# X800GTO2 AUTOMATED FLASH UTILITY Via DVD\CD...  Very easy :)



## locutus12 (Oct 14, 2005)

*X800GTO2 AUTOMATED FLASH UTILITY Via DVD\CD FOR ALL Operating Systemts.  Very easy *

howdy , first off let me just say im not a usual member here, i actually use overclockers.co.uk forums, i built them a util to make it easy to flash the GTO2 because (and i mean no offence) the techpowerup guide is terrible lol,    anyway, this is a simple procedure for X800GTO2  ONLY. And yes it works under all microsoft operating systems and i believe uner linux as well but im not 100% on that being as i havent tested it on that platform.


download this ISO Unzip it and burn to CD / DVD (if you have nero, open it, close the wizard and from the record menu select burn image then select the ISO,  if you have easy CD creator, i dont have a clue )

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/fmohamed/shared/X800GTO2MoD.iso


step 1   boot from CD\DVD by changing the bios boot order to boot the optical drive of your choice.

step 2 Select the menu option of your choice, it will confirm a succesful flash once done.

step 3   Enjoy! 


Recovering from a bad flash....

step 1, install a pci graphics card,  

step 2, boot from DVD\CD

step 3, select option 2 from the boot menu 

Step 4  Reboot and Retry the flash.

 

All i ask is that you post how you get on and if you use this anywhere else, please give me credit for it as it wasnt easy to get it sorted 

p.s. let me know how you get on 


EDIT: IMPORTANT. THE INITIAL FLASHROM HAD AN ERROR WHEN FLASHING BACK TO 12 PIPES, THIS HAS BEEN FIXED BUT YOU WILL NEED TO REDOWNLOAD THE ISO AND MAKE A NEW BOOT CD. SORRY FOR THE TROUBLE.


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## ShadowFlare (Oct 14, 2005)

What method does it use to flash the bios?  Does it just have a certain bios file that it will always flash?  Or does it save a temporary copy of the original to use with the 3 step method?  (save original bios, flash 16 pipeline bios without preserving rom settings, flash original bios with preserving settings)


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## locutus12 (Oct 14, 2005)

the GTO2 model cards are only made by sapphire and as such there is only 1 version of the original bios to worry about so theres no need to save the bios from your graphics card now as the bios ive built into it is from sapphire.  the modified bios for flashing to 16 pipes was modded by techpowerup and used in the original but rather long winded and complicated instructions they gave for modding this card.

my utility does nothing more than the tech power up guide tells you to do and uses only the tools downloaded from the techpowerup guide, its just a hell of alot simpler.

you boot from the disk and it gives you 2 options to select, 1 is flash to 16 pipes the other is recover to 12, you select the one you want, hit enter and thats it.  ive tested it on several platforms and on my own GTO2, its also up on 3 different forums and over 30 people have used it without a problem so far


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## kevinm (Oct 14, 2005)

*Flashing My New Gto2 Card*

Hi,

First please forgive me for being a bit dim, but how do i get into the program to change my cards flash?

I have a wireless keybord that deos not work until after windows xp starts up


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## locutus12 (Oct 14, 2005)

plug in an ordinary keyboard silly!!       if you dont have one, then borrow one     you could try enabling legacy USB support in the bios but again youd need a keyboard to do this....


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## kevinm (Oct 14, 2005)

o.k i will dig out my old keyboard ,but how do i boot from CD\DVD by changing the bios boot order to boot the optical drive of your choice.


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## locutus12 (Oct 14, 2005)

depends on your bios, but you need to go into your bios and change your pc to boot from your cd drive. it should say at the start what button to press.


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## vinmann (Oct 14, 2005)

I know this is open question but.....
Can you give me an idea of a good source to buy this card.
I am asking so as to minimize the chance of getting a card I cant mod.
thanks


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## kevinm (Oct 14, 2005)

hi

i just received mine from www.overclockers.co.uk £152.69 (this week only)belive me this is the cheapest i have look around everywere, but this was the cheapest.

Also i have just flashed the card and now it thinks it is a x850

special thanks to locutus12 ,just flash the card perfect!!!!!


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## locutus12 (Oct 14, 2005)

vinmann said:
			
		

> I know this is open question but.....
> Can you give me an idea of a good source to buy this card.
> I am asking so as to minimize the chance of getting a card I cant mod.
> thanks




vinmann as long as its a sapphire GTO2 im certain it will mod   only sapphire make the GTO2 you see   if your from the UK use overclockers.co.uk  if your from america use newegg.com  if your from continental europe, good luck, i dont have a clue


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## gto2-doc (Oct 15, 2005)

for the continent this may be interesting: http://www.mad-moxx.de/ here i bought my gto² and was surprised how fast they delivered the package (they delivered before the date they posted on the page Oo). 

The installer doesn't work with my system.. he comes only to boot-option 1, then the system freezes. I did it like techPoerUp! said.. but with a other bios (the original x850xt bios). With the "modified" bios from the page it doesn't work at my system -.-' *grml*


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## locutus12 (Oct 15, 2005)

can you give more detail as to whats happening??  your the first person to have a problem as such


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## gto2-doc (Oct 15, 2005)

sure. I burned the tool on cd. made it as boot-cd. then booted form the cd. it tries to boot, but only the first boot option can be seen on the screen, and the system freezes --> reset is the only way to get the computer back to work.


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## locutus12 (Oct 15, 2005)

well thats just strange...   when you enter the bios, dont just change the boot order, try actually setting the hard drive to disabled.


