> -Dan



Hope I didn't fry my card, but I have a HIS Excalibur X800Pro VIVO (256 MB GDDR3) IceQ II video card running on an Asus A7N8X motherboard.  I didn't get any errors when I flashed it to the ati x800pro 16p rom.  But now it doesn't get past POST, it just stays at a blank screen.  I have a PCI video card and I can boot off the floppy to DOS successfully but only when I have the X800 Pro taken out, so it doesn't seem I'll be able to do the "blind" flash to restore to it's original rom.  I have put the BIOS setting to choose the PCI to boot up and I've confirmed that it's not laser cut.  

Am I SOL?  Tried to get the extra pipelines to improve my rig's performance for Quake 4... Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, O.


----------



## zOaib (Oct 23, 2005)

ericlikeseatin said:
			
		

> im pretty sad...the refurb card i received from newegg was DOA and now i have to pay a $30 restocking fee, AND shipping. argh..anyone see any good deals on x800pro vivo AGP version? :shadedshu




newegg still carries the asusx800 pro vivio for agp should have gotten that only 230 dollars and it easily modded to a xt pe 16p card .........


----------



## NoObStIcK (Oct 26, 2005)

Hay guys, recently I want to update my 9800pro to x800xl, after seening this thread, it makes me want to buy a x800pro vivo!

I lived in NZ and the cheapest x800pro vivo I can find is a Gecube x800pro vivo agp with 1.6ns ram, I am just wondering if any of you guys got this card and bios mod it successfully?

And does this Bios Mod 100% works? Cos I never Bios mod before so for me it is going to be a challenge and if not, then I think it would be better to buy a x800xl then x800pro (Sine xl got better performance than pro)


----------



## zOaib (Oct 26, 2005)

NoObStIcK said:
			
		

> Hay guys, recently I want to update my 9800pro to x800xl, after seening this thread, it makes me want to buy a x800pro vivo!
> 
> I lived in NZ and the cheapest x800pro vivo I can find is a Gecube x800pro vivo agp with 1.6ns ram, I am just wondering if any of you guys got this card and bios mod it successfully?
> 
> And does this Bios Mod 100% works? Cos I never Bios mod before so for me it is going to be a challenge and if not, then I think it would be better to buy a x800xl then x800pro (Sine xl got better performance than pro)



my friend  got a gecube x800 pro vivio and moded it succesfully by using the ati xt pe bios , but he did have to get the ATI SILENCER COOLER 4 , and replace the stock fan .


----------



## Boox (Oct 29, 2005)

First: Thanx to W1zzard for this great tutorial! Or how we say in Germany: Geil, super Arbeit  
(literal translation: horny, good work)

I've got a MSI X850 Pro-ViVo (AGP)...but I'm undecided to upgrade, because I didn't read in this thread (great rhyme ) anything about a MSI-card and a few about AGP-cards...okay, I just read only about 15-20 pages, not 71  

Which BIOS should I use? I would prefer one of these:
ATI X850 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB 
ATI X850 XT (AGP) 256 MB 

Is that the right choice?

[Sorry about my english ]


----------



## PhAnToM (Oct 29, 2005)

I flashed mine with the XT bios because the XT PE bios was giving me a lot of trouble and issues.  I just overclocked it manually :\.  @ 555 core, 585 mem w/ Zalman


----------



## Boox (Oct 29, 2005)

Ah, okay...thanks  

I think, I'll try it


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 29, 2005)

Hello, Boox, Here is a dump of my current bios. It is a built by ATI AGP x850Pro. 
I used atiflash for flashing, this bios is set to xt speeds and xt timmings with the full 16 pipes
and full control of the fan!


----------



## ericlikeseatin (Oct 29, 2005)

does anyone have an automated flash utility via a CD ISO for the x850pro?


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 29, 2005)

If you have a burner and software that will burn disks. 
You can make a bootable disk. 
Copy the files you need to the disk. 
Set your bios to boot from the CDr and boot up. 
Then flash the bios the same as if you had a floppy disk.


----------



## sniviler (Oct 29, 2005)

I used the info and files on this site very simple http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

*Fan Death*

if i try to flash my card to X850XT or XTPE the fan stops running. oh it will start, for a few seconds, but when the card is done initializing and hte POST starts, the fan dies off. if i stay at the original bios it runs fine. is there a way to make it go full throttle from windows or by editing the bios info?

the card says its a built-by ATI VIVO X850 Pro. i dunno if ATI ever made any vivo's themselves, no one ever mentions it here.

Any thoughts? would getting a zalman or arctic cooling heatsink/fan be my best solution?

the card will run, and boot to windows, but no fan, and any 3d at all, even the car in teh CCC window, will crash it within a minute or 2.


----------



## sniviler (Oct 30, 2005)

Carterhawk, 1st off did you get 16pipes ? after you can confirm you have 16 just flash back to your original bios using the modded flashrom and regain fan crontrol and keep your 16pipes.

are you using atitools to manualy set the fan ?

CCC is Crap, uninstall it and use the old CP or try ATi tray tools


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

yeah it looks like the 16 pipes are active. but i would like to get the clocks up higher.


----------



## sniviler (Oct 30, 2005)

Carterhawk said:
			
		

> yeah it looks like the 16 pipes are active. but i would like to get the clocks up higher.



just use atitools to overclock


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> just use atitools to overclock



just drage the sliders up?


----------



## sniviler (Oct 30, 2005)

go little at a time and check for artifacts


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

i already did the find max, my card will handle 530/570 just fine i think


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 30, 2005)

*ATTN: Carterhawk*

You can use the bios I posted a few pages back!! 
The bios is x850pro with XT speeds and Timings,XT Device ID
AND with FULL DYNAMIC FAN CONTROL.


----------



## Boox (Oct 30, 2005)

@Vrgn86: Wow, thank you  
I think I'll try your BIOS...and i it's not working, i can flash my old one back?


----------



## Boox (Oct 30, 2005)

I've got another question: How can I find out, which latency my ram has?
The chips are covered with a plate and I don't want to unplug it


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 30, 2005)

Boox said:
			
		

> I've got another question: How can I find out, which latency my ram has?
> The chips are covered with a plate and I don't want to unplug it



Only way to know is to look, Yes you can reflash with original if you need.
Like I said this bios is my current, it is an BBA x850pro,16 pipes,xt speeds, xt deviceID.
And dynamic fan control.


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

1. How did you manage dynamic fan control?
2. How do i use the svideo in on my VideoIn/VideoOut device?


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 30, 2005)

I use AtiTool for my fan control.
The cables supplied with the card will let you use those features.
The cables are marked for in and out.


----------



## Carterhawk (Oct 30, 2005)

I just tried out hte SVIDEO from my cable box to the card, and the quality....not so hot, WinTV composite is better quality. Lots of bad artifacts on cartoons, and the brightness goes way to high on its own. any thoughts?

ati tool fan control...right, but how did you get the bios to capture that so the fan doesnt shut off like it does using the bios from the collection?


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 30, 2005)

I flashed with the x850xt bios to unlock the pipes. Then flashed back to my orig
without the -newbios switch, retains the unlocked pipes but restores fan control
and timings.I then used RaBit to edit timings,clocks,and device ID. Flashed using modded bios
and dumped the bios from AtiTool for you.Just so you know. I have two of these cards,
Both are using this bios with the XT speeds with no problems for serveral days now.
No heat problems atifacts etc...Great performance for the price of the cards and a few minutes
to flash the bios.True x850XT.I get 6110 in 3dmark05.

I am sorry to say that I have'nt used the VIVO features yet, so I have no feedback for you on that.


----------



## DarkTrooper (Oct 31, 2005)

Hi,
I just orderd a MSI X850 Pro VIVO a couple of days ago. After I read this report and thread to the modding, I am conserning to apply it to my card, but I am not sure if I should or should not... So here a couple of questions:
1 There was somebody in the Thread that wanted to mod the MSI 850 Pro VIVO... did you do it and was it sucessfull ?
2 Any one got a count on how many mods wend bad ?
3 Like mentioned above, does the VIVO still work ?
4 did some one use the winflash tool (on the side with the bios files) ?
5 any good prayers known to help ?  

Thanks !

Marc


Just in case ur wondering why I'm kind of careful:
 I "lost" (black screen/no boot) my new Sapphire 9800Pro after 2 months of normal usage (no modding) and the store first let me hang, and then disappeared.... and the support of Sapphire is more than pore and expensive as hell, so much for my warrantie.
So now after 5 month of trying to get my card repaired or replaced, I gave up   and decided do buy a new card (rather then giving Sapphire my money). If I lose this one, I will be go insane and bankrupt ;-).


----------



## Vrgn86 (Oct 31, 2005)

Hi,
I can't say about the MSI cards, mine are BBA.
I am going to play with VIVO, I will let yall know when I check it out.


----------



## funkioto (Oct 31, 2005)

just need to check.. 

Is this mod only for AGP cards?

thanks


----------



## djbbenn (Oct 31, 2005)

funkioto said:
			
		

> just need to check..
> 
> Is this mod only for AGP cards?
> 
> thanks



Yes it only works on AGP version. All the PCI-E versions have on-die locks. I believe in very rare cases people have succeded with the PCI-E version. But non are confirmed. Every time someone here has tried with a PCI-E version, they failed. 

-Dan


----------



## magusbr (Oct 31, 2005)

Hello everybody, i was wondering if anyone had any success modding the Sapphire X850 PRO VIVO PCI-E to a X850XT.

Thanks.


----------



## bobyjo (Oct 31, 2005)

Boox said:
			
		

> I've got another question: How can I find out, which latency my ram has?
> The chips are covered with a plate and I don't want to unplug it



Check your receipt where you purchased them. 
Go to the mfg website and look up the specs of that part #.

If that does not get you the info you want?
Call the tech support for the memory, ask.


----------



## InitialG (Nov 1, 2005)

FYI everyone I recently purchased an X850 Pro VIVO AGP and it seems that the mod has been stopped by ATI, no combination of flashes can unlock my card, here are my fuse numbers

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES 0xFFFFBFFF
CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES 0xFFFFFF9E



EDIT: Don't know if this makes a differences but according to ATITool my chip is an R481


----------



## zOaib (Nov 1, 2005)

for all the above folks who seem to have recently purchased the ati cards , should have considered the asus x800 pro vivio agp or pci express , cause it mods so freakin easily i ahd no problems whatsoever , and mine clocks stable at the specs mentioned in my setup below ................ the only thing i needed was an ATI SILENCER 4 rev2 for the damn thing .  

P.S x800 pe xt is not that slower than an x850 xt pe , the specs are minutely more on the x850 .


----------



## InitialG (Nov 1, 2005)

zOaib said:
			
		

> for all the above folks who seem to have recently purchased the ati cards , should have considered the asus x800 pro vivio agp or pci express , cause it mods so freakin easily i ahd no problems whatsoever , and mine clocks stable at the specs mentioned in my setup below ................ the only thing i needed was an ATI SILENCER 4 rev2 for the damn thing .
> 
> P.S x800 pe xt is not that slower than an x850 xt pe , the specs are minutely more on the x850 .


I'm not really disappointed, the card runs great with my Arctic Cooler 5 (590/594), it just would be nice to have 16p.

I should have researched more but I bought the card on an impulse and it will hold me over until I build a new system in a year or so.


----------



## sniviler (Nov 1, 2005)

INITIALG, whats your bios date, ? mines 2-8-05 its a BBA X850 pro agp vivo.


----------



## InitialG (Nov 1, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> INITIALG, whats your bios date, ? mines 2-8-05 its a BBA X850 pro agp vivo.


Don't know what the original one is because I stupidly deleted, If it helps any I bought my card in october so it should be a later card I think. This may just affect the first party cards because mine is an ATI


----------



## sniviler (Nov 1, 2005)

InitialG said:
			
		

> Don't know what the original one is because I stupidly deleted, If it helps any I bought my card in october so it should be a later card I think. This may just affect the first party cards because mine is an ATI



i bought my card from YESMICRO.COM 2 weeks ago.


----------



## coldfusion245 (Nov 1, 2005)

*Question*

Hi, I've recently tried performing this mod on my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO PCIE. However, I can't seem to get all 16 pipes to work. I've used the modded flashrom and everything, but ATItool still says it has only 12 pipes. 

I couldnt use the X800XT PE BIOS because my card would only go up to 520/540 before green and yellow dots appeared on the screen, so I downloaded the ATI X800 Pro VIVO 16P PCIE bios. The flash goes through smoothly, but doesnt seem to open all the pipes. 

I'm not sure if this might be the cause, but I've flashed several different BIOSes into my card before finally arriving at this one. First I used a Sapphire X800 XT which didn't work (it came out as a X800 SE), and then I flashed the X800 Pro 16P one while preserving the ROM BIOS settings, and finally I flashed it again without preserving the BIOS settings. 

Any suggestions?


----------



## InitialG (Nov 1, 2005)

coldfusion245 said:
			
		

> Hi, I've recently tried performing this mod on my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO PCIE. However, I can't seem to get all 16 pipes to work. I've used the modded flashrom and everything, but ATItool still says it has only 12 pipes.
> 
> I couldnt use the X800XT PE BIOS because my card would only go up to 520/540 before green and yellow dots appeared on the screen, so I downloaded the ATI X800 Pro VIVO 16P PCIE bios. The flash goes through smoothly, but doesnt seem to open all the pipes.
> 
> ...


PCIE cards can't be modded (or at least haven't been modded successfully to date)


----------



## coldfusion245 (Nov 2, 2005)

> The modified flashrom has been updated on Jan 03 2005 to support both AGP and PCI-Express X800 Pro VIVO cards. The mod is the same, just get a X800 XT PE PCI-E BIOS when flashing a PCI-E card.



