x1900xtx Toxic 3d clock settings

the-bullet

Hi all. I have just bought and installed a Sapphire x1900xtx Toxic card. The advertised 3d speeds are 675 core and 800/1600 mem. In the cat control panel my default speeds (under "Requested") are 641 core and 774 (1548) mem. I am using the latest cat drivers from ati (6.7).Can anyone explain why this is ? Thanks....

Unbornchild

I guess it is just the ATI drivers starting at safe base by default.

Simply unlock ATI Overdrive, and let it search for optimal settings.

On my X900XT i use:
core: 689
mem: 772
Max and stable.

dipstick

That's weird. When I had mine it would show the requested clocks at 675/800 with a max CCC oc of 690/806. It shouldn't be doing that since the clocks should be hardcoded into the bios-unlike the HIS ICEQ which requires their special oc utility. Try the cat 6.5's, it should definitely work fine with those, if not, I would exchange the card.

the-bullet

Thanks for the replies. Yes you're right. The core and mem speeds are coded in the bios and so obviously for some reason the bios is wrong. When I run the ati O/C utility the core will max out no problem but the mem will not raise above 774. There are also artifacts now showing in the sm3/hdr parts of 3dmark 2006 so I will be returning the card...

dipstick

A CCC screw up is understandable but if you cant even oc the card to its advertised clocks definitely take it back.

the-bullet

I took the card back to the retailer in person and was told the following :- 1) The speeds reported by the ccc are almost always incorrect and that I should pay no notice of them.
2)The official ATI drivers aren't very good and that I should really be using 3rd party ones.
3) The ccc O/C utility is not very good and the fact that it will not raise my memory above 774 should be ignored, and that I should go ahead and raise it myself to 800.
4) The 675 core and 800 mem speeds are NOT set as default by the card, instead I need to up the sliders to those speeds. This is despite the fact that there is no mention of this in the documenation, on the retailer's or Sapphire's website.
I did get the impression that the tech guy I spoke to genuinely did research the web etc whilst I was there to clarify the clock speed issue, however, I feel that as a retailer selling that product they should have that information at hand, or at the very least be in a position to phone Sapphire direct and get an answer on this. Meanwhile I am awaiting Sapphire to email me back regarding my query on this issue..

dipstick

I would have given back the card on the spot after speaking to that person

the-bullet

Other than ramming it down the guys throat (which crossed my mind) there was nothing I could do. He wasn't going to exchange it or refund my money and he was not going to budge

H3X4D3C1M4L

Isn't that what its supposed to run in 2D Mode? If you get ATI Tray Tools and use the clock speed monitor then fire up a game does it change to the right speed?

the-bullet

No. I'm fully aware of the 2d/3d speed difference. The 641/774 are the 3d speeds.

H3X4D3C1M4L

Just checking.

Proceed with throat ramming

the-bullet

Will do

stuntmanSLim

6.8 is latest ATI drivers/i have no problem with drivers or bios but i keep my clocks at default.

the-bullet

I would love to be able to run mine at default. It would be great

cadaveca

Your "retailer" is lying to you. Default sppeds, in CCC, are 675/800. The 2D speeds are also higher.

Want support from ATI or Sapphire? Use official ATI drivers, or the ones @ the Sapphire site.

Sapphire will expect some cash for RMA...

Hirotaro

I bought this card too
And I have same problem.
But I know where it comes from.

It all about the BIOS file!!!

I have compared my to the oher and find some differences:

Original:

