DISCLAIMER: I will not take responsibility should you damage or burn out your card.

Many of you probably have the Gecube 9550XT Extreme Edition. For RM 390 it's quite a deal, because of it's near on par, if not, greater than the 9600 Pro performance. Since revision 1.0 all the way to 2.0, we have been hearing good oc results, especially for those with Hynix 2.5ns rams. But there have been only few that have succesfully overclocked the Rev 2.1. Why? I actually have no damn idea, but what i do know, is how to overlcok it succesfully. The biggest factor on the Rev 2.1 is the unoverclockability of the core, which defaults to 432 mhz. Most of whom i have heard can only oc this to 440max, with lockups anything over it. Initially I thought of a bios lock, because the 9550XT was so popular, it kept people from buying a 9600 Pro/XT. However after flashing the bios with many different versions of the 9600, I have noticed that the core remains unoverclockable, but the memory soars, so it may be a good idea to keep a 9600 Pro bios on it, more on that later.

Alas, with help of rx8, a relatively new member to this forum, we have found out where to volt mod the core and the memory.

The voltage regulator chip is an ON 1571. It's brand name was not written on it, so it took forever to find results on google and the datasheet, but after page 25 or so on google, I found it. The other problem was finding the memory voltage. It was easy to find the core voltage, which is the pin of the coil for the core. However, for the memory, the coil was rated at 1.92v. Pretty strange for DDR memory? Yes, I agree, and I personally doubt it's got gDDR3 on it, and unfortunately, I can't find out either, since I have ramsinks superglued to the mem chips. If one of you could write down the code, and post it here, I would very much appreciate it.

Alas, after simply appyling the same voltage mod on the memory as on the core (because they both have the same regulator chips, 1571), my memory was more overclockable, so I thought, what the heck, as long as it runs higher, I wasn't gonna complain. But be assured, I'm not 100% sure, that the memory mod below will actually increase mem speed, unless I know wether i got gDDR1 or gDDR3.

Ok, so I'm done talking pure, useless crap, here's the mod:
:::vGPU & vDDR Mod:::

Simply draw a pencil line at those two ] to increase coltage. Check the voltage after every pencil line though. You don't want to shoot up the volts to 2v or smth like that.

If you don't like Pencil Modding, you can simply solder a 10K Pot to Pin 7 and to the ground.

Initially my core voltage was at 1.32v and memory at 1.92 at the max OC of 435/306 to 1.71v/2.2v at 532/336. This is with stock 9550 bios, not with 9600 Pro bios, so if I flash sooner or later, my mem will fly even higher.

Happy Modding,
Regards,
Dead__Man with help of rx8

This post has been edited by Dead__Man: Apr 11 2005, 03:34 PM

it is safe to vmod?

it's not if u have stock coolings.. but it'll help a lot with proper cooling and increases oc ability. though im not sure whether the card would be able to last long, however, by then it's already time to get new gcard on the market. it'll void warranty of course.. but how long is the warranty anyway.

no, it doesn't increase with proper cooling trust me, i've tried everything to increase core to over 450mhz, to no avail. i've got a 60mm cpu ehatsink with a 5000rpm fan on it, and some ramsinks cut from another 60mm heatsink, so the problem was never cooling.

btw... i'm not clear the guide but can guide me again to to vmod? wanna try...

-post deleted-

This post has been edited by pukarix: Jul 2 2012, 09:36 AM

just follow the diagram/pic above, and start cranking up the mem and core speed

Very similiar in terms of approach to the volt mod job made online last time at Adrian's Rojak Pot for 9600XT's. Anyway thanks for letting this little piece of tip be known to the rest since I've noticed a great interest in OC'ing the 9550XT

-post deleted-

This post has been edited by pukarix: Jul 2 2012, 09:38 AM

m... i really dun understand the pic... can tell me how to connect?

If you see carefully, on the 1571 chip/thingy (I dono what's that called), you'll see a small green ] . That's what you're suppose to do in order to mod it. That means you're to connect both of the pins/points together.....right? At least I think so

-post deleted-

This post has been edited by pukarix: Jul 2 2012, 09:38 AM

Quoted from thread starter:



I'm not sure if you can use wire to connect it....use a pencil would be the most cost-efficient


I have a n00b question...how to check what's the 9550 Rev? ATITool?



This post has been edited by dotn3t: Feb 25 2005, 10:20 AM

Ok, I failed to think of newbies to volt modding. The voltage regulator has a feedback cicrcuit, which tells it wether it should send more or less volts. If you connect this pin to the ground, less voltage wil come to the feedback circuit fooling the voltage regulator into thinking there's not enoguh voltage supplied to the chip, since some of the voltage escapes vie the pencil track to the ground.

Oh, and one more thing, DON'T do it with wires, otherwise ALL the voltage will go to the graound, makes the voltage regulator think the core is not having enough power, and will send all 3.3v to the core, instantly fraing it. You have been warned.

check the pcb board, on the front top side......it will say the rev.