The article says it should work for PCIE though.


----------



## djbbenn (Nov 2, 2005)

All the PCI-E versions have on-die locks. I believe in very rare cases people have succeded with the PCI-E version. But non are confirmed. Every time someone here has tried with a PCI-E version, they failed.

-Dan


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## DarkTrooper (Nov 2, 2005)

*MSI to Connect3D*

Hi I have just talked to my dealer, who said the MSI X850Pro AGP 256MB I orderd is not in stock anymore and he cant get a date when it will be available to him again. So he offerd me the same model from Connect3d. Since I dont wont to wait any longer, I agreed to take that one. Now I read that normaly the Connect3d has the 1.6 ns GDDR modules on it, but in an other Forum (forumdeluxx.de) I read that some people have goten newer Cards that hat only the 2.0 ns modules and that the pipes were laser cut on those models (VIVO Cards).
Now I am not so sure if this was a good idea... 
Has any one got any Information on this ? Are they cuting the pipes hard in new models and switching to the 2.0 ns Memory ?

Thx and Greetings

Marc


----------



## Plushpants (Nov 3, 2005)

*HIS x850 pro vivo agp unlock?*

Anyone had success unlocking the extra pipes with the HIS x850 pro vivo agp?...thinking about buying one except all this talk of newer cards being impossible to unlock has made me think twice about it...

Cheers


----------



## raiden (Nov 3, 2005)

@DarkTrooper

Yes, that true, i have bought a Connect3d x850 Pro VIVO AGP Card and i was disappointed to see that Connect3d has models with 2.0ns memory chips. These cards have definitely a lasercut :shadedshu 

Greets raiden

I think MSI is the better choice


----------



## Gregor (Nov 4, 2005)

I have bought Club3d x800pro vivo graphic card and i have tryed everything to unlock last 4 pipelines and couldnt do it. I have used atiflash, flashrom, ati bios for 16 pipelines and XT PE, club3d bios for XT PE and atitool stil shows me that i have active only 12 pipelines.

Can anyone help me plz?
My card cant go to XT PE MHz s cause i got stock cooling.

Has anyone unlocked 16 pipelines on this Club3d card?

plz help!

Thanks


----------



## NoObStIcK (Nov 5, 2005)

Hay guys, recently I just bought GeCube x800 pro agp vivo, it says i got 12 active pipelines so I need to flash it to enable the other 4 pipes, but today I just use ATI tool and overclock it to the PE speed, and run the artifacts, found no artifacts for around 10 mins.....but then the temperature got up to 68!, is that normal? and so does that mean I should get a better cooler??


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## farns (Nov 6, 2005)

*x850 pro to X850xt PE*

Success...Used XT PE AGP bios and forced using modded flashrom.
No laser cut on board, reached 540/590 x 16 pipes but card ran very hot.
Fixed with Arctic Cooling ATI 5 fan...

Max temp 63C....
Idle 43C....


----------



## dolf (Nov 7, 2005)

Gregor, do the fuse research and post results here. How to do read here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367. Your card is AGP and should be moddable to 16 pipes.

Good luck


----------



## Gregor (Nov 7, 2005)

I have managed to modded it to 16 pipes few days ago. 
Tnx dolf anyway.


----------



## DarkTrooper (Nov 8, 2005)

*Connect3D X850Pro AGP VIVO*

Hi, I got my  Connect3D X850Pro AGP VIVO, it is the 2.0ns Version of the board... even with no oc it is very hot, around 69°/48° I can go to 530/530 and have 70°/49°. Seems quite for the default value.  Is there a way to see if it is none the less modable to 16 pipes without removing the cooler ?

Greetz

Marc


----------



## privateer0506 (Nov 9, 2005)

*x850 pro to X850xt*

Success...Used XT AGP bios and forced using modded flashrom.
laser cut on board, reached 519.5/540 x 16 pipes card running at 35C / 36C with Arctic Cooling ATI 5 fan... running straight for 16 hrs no artifacts, etc. Varied loads and games.

How hot can I let the temp get?
I ran it at 540/590 temps went up to 55C/63C is that OK? Usually leave the PC on all the time and don't want to fry card.

Thanks


----------



## zOaib (Nov 9, 2005)

privateer0506 said:
			
		

> Success...Used XT AGP bios and forced using modded flashrom.
> laser cut on board, reached 519.5/540 x 16 pipes card running at 35C / 36C with Arctic Cooling ATI 5 fan... running straight for 16 hrs no artifacts, etc. Varied loads and games.
> 
> How hot can I let the temp get?
> ...



under 70 is decent !


----------



## Attila (Nov 9, 2005)

*Mod question.*

First of all I have to congratulate W1zard on a very well written article.  Very concise and easy to follow.  I successfully followed the instructions and was able to flash my card to enable all 16 pipelines.  The only thing is my system (or the card perhaps) seems to have trouble with the new core and memory speed which are 520/560 as opposed to the Pro version which is 475/450.  When I keep it at the 520/560 speed my games (and the desktop of my computer) seem to alternate in Refresh rates so that the desktop or the game screen size changes to beyond the viewable area and then eventually freezes.  Through experimentation and running ATI Tool I have determined that setting the speeds at 490/475 seems to allow my system to be stable and instead I installed the X800 Pro VIVO 16P version of the bios.  

My question is, why can I not run my card at those higher core and memory speed settings?  Is it because the voltage needs to be increased to the card somehow through the BIOS settings?  My card is an HIS Excalibur X800 PRO VIVO card with the Ice QII cooling technology.  I have an Athlon FX 3500 Newcastle processor slightly overclocked running at 2.4 G with 2 GB of OCZ EL Platinum low latency Ram.


----------



## Storm_Uk (Nov 10, 2005)

Hi people, i am getting a MSI X800 Pro VIVO from ebuyer. Just wondered if anybody has had success with this card? I know my friend had a Connect 3D Vivo which he flashed to a XTPE and he said all went fine but then after a few weeks the card just crashed once and then when he rebooted there were a lot of curruption and big white blocks on screen. He said that he tried to flash back to original bios and that didn't work. So he had to RMA it. Anyone experianced this before? Any advice would be great thankz.


----------



## sniviler (Nov 10, 2005)

Storm_Uk said:
			
		

> Hi people, i am getting a MSI X800 Pro VIVO from ebuyer. Just wondered if anybody has had success with this card? I know my friend had a Connect 3D Vivo which he flashed to a XTPE and he said all went fine but then after a few weeks the card just crashed once and then when he rebooted there were a lot of curruption and big white blocks on screen. He said that he tried to flash back to original bios and that didn't work. So he had to RMA it. Anyone experianced this before? Any advice would be great thankz.



probably got to hot once to often and fired something


----------



## Storm_Uk (Nov 10, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> probably got to hot once to often and fired something



Not the case as he had an ATI Silencer 4 fixed to it and it never went above 57 degrees. His computer is one of the coolest ive seen so i doubt it was that.


----------



## Star (Nov 11, 2005)

hey i have a Connect3D x800GTO and was sucessful in using a modded x800GTO bios to unlock it to 16p. I'd like it to display x800XT or x800XT PE in windows, but i don't see a XT or XT PE version in the bios collection for PCI-E. will the AGP version of the bios work? it has the same specs. also are each manufacturer's bios different? (i guess they are since there is a need for many different BIOS')  would for example, a saphire x800 XT PE bios work on my card?


----------



## BlackPearl (Nov 11, 2005)

You might want to use one of the bios for 2.0 ns Samsung memory - perhaps the Powercolor X800XT PCIe/Samsung 2.0 bios?  I haven't used it personally because I just use ATITool to set any speed I want with the modified C3D 16p bios, but some users of this card have reported success.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 12, 2005)

Hey everyone.  This is quite the thread.  I've read about the last 20 pages and am still stuck on a decision.

Basically, I can get an ATI retail boxed X850 Pro for $260 shipped, plus a $30 rebate for a total price of $230.  This is after a $15 dollar off coupon I have at Buy.com.

Here's the link

I would love to flash it using the instructions in the first post, but I'm a little hesitant after reading about all these problems.  

Can anyone even at least take a shot what my chances are of success?  Based on the fact that it's an ATI card, would my chances be better or worse?


----------



## JLBENEDICT (Nov 12, 2005)

Star said:
			
		

> hey i have a Connect3D x800GTO and was sucessful in using a modded x800GTO bios to unlock it to 16p. I'd like it to display x800XT or x800XT PE in windows, but i don't see a XT or XT PE version in the bios collection for PCI-E. will the AGP version of the bios work? it has the same specs. also are each manufacturer's bios different? (i guess they are since there is a need for many different BIOS')  would for example, a saphire x800 XT PE bios work on my card?




If you are not sure which BIOS to use, try what I have done.
Since you are successful in using the unlocked 16 pipe BIOS, do a BIOS dump.
Use RaBiT and edit this BIOS; edit the "Device ID" and change it to 5D57.
Now save it, and reflash your video BIOS with this.  Turn off your system, and turn it back on..  Windows will now detect a new VGA adapter on bootup.. and of course, it will now be an X800XT.


----------



## bobyjo (Nov 12, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Hey everyone.  This is quite the thread.  I've read about the last 20 pages and am still stuck on a decision.
> 
> Basically, I can get an ATI retail boxed X850 Pro for $260 shipped, plus a $30 rebate for a total price of $230.  This is after a $15 dollar off coupon I have at Buy.com.
> 
> ...



If you are interested in purchasing a lower end card and flashing to the upper end card. 
You would do better to go with a X800 Pro VIVO, or a X800 XT card. 
This card will flash to the X800 XT pe version and virtually no problems.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 12, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> If you are interested in purchasing a lower end card and flashing to the upper end card.
> You would do better to go with a X800 Pro VIVO, or a X800 XT card.
> This card will flash to the X800 XT pe version and virtually no problems.



Actually, I'm not interested in the X800's at all.  If that were the case, I'd probably go with a 6800 GT and mod that.

I would like to mod the X850 Pro into an X850 XT PE.  The deal in the link I sent was pretty good.  $230 for the Pro is not bad at all.  Even better if I can get it to XT PE speeds.

Do the ATI cards have low success rates nowadays?  Or just the 850's in general?


----------



## zOaib (Nov 12, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Actually, I'm not interested in the X800's at all.  If that were the case, I'd probably go with a 6800 GT and mod that.
> 
> I would like to mod the X850 Pro into an X850 XT PE.  The deal in the link I sent was pretty good.  $230 for the Pro is not bad at all.  Even better if I can get it to XT PE speeds.
> 
> Do the ATI cards have low success rates nowadays?  Or just the 850's in general?



all the ati x850 pro's even vivo are laser cut , cannot be modded ! i think the asus x850 pro isnt , and also if u can get your hands on a x800 gto2 , which actually has a 480 chip on it , can be successfully moded to an x850 xt pe 16p


----------



## flapjack (Nov 12, 2005)

zOaib said:
			
		

> all the ati x850 pro's even vivo are laser cut , cannot be modded ! i think the asus x850 pro isnt , and also if u can get your hands on a x800 gto2 , which actually has a 480 chip on it , can be successfully moded to an x850 xt pe 16p



Are we talking about even the AGP cards??  If so, this is a bummer.


----------



## sniviler (Nov 13, 2005)

The BBATi x850pro vivo can be unlucked, did 3 in the last 2 months


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

What card is that?  I tried every price search engine and couldn't find it.

I also tried "BBA x850"


----------



## sniviler (Nov 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> What card is that?  I tried every price search engine and couldn't find it.
> 
> I also tried "BBA x850"



BBA = BUILT BY ATI 

Like this http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=12650&sid=QDX22S12LVAK9H0SXE6A8GW5K1594H60


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> BBA = BUILT BY ATI
> 
> Like this http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?pid=12650&sid=QDX22S12LVAK9H0SXE6A8GW5K1594H60



No wonder I couldn't find it!  Now what I find to be weird, is others are saying ATI has modified the card to not allow unlocking.  Read the last few posts where someone is telling me ATI has "caught on".

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?p=1334013458#post1334013458


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

Man, now you got me wondering what my chances of unlocking this bizatch are.  CompUSA has it this week for $250, no rebate.  The only problem is it doesn't have VIVO.  Does that make it unmoddable?

http://compusa.shoplocal.com/compus...le&storeid=2402193&rapid=198589&pagenumber=15

Even sweeter is that I have a $100 gift card to use there.


----------



## sniviler (Nov 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Man, now you got me wondering what my chances of unlocking this bizatch are.  CompUSA has it this week for $250, no rebate.  The only problem is it doesn't have VIVO.  Does that make it unmoddable?
> 
> http://compusa.shoplocal.com/compus...le&storeid=2402193&rapid=198589&pagenumber=15
> 
> Even sweeter is that I have a $100 gift card to use there.



All BBA X850 agp PRO's have vivo, if you read the side of the box. If they have a yellow connector on the card, they have vIvo.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

Ahhh, ok.  I was looking at the outside of the card on the slot plate.

So that one I posted a link to at CompUSA can possibly unlock.... what are the chances?  You say you've done 3 in the last two months?  Do you build computers for people or just host LAN parties?  

Also, how did you unlock?  Did you flash, or use software.  If you used software, please post what type.  Details man... DETAILS!  I'm getting excited.  I think I'll get one tomorrow.  

I'll be bummed if it doesn't unlock, though....


----------



## sniviler (Nov 13, 2005)

read here http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5103

yes i build computers and host party's


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

Do you have a good BIOS that works well for this card?  

I just want the XT PE BIOS with the stock Pro speeds.  From there, I can soft OC to find it's sweet spot, do a BIOS dump with ATI Tools, edit the ROM with RABit, and reflash, right?

