# X850 XT PE n00b help!



## FoxMcCloud (Mar 13, 2006)

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how I should set the settings with ATI tools for my card...I'm a little scared to do it myself because my computer knowledge isn't exactly up to par when it comes to video cards.  My base temp. seems to hover around 48 degrees and I thought that was really high.  So any sort of advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!


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## zekrahminator (Mar 13, 2006)

wheee I can help! Alright, first off, I need to know if thats a LOAD temp. If its a load temp, then you have one awesome card  . If thats idle temp, OUCH go buy yourself an ATIsilencer5  . Next step...I think you've noticed that the X850XT stock cooler is rather loud. Go into fan control settings and turn your fan speeds down to 43% on load. There is very little performance decrease from 43% and whatever the stock settings are (50% or more?). If you can get away with it, set it to around 32%. Next step is overclocking...if you don't want to run the "find max core/memory" utilities, listen carefully. Press the button labeled "scan for artifacts". Then bump up the core/memory clocks SLOWLY (by moving slider up about 5 mhz, press "set clock", wait a few seconds, repeat) until you hear a "beep" from when ATItool detects an artifact, you see an artifact, or you're just alarmed by your temps  . Good luck!


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## FoxMcCloud (Mar 14, 2006)

First off, thanks for the help!  Secondly, I think that is my idle temperature, but I'm not sure what the difference is.  If load temperature is the temperature it stays at when I am playing a game then it is way higher than 48 haha.  Anyway, as for the fan...it seems my fan is set at 5% (?) base speed.  Is that normal?  I was thinking of setting up the dynamic fan speed thingy as well, any ideas on the break down for that?

Thanks again so much!

P.S. I'm going to look on newegg.com after posting this for the fan you suggested!


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Mar 14, 2006)

you should se you fan speed to 43%, not 5% maybe that's why your idle(when not playing anything) is 48 degrees.
BTW, ATI Silencer 5 Rev.2 is expensive at newegg.  
Go to this and it's as trustworthy-http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=316413


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## zekrahminator (Mar 14, 2006)

thanks for the link! I was considering buying one, and newegg was just a tad expensive lol. I'm a little apprehensive, seeing all the forums about fans dying when you combine ATIsilencer5 and ATItool. Maybe it has something to do with that "PVM frequency" box needing to be checked


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## FoxMcCloud (Mar 14, 2006)

Thanks for the link for the fan!  It's on back ourder, but I will buy it once it's in stock again.  I set my fan speed to 43%, I don't mind the noise.  My temp. is now around 43 degrees...and my computer has been on for a while because I have been downloading some huge files, so this could also be the cause of the heat.  My case is kind of a piece of crap (Dell XPS, I know...laugh...I have a Dell, but I got a great deal on it with the added money off through my school.) so that may also be why it's so hot.  As for the overclocking, I'm a bit scared to do that right now.  My default is 540/590, so I'm going to leave it at that for the time being.

Thanks again everyone!

If anyone has anymore suggestions, let me know!


Yeah, I made sure to keep that box checked just in case.


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## infrared (Mar 14, 2006)

The xps's aren't too bad as far as retail pc's go. You also have some ability to overclock on the newer xps's.

Don't be scared of overclocking the graphics card, they're extremely tough, and with ATITool, as long as you take you time, it'l be fine! Just hit the find max buttons, and let ATITool work it's magic! And if you'r planning to overclock it manually by moving the sliders, make sure you open 3d view for a while to let the gpu get up to temperature,  then scan for artifacts to make sure it's stable.

Trust me, the most common cause of graphics card deaths are voltmods that go wrong! I speak from personal experience! 

The Arctic cooling ATI silencer is an awsome cooler! You'll get along well with it.

Basically, experiement! Your unlikely to damage anything if you take if:

1. You take your time
2. Keep an eye on temperatures (if it goes above 80c, there's something wrong with the cooler)
3. Don't set the clocks to anything stupid when using the sliders.

Have fun!


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Mar 14, 2006)

yeah, infrared is right, you can't really ruin a graphics card because it has thermal throttling, a feature that won't ruin you graphics card even if you're 200mhz beyond your limit.  Just back down once you see artifacts.


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## FoxMcCloud (Mar 14, 2006)

Haha alright... I guess I will try to overclock it then!


