# millionth question regarding the geforce 6800 GT / Ultra for a softquadro mod.

Discussion in 'RivaTuner Advanced Discussion forum' started by konstantin.neo, Aug 8, 2006.

  1. konstantin.neo

    konstantin.neo Member

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    I am on the verge of buying a used AGP geforce 6800 GT or Ultra depends of what is available. The purpose: to softmod into a Quadro FX 4000.
    Now, I have read lots of the RivaTuner posts regarding the mod, that only the NV40/45/48 can be modded 100% and the newer 6800 nu/ngt cards are using a different chips like nv41 or other.

    So everything I have read so far kind of bends my mind and Id like to purchase a card knowing for sure it will be softquadroed without problems, but, Im not 100% sure: any 6800GT or 6800Ultra are softquadro moddable? Are there any exceptions? Which ones? Any brand that is 100% moddable?
    Stay away from which cards?

    Should I ask the vendor to install Rivatuner and send the Report to be 100% sure?



    Thanks.

    Konstantin.
     
  2. asa

    asa Member

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    GPU:
    HIS HD4850
    Konstantin, all you have to stay away from all card, all brand if the card was produced after the year 2004. Because nvidia has stopped producing all these cores in 2005, so only some card in 2005 were equiped with these cores which were unfindable a new once. For now, you can only buy once on ebay.
    You shouldn't ask the vendor that because they won't do that or if they do they alway report "sorry, those cores are out of stock"
     
  3. konstantin.neo

    konstantin.neo Member

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    I found this page of users who have 6800 card and the details about their cards, Ill try to paste in here http://people.overclockers.ru/Mihanik/record21
    The table is composed of (sometimes differs)
    1 Username
    2 Model/Maker
    3 Interface
    4 Core
    5 Memory
    6 Default Clock GPU/Memory
    7 Cooler
    8 OC
    9 Temp
    10 Temp on load
    11
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2006
  4. clokkevi

    clokkevi Master Guru

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    GPU:
    GeForce GTX 680
    Yes, as you can see in that report
    - all 6800 GT and 6800 Ultra's being sold have NV40, NV45 or NV48.

    However - since the 6800 GS is (usually) NV41/NV42 - and this is a faster and cheaper chip,
    there *may* be a scatter-minded vendor, or more likely, retailer,
    who gets a 6800 GS but sells it as a 6800 GT with higher speed.
    So that is how you can discover this
    - the 6800 GT (NV40) should have 350 MHz core by default
    - the 6800 GS (NV41/NV42) should have 425 MHz core by default

    If you see a "6800 GT with 425 MHz core" I would stay away from this..

    Btw: the 6800 GS does not work 425 Mhz / 350 Mhz = ca 1.2 times faster than 6800 GT..!!
    The 6800 have 16 pixel shaders and 6 vertex processors,
    the 6800 have 12 pixel shaders and 5 vertex processors,
    so in that department, the 6800 GT is 1.2 times faster than 6800 GS..
    ..meaning that, taking both this factor, and also the speed factor into account..
    - both 6800 GT and 6800 GS is having (approx.) equal performance.
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2006

  5. konstantin.neo

    konstantin.neo Member

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    If I were buying an old 6800GT , how can I check if it is a nv40 core from the RivaTuner?
     
  6. clokkevi

    clokkevi Master Guru

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    GPU:
    GeForce GTX 680
    When starting RivaTuner, it will show you the NVxx number at the start page.

    If the seller does not have RivaTuner, or does not want to install it - there are some other ways to check this.
    And this will work even if he has already replaced his card with a new one.

    In the sellers computer, open Windows' Registry Editor
    "Start" -> "Run..." -> type "regedit", click "OK"

    Then browse to

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Settings\Video

    Look at the sub-key(s) (click the + to open it)

    The name of this key will be show you the
    DEV_xxxx number (the PCI Device ID)

    As an example, the key on my PC says
    PCI:VEN_10DE&DEV_004E&SUBSYS_96601462&REV_A1

    This DEV_xxxx number will tell you if the card has an NV40, NV45 or NV48 which are moddable..
    ..or not.