Running an XT PE BIOS at 500/500 for a while should give me time to order and install a ATI Silencer, too.  Is it worth trying to find the Silencer 5, or is the 4 enough?


----------



## zOaib (Nov 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Are we talking about even the AGP cards??  If so, this is a bummer.



yes sir , my friends is stuck with one , he then purchased the pci express which was also laser cut , all original ati products are made sure they cannot be softmodded they are hardlocked ..............


----------



## zOaib (Nov 13, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> The BBATi x850pro vivo can be unlucked, did 3 in the last 2 months



check the production date it has to be an earlier release , the new ones arent , friend bought it from bestbuy and couldnt do it !


----------



## sniviler (Nov 13, 2005)

zOaib said:
			
		

> check the production date it has to be an earlier release , the new ones arent , friend bought it from bestbuy and couldnt do it !



can only tell you that all the cards I unlocked were bios dated 2/18/05


----------



## zOaib (Nov 13, 2005)

sniviler said:
			
		

> can only tell you that all the cards I unlocked were bios dated 2/18/05



asked my friend what bios date he had , and he says his is 08/20/05 ............ so makes sense !


----------



## flapjack (Nov 13, 2005)

Well, I guess we'll see.  I just picked up my card from CompUSA about 30 minutes ago.  I have to work tonight, so I won't be able to mess with it until tomorrow afternoon.

How do I tell which BIOS revision I have?  What else should I look for on the card?  I'll take it to work with me so I can look it over.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 14, 2005)

Ok, I opened up the card and was a little dismayed to see half of these 8 little chips on the board were soldered differently.  DeR on the Rage3d forums though that was an indicator of "unlockability" because his wouldn't unlock.  He exchanged it, and got one with an older serial.  It had the funny soldering, but unlocked just fine!  I compared my serial with his, and it was the same series!

I also have the 1.6ns memory chips.  1000 / 1.6 = 625mhz!   Has anyone actually bought an X850 Pro with the 2.0ns chips (1000 / 2 = 500mhz....   )


----------



## flapjack (Nov 14, 2005)

Oh yeah... here's the thread where he posted the serial numbers.  *Definitely* worth the read if you're looking into getting one of these.

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?p=1334015306#post1334015306


----------



## zOaib (Nov 14, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Well, I guess we'll see.  I just picked up my card from CompUSA about 30 minutes ago.  I have to work tonight, so I won't be able to mess with it until tomorrow afternoon.
> 
> How do I tell which BIOS revision I have?  What else should I look for on the card?  I'll take it to work with me so I can look it over.



i am glad u got a good one , cheers


----------



## flapjack (Nov 14, 2005)

I hope I did!  I'll post my results tomorrow.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 15, 2005)

Ok, after screwing with the card and almost giving up, I finally got it unlocked.  The funniest thing is, I couldn't get it unlocked with flashrom.  I had to use atiflash.  Now I have all 16 pipes and I flashed to the Pro BIOS for fan control.

Now, this is what worries me.  Before I flashed it, I tried seeing what it would OC to.  The chips are 1.6ns Samsung, so they should theoretically be good for 625mhz (1000 / 1.6 = 625).  To be safe, I tried 590, the XT PE speed.  I ran ATITool, and it detected artifacts immediately.  I lowered it 5 at a time until I could go a minute w/o artifacts.  My result on the memory was 575, which seems really low to me.

Next, I decided to tackle the core.  I started with 540, the XT PE speed just to see if it would do it.  Ran the artifact tester in ATITool and got an immediate hard lock.  I kept going down by 5 until I got to 510mhz.  Still, as soon as it gets to 74C, it locks up.  I definitely made sure the fan was running.

I'm starting to worry that I have a bum card.  My computer is put together well, and the inside temps never go above 40C.  

The scariest part of all this, I have the clocks at 500/500, and I got a lock up after 15 minutes of playing F.E.A.R. at 1280x960 resolution.  There's no way in hell I should get that w/o even overclocking, right????

What do you all think?


----------



## zOaib (Nov 15, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Ok, after screwing with the card and almost giving up, I finally got it unlocked.  The funniest thing is, I couldn't get it unlocked with flashrom.  I had to use atiflash.  Now I have all 16 pipes and I flashed to the Pro BIOS for fan control.
> 
> Now, this is what worries me.  Before I flashed it, I tried seeing what it would OC to.  The chips are 1.6ns Samsung, so they should theoretically be good for 625mhz (1000 / 1.6 = 625).  To be safe, I tried 590, the XT PE speed.  I ran ATITool, and it detected artifacts immediately.  I lowered it 5 at a time until I could go a minute w/o artifacts.  My result on the memory was 575, which seems really low to me.
> 
> ...




did u flash your card with a ati x850 xt pe bios yet or , just unlocked the 16 pipes only ???


----------



## flapjack (Nov 15, 2005)

zOaib said:
			
		

> did u flash your card with a ati x850 xt pe bios yet or , just unlocked the 16 pipes only ???



Well, you need to use either the XT or the XT PE BIOS to unlock the pipes.  At first, I was using the plain XT BIOS with flashrom, but had no luck.  Then, I tried atiflash with the XT PE BIOS, but kept getting a "part number not matching" error.  After looking it up, I found I could use the -f switch to force the XT PE BIOS on it.

Without rebooting, I flashed the X850 Pro BIOS back on without the -newbios switch, so it'd keep the pipes.


----------



## zOaib (Nov 15, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Well, you need to use either the XT or the XT PE BIOS to unlock the pipes.  At first, I was using the plain XT BIOS with flashrom, but had no luck.  Then, I tried atiflash with the XT PE BIOS, but kept getting a "part number not matching" error.  After looking it up, I found I could use the -f switch to force the XT PE BIOS on it.
> 
> Without rebooting, I flashed the X850 Pro BIOS back on without the -newbios switch, so it'd keep the pipes.



my bad i was thinking about the x800 pro vivio flashing bios which has only a bios which unlocks to 16p without changing core clock speeds and mem .............. okay then now looking at your situation u may have a bad card ! i recommed flashing it to original bios and try returning or sell it on ebay if u live in USA ............. and then get a GTO2 saphire , which is a very ncie card to unlock to x850 xt pe .......... but thats pci express , i think u have agp right ?


----------



## sniviler (Nov 15, 2005)

flapjack, overclocking is just luck of the draw, some cards are better then others.

I had stability issues at first my games kept crashing, freezing............ after 2 weeks found out just lowering my FRONT SIDE BUS from 200 to 198 fixed it.

I also had to replace for 400 watt power supply with an Antec smart power 500watt.

did you set your fan manually to 100% using atitool ?


----------



## slaney30 (Nov 17, 2005)

*Help - x850pro flashed to x850xt bios and not showing 16 pipelines*

I did the mod to my x850pro and flashed it with an x850xt bios which appeared to have run successfully.

I ran ATItool and it did in fact increase my core clock speeds to 520/540.

I looked at the number of pipelines and its still stuck at 12. I tried uninstalling drivers and redownloading them through ati and reinstalling only to find the same thing happening. I then proceeded to reflash it, and still no luck.

I also reinstalled ati tool and i still get the same results.

ANY IDEAS?

I used the modified flash device from the article and downloaded the correct bios from their listings. 

Thanks,

Jesse


----------



## sniviler (Nov 17, 2005)

slaney30 said:
			
		

> I did the mod to my x850pro and flashed it with an x850xt bios which appeared to have run successfully.
> 
> I ran ATItool and it did in fact increase my core clock speeds to 520/540.
> 
> ...



use the ATIFLASH rom....... like this ATIFLASH -F -P -NEWBIOS 0 XXX.BIN


----------



## slaney30 (Nov 17, 2005)

*still no luck...*

I tried that, but when it reprograms the bios it only reads a 10000 kbytes instead of the 58000. 

It's also strange that ati tool actually shows it running the xt's bios clock speeds, but the pipelines are just not enabled.

I am wondering if the new batch of cards are locked... There are a few others out there that have just bought the cards having problems.

I've tried the XT PE bios also , and it doesn't work.  Im running out of things to try here...

I've heard that I should try using Gigabyte's flash utility, however im unable to find it online at all.

Any ideas I'd appreciate it.


Thanks.


----------



## sniviler (Nov 17, 2005)

TYPE atiflash -i before you flash and see how many bytes, pretty sure it is 10000 normaly


----------



## slaney30 (Nov 17, 2005)

No its normally 65338 or something like that...
Looking at the size of the bins they are much larger than that. 

I will try that....I can return the card if it gets hosed...

Any thing else to try?

Thanks


----------



## slaney30 (Nov 17, 2005)

I tried exactly as you said, and still only 12 pipelines.  This is driving me crazy....


----------



## slaney30 (Nov 18, 2005)

*Some of the newer ati radeon x850pro cards wont unlock*

I returned my card to Best Buy for the oldest x850pro on the shelves and retried the bios flash to make it an xt to open up the pipelines.

Everything worked! Pipelines are now at 16. I believe the newer x850pro cards are not unlockable as I have talked to others that have not been able to open up the pipelines...

I can't be 100% positive but exchanging for one with a little older serial number seems to have done the trick.


----------



## Racer X (Nov 18, 2005)

Slaney, 
Just out of curiosity, what is the serial number on the box? The reason I ask is that I bought an X850 Pro from Best Buy 4 or 5 weeks ago. I tried for an entire evening to flash and unlock the 4 remaining pipes but was unable to do so. I found out about a week or so later that the card I had purchased was indeed locked another way besides just a BIOS lock. So I went and bought a brand new X800XL off of eBay for less than I paid for the 850. Of course when I benched the X800XL it was slower in every benchmark I threw at it. Not by much, but enough to annoy me. I read all of the reviews where the XL beat the Pro by a few frames, sometimes quite a few. Anyway, I had reflashed the X850 back to its original BIOS and it was running perfectly, just with 12 pipes active. 
  So one day I brought it with me to work and at lunch I went to the Best Buy up the road and looked to see if they had any more on the shelf. They had two left and I looked at the serial numbers just for kicks and they were 1805299XXXXX and 1805309XXXXX. Now the serial number on mine was 1805360XXXXX. I figured I would try the one with the oldest S/N and try to unlock it. I told them I was having temperature problems with mine and they offered to refund or replace the card. I took the latter option. Sure enough it unlocked with the BIOS flash and has been running with 16 pipes enabled for 2 weeks now. I reflashed my original BIOS back after I unlocked the 4 pipes to regain dynamic fan control because the XT and XT/PE BIOS's change the way the fan works and the card gets real hot real quick. It runs at 500/500 16 pipes and by opening all of the pipes my benchmarks went up. 400+ points in 3DM05, almost 900 points in 3DM03 and 250 points on 3DM01. Aquamark went up about 2000 points also.
  Anyway, if you can return it for an older serial number you might find one that unlocks. Be sure to check out the sticky at the top of the video card forum pertaining to using ATI Tool to check the fuses of your card before you throw in the towel. You need to see both "F"'s in the first and second fuses in the right places or the card cannot be BIOS flashed to unlock. My first card had a "B" in the first fuse and an "E" at the end of the second. By comparison, the new card has both F's in the right place and the BIOS flash took first try.
  Sorry for the long reply. But I figured I would chime in here 'cuz I went through this recently and maybe the info might help. Good luck in finding one to mod. It's a pretty decent card when it's unlocked.

edit: well I posted this exactly 10 minutes after you posted that you did what I was suggesting to do. Glad to hear it worked out for you.


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## slaney30 (Nov 18, 2005)

The serial number of my old one was 18053061xxxx, I exchanged for 180529902737-01 and the pipes unlocked. ATI definitely got smart.... they realized what was going on and changed the newer radeons... I think if you get a PRO with a serail number starting with 1805299 you'll get one of the last unlockable items... Of course I cant be sure, but with what you are saying and with what I encountered its a good bet.


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## Schwarz (Nov 18, 2005)

I have a little question about ATItools that i will post later on but i will explain my case.

I just got a x850 PRO from Ati.
Flashed it to a x850 XT PE but as soon as i started a game it crashed on me.
I then flashed it to a x850 XT (clocked at 520 560)
Everything runs fine so far except that i get artifacts in ATI tools.
I then used a ATI Bios tuner (RaBit)
and modified a XT to run at 500/580.(Do not get nothing with mem running at XTPE speeds)
Even got it up to close 599 but after 600 i get crap appearing all over...)
The problem then was that the fan on the card would never spin.
Quickly fixed that though i just pluged the video card's fan straight to my power suply at 12 VOLTS to run it 100%(Makes a nice little humming sound.)
I did not like the fact that my system would boot up without the fan spinning.
And had to wait for ATItools to get it to spin...

My question though is when i ran it at 520/560
I did not get any artifacts in any games but only in ATItools...
Should i keep running it at 500/580+ or get it up to XT speed round 520 ...
(I know 540 hangs me up)
The highest i can get with ATItools is 504 then 505 gives me artifacts...
My temps in 3dmark 2005 is normal at 520 (50) 60 is the highest I got.


----------



## BigTommy (Nov 18, 2005)

hey guys im getting a connect3d x850 pro vivo agp and im wondering if another manufactuers x850 xtpe bios will work on my card + will the vivo thingy will still work coz i didnt see at the bios page any xtpe bios with "vivo"


----------



## utetopia (Nov 18, 2005)

How do I use the empty.bin file? I've downloaded the ISO and burnt it with the X800XTPE file but want to remove the previous BIOS data from my card. Thanks.


----------



## Sh0K (Nov 18, 2005)

Hi all this is my first post on this forum  

Can I mod an x800 with 12 pixel pipeline with R430, to X800XL with 16pixel pipeline?





