The Radeon 9800 SE To Radeon 9800 Pro Mod Guide Posted!

Radeon 9800se mod..

Hi..i'd like to know if there's any specific Brand for example Asus or Power Color, that would yield a higher posibility of success in soft modding it to 9800pro level of performance? Or is it basically just random luck?

 

I'd say Powercolor has the best chances.
But, generally, all of the 9800SE with the 256bit memory configuration can be modded to a 9800Pro.

Be careful as there are some that are only 128bit. You wont get it to a 9800Pro but you can still mod it to unlock the pipelines.

Good luck if you're trying!

 

We also have a full guide on the 9800 flash issue. There are links to several other resources at the end as well. Hope it helps:
http://www.thinkcomputers.org/beta/home.php?x=guides&id=10-2

 

so. if a non softmod 9800se. where its performance will be?

 

The stock 9800SE performs at par with a 9600XT.

 

Have you checked numbers on that? The stuff I've read and seen generally surmises you'd be better off buying a 9600Pro over a 9800SE for straight off out of the gate performance. 9800SE cards are, essentially, junk. Reject cores, with cheap RAM, but marketted at a price unworthy of the performance usually. One exception is a company called MadView (European) that makes a hellaciously clocked 9800SE.

 

9800SE vs 9800 Pro

I went looking on a pricing engine to see what the difference in the of the two cards was and I found that there is only about a $50 USD difference. So people i wouldn't go out buying a 9800SE thinking you are going to save money. The cost of the Zalman Cooler mentioned is about $30, add a $15 fan and well you are taking a large risk going with the 9800SE. Especially considering that you might get a 128-bit Card with a defective pipeline. If the price gaps were larger I would have considered buying a 9800SE but the difference is too meager to even attempt the mod.

Also why wasn't the OC'd 9800SE placed against the 9800 Pro in the benchmarks?

 

System: Athlon XP 2400, 512 DDR400, 2, 3, 2, 6, Hercules 9800SE AIW.

3DMark03:
Default: 3500 (+- 100p)
Softmod (default cooling): 5090p
Overklokked (only gfx, not CPU): 5800p (+-50p)

I use an old CPU cooler at the GPU (like this: http://www.solidhardware.com/macci/9800aiw/aircooled_s.jpg, only with a cooler like this: http://www.psdata.no/pic/L98941.jpg. Not that exact cooler. I use the XP3200+ model. Could'nt find the picture of the XP3200+ model atm)

On the memory chips i use some 5x2x1,5 cm heatsinks (HxWxD). I made the memory chip heatsinks by cutting a simelar CPU heatsink that I use at the GPU, in smal parts

Edit: ocfaq modded driver

 

Re: 9800SE vs 9800 Pro

Hehehe. The article was to show the difference between the various methods of softmodding and also compared to the stock Catalyst drivers. Plus, when its modded, it IS a 9800pro...

Reject cores? Not all of them are... Read the article carefully and you will see that some times if the yield is good, perfect cores will be made into the SE version. Cheap ram? Its hynix 2.8ns dude... Some 9600pros dont use that ram...

 

Dont U mean 3.3 Samsung ram modules? My Hercules has that, and therefore it's not a 100% Pro card (Pro use 3.0 Samsung). At default clocks it should perform the same, but Pro shold allow som higher memory clock..

 

Nope. Mine uses Hynix 2.8ns. Saw it myself. :d Just look at my speed in my signature. 370X2=740Mhz. The 2.8ns is designed to run at 700Mhz if I'm not mistaken.

 

Um, new member here. This article really attracted my attention i must say.

Just wondering what the success rate of this mod is? anyone else tried it?

PsYkHoTiK; did your card work straight out? or did you go through several of them before you managed to get it to work? Any artifacts.

 

Don't expect better than a 53% chance of pure success. That can be pushed up to 85% if you are willing to accept that artifiacts will likely exist. I have also found better success with fully patching the BIOS on the video card itself, which makes changes to internal card voltages and memory latencies. This has given me better results than just the Driver fix. In fact, I use the Omega Drivers along side a BIOS flashed 9800 with excellent results. With the BIOS flashed, you can take the card to any system and it will always be a 9800Pro, not just in your system with the drivers. If you screw up the flash, you can always redo it too.

Be careful, that's only a half truth. While there ARE reasonbly good cards out there (like the MadView I mentioned earlier), for the most part you'll be reaching into a bag of old apples. The likelyhood of getting a rotten one is pretty good. With only a 53% chance of a GOOD mod, is it really worth it?

If you really want to win this mod, go get a true Non-Pro card (not an SE) that has Samsung 3.3ns RAM. Trust me on this.

Don't forget RAMsinks. If you do this mod and do not put cooling on the RAM, you are asking for trouble, the thermal load being put on it is more than it was designed far. Don't believe be? Try it. Keep your finger on the RAM while it's benchmarking at normal speed versus modded speed. That is a good way to avoid artifacting, by keeping the RAM cooler.

Also, it is VERY HARD to get 256bit SE cards now. I do not know a single company still making them besides Madview. I have contacted Powercolor in the past, and they confirmed that they used to make 256bit cards, but they no longer do (most likely for this very reason), the same goes for Sapphire. PICTURES AT WEBFRONT STORES ARE MISLEADING. Email them before you buy if the card appears to have the L-shaped 256bit memory, odds are it really has I-shaped TSOP memory, and they are just using old stock photos, and they will all tell you pictures are not meant to be actual represntations, so if you buy it and it's wrong, tough luck.

 

i all

nice GUIDE

i have the same card (powercolor 256 bits 2.8 hynix) softmodded since december 2003 , works nice for me with VGA silencer..

the question : is posible to HARDMOD my card to a 9800 PRO

thats it,, thanks for all..

cheers!