FireGL 8600 mod for 2900XT finally released

Discussion in 'RivaTuner Advanced Discussion forum' started by AlecRyben, Sep 9, 2007.

  1. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    specviewperf seems easy and widespread, and it is already difficult enough to get that information. In any case: is there some specific way of testing that you had in mind?

    (if so, maybe it is best to start a new thread to discuss the real maya performance of different cards)
     
  2. Varlis

    Varlis Member Guru

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    Hi,

    please don't mind this totally stupid questions, but even after searching the forums I still don't understand it.

    What does this FireGL modding do? I thought FireGLs are pure OpenGL cards for professional use (CAD etc.)?

    How can you mod a 2600 XT to that and what are the benefits / downturns?

    Would that improve gaming performance or is it just for very specialized situations? Could someone maybe direct me to some documentation / FAQ to understand it?
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2007
  3. AlecRyben

    AlecRyben Guest

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    Maya performance speedup is pretty obvious if you use lot of PaintFX...
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2007
  4. baldino

    baldino New Member

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    You have two types of graphic cards on the market: the ones designed for gaming performance and the ones designed for professional CAD performance.
    But the truth is that most of the professional cards (Quadro and FireGL) design are based on the common gaming card design (FireGL 5600 or 7600 is also a R6xx chip, like 2600xt or 2900xt)
    So it is possible to transform a card sold as 2600xt or 2900xt into one of those professional cards via driver modding

    this is only interesting for people who cannot afford one of those professional cards (prices are >500€ up to over 5000€ - but when you buy these cards, you buy also service & technical support from the developpers!) and who still need high perf in CAD software. For instance Students learning maya, 3ds, autocad etc.

    for gaming, modding a card will not improve anything, may even make the card work worse in games
    hope you get it now
     

  5. Varlis

    Varlis Member Guru

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    ah ok. Got it!
    Thanks for the explanation.
     
  6. AlecRyben

    AlecRyben Guest

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    Yes, pro cards are useless in games. They are not only slower, but sometimes even the IQ in games is worse since usually the certified pro drivers use an older version of the D3D driver.
    It's a sad fact that a lot of gamers I know crave for "Pro" softmods only for e-penis enlargement purposes - they somehow feel better about themselves if their über rig is equipped with a "Pro" card instead of a "lame" gaming card... :p
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2007
  7. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    ok, I looked at all the results we have so far, and I made up my mind: as I like FSAA for my wireframes, I decided it is worth investing in a HD2900XT

    so it's done: I already have one coming my way, together with the 550W PSU and a lot of quiet big fans and all the rest of the stuff (I'm just keeping the DVD writer, the keyb+mouse, and the monitors)

    I expect to have the new system working in about two weeks; then, I'll post specviewperf results, and some other maya specific benchmark If you suggest one

    NOW: I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT ANY 185 MAYA-02 RESULTS WITH MODDED HD2600XT IF YOU GET ONE, ALLRIGHT?
    (just kidding, it was sooo hard to make up my mind)

    *************************

    EDIT: after so much trouble deciding, there was some problem with the 2900 at the store (they didn't know when they would receive it), and I was still worrying it would be too loud, so I changed the order to a 2600XT; much less powerful, esp with FSAA on (yes, for maya), but also cheaper and less noisy, so I'm still happy... I keep my promise of specviewperf and maybe maya-specific tests, but now for a 2600XT

    (This is being such a nightmare... I'm just eager to get the new PC working so that I can stop worrying about hardware and actually get some 3D animation done!!)
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2007
  8. AlecRyben

    AlecRyben Guest

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    Forget about FSAA with Maya. Maya needs OpenGL hardware overlays enabled, and you can't have those together with FSAA.
    Use antialiased wireframes (smooth lines) instead.
     
  9. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    sorry, you're right: I meant AA, not FSAA, but I thought the FSAA tests from 3dproffessor would be the best indicators for that
     
  10. Vule

    Vule New Member

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    First, I wanna say hello to all of you. You are really great, guys.

    Somebody already asked, but noone responded. Are 2600pro and xt cards with GDDR3 memory moddable? They seem to be the sweet spot in the 2600 lineup.