Thanks again guys!


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## Tatiania (Mar 14, 2006)

zekrahminator said:
			
		

> thanks for the link! I was considering buying one, and newegg was just a tad expensive lol. I'm a little apprehensive, seeing all the forums about fans dying when you combine ATIsilencer5 and ATItool. Maybe it has something to do with that "PVM frequency" box needing to be checked




"PVM Frequency" box? What's that? I'm asking because I have the ASUS AX850 Platinum series card and wanted to get an ATI Silencer5 myself, now someone mentions this?


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Mar 14, 2006)

Tatiania said:
			
		

> "PVM Frequency" box? What's that? I'm asking because I have the ASUS AX850 Platinum series card and wanted to get an ATI Silencer5 myself, now someone mentions this?



just get the ATI Silencer 5 rev. 2, there's nothing wrong with it.  ther's really no point in controlling the fan speed of the fan because it's good enough already at lower speeds.  I have a Zalman VF700-Cu LED, which is also good but doesn't blow air out of the system.  i have a separate blower for that.


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## zekrahminator (Mar 14, 2006)

you know, I found something hilarious...I decided that those "memory glitches" (lights not rendering correctly etc.) really weren't that good, so I went and replaced the memory "cooler" that came with my X850XT with some good copper RAMsinks. the sorry excuse for a stock cooler was a PIECE OF METAL WITH THERMAL PADS. I thought ATI wasn't that ignorant...but now its official. ATI SUCKS at making cooling solutions (could be wrong considering some reviews about the X1xxx series, but oh well  ). "Do not change PVM frequency" is something you will see as an option at the bottom of the ATItool window if you ever decide to overide fan speeds. With ATIsilencer5, there really is no need lol.


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## Mustang Man (Apr 19, 2006)

Ok, I have 2 Dell Dimension 4700's and in each I have an X850XT PE installed.  Of course i was having heating issues with the cards being that the case is very compact and the only exhaust you have on these cases is the processor fan and the card itself.  There's no extra connections on the motherboard for more fans and basically you're stuck with what you have.  On the first Dell Dimension (we'll call it #1), I have 2 x SATA hard drives, and 2 x CDROMS...  On #2 I have 1 x SATA hard drive and 1x CDROM.  On #1 I was idling at 49d (degrees i dont know how to make that symbol) - 51d C.  On #2 I was idling at 41 - 43d C.  So i was desperate to get temps down, so I read up on the x850xt PE's, which I found out were "overheaters".  So I bought one each of those PCI slot fans and installed in each PC, helped nothing.  Then after reading story after story on newegg.com about people having the same issue with the same card and then getting an Arctic Cooler and going down anywhere from 10 - 20d C I was pumped!  I ordered 2 immediately and had them the very next day!  That was about the only awesome part about it.  At first launch on each PC it seemed successful, once I booted and check AtiTool, #1 was at 33d C....  I was happy, poppin champagne and all... but then, 1 degree up, then 2, then 3....  Soon enough I was back at 48d C.  ON IDLE!!!  PC #2, is now back up to 40 - 43d C on IDLE!  I'm back where I started off!  I even put up the fan speeds to 56% at the current idle temps, they won't drop below those temps.  both cards are from different manufacturers, so I dont think its that certain card.  So all in all my hopes and dreams are now gone about cooling, until i get another case and just build a whole new rig all together, but my point is that the Arctic coolers did nothing for my case.  The fans work fine, they are much quieter, but the cooling is not there.  i have read up on Arctic Silver instead of the stock pads, but to spend more $$ just to get 5 degrees celcius less is lame when i already spent $40 on AC that gave me nothing but a quieter fan.  If I knew I would have just kept the stock coolers on.  

Point of my story is that if you have a dell like mine (Dimension 4700) with crap for cooling, dont count on the Arctic Coolers to pull a miracle out of their a**.  Then again, the GX620's (Dell) seem to have much better air flow.  

The End


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## mikelopez (May 14, 2006)

So is there a happy ending to this story?


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## Mustang Man (May 15, 2006)

yes, I got rid of my Dell and made a whole new PC using the same card, now I idle at 36 - 39 degrees celcius with the card that was idling in the high 40's to low 50's!  My dell sucked!


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