vf700-cu on x1950xt temps

[jellysandwich]

so ive just installed the 700 on my x1950xt, but im kind of disappointed. the
temps are 45/70C, which is equivalent to when i was using the stock cooler at
40%.
edit: this is using the normal 12v mode.

is this normal? or should i try remounting? this was the first time i installed an
aftermarket vga cooler, so i mightve .messed up. any tips/suggestions?

js

 

[ijozic]

I'm not surprised by those temps - VF-700 is not in the heavy-weight category. For X1950XT, you should have chosen the VF-900. Is the VF-700 at least quiter? But 70 degrees C in load is not much at all so you shouldn't be concerned (unless the stock at 40% is at the same noise level in which case you didn't gain anything except the extra heat in your case because the stock cooler exhausted air out of the case).

 

[jellysandwich]

yea its quieter, but that wasnt that important to me. ive been doing a lot of research
on this these past few hours, and it seems like the vf7/900s arent good for the
x1900 cards. bummer, guess ill have to chalk up some restock/shipping fee.

js

 

[unclewebb]

I'm not sure what brand of x1950XT card you're using but I found that my Sapphire card puts out a lot less heat if you can reduce the core voltage. The factory 2D settings are OK but when these cards switch to 3D when you're gaming it increases the core voltage and produces piles of extra heat.

Using ATI Tool I've set my 3D voltages like the following picture and the 3D temps are much more reasonable. PM me if you need some help with this. Even at a significantly reduced core voltage you can still overclock the core which is a sign that they are using too much 3D core voltage from the factory.

Every core is different so you'll need to play around with the games you typically run. If you go too low in core voltage you will have freeze ups during games. With the above settings on my computer I don't have any problems. Sapphire used 1ns memory chips on their cards so they have no problem running at 1000 MHz.

Edit: I use my card in a closed case with my VF900 on the slowest fan setting and even at recent room temps of 30C there hasn't been any problems. You'll be shocked at the difference when you drop the GPU core voltage.

 

[jellysandwich]

I'm not sure what brand of x1950XT card you're using but I found that my Sapphire card puts out a lot less heat if you can reduce the core voltage. The factory 2D settings are OK but when these cards switch to 3D when you're gaming it increases the core voltage and produces piles of extra heat.

Using ATI Tool I've set my 3D voltages like the following picture and the 3D temps are much more reasonable. PM me if you need some help with this. Even at a significantly reduced core voltage you can still overclock the core which is a sign that they are using too much 3D core voltage from the factory.

Every core is different so you'll need to play around with the games you typically run. If you go too low in core voltage you will have freeze ups during games. With the above settings on my computer I don't have any problems. Sapphire used 1ns memory chips on their cards so they have no problem running at 1000 MHz.

Edit: I use my card in a closed case with my VF900 on the slowest fan setting and even at recent room temps of 30C there hasn't been any problems. You'll be shocked at the difference when you drop the GPU core voltage.

yea, i have a sapphire. its weird though, i dont get the voltage control options. maybe its
because im using atitool .27b2? ill try .26 when i get home.

i have a slightly different question now. you dont have any problems switching between
2d/3d? i remember reading somewhere to disable the ati hotkey puller, and just using
the same profile for everything when overclocking(which is what i was trying to do).

js

 

[unclewebb]

In the early days of Vista I also heard there was a problem with these cards when switching between 2D/3D. I'm not sure if that bug was ever fixed.

I'm using XP and it switches smoothly between 2D and 3D mode and back again. ATI Tool 0.26 works great for me. You'll notice the screen sort of blink when the GPU MHz changes and it switches modes but it doesn't effect stability any.

 

[jellysandwich]

ok, so ive got the voltage options now with .26. i also turned the ati hotkey
puller back on to allow 2d/3d switches, but now im a little confused with the volts.

1.175... i assume thats the 2d volt settings? then, how to set it up for the
3d ones? what are the defaults supposed to be?

js

 

[unclewebb]

I created two profiles called 2D and 3D and then I set it to switch to 3D when a game is detected and to switch back to 2D mode when the game is finished. Click on the New button on the main page to create different profiles.

My default 2D is similar to what you posted but both memory settings are at 2.184 volts on my card which is good for 1000 MHz.

I think the default VGPU is approximately 1.425 volts for 3D and default VDDCI = 1.486 volts.

The reduction in heat is mostly controlled by VGPU and there isn't as much to be gained by VDDCI reductions so I only took VDDCI down to 1.400 volts in 3D.

You don't have to create a 2D profile if you don't want. After you're finished gaming you can leave it set to 3D specs if you want and it won't hurt anything. After resuming from Stand By mode it automatically goes back to the default 2D specs.

Use ATI Tool to scan for artifacts but keep in mind that it creates way more heat than any real world game you'll come across.

At default MHz you might be able to run VGPU as low as 1.225 volts. Temperatures aren't a problem any more so I made sure it was nice and safe at 1.25 volts with no lock ups or crashes.

I like using RivaTuner as well which has excellent graphing ability so you can see if it is switching to 3D mode. You'll notice a big drop in the amps flowing through the card when you start dropping the voltage. Less amps = less heat.

Edit: Riva Tuner reports slightly different voltages than ATI Tool. For default Riva reports 2D 1.20 volts for the core and 1.45 volts for 3D. To get these numbers using ATI Tool you have to set it to 1.175 volts for 2D and 1.425 volts for 3D. Just a bunch of numbers. Lower core voltage while maintaining stability and your GPU will run cooler.