    Also, I would like to know if this modded driver only unlocks pro features in the card or it is real firegl with all the optimisations for CAD/DCC programs.
    I'm working in CATIA (actually, still learning). I love this program, and it works really good on my 7600gt, until I enable FSAA (I know I should use just line AA, but my card doesn't support it) With FSAA, I get some really ugly artifacts. Without AA, complex models (like lattice structures) start to look pretty bad. I can live with that, but I would like to try 2600 to solve this problem, but only if it makes a real firegl, because I tried CATIA with some consumer ATI cards, and it was bad (history tree was almost unreadable - letters were all scrambled).
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2007

  11. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    I haven't used CATIA, but for MAYA I think it is nearly the same as paying the full price for the pro card... except for some issues that some people are having (artifacts, second monitor not working, etc.) which I haven't had so far

    AlecRyben usually knows more about all this stuff
     
  12. Vule

    Vule New Member

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    Yes, but that is with unwinder's scripts. These drivers are something new. I don't know if they just unlocked something in consumer drivers, or they modded real firegl drivers so they can work with consumer cards.

    I would like someone to post about their experiences with real programs, not just synthetics. For me, it's not just about speed. I am more concerned about compatibility.

    Does anyone know if DDR3 models of 2600 can be modded. I know that FireGL 3600 is based on DDR2 version of 2600pro, and 5600 is based on 2600xt DDR4. I know that amount of memory is irrelevant. It would be very nice if this works for DDR3, because these cards are much faster than DDR2, and there are many models with passive cooling. All the DDR4 models look pretty noisy to me (maybe i'm wrong) and they are not worth the price tag over DDR3.
     
  13. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    true, what I said was based on previous experience with rivatuner's scripts, we would need someone who has actually used these drivers telling us about them

    in any case, I would think these drivers do exactly the same as rivatuner's scripts, especially because if it was different we would already have people coming around and asking why their cards are showing artifacts or not working properly in general (these drivers are not based on rivatuner, so maybe they are asking, but in a different, more appropriate, forum; I'm not aware of that, though)

    about the memory type, again, I would guess it doesn't matter, and I'm betting my money on it: I have a GDDR3 HD2600XT coming my way, I'll tell you if the mod works when I have the whole system running (that would mean 1st of october, some pieces are taking a while to come home)

    here you can see my HD2600XT in action, and how it compares to a DDR4 one (in games):
    http://www.hardwarezone.com.au/reviews/view.php?cid=3&id=2318
    (by the way, this is a really cheap model, it cost me 86 eur, and you can't find a 2600pro for much less than that)
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2007
  14. THE JEW (RaVeN)

    THE JEW (RaVeN) Active Member

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    Yes, user experience when actually using the programs (ie. CATIA) would be highly valued in this thread. Thanks to all that contributed so far.
     
  15. Vule

    Vule New Member

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    I am looking forward to your review, but I hope someone will save us the trouble and tell us if this works on DDR3. I am concerned because there is no difference between 3600 and 5600 except the memory type (and size, but that doesn't matter) and clocks, but they have different drivers. As far as I know, GPUs are identical. So, if there is no DDR3 FireGL...
     

  16. Johnpv

    Johnpv Member

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    I bought this card here and I can tell you the drivers worked perfectly on it. My card is now a 5600. This was a 512mb DDR3 card so yes DDR3 cards can be modded.
     
  17. NormanBates

    NormanBates Master Guru

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    Thanks a lot for the confirmation
    (again, I was expecting it would work because, if it didn't, we would already have hordes of users seeking help in the forums, as cheap 2600XTs generally use GDDR3)

    Do you have specviewperf results?
    Any real world performance indication? (what programs do you use?)
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2007
  18. Vule

    Vule New Member

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    Thanks, John.

    Now I just need to order a 2600xt.

    Do you guys know how to overclock these modded cards. From some of the screencaps I noticed that OC option in the ATI panel (overdrive or something like that) is missing after the mod.

    If they can OC, than I could buy a 2600pro with ddr3. That is the same card as xt, only the GPU is clocked 200 MHz lower.
     
  19. baldino

    baldino New Member

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    Could you please make some tests ? Specviewperf and the 3dsMax bench one forum user talked about on Page 1, and the best would be to tell us your experience with the software you use - how much better is it, did you experience any problems ? do you use two monitors, do both work ?
    this would be great ! i think this might interest a lot of people here :) thx
     
  20. Johnpv

    Johnpv Member

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    If you guys know where I can get specviewperf I could run it for you. I don't have the app myself. I use Maya and it's been great I haven't had any problems with it. Before this card I used a X1600 Converted to a 5200 I guess it was, never had any problems with that one either. I'm not running dual monitors yet but I plan to in the future.
     

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