 



I tried some bios of x800xl downloaded here using latest atiflash (atiflash -p 0 x800xl.bin -f -sst) but on reboot i have black screen  and i have to use a pci card to flash original bios.....
Where is the problem? Please help me  

ps: sorry for my english


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## bobyjo (Nov 18, 2005)

Sh0K said:
			
		

> Hi all this is my first post on this forum
> 
> Can I mod an x800 with 12 pixel pipeline with R430, to X800XL with 16pixel pipeline?
> 
> ...



atiflash -p 0 x800xl.bin -f -sst

You did not follow instructions, this is the way to place the switches before flashing.
atiflash -p 0 -f x800xl.bin

www.techpowerup.com/bios/Sapphire.X800XT.256.Samsung16_040624.bin
Download this bios and flash to it with the floppy disk way. 

Why are you wanting to flash to the XL version? 
Which memory chips does your card have?


----------



## Sh0K (Nov 18, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> atiflash -p 0 x800xl.bin -f -sst
> 
> You did not follow instructions, this is the way to place the switches before flashing.
> atiflash -p 0 -f x800xl.bin
> ...


If i flash with your command line i got error and i can't flash because the card is locked, if i flash with my command line the flash is ok but on the reboot the monitor is black  
Your URL point to another graphic card with another chipset (R420), i want to flash my card to x800xl because have the same core of my card (R430)
My card have Infineon 2ns i'm searching one bios of x800xl backuped with atiflash:
atiflash -s 0 RIALTO.bin
atiflash -s 1 R430.bin

ps:the latest atiflash isn't upgraded to support r430 infact if i do atiflash -i the asic is R423


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## bobyjo (Nov 19, 2005)

Sh0K said:
			
		

> If i flash with your command line i got error and i can't flash because the card is locked, if i flash with my command line the flash is ok but on the reboot the monitor is black
> Your URL point to another graphic card with another chipset (R420), i want to flash my card to x800xl because have the same core of my card (R430)
> My card have Infineon 2ns i'm searching one bios of x800xl backuped with atiflash:
> atiflash -s 0 RIALTO.bin
> ...



www.techpowerup.com/bios/Sapphire.X800XL.256.Samsung16_050120.bin

OK Then flash with this bios. 

www.techpowerup.com/bios/ATI.X800XL.256.Samsung16_050120.bin

Or this one. Both are XL bios but they are also 1.6 ns memory chips.


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## Sh0K (Nov 19, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> www.techpowerup.com/bios/Sapphire.X800XL.256.Samsung16_050120.bin
> 
> OK Then flash with this bios.
> 
> ...


I tried both bios but on reboot i receive black screen. What is caused by?
I used atiflash -p 1 x800xl.bin -f -sst

adapter 0 is the bridge RIALTO
adapter 1 is the R430

I think that i need 2 backup bios:
atiflash -s 0 rialto.bin
atiflash -s 1 r430.bin
who can help me?


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## bobyjo (Nov 19, 2005)

Sh0K said:
			
		

> I tried both bios but on reboot i receive black screen. What is caused by?
> I used atiflash -p 1 x800xl.bin -f -sst
> 
> adapter 0 is the bridge RIALTO
> ...



USE these switches:::atiflash -p 0 -f X800xxxx.bin

PLace your bios where I have the X800xxxx.bin
I just  flashed my X800 to a pe version again. 
This works even if the codes are a mismatch.


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## Labg11 (Nov 21, 2005)

*X850pro*

Is there any bios to just unlock the 4 remaining pipelanes on a x850pro???, just like the bios on the x800xl 16P does?.

I really don't want to mess with the clock speed i like my fan at 54% and 40ºC Vpu and board. 

Thanks in advance.


----------



## flapjack (Nov 21, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> USE these switches:::atiflash -p 0 -f X800xxxx.bin
> 
> PLace your bios where I have the X800xxxx.bin
> I just  flashed my X800 to a pe version again.
> This works even if the codes are a mismatch.



You'll probably need to put the -f switch at the end, too. 

I got the "The part numbers do not match" error until I did this.


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## flapjack (Nov 21, 2005)

Labg11 said:
			
		

> Is there any bios to just unlock the 4 remaining pipelanes on a x850pro???, just like the bios on the x800xl 16P does?.
> 
> I really don't want to mess with the clock speed i like my fan at 54% and 40ºC Vpu and board.
> 
> Thanks in advance.



AGP = yes
PCI-E = no


----------



## BigTommy (Nov 23, 2005)

hey guys im getting a connect3d x850 pro vivo agp and im wondering if another manufactuers x850 xtpe bios will work on my card + will the vivo thingy will still work coz i didnt see at the bios page any xtpe bios with "vivo"


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## Zoors (Nov 24, 2005)

Yes the VIVO will work, at least the VO... It did so on my Club3D X800Pro now biosed as a Sapphire XTPE.


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## redcoat (Nov 25, 2005)

*improvements but still 12 pipes*

Hello!
I just flashed my Saphire X800 Pro VIVO bios to Asus X800 XT PE.  I have run tests on F.E.A.R. and I'm getting 82 fps instead of prior 72 fps.  So I have improvements.  However, the atitool says I still only have 12 pipes running though I do have improvements??  Any ideas?
Thanks!


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## flapjack (Nov 25, 2005)

Try ATI Tray Tools.  I have had much better luck with it.


----------



## dnalevelc (Nov 25, 2005)

*I am having trouble*

I have a BBA X800Pro VIVO AGP 256.  I can't even get the bios to save itself.  I have tried to use atiflash and flashrom.  I have used the options     -s 0 oldbios.bin  and it won't let me access the cards bios.  I checked and it tells me the bios is locked.  is there anything I can do?  I jus want to try and get the 16 pipes activated.  I can't go to XT speeds or higher.  I found out if I go over 480 on either my core or mem it decides to corrupt my display.  Please help me.  If you need any more info or the exact wording that it tells me when I try to backup I will get it for you.

 

Thanks
DNA


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## flapjack (Nov 25, 2005)

Well, first off... you can much more easily back up the BIOS by doing a BIOS dump with ATI Tray Tools.

Then, flash using ATIFlash.


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## dnalevelc (Nov 25, 2005)

thank you for the fast reply.  I will try that.  I also jus did the Rivatuner test to see if my registers showed the right info and they do.  I hope this works.  I am just not happy that I can't go over a 480 speed on my core or mem.

thanks again

DNA


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## jeehaa (Nov 25, 2005)

goodday all.

I'm trying to flash my:

Sapphire x800 pro vivo 1.6 ns (gc16) to a x800XT PE.

I've downloaded atiflash and the modified flashrom (16p) but i'm using atiflash.

i've made a startup disk (boot) and a disk with:

atiflash.exe (latest)
atiflash.CHG
oldbios.bin (backup of my own bios: atiflash -s 0 oldbios.bin)
pebios.bin (renamed file, original was: ATI.X800XT.256.Samsung16.040609.bin (latest from bios list)
sbios.bin (renamed file, original was: Sapphire.X800XT.256.Samsung16_040624.bin)

If I understand everything well, I'll have to flash with _*pebios.bin*_

so when I try I get this:

atiflash -p 0 pebios.bin

result:

OLD SSID: 0D62
NEW SSID: 0002

SSID MISMATCHED (error) and then you'll have to press 1 to continue

Why shouldn't I try the Sapphire bios? It's a sapphire card so I don't understand why I should take the ATI bios...

anyway when I try the Sapphire bios I get the same:

OLD SSID: 0D62
NEW SSID: 1576

SSID MISMATCHED (error) press 1 blablabla

What am I doing wrong/what should I do?

which bios to use?


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## Zoors (Nov 25, 2005)

http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/Sapphire.X800XT.256.Samsung16_040624.bin

That was what I used on my X800Pro VIVO 256, and it worked fine...
I think there was a note about "if u get error , you have to use the switch...xxx"

In the flash guide you find these words:

_If you are trying to flash a BIOS for a different card then you will get a security warning that the BIOS does not match your card. If you are absolutely sure that the BIOS is compatible you can use the -f parameter to force flashing. For example atiflash -f -p 0 BIOS.bin_


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## jeehaa (Nov 25, 2005)

ok i missed that, sorry for that. I'll download the one you posted and try right away.

edit:

alright the flash worked, but I still have 12 pipes active. I used the ATIflash tool again; should I use the modified flashrom instead?


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## Zoors (Nov 25, 2005)

jeehaa said:
			
		

> ok i missed that, sorry for that. I'll download the one you posted and try right away.
> 
> edit:
> 
> alright the flash worked, but I still have 12 pipes active. I used the ATIflash tool again; should I use the modified flashrom instead?




I used the modified...


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## JourneyMan (Nov 25, 2005)

Hey ya'll, I have a Sapphire x800pro VIVO PCI-16x and I performed the flash using the flashrom and the Sapphire x800 xt bios from the list, since there wasn't a single xt pe bios listed for PCI-16x.  

The flash worked (shows up as a GT though), but I still only have 12 pipes.  I've tried uninstalling my drivers and then reinstalling them, but I get no more pipes.  

Acually, when I first did the flash it showed 8 pipes, them I un/reinstalled my drivers and it picked up to 12.  I've tried the pro version with 16 enabled pipes and it won't even work, and I tried the ATI x800 xt bios, but it gives visual errors in my PC bios.  I just want my 16 pipes, I'll OC the rest, so bios edition doesn't matter if someone can get me to 16 pipes.


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## jeehaa (Nov 25, 2005)

Zoors said:
			
		

> I used the modified...



you've just made my day! it worked out well and now I have 16 pipes. thanks!


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## dnalevelc (Nov 25, 2005)

i used ATI Tray Tools to make a backup of my bios and I flashed my card with the X800Pro 16P bios.  I knew my card couldn't handle the speeds of the XT or the XT PE.  I have a success.  I played BF2 last night with 16 pipes and it was perfect.  I even played NFS Most Wanted today.  I wanna say thanks to everyone for posting your trials and tribulations, and thanks to you Wizzard and Flapjack for reminding me about the Tray Tools.

DNA


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## kaikai601 (Nov 26, 2005)

Hi guys this is my first time on the forum, I have followed the directions and flashed my ATI X850Pro with the XT bios...after I reboot and run ATItool it still shows as 12 pipes, but the clocks are XT speed...I've tried to reinstall the drivers, but it still shows as 12 pipes, can anyone help me please? Thanks.


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## kevindangit (Nov 26, 2005)

could anyone do me a huge favor and post step by step instructions on how to create a bootable CD that takes you to DOS so you and run the flashrom? ive been trying for hours to make one to no avail. all the guides ive looked at are so vague... thanks in advance guys! (i dont have a floppy drive)


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## wiggedy (Nov 26, 2005)

Damn I didn't see that this thread has 82 sides. puh.
I have a MSI RX850Pro-VTD256 and like to patch it to x850xt. there is one thing I didn't understand. There is not Bios for a MSI X850xt PE. Can I use every Bios file for a X850XT PE ? or do I have to use the one from MSI.


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## jeehaa (Nov 27, 2005)

kaikai601 said:
			
		

> Hi guys this is my first time on the forum, I have followed the directions and flashed my ATI X850Pro with the XT bios...after I reboot and run ATItool it still shows as 12 pipes, but the clocks are XT speed...I've tried to reinstall the drivers, but it still shows as 12 pipes, can anyone help me please? Thanks.




I think you can use the modified flashrom (16p) here


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## kaikai601 (Nov 27, 2005)

oh can you post that here so i can download it please? thanks


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## jeehaa (Nov 27, 2005)

try to use the search or search the flash guide:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip


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## kaikai601 (Nov 27, 2005)

i have ATI Radeon X850Pro...which bios should I use with this modified flashrom 16p?


----------



## jeehaa (Nov 27, 2005)

dunno, you can try the ATI x850 XT PE; as I understand it right, it's not nessesery to have one from MSI


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## Jouixs (Dec 1, 2005)

*Asus X800pro Crash*

iff the  cut you make on the grafikcard  melts or dosent work because i usede Car repair window kit ?
Comp wont boot ?
usede another grafikcard
it boot ?
Any one know this ?


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## brandnamesocks (Dec 1, 2005)

Hi
I'm a newbie to all this flashing and what not but decided to try it becuase the techpowerup faq looked pretty easy.
Does anyone have experience with a connect3d x800 pro agp vivo?  Would love to hear if you had any problems and what files you ended up using.  Also the card i ordered was refurbished which I hope is ok.
TIA


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## highwind86 (Dec 1, 2005)

Hey everyone.  Back when I first got my Saphire x800 pro PCI-E, I was checking up on this forum and thread very often, curious as to what the status on unlocking 16 pipes on the PCI-E version was.  Its been so long since I last checked, however, and there are many many more pages.  While I search through to see if I find any information regarding the PCI-E saphire x800 pro, I'd really appreciate if anyone knowledgable could fill me in.  Has any new information been released?  Last I remember, people with the saphire x800 pro vivo were having a hard time unlocking the extra 4 pipes using the bios flash.  Some even used a hardmod with a special pen and couldn't unlock the pipes.  Some considered flashing their bios with an AGP x850 xt bios but were reccomended not to, and many (like me) were told our card was an x800 GT after flashing with _any_ bios.  The weird thing is, several of the reviewers of my card on newegg.com claimed that since it was the vivo "red" version, they were able to unlock the pipes.

Has _anyone_ here unlocked all 16 pipes on their saphire x800 pro PCI-E version?


----------



## Jhaske (Dec 2, 2005)

Cheer for me!!!! I finally got one that is flashable . I bought an ATI stock card at 
CircuitCity, after I had them match Compusa's price ($249.99) and then used a 10% off coupon. Unfortunately it was locked I knew a good card was out there so I proceeded to go to a diffrent CircuitCity for 6 days (on my way back and forth to work) till I got one.
I guess they do not pay attention to the return reciept???  LOL, I payed cash so I signed nothing...