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## gto2-doc (Oct 15, 2005)

i flashed the bios like it was told on the techpowerup site, it worked with a standard x850xt bios. so i have no motivation to try this tool once again


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## locutus12 (Oct 15, 2005)

gto2-doc said:
			
		

> i flashed the bios like it was told on the techpowerup site, it worked with a standard x850xt bios. so i have no motivation to try this tool once again




out of 3 forums and now over 50 people, your the only one who has had a problem... the Utility does work, tried and tested on my own pc and others before i released it


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## gto2-doc (Oct 15, 2005)

maybe i did sth. wrong when i burned the cd.. all i do know is that it didn't work at my sys.


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## vinmann (Oct 15, 2005)

thanks for feedback


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## bradmax57 (Oct 17, 2005)

Worked perfect for me, had a failed attempt at a floppy flash, managed a blind flash back to old 12pipe bios, tried this first time perfect, thankyou very much for creating the flash image


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## outrunner (Oct 17, 2005)

Bradmax57,

Could you let me have the details of how you blind flashed your card, my flash failed too, but so far I can't get the card to take the original BIOS and if possible could you post the .bin file you used to get the card back to it's original state?

At the moment I have not been able to locate a PCI card to to use to try reflashing the card with the utility.

Thanks 

Outrunner


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## Cally (Oct 17, 2005)

vinmann said:
			
		

> I know this is open question but.....
> Can you give me an idea of a good source to buy this card.
> I am asking so as to minimize the chance of getting a card I cant mod.
> thanks



ZZF has it for $214.00

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=326820


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## bradmax57 (Oct 17, 2005)

outrunner said:
			
		

> Bradmax57,
> 
> Could you let me have the details of how you blind flashed your card, my flash failed too, but so far I can't get the card to take the original BIOS and if possible could you post the .bin file you used to get the card back to it's original state?
> 
> ...


Basically I was hitting esc to get into boot device, (might be mobo dependent?) and was guessing that floppy would be 1st boot device on the list, i must have been right and I could here the floppy being read, just typed the same command in but used biosold.bin as command and this time got the beeps at the end of the flash, rebooted and was fine, I guess if you have a pci card then that would help you to choose boot device


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## locutus12 (Oct 18, 2005)

outrunner said:
			
		

> Bradmax57,
> 
> Could you let me have the details of how you blind flashed your card, my flash failed too, but so far I can't get the card to take the original BIOS and if possible could you post the .bin file you used to get the card back to it's original state?
> 
> ...




did my util do this??


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## outrunner (Oct 18, 2005)

no mate just my mistakes when trying to follow the guide before I found this thread


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## locutus12 (Oct 18, 2005)

oh thank god   where are you from? im sure i can locate you a PCI card very very cheaply   there always useful to have...


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## outrunner (Oct 18, 2005)

I had a reply from a mate just now, he has a card that I can borrow, so I shall collect it tonight and re-flash the card. I should just need to do the following to recover the BIOS with your automated process correct?

step 1, install a pci graphics card, 

step 2, boot from DVD\CD

step 3, select option 2 from the boot menu 

Step 4 Reboot and Retry the flash.

Then I should be able to reflash it again


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## bradmax57 (Oct 18, 2005)

locutus12 said:
			
		

> did my util do this??


no, floppy mode did yours worked a treat!


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## locutus12 (Oct 18, 2005)

outrunner said:
			
		

> I had a reply from a mate just now, he has a card that I can borrow, so I shall collect it tonight and re-flash the card. I should just need to do the following to recover the BIOS with your automated process correct?
> 
> step 1, install a pci graphics card,
> 
> ...





yup, sounds about right,    make sure you set the bios to boot off your cd drive though


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## outrunner (Oct 18, 2005)

OK I got a PCI card and tried to flash back to the original bios in step 3, it fails with an error code of;

Serial ROM 
Zero byte read 
0FL01 press 1 to continue

any ideas?


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

well... that shouldnt happen, looks like youve got a data block stuck on your card...

boot from the cd, select option 3 (boot to command protpt)  

and type in the following... 

Flashrom -f -sst -atmel -p 0 x80012P.bin   (hit enter)


(its case sensitive so make sure you copy it correctly.  also the 0 i s the number 0 not the letter o)


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## outrunner (Oct 19, 2005)

I just tried the command but it still gives the same error code


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

hmmm... i dont mean to worry you but thats not good...  


what exactly did you do to it originally, tell me step by step and list the files you used (including links if possible)  i will try to back track and recreate the error using VMware if i can (VMware a special tool i use for testing crap out  )


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## koolpc (Oct 19, 2005)

Hey Locutus12, will this work with an X800 GTO?


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

koolpc said:
			
		

> Hey Locutus12, will this work with an X800 GTO?




well not all GTO`s will mod in the first place i am afraid, only the GTO2 will mod 100%  i think it works with sapphires fireblade edition GTO and possibly with connect 3d but as of yet its untested on those, if anyones got a spare PCI card and a copy of there original GTO bios they are welcome to try it out, if it fails there should be no damage to the GTO card, it would just be a case of installing the PCI card and flashing the GTO back to original bios.


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## ShadowFlare (Oct 19, 2005)

The GTO2 bios should at least function properly on any GTO that uses the R480 gpu, since that's basically what it is - a GTO bios.  It may possibly work on ones that use an R423, but it probably isn't likely.  From my experience, bioses from R423 cards seem to work on R480, but it may not work the other way around.


