X850 Pro MOD to X850XT/XT PE - Page 9

Trenchdog73 · 01-31-2006, 20:34 | posts: 394 | Location: Chicago

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuildeR2

Is it really worth it to get a Pro and try to make it an XT or just to buy an XT? I have been waiting almost 8 months to get either an X800XT or an X850XT. I think I'm just going to buy an XT instead of a Pro because I have little money and can't have the slightest chance of it not working. Good luck to all the guys who are hoping to get XT's with their Pros.

Well imho it depends on the circumstances involved. In my, case I lucked out and picked up a x850 pro agp for a buck 60 or 80, dont remember atm, from a friend who got me an employee discount with an open box discount when the card was on sale for 250. I then stumbled onto this site and was lucky enough to be able to unlock my extra pipelines. I then went out and bought a Z hsf and now for about 210 I have a x850 pro that is runnin 16 pipes and at xt pe speeds with no prob, so I feel it was very much worth it. I could also see it not being worth it if you are buying the card at 250/270 and then needing the additional hsf and r paying 300+ anyway, So I guess it boils down to what kind of shopper you are :0) or in my case how lucky you are.

Trenchdog73 · 01-31-2006, 20:37 | posts: 394 | Location: Chicago

sorry double post

Foxbat25 · 01-31-2006, 21:42 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

BuildeR2:
i understand that you don`t want to take the chance, and i`m sorry for the people who get an 850pro and have flash failures.but i know if you get the ati version of the 850pro VIVO you will not have any problems flashing you card, but you have to remeber to get a new HSF.
i got mine at compusa and is great i got 7269 on 3dmark 05 and 15667. and you can to. just rember that that is the guru way get it and be happy that`s all that matters. we will help you with any info you might need and how to flash. you can save some money for a new game or whatever you like.
my 850 pro cost 225 after rebate and the xt cost 399.
so what do you think is better and if you have any problems just take it back for a refund like i did on my first card.there was nothing with the card i just needed money to get me a bag of .(well you know)
but the pro is a good cheap way to get a 850xtpe.
all of my games are maxed including fear.

Foxbat25 · 01-31-2006, 21:44 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

i`m sorry i forget to say 15667 in 3dmark 03

Foxbat25 · 01-31-2006, 21:54 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

compusa has the 850xt at 479 and the 850pro at 249.hmmmm.
i would get the 850 pro and flash it, ati has a 99% flash success rate.

Foxbat25 · 01-31-2006, 21:57 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

Shotgoon:do not get that cooling fan it is for 9700 9800 and 9600 only get one like the one in my avatar or any zalman cooling for the x800 series or artic coolind ati ver 5 ibelieve for ati.

BuildeR2 · 02-01-2006, 00:54 | posts: 1,642 | Location: Austin TX

Thx for the advice guys. This was actually my original plan for an upgrade but I wanted 16 pipes for sure and lots of overclockability. I have been thinking about it and it seems like maybe a X800XT would overclock better than a X800Pro modded to XT because it's sold as a higher quality part. You might be able to prove me wrong with that theory though. Two more things. First, I found this awesome Gigabyte X800XT with a bigger than normal copper cooler(prob. get ATI Silencer anyway) for only 299 shipped. Also, if I go to Compusa to look for a Pro to mod to XT what is the serial code I'm looking for?

BTW Here is the linky for that deal I might get

http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts...T256V&REFID=PG

Shotgoon · 02-01-2006, 00:56 | posts: 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxbat25

Shotgoon:do not get that cooling fan it is for 9700 9800 and 9600 only get one like the one in my avatar or any zalman cooling for the x800 series or artic coolind ati ver 5 ibelieve for ati.

Already have it on my 9800 so I figured maybe I'll give it a try if I decide to keep this thing.

Shotgoon · 02-01-2006, 01:18 | posts: 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgoon

I just picked up an ATI X850Pro VIVO at CompUSA for $250 today. I haven't tried to flash it yet but I have no floppy drive so I'll have to figure this CD-ROM boot disc out.

Ok so I ran atiflash and what not I did this exactly
atiflash -f -p 0 x850xt.bin, rebooted, etc core speeds were XT speeds, PIPELINES STILL 12! (that's a ZERO in the command line)
so tried again this time with the x850xtpe.bin now after a reboot I GET NO DISPLAY! HELP! I have a 18052 serial number card and it's ATI brand.

