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Thread: Convert Radeon 9800NP ---> 9800 Pro

  1. #1
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    Convert Radeon 9800NP ---> 9800 Pro

    Firstly this will NOT work on all cards , only cards with 2.0/2.8/3.0/3.3ns SAMSUNG RAM, such as those supplied by Sapphire.

    To check, take a look at the markings printed on the RAM chips of your card, for example my card is marked as:

    Samsung 322
    Z40263238E-GC33

    where 'GC33' indicated the ram is 3.3ns rated (at least thats what i reckon)

    As far as i am aware cards using other RAM, such as Infineon may have problems.

    Some of the faster rated cards such as the 2.0/2.8ns ones may even be able to overclock to Pro speed from stock, however from what i can tell most cards now are 3.3ns rated and so will not make Pro speed by overclockign alone, thus a BIOS flash will be needed.

    To carry out the flash the following will be needed:

    R9800Pro BIOS:

    http://www.doomiii.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/98-8004.BIN

    and Flashrom:

    http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/bios/flashrom217.zip

    Once you have these files downloaded and installed to a floppy carry out the following procedure:

    1) Restart the computer and boot from the floppydisk containing the flashrom and BIOS file until you reach an A:\ Prompt

    2) Type the following and then hit enter:

    flashrom -s 0 original.bin

    (This will save a backup of the existing BIOS file to the floppy just in case)

    3) Once the original BIOS has been saved type the following and again hit enter to flash the Pro BIOS

    flashrom -p 0 98-8004.BIN

    4) The flash procedure shoudl run and complete with a succesful message and your card should now be recognised as a Radeon 9800 Pro and run at 'Pro' speeds.


    Run some test etc to see if all is well, if you see any graphical artifacting (especially for users with 3.3ns RAM) you may need to lower the RAM speed slightly using an overclocking utility such as Radclocker, however its rare that this is needed (note Pixel Shader 2.0 and Pointsprite tests will give white dot artifacts on the card - dont worry, thats normnal ).

    You should now have a nice Radeon 9800 Pro and will have saved yourself quite a penny into the bargain, also the BIOS flash will allow you to overclock the furthur (with varying success depending on your cards RAM) as it increases the voltage/relaxed the timings (im not sure, but theyre the popular theories) to allow the RAM to run at Pro speeds and beyond which it may not be actually rated for.



    Should the BIOS flash fail or not work for you shoudl be able to flash the original 9800 BIOS which you saved to the card. If there shoudl be a major problem with the flash then this can usually be done using a PCI card to provide temporary display, or if thats not an option 'blind'.


    Both myself and Sysopt cant be held responsible in the event of a mishap, its your choice to make to do the flash, however i will add that ive not heard of anyone having a problem as long as they ensured their card had the correct RAM and they were following the general rules for any flashing procedure (eg dont do it during a thunder storm).

    Hope that was helpful


    EDIT:

    Further information including details on the flashability of Radeon 9800SE's can be found here:

    http://www.thinkcomputers.org/beta/h...guides&id=10-1

    Its fair to say that even with appropriate RAM there is only a marginal chance the 9800 SE will mod up to 9800 Pro due to the issue of damaged pipelines, as such i would reccomend no one buy a 9800SE with the xpectation they will be certain to get a 9800 Pro out of it.

    Also updated dead-links for soem of the files

    --Jakk
    Last edited by Bigjakkstaffa; 01-03-2004 at 01:32 PM.

  2. #2
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    See above edit/update

    --Jakk
    Last edited by Bigjakkstaffa; 01-03-2004 at 01:34 PM.

  3. #3
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    question

    Hey. Does it actually become a 9800 Pro, or is it overclocked to 9800 pro speeds?
    Last edited by KillerTofu; 09-14-2003 at 07:35 PM.

  4. #4
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    Becomes a 9800 Pro with headroom for furthur overclocking. Nearly all 9800np's will nto plain overclock up to 9800 Pro, the memory cant make it. You more or less have to use the BIOS flash to get up to Pro

    --Jakk

  5. #5
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    I did everything you said and it looks like it's working just fine. The wierd thing though is that when I went to Device Manager I found two Display Adapters, both are RADEON 9800 PRO but one of them with this next to it: - Secondary. I tried to uninstall it but when I restart windows still recognize it and install its drivers. Does anyone know what the issue here is?

    Thank you.
    Last edited by zalawi; 09-18-2003 at 04:50 AM.

  6. #6
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    Thats perfectly notmal as the DVI out on the card functions as a second display output

    --Jakk

  7. #7
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    Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa
    Thats perfectly notmal as the DVI out on the card functions as a second display output

    --Jakk
    Thank you

  8. #8
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    Hi guys, my first post

    I just bought a BBA 9800np with the 3.0ns infineon. On memory it will clock to nearly 330, but then artifacts galore.

    I could flash this to a pro and potentially get pro speeds? I'm only asking because I have been confused about the whole "samsung works" and "infineon doesn't" that has been posted in other forums. But the truth is that the infineon can be flashed to a pro BIOS which would default it to pro speed? And the overclockability from that point depends on the brand ram and rating?

    Do I have this correct?

    I have seen a review of a Gigacube R9800np where the 3.0ns infineon did in fact allow for pro speeds (although the author did not say that he flashed the BIOS -- so I don't really know if he did or not). But the point is that this makes me think the only difference between my BBA card and the Gigacube is the BIOS.

    Set me straight here fellas.

  9. #9
    Ultimate Member Magua's Avatar
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    I just bought a BBA 9800np with the 3.0ns infineon. On memory it will clock to nearly 330, but then artifacts galore.
    Jakk, and others, have successfully gotten there Sapphire 9800np's up to 9800 Pro speeds. There is no absolute rule that says no other memory types can do it, however as far as I have seen, no one has reported a sucess with other memories.

  10. #10
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    But the truth is that the infineon can be flashed to a pro BIOS which would default it to pro speed?
    No, not always. There are reports htat Infineon stuff wont play at all, or that it will, but only with artifacting, what may have helped you in your case is that your running 3.0ns, however as a rule its not a proven consistent thing on Infineon RAM, wheras with Samsung stuff, ive yet to hear of a case where it hasnt worked succesfully

    --Jakk

  11. #11
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    hmmm... well... I'll do this for a friend, he's got BBA... but he has no floppy.... maybe he will borrow one for a day...

  12. #12
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    Originally posted by SpotTheCat
    hmmm... well... I'll do this for a friend, he's got BBA... but he has no floppy.... maybe he will borrow one for a day...
    Thank you Spot. I will really appreciate it, and so will all those other ATI owners who have the Infineon ram if it works.

  13. #13
    Senior Member TiGgErDbC's Avatar
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    i to just sucked it up and got a 9800 NP with the inf 3.0 ram, would like to know if it works

  14. #14
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    yeah, it didn't work. would boot, so I had to revert back to standard. sorry guys. it was infineon 3.0 I think it will still overclock well though

  15. #15
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    Well, now we know, samsung only, as you said though its probably still got a fair bit of overclocking hedroom on it

    --Jakk

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