MSI Radeon 9800 pro .. HELP PLEASE

[ObieCy]

i have read that even if u flash the bios to xt , its the same things... so please tell me? is it worth the flashing?

also i hear alot about "overcloking" but it dont know what it means or how to do it... can someone please explain me what to do to get the best out of my new card?

please answer ASAP because i am waiting to install it... thanks

[SantiClaws]

First of all, flashing to XT and overclocking require the card to be installed, so there's no need to wait. Second, there's about a million guides out there on flashing to XT and overclocking, so if you do a simple Google search, you will come up with a ton of information.

[mobo57]

Weclome to Sysopt ObieCy!
It sounds as if you are a newbie to overclocking and modding. So first I would say you should do some reading in the forums here on the subject, you will find some great guides and tips.
As to flashing the bios on your card, I do not recommend it. First you can actually damage the card by doing so. Second it will void your warranty. Third, those that have done it report not much in the way of increase in performance over just overclocking the card.
As to overclocking the card, this too can cause damage and void your warranty. If you want to, get either ATI Tool or Radlinker (Google Search). Radlinker does a good job and is easy to use.
If I were in your shoes, I'd just put the card in and go with it a stock settings. I have the same card and use it for all of the latest games including Doom 3 at stock settings with no complaints at all, it is a fantastic card.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes or if you have further questions.

[ObieCy]

i will install it now...

i dont know anything about these things so when u search u need to understand.. i was hoping someone would explain to me if its really nessasery (sp?) to flash the card and if someone could explain how i can overclock? my card.. :(

[ObieCy]

Originally posted by mobo57
Weclome to Sysopt ObieCy!
It sounds as if you are a newbie to overclocking and modding. So first I would say you should do some reading in the forums here on the subject, you will find some great guides and tips.
As to flashing the bios on your card, I do not recommend it. First you can actually damage the card by doing so. Second it will void your warranty. Third, those that have done it report not much in the way of increase in performance over just overclocking the card.
As to overclocking the card, this too can cause damage and void your warranty. If you want to, get either ATI Tool or Radlinker (Google Search). Radlinker does a good job and is easy to use.
If I were in your shoes, I'd just put the card in and go with it a stock settings. I have the same card and use it for all of the latest games including Doom 3 at stock settings with no complaints at all, it is a fantastic card.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes or if you have further questions.

i really dont care if i am going to void my warranty... ok i will not flash it , i didnt want to in the first place... but it looks like everyone is "overclocking" their cards and i was wondering if it could make graphics better... i dint mean overclock it to death, but just to make it a little bit better

[BadDriver]

I flashed mine to the median bios and was sadly disappointed. I flashed it back. Run the card with radlinker at xt speeds for awhile and see how it goes. There are no xt bios on the web that will work with the card. I reflashed with a PCI card just way too many times.
You do sound like radlinker is your best bet. I ended up modding my original bios with radedit to XT speeds and flashed with that.
The card actually comes with a throttled down XT bios. The mod works but I do not suggest doing it.

[mobo57]

Ok, download Radlinker here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4156.html
After you install it then Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advance, you should see a tab for it.
Check enable clock rate change, them move the sliders up. Don't move more than 5 mz at a time. Save then test the card with artifact tester. If its good, do it again. If you have a good heatsink on that card and good ventalation in your case you should be able to get into the 420 to 430 core and 360 to 370 (720-740) memory range.

[ObieCy]

Originally posted by mobo57
Ok, download Radlinker here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4156.html
After you install it then Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advance, you should see a tab for it.
Check enable clock rate change, them move the sliders up. Don't move more than 5 mz at a time. Save then test the card with artifact tester. If its good, do it again. If you have a good heatsink on that card and good ventalation in your case you should be able to get into the 420 to 430 core and 360 to 370 (720-740) memory range.

ok i have done everything up to " Check enable clock rate change "

what do u mean " Save then test the card with artifact tester. " what is an artifact tester? and how do i understand what the limit is? i want to be just a little bit down the limit so i dont damage the card.. thanks

[BadDriver]

I believe mobo was talking about the artifact tester in ATI tool. Yes, you do need to enable clock rate change and then try to bump the card up a little at a time. When you have it where you want it, click on set. Download ATI tool at major geeks also, install it and test your settings with that. I can guarantee you if you set your card to 412 core and 365 memory using radlinker it will work. You will also find it will go much higher. Mine will do 450 and 385, but don't run the card like that. You can damage it. The 412 and 365 is XT speed and the card will handle that full time.