Now for cooling I was thinking of attatching these  to the mem chips http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=331984&pfp=SEARCH

What do you guys think?


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## redcoat (Dec 2, 2005)

I flashed my Saphire x800 Pro VIVO with the bios of 800XT PE, and there is definite improvement in F.E.A.R. where my fps went from 72 to 85.  Though when I use ATITOOL it says I am only running 12 pipelines???  Any Ideas?  What is anyone else getting fps on games like F.E.A.R. with their XT PE???


----------



## bobyjo (Dec 2, 2005)

redcoat said:
			
		

> I flashed my Saphire x800 Pro VIVO with the bios of 800XT PE, and there is definite improvement in F.E.A.R. where my fps went from 72 to 85.  Though when I use ATITOOL it says I am only running 12 pipelines???  Any Ideas?  What is anyone else getting fps on games like F.E.A.R. with their XT PE???



If you used atiflash engine. 
Did you have these switches after atiflash -p 0 -f xxx.bin

If not maybe you should flash again.


----------



## weskes (Dec 3, 2005)

*Need help with Connect 3d X850pro ViVO*

Hi, first pardon my English!
Second, it appears I bought the wrong card, but I'm not sure. I want to use the softmod to open the pipes. Strange enough ATItool shows only 8 active lines, while everest shows 12.
Is there anyone who suceeded to open them on the same card. Here are two pic's of ATItool. I will post my bios here, but it's a bin file and I can't make anything out of it.
Maybe I could manage to open the pipes with a bios from Connect 3d for a x850 xt agp, but I can't find one. If anyone can help me, plz do so 
Great work BTW


----------



## bobyjo (Dec 3, 2005)

weskes said:
			
		

> Hi, first pardon my English!
> Second, it appears I bought the wrong card, but I'm not sure. I want to use the softmod to open the pipes. Strange enough ATItool shows only 8 active lines, while everest shows 12.
> Is there anyone who suceeded to open them on the same card. Here are two pic's of ATItool. I will post my bios here, but it's a bin file and I can't make anything out of it.
> Maybe I could manage to open the pipes with a bios from Connect 3d for a x850 xt agp, but I can't find one. If anyone can help me, plz do so
> Great work BTW



Go to the bios selection page on this thread. There find a bios that matches your card but of a better upgrade. 
If your bios is a 55kb size, download a new bios of any make with the same size as your bios. 
When you flash your card read the post directly below this one. 
One more thing, make a sig listing all the hardware you are running and out to the right of these components. 
Make a note of which drivers are used with that component or the make and model # of that component. 
List only the major components that matter::
Memory= Make & model
Video card= Make Model and which drivers version
chipset=Which drivers 
With this info, we could offer a much better idea of what direction we should tell you to go.


----------



## weskes (Dec 6, 2005)

bobyjo said:
			
		

> Go to the bios selection page on this thread. There find a bios that matches your card but of a better upgrade.
> If your bios is a 55kb size, download a new bios of any make with the same size as your bios.
> When you flash your card read the post directly below this one.
> One more thing, make a sig listing all the hardware you are running and out to the right of these components.
> ...


I can't find a bios for a 850pro/xl/xt pe vivo, if someone can mode mine it would be great.
If you look at ATItool picture you can see that the value that should be F in my case presents an E. I've managed to flash the card twice, but the only thing that changed was the speed, there were still 12 lines active. Maybe it's not possible to softmod it. If you are willing or there is someone with the same card who did manage to mod the card, plz inform me. Ofcourse, I would be very pleased to be able to do the same.


----------



## blsnelling (Dec 7, 2005)

There are a lot of posts in this thread that are either wrong or could be very misleading.  First of all, this thread is ONLY about the AGP version, not PCI-E.  The PCI-E PRO VIVO cards are NOT moddable.  Only VIVO cards are moddable as well.  Due to misinformation, I found out the hard way.  It's way too hard to sift through everything here and find out the facts.  If I understand correctly, many of the AGP X850PRO VIVO cards are locked as well.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  Does this include later AGP X800PRO VIVO cards as well?  I would just like to help anyone coming along to be able to find the truth without having to pay restocking fees like I did.  If you're not 100% sure about something, say so.  No info is better than bad info.  Thanks for listening.  Rant off.


----------



## damo (Dec 8, 2005)

*Sucessfully done the X800 pro to 800 XT PE, but..*

Hi, i bought a Powercolor x800 Pro Vivo AGP and this mod worked perfect..Thanx , but

after the change im not able to run 3dmark 05 anymore.

 It says i cannot run any demo because the graphics card will not support vertex shader model 2.0..the standard thing
wenn you have a graphics card only dx 8.0.
Before the mod i was running fine...after the mod i can play all games stable and with 30% more rendering power..

If anyone has same problems or can give some help .....


----------



## raydawg (Dec 8, 2005)

Hi guys.  I followed this thread for a while and eventually picked up an x800pro agp version for $150 on ebay.  What I didn't realize (and the seller didn't realize either) was that the card was a VIVO!  So when I got it I was pleasantly surprised and came back to these forums.  I went with the x800pro16p bios, which flashes your card to 16 pipes but leaves default clocks at x800pro speed.  I did that after trying x800xt pe speeds in atitool and getting a few artifacts.  I have 1.6ns RAM, but strangely it was the RAM holding me back and not the core!  Anyway, I was able to get the core to 520 eith room to spare, and the RAM managed a mere 545 before artifacting.  So I backed it off to 535 to be safe.  I haven't tried to see how far the core would go yet as I'm really happy with the 520 performance.
Anyway, to give an idea of the kind of performance upgrade I got: I had a 9700pro before this.
I got the x800 pro and at the time had an athlonXP 2400+.  Stock 3dmark scores were 03-8900, 05-4100.  After 16p and overclock I got 03-10900, 05-5300.  Lastly, when I upgraded my proc, mobo, and memory to a 64 3200+, asrock 939 dual sata2 and corsair value select, I got 03-12000(on the dot), 05-6148.
So, all said and done, just overclocking and unlocking the pipelines and upgrading the proc gave me a 32% increase in performance from a stock x800pro  
Not to mention the overall increase from the original 9700pro - 150% 
So thanks guys for posting up this howto.  
 It worked flawlessly on mine, and talk about a ridiculous performance gain  - 30% over the stock x800pro - sick


----------



## raydawg (Dec 8, 2005)

redcoat said:
			
		

> I flashed my Saphire x800 Pro VIVO with the bios of 800XT PE, and there is definite improvement in F.E.A.R. where my fps went from 72 to 85.  Though when I use ATITOOL it says I am only running 12 pipelines???  Any Ideas?  What is anyone else getting fps on games like F.E.A.R. with their XT PE???



don't forget people said we need to reinstall the drivers for it to actually detect the new pipes.
The only post you really need on this forum is the first one; it has all the directions and links even that you would need.
72 to 85 in fear sounds about right for an overclocking result to me.  as you flashed the bios it is probably clocking at x800xt pe speeds right now I'm guessing.  reinstall the cats and see what happens.


----------



## Psyclone (Dec 10, 2005)

I have a question.  I have an x850 pro VIVO that I want to flash to a PE version.  In the original post, in the steps listed to perform the flash, it says to download and use the NON PE bios if you are flashing an x850 pro and a x800 PE bios if you are flashing an x800 pro.  

I want to be clear before I do this that, you are in fact supposed to use the regular NON PE bios for the x850.  I am just making sure that they are in fact different procedures for the x800 vs the x850, I don't want to mess up and hose my card.


----------



## brandnamesocks (Dec 12, 2005)

brandnamesocks said:
			
		

> Hi
> I'm a newbie to all this flashing and what not but decided to try it becuase the techpowerup faq looked pretty easy.
> Does anyone have experience with a connect3d x800 pro agp vivo?  Would love to hear if you had any problems and what files you ended up using.  Also the card i ordered was refurbished which I hope is ok.
> TIA




Hi
So i got the card and it is a sapphrire r420 not laser cut and has 1.6 memory.  I think i am a little lost on what to do next...i dl the programs in the guide, and am confused, do i make a boot disk with the flashrom files and a driver of my choice?  And theses are the only files i need on the cd? (no floppy).  And how do i save my old bios?  
If anyone could list out exactly what to do, I am a real newbie here!
TIA


----------



## flapjack (Dec 12, 2005)

brandnamesocks said:
			
		

> Hi
> So i got the card and it is a sapphrire r420 not laser cut and has 1.6 memory.  I think i am a little lost on what to do next...i dl the programs in the guide, and am confused, do i make a boot disk with the flashrom files and a driver of my choice?  And theses are the only files i need on the cd? (no floppy).  And how do i save my old bios?
> If anyone could list out exactly what to do, I am a real newbie here!
> TIA



Read my instructions at Rage3D:  http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?p=1334053383#post1334053383

Here's is a copy/paste for your convenience:



> Here's what you do.
> 
> 1) Go here and download an ISO image of the Ultimate Boot CD.
> 
> ...


----------



## flapjack (Dec 12, 2005)

If the above link for UBCD is not working, try this:  http://www.ubcd4win.com/


----------



## brandnamesocks (Dec 13, 2005)

thanks alot, I'll try it right now!


----------



## brandnamesocks (Dec 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Read my instructions at Rage3D:  http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?p=1334053383#post1334053383
> 
> Here's is a copy/paste for your convenience:




IS it enough to extract teh ubcd and burn it straight onto a disk or do i have to go through the whole pebuilder route?
thanks


----------



## flapjack (Dec 13, 2005)

brandnamesocks said:
			
		

> IS it enough to extract teh ubcd and burn it straight onto a disk or do i have to go through the whole pebuilder route?
> thanks



You should just be able to burn the ISO using Nero or whatever you use for burning.


----------



## Jetfire (Dec 13, 2005)

*ASUS X800PRo to XT-PE problem*

Hope someone can help me here...

I have ans Asus A8V MB with an Athlon X2 4200+ and an AsusAx800Pro VIVO card.

I ran the ATI tool to test the card at XT PE speeds and all went well, so I boot with a floppy, flash the Asus XT-PE BIOS from the collection. 

All goes well using -f to force the flash. reboot the computer and nothing

I put a PCI graphic card in and set the primary graphic in the BIOS to PCI and still nothing... I made a backup of my BIOS but how can I flash it back?

I heard the term Blind flashing but what does that mean? The system won't even post if the AGP card is in...

Suggestions?


----------



## brandnamesocks (Dec 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> You should just be able to burn the ISO using Nero or whatever you use for burning.



Thanks for all your help...I finally got the boot cd burned, but now when i choose the bios or a couple other programs in the menus, dos loads for a bit then hangs and says "...sectors 0, assuming 63"?  I've waited a bit and nothing seems to happen after that.
Is there another boot program that you can point me too or will any version of dos be enough?
thanks again!


----------



## flapjack (Dec 13, 2005)

farns said:
			
		

> Success...Used XT PE AGP bios and forced using modded flashrom.
> No laser cut on board, reached 540/590 x 16 pipes but card ran very hot.
> Fixed with Arctic Cooling ATI 5 fan...
> 
> ...



What brand?  BBA?  If so, what is the first 6 digits of the serial number.  Mine is 180529.....


----------



## flapjack (Dec 13, 2005)

brandnamesocks said:
			
		

> Thanks for all your help...I finally got the boot cd burned, but now when i choose the bios or a couple other programs in the menus, dos loads for a bit then hangs and says "...sectors 0, assuming 63"?  I've waited a bit and nothing seems to happen after that.
> Is there another boot program that you can point me too or will any version of dos be enough?
> thanks again!



Hmmm, that's weird.  The only problem I've had with the UBCD, is once in a while after using it, I'll reboot and get a "no keyboard found" error.  I just reboot again and it goes away.

There are other bootable discs out there, but I haven't had much luck with them.

Can anyone else suggest a boot CD?


----------



## bobyjo (Dec 13, 2005)

flapjack said:
			
		

> Hmmm, that's weird.  The only problem I've had with the UBCD, is once in a while after using it, I'll reboot and get a "no keyboard found" error.  I just reboot again and it goes away.
> 
> There are other bootable discs out there, but I haven't had much luck with them.
> 
> Can anyone else suggest a boot CD?



I have never ran across a CD-DVD burning program that would "NOT" make a bootable 
CD-DVD. 
Just go into the Easy Media Creator, or whatever you use. Go to burn a disk and select make CD-DVD bootable. 
This way you will make your own. 
You will have to copy all the files you need to flash whatever to the CD-DVD after making it bootable.


----------



## dotagious (Dec 13, 2005)

I purchased my x800 pro agp a few weeks ago. I read this thread (among others) and thought it would be possible to unlock the pipes. It can not be done with this card unless you come across one manufactured earlier. ATI must be finally catching on. I now wish to have purchased the x800 XT, which is the same price (or cheaper), has 16 pipes, and can be overclocked to x850 Pro levels. In fact, every benchmark I've seen indicates the x800 XT blows this card out of the water. I should have done more research.


----------



## Hicks-MofG (Dec 19, 2005)

*? 12 pipes*

I have an Power Color X850Pro (VIVO)

I have flashed the x850tx pe Bios using the flashrom moded and with atiflash i have also flashed empty befor putting the pe bios on. 

But i still cant unlock the extra 4 pipelines ive reinstalled the drivers and still nothing I know the flash is working though because i have the higer clock speeds.  

