How to Flash 9800 Non-Pro into 9800 Pro

[optimummind]

**ATTN: This BIOS flash has met with great success mostly for people with Samsung memory modules. Those with Infineon modules may not see any performance improvements. Please read the forum replies for situations that may apply to you!!**

I just flashed my Sapphire 9800 Non-Pro last night with success using Flashrom (instead of ATI Flash Utility) and a 9800 Pro BIOS titled: 98-8004.BIN

Here are the steps I took:

1. Created a DOS boot disk (DOS 6.22, to be exact).

Note: If you can't make a DOS boot disk, leave your email address and I'll send you the file. Otherwise, go to:

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

and download the Dos 6.22 Bootdisk.

2. Created a second floppy disk with the Flashrom program and the 98-8004.BIN file.

To download the Flashrom program, click here.

To download the 9800 Pro BIOS, click here.

Remember to copy the 98-8004.BIN file into the floppy disk containing the Flashrom program.

3. Before booting my computer, I used PowerStrip to set my card to its default speed of 325/310. (For safety reasons.)

4. Rebooted with the DOS 6.22 boot disk.

5. Once I reached the A:\ prompt, I took out the DOS disk and replaced it with the floppy containing Flashrom.

6. At the A:\ prompt, I typed:

flashrom -s 0 original.bin (enter)

(that is a zero, not the letter o). That will backup your original BIOS in case something goes wrong (like artifacts or instability).

To flash to the new BIOS, I typed:

flashrom -p 0 98-8004.BIN

(Important: The "0" above is a zero, not the letter "o.")
(The 98-8004.BIN is the name of the new BIOS that I have downloaded from the Internet.)

7. Once I received the message notifying of the successful flash, I rebooted my computer.

8. Upon loading WinXP, XP detected a "new" hardware and correctly called it "9800 Pro." WinXP automatically re-installed the Catalyst 3.5 drivers.

9. Rebooted WinXP.

10. Everything works!!

11. Today, I went and bought 8 copper heatsinks for my memory chips. I have yet to install the copper fan until I compare the effective CFM ratings between the Vantec copper GPU fan and ATI's stock fan.

I ran successful benchmarks of 3DMark03 and graphics-intensive games like Unreal 2, Splinter Cell, GTA Vice City.

I wish you the same success!!

-Optimummind

[Sivadselim]

clockspeeds obtained?

benchmarks?

[optimummind]

Once the 9800 Pro bios is used, the clock speed is set automatically to the same default speed of the 9800 Pro (340/680). As for benchmarking, I ran 3DMark03 and got 4488. I can probably do better if I turn off background applications, firewall, and other optimizations.

[Sivadselim]

Could you not just overclock the 9800np to those same levels? And what would the 3DMark be if you did that? The same? Different? That's what I'm asking. What's the advantage of flashing with the Pro BIOS if you can obtain those clockspeeds by overclocking, anyway?

[optimummind]

Originally posted by Sivadselim
Could you not just overclock the 9800np to those same levels? And what would the 3DMark be if you did that? The same? Different? That's what I'm asking. What's the advantage of flashing with the Pro BIOS if you can obtain those clockspeeds by overclocking, anyway?

From what I've heard, obtaining the speed of 380/680 by overclocking a 9800 Non-Pro and obtaining the speed by flashing to the 9800 Pro BIOS are different. The 9800 Pro BIOS supposedly supply more voltage to the core and memory modules to make possible the higher clock speeds without straining the modules too much (which would be the case if someone were to just overclock the 9800 Non-Pro.) Also, some 9800 Non-Pro's can't reach the speeds of the 9800 Pro because of artifacts and system crashes. In those cases, a flash to the 9800 Pro can overcome that limit.

[LiQuID0603]

yo i got a 9800 non pro gonna flash the bios right now i know for a fact that its gonna work b/c ati is stupid and did the same thing with the 9700 hehe thanks for the bios and the courage so i don't fry my new card ill let u know the results

[LiQuID0603]

it worked like a charm hehehe upped the voltage in my bios to 1.65 just to be safe so far no problems let me do some more testing to see if this puppy flys like a 9800 pro im running a 2.4c on a is7-g with GAT at F1 so lets see what kind of 3dmark03 score i can produce ill post marks in a lil bit and the 9800 card of mine has the 2.8 ns samsung memory and i got it from newegg.com

[LiQuID0603]

ok i ran 3dmark03 3x at 1024x768 with the default setting and got a average score of 5656 this mod is definately worth it to anyone with a non pro card. i have the side of my case open after runnin that 3x i can touch the ram on the card for bout 3 seconds and then it burns a lil tiny bit its not even gettin overheated i have not modded this card at all as far as cooling 9800 np to pro mod ****in ownz joo thats all i can say thanks optium u da man hehe im gonna see if i can get this card ne higher without artificacts. default clock speeds showing a core clock of 378 and a memory clock 337.5 im gonna go tweak this and see if i can get it to do better can't wait to slap a zalman and a fan on this puppy or thinkin bout gettin a dangerden watercooling kit with radeon block and slap some copper ram sinks on it hehe

