O/c'ing a 9600NP

[kinney]

I had a relative ask for a graphics card recommendation, they had $80, no more and couldnt get anymore.

He is going from integrated NF2 and so I did some shopping for him (my cousin) and while he wont be upgrading for a long time I wanted him to have DX9 compliance.

This kind of dough doesnt exactly lead someone to kickass gfx but I think I made the right choice for him..

got a <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-328R&depa=0" target="_new">Sapphire 9600NP</A> for $73.
I really recommended the refurb 9600 pro for $100 but he had no means of getting the extra, and he wanted one now so..

I'm hoping he can pump up the core 75mhz to hit 400 and the mem to 300 from 200.
Then he'll essentially have a Pro.. heck, maybe when I visit sometime I'll even help him flash it if it works.

Anyone have any experience with these cards?
I really hope this card lasts him a while as he doesnt upgrade very often.

I want to know any recommendations for overclocking this card, expectations as far as highest expected, average results ect.
I used Rage3d Tweak with my old radeons to o/c and then flashed once they successfully and reliably worked at that speed.
Is that a safe option here?

____________________________
<b>RESIDENT FORUM WARRIOR
<font color=purple>I just neutered the cat.
Now he's a liberal.</font color=purple></b>

 

[neveroldmilk]

Are 9600NP and 9550 the same thing?

Truth is somewhere out there!
--Movie 'X Files'

 

[phial]

make sure you know what ram it has.. something like -5ns would suck! heh


then again, i had a card with -7ns ram and it hit 190 (sdr, dunno if thye can be compred) so perhaps you might be ok

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[phial]

ownt double post

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<A HREF="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/you.html" target="_new">please dont click here! </A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phial on 04/11/04 03:20 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[kinney]

I was going to check into that, but I couldnt find anything else below $80 that even compares in DX9.

I noticed it doesnt have any fan on the heatsink so I will probably buy him this <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-150-006&depa=0" target="_new">slot cooler</A> and give it to him.. might help overclock a bit as I noticed the Pros have fans but no ram HS so IF it can hit Pro speeds it will be on par cooling wise with one.

I was going to give him the extra $25 for the Pro but he doesnt even have a paypal acct to accept my generosity..
poor b*stard.


____________________________
<b>RESIDENT FORUM WARRIOR
<font color=purple>I just neutered the cat.
Now he's a liberal.</font color=purple></b>

 

[gossspel]

Apollo 9600se 128bit!

which is actually a 9600!

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?
description=14-140-030&depa=1

this may be a good option for your cousin to save about$10.
:]

 

[kinney]

hey thank you for that information. I'll keep it in mind, hes already ordered but I'll let him know.

____________________________
<b>RESIDENT FORUM WARRIOR
<font color=purple>I just neutered the cat.
Now he's a liberal.</font color=purple></b>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Some R9600NPs won't overclock.

Depends on the model. I don't think there's a problem with Sapphires, but not sure about the rest. Common problem with non-pros being locked, especially BBAs.

Here's Rage3D's review of the Sapphire when it came out, they did ok with the OC.

<A HREF="http://www.rage3d.com/content/reviews/video/sapphire9600s/index.php" target="_new">http://www.rage3d.com/content/reviews/video/sapphire9600s/index.php</A>


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Are 9600NP and 9550 the same thing?

R9550 is worse. Both have 128 bit memory interface with 200 MHz DDR, but R9550 GPU is clocked 250 MHz and R9600 GPU is clocked 325 MHz

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[cleeve]

A couple things:

1. You might have to flash it with an overclocking BIOS if it's locked. You'll know if you try to overclock and it doesn't work at all. For more info on that ask around on the rage3d.com forums which is the best OCing bios.

2. You're not going to have alot of luck ocing without a chip cooler on that mofo. Splurge for the $15 or so and get a cheap crystal orb. If you're going to overclock use thermal paste and not that miserable thermal tape. Make sure you clean off all of the old thermal tape first, orange gel works well for that.

3. You may very well get to 400 Mhz on the core, especially if you use an aftermarket cooler like the the orb. Maybe even more, 9600 GPUs are legendary overclockers. With the stock fanless heatsink you'll be lucky if you get an extra 50 Mhz out of it tho.

As far as memory ocing 100 mhz, don't think it's going to happen. 9600 non-pros exist because of cheap RAM in the first place, 20 Mhz is probably realistic, if you get 30 mhz count yourself lucky, if you squeeze an extra 50 mhz out of it god himself has smiled upon you. You are blessed.

Good luck.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[kinney]

Thank you.. that was good info.
I'll prob throw a post up on rage3d and as the ostriches over there about the bios.

Disappointing news about the memory, but he needed something for his games and I just couldnt think of anything for $80 other than that, that will handle DX9 games at all.
I REALLY wish he'd gotten the Pro, or that he'd taken my extra $25 for one but oh well.

The way I see it he doesnt have alot invested (but has a ton of bang/buck performance and feature-wise), so replacing it even in the near future is not a problem.

I know plenty of computers in the family that are used for gaming and have quite a bit less firepower than a 9600NP.
Heck, my uncles machine that he games on uses a Radeon 32MB DDR still. Mostly a Counterstrike machine, but damn.

Heres to hoping for a 50mhz mem o/c, and I am going to try for a 100-125 core o/c.

____________________________
<b>RESIDENT FORUM WARRIOR
<font color=purple>I just neutered the cat.
Now he's a liberal.</font color=purple></b>

 

[kinney]

hey dude he actually ended up ordering the Pro version... any overclocking recommendations for a Pro?

I'm really glad he did get the pro..

____________________________
<b>RESIDENT FORUM WARRIOR
<font color=purple>I just neutered the cat.
Now he's a liberal.</font color=purple></b>