This post has been edited by Dead__Man: Feb 26 2005, 02:02 AM

don't forget.... a digital multimeter is a must

dude, can host the pic at another site using hotclickable thumbnail? coz the text is quite hard to read...(ya...too long bcoz of the pic)

i will try if anyone did it successful

dude, the mod is so easy, simply draw a line between at those green ] and measure the voltage, if too high, use a rubber to rub it away, if too low, draw another line.

but if it helps, i have done the mod, it was damn easy, and so has rx8, but hasn't reported here yet.

rx8 reporting....
i did the mod and manage to get it at 480/325 now
i only set the Vgpu to 1.45 volt.
regarding the mem i didnt mod yet.

i got around 3752 on 3Dmark03... on a 2.4Northwood core intel system 533fsb

Points to note: marking is done on the CHIP!! just use a mech pencil and draw 3-4 lines in between the pins and boot up n measure the voltage.

If u get around 1.45... u can start using Atitool to up the core and run 3Dmark03
up a bit n run, then again. till artifact appears then stop. then this will be the core speed for the voltage u put in. if u wanna to get more juice outta, just repeat the process. I guess its safe for core to be at 500Mhz since the Gecube 9600xt is using the same HSF.

Do it when u r feeling confident and comfortable...
try not to exceed 1.6V on stock fan.

Also, use the 3Dmark03 to check for artifact instead of Atitool

Its not really dangerous but be careful coz non of us will be responsible if u fry ur gfx card.

It better to read more about v moldding before doing it as wat dead_man and I did
have a complete understanding of wat u doing and going to expect then u do it.

May the force be will everyone.

This post has been edited by rx8: Feb 27 2005, 04:49 AM

I obtained a score of 3933 with core500 and 325(650)mem with my intel 1.8A@2.4 with 533fsb.

my Vgpu is at 1.55(Vmodded) while Vmem is at 1.95(default).
stock HSF and default bios

It as fast as the 9600xt available in the market.

It can go further but till 520core, i see some artifacts on 3Dmark03.

core can go 500 ??

cool ..............

RX8 and Dead__Man Boleh

my Intel Board i think cannot overclock lah

D845EBG2




This post has been edited by CHAILEE: Mar 6 2005, 04:30 PM

Actually, it was dead_man who modded it first. Without him i dun think i can do it also.
so, kudos to him

wat program u use for overclocking?

i very afraid to overclock... wat is the tips?

and how much the max core and memory can be oc?

There is no reason toi be afraid to overclock, because the wore that can happen is your pc locks up or it crashes, there will be no physical damage. However volt modding is considered dangerous, because do a mistake, your card might end up dead.

To overclock just use ATITool and click "Find Max Core" and "Find Max Mem", but do his overnight, because it takes long. Then save the settings under a new profile and set ATITool to run when windows starts and use the profile you just created. If you have problems, set the core frequecny and memory frequency down by 10mhz, just to be safe.

this should be pinned

This post has been edited by CHAILEE: Feb 27 2005, 06:07 PM

let me guess.. this card isnt using stock cooling right?

mine isn't, that's why I bumped to 1.7v. rx8 has stock.

pencil trick hard to mod leh.. kenot coonect .... maybe use other things...

if you are really, really sure of what you are doing, you can use 320 grit sandpaper between the two pins, like i did. from 1.5v shot up to 2v. rub a bit away, voila, 1.6v. much better contact due to rugher surface.

I can't c the picture posted by Dead__Man le..
down oredi?
n how much is the digital multimeter...?
any alternative to detect the voltage?

fixed, link works again

Thanks dude
going to try it when i get my hands on the multimeter.

lol
hardcore, use sandpaper

can i use this mod on my 9550GT ? ....

does your card have two 1571 chips i the upper left and right corners on the frontside of your card? if yes, should be possible, but it would be better if you could send me some pic of your card.

below are front and back of my pcb...
i only found the same ic at the front of my pcb (circled with yellow)
i can't find any of it at the back of my pcb.....

hmm... bout the green " [ ] " that i draw... izzit the location that i need to use pencil to draw " [ ] " ? .... 2 side? or just one side.. and which side...

and another thing, how to check the vgpu ? ... i didn't see any vgpu in my bios... got vcore lah..


Attached thumbnail(s)

you can't check vGPU and vDDR in the bios, nor with any software, only with a multimetre (should you nto have one, don't even try this mod).

to find out your voltage, there is a coil near the 1571, i've marked it in the attached pic. simply check the backside where the connectors of the coil are soldered. that's the voltage checkpoint. (set your multimetre to 2v, put the black conenctor of the multimetre in to one of the two black wires of the molex conenctor, put the red one on to the connector of the coil).

looking at your pics, you have to connect neither of the one you chose. pin 7 adn 8 are the ones, i've marked the proper trace in bue. i've attached the pic.


