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Looking to Voltmod my 9700PRO

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consumer9000

Former STASIS Guy
Joined
Oct 26, 2004
Location
Bay Area, CA
Alright, now that I've done enough damage to the rest of my system, I would like to stretch some more power out of my aging 9700PRO. It's a first generation, retail ATI 9700PRO 128MB, naturally with the original PCB layout. I'm planning to do the mod xbitlabs did an article on: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon9700pro-overclocking.htmlhttp://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon9700pro-overclocking.html
I tried to find some 2.7k ohm resistors, but the closest thing I could buy at the local radioshack were some 2.2k Ohm 1/4 watt resistors. Before I solder these puppies on, does anyone have any feedback as to what effect this will have on the amount of voltage? I'm not familiar with the effects more or less impedence/resistance has on these parts, so any interpretation would be greatly appreaciated! :D
As you can see from my sig the card is adequately cooled, but a reluctant performer at best. I'm hoping this will kick it's *** into gear! :mad:
 
:bang head
I'll be sure try them too! Hopefully someone who frequents this section has attempted this and will have some input though! Thanks.
 
Be EXTREMELY careful removing that metal plate on the back of the card. It is superglued to some chips so can easily rip them off if you do not take extreme precautions.
 
*UPDATE*
Mod completed successfully!!! :attn:
I applied two 2.2Kohm resistors (slightly bigger Voltage bump hehe) and now I'm cruising along at 400/700.
Prior to this mod I was stuck at 340/660 so I'm pleased. We'll see how long the card holds up. At least I've done everything I can to keep the sucker cool!
 
awesome, what are/were your 3dmark scores before and after the voltmod? I have a 9500np w/ 9700pcb, you think this voltmod would work on my vid card?
 
I'm not sure how much the board layout of a 9500 varies from that of a 9700PRO. Nonetheless, take a look at the xbit labs article and do a search as well for 9500 voltmod information. Of course, invest in some decent cooling too! My current 3dmark scores with everything at default are as follows:
2001SE: 17,100
2003: 6,150
2005: 2,300

Not bad scores for a 9700PRO. $2.00 worth of resistors and some patience! :thup:
 
not bad, what were your scores after voltmod? your 3dmark01 and 03 scores seem off....your 3dmark03 score seems high for a stock 9700. i get around 5500 in 3dmark03 w/ my current oc on my card....18,000 in 3dmark01 w/ a slower computer oc.
 
Well, I retested my card again to see if the scores would be comparable. (Note, all scores that I list are an average of 3 tests)
The above scores were done the day I finished the voltmod, with the overclocked settings applied. I retested today and here are the results:
3DMark01SE: 18,310
3DMark03: 6,150
3DMark05: 2,378
 
That's a good article, and I had considered such a mod. In the end I decided I didn't need the flexibility of the pots sine I was already running my resistors at the most aggressive impedence my card would allow...
Plus, the car looks essentially unchanged wheras the pot mod makes for some funky looking changes. :eh?:
Definitely worth trying though if I ever get a more aggressive cooling setup going. I'm currently working a means of cooling the reverse of the card...I'll keep you guys posted.
 
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