9500np Damaged Pipeline conundrum.

[nan0_man]

So,

I tried the softmod, (actually I used the Omega drivers with the hack included) and it showed up as a 9700 - success.
BUT! When I tried to play a quick game of Ghost Recon I got this wierd 'checkerboard' effect. I did a little research, and found that it was most likely due to 'damaged pipelines'.

*Does anyone know how to find out for sure?
*Is there anyway to turn off the ones that are damaged and use the ones that arn't?
*Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Thanks in advance for your replys.

[Zim2411]

Do you have the black PCB? Cause i read that ATI made the companies switch over to the "anti-overclocker-black-pcb".

I believe the other piplines are purposely damaged

[JigPu]

Source: W1zzard's Softmod FAQ (http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/faq.php)
Q: What is artifacting/checkerboard effect?
A: Artifacting is when you get undesired 'dots' or patterns on screen. The theory as of now is that artifacts are caused by undocumented defects on the 9500 NP's disabled by the 9500 drivers. Worst case scenario, the unused pipelines have a possiblity of being broken, resulting crashing and not booting up. You might get a card that works flawlessly or one that doesn't. It's a gamble.

Q: I have artifacts. Is it possible to enable only 5, 6 or 7 pipelines?
A: Sorry. This is not possible. The GPU only supports running with four or eight rendering pipelines.

Q: If I have artifacts when using hacked drivers, will I also have them if I hardmod the card?
A: Yes. You will.

Q: How do I disable Hierarchical-Z? I hear this solves the artifact problem for a small number of people.
A: OpenGL:

In your Registry find a folder called "OpenGL". Make sure you end up in the "CurrentControlSet" branch.
On my system: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Video\{17B35A74-5588-4595-A586-8C735F496DB2}\0000\OpenGL". Your ClassID will be different so use text search to find "OpenGL".
Add a folder "Private" under the "OpenGL" folder.
Add a DWORD value there called "An6aYj2vwKuKd9brxl7" with value "0".
Direct3D:

Find the OpenGL folder. Go to the "0000" folder above it.
Add a String value there called "HierarchicalZEnable" with value "0".
You can also try using RTool for exammple to disable Hierarchical-Z.



JigPu

[nan0_man]

no, its the red pcb with L shaped mem layout.

Also what does "Add a DWORD value there called "An6aYj2vwKuKd9brxl7" with value "0". " mean??

[JigPu]

Once you've clicked on the proper folder you need to add the DWORD to, click EDIT -> New -> DWORD Value. A new editible key will appear in the right panel. Type in An6aYj2vwKuKd9brxl7 and hit enter to confirm the name. Double click on the An6aYj2vwKuKd9brxl7 key and under "Value Data", put the value of 0.

JigPu