How to: Softmod your X800

failing is always a possibility when it comes to softmodding, its the way it is,

uh.... x800 pro has 12 pipelines and the xt platinum has 16, this "softmod" wont solve that prob

Just to get something out of the way....

BIOS flash != Softmod


Call it a "firmmod" if you want (since it's not modifying software or hardware, rather the BIOS's firmware), but it's not a softmod.

[nitpick mode = off]

JigPu

I thought the Platinum one was a different card from the XT, maybe an overclocked XT. Guess not eh.
X800 SE = 128-bit
X800 Pro = 256-bit

While some 9500np had 256-bit ram and 4 disabled pipelines, on the X800 SE you may only be able to turn the 4-8 disabled pipelines on... no?

"ATI separated the X800's 16-pixel pipeline design into four "quads," each consisting of four-pixel pipelines. ATI can disable quads as needed--in case of manufacturing defects--allowing it to "save" chips that would otherwise be discarded. A chip with three functional quads can still work perfectly in a 12-pipe Radeon X800 Pro card. The close-to-three-week gap between the launch dates of the Pro and XT represents the time ATI needed to filter out an adequate number of fully functional 16-pipeline chips for XT production."

Click to expand...

Sounds to me that yields *have* been an issue, and that, if we're unlucky, the X800 Pro cards may not have properly functional pipelines to unlock. That would be most unfortunate. I also suspect that ATi might just have implemented some form of "hard-locking" (a la AMD stlye) of the locked (possibly functional, possibly non-functional) pipelines in the X800 Pro to prevent their use through BIOS flashing.

I don't think that the X800 Pro exists for marketing reasons, but rather because ATi needs to be able to make money from the expensive-to-make bad yields of full XT cards.

uh.... x800 pro has 12 pipelines and the xt platinum has 16, this "softmod" wont solve that prob

Click to expand...

The idea is that the Pro card has all the pipelines on it, they are simply 'locked". The extra 4 pipelines might be unlockable through a BIOS flash with a X800 XT BIOS, giving you a fully functional X800 XT, *IF* the locked pipelines are indeed properly functional, and not faulty in some way, and *IF* ATi hasn't implemented a hard lock of some sort.

enough hoo-haa, ATI have locked the cards through hardware, and its not just one step they took, but rather many as the word "steps" implies, they did more than one thing. i forget where i read that, i think it was from the x800 review at hexus.

Sorry to poo poo on the pre-mature parade, but you've got to be kidding me w/ this thread!

How about waiting until the cards are out, and finding out if they even moddable to enable (if they exist on the PCB) to enable to disabled pipes.

A BIOS flash at this point likely won't do squat.....as ATI has already mentioned....

DeathAngelLST said:

I thought the Platinum one was a different card from the XT, maybe an overclocked XT. Guess not eh.
X800 SE = 128-bit
X800 Pro = 256-bit

While some 9500np had 256-bit ram and 4 disabled pipelines, on the X800 SE you may only be able to turn the 4-8 disabled pipelines on... no?

Click to expand...

I'm not defending the SE .... though it will definately beat my TI4200 ... but it's 256 bit just like the rest.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-431&depa=1

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2195&p=2

Ati nerd fodder

There seem to be conflicting reports about exactly what the specs of the x800 SE are. www.newegg.com reports that it has 256 bit DDR 1 while www.overclockers.co.uk (in the x800 Pro section) say it has 256 bit GDDR 3, which is determines whether it can be softmodded. If it is based on GDDR 3 they will likely be from the x800 Pro & XT lines, and so some cards may be moddable. If on the other hand they sport DDR 1 they will be from a different line altogether, and will not extra locked pipelines. Ati sell locked and downclocked cards either because they failed pipeline/clock speed checks or for marketing reasons (e.g. selling them for less is cheaper then storing them in warehouses), so to set up a completely new production line and then put x800 XT GPUs on the cards would make no sense at all. The confusion is probably because the stores dont have the full specs from ATI, but it could be something else. When ATi launched the 9500, some were downmodded 9700s (L layout) and some were 9500 Pros (I layout) from 2 different lines. It could concievably be that Ati are selling both DDR 1 and DDR 3 versions of the card initially that have been modded to achieve the same performance, this may seem unlikely but I have heard rumors that some 9800 XTs are DDR while others are DDR2.

anyone had any luck with one yet?

bump from the dead.. has anyone been able to softmod?

no, but at £150 the x800 gto2 which mods to an x850xt pe seems to be the 'new' 9500 or excellenty softmoddy card.

i don't think a mod is possible on the X800's. oh wells :/