Looks like I flashed it with PCIe bios by accident. Back to CompUSA it goes. There are no more 18052s at my local one so I may have to try a 18053 or something. I guess I forgot to do the -newbios line so I didn't unlock the pipelines since I was running atiflash and not flashrom 16p.

gerryrigney · 02-01-2006, 20:28 | posts: 38 | Location: Dublin (Ireland)

so I flashed my card and it unlocked the 16pipes but ran seriously hot so I flashed it back.

my AC fan arrived today but I cant for the life of me remove the origional fan. The bar at the back will not remove, the screws wont turn (and I think I've damaged the heads at this stage)

any one any idea how I can get it off ? I dont care if I damage the origional fan.
cheers
gerryR

gerryrigney · 02-02-2006, 22:45 | posts: 38 | Location: Dublin (Ireland)

Ignore previous post please, got a decent set of screwdrivers, removed the fan and added the AC's one. Unlocked my X850Pro to 16 pipes and 850 PE mem and core speeds. Success

Before: 5284
After: 6472

I'll leave it at that now, a big thanks to the origional poster!!
gerryR

Foxbat25 · 02-02-2006, 23:04 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

That`ll be me gerryrigney. and your are very welcome.
have a good time now with your 850xt pe.
is`nt it cool to get a $500 or so vid card for the price of a $250 card. the cooling i got is in my avatar and temps stay idle at 33-36c.
post your temps and try out 3dmark 06.
god i love cheating technology. o and have a good weekend.
FoxBat

Foxbat25 · 02-02-2006, 23:15 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

Shotgoon you forget to use the -newbios command.
try again with this
atiflash -newbios -f -p 0 newbios.bin
and that should work
post your results and goodluck

postwarscars · 02-03-2006, 01:08 | posts: 4 | Location: Auburn, AL

Does anyone have the .zip file that nOv1c3 had uploaded to that site by chance? I wasted 2 CDs making a bootable CD(via: http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/#clean) that never worked(it would start to boot, but I would get a "ROOT FAT KERNEL GO!" message that basically just made the computer hang). Any help would be greatly appreciated, since I don't have a floppy drive that works(or access to one for that matter), and CD ROM booting seems to hate me.

RaBidDoG · 02-04-2006, 02:30 | posts: 1

for cooling i recommed the thermaltake tidewater vga cooler
nice little toy

DeathStalker77 · **Swing & A Miss -** 02-04-2006, 06:22 | posts: 9

Well, I took a chance on ordering one online ($204+$9 s&h) and ended up with a 53 series with the 2.0 mem (GC20). It flashed fine (Part #113-A47503-103 to 113-A47501-101, Chip Type R481) so ATITool detects it as an XT PE now and am able to OC it, but still only 12 pipelines

Oh well, it's better than nothing - and I get my Zalman cooler on Monday, so we'll see how high I can push it.

--- DeathStalker77

Oh, should also add only one box sticker and Ver A manual (black w/red effects). I'll verify the laser cut when I switch coolers - maybe I'll try by-passing it, maybe I won't, haven't decided yet.

Foxbat25 · 02-04-2006, 13:43 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

DeathStalker77:
Did you flash with; atiflash -newbios -p -p o newbios
Cause that will open up your last 4 pipes.
Then get a new cooling fan

Foxbat25 · 02-04-2006, 13:46 | posts: 1,376 | Location: New York City N.Y.

stop i`m sorry it`s
atiflash -newbios -f -p 0 newbios.bin
sorry about previous reply

fyshawk · 02-04-2006, 23:23 | posts: 4 | Location: Oshawa

Ok here is what is on the chips on my vid card X850 pro
samaung 516
K4J55323OF
GC16

I shut it down when i looked at the temp and i went out and got a ATI Silencer 5 Rev 2 for it installing cooler this week end then flashing wish me luck
Speeds were 519.75 on core
and
On memory 560.25

80%

temps 73c and 53c

The Maestro · 02-05-2006, 16:22 | posts: 5 | Location: Great White North

Just bought an 850 pro at Best Buy (Feb 4), off the shelf on sale.
Looks like a #18053!
Brought it home, atiflash-ed it to PE, then back to my backup bios without the "newbios"command.
:
:
16 solid pipes of love

I'll leave it at 500/500 for now since I just bought it and don't own any game that won't play maxed out on it. I'll eventually get a Zalman VF700-Cu and 'clock it'. Before flashing, ATItool suggested I was good at stock PE speed at the least.