Attached thumbnail(s)

hmm... by vmod the 7th & 8th legs of that ic..... it'll increase the vgpu or vddr or both? >_<

probably vGPU since it's quite close to your core. measure the voltage (the coil), if it's around 1.3-1.4 then it's vGPU, it it's around 2.6-2.9 (or maybe 1.8-1.9) then it's vDDR.

okie... thanks very much for your useful info..

good card u got there.. the pcb is actually a real 9600pro/xt board.
its easily to find a good bios thats compatible....

wats ur marking on the ram?? the wordings

btw, when did u got it and where? think this version is quite rare.

thks

your RAM is 5ns


This post has been edited by CHAILEE: Mar 6 2005, 12:46 PM

i got it at kuching pc fair , .... i satisfy with default core clock 459mhz ,
but the ram seems lousy.. default at 200mhz ... only able to oc to 250mhz... it's 5.0ns !!!!!!! such a lousy ones...

my gecube 9550 extreme only able to reach 450/650
do i need to increase the AGP voltage to 1.7v?
i try 1.6v still can get higher

I think its not advisable for stock HSF to go beyond 1.6V...
But then, i can reach 500Mhz at 1.48V....
how come ur one at 1.6 can only do 450Mhz??

A 9600xt is doing 500Mhz at 1.5V also... since its the same core, i think it should be the same....

Its not adviseable becoz i reckon the stock HSF is not so efficent in term if working outside stock value. The lifespan of the product might shorter due to the excessive heat.

Maybe u can follow Dead_man and mod a AMD HSF on the core before ocing more.

U r one unlucky man, got a good PCB with these ram... wat a waste...

500 is not bad already.. also I believe the RAM speed dun affect as much as the CORE speed.

U see a big difference in 400Mhz and 500Mhz??
but 100Mhz difference in a core can be alot.

maybe can attach some ram sink on the ram and clock more.
wat is the brand of the ram btw??

my default is 1.5V but only can reach 450/650
when i set it to 1.6v still can't increase the core speed
mine is samsung 3.3NS

huh... wait a minute...

wats ur edition of card again??
and wats ur core??

he's talking about the vAGP option in the mainbaord bios. it rarely affects overclockability.

man...u are dead....congrats to you

just to follow ur instruction

This post has been edited by ^KamilskaZ^: Mar 7 2005, 11:15 PM

mine is REV 2.1
default core is 432/277

do the pencil mod then....

I tried the mod. For the core I got it running at 535 at 1.63v.
But..... i have no luck with the memory though.
Accidently applied too much voltage for it.
Now got those vertical line artifact all over the place.
I think i fried my gc.
Solutions?

well, did you remove the graphtie line again? i once bumped up my voltage to 3v artifacts, removed the graphite line, and presto, it worked again.

brave soul, btw.. default cooling??

Dead_Man
I did remove the graphite line but the artifacts are still there.
I give it another try this weekend.

rx8
I'm on VGA Silencer Rev 3
Now I'm bock on my old trusty geforce2 mx100

This post has been edited by die_257: Mar 31 2005, 01:13 PM

I just got mine today, and i must say i am rather disappointed with this card. It seems cheaply made all round. The PCB has sharp edges which they did not bother to sand down and the stock heatsink screams CHEAPY. Doesn't even contact the memory chips properly.

serious? I think its pretty decent. The stock cooler is rated quite good compared to other brand in fact.... u shd check out other brand's stock HSF.

Other brand dun even bother to cover the RAM with anything....

Cant really expect much from stock HSF.

That cap they used is from sanyo... thats kinda good in fact.

sharp edges.... dunno about that. I havent see a card with round edge thou....
U know of any??

Btw, im not a fanboy of this card... just posting my own opinion.

Also, its probably not wise to get this card at the moment due to the 6600non pro series....

(i'd like to thank arj to moving this to essential reviews and guides)

btw, the coltage regulation ic has an input of 12v. my overclocking of core seems to be limited after setting the voltage over anything than 1.6v. i believe the core might not be getting enough current (not voltage, remember two diff things here).

if i connect my psu 12v to the ic's 12v input will my core get mroe current? i'm askling mroe the absolute vmod pros or electronic experts here. would appreciate any info.

here the ic datasheet:
http://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/NCP1571-D.PDF

dead_man: excellent, though I don't own one of these cards myself, but it's interesting how you managed to find out the voltage mechanism behind the R9550XT.

Anyway you were the it could shoot up to 3.3v? Is that chip you're modding an op-AMP?

Regarding your 10k put method, don't forgot to put a small resistor in series This is just in case the user turns in a direction which yields Zero-Ohms, ie. a short-circuit, and you'll be pumping in full 3.3V, frying the card also

how is sappire radeon 9550 platinum edition compared with this one?

yeah.. i am curious on how well the sapphire radeon 9550 performs too..

I'd just like to hereby officially announce that I killed my card when I pumped in 1.75 volts. And no, the core or mem didn't fly, my cooler keeps them at something below 45c/35c respectively.

It was the goddamned capacitors. They were unusually hot, at about 60c-70c.

And well, during a session of Jedi Academy, they blew.

RIP GeCube 9550XT Extreme Edition Rev2.1 19.01.2005 - 21.05.2005

Sent it to me and i will repair it for u. Will put in better rated caps for u if u want.

you can do that arr , how much pm me info k i got radeon HIS9500pro & His Radeon 9550PRo , just pm me cost for eac of them k

How maximum of GEcube 9500GT can up to : ??
core 240
clock 400

After mod
Core - ??
Clock - ??

Thanks for sharing