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## koolpc (Oct 19, 2005)

Well, accordingto tech power up it can be done with  Connect X800 GTO 256mb card:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles//overclocking/vidcard/127/4

Tony


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

some of the gto`s do mod but as i said, its not certain


"the regular GTO cards from Connect 3D are also moddable. However, the success rate is unknown" -Tech power up guide.


when i built this util i didnt have the GTO in mind,   it may work, but i couldnt say and i dont think anyone can say for certain.  even if one GTO does, the next may not


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## Dynamic (Oct 19, 2005)

*Re*

Locutus12,
     So what you're saying is that option 1 will flash "Sapphire.x800gto2_16p.samsung16.bin" and option 2 would flash the original which is "Sapphire.x800gto2.samsung16.bin"? Now flashing with the modified bios, wouldn't that mess with your cooler in any way? Is that the problem people are having with the x850xt bios, not sure but using a different bios on the gto2 could result a bad fan cooler wouldn't? Unless you do the modified bios then reflash to your original so you have the original bios plus 16pp? Correct me if i'm wrong, and damn it's taking Newegg.com so long to come back with the OEM for $199....this is impossible...still have this 9800xt 436/382


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

Dynamic said:
			
		

> Locutus12,
> So what you're saying is that option 1 will flash "Sapphire.x800gto2_16p.samsung16.bin" and option 2 would flash the original which is "Sapphire.x800gto2.samsung16.bin"? Now flashing with the modified bios, wouldn't that mess with your cooler in any way? Is that the problem people are having with the x850xt bios, not sure but using a different bios on the gto2 could result a bad fan cooler wouldn't? Unless you do the modified bios then reflash to your original so you have the original bios plus 16pp? Correct me if i'm wrong, and damn it's taking Newegg.com so long to come back with the OEM for $199....this is impossible...still have this 9800xt 436/382




option 1 flashes to 16 pipes and the system will then pick it up as an X850 
option 2 flashes back to 12 pipes with the default X800GTO2 sapphire bios.

the cooler isnt messed with in any way, its still fully variable using a number of different types of software freely available, or you can leave it and it will take care of itself if it gets too warm.

as for new egg, its it highly unlikely that OEM versions will come back into stock at newegg never mind anywhere else, over the last week the average price for the GTO2 has risen by $5 to $10 across the net  which suggest the products are comming to the end.   remember, its limited edition, sapphire got ahold of a load of r480 chips, chucked them on X850 printed circuit boars, slapped samsun 1.6ns ultra fast ram on them and sold them as X800GTO2`s in limited supply knowing that it would only be the modders who wanted them, this gets sapphire all of the press and none of the pain of warrenty cover as you void the warrenty when you flash the card.  sapphire saves money and gets good cred, you save money and get a nice card.  everybodys happy.


The GTO2 wasnt built to be a mainstream product, buy them while you still can.


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## outrunner (Oct 19, 2005)

its working, but I don't know why, I haven't touched it since yesterday   but I'm happy, all 16 pipes are enabled thanks for your help Locutus12.


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## locutus12 (Oct 19, 2005)

lol, how weird!!!!      so you flashed it with my util and got nothing, then turned the pc off till today???


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## outrunner (Oct 20, 2005)

Thats right, when I left it Tuesday night I had no display, but I thought I'll give it on more try last night and though and behold it powered up with a display. I checked with the Atitool and 12 pipes were in use, I then flashed it to the full 16, and it still works.


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## locutus12 (Oct 20, 2005)

you probably just needed to trun it off so the power drained from the card,    hehe thought youd of tried that     still im very happy for you   what will you be playing on with your new card?  its BF2 and FEAR for me at the moment


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## speedlimiter (Oct 20, 2005)

locutus12 said:
			
		

> option 1 flashes to 16 pipes and the system will then pick it up as an X850



To be sure - is the file in option 1 really the one you can find in the techpowerup-tutorial (orig. Sapph. X800GTO² only with 16p unlocked)? For me it sounds like the x80016p.bin from the ISO will also raise the core/mem to X850 XT (PE?) speeds.


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## wayneh (Oct 20, 2005)

Is there any x850 xt pe bois that can be flashed to this card cause i want 540/590 speeds perminantly with out use of software.  The cd work great tho cheers  

Cheers


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## locutus12 (Oct 20, 2005)

wayneh said:
			
		

> Is there any x850 xt pe bois that can be flashed to this card cause i want 540/590 speeds perminantly with out use of software.  The cd work great tho cheers
> 
> Cheers



ello, well to be honest you can flash it with the crucial X850 bios but i wouldnt recommend keeping your card clocked 24/7  which is why a little program called RADLINKER is a joy to use...   download it (google to find it)  and install, then when its installed go to the start icon of the game you want clocked, right click the games start icon on the start menu, or if it doesnt have a start menu shortcut then any shurtcut or original EXE to the game will do. and click  custom settings,  then right click the icon again and select properties,  now click on the clock rate tab, tick enable clock rate change, set the values you want for that game and make sure resume to previous settings is selected under it. note that you must start from that start icon, starting from a cd rom or other icon will not clock the card.

your card will now overclock when you start the game and clock back when you leave it, this puts much less stress on your card in the long run, oh and radlinker uses no system resources and doesnt have anything running in the background.  




			
				speedlimiter said:
			
		

> To be sure - is the file in option 1 really the one you can find in the techpowerup-tutorial (orig. Sapph. X800GTO² only with 16p unlocked)? For me it sounds like the x80016p.bin from the ISO will also raise the core/mem to X850 XT (PE?) speeds.



trust be, its built from the files on techpowerup guide, 140 people across 4 forums cant be wrong   it wont clock your stuff up. its left to you to figure that out...


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## outrunner (Oct 20, 2005)

locutus12 said:
			
		

> what will you be playing on with your new card?  its BF2 and FEAR for me at the moment



The main games that I play are Nascar 2003 mods and rFactor, so hopefully I will now be able to run with the detail maxed out . Locutus12 Thanks again for your help.