Now...what's all this 'fan control' talk I hear?
Where is the 'fan control' ?

fyshawk · 02-05-2006, 19:27 | posts: 4 | Location: Oshawa

mine is having this cooler ATI Silencer 5 Rev 2 put on it as i type I have never done a flash on a card before so i will need to read a bit to do it

The Maestro · 02-06-2006, 01:04 | posts: 5 | Location: Great White North

fyshawk,
it couldn't be easier (though no guarantee on 16 working pipes)

First get ATItool:
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
You open up ATItool, click on settings, choose overclocking from the dropdown list and in the box scroll down and see if you have 12 pipelines.

Then do this:

1. format a DOS boot disc (in XP, right click floppy in A:\, choose FORMAT, select "Create MS-DOS startup disc").

2. Download ATIflash 3.09 at bottom of this page here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/
Unzip contents to your floppy.

3. Download corrresponding 16 pipe BIOS from the same page. Try and get a BIOS from the same manufacturer and same chip.

4. Rename your downloaded BIOS to something short (like 850pe.bin) and place it on the floppy.This is to make working in DOS easier.

5. Restart your computer with floppy in A:\ (and make sure that the computer's BIOS has the floppy A:\ as the first boot device.

6. In DOS at the A:\ prompt type these commands:

A. To save your video cards original BIOS to the floppy type this:
atiflash -s 0 backup.bin
*****NOTE: That is a ZERO (0) not an O letter, just before "backup.bin"
*****NOTE: This saves you a copy of your original BIOS by the name "backup.bin". If you want another name then call it something else when you back it up. I personally do not recommend proceeding without a backup of your original BIOS.

B. To open to 16 pipes type:
atiflash -newbios -f -p 0 850pe.bin
*****NOTE: This assumes the name of the BIOS you downloaded and renamed is "850pe.bin"

7. If all goes well, you can now reboot and see if you have the 16 pipes enabled with ATItool:
You open up ATItool, click on settings, choose overclocking from the dropdown list and in the box scrol down and see if you have 16 pipes.

8. WARNING: if you have the stock cooler on the card then you might run into heat problems. If you don't have improved cooling then...

AFTER you flash the card with the new BIOS (step 6B)
at the DOS A:\ prompt type:
atiflash -f -p 0 backup.bin
*****DO NOT TYPE: atiflash -newbios -f -p 0 backup.bin
*****DO NOT USE the "-newbios" command. That way you will go back to your cards original core and memory settings but with (hopefully) 16 pipelines enabled.

G'luck

postwarscars · 02-06-2006, 18:33 | posts: 4 | Location: Auburn, AL

I know there's a lot of people who don't have floppy drives, so making a boot disk for a floppy is out of the question. Since the link on the first page of the thread is dead for the Boot CD and instructions, I found basically the best guide to the whole process on another message board:

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthre...post1334053383

Since no one really answered my previous question, I'll just say that I got it to work using this method(since, for whatever reason, doing a boot with FreeDOS seemed to hate me).

It took me two tries to unlock the pipes, but it's smooth sailing now.

A few things to note: according to a friend, this guide I'm linking to actually tells you how to unlock the 16 pipes, and then turn the card back into a x850 pro, while leaving the pipes unlocked(you have to flash the card twice, first with the XT bios, and then with the Pro bios). This is according to him, of course, I didn't try the procedure as I already had an AC cooler on my card(and it runs stable at 560/620(48-50 C under load)). What's ridiculous about this is that the card actually runs cooler as an XT PE than it did as a Pro, and that's with it being overclocked no less.

Oh yeah, and my SN was 18052, so I knew I was in the clear.

In case you are going to do this method, you should use ATITool's "dump bios" feature to grab your original BIOS before you flash the card, because you cannot back up the bios via the CD. I'm telling this to the people who might be new to flashing, and who don't know any better. Always back up your bios! Believe me, losing your bios can be a real pain in the butt. It took me 2 years to recover a working bios for my GeForce 5900 XT, after I accidentally wrote over the original.

fyshawk · *Last edited by fyshawk; 02-06-2006 at 20:15.*

will that also give me the fan control i have the ATI Silencer 5 rev 2 on my vid card

DeathStalker77 · 02-07-2006, 03:06 | posts: 9

Well, I'm installing the Zalman fan tonight, so I'll try flashing it again for the hell of it.

Wonder if maybe flashing back to the original, and then re-flashing to the PE would work?

Maestro, looks like you got lucky. I guess the 53 series must be a mixed bag, some laser cut, some not. Does yours have 1.6 mem or 2.0?

FWIW, the BIOS I used was ATI.X850XT.256.Samsung16_050118.bin - that IS the right one, isn't it?

--- DeathStalker