sapphire x800 gto2

  • Thread starter Thread starter weretable and the undead chairs
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weretable and the undead chairs

So I bought it, unlocked all 16 pipes and started messing around with
ati tool. It is stable at 513/560 and the memory seems to be stable
up to 600 at least. It locks up occasionally when I up it to 519/560.
Have I found the limit of the card or is this a heat issue that a fan
in the back of the case might help? I have two spots for fans in the
lower back of my case, this would pull air from the area where my vid
card is. I put a valman cooler on the card - I also wonder if I put a
little too much thermal paste on, perhaps a thinner layer would be
better for contact. Any thoughts? I am pretty happy with what I have
now, but if I can improve things... why not? =)
 
weretable said:
So I bought it, unlocked all 16 pipes and started messing around with
ati tool. It is stable at 513/560 and the memory seems to be stable
up to 600 at least. It locks up occasionally when I up it to 519/560.
Have I found the limit of the card or is this a heat issue that a fan
in the back of the case might help? I have two spots for fans in the
lower back of my case, this would pull air from the area where my vid
card is. I put a valman cooler on the card - I also wonder if I put a
little too much thermal paste on, perhaps a thinner layer would be
better for contact. Any thoughts? I am pretty happy with what I have
now, but if I can improve things... why not? =)
Click to expand...

You can usually be sure that you've reached the limits of your overclock
when you start getting either lockups for artifacting. Extra cooling is
always a good idea anyways. Nice job though.
 
weretable and the undead chairs said:
So I bought it, unlocked all 16 pipes and started messing around with
ati tool. It is stable at 513/560 and the memory seems to be stable
up to 600 at least. It locks up occasionally when I up it to 519/560.
Have I found the limit of the card or is this a heat issue that a fan
in the back of the case might help?
Click to expand...

The easiest way to find out is to take the side panel off and aim a
household fan at it. If the overclock suddenly becomes stable, then the card
is definitely limited by heat. Keep in mind the hottest components on the
board are the power transistors, not the GPU itself:
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=1748&cid=3&pg=15
I put a valman cooler on the card - I also wonder if I put a
little too much thermal paste on, perhaps a thinner layer would be
better for contact.
Click to expand...

Always. Thermal paste has crappy heat transfer characteristics compared to
aluminum, but still more conductive than air. Its function is to fill in the
*microscopic* crevices on the mating surface so no air pockets form. Put on
a thin layer, then scrape off most of it with a plastic knife. :-)
Any thoughts? I am pretty happy with what I have
now, but if I can improve things... why not? =)
Click to expand...

Use ATiTool and start tightening up memory timings. It can make a better
performance improvement than raising the clock speed.
 
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