KalNet Message Board

Was at CC today buying Kal Bob's RAM. Saw the 9800 Pro, the 5800, and decided to see if there were any 9500 Pro's left (there weren't........so good for Homey V that he got one when he did). Anyhoo, while I'm parousing the vid cards, the whole soft mod thing comes to mind. So I ask if I can see the 9500. Guy says sure. He gets this grin on his face.

"Thinking of doing the soft mod?"

"Yup."

"Well, these are the L-shaped RAM ones with the power connector in the right spot."

"Oh?"

We're both grinning like idiots. I put it back and he leaves to go help another customer. I start talking to the guy who was conversing earlier with the guy who had helped me. Turned out the guy who was helping me was one of the regular journalists at Sharky Extreme, the reviewing site. Learn A LOT more about soft mod from these 2 guys than off any of the forums. Very, VERY, VERY tempting to say the least.

sweet. it always kicks to meet people you only know from online (like @ SD4)

Interesting indeed!

What is this soft mod?

Basically, it turns a 9500 non-Pro (priced at $232) into either a 9500 Pro ($254), a 9700 non-Pro ($332), a 9700 Pro ($448), an overclocked 9700 Pro (list the price of a 9800 for comparison?), or a FireGL X1 ($1000). Nifty to say the least.

That's the short version.

Here's the long version.


Let's review the 9xxx series of cards released by Ati (from now on "np" = non-Pro, "p" = Pro).

9500np = 4 pipelines, supposed 128 bit bus (275 core/540 mem)
9500p = 8 pipelines, 128 bit bus (275 core/540 mem)
9700np = 8 pipelines, 256 bit bus (275 core/540 mem)
9700p = 8 pipelines, 256 bit bus (325 core/620 mem)

The 9500np was rushed out the door to meet demand. So they put it on a 9700 PCB. They were binning (they produce the 9700 core; if there are slight problems, they put in on the 9500np since they could disable 4 pipelines). What some people found was that when they enabled those other 4 pipelines, they also got the 256 bit bus (so, basically, they got a 9700np for free). Some people overclocked them up to speeds beyond the 9700p and all was good. Rivatuner later allowed you to change it to a professional graphics card. All was very good.

Except for a few details. Ati disabled those 4 pipelines for a reason. During the manufacturing process, there are bound to be a few bad ones (ie. instead of 8 pipelines working, only 7 do). Usually, they would have to throw them out, but they could now just disable the pipelines that didn't work (go from 8 to 4) and place the chip on the 9500np.

There lies the problem.

Some people got minor artifacts like this:


However, some people got a checkerboarding effect like this:


This guy was lucky that this only flashed not very often, but it wasn't good enough for him.

The vid card makers were also losing money big time for making the 9500np on a 9700p PCB. So after the 9500p came out, they switched to its PCB. Thus, the whole 9500np to 9700np doesn't work any more. It will still change it to a 9500p, but that's it.

The 9500p can't change to anything. It's 8 pipelines are all ready enabled (just in case you were thinking about doing anything Homey V).

There are 3 ways to enable the 4 pipelines. You can use w1zzard's drivers, use unwinder's rivatuner, or solder/resolder a resistor on the chip (the method I wouldn't use).

For some people, it worked. For others, it didn't. The success/failure rate was anywhere from 50/50 to 70/30. So doing this is a gamble.

A gamble I think I'm willing to take. I've been following this since day 1. Let's just say I was a "little" excited when I first heard about it. I'm going to need to work out a few details by next Monday. If all goes as planned, I'll own it by next Tuesday. We'll see what happens.

Related Links:

(these go into more detail about how to do it and the resistor method that was found over in Russia first; the software modificiation [ie. soft mod] came out about a week later; don't bother to read unless you want to know how they soldered or how to do the soft mod)

http://www.guru3d.com/forum/showthread. ... adid=45430

http://www.guru3d.com/forum/showthread. ... adid=45430

http://duhvoodooman.com/9500mod/9500mod_1.htm
(explains it very well)

http://www.envynews.com/gibs.php?ID=398&page=1
(also explained well)

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread. ... genumber=1

http://grahamvoce.com/rad9500/faq.html

http://www.maxdownloads.com/~ian/wizzard/
(explains how to use his drivers)

If you wanna read in depth about w1zzard's drivers, go here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php ... genumber=1

It's only 135 pages

I'm on page 124.......almost done. Makes "War and Peace" look small.

This is a review highlighting the soft modding of ANY 9500/9500pro/9700/9700pro to Ati professional OpenGL cards. Basically, you can buy one now for as little as $232

http://www.nvworld.ru/docs/sfgl_e.html


Sneaky, sneaky Russians. Go UnWinder!

Oh, yeah I forgot to tell you guys:


It worked (still have a few things to iron out, but it looks very promising).

Apparently, you can now do a 9800np into a 9800p. Flashing the BIOS increases the voltage to the memory and it overclocks higher. Best to soft overclock and then try, though. Here's the guide:

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread. ... genumber=1

There's also talk of people being able to open up the 4 additional pipelines on the 9800 SE like I did with my 9500np. Might be something to keep an eye on.

'Specially those of us who wish to get one

It's official.

The 9800SE's follow the same pattern as the 9500np. Their additional 4 pipelines can be opened up to give you a 9800p (after a bit of oc). W1zzard's redesigned his site for the better, too:

http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/

Softmod away, fraggers.

I'm sure Dempsey will enjoy that news.

Oh he does, he does

So, any word on when the new system will be arriving Dempsey?

Tommorow. No but good news the out pouring of my resumes on London in proceeding nicely