-- RaBiT v.2.1.0 build 645 --
> RaBiT driver v.2.0.2 is ready
Read file: 62976 bytes, ROM len: 62976 bytes
-- Analyzing ROM BIOS --
> HEADER offs: 0x206
> PCIR struct offs: 0x22C
> MASTER offs: 0xA8D8, 34 entries
> SCRIPTS offs: 0xA840, 76 entries
> CRC table offs: 0x251
> CLOCK table offs: 0xADE0
Core clock is 527.00 MHz
Memory clock is 630.00 MHz
Reference clock is 27.00 MHz
> Connectors Layout table offs: 0xAEAA
Port = 0, Conn0 type = DVI-I
Port = 0, Conn2 type = STV
Port = 1, Conn4 type = DVI-I
> TV table offs: 0xAE62
> Hardware table: at 0xB1EE, Rev.2
hw_a: 0x350F, hw_b: 0x0201
> OverDrive table v.1.3:
T = 0..120 °C, GPU = 527.00 MHz, Mem = 630.00 MHz, GPU vddc = 1.200 V
T = 0..105 °C, GPU = 675.00 MHz, Mem = 806.00 MHz, GPU vddc = 1.450 V
> Multimedia table: at 0xB202
Product ID: 0x6, Tuner ID: 0x0, Audio Chip ID: 0x1F
Video Decoder ID: 0x66, Video Decoder Config: 0x2
> VESA BIOS Extension 3.00, Rev. 9.12:
Vendor: (C) 1988-2005, ATI Technologies Inc.
Product: R580, Rev. 01.00
OEM: ATI ATOMBIOS
Memory size: 256 Mb
> ASIC config:
0x75 = 0x68, 0x74 = 0x41
0x7C = 0x18, 0x7B = 0x72, 0x7A = 0x49
> Secure VBIOS details:
Digest: 664dd8db2a71cd4633c927e3a264a971 (41)
-- ROM BIOS info --
Desc: A52021 X1900XTX BIOS
Info: 113-AA52021-104, , 03/26/06 21:23
Chipset family: Radeon X1900 series
-- BIOS Image memory timings --
CL = 12
RCDR = 10
RCDW = 6
RP = 9
RRD = 10
R2W = 14
RR = 1E
RFC = 26

and the one from mine card:

-- RaBiT v.2.1.0 build 645 --
> RaBiT driver v.2.0.2 is ready
Read file: 62976 bytes, ROM len: 62976 bytes
-- Analyzing ROM BIOS --
> HEADER offs: 0x20A
> PCIR struct offs: 0x230
> MASTER offs: 0xA986, 34 entries
> SCRIPTS offs: 0xA8EE, 76 entries
> CRC table offs: 0x255
> CLOCK table offs: 0xAE8E
Core clock is 500.00 MHz
Memory clock is 600.00 MHz
Reference clock is 27.00 MHz
> Connectors Layout table offs: 0xAF58
Port = 0, Conn0 type = DVI-I
Port = 0, Conn2 type = STV
Port = 1, Conn4 type = DVI-I
> TV table offs: 0xAF10
> Hardware table: at 0xB2A4, Rev.2
hw_a: 0x350F, hw_b: 0x0201
> OverDrive table v.1.3:
T = 0..120 °C, GPU = 500.00 MHz, Mem = 600.00 MHz, GPU vddc = 1.200 V
T = 0..105 °C, GPU = 645.00 MHz, Mem = 775.00 MHz, GPU vddc = 1.450 V
> Multimedia table: at 0xB2B8
Product ID: 0x6, Tuner ID: 0x0, Audio Chip ID: 0x1F
Video Decoder ID: 0x66, Video Decoder Config: 0x2
> VESA BIOS Extension 3.00, Rev. 9.12:
Vendor: (C) 1988-2005, ATI Technologies Inc.
Product: R580, Rev. 01.00
OEM: ATI ATOMBIOS
Memory size: 256 Mb
> ASIC config:
0x75 = 0x68, 0x74 = 0x41
0x7C = 0x18, 0x7B = 0x72, 0x7A = 0x49
> Secure VBIOS details:
Digest: ff6ea6c61afc1d9a35c3e4c1eedad8f2 (41)
-- ROM BIOS info --
Desc: A52021 X1900XTX BIOS
Info: 113-A52021-110, S3A52021.110, 04/24/06 13:47
Chipset family: Radeon X1900 series
-- BIOS Image memory timings --
CL = 11
RCDR = 10
RCDW = 6
RP = 9
RRD = 9
R2W = 13
RR = 1D
RFC = 20
Set MEMORY clock to 598.50 MHz


So as You see there are some serious differences in clocks and some minor in timings of memory.

Why is that???