YMMV - ATI Atlantis Radeon 9500 128MB Video Card w/TV-Out & DVI by SapphireTech -- 162.99 @ GoogleGear

[scrubman]

i just dont know which place to get mine at.. i guess its a gamble no matter what...

Newegg

Allstarshop

google gear

 

[Fruhead]

What about GameVE? Radeon 9500
I just ordered one, and I guess I have to wait and see what I get. Also, does it matter what brand it is? I got the powercolor Red PCB retail. At newegg, it was $176? and I ended up getting at GameVE for $157.

 

[Jonko]

Brand doesn't matter. Like i said earlier, I just got mine from googlegear, it was red and had L-shaped memory. Tried the 9500-9800 softmod, but got artifacts, not horrible but bad enough to ruin the graphics. So I used the hack without the extra 4 pipelines enable. Increased 3dmark score by 900 points from stock. Then I overclocked to 380/306(612), which was pretty good. This card doubled my 3dmark score from when I had my geforce2 mx. I'm pretty satisfied but woulda been really nice if the softmod worked.

 

[NauTiKa128]

Originally posted by: Jonko
Brand doesn't matter. Like i said earlier, I just got mine from googlegear, it was red and had L-shaped memory. Tried the 9500-9800 softmod, but got artifacts, not horrible but bad enough to ruin the graphics. So I used the hack without the extra 4 pipelines enable. Increased 3dmark score by 900 points from stock. Then I overclocked to 380/306(612), which was pretty good. This card doubled my 3dmark score from when I had my geforce2 mx. I'm pretty satisfied but woulda been really nice if the softmod worked.

How do you overclock?? I did the mod already and it's working great..

 

[Jonko]

I hate you! Sorry just wanted to get that out. But to answer your question, if it is a Saphire brand then all you have to do is download an overclocking program like rage3d tweaker, or radclocker(what I use). You can download Radclocker here, just hit downloads on the left and then scroll down a little bit. When you install it, it adds a tab to the ATI console called clock rates. There you can adjust it. Do a little at a time and after every mover up run 3Dmark or some game to test for artifacts. When you get artifacts lower the clock down a little and it's safe. First overclock the memory then when thats at it's safe spot do the core. Don't expect to get the results I did, the memory clock I got is rare, it's usually around 295. And if your board is not a saphire, then you will probably have to flash the bios, which is a major pain and wouldn't bother doing if you got the mod to work. Whew, hope that helps.

 

[scrubman]

welp... i went with Allstarshop... i paidthe extra $$ for FedEx 2-day and i was still less than the other 2 places... i will let everyone know how it does with the hacks.. wish me luck!

 

[Fruhead]

I got my red PCB with "L" shaped memory up to 3885 in 3dmark2003. Does this seem right?

 

[xWeston]

Originally posted by: Fruhead
I got my red PCB with "L" shaped memory up to 3885 in 3dmark2003. Does this seem right?

3dmark score doesnt matter because it is based on processor speed and other things as well. Look at the fillrates of single and multi-texturing after 3dmark is finsihed, what are they at?

 

[neomits]

would someone like to explain to me how I can try and disable some things like heirchal and maybe zmask?


I want to try those and see if it gets rid of my very little bit of artifacting

 

[scrubman]

welp... Allstarshop did me right with the red board with L shape memory... now its time to install and PRAY!!!!

 

[neomits]

well I figured out how to disable those things with Rage3D and it didn't work



so how do I go about disabling and switching between 4 and 8 pipes?

 

[DanStp]

I ordered mine today from Goggle Gear. I had to get a new video card anyhow sold my GF4200, hoping to get close to a 9700 out off this. Goggle Gear's page says it's a red card, and shows a picture of a red one with the L shaped memory.

 

[xWeston]

Originally posted by: neomits
well I figured out how to disable those things with Rage3D and it didn't work



so how do I go about disabling and switching between 4 and 8 pipes?

4 pipes = normal drivers
8 pipes = hacked drivers

wizzard's page has drivers that just change the memory to 256bit and dont change the pipes, this shouldnt produce artifacts.

 

[scrubman]

well... bad luck... artifacts and checkerboard wonder if its worth trying another or not... DAMN!

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

Originally posted by: scrubman
welp... Allstarshop did me right with the red board with L shape memory... now its time to install and PRAY!!!!

so how'd it go???

 

[xWeston]

Originally posted by: ErikaeanLogic

Originally posted by: scrubman
welp... Allstarshop did me right with the red board with L shape memory... now its time to install and PRAY!!!!

so how'd it go???

look at the post right above yours.

 

[scrubman]

i found a fix!!!!!!!!!!!


i went to Best Buy and paid $299 for an ATI brand 9700pro! didnt feel like wasting more money on shipping and restocking and just put that towards buying the real thing... of course i still have options if something should arise... 30 day return policies and still holding both cards

 

[bergenvr6]

Got mine from allstarshop yesterday and tried the softmod today.

Scores went up 2000 in 3DMark2001SE, but checkerboards all over the place.

Fill rates are up to 2100, but again, checkerboards.

Trying to find a fix, otherwise I will just overclock it

 

[digital021]

I placed my order on April 11 and applied the softmod, but with no success. I get light checkerboard effects when applying the mod.

Guess I'll trying the 9500--->9800 with only 4 pipelines mod

 

[DanStp]

Well I got my card installed and modded. GoogleGear did well My 3Dmark score went up by almost 1600 points, and the Fill Rate has doubled. No artifacts or checkerboards at stock speed. I hope to OC this car this weekend. BTW it's a Saphire 9500 NP. What a great deal

 

[scrubman]

wow!!! i was starting to think that it was all over and there were no more good cards left... when did you actually receive your card? DAMN Allstarshop... owell... congradts on getting a good one!

 

[przero]

DanStp - Was your card an RMA from a black PCB model?

 

[MechanicalMan]

Mine came from allstarshop today; no artifacts or anything. I was using a GeForce DDR before this, so it is obviously a pretty huge improvement. The GeForce crapped out on me last week, so I finally upgraded. Here are the fill rates I got:

Before mod: 927.1, 1104.6
After mod: 1569.7, 2188.6

The card increased my 3dmark01 from 2634 (yeah, I know) to 6395.

 

[DanStp]

No my card was a new red one with the memory in the L shaped pattern, the one everyone says to get.

 

[przero]

It seems like all the latest cards to be shipped from GoogleGear take the mod.