    Look at this list of NV4x cards:

    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0040.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0041.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0042.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 LE"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0043.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XE"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0045.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0047.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0048.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0049.1 = "NVIDIA NV40GL"
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_004E.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00C0.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00C1.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00C2.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 LE"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00C3.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00CD.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI"
    NVIDIA_NV41.DEV_00CE.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400"
    NVIDIA_BR02.DEV_00F9.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Series GPU" /* ..this really is a NV45, so it *is* moddable! :) */
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0140.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0141.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6600"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0142.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6600 LE"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0143.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6600 VE"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0145.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6610 XL"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_0147.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6700 XL"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014A.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014B.1 = "NVIDIA NV43"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014C.1 = "NVIDIA NV43GL"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014D.1 = "NVIDIA NV43GL"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014E.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro FX 540"
    NVIDIA_NV43.DEV_014F.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6200"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0160.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6500"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0161.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 TurboCache(TM)"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0162.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6200SE TurboCache(TM)"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0163.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6200 LE"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0164.1 = "NVIDIA NV44"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0165.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro NVS 285"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0169.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6250"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_016A.1 = "NVIDIA NV44"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_016C.1 = "NVIDIA NV44GLM"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_016E.1 = "NVIDIA NV44GL"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0220.1 = "NVIDIA NV44"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0221.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6200"
    NVIDIA_NV44.DEV_0222.1 = "NVIDIA NV44"
    NVIDIA_NV45.DEV_0046.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT"
    NVIDIA_NV48.DEV_0210.1 = "NVIDIA NV48"
    NVIDIA_NV48.DEV_0211.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800"
    NVIDIA_NV48.DEV_0212.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 LE"
    NVIDIA_NV48.DEV_0215.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT"


    You can see my DEV_004E number in the line
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_004E.1 = "NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000"
    So - my card has an NV40.



    If the seller has already replaced the card with a new one,
    you may still find the old card's DEV_xxxx number
    (as long as he has not re-installed Windows in the meantime.)
    If he has replaced the card there will be 2 sub-keys under

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Settings\Video

    - 1 key for his new card, 1 for his old card

    In fact, if he has replaced several times,
    there will be 1 key for each of the different cards he has had installed on the PC...! :)

    In that case, just look at the DEV_xxxx numbers for each key,
    then compare these with the list.


    The only situation this will not work, is if he has replaced his card with a pretty similar one.

    E.g. if you find both DEV_0041 (NV40) and DEV_00C1 (NV41)
    i.e. he has replaced his GeForce 6800 card with another GeForce 6800 card.
    How will you know which is which?

    If so, then you should go to the key

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\NVTweak\Devices

    The sub-key of this key is the card he has currently installed.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2006
  7. konstantin.neo

    konstantin.neo Member

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    Big thanks to you clokkevi!

    Thanks again.
    Konstantin.
     
  8. clokkevi

    clokkevi Master Guru

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    GPU:
    GeForce GTX 680
    :)

    Also, I suddenly remembered that there is even one more possibility,
    and that is the PCI-Express versions of 6800 Ultra or 6800 GT cards.
    They have the "NV45" - so they are moddable.
    The NV45 is the codename for a chip which is actually an NV40 (made for AGP),
    and then coupled to a tiny "bridge" (AGP-to-PCI-Express) chip - so it works on PCI-Express.
    The codename for this tiny bridge chip is BR02.


    The common DEV_xxxx number for both 6800 Ultra and 6800 GT PCI-Express chips is DEV_00F9
    But in the list, DEV_00F9 is not listed as a NV40 or a NV45,
    but instead as a BR02 - because that is the codename for that bridge chip.

    But since it has a NV45, I have included the DEV_00F9 in the list above,
    with also a comment telling it is NV45, and it is moddable...!


    Btw:
    In the original lists in "nv4_disp.inf" there are many *other* DEV_xxxx listed as "BR02".
    However, AFAIK, *no* other BR02 than the DEV_00F9 are moddable..!
     
