Dont use Atil tool - its very poor. Read why.....

[jpmad4it]

Real Time Hight Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting

I had my Radeon 9800 Pro clocks set at 435:378 - this was done using Ati Tool, which reported no errors.

Ive just done testing using the Real Time Hight Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting software - and there were flashing lights everywhere. I guess these are the artefacts i should be looking for to show me ive OCed too far, right?

Ati tool is poor.

If you are Ocing use the Real Time Hight Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting software - it tests so many different kinds of models - i bet you get artefacts on your current OC if you used Ati tool to set your max clocks.

As i lower the core clock i can see the flashing lights disappearing. With some models its worst than others.

regards Jp

[JoT]

The HDR lighting is a very new feature that ATi Tool has not yet implemented into its tests. It's not that the program is poor, it's that it's just not on the absolute bleeding edge.

[jpmad4it]

ah i see - so what would you do? Use the ATI tool clocks or make sure there are no artefacts when using real-time lighting? Do many games use this new kind of lighting system? i.e should i worry about the clocks being too high?

[DohDoh]

jpmad4it

I really don't know anybody who actually used their max core/max memory readout from ATI Tool.

My ATI 9800 Pro maxed out at 437Mhz without any artifacts and errors. However, my computer started locking up like crazy, blurs all over and when games were loading it would freeze.
Instead I used that as my guidance and lowered the speed in 3Mhz increments until I had a stable graphics card. If it was stable, I would up it 1 Mhz at a time to the point where it reached it's TRUE maximum stable speed.
430Mhz was my final stop. Big deal, only lose about 1-3 Frames per second, not noticeable during gameplay anyway.

[JoT]

Do many games use this new kind of lighting system? i.e should i worry about the clocks being too high?

The only game that I know of that currently or very shortly will use HDR, is the HL2 expansion. But then, I haven't been paying attention to many games lately, so there could be others.

[jpmad4it]

yeah i have lowered the max value to around 425 - and it seems fine now. The memory value didnt make any difference to the artefacts really.

[infinitevalence]

the ATI tool is good to get a baseline like and quick overclocking test you use it to start from. You always test more indepth after using the tool.

[mtb856]

You get a different type of artifacting when your memory overclock is too high..... I think core overclock is snow, memory overclock is black glitching. I might be wrong though.... I sold my 9800 a long time ago, and all I have left is my stock dell lappie :D

[Vrykyl]

i love ati-tool...but i use it for temp monitoring and fan speed control on my x850 rather than for overclocking :)

[CWynn]

i love ati-tool...but i use it for temp monitoring and fan speed control on my x850 rather than for overclocking :)

I love ati tool as well. I use it for both ATI and Nvidia cards because the artifact scanning has always worked great for me when overclocking. A very helpful (and free!) program that's for sure.

[Sentential]

I know what you are talking about but from what I have seen that is a bug with the 9800 series and not ATi tool

[Cobalt]

I'm sorry but it made me laugh when you said you were trying to use HDR on a 9800pro. That just doesn't make sense to me. You would be getting such low frame rates on that old tech (I know I still use it but that justifys me slightly). I've found ATi toll very useful although I usually knock it down about 5-7 mhz off what it finds as max just to be safe. In my opinion you should never let any program do all the overclocking for you as they just can't get it right. Nothing beats human intuition :D

[jpmad4it]

I'm sorry but it made me laugh when you said you were trying to use HDR on a 9800pro. That just doesn't make sense to me. You would be getting such low frame rates on that old tech (I know I still use it but that justifys me slightly). I've found ATi toll very useful although I usually knock it down about 5-7 mhz off what it finds as max just to be safe. In my opinion you should never let any program do all the overclocking for you as they just can't get it right. Nothing beats human intuition :D


frame rates were pretty average actually

[Cobalt]

Wow thats a surprise! Damn I knew they were good but not that good!

[IWasHungry]

I like ATITool over ATI Tray Tools because the layout is much simpler.
Like others here, I don't actually use the Scan for Artifacts tool, or the Find Max Core/Mem functions. I up the core/mem a little, then play a few hours of games. If all is well, bump the clocks a little more, etc.

[IR1]

If you read about the implementation of HDR in the lost coast level of HL2 and how it affects framerates Gabe Newell said it does lower them but not very much... a Radeon 9600 does HDR at acceptable framerates... so... if HDR is done right it will work fine on older hardware... and HDR isnt really a standard... but I think the way Valve did it will pretty much become the standard.

My 9700 pro is still kicking butt. I dont see myself upgrading until maybe the 1st set of DX10 hardware. I am really happy with it... BF2 with most high settings and 1024x768 is fine 50-60fps. So im sure HDR wont be crippling either.

[AMD4P4SwithFSB]

I'm sorry but it made me laugh when you said you were trying to use HDR on a 9800pro. That just doesn't make sense to me. You would be getting such low frame rates on that old tech (I know I still use it but that justifys me slightly). I've found ATi toll very useful although I usually knock it down about 5-7 mhz off what it finds as max just to be safe. In my opinion you should never let any program do all the overclocking for you as they just can't get it right. Nothing beats human intuition :D
WHY are you all bitching about ATITOOL! bad for overclock eh? I find it the best method I can do to overclock my videocard! try to convince me otherwise. And you cobalt why you say atitool overclock excesively? I heard it actually overclocks too low somewhere else, as it is very conservative. look!:
http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/sun-apr-30-2006-809-pm-vp555368.html

[Cobalt]

Holy thread resurection Batman! I don't know why you're picking on me anyway, other people in this thread have said the same thing. I love ATi Tool but I have found no program that can accurately find the max clocks. Some go too low, others too high. When I got my X1800XT I ran the max clock tool and I went to get a coffee (stupid thing to do), when I came back there were artifacts all over my screen and the system crashed right before my eyes but ATi Tool haden't detected a single artifact! It had clocked it to 750 without raising any volts. I can run at a max of 660 with comfortable volts on this thing so don't tell me thats conservative.

Also why are you so lazy that you can't be bothered to find the max clocks yourself? I'mwilling to bet that everyone here does some kind of manual input when it comes to OCing, especially as the artifact scanner is not nearly as intensive as actual gaming.

[AMD4P4SwithFSB]

so then how doI overlock my vidcard how do I know it has the maximun and should I overlcock the core first? or both.
Also what about the divider if I up the core will the mem up it self too?

[Cobalt]

I tend to up the core fisrt as that gives better returns. The artifact scanner is useful but it never seemed to work for me when I used the find max functions. When you get to the max clock you can get without artifacts, boot up 3DMarks or your fav game and run those for a while if everything seems fine then you're good to go, if not then lower it untill its stable.

After that do the mem. It tends to OC further in mhz but gives less performance boost. I have nearly 100mhz OC on my RAM but I would get a lower performance with the RAM OCed to that level but no adjustment to the core than having just the core OCed.

I don't use dividers for my GFX cards because I don't know much about them when it comes to GPUs but maybe someelse can fill you in on that. If you have an X1k series card then you can use soft volt mods to increase your OC which helps a lot. If not you can always do a hard mod as long as you feel comfortable with that and have a decent cooler.