[mobo57]

Get ATITool here:
http://atitool.ocfaq.com/
I have gotten my card to run at 452 and 756, but that is with a Arctic Silencer Cooler. Also my card is the 350 core. Yours is probably the 360 core and should hit those speeds. But like BadDriver said, I wouldn't do it all of the time. 410-420 and 730 is a good boost.

[ObieCy]

thanks for all the help guys... as BadDriver told me, i have for starters set the "412 core and 365 memory " settings... i have downloaded the ATItool... **** this looks like a complicated tool :) can someone explain how i can use this to figure out how far i can overclock the card?

thanks guys

P.S i am also downloading the 4.9 beta catalyst so i can play doom 3 without problems... thats ok isnt it?

[BadDriver]

Set your speeds and then open ati tool and scan for artifacts. You can also have ati tool find max core and memory for you. God that takes forever. I use radlinker and then test with ati tool, the longer you go without errors with the tool the better. If you get errors back down.

[ObieCy]

thanks baddriver... whats ur opinion on catalyst 4.9 beta? btw i have just downloaded it... all i do is remove the old driver and the install the new right?

[BadDriver]

The first time I installed that driver I got a no boot, and had to boot into safe mode to remove it. The second time I installed overtop and it worked fine. I saw no improvement with the 4.9 so I went back. Actually every card is different even though mobo57, you, and myself each have the "same" card they aren't the same. You might get better clocks than I can get, and your card might react to different drivers differently. You can try the 4.9s, just remember if you get BSODs on startup you are going to have to boot into safe mode and remove them. I am staying with the 4.7s until a new official release comes out.

[ObieCy]

**** thats exactly what happened to me... i got a serious error so i removed it and im going back now to download 4.7..

thanks

[Bigjakkstaffa]

ObieCy, watch the language, this is classd as a family site, and although we do have language filters, use of the sort of language which they pick up is looked down upon.

--Jakk:t

[ObieCy]

sorry for that :( btw it wasnt the "f" word ;)..

[BadDriver]

Yeah, You gotta watch even the little cuss words here. I usually don't swear online anyhow. Now at the house its a different story. The air is blue around here half the time. The only real reason I watch what I say here, and anyplace else I go is because I never know who is going to read what I write. I am not a very good keyboarder and I have to watch and even double check what I post. The D,S, and F key are very close together for instance.
Now, I hoped you could have run the 4.9 drivers. Sometimes they do work on the second try. They did for me but I hadn't bought Doom 3 yet so I don't know what they might have done for me. Now I have the game but I just don't feel like messing with the betas again. I can play it fine as it is. :)

[ObieCy]

sorry again

by the way i noticed that every time i restart the pc,the clock settings go back to dedault... why is that?

and btw when i go to device manager/display adapter, my pro is now listed as an XT lol

[BadDriver]

Open radlinker, set your clocks and at the bottom you'll see a couple of buttons that say boot to bios defaults, or current. Click on current and you are done.

[ObieCy]

thanks baddriver...

by the way right now i have got 512MB DDRAM266 and i intend to add another 512 tomorrow... will i need to check my overclock settings again? or will it not affect ?

[BadDriver]

No, the ram will help your machine deal with games a little better but your card clock isn't going to change at all. I am running 1280 meg of ram but in all honesty I haven't seen much difference since I left the 512 area. I would still get the extra ram though, I think the newer games are gonna need it. If I could swing a better video card I would grab an x800xt.
Not in my immediate future though, I just got this one.:)

[ObieCy]

yea.... but that 6800 ultra looks cool too... i bet the 7200 512mb isnt far away ;)

[mobo57]

The reason your card shows up as an xt is that most of the new ones are made with the 360 core, same as the xt. It is to most extent a tuned down xt. What are your system specs that you are running 266 ram?

[ObieCy]

pentium 4 at 2.4ghz
512mb ram (ddram266) gettin another 512 tomorrow
and the radeon 9800 pro 128mb overclocked...

i am wondering if i am going to be able to play doom 3 at high settings with 1024x768

[mobo57]

You should be able to. I do at those settings with my system:
AMD 3200, stock settings
1 gig Corsair XMS3200C2PT
ATI 9800 Pro at stock settings w/ Arctic Silencer Cooler
At high settings 1024*768 stock a get about 34 to 35 fps
Oc'd to 425/740 36 to 39 fps.
But I agree with Bigjakk, I think timedemo may not give a real indication of your systems performance. I notice no stuttering/frame lag etc at all. Very snooth with this system.

[ObieCy]

cool....

thanks for the info mobo

[emericahermmit]

i have the same card but it requires a 300w power supply and my dell only has a 250w power supply do u think i should still overclock or do u think it will overheat my comp? or do u think it will still run fine on a 2.4 ghz processer with 512mb of RDramPC1066