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## locutus12 (Oct 20, 2005)

lol, believe me, you can wack the anti aliasing and anisotropic filtering up to maximum with full graphics in game and you wont scratch the modded GTO2 with those games    if you wanna give it a test, go download the demo of FEAR    if you google up First Encounter Assult Recon   you should find the link


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## TotalChaos (Oct 21, 2005)

I just grabbed the GTO2 today and flashed it with the ISO and I must say it was painless.... Thanks a million 

UPDATE:6274 3DMARK05


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

anytime,   glad i could help...


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## julesdakar (Oct 21, 2005)

i have test your cd with my X800 GTO 256 Mo

in dos mode they write flash termined all is ok! but i have one probleme nothing change can you see my post please ?

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5920


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## nortius_maximus (Oct 21, 2005)

hi
i am having trouble with this iso for modding my gto2. 

i have downloaded it and have it on my computer.
i have tried to use winiso 5.3 and alcohol to unzip this file, but when i do there is nothing there.

please someone put this dumb animal out of his misery as i am getting FEAR tommorow.

cheers for your time


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

nortius_maximus said:
			
		

> hi
> i am having trouble with this iso for modding my gto2.
> 
> i have downloaded it and have it on my computer.
> ...




thats because its not zipped you silly bugger   some zip applications pick ISO files up as archives.   use nero v6 or better if possible, and select BURN IMAGE from the recorder menu. or do similar with what ever program your using


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## nortius_maximus (Oct 21, 2005)

hi
right you are talking to someone who is obviously feeling mentally challenged today so please nothing is really to obvious.

i have burned the iso file to cd and when i reboot from cd nothing is found and so windows loads up.

1. am i supposed to make this a bootable disk?

2. how can dos read an iso file?

3. am i really this stupid?

please if i give you my address can you just come round and shoot me 
thanks


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

lol, ok, well first off, 2 questions, 

1 do you know how to set your bios to boot from CD drive and have you done this?

2 do you have nero v 6 or higher lying around ?


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## nortius_maximus (Oct 21, 2005)

hi
yes i press f11 and choose 3 cdrom.

i have been using nero 6.0.0.6 .

so yes on both accounts


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

ok, well open up nero burning rom (the full program not the crappy nero express)   close the nescd wizard that pops up,  go to the menus at the top and click record and youl see burn image, click that and locate the ISO from the file browsing window.  select it and click OK.  youl get an empty file browser in nero which is how it should be. click burn and reboot when done


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## Dynamic (Oct 21, 2005)

From gathering information throughout this forum i've came to a conclusion on attempting the mod on a *Connect3D X800 GTO*. First i'll try to see if the fuses match, then get on with the mod....

*Method 1:*
1)atiflash -s 0 c3dgto.bin (Save old bios) 
2)atiflash -p 0 newbios.bin (X800 VIVO 16PP Mod bios/GTO MOD [This Site]) -newbios 
If the second procedure doesn't work i'll do the force command....
3)atiflash -f -p 0 newbios.bin -newbios (Force flash with modded bios)
4)atiflash -f -p 0 c3dgto.bin (Flash back my original bios including the new 4 pipelines)
Reboot....
One thing i want to make certain is that when i do use the "-newbios" to preserve bios settings the command comes after the bios and why? So that's what i'm going to do, flash it with a Connect3D X800 PRO VIVO 16pp bios modded with the -newbios command and then reflash my old original bios that i backed up before. I'll then reboot and go back into windows and hopefully everything works, if not....
1)reinstall ati drivers "5.10" and hopefully works... 
If not....
Try to clear all my modded/unmodded bios with the specific command listed somewhere i have to find right now and reflash with original Bios. I'll then try Flashrom instead of Atiflash and do the same thing over...What do you guys stink?


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## nortius_maximus (Oct 21, 2005)

hey thanks alot loctus

everything is fine all 16 pipes overclocked to 520/540.
i have just run 3dmark 05 i think i got 4285 with stock 12 pipes
and now with 16 pipes stock i got      4875
with 16p and  517.5/533.25 =      5792
i am looking forward to getting my artic cooler and maybe a faster fan for my xp120 and start really overclocking it some.          

thanks alot my brain got pickled with the tech power up mod walk through trying to make all the boot disk as i don't have a floppy i was going to attempt using my mp3 player but i did not really have to buy and new card if i did it wrong.
thanks alot
this is the exact reason i bought this card
i still have alot of overclocking to do this is my new rig

you have made alot of people happy
thanks again


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

anytime nortius_maximus,  but just a quick note, the cooler on the X800GTO2 is what they use on the X850  so its not that bad   i use the stock cooler and clock mine to 560GPu 585memory which gives me 6200 3D05 marks with a max temp of 60oC (which is good...)     but if you do change the cooler, get some arctic silver 5 cooling goup, its very good.  and remember, less is more, use clingfilm to level the goup out 




			
				Dynamic said:
			
		

> From gathering information throughout this forum i've came to a conclusion on attempting the mod on a *Connect3D X800 GTO*. First i'll try to see if the fuses match, then get on with the mod....
> 
> *Method 1:*
> 1)atiflash -s 0 c3dgto.bin (Save old bios)
> ...



i think youve posted in the wrong forum,   this is for GTO2 modding   the mod rate for the GTO isnt 100% im afraid however i am working on a bootable ISO for it also.


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## julesdakar (Oct 21, 2005)

locutus12 i've buy today, the ZALMAN - Dissipateur GPU - VF700-Cu!!! you think i must buy this thermal grease artic silver 5 ???? for overcloking my x800 GTO 256 Mo

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cooling/arctic_silver5/


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## locutus12 (Oct 21, 2005)

its just my opinion but artic silver 5 would be better than the standard grease they use.


