Overclocking my 9800 Pro

[JayisunJ]

I recently bought an ATI 9800 Pro 128 and have yet to try overclocking it because I paid $430.00 for the thing and I don't want to bust it right away. My question I guess is; do most of you vid card overclockers just overclock your card for benchmarking and then set it back to default for everyday use to prolong it's life? Or do most of you leave it overclocked whenever your computer is running and feel it is safe to do so? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks! :cool:

[JayisunJ]

Hmm, I guess nobody here overclocks thier video card. O well.

[ThugsRook]

dont worry ~ theyll get to helpin ya.

(sorry but i dont know how)

:wave:

[JayisunJ]

Thanks for the encouragement Thugs. I am just impatient and don't want to mess up my super expensive graphics card if it can be easily avoided. Of course, I could just not overclock it? Yea right. :p

[Franko]

Use Radlinker, you can set a separate clock rate for each game (if you want to).

http://www28.brinkster.com/chrisww1942/

http://www.digitaldomination.net/radeonguide2/the_guide/the_guide.htm

[JayisunJ]

Use Radlinker, you can set a separate clock rate for each game (if you want to).
Hey, thanks for the tip Franko. Does it go back to default clock speeds when you aren't playing a game then?

[Franko]

Yes, it does. :cool:

[JayisunJ]

Thanks Franko, using Radlinker now! I think my max overclock is 450 core and 720 mem. I will only use that for GTA 3: Vice City though because it taxes my system the most. I might pick up Morrowind sometime this weekend and I've heard it is even more taxing on the graphics card. I hope so I'd really like to see what my 9800 can do at these overclocked speeds! :D

[Thor]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
Thanks Franko, using Radlinker now! I think my max overclock is 450 core and 720 mem. I will only use that for GTA 3: Vice City though because it taxes my system the most. I might pick up Morrowind sometime this weekend and I've heard it is even more taxing on the graphics card. I hope so I'd really like to see what my 9800 can do at these overclocked speeds! :D

That's a great overclock. I for one, only overclock so that it actually helps out in playing games, without any (zero) artifacts. You can get 20k+ scores in benchmarking, but not artifact free. :)

My 9800 Pro will pretty much do only 430/720 with zero artifacts, and I leave it at those timings. I need get a Zalman fan bracket and 120mm fans to cool the card further. :D

[JayisunJ]

That's a great overclock. I for one, only overclock so that it actually helps out in playing games, without any (zero) artifacts. You can get 20k+ scores in benchmarking, but not artifact free. Thanks Thor! I don't use any special cooling or anything, but my system temps and ambient room temps are really low (I'm wearing a coat) because I live in a basement :). I don't get anywhere close to 20k in benchmarks though. I have barely broken 17k. I think my highest is 17,500 3dmarks (2001SE). I am also VERY picky about artifacting and can assure you that there is none. I would not overclock to DECREASE image quality! That would kinda defeat the purpose. Your overclock is nothing to scoff at either! Anyway, nice to talk to a fellow proud ATI owner. I've had nVidia in every box I've ever built. . . until now. But, I will pretty much buy whoever has the best performing card - regardless of brand. :cool: Good luck with the Zalman! :D

[Duke]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
Thanks Franko, using Radlinker now! I think my max overclock is 450 core and 720 mem. I will only use that for GTA 3: Vice City though because it taxes my system the most. I might pick up Morrowind sometime this weekend and I've heard it is even more taxing on the graphics card. I hope so I'd really like to see what my 9800 can do at these overclocked speeds! :D
Did you get Morrowind ye, and if so, how's it running on your system?

[JayisunJ]

Did you get Morrowind ye, and if so, how's it running on your system? Yep I got Morrowind and I am loving it. Read HERE (http://www.bleedinedge.com/forum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=164). I was having some stablility issues with the game, but I found out that it was because I didn't restart my computer after installing the game. Immediatly following restart, Morrowind worked perfectly and has ever since. Not one crash! :) I am running the game at 1152 x 864 x 32bit color with 6x anti and 16x ansio. Game runs great at higher resolutions, but I can't read the text very well at anything higher than 1152 x 864

[Duke]

yeah, I just picked up Morrowind too. It is awesome - you really can lose track of time pretty quickly. :eek:

Duke

[JayisunJ]

What video card are you running it on? Morrowind definately has "stiff" requirements if you want it to look good.

[LastRide]

My ATI 9800 Pro can only do 409.50/369.00 before I see artifacts,white dots of sort.I never have any luck with great overclocking video cards.I can still pull off 20,512 3DMarK2001SE score though with no artifacts at that speed.:D

[JayisunJ]

My ATI 9800 Pro can only do 409.50/369.00 before I see artifacts,white dots of sort.I never have any luck with great overclocking video cards.I can still pull off 20,512 3DMarK2001SE score though with no artifacts at that speed. Great score dude. You must be using a very fast processor. My 1700+ is holding my card back big time. I need to upgrade to a 2500+ that overclocks to 3200+. Or maybe build my first Intel system!? :eek:

[Duke]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
What video card are you running it on? Morrowind definately has "stiff" requirements if you want it to look good.
It's in my signature line - I have the ATI 9800 Pro. It's able to hold it's own in these demanding games.

