Another succesful 9500np->9800 mod

Doesn't bug me at all. It was interesting that you happened to post that right when I was sending a PM to the guy I bought the card from.
I'm getting over my disappointment. I don't care that much about having a few very minor artifacts in one game. For what I paid for this card I feel like I got a very good value.

Hi,

This is my first card that I overclock. I got my card all the way to 360 core and 310 memory without artifact, but if I try to loop 3DMark2001SE while prime95 running overnight or something it will crash back onto the desktop. But prime95 is still running and I know it's not my cpu or anything cause they can prime95 for over 38 hours this weekend. I used prime95 and loop 3DMark simaltaneously for 24 hours to test stability of my system.

Well if I set it to 374 core and 306 memory then 3DMark will loop overnight without a problem. My question is, do I need to raise the AGP bus up a notch from 66 or something to get the memory stable at 310, cause I know it's not the core since if I lower the mem to 306 the core can go all the way to 374 with crashing or showing artifact.

Right now I have my AGP voltage to 1.65 which is the max my mobo can give and my AGP/PCI frequency is set to fix at 66/33.

What do all you guys think I should do? and thanks in advance.

You just hit the limit of your card. There isn't much you can do except volt-mod it.

Raising the AGP bus won't do anything for your stability problems. In fact, it will most likely make them worse, as you'll be running your card still more out of spec.

What's happened is your RAM has reached its limit, not your core, as is clear from the fact that the core will go all the way to 374. It crashes with the RAM at 310 because your RAM has been maxed out. There are three sollutions:

1. First option to look into is the best: RAMsinks. They're cheap, tend to help for a few more MHz and won't risk damage to the card if done correctly.
2. Volt-mod it along with adding RAMsinks. Volt-mods are free, generally, but they risk damage to the card if not done right or if the voltage is set too high.
3. Deal with it. That's a good card if it will take the mod and overclock to near 9700Pro speeds. You're lucky to get one that takes the mod at all. I'm not trying to rub your nose in it or anything. I'm simply pointing out that this is hardly bad news and you've already hit the point of diminishing returns.

Those are them; pick what you want

Z

thanks guys for your help. Now I can push it 373/307 stable, and I guess that the max I can go. O well still happy as chit with this card.

Once again thank you all.

Try some RAMsinks. If you've got an old machine laying around that you don't use, just hack up the heatsink on the processor into 8 pieces and epoxy them onto the RAM chips. The only danger is in getting epoxy on the connections between the RAM and the card. If you're careful, there should be no problem. You'd probably get at least 315 with 'sinks, maybe more if you're lucky. Situating a fan over the card might give you a clue as to how well adding cooling to the RAM will work. The fan is obviously not as capable as the 'sinks, but it will cool it off. I forgot to mention, you can get higher on the core if you pop off the heatsink and put some thermal paste on there. If you're brave, you can try removing the shim as well. If you're really crazy, you can try to lap it. These methods, though, are much more dangerous.

Z

Thanks zachj maybe I'll read more into doing all of that since I not fimilar with doing any of those.

Is it easy to take to cooler of and add a new cooler or AS3? and how hard is it to take of the shim.

Sorry but I'd never once did any of that.

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and what are the best epoxy you recommend?

Keeping in mind the dangers of doing so:

1. To remove the cooler from the video card, simply turn the card so that the fan is facing down. Two clips hold it in place over the core. They extend through the card and out the other side (which you're now looking at). Pinch the little prongs together at the end and the pins should come out. They may or may not be spring-loaded, so they might actually pop out (be careful, you need them). After you get the pins out, I believe it's held on using thermal tape, so it won't just *come off*. I don't know how people get past this step, so look around the forum to find out how to do this. Twisting is probably not a good idea.

2. You'll need to clean off any old thermal compound. Use the highest percentage of rubbing alcohol you can find, and try cleaning it off with that. Industrial cleaners are not okay, and nail polish remover leaves a film. If there's still some left, you need to find a way to scrape it off without damaging the core, which might be difficult.

3. Use ASIII paste, not epoxy, on the core. Place only a very small amount (probably the size of the head of a pin with the little ball on the end, maybe smaller. I've never seen the core, so I don't know how much surface area you have to cover). Make a thin, smooth layer using a ZipLoc bag turned inside out over your finger. When you've got the whole core (not the chip, just the core) covered with paste, turn the bag right side out and seal it up and throw it away. Inspect to make sure paste isn't on any part of the chip other than the core. When I put paste on my processor, I always use a little rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip to clean off every surface around the core after putting on the paste, just to make sure that no paste is where it shouldn't be. Then put the heatsink back on (or the replacement if you get one. There are a few aftermarket coolers, but the stock cooler is already very good) and line up the holes. Insert the pins and you're good to go.

4. If you take it a step further and remove the shim, when you get the heatsink off, you'll see that the core is a little recessed and doesn't make *complete* contact with the heatsink because of the shim that sits on top of it. This shim is to keep the core from getting damaged, so removing it means you need to be careful when putting on and removing the heatsink. I think most people use a hobby knife and just sort of carefully pry it up, but I might be wrong, so you'll want to look around the forum for directions on this too. PM somebody for specific instructions if you find a thread that isn't specific enough. Most people are perfectly willing to help.

Before you go to this extreme, add RAMsinks. It's much easier and damage is much less likely. As your RAM is what's holding you back, this is obviously the first place to start.

Z

thank you zachj very much for all the information you provided.
This is what great about this forum is the kindness and helpful person like yourself. Once again thank you.

yerp