X800 XT won't overclock for sh*t

[Edrob]

Picked up a copy of Everquest 2 the other day to try it out.

High Quality settings lag my computer pretty good. So I tried messing around with overclocking, and I can't get past 520/560 with any stability overall, and I even have some problems at 520/560. I am using the 4.8 Omega drivers (i think) and ATI Tool 0.0.22. I have The Ati Silencer 4 and my temps are 30-32 idle, 50-54 load. Any suggestions?

[devnull]

....turn down the settings? No,really, what are you trying to run at because I know that EQ2 has massive environments and I have heard similar things.

Your OC troubles might just be because the x800s have never been superious OC cards. Without unbelieveably expensive cooling they seem to flatline anywhere from 520-540 core and 560/600 memory. Its just all that air cooling can do to keep them stable, and anything beyond these specs is just too much (even for a vgasilencer). What kinda framerates are you getting?

[TRow]

Here's an Optimization Guide for EQ2

The X800XT's/PCIe uses slower Ram than that of the XTPE cousin. Namely, 2.0ns vs. the tighter 1.6ns timings on XTPE. Each card, and each card manufacturer will achieve different results. Your Temps are about the same range as what I see with my ATi 4 under Idle/Load, so your Golden there.

T.RoW

Edit: I googled the Optimization guide, I dont play ANYTHING but FPS, or Violent 3rd Person shooters(And NFSU2, but only because its bad ass). For anyone out there that read my post and said, "WTF!?"...I hope this clears things up ;D

[Edrob]

Thanks for the link, i'll try it out.

Framerates on High Quality, resolution 1280x1024 (the second highest default graphics setting they have) are very noticeably choppy. I have to set it to Balanced performance or High Performance to have no noticeable lag. Their highest setting actually says that no hardware thats out right now can handle these settings, haha.

I noticed that a lot of you guys on here have decent overclocks on the X800 XT, so I was curious why mine didn't overclock as well.

I also have a 120mm front fan, plus an 80mm fan in the slot they provide.

[devnull]

My core was a lot harder to OC than my memory. I could get my memory to go to 590 on stock cooling but couldnt pass 3dmark05 with a core higher than 527. Ive OC'd a bit more with my silencer on but havn't really tested it out because I havn't had a need. I think if you run your games on optomized settings, your rig shouldn't need to be overclocked and the experience should still be spectacular.

***NOTE***

If I may note one thing about that optomization thread. DO NOT update your BIOS drivers unless you have or you know there is a performance increase associated with doing so. I myself updated to the newest BIOS and it actually slowed my system considerably ( i have a A00 gen3 system). I eventually went back to the A00 BIOS that my system came with. I highly recommend sticking with your original as well.

[TRow]

If you look back to early production of X800's, there was a lot of speculation about how X800Pro chips were different than X800XT and X800XTPE. The production schematics for the cores were all virtually the same, but certain GPU's didn't meet standards. Some GPU's were unstable at XTPE speeds, some Pipelines were defective and thus couldn't be used in Platinum edition models. Other production Runs were defective in general, due to process flaws; but would operate at lower clocks with ease.

Core/Mem ratios are important relationships for stability, greatly depending on the Ram latency. 500/500 = 1/1 Ratio. For illustration, just like that of DDR400 and 800FSB CPU's. To obtain this same stability at higher clocks, you will need tighter, more aggressive latency timings. Thus, X800XT with 2.0ns.....and X800XTPE with 1.6ns.

My X800Pro VIVO came clocked at 475/450. Its been at 526/560 since August of last year. I can overclock close to X850XTPE speeds.

In the end, it boils down the individual card, the manufacturer, and whether your using Air or a WaterBlock for cooling. I think we take for granite how bad ass our systems are, take a look at Valve's Hardware Survey they did. We X800XT/PE users are the TOP LESS THAN 1% of the people in the WORLD with this technology. Platinum or not, that say somefin'

[glow=blue,6,300]T.RoW[/glow]

[unknowngod430]

X800XT like previously said are just PE that weren't up to snuff just like the old 9700 and 9800 cards, exactly the same just 9700 had an extra resistor to make it run slower. however each individual card has its own stability i've seen sites that say 520/560 is pretty much all u can push however i have ran 530/590 on my X800XT (this just scared me(and it was configured this way by ati tool) ) with now probablem however i didn't see much benifit so i run it at a 1/1 550/550 with great scores and frame rates on all benchmarks which is above the X850XT and is close to X850XT-pe setting and ATI tool configed it higher i just didn't feel comfortable nor the need due to the fact that it would run hotter and shorten the lifespan of the card. You may have caught the runt that barely qualifies as an XT sorry. But having an X800XT is overkill enough for most games these days so i wouldn't worry about it . I may have just gotten VERY LUCKY ;-)

[devnull]

I think, like many things in extreme gaming, it just comes out to luck. Getting one of the better wafers is just something that happens to some and not others. I dont think that mine will run 550/550 but I know itll run somewhere above 540/540, which is more than fine for right now. In fact, I have yet to play a game on the card while overclocked. *shrug* I have just never felt the need. Anyhow, I dont think this should be a problem for most people with XT as its still one of the top models to date.

[crusier]

Pay particular attention to airflow off the card. Watch for the heated air getting sucked up between the vid card and teh memory sticks and slamming into the north bridge before getting sucked out the rear fans (especially if your rear fans are on exhaust). Also watch for heated air from the rear power supply fans getting into the rear of the chassis or heavy air pressure/flows working against the vid card cooling fan/system. The new vid card here got a bit toasty while running the system at a 215 fsb and vid benching.