X1600 overclock area

I have decided to start this thread so others with this great notebook video card can share their numbers and experiences. As you can see in my sig, I have a Asus W2JB with 6.7 Catalyst drivers. I have been very pleased with the machines performance. The acid test for me was playing F.E.A.R. for hours at very high settings with great performance.

Then I started really digging, reading and exploring all aspects when I realize that the stock GPU core/memory clock settings of 419/468 seem kind of low for the X1600. I know, I know, manufacturers do this for reasons of heat and stability so I will say for the record that I value this notebook greatly. Trust me when I tell you that I'm not interested in max overclocking, just a little kick in the pants since it seems to me that Asus defaults this particular card at a very safe (albeit kinda low) setting.

I downloaded ATI Tool ver. 25 beta 14 and tried a mild overclock. I initially tried beta 15 but got wacky readings for the stock core/mem speeds so I didn't use it. Right now I'm at 440/480 and things are very stable while the rise in temperature seems negligible.

So share your numbers please. Are you stock? Have you overclocked? What do you think a safe/stable overclock is? What version of ATI Tool (or other OC software) works best for you? What is the best combination of core/clock speed for best performance and stability? All input is valued and invited.

 

i will be getting it soon and will post back did u do 3dmark 05,06?

 

My Asus defaults for the x1600 on my F3Ja is 446/347. So that makes my core's default higher than yours but my memory lower. I have no idea what that means though, any explanations?

I have occasionally put it to 470/410 just to see what its like and it seems stable and like you said heat's negligable.

 

these numbers are great but unfortunately they are only numbers... what do they mean in terms of performance? can anyone provide BENCHMARKS with these given numbers?

 

if benchmarks are available we can see whether the mem number or the clock number or both or their ratio or whatever improves gaming performance the most, as to be able to tell what the best levels are for gaming performance.

 

I haven't run 3Dmark 05 yet, I got creeped on FutureMark a few years ago after the "Nvidia bias testing" fiasco was made public. That's water under the bridge now so I'll load it up again I guess. I believe the numbers for my rig should be around the 3800-4000 area. It's not a "be all to end all" test but it's a good way of noting increases (or decreases) on your particular computer.

I have also read that memory speed is more important for 3D performance than core speed but I do not know what balance of the two is best. That's why I created this thread, so we can all compare what we have and what works best. So far I have seen a noticeable improvement in performance since bumping my core/mem speeds but I don't want to get carried away either.

 

exactly my opinion, what was this nvidia bias testing fiasco that you mentioned? i have never heard of it and would like to know, thanks again!

 

It may have been more than a few years ago, 3DMark 2001 comes to mind I think, but Toms Hardware and others found out (and proved) that FutureMark had purposely tweaked the program to favor and enhance the scores of Nvidia cards. There was some collusion between the two companies at the time, FutureMark fessed up and apologized but the damage was done. I personally jumped ship because of that and have been using ATI cards since. Now before the flamethrowers come out, it was a while back and I will say that I believe all of the companies (ATI, Nvidia and FutureMark) make fine products now. I have just been very pleased with ATI's stuff but that doesn't mean that I will never own another Nvidia card. I also plan to try out the new 3Dmark, so there, all is forgiven and I'm not holding a grudge!

Now how about some clock speeds and numbers people?

 

haha, good humor, good attitude... i see, i am actually the same way, i use only ati cards just from the beginning... not to say i won't own an nvidia, but i have had good experiences with ati in the past, so why bother changing? with that said im looking into the asus z96j or possibly the a8jm (milestone pc group buy for additional discount)... we'll see

 

Hmmm core 530 / mem 540. 3dm05 - 4900 , 3dm06 - 2503 (I think it's WR)

 

Nice scores mastha212, that's one heck of an overclock! I'm assuming you are stable at those speeds? What kind of temp increase did you experience? I think I read in another thread that you were using an air conditioner to cool your rig. Is that still the case? Thanks.

edit: 2 questions: 1-what's WR? and 2-what are the differences (besides the obvious final scores) of 3Dm 2005 and 3Dm 2006? Is one better (or more accurate) than the other? 3Dm 2006 is hella bigger than 2005 but what are you actually getting?

 

Air conditioner I used only for breaking the records. I have cooling pad (Vantec LapCool 3) and with this I can set 510/510 with no artifacts. With these settings I have about 4750 and 2450.

BTW. Can someone check 3dm06 on Futuremark, X1600 category with all sccores from user and all drivers? Cause in 05 there is my score on 3rd position, but in 06 is not.

 

wow... on the 14" sheesh, how did u push it so far? and how does these benchmarks reflect in terms of gaming performance?

 

DDR3 + air conditioner or DDR3 + cooling pad and a little of courage And about gaming result please go here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=74146

 

510/513
'05 = 4890
'06 = 2200
ONLY FOR GAMING
other wise see my signature

 

ATI Tool BSOD's me.

 

WR - world record, 2nd question I don't understand what you mean.
USA don't give up!! Try maybe with diffrent drivers or something, with Ati Tray Tool it won't work at all.

 

Right Now im at

470/400 checking for stability.


Actually LOL, ATI Tool just did work for me!!!

 

Right now im at 500/436, gonna run 3dmark now...

W00t I also under OC'ed to 209/135!!!

 

OK, I ran 3DMark 2005 and here are my scores:
stock GPU 418/468 - 4147
OC 440.10/481.50 - 4348

Not bad for a slight bump I guess. I wonder how much 200 points converts into extra performance? Me thinks that unless someone goes crazy with their clock speeds, they may as well leave things stock. I'm not sure that the extra load on the GPU is worth a few frames per second.

For giggles, I ran the same test on my work computer earlier today. It's a Dell 3.2GHz, 1GB RAM and a 256MB X600 vid card. 1714 3DMarks! Hah! I know the GPU is crap but that is truly one pathetic score.

 

haha thats funny, i have a 2.4 amd x2 4400+ toledo, 2gb corsair twinxmos plat heat spreader, 2 150gb sata 10k rpm raid 0 drives, and the x600 256 mb!! lol, i got a really pathetic score as well, around 1xxx range. lol, i guess its time to get a new gfx card..

 

also i know you use atitool but how exactly do you use this program to adjust the speeds, im new to overclocking/underclocking. if that 209/135 is possible, i will definitely be having it at that for daily use, this is incredible guys, thanks again!

 

Oh so far, about twice while chaning profiles, ATI Tool has crashed the system, but its a known bug in ATI Tool.

 

so then what program is best for clocking (over and under) that is the most stable bug free program out there?

 

ATI Tool actually.

I havent found any other program that works for the Mobility X1600.

I do like ATI Tools simplicity and profiles, but it still has a few bugs.

Maybe it wont crash on your system.

 

I would suggest for the easiest way of see'ing how you overclocked your card, I suggest everyone posts the follow info:

Card Name:
Amount of Memory:
Drivers:
Max Stable OC:
Overclocking Tool Used:

 

X1600 mobility Radeon
256MB dedicated + 256 hypermemory
6.7 Catalyst w/CCC
ATI Tool v. 25 beta 14

I'm not interested in a max overclock, I only wanted to give my stock card a little boost since Asus seems to underclock it slightly. I assume this is done for reasons of stability and heat. Some people (hi mastha212!) have really experimented in the upper regions of what their card can handle. I am sure he knows what he's doing but I would really discourage anyone from trying this because a fried laptop video card is a real bummer. Even worse is having your warranty denied because they find obvious signs of your experimentation. I found the boost in 3DMark scores rewarding from my mild overclock but the laptop runs great with the factory settings so I'll probably leave it be unless I'm going to run an app where I'll really see the boost. Just my 2 cents.

Regarding ATI Tool, I suggest experimenting with different versions to see which one works best for you. As I said earlier, my beta 25 load gave me real wacky stock clock speeds so i didn't go further with it. Beta 14 seems to work good for me. As was posted elsewhere, DO NOT use the "find max speeds" button since it really sends you to a starting point that is not reasonable. Just start from stock and slightly edge upwards, stay there for awhile and run a few tests and programs to make sure you are stable. Make sure your temps aren't going through the roof either. Nothing kills electronics faster than heat and/or overvolting.

FYI, I went up to 450/480.50 and my 3DMark score was 4405. Real nice to be sure but an extra 250 3DMarks is definitely not worth toasting my card for.

Peace

 

ninjazed what were the stock speeds? i thought they were 470/470... i guess not though, and what was the 3dmark05 score with the stock speeds?

 

My stock speeds were 418/468 and my stock 3DMark 2005 score was 4147. I thought the stock settings were very lame but I was happy to see that the stock 3DM score was not. It's weird how the same card is clocked so differently in almost every model. I honestly expected more of an increase with the overclock but then again I haven't really gone wild wild with it either.

Someone with more knowledge with this can correct me if they like, but I know I've read that higher memory speed will yield better results than high clocks. Many people just match the two but I'm guessing that a delicate balance and experimenting with individual machines is best. I know that when I overclock my desktop CPU and memory, extra voltage is also required but ATI Tool (and my W2JB BIOS) doesn't allow for this.

 

yeah, in desktop gfx cards you need extra voltage, because those cards are not made to be mobile, that must be controlled through the bios... but in mobile gpu's you don't want to provide extra voltage because the cooling options aren't as great. you can exchange the heatsink on desktop gpu's and run those cards cooler allowing more voltage and regular temps to flow through it. but in mobile gpu's the best we can do is apply arctic silver 5 and thats about it... so im sure applying arctic silver 5 will lower temps allowing for a better heat transfer. this won't allow you to overclock higher by applying voltage, but it will allow you to overclock higher without having to worry as much about the heat. the heat will still be there, just at a higher level... correct me if you think im wrong... and add rep if you think im right!

 

Default mine was 450/370, that was a bit low especially for the memory, so the now the memory clocks up nicely to 450.

 

nice what are your stock 3dmark 05 score and after oc? how much is the points difference in comparison to heat difference/battery usage? there is a program battery eater pro, can someone run tests for stock, overclock, and underclock (209/135 i think was the best underclock) and see the time differences? i'd really be interested in something like this!!

 

oh and also 3dmark 06 if anyone has it... or i will be having it soon so its ok, but also 3dmark 05 for the UNDERCLOCK haha i wanna see how lowering the clocks are affecting the gaming performance... as i don't regularly play severely graphics intensive games and might opt for lower clocks to save battery even during games... no fps or such for me, just regular warcraft iii, aoe iii, and maybe games like pharoh caesar, emperor, civ 4 etc...

 

what im particularly interested in is knowing benchmarks and battery times on stock, oc,uc on a 9cell battery as this is what i will be getting soon, so the question is will the 9 cell be able to pull 5 hrs with uc?, if so thats hot!

 

Well to save batt life by undervolting, check this out, which concerns the CPU

But yeah, setting a 'office' and 'gaming' profile for your X1600 is also a good way to save batt

 

ahh this is a good idea, since i am going to be getting a t7200 core 2 duo 2.0ghz i should undervolt that, but what im mainly concerned about is the gpu since the cpu i believe automatically underclocks itself to around 1ghz during light use, im not sure, but it would be nice to control something like that

 

Unless you dont mind buying a new laptop if it dies I wouldnt recomend this. Like stated moderate OC'ing will only yeild mild improvements; definately not worth the loss of warranty or risking artifacting or increased heat.

Ok with that aside, it is nice to see some people on the edge strectching out htis video card. Im sure the extreme cases will help you play next gen games better. Keep up the work!

 

you mean if we oc the card and it dies? i think they mentioned that if we do it a little by little and don't get too greedy, it should be fine right? i mean then again ppl like mastha whatever his sn was had the gpu under AC direct contact, thats what i call a real stretch!!! hahaha anywayz, any more results? or battery benchmarks?

 

Yeah altering the clock speeds in any way will void your warranty. Some of the people here have OC'd enough to impact high end gaming; but modest OC'ing wont affect gaming enough to warrant loosing ones warranty. 200 3dmarks is a nice boost, but I cant see that making a HUGE impact on any real world gaming.

It would be nice to see a x1600 at over 1ghz on phase change cooling. Now that would be a site to see ::drools::

 

No manufacturer is going to detect an OC unless you burn out the card, which is very difficult to do with all the built in safety features and early warning signs. As long as you don't go overboard, you're in no real danger of losing your warranty with a nice mild OC.

 

haha, my main concern actually is under clocking! wondering if the stated numbers of 209/135 were doable do save on battery? any thoughts on that liquidxit? brain? will that be worth it (the risks vs. the outcomes?)

 

underclocking will probly void the warranty the same. But the improvement in battery life would be nice. As the main complaint about dedicated video is the battery consumption. Some manufactures have a dual gpu option like 7900gs on ac and intel gma950 on battery and the option to switch between either.

 

yeah but that wouldn't be available in a 15.4" would it? lol...

 

also i would be interested to know the benchmarks in performance and battery life (on high settings and low settings brightness.. wifi etc) with the x1600 underclocked to lowest stable settings (i think at this time its 209/135)???

 

on a 6 cell and on a 9 cell...

 

Well, got my '05 score in my sig, and it's pretty good. I have a question however. The Radeon Mobility x1600 is based on the same 12 pipeline structure as its desktop cousin...so why does ATItool say mine has only 4? >.<

 

As long as you have Powerplay enabled (which it should be by default), your GPU will automatically downclock when on battery.

 

Ok, so the mobility x1600 has 12 pixel pipelines. Is pixel pipelines the same things as Active Pipelines from ATITool? If so... ATITool says I only have 4...is that right?

Note, I'm using ATITool .25 Beta 10.

 

maybe the other 8 are inactive... but i highly doubt that... i also doubt that if they were inactive that you could activate them over software... so chances are its not gonna work, but if you wanna go ahead and venture at the risk of losing your gpu thats upto you. i am more interested in the underclock... i understand that powerplay underclocks the gpu but i also highly doubt that it underclocks it to 209/135! i want to know what the battery times are on a 6 cell and a 9 cell at these clocks... as they are the LOWEST stable clocks...

 

I did some digging and came up with the following info.

FROM THE ATI SITE:
157 million transistors on 90nm fabrication process
Dual-link DVI
Twelve pixel shader processors
Five vertex shader processors
128-bit 4-channel DDR/DDR2/GDDR3 memory interface
Native PCI Express x16 bus interface
Dynamic Voltage Control /end of quote

FROM A VERY RECENT SHARKEY EXTREME REVIEW:
The Radeon X1600 uses the 90nm RV530 core, which is ATI's replacement for the Radeon X600 and X700 lines. The RV530 has a very interesting core architecture, and actually takes a few steps backward, while still working forward in terms of high-end game performance. The number of pixel pipelines is the first surprise, and the RV530 features 4 pixel pipelines (or a pixel quad), which is a drop from the 8 pipes of both the Radeon X700 and GeForce 6600GT. Of course, in today's gaming environment, pixel fill rate isn't what it used to be, and ATI has purposefully added in 3 pixel shader processors per pipeline, for a total of 12, greatly increasing shader performance.

This means that while the pixel fill rate will be lower than corresponding mainstream video cards, the increased shader performance can make up the difference, especially with newer SM 2.0 and 3.0 games. The RV530 includes 5 vertex shaders, which is higher than the GeForce 6600GT and on par with the GeForce 7600GT. The Radeon X1600 XT features 4 texture units, or one per pipeline, which is the standard architecture for mainstream cards, but still a bit low due to the RV530's 4 pixel pipelines. The card's memory interface is a 128-bit external link to GDDR3 memory, which is connected through a 256-bit internal ring bus controller. /end of quote

I hope the above info helps to answer some questions. GPU specs can be pretty confusing but the resulting performance is what counts. While the X1600 has been called by some a "lackluster" desktop card, it has definitely proven itself as a reliable workhorse in the laptop graphics arena. I for one am very pleased with the X1600's performance. As I've said many times before, if it runs F.E.A.R. at darn near max settings with decent framerates, I'm a happy camper.

The reason I started this thread was to share experiences on overclocks since this card seems to be able to do that very easily. hbomb174 seems to be interested in underclocking only. That's cool I guess but way boring for me since battery times aren't that important to me. Asus seems to have struck a very nice balance regarding heat, performance and battery life in my particular notebook so I would be interested in seeing just how long one could stretch their battery time. Maybe I should have just called this the "official X1600 thread" since all input and info on this card is welcome and I continue to invite everyone to share.

Peace