Legit Reviews

Ok, I need some help here ;)

Ive followed the overclocking guide for the Radeon 1800XL listed on this site. Ive been having allot of trouble in getting a stable experience out of it. I first tried taking the Cores up to the numbers listed in the guide (624/700 if I recall). I took the Voltage to 1275 and took the fan speed up to 100% during all my testing. Basicly, Ive followed the guide by the letter.

On my first try, everything seemed stable untill I started running 3Dmark06, the graphics eventually freezed and I had to manually reboot the computer.

On my second try, I took the Cores speeds down to something around (550/550) about 50mhz higher then the default value. I managed to run thru 3Dmark and got my score. I then started Everquest2 and went on a regular gaming session. After maybe 20mins of play, the screen freezed again. I was on Teamspeak with a friend and I still could talk to him so this leads me to beleive that graphic card is the only thing freezing, not the computer itself.

In the guide, it says that the card could freeze if :
- Voltage is not high enough
- Core speeds are taken to high.

So... I reseted the cores to 550/550 and I took the Voltage a little higher (1290GPU - 1900 for both memory). It freezed again after a few mins of 3D mark.


Im not exactly sure what im doing wrong so im hoping you guys can help out.

Card Temp stays around 55-65.

Few system info:

PentiumD 820 ( 2.8 )
ATI Radeon 1800XL
1G Kingston DDR2 4200 (Dual)
Intel D945PSN MOBO.
PSU: Mutant Mod 480W.


Software used
ATITool
Overclocker


PS: When I open the 3D view in ATI tool, I get some weard yellow thingy on the side of the square even if I dont touch the Cores...?
Heres a screenshot of my desktop with the 3Dwindow open:

http://www.geocities.com/q3cyndrom/image001.png
(Hosted on geocities =/)

ok when you get stuff like that in ATI tool that means the card is artifacting. The first thing i would suggest doing is a full uninstall of the drivers and downlaoding the new drivers and installing them... this could be corupt drivers.

Then if that does not work set the card to stock and make sure your getting plenty of air. From your picture it looks like your card is running very hot, i would clean up your wires and maby add a fan below the card to keep it cool.

If it turns out that even at stock settings and with decent cooling your getting artifacting i would RMA the card as its could be defective.

I guess Ill go old school on it to test it out (Open case and blow the air in) untill I get some decent cooling. I dont think that the cleaning part is an issue, I normally clean everything on a regular basis.

Ive purchased the card at my job so changing it really is not a problem, the only thing is that its been out of stock for a few weeks now =/ Im waiting for that one or a 1900XL/XT to change it. I could change it tomorow for an Nvidia GF7800 GT OC but im not sure how the both compare to each other performance wise, benchmark scores looks closly equal to me. If you guys think I would not see a very big performance difference, Id probably get that while I wait for the other one.

The thing was an open box when I got it so its possible that the guy smoked it and brought it back after.

Thanks

Sorry for the typos, im french.

damn french

well i would really start with a driver uninstal and reinstall its an easy thing to do and if it works it works. Seeing as its an openbox i do think there is a better chance it was trashed by the previous owner When i say clean up your wires i mean to organize them, so as to not restrict air flow in the case thats all.

in my opinion the X1800 > 7800.

O and welcome to the forums we have a few people who hang out here in your area of the world, and a few like me with insomnia who live in the states as well

Actually im french Canadian and its 5:30am so I guess we are in the same club hehe.

My first post didnt make it so I had to retype it...

I did do a fresh driver install a few hours ago, just before starting my 3rd overclock process. (used drivercleaner and all).

Ill have to check inside the casing if my Sound card is not right under the video card but I doubt I did somthing that silly when I build it. The PSU cables are inside a "plastic" protector so I doubt that would be the problem alsow.

Its a little late and im tired so I guess Ill check that out tomorow