radeon 9500 and softmodding

Yes, L-shaped memory can. If the card has L-shaped memory, it has a 256 bit memory bus, just like the 9700!

BUT REMEMBER alot of companies post old pictures of cards on their site. Many times the actual card you get will not be exactly as shown, so caveat emptor.

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Radeon 9500 (modded to PRO w/8 pixel pipelines)
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3529
 
i know the pictures are all off, but even then, that is the cheapest radeon 9500 out there. at least on pricewatch. so you can't go wrong either way.

Radeon 9700 Pro speeds at $125. now THAT would be hot. Though I'd be happy with nonpro speeds.

A quick question to those who have this card: The websites say to connect this card to your hard drive power cable. But, if I have an extra plug directly off my power supply, I can use that as well, right?

For those interested, I have found other sites with a picture of L shaped memory. Remember, again, the picture may be off.

http://www.enetshoponline.com/atirafcose1.html
http://www.gameve.com/store/gameve_viewitem.asp?idproduct=719&showit=1
http://www.pcpart4less.com/product/vcrdn00024.html
http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=184_195&products_id=2249
http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.asp?pid=6538&ad=pwatch (this one advertises red board, but is also the most expensive at $180, much more than the $125 for the first one)
http://www.spartantech.com/product.asp?m1=pw&pid=ATIR9500128OEM


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lord_tyranus2 on 09/13/03 10:18 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
The 9500 Non-Pro with L shaped RAM is the same as the 9800SE with L-Shaped RAM. Both using the 9700 PCB. A site actually modified a 9800SE into a 9800...you could do the same with a 9500np! Omega drivers enabled the newer feature revisions and the extra 4 pipelines.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 
So now you can take a 9500 nonpro to 9800 levels? Damn. But I thought the RV350 was totally different from the RV300.

Edit: I just got back an email from someone at xtremegear.com, confirming that the picture for the 9500 is currently correct and it is L shaped. Go ahead and order?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by lord_tyranus2 on 09/13/03 10:24 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
NICE im gonna order one today.... the modding would be fun for me and if i can get it to a 9700+ then its well worth the money.... muhahahahahahahaha

hmmm i just noticed that ur link is wrong is it buyxg.com?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jurians on 09/13/03 10:32 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
hmmm anyone know whats the over clocking potential? will i be able to get it to speeds near 9700 since its the same pcb if i get the L shape memory? or do i have to worry about the type of memory like 2.8ns or 3ns?
 
Careful though, the chances of successful modding without artifacts is somewheree in the ballpark of 25% to 50% success rate. I really wouldn't count on it. Cleeve just got lucky. But its an interesting gamble to take.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!
 
Ok, good luck man. I really hope the softmod works out well for you. If not, than there is always overclocking. If you DO softmod, I would avoid hardmodding the card because that will certainly void any warrenty on a card. Try to get a 9500 that sits on top of a 9700 PCB if you can, if not then you can only mod to 9500 Pro, which is still a pretty big boost.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!
 
Hehe, the R350 is R300 stepping 2. It's not functionally modified, but simply modified to reduce hot spots, to allow higher clock speeds. The newer features of 9800 cards are purely software.

People have been enabling 9800 features on 9700's for a long time now. You hack a 9500 in to a 9700, and you're at the same point.

I don't think there's a difference at all between the 9500np and the 9800SE, other than the price. The same hack that turns a 9500 into a 9700 turns the 9800SE into a 9800.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 
OMG! So you can softmod the 9800SE's too. Why does ATi manufacture chips in such a manner to where softmods are possible and let us get away with l33t barrels full of tricks these?

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!
 
9800SE is the new name for the 9500 Pro. Yes, it includes "new features" of the 9800 series, but those new features are software enhancements.

Remember how the Celerons are handicaped Pentiums? The most likely defect in a CPU is in cache, so they simply disabled the bad banks! That's how it's supposed to be the the 9500np and 9800SE, one of the pipes is supposed to have a flaw in it, so they disable that bank.

I've been reading buyer reviews and it looks like the 9800SE is more likely to have flaws large enough to cause the hack not to work than the 9500np. So the 9500np is more likely to be modded into a 9800np than the 9800SE is.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 
A flawed chip and 3.3ns memory are not likely to lend themselves to 9800 pro speeds.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 

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