• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

What can I do to tweak my card a bit more

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

Illah

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2002
Location
San Francisco
Here's the specs:

Gainward Golden Sample GeForce4 MX440 @ 312/490 stable
28.32 Detonators
XP 1800 @ 10.5x164=1722 on an MSI K7T-266 Pro2 (max FSB allowed in BIOS)

I got a crystal orb and ramsinks on there, but I'm thinking of re-installing the ramsinks. The golden sample RAM is 4ns rated at 500 MHz according to Michailtech, and I'm only getting 490.

First tip I need is lapping the crystal orb. When I tried I could NOT break through the silver layer. I swear I pushed down so hard on the friggin sandpaper I though I was gonna bend the fins down. I'm grown too, I'm no skinny 13 year old...

Other than that, what can I do to up the score? Any strange registry tweaks, BIOS stuff, etc...

--Illah
 
I lapped my crystal orb until it showed bright red-orange. It is slightly brighter than an SK6.

I suggest, if you really want to break through, use 100 grit first. This just chewed through my plating. Then I went to 600 then 1000. My wife's annoyed with the sound I've been making.

Cheers,
F
 
turn off all FSAA (full screen anti aliasing) do that by going
right click on desktop -- porperties -- settings -- advanced -- additional settings -- and some where i think in the first tab choose manual Anti Aliasing and select NONE.

also go to the Direct 3D tab and set MipMap Level to Best Performance and go to More Direct 3d Button and turn v-sync to always OFF.

Also then go to OpenGl tab and also set vsync top always OFF.

Download the GeForce Tweak Utility form like www.guru3d.com and click the FAST SETTINGS button then reboot, it gained me over 300 points, and i now hold the record with the fastest GF2 non ultra or Ti model :)

lemme know if this helps
 
i just came across to this last night. if you have a good air flow inside the case i think it can help you well, and its quite easy to build. im gonna try it soon.
 
OC

How'd you attach those ramsinks, Illah?

Get some cool air blowing on them if possible. My 4ns ram does 527 with no artifacts... and 530 if its cool enough in my house.

Also test out some other drivers. 28.32's are really good, so mayne there's not much hope there, but you never know.
 
See! Everyone with 4ns is getting over 500.

I used the krazy glue + AS3 method, but I'm thinking there's a horrible thermal connection on them. See, I heard all the warnings about AS3 bridging the video ram, so I was SUPER stingy with it. I've heard of people having good success with this method, I just think I was too stingy with the thermal compound.

I got a 34 CFM 80mm blowing over the card, but it's just a blower, no connection to the outside.

Now, the 2 deltas create massive airflow over the CPU, northbridge, and RAM, and the 5 1/4 bays I got the one in acts like a duct. I got the 80mm's set on 'low' on the Lian Li fanbus thing (rheostat?), I'm assuming they're at 7V. Now, I modded those fans to go between the faceplate and the case (they used to be in the case) so they don't recirculate air from the 3.5 bays. I got an air filter on them and the faceplate restricts airflow, I'm probably getting like 10 CFM from them... You think I should remove the air filter? The only reason I left it on is cuz it cools a hard drive rack and I dont want the drive covered in dust.

I think I'm gonna get some 1 or 200 grit today or tomorrow, and try (again) to lap that corb. Mines frickin tempered steel or something... While I'm at it I'll mess with the ram sinks.
 
Illah, how much does that 80mm fan blowing the air over the card help on the overclock? do u have an idea? im planning to build one like that in the link above. does it help in fact?
 
oTTO said:
Illah, how much does that 80mm fan blowing the air over the card help on the overclock? do u have an idea? im planning to build one like that in the link above. does it help in fact?

Truthfully, I don't know... I was concentrating on OCing the FSB and CPU for the longest and I put the fan there to break up a potential hot spot in the case and hopefully circulate more air to the card. I never really tested the video with a before and after type deal, you know?

I'm closing in on 6500 now, and before the fan I was in the high 6100's. I honestly don't know if it was the fan or just me tweaking, and in my CPU OCing I got the FSB from 145 to 164 I'm sure that helped.

In any case it only took me like five minutes to put it in, so give it a shot. Just bend your old PCI slot covers out and screw on the fan.

--Illah
 
OK, I tried the GeForce Tweak util and it didn't change anything... I already had the AA off and all that stuff, anything else I could try?

I got the 220, 600, and 1500 grit sandpapers today so I'll be lapping that corb tomorrow and maybe reinstalling the ramsinks. The lapped orb should hopefully get me to 325 (I can do it now, but it get's funny on the bump mapping stuff, hopefully this makes it stable).

--Illah
 
Use Arctic Alumina Adhesive to stick the Ramsinks on, its as good as AS3 and is NON-CONDUCTIVE, that krazy glue just makes temps higher.

Just remeber when its on its on...

M_N
 
tweaking

Does 490 fit with Gainward's 10% or 15% overclock guaruntee? It might be your ram is really 4.5ns, and that the MX460 is the one with 4ns. Or maybe just one of those ram chips is not quite as good as its supposed to be and is holding things up.

AS2 + super glue method here... You really don't lose that much surface area for the glue as to make a noticeable difference in cooling performance, IMO. Although I don't refute that using a thermal epoxy is a better method.
 
Back