Duke

[JayisunJ]

Nice system Duke. Very top-of-the-line. Yea, the 9800 Pro is a great card. IQ second to none and super fast- especially overclocked. My first ATI card. I don't think I will be buying anything but ATI anymore- unless a certain company (cough*nVidia*cough) pulls thier head out. :D They would really have to release a killer product though to redeem themselves in my eyes.

[Duke]

I've been buying nvidia cards for quite some time now, and ATI use to have *crap* for drivers. But ATI has really turned themselves around, and just as Nvidia was faltering badly on their last two board releases. I'll be buying ATI for quite some time to come as well. The only negative I've found is in the game of NeverWinter Nights. It seems this game, which uses OpenGL, was really tailored for nvidia. ATI cards struggle a bit here.

Duke

[JoeBar]

I've used two ATI catds (9700pro and currently 9800pro) and been more than :) with them. Great image quality, super fast performance with no exotic cooling solutions... :p

[JayisunJ]

I've used two ATI catds (9700pro and currently 9800pro) and been more than with them. Great image quality, super fast performance with no exotic cooling solutions... Hey JoeBar, welcome to the forums! Yea, I love my 9800 Pro. Even at stock settings it smokes anything in it's price range. Overclocked it smokes anything regardless. I never thought a year ago that I would be buying- even lusting after - an ATI product. After they launched the 9700 Pro and thier Catalyst driver suite, I knew ATI was here to stay. ATI successfully burst into an industry (high-end graphics parts) that was literally owned by nVidia, unlike a few other companies whos' attempts were very unsuccessful (ie. Matrox, 3dlabs, Trident, SiS, Bitboys *joke*) But, I am not going to jump on the "brand loyalty" bandwagon just yet because I only buy what is best. If nVidia puts out a card that is faster and has equivelant or better IQ than ATI's I would buy it. By the way, I noticed your 9800 Pro is Powercolor. I heard that Powercolor clocks thier cards a little higher than other brands (I've also heard they clock thiers lower too?). Did your's come at stock 9800 Pro speeds or did it come a little higher/lower clocked?

[JoeBar]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
Hey JoeBar, welcome to the forums! Yea, I love my 9800 Pro. Even at stock settings it smokes anything in it's price range. Overclocked it smokes anything regardless. I never thought a year ago that I would be buying- even lusting after - an ATI product. After they launched the 9700 Pro and thier Catalyst driver suite, I knew ATI was here to stay. ATI successfully burst into an industry (high-end graphics parts) that was literally owned by nVidia, unlike a few other companies whos' attempts were very unsuccessful (ie. Matrox, 3dlabs, Trident, SiS, Bitboys *joke*) But, I am not going to jump on the "brand loyalty" bandwagon just yet because I only buy what is best. If nVidia puts out a card that is faster and has equivelant or better IQ than ATI's I would buy it. By the way, I noticed your 9800 Pro is Powercolor. I heard that Powercolor clocks thier cards a little higher than other brands (I've also heard they clock thiers lower too?). Did your's come at stock 9800 Pro speeds or did it come a little higher/lower clocked?

I too agree with u. If nvidia comes with a better product then i'll follow them. ;)
As for powercolor 9800pro. There are two versions the one with Hynix 2.2ns ram which is clocked higher than the original (400-760mhz) and the other one with Samsung 2.8ns ram. I own the later and i can say that it was clocked to the factory defaults (380-680mhz). I've read it also in HardOCP's review that stated about an underclocked powercolor but i think that it was an isolated incident. As for its max oc, it can go up to 440-740mhz.

[Phoenixofwater]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
I recently bought an ATI 9800 Pro 128 and have yet to try overclocking it because I paid $430.00 for the thing and I don't want to bust it right away. My question I guess is; do most of you vid card overclockers just overclock your card for benchmarking and then set it back to default for everyday use to prolong it's life? Or do most of you leave it overclocked whenever your computer is running and feel it is safe to do so? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks! :cool:

I overclock my video card when I play games that I want to get a little more speed
but from day to day I just keep it at stock

there no need to have a overclocked video to view the web or read PDFs

[JayisunJ]

Hey thanks for the input Phoenix :) I am very happy with my 9800 Pro at stock speeds for everyday use. The 2d is great and is unaffected (obviously) by overclocking. It definately helps to overclock it though in video games like Star Wars Galaxies where the top frame rate I can achieve is around 35 fps :eek: