For All 9800pro Owners With VGA Silencers

[hardnrg]

Man, I don't know what the hell is going on with my 9800pro, the performance is great, don't get me wrong, but the core oc is a lame 393 at the moment, any higher and it artifacts, I've tried reseating the silencer and applying different amounts of AS5 from a thin film to a thick slab...

 

Has anyone else taken their shim off the 9800pro cos it really looks like the core is recessed... I've got a metal rule (do you call them straight edges?) and i'm gonna check it for definite tomorrow (when my lapping kit arrives, gonna remove and lap all my sinks) but I'm seriously considering taking the shim off cos when I put a thin film of AS5 on it I got artifacts and excess heat even at stock speeds...

 

It's a Sapphire 9800 pro btw, the red pcb one, R360 core (I think, gonna double check that tomorrow too)...

 

The old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is lingering in the back of my mind like some kinda bad omen... but man, people be getting like 440's n stuff...

 

Yeah, so can you post your core and mem oc too please for a quick comparison too.

 

Cheers,

 

[r_g]

well i get 395/365 with no ramsinks or vga silencer all stock. But some oc crazy good, some oc nothing, its all luck of the draw

[r_target]

Mine was flush, and OC's well. Just be careful if you decide to cut it.

[anthony]

i dont have one. but

 

i say lave the shim on.. you dont wana crush core... :S

but i voted.. shimmy shimmy shimmy! lol

[hardnrg]

hmm, i may just play it safe n leave it then, i get over 6000 3dm03 marks and my framerate is pretty killer in everything apart from FarCry (which is still like 50fps most of the time i'd guess)...

 

dunno, might wait to see if anyone actually took their shim off and see what they have to say about it... maybe someone had the same problem as i do now, took the shim off, and hay presto, super oc...

 

that's what i'm hopin for anyway

[HomerJaySimpson]

I've got the Sapphire 9800 Pro too. I dont seem to have any problems upping the core. I can get it to around 440 without artifacts. The mem also can get around 370.

Seems you just dont have luck on yer side mate

[hardnrg]

i wish i could borrow a really high quality psu... cos i'm thinkin the 12V rail on my Tt psu is lacking and is stopping me oc-ing my 9800pro AND my cpu...

 

got the voltmeter out tho and it measured 12.00v dead on off the atx connector... so i'm thinkin maybe the mobo somehow sucks some of it away... cos mbm5 reads between 11.80 and 11.92... not much, but maybe it's the cause?

 

agh! i dunno, i got two of the weakest OCs... my gaming performance is fantastic at 1280x960 full everything most games, but i'm not looking forward to HL2 sucking on my computer...

 

i might try adjusting my 12v rail to compensate for the mobo maybe... see how that works... cos the cpu and the 9800pro go off the 12v rail afaik... hmm, HMMMM!

[ccokeman]

The cure is a thicker application of as-5. Ive got an r-350 core that sits a tad below the shim and i get 450/380 for my oc's on the vid card. I dont think your psu is holding you back on the vid o/c, my 12v rail is about 11.4 to 11.5 with my new rig.

[hardnrg]

ah man, i've done the thick and even the extra thick AS5... i guess i just got unlucky with my cpu AND graphics card... meh, well, i'll probably just not take the shim off... i'm thinkin about gettin some water inside of there anyway, see how that turns out, cos i ain't got a/c (moved back into student accomodation now so can't really buy a unit either)...

 

see what happens with water... might be pleasantly surprised... who knows... and i've got a lapping kit arriving tomorrow so that can't be any worse!

[ccokeman]

try unmounting the vga silencer and see if its making good contact with the as-5. Water has been looking like a better option but after reading about roadrunners misfortunes with excellent parts ive kinds cooled on the idea.

[hardnrg]

Hmm, i have... like three different times now... but yeah, don't worry it's all comin off tomorrow, every sink... well, not my ramsinks cos they're epoxied on (and doing a good job!) but the rest of them, cpu, nb, gpu sinks are all gettin lapped to 2000 grit and then having a helping of 10,000 grit grinding/polishing compound... i'm sure there's life in my air sinks yet

[ccokeman]

Go for it!