  9. DoubleD2

    DoubleD2 New Member

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    clokkevi
    Just as a note of interest, I lucked in and have a BFG Tech GeForce 6800 GSOC (AGP) 370Mhz Core, 1050 GDDR3 with a NV40 GPU. Currently it is softmodded to FX4000 as follows...

    256-bit NV40 (A1,16pp,6vp) with 256MB DDR3
    004E (Nvidia Quadro FX4000)

    So they are out there.:)

    Regards

    Details:
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $ffffffffff Northbridge information
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $0400000000 Description : VIA KT266/333 series
    $0400000001 Vendor ID : 1106 (VIA)
    $0400000002 Device ID : 3099
    $0400000003 AGP bus : revision 2.0
    $0400000004 AGP status : enabled
    $0400000005 AGP rate : 1x 2x 4x supported, 4x selected
    $0400000006 AGP SBA : supported, enabled
    $0400000007 AGP FW : supported, enabled
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $ffffffffff Display adapter information
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $0000000000 Description : NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000
    $0000000001 Vendor ID : 10de (NVIDIA)
    $0000000002 Device ID : 004e
    $0000000003 Location : bus 1, device 0, function 0
    $0000000004 Bus type : AGP revision 3.0 (AGP 2.0 mode)
    $0000000005 AGP status : enabled
    $0000000006 AGP rate : 1x 2x 4x supported, 4x selected
    $0000000007 AGP SBA : supported, enabled
    $0000000008 AGP FW : supported, enabled
    $0000000009 Base address 0 : ce000000 (memory range)
    $000000000a Base address 1 : d0000000 (memory range)
    $000000000b Base address 2 : cd000000 (memory range)
    $000000000c Base address 3 : none
    $000000000d Base address 4 : none
    $000000000e Base address 5 : none
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $ffffffffff NVIDIA specific display adapter information
    $ffffffffff ----------------------------------------------------------------
    $0100000000 Graphics core : NV40 revision A1 (16pp,6vp)
    $0100000001 Hardwired ID : 0045 (ROM strapped to 004e)
    $0100000002 Memory bus : 256-bit
    $0100000003 Memory type : DDR3 (RAM configuration 07)
    $0100000004 Memory amount : 262144KB
    $0100000005 Core clock : 371.250MHz
    $0100000006 Memory clock : 526.500MHz (1053.000MHz effective)
    $0100000007 Reference clock : 27.000MHz
    $010000000b HW masked units : pixel 0010b, vertex 001000b



    DD2
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2006
  10. konstantin.neo

    konstantin.neo Member

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    Aditionally could I remove the heatsink and on the chip must be the magic NV40 legend. Is that correct?
     

  11. clokkevi

    clokkevi Master Guru

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    GPU:
    GeForce GTX 680
    @DoubleD2: Eh.. you are refering to your card being named "6800 GSOC", yes..?
    Well.. if you look at the 0045 you had before modding to 004E,
    in the list it says:
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0045.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT"
    So in my opinion, this card should actually be named 6800 GTOC instead, ..! :)
    (This 0045 -> 004E is also what I have in my card, btw.)

    Those "real" 6800 GS's with NV40 I was refering to, have 0047 instead:
    NVIDIA_NV40.DEV_0047.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS"
    These are very very rare.

    EDIT:

    $010000000b HW masked units : pixel 0010b, vertex 001000b

    Aha.. so.. the GPU had the 12x1,5vp of a 6800 GS when you got it yes?
    Ok.. then, maybe I am wrong! :)
    Maybe there were many 6800 GS AGP's that used 0045 "GT-chips",
    and then vendors just did that HW mask trick to get the 12x1,5vp spec.. :)
    I guess so..! :)
    (If fact I am not even sure if that 0047 really exists, or if it's just a "theoretical" ID)
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2006
  12. clokkevi

    clokkevi Master Guru

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    GPU:
    GeForce GTX 680
    I have never tried this, but, yes, I believe this is correct.
     

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