BIOS flash makes 9600GSO an 8800GTS 512!
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:51 pm
here's the entire article minus 3DMARK06 results which show 800 extra points, this is for 9600 GSO 384/768MB versions with 8 memory chips ONLY (of which i have two! 
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Source
keep in mind this was translated from another site(japanese or something, vga.zol.com.cn) which is why rivatuner seems odd
)Source
keep in mind this was translated from another site(japanese or something, vga.zol.com.cn) which is why rivatuner seems odd
Introduction
3 years ago, ATI and NVIDIA graphics card line-up was not as complex as it is today. Many of their graphics cards were actually using the same GPU, so enthusiasts could mod their lower-end cards, using software or hardware methods, into higher-end graphcs cards.
For example, the very popular Radeon 9800 SE to Radeon 9800 Pro mod, the GeForce 6200 to GeForce 6600 GT mod and the GeForce 6800 LE to GeForce 6800 GT mod. All these mods increased the performance and value of the graphics card, making graphics card modding highly popular.
When ATI and NVIDIA began using many different GPUs for different product lines, graphics card modding fell out of favour because enthusiasts could only overclock their graphics cards to maximize their potential.
However, a method for soft-modding an NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO into an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB has been found. This mod instantly gives you a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB card at half the cost!
Determining The Modding Possibility
- 9600.JPG (35.46 KiB) Viewed 17128 times
Both the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB and the GeForce 9600 GSO graphics cards use the NVIDIA G92 GPU. Performance binning of the G92 GPUs results in two different grades - those with all 128 fully-functioning stream processors are labelled as the G92-400 and used in the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB cards, while those with at least 96 fully-functioning stream processors are labelled as the G92-150 and used in lower-end cards like the GeForce 9600 GSO.
Do note that some GeForce 9600 GSO cards might be using G92 GPUs will all 128 stream processors fully-functional. This is because NVIDIA has to deliver their GPUs according to market forces and not entirely according to the speed binning. So some, if not many, fully-functional G92 GPUs may end up getting used in the GeForce 9600 GSO.
That is not all though. To properly mod a GeForce 9600 GSO into a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB, you must look for GeForce 9600 GSO graphics cards that have 8 GDDR3 memory chips. This is important as the GeForce 9600 GSO only requires 6 memory chips to achieve the memory capacity of 384 MB with a 192-bit memory bus. Therefore, most GeForce 9600 GSO cards only come with 6 GDDR3 memory chips.
The good news is there are some GeForce 9600 GSO cards that come with 8 GDDR3 memory chips. To simplify production, some companies choose to produce a single PCB design with 8 GDDR3 chips, and then create two different products by choosing the GPU to use. NVIDIA locked 32 of the 128 stream processors in the G92-150, so by using that GPU, the graphics card turns into a GeForce 9600 GSO. If the company wants to create a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB card, they just need to use a G92-400 GPU instead.
So, when you look for a GeForce 9600 GSO, make sure it has 8 GDDR3 memory chips. That will give you a real good chance at modding the card into a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB. With that said, there is no way for anyone to know for sure if the GeForce 9600 GSO has faulty stream processors or merely had them locked for marketing purposes.
If you have such a card, then let's proceed with the mod guide!
Modding The GeForce 9600 GSO
1. Download the modified BIOS from http://xiazai.zol.com.cn/detail/32/318830.shtml.
2. Use your graphics card's BIOS flashing utility to flash the modified BIOS into the GeForce 9600 GSO card. Before you do that though, it would be a VERY good idea to first back-up a copy of your graphics card BIOS, in case you need to undo the mod.
3. After flashing the modded BIOS into the graphics card, just reboot the PC.
That's it! It's that simple. To check if you did it correctly, run RivaTuner. This is what RivaTuner will show if you run it before modding.
Before the mod
As you can see, it lists the card as an NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO with a 192-bit G92, 96 stream processors with 384 MB of memory. If you run RivaTuner after the mod, you should see this instead :
After the mod
Although the graphics card is still identified as an NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO, you can see that it now identifies the GPU as a 256-bit G92 with 128 stream processors and 512MB of memory! If this is what you see, then you have fully unlocked your GeForce 9600 GSO's hidden potential.
Now, it is easy to just say that the mod was successful. However, you should still test the modded graphics card with benchmarks and real games as not all G92 GPUs have all 128 stream processors fully functional. Some will have faulty stream processors that the soft-mod cannot "repair".
The GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB also runs at much higher clock speeds than the GeForce 9600 GSO, so some GPUs may not be able to handle the higher clock speed especially if a poor cooler is used. This problem can be solved by replacing the cooler with a better cooler.
Finally, testing the modded card with benchmarks will confirm that the mod actually works. You can use games like Crysis or synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark. A fully-modded GeForce 9600 GSO should perform exactly like a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB.
The performance improvement may not seem that much in 3DMark06 but actual gaming performance will be more significant. More importantly, unlocking the 32 stream processors and 64-bits of memory bus width will greatly increase the rate at which card's performance will ramp according to the clock speeds. Overclocking the modded card would deliver a far greater boost in performance than it would have had in its unmodded form.
With that said, the mod has some risks. If you mod a GeForce 9600 GSO that only has 6 memory chips, then the card will likely crash as soon as you load a 3D game that uses more memory than the 384 MB that the card actually comes with.
In addition, not all GeForce 9600 GSO cards will have fully-functional GPUs. At least some of the GPUs will have faulty stream processors. If you mod a GeForce 9600 GSO with such a "defective" GPU, then you will notice either visual artifacts in your 3D games, or the card will crash when running 3D games.
Last but not least, the soft mod will automatically overclock your GeForce 9600 GSO to the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB's clock speeds. Your graphics card may not be able to run at those clock speeds. If so, it may crash in 3D games.
The good news is you can always flash the previous graphics BIOS into your graphics card. Just make sure you SAVE your old BIOS before flashing the modded BIOS!