However when the card is recognized it just says X850 series.  Any reccomendations.

on my last flash i emptyed and 

flashrom -f -newbios -p 0 XTPE256.bin

is this command right.

i have also tryed it with just the -f and just the -newbios


----------



## Sh0K (Dec 19, 2005)

Hicks-MofG said:
			
		

> I have an Power Color X850Pro (VIVO)
> 
> I have flashed the x850tx pe Bios using the flashrom moded and with atiflash i have also flashed empty befor putting the pe bios on.
> 
> ...



Try without -newbios. Check with flashrom -i or atiflash -i to see if your bios is locked.
You have to see under the option Lock, it should say Yes if its locked, if your bios isn't locked try to flash with flashrom -f -p 0 X850XT.bin or atiflash -f -p 0 X850XT.bin.
Your card is AGP or PCI Express?

Sorry for my english


----------



## Hicks-MofG (Dec 19, 2005)

*12 pipes?*

Thanx for the fast reply i really apreciate it.

Its a Pci-E


----------



## NoObStIcK (Dec 20, 2005)

hay guys, well, today I just flash my GeCube x800pro vivo agp card to XTPE, after I install the driver and ATITool, I run the 'Scan Artifacts' to check in ATITool to check if there is any artifacts, and then I saw this vertical Green dots band (3 bands, ATITool say no error), these artifacts show up in 3DMark 2k3 as well.

I didn't give up so I flash it to a 16 pipeline Prov bios, samething happens..><

I am just wondering does this mean I got defactive pipeline? Now I am back to 12p and everything is fine~ I hope somehow I can flash it to XTPE without the artifacts ><

I attach a screenshot of the Artifact~


----------



## Hicks-MofG (Dec 20, 2005)

*Locked*



			
				Sh0K said:
			
		

> Try without -newbios. Check with flashrom -i or atiflash -i to see if your bios is locked.
> You have to see under the option Lock, it should say Yes if its locked, if your bios isn't locked try to flash with flashrom -f -p 0 X850XT.bin or atiflash -f -p 0 X850XT.bin.
> Your card is AGP or PCI Express?
> 
> Sorry for my english




Yea my bios are locked is there any way arround this.  Even a hardware mod, i can solder but i would guess that its programmed in right?


----------



## Sh0K (Dec 20, 2005)

NoObStIcK said:
			
		

> hay guys, well, today I just flash my GeCube x800pro vivo agp card to XTPE, after I install the driver and ATITool, I run the 'Scan Artifacts' to check in ATITool to check if there is any artifacts, and then I saw this vertical Green dots band (3 bands, ATITool say no error), these artifacts show up in 3DMark 2k3 as well.
> 
> I didn't give up so I flash it to a 16 pipeline Prov bios, samething happens..><
> 
> ...



Before you proceed to flash your original bios try to downclock your card with default core and memory (475 core 1000 ram), it seems that your card isn't lucky 
Can you say us what is written on the ram of your graphic card? You should remove the stock cooling....



			
				Hicks-MofG said:
			
		

> Yea my bios are locked is there any way arround this.  Even a hardware mod, i can solder but i would guess that its programmed in right?



Try to flash with:
atiflash -p 0 x850xt.bin -f -sst

Before you proceed change the core and ram clock with rabit with your default values, or try to clock your original card with the frequency of x850xt and x850xt pe.


----------



## NoObStIcK (Dec 20, 2005)

hay, i am sure my ram is 1.6ns, cos i checked them before, i guess i got a unlucky card, i might try to flash it some other time, but for now, ill just leave it like it is


----------



## possessed (Dec 20, 2005)

Hi, first post on techpowerup 

I've got a Connect3D X850Pro AGP, I've tried to do the softmod with no go (I had not much hope since the fuse strings on atitool didn't have the right "F"s on it)

A few days ago I've put a Zalman VF700-Cu and took a closer look to find confirm the existence of a lasercut on the gpu and there it was.

Now, anyone tried to do an hardmod on it using a pencil?


----------



## harlekin (Dec 21, 2005)

hmmm strange things going on 
i have a sapphire x850 pro vivo (you guess right... with the false fuses...)
but i tried my luck by softmodding...
i took x850xt sapphire bios (from collection) flashed it... restarted
and what happened... i got 16 pipelines in everest... (im damned for taking no screen...    )
then i installed the new catalyst... restarted... 
12 pipes...    
then i tried the other biosses... nothin happened alwys the same fuckin shit ... 12 pipes... 

now... can anybody explain... why i got 16 pipes first... with the bad fuses... ?!?!
i cant explain it to me... and im trying to get them again.. but... i dont...
          

greetz harle


----------



## KingsHead (Dec 30, 2005)

Hi All, I have successfully soft-modded 2 Asus AX800Pro Vivo with the X800 16p BIOS. At least ATI Tray tools shows the 16 pipes lol. I tested both cards @ the 520vpu/560mem clocks and both run well, if warm @ 71C.

Would I see any benefit flashing to the X800XT PE BIOS instead of the X800Pro with the 16 pipes enabled ?

Would the ATI X800XT PE Bios be better/same/worse than the Asus X800XT PE BIOS ?

Thanks for any/all replies


----------



## Sh0K (Dec 30, 2005)

KingsHead said:
			
		

> Hi All, I have successfully soft-modded 2 Asus AX800Pro Vivo with the X800 16p BIOS. At least ATI Tray tools shows the 16 pipes lol. I tested both cards @ the 520vpu/560mem clocks and both run well, if warm @ 71C.
> 
> Would I see any benefit flashing to the X800XT PE BIOS instead of the X800Pro with the 16 pipes enabled ?
> 
> ...


I think that you have to flash a modified bios of Asus X800XT PE, change the clock of this bios with rabit and set the clock of your original card (it's useless have a video card always overclocked, IMHO)


----------



## BIOHazard87 (Dec 31, 2005)

arent there commands that u need to know in able to flash the card?


----------



## gorber (Dec 31, 2005)

Anybody have any idea what bios to use for unlocking extra pipes on the POWERCOLOR X800 VE AIW (AGP) 256 MB ?. I have shorted the lazercuts but am wondering what is the best BIOS to use...

thanks!  /Gorber


----------



## possessed (Dec 31, 2005)

let me know if it worked ok and post some info for us on the lasercut mod


----------



## Safezone (Jan 2, 2006)

so is it correct still that ATI x800 PCI-E cards (ViVo or non-ViVo) can NOT be modified this way to unlock the 16 pipes?

so ONLY AGP cards can use this method, and the PCI-E cards must be modified with pencil or some other such hard-modification?

just verifying if there was any updates on this

Thanks


----------



## BIOHazard87 (Jan 2, 2006)

Safezone said:
			
		

> so is it correct still that ATI x800 PCI-E cards (ViVo or non-ViVo) can NOT be modified this way to unlock the 16 pipes?
> 
> so ONLY AGP cards can use this method, and the PCI-E cards must be modified with pencil or some other such hard-modification?
> 
> ...



VIVO ONLY pci-e x800/850's can unlock with a bios flash using the modded flashrom


----------



## Bloodwolf808 (Jan 5, 2006)

*Help please!!*

I loaded ati flash with a bootable floppy, and I tried 2 different flashes.  x850 XT/x850 XT PE.  
 Tried "atiflash -p 0 (biosname).bin" and i get this message.


Old SSID:0002
New SSID:0B12
SSID mismatched

ERROR 0FL01: Press "1" to continue.

Please help me thanks in advanced.


----------



## Sh0K (Jan 5, 2006)

Bloodwolf808 said:
			
		

> I loaded ati flash with a bootable floppy, and I tried 2 different flashes.  x850 XT/x850 XT PE.
> Tried "atiflash -p 0 (biosname).bin" and i get this message.
> 
> 
> ...


You have to force the flash with the flag f:
atiflash -p 0 (biosname).bin -f

Try to see if your card is locked by using atiflash -i , you have to see under Lock, if it say yes you have to use the flag -sst

atiflash -p 0 (biosname).bin -f -sst


----------



## Bloodwolf808 (Jan 5, 2006)

**

thansk Sh0K im going to try that right now


----------



## Bloodwolf808 (Jan 5, 2006)

under ATI tool is says 520 core/540 mem but only 12 active pipelines...  The mem and the core are the from the flash but I'm not sure wats wrong with the pipelines. Anybody help?


----------



## FiShBuRn (Jan 7, 2006)

Can someone mod by Connected X850PRO bios to 16 pipes?

Thanks


----------



## Xenn0X (Jan 7, 2006)

did any one try to flash a x800 pro to x850?
have a stable x800 to x800 xt pe (526/573)
but was just wondering if i could flash in a x850 bios into this card.


----------



## BigD6997 (Jan 8, 2006)

X800 and X850 series have different chipsets, correct me if im wrong

so i dont think it would work


----------



## hogie (Jan 11, 2006)

*Unlocked pipelines, but lost them after I load Driver*

I have been able to successfully flash my x850 Pro Vivo to an xt with fan control and run stable at those clock speeds. I have also flashed to the x850 pro modified 16 pipeline.
  However, when my drivers are uninstalled it will show 16 pipelines unlocked. When in this state my ATI tools wont display 3d view. It will tell me to go to system, display, and then enable my graphics card. Unforetunetly this wont come up and I cant enable it.

When I do install my drivers it drops back down to 12 pipelines. The attached word doc shows my fuses, the 16 pipes, and then the 12 pipes again. 

If anyone could let me know what I am doing wrong and what i need to do to keep all of the pipelines functioning I would appreciate it. 

I cant figure out why it would unlock and then drop them.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Bloodwolf808 (Jan 11, 2006)

I flashed the thing but only the core clock and the memory are loaded the flash i did the pipelines are still locked!! Please help tell me what flash to use.


----------



## i r friend (Jan 18, 2006)

maybe it has been asked before, but 80 pages of posts is just a bit much 

can laserlocked cards still be flashed to unlock the 16 pipes with the Gigabyte bios and flashing tool?

thx for ur help


----------



## Fr8nkl3n (Jan 22, 2006)

I am going to try and unlock the extra pipes on my sapphire x800 pro vivo pci.  Core and memory settings are already 475/500 so I may not try and overclock.  The extra pipes will be a nice release and maybe enough work for the stock fan.

Now, after being very clear at the start of this thread how to do it, I have become concerned at the end of it that it may not be able to be done.  

Can someone just point me in the right direction?  Do I just follow the directions at the beginning and choose the X800 Pro 16P bios and leave the xt pe bios alone?

Thanks


----------



## Fr8nkl3n (Jan 22, 2006)

Hogie
Do you reckon the latest drivers from ATI reset this softmod?
(In line with the comment that ATI may be trying to stop softmodding pipelines)
Would earlier drivers (say from 12 months ago) give a different result?


----------



## L|NK|N (Jan 22, 2006)

Im not having any trouble with the current ATI drivers.  Im using 6.1 and my X800pro 
w/ X800 XT PE Bios still has all 16 of its pipes.


----------



## hogie (Jan 23, 2006)

Fr8nkl3n said:
			
		

> Hogie
> Do you reckon the latest drivers from ATI reset this softmod?
> (In line with the comment that ATI may be trying to stop softmodding pipelines)
> Would earlier drivers (say from 12 months ago) give a different result?


 Sounds quite possible....I must try the 6.1

THanks


----------



## kevinb70 (Jan 25, 2006)

i r friend said:
			
		

> maybe it has been asked before, but 80 pages of posts is just a bit much
> 
> can laserlocked cards still be flashed to unlock the 16 pipes with the Gigabyte bios and flashing tool?
> 
> thx for ur help



laser locked cards can be unlocked to 16 pipes only if there is NOT a defective quad which is internally disabled in the die and can never be unlocked.. there are two types of locks possible... 

I just found out that $179 refurb ATI X800 Pro AGP 256MB [ordered from ati.com] was softmodable to unlock my 12 to 16 pipes now!!! Running as a *X800 XT PE* [looks like ati tool is giving me 510/513 w/16 pipes but I had been playing 543/543 with 12 pipes (I don't think i did an artifact test at this speed but had played lots of bf2 with no problems)

 


http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki...if_an_X800.2FX850_series_card_can_be_unlocked

Run rivatuner with those command line parameters and then check the 5th digit of the 990 field and the last digit of the 994 field... you can see if you have faulty pipes which are permanently disabled   or which are unlockable OR if you are luckly like me, you have a VIVO card (yellow connector at the back of the card) which only requires a couple of BIOS flashes to go from 12 to 16 pipes and anotehr flash to put the XT PE BIOS in there....


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Jan 28, 2006)

I followed this accuratly and went from Powercolor X850 Pro to Powercolor XT PE. It worked in the sence that my card booted but I still had 12 pipes and the fan wasn't running, I had to run the fan from Atitool. I used the modified Flashrom as I was ment to so where did I go wrong.

Thanks in advance for any help 

ATitool info:

CONFIG_DIE_FUSES 0xFFFFFFFF
CONFIG_SUBSTRATE_FUSES 0XFFFFFF9E
CONFIG_ROM_FUSES 0X3E1
GB_PIPE_SELECT 0X2724


----------



## willem (Jan 29, 2006)

*what happened?*

 Hello,

I followed the instructions on the page to move the 850 pro to 850 xt. Everything went well, only after flashing the nbr of pipelines remains 12 in Atitool, it seems not to make a difference. What do I do wrong?


----------



## jpadron_uy (Jan 29, 2006)

Hello, I have a Asus X800 PRO VIVO AGP, and after read instructions to unlock 12 pipes restrictions, no work .

Flash the bios whit Asus X800 XT PE (AGP), the flashing was ok, but after restart windows, and open ATITOOL > Overclocking > Active Pipelines: 12, system say that my card is X800 XT PE, but Active Pipelines don`t was increase to 16 ppl.

After, try to flash other bios, only to enable 16ppl, whitout modify speeds, and the same, rigth bios update, but active ppl is 12 .