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## julesdakar (Oct 21, 2005)

locutus12 said:
			
		

> well not all GTO`s will mod in the first place i am afraid, only the GTO2 will mod 100%  i think it works with sapphires fireblade edition GTO and possibly with connect 3d but as of yet its untested on those, if anyones got a spare PCI card and a copy of there original GTO bios they are welcome to try it out, if it fails there should be no damage to the GTO card, it would just be a case of installing the PCI card and flashing the GTO back to original bios.



hey i have sapphire x800 GTO can i help you and try with my card? if you want i have backup my original bios i can give you a copy!


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## Dynamic (Oct 22, 2005)

Well, i thought both GTO and GTO2 cards almost mod the same. You always flash back to the original bios without the 'newbois command to be safe along with the 16pp. Well, anyhow i'm trying to cancel my GTO card because i might have a better chance of getting the GTO2 at a very fair price then the wack sell at Newegg......


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## TotalChaos (Oct 22, 2005)

I have issue now where my card keeps going to standby, I have tried to flash it back but I get a zero byte size error. Help me please


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## locutus12 (Oct 22, 2005)

i need abit more info than that... what do you mean your card keeps going to stand by?  what error do you get?


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## TotalChaos (Oct 23, 2005)

ok during the flash procedure if I try to revert to 12 pipelines I am presented with an error saying zero byte size press 1 to continue.  When I attempt to boot to windows the card shuts itself off basically and I lose signal to my monitor, I have tried the TV out option with no luck, I have tried CRT as apposed to LCD.

I dont have another PCIe card to try or I would have tried that also


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## locutus12 (Oct 23, 2005)

erm...  to be honest, i dont have a clue    zero byte size...   oh wait... i may have....  5 minutes


EDIT:


ooops!  syntax error!!   my my fault  

use this for now to flash back to 12 pipes till i can swap the main links out.

http://s42.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=04YQK6OIIINS10WC5SR4ZQYJIK

same as before, burn an iso.

sorry about that     as for your card going into standby... that shouldnt happen!  run it in 12 pipes for a few days, if it still does it, take it back and get another and flash it.


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## TotalChaos (Oct 24, 2005)

Actually it went back to the store today, I have a standard X800GTO as a loaner until they can get me a new GTO2 with R480 core but not unlocked bios


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## locutus12 (Oct 24, 2005)

you didnt send it back with the modified bios did you??? it will invalidate your warrenty if they find out


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## TotalChaos (Oct 25, 2005)

no it was flashed back to 12 pipelines before it was returned


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## locutus12 (Oct 25, 2005)

good good    well i hope you havent lost too much faith in the GTO2,  they are worth the trouble once modded


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## Aevum (Oct 26, 2005)

btw, just as a small tip, 
you might want to use artic ceramic with video cards, the latest chips from ati tend to have alot of small resistors on chip, and a spill of artic silver could kill it, artic ceramic dosn´t conduct under pressure or heat (unlike artic silver) and provides quite a good result, i think temperature results are better then AS3

so, if you have a sharp eye and a stady hand, use artic silver, but if you want to play it safe, use ceramic,


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## TotalChaos (Oct 26, 2005)

Nah i have not given up hope, I am just using a standard GTO until they can replace my GTO2


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## Aevum (Oct 26, 2005)

ok, sapphire x800 GTO^2 running 16 pipes at XT speeds, 5958 3dmark 05
add another notch to your belt, good work

thanks for the work invested in this project, to tech powerup for the bios and to locutus12 for the CD, made my day alot easier,


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## locutus12 (Oct 27, 2005)

Edit: Important. The Initial Flashrom Had An Error When Flashing Back To 12 Pipes, This Has Been Fixed But You Will Need To Redownload The Iso And Make A New Boot Cd. Sorry For The Trouble.


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## noneed4me2 (Oct 30, 2005)

*need iso bad*

Hi locutus,your work on the GTO2 iso has been neat to read about, i noticed you posted that your working on an iso for the connect3d gto, i bought this card and have had no luck flashing with other utilities and ISO's from other folks. The main problem for me is the unlocking of the old bios. Every thing required according to techpower and ATItool shows that i meet the requirements fior the 16p mod,any luck on the ISO yet. I will try it if you can confirm at least one success prior to usage. I just got this card so if there is a problem i will just exchange it .hanks.


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## locutus12 (Oct 30, 2005)

working on it now, will have it built by tommorrow night, although i am going to need someone to test it on...


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## noneed4me2 (Oct 30, 2005)

I have built in pci e ATI x200 so i guess i would be willing to try it. getting this new pc stretched our budget pretty tight and it seemed the connect3d gto was the best graphics card price and performance wise for me me. plays doom 3 demo on high quality no problem but like most wouldn't mind squeezing out some extra fps, especialy considering that i up the cards value just buy adding 4 extra pipes. I dont have a floppy drive and have had problems making a dos cd with the neccesary added files to actually unlock the bios. this other iso i found at techpower can get me into dos and i can use the flashrom to identifie the r423 core and such but i can't get passed the lockout. tried winflash to unlock it and it flashes the modified bios from techpower but won't unlock. I am afraid of trying the gigabyte technique or other means as some of the directions are kinda technical. I am not totally unfamiliar with command line techniques but worried about frying my nice new graohics card.


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## Reebtoor (Oct 31, 2005)

Another satisfied customer with the flash utility.  All went as expected.  Thanks for simplifying things, Locutus!


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## kaqo (Nov 1, 2005)

I have a Sapphire X800GTO with the R480core but 2ns memory, though the memory still overclocked nicely to 553 and the core to 573 with the stock cooler  its rock stable and no artifacts.

I was just wondering if this flash would work on my card since its a Sapphire GTO with R480 core. about 4400 3dmark05 points stock, overclocked with 12pipes i get almost 5700. 16 pipes should get me a pretty nice performance boost..  

