Radeon 9500 to 9700 Pro Mod

[TheBlueRaja]

Hi Guys,
Has anybody tried to mod their 9500 using RivaTuner as I have a question. Sazar if your there mate i would love to hear your view on this.

Basically i heard you can take a Radeon 9500 (non PRO)128Mb, and software mod it with RivaTuner to a 9700 PRO because it uses the same PCB (so im told). Which should give me a 256bot bus AND 8 pipelines as opposed to the 9500's 4.

Basically, im about to click on the buy button for a nice Saphirre 9500 for 130 UK Pounds and mod it to a 9700 PRO and sell on the Ti4400. (today)

So, Have i got my facts straight - is this correct - and after the mod - is there ANY difference between that and the 9700 PRO. I have also heard that ATI are starting to pull the 9500 because of this.

Please help guys....

 

[Taurus]

i believe you can only turn the 9500 non-pro into the 9700 non-pro.

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by taurus
i believe you can only turn the 9500 non-pro into the 9700 non-pro.

yip... thats the gist of it...

but this is done @ ones risk...

the pcb is the same... and overall everything is the same BUT the number of pipelines in the 9500 non-pro are half that from the 9700 non-pro... during quality checking only those pcb's/chips that are up to spec are made into the 9700 non-pro else they have some of the faulty pipelines disabled and boom... you have a 9500 non-pro..

ati's board partners make the 9500 non-pro btw.. ati only makes the pro versions of its chipset far as I know ati is NOT pulling the 9500 because of this...

the mod does work.. and I would highly recommend the software mod over the hardware mod...

there are risks naturally... you are voiding your warranty and enabling a sometimes faulty and not up-to spec set of pipelines can cause more problems for the user than is worth it... but if it works and you are lucky enough to have a good chipset... you have yourself a 9700 non-pro... for half the price or less

the 9500 series of cards will be phased out and replaced by the rv350 cards which are on 0.13 micron process and thus cheaper to produce for ati... maybe even the 9700 series will be replaced by the 0.13 micron process cards

bear in mind the r350 card should still be out on 0.15 micron process

so to sum it up.. yah you can mod it.. and get 9700 non-pro speeds (software mod btw) and be pretty happy with it...

www.rage3d.com has a whole bunch of users who have done this and are happy... but also those who didn't get what they wanted @ the end of the day... and were stuck with a regular 9500 non-pro...

the 9500 non-pro is competing with the gf4mx lineup hence your performance will be lower than the card you have now.. buy @ your own risk.. or buy the 9500 PRO and be happy should be around same price as your card...

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Okay - I have read up on this a bit more and did realise that what you were saying is correct - however I found myself an online shop which i can return the goods to IF i dont, ahem, like them.

So heres the deal - i get a 9500 non pro card - which you rightfully say can only be turned into a 9700 non pro - however the difference between the 9700 and the 9700 pro (I Believe) is that the 9700 Pro is clocked higher.

Therefor, I bag a Sapphire 9500 Atlantis (128Meg), for 140 notes inc delivery and Software "mod" it using Rivatuner.

IF it works, great, i can begin the Overclocking process (this card is supposed to be quite good for O/Clocking) - and then flog my Ti4400 on Ebay (which currently has a Ti4400 going for 142 notes) and make a small profit, if it dosent - then i send it packing back to whence it came, warranty intact as nothing has been changed on the card.

So I *think* i have all bases covered - I will let you guys know the result and include some juicy 3D Mark Scores for ya too.

*Fingers Crossed* - The Card arrives on Monday..

What do you think - am i mad???????



P.s Thanks Sazar - once again....

 

[Teddy]

I thought that as soon as you mod/overclock the card the warrenty becomes invalid.

These suppliers aren't stupid you know. If you return a card that has been moded like you describe they WILL know and you wont get your money back.

You're not mad to get that card, but mad if you think you'll get away with it.

 

[TheBlueRaja]

I cant see HOW they could know - the mod is all software - you dont even touch the hardware.

Would they know if you bought a Ti4400 and clocked it to a Ti4600 speed for 10 mins to test it.

I think not....

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by TheBlueRaja
I cant see HOW they could know - the mod is all software - you dont even touch the hardware.

Would they know if you bought a Ti4400 and clocked it to a Ti4600 speed for 10 mins to test it.

I think not....

yes it is a software mod and you can just flash the 9500 non-pro bios back in...

concerning the difference between the 9700 and 9700 PRO.. the memory is higher quality on the 9700 PRo hence the higher clocks...

it is unethical to do what you are saying though... I personally don't like the idea of people rma'ing a product because it would not oc or do whatever else for them that was OUTSIDE of the design specs that one knew about..

it is because of rma's that prices sometimes are a little more inflated because the retailers start factoring in that price after a bit... least some that I know...

but its your money and rig... you do what you think is right...

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Thing is - Brits tend to have to pay a LOT more for just about everything that you guys in the states do.

We have a phrase over here called Rip Off Britain which the press love to band about (with zero effect incidentally).

So we tend to be a bit more fussy when it comes to buying things - hell yeah - its unethical - but the way i see it - im being ripped off by them anyhoo.

Just my opinion.

 

[Teddy]

Like Sazar said, if you try to rma it you need a VALID reason for returning it....you cant return a product because you simply didnt like it. If you say it didnt work...they will test it. If you say there's another reason that you returned it...they will test that too.

These companys dont 'loan' out hardward to see if you like it or not. Im afraid things aren't as convinient as that!

 

[TheBlueRaja]

"If you are not totally satisfied with your purchase, you can return it within 7 days from date of invoice for a refund provided it is in pristine condition in its original box and packaging."

 

[Teddy]

Wow...what is this website??! I must see..

 

[TheBlueRaja]

Sorry matey - i will post that next week - Not that i dont trust ya...

 

[Mubbers]

That's a great post TBJ! If I hadn't already bought a 4600 I'd give it a shot!!

You are also right about what you say in respect to rip off britain. All these cards come from the same sources so quite why we pay in £ GBP what the rest of the world pays in $ USD is beyond me.

If they're gonna keep ripping us off then they should expect to be treated with the respect they deserve.

What TBJ is intending to do is quite legal. If the card doesn't meet his expectations then can send it back, it's up to the dealer to decide whether or not his expectations meet with theirs :huh:

Mubbers

 

[TheBlueRaja]

To be honest - the site that I am buying the card from would never have got my order unless they had such a policy. So the way I see it is that they are gonna get 140 quid if all goes well, simply because their returns policy is so good.

I will not be damaging, hardware modding, or changing anything about the card. In fact the only thing i will be doing is inserting it into my AGP slot and installing some modded software which DOES NOT overclock it just unlocks the other 4 pipelines for use.

So everyone wins or everyone loses.

 

[Sazar]

Originally posted by TheBlueRaja
"If you are not totally satisfied with your purchase, you can return it within 7 days from date of invoice for a refund provided it is in pristine condition in its original box and packaging."

thats my point there m8...

and for others as well... not just blue raja...

IMO when you see something you are VALID in returned the product when you are unsatisfied with it in the state that you are receiving it... by rma'ing it just because it would not mod properly into a 9700 though you full well understand the consequences and then returning it @ that point to me is unethical...

still like I had stated in my previous post.. that is purely IMHO... and nothing else... can't really set the net police on you...