My card is VIVO, don`t understand.

Any sugestion ??
Thanks.


----------



## obl (Feb 1, 2006)

This worked great for me. Thanks!!
I bought an X850pro VIVO, Used AtiTools to dump my bios,a hex editor to edit the number of pipes, RaBiT to set clocks to XT settings and the modded flash tool to flash the X850XT bios.
After flashing the card things acted a little strange so I uninstalled all ATI software and drivers, rebooted and reinstalled all ATI software and drivers.
Now it is running as a stock X850XT-VIVO with all 16 pp.
This is an ATI built card I bought on sale at Compusa for $239.00 tax included.
Once I have acquired heat sinks for the memory and a better GPU cooler I will play some more, but I found all the info and tools I needed in this thread.
Thanks a bunch!

By the way, this was done without any board or GPU mods.


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 1, 2006)

obl, what hex editor did you use and how did you do it. I have the same card as you but the flash didn't work.


----------



## obl (Feb 3, 2006)

Did you use the modified flasher? If not, it will ignore the pipe settings.
You can get it here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/100/images/flashrom16p.zip

I will also attach a copy of my modified bios.

The hex editor was free and I got it here:
http://www.hhdsoftware.com/free-hex-editor.html

Make a real DOS boot disc and copy all of the file contained in the flashrom16p.zip file to the DOS floppy then copy the X850XT.bin to the floppy. (if you are using a floppy drive to boot to DOS)

The command line you will have to use to flash your bios is:
flashrom -f -p 0 X850XT.bin     
(that is - flashrom space -f space -p space 0 space X850XT.bin) The spaces are important.

When you reboot you should have an X850XT @ 520/540 and 16 pipes if you use the attached X850XT.bin

Like I said in my previous post I did have to un-install all ATI drivers and software and reinstall to get everything working right, but I could have had driver issues prior to the card update and you may not have to go through all that. I hope 

Also, if I did everything right there is a picture of the old and new bins attached.


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 3, 2006)

Cheers, I'll try that tonight. I did use the modified flashrom but i'll download it again to make sure.

Also i tried it with the atiflash using the -newbios command


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 4, 2006)

I used the bios there but I got X850GT. Tried reinstalling drivers but that didn't help.

This has been the best bios so far because the fan actually span whereas on the others it was just dead and I had to run it from ATitool. There is still only 12 pipelines but theres probably a laser cut, I haven't had the heatsink off yet, want to wait until I get the artic silencer for it.


----------



## obl (Feb 4, 2006)

Well, I was hoping it would work for you 
I guess the bright side is you now have a bios that makes the fan work


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 4, 2006)

If I take the heatsink off will the thermal paste have dried and gone hard? If not then I can put it back on again and the contact should be ok but if it goes hard then i'll need to get some more to replace it.


----------



## obl (Feb 5, 2006)

Never re-use Thermal paste.
Clean GPU and heat sink carefully and apply just enough NEW thermal paste to cover GPU then re-install heatsink.
It is very important that you do not contaminate the paste.


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 5, 2006)

What should I clean it with, is there something I can just find around the house that will do it properly?


----------



## obl (Feb 5, 2006)

Just wipe it with a clean cloth then dampen the cloth with 99% alcohol to finish cleaning.
Not rubbing alcohol (has too much water in it)


----------



## yeba (Feb 9, 2006)

Hi, I just purchased an x850 pro AGP and flashed it x850xt nonpe. I got 16 pipes now. However, the fan completely stops at boot up and only runs after windows is loaded. How do I fix this?

Also, is there any benefit of using the XT bios vs the pro(w/ 16 pipes)? I have not decide if I want to stick with the x850xt bios or the modded x850pro bios with 16 pipes.

also, I removed the stock cooler and replaced the stock gpu paste with artic ceramique. My card is running cooler now.

Thanks.


----------



## obl (Feb 10, 2006)

I don't think there is any advantage to using the XT bios other than the identification ( XT as opposed to PRO)? and it sets the GPU and Memory Clocks higher and you can do that yourself with RaBiT.

The Pro clocks are normally 499/499 and the XT are 520/540


----------



## Cataclysm_J (Feb 10, 2006)

My Pro clocks are 507/520, its a powercolor. I've got it up to 600/600 but it runs best at 570/590


----------



## obl (Feb 11, 2006)

There are cards that are clocked faster than 499/499.
I was just going by the ATI card specs.  to try to keep the answer simple.


----------



## GoodCanadianKid (Feb 11, 2006)

*Great article W1zzard*

Thanks for this. I picked up a ATI x850 Pro VIVO at BB the other day and a Zalman VF700-cu cooler from a computer shop and went to work on this mod. After removing the GPU HS/fan I considered packing it in because I noted the 2ns chips. Then I decided I had come to far to not at least try.
My first attempt botched because I didn't use the -newbios switch. So I booted and was hugely disppointed to see only 12 pipes (although the ATITool and the driver figured out I had an X850XT PE...
I did some more research and found the switch and reflashed the card again. Success!
ATITool reported the 16 pipes. At normal operation I'm getting temps of 33 deg. Variable temps with different benchmarks etc. but all completely acceptable. I also found I could overclock it more that the XT PE speeds but have rolled it back to the stock XT PE settings as I'm happy to have a card that performs the same for under $300!
BTW - I found that one RAM sink interferes with the rear bracket on the Zalman VF700-cu... it was just one of the pointy lugs so I clipped it with some wire cutters and that corner slid under the bracket and the sink is centered properly on the chip.
Attached are some ATITool screen grabs and my board...
Final flash command (using ATIFlash) was ATIFLASH -newbios -f -p 0 newbios.bin for those who might be interested.


----------



## yeba (Feb 19, 2006)

My x850 pro is not a good overlocker. Max core at stock is 530, with pencil vmod, it reached only 555. Max memory is 580. SHould i keep this card or have it replaced?

My previous x850 pro that I rma'ed could reach 580 at stock settings.


----------



## dejanb13 (Feb 20, 2006)

hello, is it possible to flash my x800pro vivo without floppy drive... maybe with bootable cd... and how to make one


----------



## CrazyCanuck777 (Mar 1, 2006)

Hello,

I've tried flashing my x800pro VIVO with flashrom 3 times using the flashrom -f -p 0 ***.bin command and each time I boot into windows it still shows up as having 12pipes . All 3 times Ive flashed it It said its verified and it played a song.

any help would be great


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## lyno (Mar 5, 2006)

*need a PRO*

Hey, could anyone link me to a site which will allow me to buy a PRO card that has been proven to be able to unlock the 4 pipes and ships to the UK.


thanks,


Lyno


EDIT: forgot to add that it must be AGP


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## obl (Mar 6, 2006)

This is where I ordered mine and according to their shipping page they do ship internationally.
I go to the local CompUSA store a lot and they are very honest and good to do business with in my opinion.
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=332729&pfp=cat3&tabtype=pi#moreinfo

P.S.
I did unlock all pipes on this card with no problems and no HW Mod.
With the guide here it was easy.


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## lyno (Mar 6, 2006)

*cheers*



			
				obl said:
			
		

> This is where I ordered mine and according to their shipping page they do ship internationally.
> I go to the local CompUSA store a lot and they are very honest and good to do business with in my opinion.
> http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=332729&pfp=cat3&tabtype=pi#moreinfo
> 
> ...



Thanks for the quick reply, although it seems it's sold out and the "Limited Availability" note makes me think they'll not be getting anymore in stock, i'll just have to wait and see i guess 

anyone know anywhere else?


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## shoemaken (Mar 7, 2006)

*x850pro UNLOCKED PIPELINES AT LAST!!!!!*

I've just spend the better part of 4 hours trying to unlock my ATI x850 pro from 12 to 16 pipelines.  Like many other people, I was partly successful becuase my card would be recognized as an x850xtpe with xtpe clocks, but I couldn't get the added pipleines.  And the pipelines are what I really wanted.  I flashed several times with many different bios (.bin) files.  But I finally found a combination that worked.  I went to the following link and downloaded the followng files from the bottom of the page.

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/44936-how-flash-your-x850pro-xt-pe.html

1. flashrom16p.zip (114.0 KB)

2. x850 xtpe 1.6 fan control agp.zip (34.3 KB)

3. before flashing anything, completely uninstall all ATI drivers.

4. Reboot to windows.

5. Reboot to DOS and flash bios.

6. Reboot to Windows and install ATI drivers (I used Cat 6.2)

7. Reboot to Windows.

I tried atiflash several times before eventually realizing that it was not opening the correct sized bios (.bin) file.  I had to switch to flashrom.  Make sure you check the .bin file size you download against the size verified at the flash screen.

I'm gonna go run some benchmarks now and see if all this trouble was worth it.  I'll post the results when I'm done.


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## shoemaken (Mar 7, 2006)

*unlocked x850 pro benchmarks*

Running at stock x850pro speeds (500,500), I'm seeing about a 8% increase in my 3dmark03 score.  Thats awsome!


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## rogur (Mar 9, 2006)

If the theres a laser cut on my X850 pro built by ati can I close it with silver laquer (Like closing bridges on Athlon xp Chip to unlock multi)? My card has the rage theater chip and the yellow connector on it and I can use video in video out but it is laser cut..Dont want to trash it but will it work?


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## testemo (Mar 20, 2006)

hi guys,

i am trying to do the mod on a "connect3d x850pro vivo agp".
so far i have not been successful :-(
can anyone recommend a good bios for this card? i'd like to keep the stock clocks but want to enable the 4 remaining pipelines.

and before i forget ;-)
how do i check if my card has 1,6 ns or 2,0 ns timings on the memory?

any help is much appreciated!

greets


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## el_guapo (Mar 27, 2006)

Hi all,

Mockinson500 - I just had the same problem over the weekend.  You sure you're not running an AX- or EAX850?  

I got a new card over the weekend (asus extreme ax850pro pci-e) and flashed it with the XT bios but no luck unlocking the pipelines.  After looking at the card serial numbers I realised it wasn't going to work so I flashed it back to the original bios.  Unfortunately, like your card, my fan has stopped ramping up as needed.  It seems to be running, but at a bare minimum, and like yourself my temps are much higher - somewhere about 70c idle / [crazy]c load.  I can't run any heavy 3d stuff now as the temps just keep on climbing.

I've all the lower pci slots mostly cleared out (for a bit of breathing room) in the meantime, but I put in an order for a molex to fan power splitter today, so I'm going to try running the fan off that and see if it helps wih the temp problems (should do!).  Then my only problem's gonna be finding earplugs   I'll let ya know if it does.

So can anyone else hazard a guess why this has happened?  Is it some asus specific quirk?  Any suggestions?  I also can't find a copy of the original bios for this card - is it slightly different from the regular x850s?

Cheers

El Guapo


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## jcc39 (Mar 29, 2006)

Hey guys I haven't had a chance to read through the entire 93 pages of this thread, but I just got a BBA X850 pro AGP with VIVO.  Is the information in the beggining of this thread still valid?  Meaning can I flash my bios to the XT to unlock the extra 4 pipes?  According to this article it says any X850pro VIVO can be unlocked, but according to one of the other modding FAQ's here: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/127  I don't have F's where it says I need to to unlock the pipes.  So which is correct, should I bother trying to unlock, or just leave it be and overlock the card.  Thanks for any help


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## despiser (Apr 8, 2006)

*Standard fan*

It may be mentioned somewhere, but I could not find it so I'll simply restate: *You should not flash to xt with a standard fan*. Fortinately, I was cautious and immediately lowered my clock to 452/452 from 500/500 on a 850 pro and was suprised to see that the temp was 95 degrees after running 3dmark05. Also the score was still about 150 less than the 12 pipe bios overclocked at 533/540.


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## DrunkenMonkey42 (Apr 15, 2006)

Hi, This may have already been addressed but i dont feel like reading 93 pages of a thread. I am trying to flashmod my x800pro vivo pci-e card to an x800xt pci-e. Apparently the platinum edition does not exist for pci-e. I tried all four bios' that were listed in the link for this card, and each time windows detected it as an x800 gt, which actually diabled 4 pipelines and lowered the clocks. The one bios that was the x800pro but with 16 pipes was corrupted, and i had to reverse the flash blind. Has anyone had success flash modding a pci-e card? if so, could you post and give me a link to download the bios, or i can give you my email and you can email it to me, thanks.


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## P5y (Apr 15, 2006)

Ok about FAN Control.

I did the mod to normal X850XT. I lost the fan. It didnt work. But when I went in ATI Tool, and set the Fan at 100% it worked. So basically I just need to start up everytime with ATI tool loaded overiding fan control to 100%. At 80% ther fan doesnt work...so I assume only 100% works. If I Turn off ATI Tool, and restart ATI tool , the fan says it will run at 81% and my fan stops working. So every time , I have to make sure the FAn gets activated by ATI tool at 100% :-/


Are there any Bios out there that are default set to 500 core and mem , but come with 16 pipelines?


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## midas (Apr 29, 2006)

*happy midas*

hello guys,

today i received my new Connect3D x850 Pro Vivo and i was more than happy that my the pipes not lasercuted!!!

so i wanna mod to x850 XT PE but if i search 4 the bios i must see that´s techpowerup´s database not included this bios 

it´s a Connect3D RADEONTM X850 XT PE 256 MB DDR TV-Out + DVI`s bios which i need!!
(btw @ connect3D page are writen thats the x850 xt pe are new in their Portfolio)

can anybody help that i get this bios

thx anyway

greetz 

midas


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## bobyjo (Apr 29, 2006)

midas said:
			
		

> hello guys,
> 
> today i received my new Connect3D x850 Pro Vivo and i was more than happy that my the pipes not lasercuted!!!
> 
> ...