One other thing, If the flash fails can i use another PCI-X card instead of a PCI card since my DFI Ultra-D supports two PCI-X cards non sli? I cant see why not but am hoping someone knows for shure  

Thanks in advance


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## locutus12 (Nov 1, 2005)

i couldnt say for certain, i believe the roms only gonna work on the GTO2 but your welcome to try it as provided you have a copy of your old bios and know how to manually flash it back without the ISO i made (as the default bios on thats for the GTO2)  you should be ok.  as for 2nd your second PCI-E socket (PCI-X is a very old extended PCI socket for server boards, many people get this wrong   but now you know more than they do  )  if you have a spair PCI-E card to use then i think it would work.


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## ShadowFlare (Nov 2, 2005)

You shouldn't have any problems at all using the bios from the GTO2 on any card with an R480 chip.  You should still make a backup of your original, though, even if you never use it again and know that you won't.  Since you have a Sapphire GTO I think it is the exact same bios as on your card (except modified to 16 pipelines), but besides that the bios from the GTO2 even works on a Powercolor X800 GT, as I mentioned in this thread: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=6056 and as seen here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=6046&page=2#post41377  As mentioned in those threads, the Powercolor X800 GT (or any other X800 GT with an R480 chip) actually even benefits from it, but it is probably the only card that does, since it is likely the only card with an R480 that is set in the bios as R423.


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## locutus12 (Nov 2, 2005)

ShadowFlare said:
			
		

> You shouldn't have any problems at all using the bios from the GTO2 on any card with an R480 chip.  You should still make a backup of your original, though, even if you never use it again and know that you won't.  Since you have a Sapphire GTO I think it is the exact same bios as on your card (except modified to 16 pipelines), but besides that the bios from the GTO2 even works on a Powercolor X800 GT, as I mentioned in this thread: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=6056 and as seen here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=6046&page=2#post41377  As mentioned in those threads, the Powercolor X800 GT (or any other X800 GT with an R480 chip) actually even benefits from it, but it is probably the only card that does, since it is likely the only card with an R480 that is set in the bios as R423.




thats not strictly true. the bios for the GTO2 has specific code for 1.6ns ram and as he has 2ns it may not work. but i hope it does for him...


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## ShadowFlare (Nov 2, 2005)

locutus12 said:
			
		

> thats not strictly true. the bios for the GTO2 has specific code for 1.6ns ram and as he has 2ns it may not work. but i hope it does for him...


Ah, one more thing that you should see from those posts.  If you take a look at the posts by the person who tried it, you will notice that they have 2.0 ns memory on their card.  They even posted the code shown on their memory to confirm it.

The bios from the GTO2 is basically guaranteed to work on any card with an R480 chip, since it has the lowest clock speeds out of any card with an R480 chip.


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## noneed4me2 (Nov 2, 2005)

*Success ah sweet success*

 Hey Locutus you are the man. Chalk up one more connect3d gto to 16p. I wasn't sure if you modified the flash iso or not but when i burned it i noticed the c3d bios file so i thought what the hell i'll give it a shot.First i uninstalled all my drivers and ATi software Flashed without a problem; said successfull on first try so I used ATItool and it showed my card as an x800/850 with 16 active pipelines, then i reinstalled the drivers and tried overclocking. Started artifacting pretty low arond 435/510 so i used winflash and reflashed my saved bios from my previous attempt and reinstalled all my drivers. ATItool dropped the the x850 name and just recognized it as an x800 pro series card with a r423 chip (i was so excited i didnt bother to check what chip it saw before i used winflash). Retried overclocking and got it up to 506/513 without any artifacts and set the base fan speeds higher and ran 3dmark03 and gained 1500 points to a score of 11306. Haven't run any other games, benchmarks or tried anymore aggressive overclocking but i am sure it can go higher. I did an earlier max overclock on the core with ATItool and got it all the way up to 627/543 before it crashed and restarted my pc. Want to be carefull from now on cause i just turned my $184 card into a $300 plus card. Also i connected the power adapter when i installed it even though it said it wasn't required. This is though most fun i have had modding and such since i first got into computers. BIG thanks to techpowerup and all other forum posters for giving me all the free advice even if you weren't aware of it. You guys are an excellent community of geniuses willing to push the envelope of technolgy just for the fun of it. Will post more results after i tooled around with my "NEW" card some more!!


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## noneed4me2 (Nov 2, 2005)

Just tried out 520/540 clock without a problem and a 3dmark05 score of 5914 another 1000+ point gain from 4805 on mt previous pipe settings. Just out of curiosity will my benchmark scores improve any with more ram? I plan on adding 1gb of pc3200 2x512 dual channel aound xmas. 
heres my some of my log file
2005-10-22 23:57:18	ATITool v0.24 started.
2005-10-22 23:57:18	Detected GPU Chip: R423 (5549), 12 Pipelines, 256 MB
2005-10-22 23:57:18	Temperature monitoring: LM63 detected
2005-10-23 00:03:46	Application terminated.
2005-10-23 00:10:50	ATITool v0.24 started.
2005-10-23 00:10:50	Detected GPU Chip: R423 (5549), 12 Pipelines, 256 MB
2005-10-23 00:10:50	Temperature monitoring: LM63 detected
2005-10-23 00:11:08	Application terminated.
2005-10-23 00:20:57	ATITool v0.24 started.
2005-10-23 00:20:57	Detected GPU Chip: R423 (5549), 12 Pipelines, 256 MB
2005-10-23 00:20:57	Temperature monitoring: LM63 detected
2005-10-23 02:16:46	Scan for Artifacts started...	Core: 398.25 Mhz	Memory: 492.75 Mhz
005-10-28 11:12:58	Clocks set to: 607.50 / 492.75
2005-10-28 11:13:41	Clocks set to: 614.25 / 492.75
2005-10-28 11:13:44	Clocks set to: 621.00 / 492.75
2005-10-28 11:13:47	Clocks set to: 627.75 / 492.75
2005-10-28 11:45:02	Clocks set to: 398.25 / 573.75
2005-10-28 11:45:05	Clocks set to: 398.25 / 580.50
2005-10-28 11:45:08	Clocks set to: 398.25 / 587.25
2005-11-01 17:42:04	ATITool v0.24 started.
2005-11-01 17:42:04	Detected GPU Chip: R423 (5549), 16 Pipelines, 256 MB
2005-11-01 17:42:04	Temperature monitoring: LM63 detected
2005-11-01 18:58:32	Clocks set to: 519.75 / 540.00


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## kaqo (Nov 2, 2005)

I have a spare x300SE 64Mb i can use.. It got a whopping 981 points in 05  But i didnt buy it for gaming anyway...

I should be able to make a backup and flash the bios back "the old way", i flashed my 9500Pro at some point when it was still a very good card  Any links to a good tutorial on how to use a flash tool though? Might be worth checking before i start messing around just to be on the safe side...   Oh and wich flash tool do you recommend? I think i used ATIflash or something back then.


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## dpadmore (Nov 2, 2005)

Hi

I am a bit confused now, so there is a separate iso available for the Connect3d GTO flash? if so could someone post a link as I too would like to give it a whirl.

Cheers


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## dolf (Nov 2, 2005)

For all of you that succeed with modding to 16 pipes, please post your ATITool fuse results here and eventually there: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=5367  I will help to those who wants to choose the "right" card's brand.


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## noneed4me2 (Nov 2, 2005)

i am new to posting how do you post the fuse data i kno how to look it up in ATItool thats how i checked my own compatability but am unsure how to get a picture of it to post.


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## colboky (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanks for helping me out guys. I have the same card as noneed4me Connect3d gto  and i went through hell to get it to mod to 16 pipes until he pointed out this thread. Noneed4me2 could you please describe what you did after u have used this Iso "re flashed my saved bios from my previous attempt" where could i get that bios or how  i can mod one. This is what happened to me. I installed the card tried every bios i could find nothing worked and in the process windows died. So i flashed back to original bios formatted reinstalled fresh windows and atitools and to my surprise it showed that i had 16Unlocked pipes. That's not the end of it i flashed the original bios again which was a success but it still showed 16 pipes. I than continued to install the rest of the drivers and restart after each one and check ati tools. After i installed the sound card drivers which is a audigy 2 Value atitools showed 12pipes again no mather what i did so i flashed it again with the modified bios on this site still 12 pipes flashed it again with the powercolour bios same. Than i burned a cd with the image by locotus12 and hurray i had 16 pipes ever since. Anybody has an idea as to what is going on.

Oh and after i flashed the card with the Iso here my card shows 
Chip Type R480
Config_Dye_Fueses 0XEFF7FFFF
Config_substrate_Fueses 0XFFFFFF9F


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## noneed4me2 (Nov 3, 2005)

Did you save your original bios before modding? i am not sure if you have a problem. Did you benchmark  or try out any games? Also i used atitool artifact checker after i flashed with the ISO and had major artifacting but after i flashed back to saved bios ,it kept the 16p and was able to overclock with no issue. You say that after the flash ATItool shows your chip as a r480, man you are lucky if thats true, mine always showed as a r423, i double checked my log file to be sure. Just be sure to watch your mem clocks as my card (and i ssume yours)uses samsung 2.0ns instead of the x850 PE 1.6ns. Congrats if your card works great after the flash, and i haven't had much of response from Locutus12 since the flash but nonetheless am eternally greatful for his and everone else's help in the forum. i will check back if you need more help and point you in the right direction if you have any issues.


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## nortius_maximus (Nov 4, 2005)

hey locutus12

just so you know for your stats my gto2 appears to have gave up.

i had 16 pipes thanks to you, and 518/520 ati tray tools.

i noticed some artifacts in FEAR after 30 hours (total not non-stop)
so i checked it out in tray tools and i got artifacts all the time could not get to 1sec.
so i under clocked it to the max 320/391, but still artifacts.

flashed back to 12 pipes, still artifacts even when underclocked as above.

you say i won't have any trouble RMAing it, i hope your right.

i will be using your utility when my new card arrives, thanks alot for it i enjoyed fear an max while it lasted.

i also saw a reveiw where they removed the heatsink and you could see how rough the contact surfaces were so i bought a lapping kit, glad it bust before the lapping kit arrived.

thanks


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## Vergo (Nov 6, 2005)

Has anyone tried flashing a Sapphire X850XT or Sapphire X850XT PE bios on this card??
Maybe, if you've got sparetime left, you can make another bootable cdrom image with these 2 options available
Something Like
1/ Flash to 16pixelshaders
2/ Flash back to original X800GTO² bios
3/ Flash to X850XT (!Advanced users only)
4/ Flash to X850XT PE (!Advanced users only)

Something like that? 

Edit/ For the record: mine does 535/597 with Zalman vf700-cu @ 5V


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## NEU-NEU (Nov 29, 2005)

By the lord, please tell me there are online shops on the Europe continent selling that graphic card!  I badly need one. I found one predenting they sell GTO² cards but they are actually normal GTO. I found another that is only shipping them in the US. Then another one only shipping in the UK. God.. I feel like I will never get it or and that all the stocks will be definately out!

I'm actually living in Belgium. So any seller will do as long they're shipping to my country!