I suggest you download the bios for a Sapphire X850XTPE card. 
X850 XT PE (AGP) 256 MB
This is if you are using the AGP format, if PCEe format just select that bios file. 
Be sure you place the -f switch in the command line when you flash. This way you will not receive any errors about not being a Connect 3d bios.


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## OOTay (May 1, 2006)

Ok Well i have an ATI X850PRO AGP SamSung 1.6ns memory that i just want the pipes unlocked from 12 pipes to 16 becuase i dont have a third-party heatsink. Can anyone please unlock the pipes for me? And here is the Memory id just in case you need it:
Samsung K4J553230F-GC16

Thanks ahead of time!

ATI.X850PRO.256Samsung16 bios


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## whyteo (May 31, 2006)

*FINALLY! - Opened up the 16 pipes (X850 Pro AGP)*

Sapphire X850 Pro AGP with yellow VIVO thingy.

It took a long time. I thought I was defeated. :shadedshu But alas I triumphed! 

What I did was go for the modify the existing card BIOS using the HEX editior.
(Change the 0000070 and A to 60 from 61)

When you save it and boot up into DOS, and flash this new16.bin you get an invalid file error.
"atiflash -p 0 new16.bin"

Now, If you force the flash with the "-f" parameter it should work.
"atiflash -f -p 0 new16.bin"

Before I did this I also flashed the empty.bin bios - got (another) error message - so I'm not sure if this opened the way for flashing to succeed. 

Finally the ATI Tools showed up the yummy 16 pipelines!


Summary:

Requirements:

1) ATiTools - to see if card is flashable, to make backup of existing BIOS, and finally to see if 16 pipelines are open.

2) Hex Editor to modify existing BIOS

3) ATiFlash to flash the new modified BIOS

4) Optional - Nero Burning ROM 6 - To create Bootable CD (Can use other methods)


a) Get copy of card BIOS using ATiTools
b) Make a copy on the desktop and rename new16 (leave out .bin - it will be there auto)
c) Open new16.bin in HexEditor and change 61 to 60 {six-zero}
d) Make bootable CD with ATiflash progam file and new16.bin
e) Restart computer (may have to enter main motherboard bios to boot from CD first)
f) change to CD drive (eg. "d:" )
g) enter: "atiflash -f -p 0 new16.bin" {that is a zero not a o} 
(Not sure if you may need to flash with the empty.bin found on this site first)
h) restart computer (without bootable CD) and check pipelines in ATiTool

i) Ta-da!

Hope this helps - It took me AGES to get it right.  

Ollie.


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## nicus (Jun 14, 2006)

Hi all..

I want to flash my HIS Excalibur x800 Pro VIVO to a x800 XT PE.
A short Question, do the BootCD.iso works with this card? Or should i download the Excalibur x800XT PE Bios from the techpowerup Site?

Does the BootCD.iso increase the Clock? I think my Card can handle it, there is a Silencer installed. 

Thanks for answers and sorry if my Question already answered somewhere in this Thread.

nicus


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## eon007 (Jun 15, 2006)

I recently tried to mod my AGP vivo ATI x850 pro to unlock the 16 pipes. I couldn't get the 16 pipes to stay unlocked no matter what bios I used. ATItool would report the 16 pipes prior to loading the Catalyst drivers. After the the drivers intalled...bam... back to 12 pipes. The flash does change the clock speed. I was wondering if anybody had this happen as well. ATITool reports 16 active pipes until the Catalyst drivers are installed. Any help?


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## puntarenas (Jun 27, 2006)

Hi,

I ordered my first ATI-Card ever (ASUS EAX850PRO/HTVD) and want to try if I can unlock it as soon as it will arrive.

Just one question, it's suggested to use the latest x850XT bios for x850PRO boards to unlock the additional quad, but will it also be possible to use a x800XT bios?

The idea is to have the card slightly uderclocked (507/520 to 500/500) and keep it cool and silent that way. I wonder if there are any drawbacks because of internal changes from R423 to R481 gpu's that demand special bios settings.

Kind regards

puntarenas

Edit: Unfortunately the card was not moddable to 16P, so my question is obsolete!


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## HellSy (Jul 7, 2006)

whyteo said:
			
		

> Sapphire X850 Pro AGP with yellow VIVO thingy.
> 
> It took a long time. I thought I was defeated. :shadedshu But alas I triumphed!
> 
> ...



I just got the same card, and according to the ATiTools i think i can unlock the pipes.. 











What hex editor did you use? Because i can't find that 0000070 column.. i tried Hex Workshow and everything that is listed there but couldn't find the 0000070. I just want to unlock the pipes.. i don't want my core speed to jump up that much.. i'll increase that manually. 

Since you got the Sapphire X850 Pro ViVo [2.0ns], can you give me your bios?

Just in case i'm gonna upload my bios..


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## Radont (Aug 12, 2006)

Hey, great post W1zard.  I flashed the bios to an X800 XT PE and my system detected it as such but tray tools still told me I had 12 pipelines instead of 16.  Is this because I use the omega drivers or could it be because I used the winflash program?

EDIT: Nevermind, it was because I used the winflash app instead of the DOS one.  I have all 16 now and my cock speeds are up.  Stock fan and heatsink too.


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## jaffers (Aug 20, 2006)

Hello All,

I have a Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO PCI-e card purchased in mid 2005. I tried the softmod using Sapphire, ATI, Gigabyte and Powercolor bioses for XT and XT PE of PCI-e flavor   Everything failed and after the mod my card becomes GT because of the ASIC ID.

There is no laser cut I checked that and tried, ATIflash with -newbios and flashrom with -p -f 0 flags.  No matter what the pipes are 12.  

My questions are: 

1.  Are the newer cards that is summer 2005 and onwards are locked differently after all this softmodding in 2004 well known?

2. The process mentioned by Whyteo is applicable to  X800 Pro VIVO. If so then can anyone help me with address offset and value in the *.bin file?

3.  Shall I burn empty.bin before burning the target bios in the same session (before reboot)

4. Is the serial ROM locked by the manufacturer as reported by atiflash?

Who can help me? Greatly appreciate help. Thanks


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## jaffers (Aug 20, 2006)

DrunkenMonkey42 said:


> Hi, This may have already been addressed but i dont feel like reading 93 pages of a thread. I am trying to flashmod my x800pro vivo pci-e card to an x800xt pci-e. Apparently the platinum edition does not exist for pci-e. I tried all four bios' that were listed in the link for this card, and each time windows detected it as an x800 gt, which actually diabled 4 pipelines and lowered the clocks. The one bios that was the x800pro but with 16 pipes was corrupted, and i had to reverse the flash blind. Has anyone had success flash modding a pci-e card? if so, could you post and give me a link to download the bios, or i can give you my email and you can email it to me, thanks.




Hi DrunkenMonkey, I have the same problem. My X800 Pro Vivo PCI-e simply won't unlock the pipes no matter which bios I tried. You are right I also was unable to find any PCI-e platinum edition bios for X800 pro Vivo.  Further with each effort My card becomes GT in windows. ALthough when i forced bios my original it was normal again.  It looks like there has to be some change in the bios file at some address offset to mention 16 instead of 12.  Bye.


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## jaffers (Aug 20, 2006)

Hi.  Finally got the answer from the post of SHY (thanks to him) using below link
 h**p://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Video_Card#How_to_check_if_an_X800.2FX850_series_card_can_be_unlocked  

Unfortunately my Sapphire X800 Pro VIVO PCI-e is die-level locked. So can not open it to 16.  Although atitool runs it reliably at 550/560 for some time and no heat since I have removed the junk compound and have replace it with artic silver compound with the stock fan.  So have to be content with the OC only.


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## Minko (Aug 25, 2006)

Hi,

I have problemes after flashing my Asus X800pro to XT. Flashing was no problem, and for a while it workt great. But after updating my drivers (Cat 6.8).... my screen turned in to a blur. Whit stripes etc etc.
I have tried a different XT bios files and Cat drivers (6.8), now it only happens while running atitool and sometimes at startup i have these blury white stripes. After a reboot its gone (sometimes), what to do?


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## threeflies (Sep 28, 2006)

Just a thank you.  Using the modified flashrom I have now transformed my 850pro to 16 pipes and running at xt speeds. 

Great article, v happy


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## bobyjo (Sep 28, 2006)

Minko said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have problemes after flashing my Asus X800pro to XT. Flashing was no problem, and for a while it workt great. But after updating my drivers (Cat 6.8).... my screen turned in to a blur. Whit stripes etc etc.
> I have tried a different XT bios files and Cat drivers (6.8), now it only happens while running atitool and sometimes at startup i have these blury white stripes. After a reboot its gone (sometimes), what to do?



If you sucessfully flashed to XTpe bios. 
You do not need to be running ATITool, unless you just want to keep track of the temps.


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## dapumprula (Nov 5, 2006)

*dont work on my x850pro vivio*

hi, got big problem, 
1. this is my second ati x850pro vivio, the first one are unlocked,  but the second x850pro vivio dont work on 16pipelines, ati tool show only 12 pipes, 

help plz


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## Mocho (Nov 21, 2006)

Just received my x850 Pro and unlocked it to 16 pipes. Immediately I noticed the checkard rasters flashing, like it was mentioned in this thread, I have defective pipelines.

However I have tried the empty.bin and my backup bios as well as 10 other bios's, I'm stuck with the defective piplines. With only 12 piplelines it's not as bad as with 16 but I can't seem to fix it anymore.

Any suggestion on what to do? I don't want to RMA the card due to the costs involved. Please help me out! :shadedshu


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## Xipher (Dec 31, 2006)

Hey, I think I need some help here... I've got an issue with the CD ISO to flash to the X800 pro VIVO with 16 pipes

The program "runs out of memory" and gives a DOS error when I select option 2 (flash the bios, make with the fun!)

The system is, an X800 Pro AGP (VIVO, its got the right chip on the back, and the yellow connector under the molex) K8W, 4gb wintec, 2gb buffalo (6gb total) on two 848 opterons

Whats the issue here? Does having over 4096mb of installed memory cause issues like this with the dos program?

Can I just use the floppy based flash tool, the X800 pro VIVO 16 pipe bios and it will enable the pipes without using a trigger to force it to write over the 12 pipes? Will I be able to go back to 12 without issue since I have backed up my bios?


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## patton45 (Jan 24, 2007)

*X850pro vivo problem*

ok so ive read like almost all the post here and cant find the exact problem im having.  I downloaded the edited flashrom and flashed my ati x850pro to both xt and xtpe both work for the clock speeds but not the pipelines i then flashed to the empty.bin and reflashed to ati850xt everything runs fine but i still am not getting the pipelines i have tried reinstalling the drivers and catalyst.  does anyone know what the problem is i think it has to do with the rom reset thing but i dont know how to fix that what the command is to change the preserve rom if u can help let me know


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## diepgamer (Feb 5, 2007)

*HELP ME, W1zzard*

Anyone can halp me, I has set wrong BIOS for my card x800 pro AGP with PCI-ex bios. And now, my monitor cannot display.


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## juniorandac (Feb 24, 2007)

thank you


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## involver (Jun 22, 2007)

*HELP ME, W1zzard*

diepgamer you can flash it back to the original bios , even if your monitor is dead . Put the flashrom and the original bios into a folder that you need to remeber . Boot from floppy , wait like 1 min or the time you think your os will boot up , then follow the bios flash procedure u did before .


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## patton45 (Oct 31, 2007)

so i decided to give it another go even though i dont use my x850 for gaming anymore its just a folding comp  i want to try and unlock the pipes anyone know of that pen sodder stuff and where to get it. i have to resoder my pipes cause after taking the stock cooling off i noticed i do have the lazer cut  i know some dude here awhile back did the sodder mod but i cant find his post anyone who know about what im talking about give me a holla thanks


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## Rohey89 (Dec 28, 2007)

I thought the chance of it working is so small its not worth worrying about?


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## ktuly (Aug 7, 2008)

Please guys help me: 
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=67801
Sry for link i didnt saw this discussion when i opened my post.

thanks


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## ArkanHell (Jan 20, 2010)

I just so the article link on the side and I decided to post here, cuz its brings me so many good memories.
Couples of years later of founding this article, about the "trasnformation" of the X800, I signed to TPU.
As an owner of one, I got shocked. In those days I had started already to do some cpu overclock and I was an user of the glorius AtiTool.
But a bios mode on my VGA? With 20 years and with a mid time job, risking to damage the vga was such a bomb of adrenaline, but, I couldnt resist to get a little more points in 3dmark03.
So I done it.
Wow, that fealing... I just got something like that the time that I made a Hot Bios Chip Swap on my mother board many years later.
And there I got, on the reboot, the beep! of the mainboard, and on SO, the new recognized model X800 XT PE!
Later in time I sold the VGA, I dont remember, prolly I bought a 1800XL something like that, And like 2 years later I saw a guy with my VGA on a LANPARTY, with the fan changed.
And finally, in 2006, It was back to my hands, damaged. Another guy brought it to me, for repair in my shop. It was busted, and the guy just gave it away to me.
And, since then. The X800 XT PE 256mb y hanging on the wall of my shop, reminding my passion, my way of live.


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## rockit00 (Sep 12, 2010)

Hey, I have fond memories of the X800-X850 series also. My first bios flash was the 9550 to 9600Pro and was a success. The next card was the X850 Pro. The X850 Pro was a Great card for flashing because of so many options. First flash to unlock the pipes. Second flash to XT. Third flash to XT PE. I had to get the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5.2 to keep the beast cool! I owned 3 of the X850's in all and they were built like tanks. I only sold them to get the X1950 Pro. I think the X800-X850's were the most exciting cards that I ever owned.


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