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## outrunner (Nov 29, 2005)

Overclockers have them in stock, I don't know if they ship to Belgium http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/X800PCI_Series.html


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## Roybin (Nov 30, 2005)

hi, noneed4me2 and colboky, where did you guys find that iso which has c3d.bin file for C3D GTO overlocking? I also downloaded it today from the first post link of this thread. After I burn the CD, reboot, dir, I did not find the bios file for c3d. Did locutus change it back?
noneed4me2, if you still keep that iso for c3d GTO card, could you please email a copy to me? Thanks very much. my email wheretobe@gmail.com 

By the way, thanks for the work by locutus. Have you done the iso for Connect3D GTo card? my computer does not have sloppy drive too. I do want boot from CD and give a try. Thanks


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## NEU-NEU (Nov 30, 2005)

Thank you Outrunner. I just ordered mine through their website. Now, what kind of cooler should i use to make this baby run at a decent temperature? (with the obvious fact that i'm gonna overclock it to XT PE) Will it work perfectly with its curent fan? or should i better change it for something better? If yes, i would like something as much silent than efficient (watercooling excluded). I just know nothing about coolers so i might need a bit help to find the right one for it. I am mainly aiming for silence, since i'll put it inside a Sonata chase on an ASUS A8N-sli premium (fanless) motherboard. Do you guys have any advice?


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## Roybin (Nov 30, 2005)

Thanks noneed4me, I got your iso file. It is a little bit different with the one I downloaded from the link of this thread. I guess the op has changed it sometime. Anyway I will try it now and post my results later.


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## Seeks (Dec 4, 2005)

Hello alltogehter,

got little problem with my x800gt2, i think.

Flashing was ok, as the games work fine, and 3dmark03 gathered about 13k points. Now I think the flashed bios has a prob with the thermal diode. As I oced the card to 550/599 the sensor allways sais only about 30° for gpu and about 40° for the environment. So i wanted to test this here, but there was no iso anymore.

So first question, is this temperature normal? (System ist fully watercooled)
2.nd one, if not can anybdy pls send me the iso image


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## noneed4me2 (Dec 5, 2005)

Is your vid card watercooled, if yes is the memory set up for cooling too? If you saved your original bios you could flash with it Winflash and keep your 16p, this should correct any issues hopefully. Watercooling can keep your temps down alot but under load i would think there would be some temp increase, even a few degrees, unless its super extreme.


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## Seeks (Dec 5, 2005)

Hiho noneed,

I used a complete cooling for the vid card , this one here:http://www.alphacool.de/xt/product_info.php?products_id=1370&cPath=5_18_291

So every memoryblock is extra cooled, and i can imagine that it is really lower temp than aircooled, but so low? A little raise of the temp i can see, but not like i expected on a vid card that is oced like mine, and it seems to have even more potential.

No i havent saved the original Bios, but I downloaded, some for my card to reflash to the original. Are you sure the pipes keep open? So what else is effected by the downgrade?


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## noneed4me2 (Dec 5, 2005)

seeks if you have a matching bios use winflash (check the force box) it will preserve your pipe settings and match back all other settings to your card original specs like mem timings and clock. Plus i have read that people who flash certain other bioses sometimes loose VIVO functionality.
PS that watercooling setup is awesome, i never knew they had something like that! It could be your cards temps really are kept that low at all times. If everything is working ok i would leave it alone, but reflahing it probably wouldn't hurt. Winflash is easier to use than flahing in dos as everything is done within the Windows environment, you just reboot when finished and thats it. I am not sure if you even need to reinstall drivers but that probably wouldn't hurt either.


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## birelwf (Dec 20, 2005)

Can anyone tell me were the files have gone. Downloaded the file but when I unzip them
there is nothing there just 1.5MB of space.......or am I missing something?


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## noneed4me2 (Dec 21, 2005)

its a boot ISO you wont see any files in windows thats normal. Just burn with nero image copy in version 6 or greater.


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## Justin1983 (Dec 22, 2005)

Just tried this and it worked painlessly except AtiTool says 12 pipelines still. Do I need to reinstall the driver after flashing or something? Thanks.


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## locutus12 (Dec 22, 2005)

hmmm....  it should be set to 16 if all went well...  try reinstalling the driver and use ati tool version 0.25Beta 8


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## Justin1983 (Dec 23, 2005)

Hey it worked! Thanks very much for your help!


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## AshG (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm having some trouble and I'm not sure if it is with hardware or Windows  The flash went fine, according to the DOS screen.  When I booted back into Windows, I was dumped to an 800x600 screen with 60MHz refresh and a warning from CCC that "No ATI hardware has been found on this system".  I flashed back via the emergency reflash, but things weren't fixed.  Windows sees the hardware, but it is listed as Radeon X800/X850 under the Unknown category.  I tried with a DOS floppy flash as well, no luck there either.

Long story made bearable, I uninstalled the drivers, ran Drivercleaner, CCleaner, and Tune-Up Utiltiies from Safe mode, reinstalled the drivers, and I'm enjoying quite a nice upgrade from my old 5900XT.  But Windows is still insisting that the card is a member of Unknown.  Is this a Windows issue, or is there something wrong hardware-wise that may be keeping the ID from being recognized properly?


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## RatusNatus (Mar 8, 2006)

Hey Locutus, are you alive?

Can you put your iso on-line again, please. The link is broke.

Many thankx


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## dickyboy (Mar 8, 2006)

i found it here http://fobi29.free.fr/x800gto2/bios/16pipes/X800GTO2MoD.iso


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## locutus12 (May 9, 2006)

damn, people arestill using this i see   11 pages of replies! eeeeek!  hope you all got on ok with it.


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