[LiQuID0603]

ran 3dmark03 again with same settings 3x average score is now 5910 ram is gettin a lil hotter now sat through the whole test no visual artifacts at all and the gpu core is running at 400.5 and the memory is running at 351 im gonna push it some more but i think its gonna start chokin soon

[LiQuID0603]

6093 3dmarks
GPU = 420.75 mhz
RAM = 360 mhz

still no artifacts im gonna keep goin this is fun hehe

[LiQuID0603]

this is the highest i could achieve with no visual artifacts stock np to pro mod through bios

6156 3dmarks
GPU = 425.25 mhz
RAM = 364.50 mhz

damn what a card and i only payed 300$ for it with free shipping now thats a bang for your buck hehe ;x

[lbhskier37]

Just got my Dell 9800np. I have it overclocked to pro settings with no bios change and it works great. The memory is pretty hot to the touch though, so im scared of going to far. Would ramsinks be a good idea here? I think I will eventually flash the bios, but right now I am running a 1800xp with it, so the card isnt my real bottleneck.

[LiQuID0603]

what kind of memory does ur card have on it if its samsung i know for a fact u will be ok b/c the bios flash also ups the voltage of the card and it sets the clock speeds to 9800 pro speeds. All the cards are manufactured by saphire the only diff is the bios basically i don't have nothing modified on my ard and it works like a charm u can even overclock it higher look at my results above i ******** u not

[lbhskier37]

I got the samsung chips. I was running alright with Pro settings and the np bios, but after a while I was getting artifacts so I droped them some. My memory is very hot after playing games, like burn your fingers hot. I could be that its like 80 degrees F in my room right now, but I think I need better cooling. Any suggestions?

[LiQuID0603]

id say my temp in my room is bout 85 F and i was havin hot memory and gettin artifacts overclockin it with np bios to just pro clock speeds
once i flashed my bios dude im tellin u it went away and my pc has been runnin 3dmark03 all day and i can touch the ram on my video card and it doesn't even burn me now i can hold it there for bout 5 - 7 secs then it tingles the bottom of my finger

[optimummind]

Originally posted by LiQuID0603
in ownz joo thats all i can say thanks optium u da man hehe im gonna see if i can get this card ne higher without artificacts. default clock speeds showing a core clock of 378 and a memory clock 337.5 im gonna go tweak this and see if i can get it to do better can't wait to slap a zalman and a fan on this puppy or thinkin bout gettin a dangerden watercooling kit with radeon block and slap some copper ram sinks on it hehe

I'm glad to see another person benefitting from this painless and simple BIOS trick. Just to be safe, I've added 8 copper heatsinks on my Samsung memory using Arctic Alumina thermal adhesive. If you decide to go the same route of adding heatsinks, just be sure to read the instructions on Arctic Silver's homepage first.

I've had no artifacts either from running 3DMark03 in cycles and my RAMs are cool and nice. I could probably overclock more but my room is kinda hot so I'm not going to.

[lbhskier37]

I dotn have a floppy. Is there anyone taht could make me up a cdrom boot disk and flashrom disk and post an iso? I have ruined 8 cds trying it so far

[optimummind]

Here is my latest and best score on my 9800 Non-Pro turned 9800 Pro!!

There were no artifacts and my system is rock solid!!

I got a score of 5605 with a P4 2.4B overclocked to 2.7GHz with 1 GB of Kingston DDR333 memory!. Not bad considering that SharkyExtreme's Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB got a 3Dmark03 score of 5876 with the following rig which is clearly better than mine:


Test System
General Settings:
Desktop Resolution: 1024x768
Color Depth: 32-bit
V-Sync: Disabled


Intel 875PE Test Platform
Processors: Pentium 4-3.0C
Memory: 2 x 256-MB Kingmax DDR400 DIMM
Motherboard: ASUS P4C800 Deluxe
Motherboard chip set: Intel 875P
ATI reference drivers: Catalyst 3.4
Hard-Drive: Western Digital 40-GB 7200 RPM
CD/DVD: LG 16X DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Sparkle 400 Watt
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP1


Video Cards:
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128-MB
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Sapphire Radeon 9500 Atlantis Pro 128-MB

Also note that my WinXP Home has all the Windows updates installed, unlike SharkyExtreme's almost "naked" WinXP Pro setup which has no other programs installed besides for benchmarking.

I've very happy with the 9800 Pro BIOS flash and anyone who has cajones should flash their 9800 Non-Pros too!

Just be sure to be patient and also buy some memory heatsinks for a possible overheating.

The link to 3DMark03 is here:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=987870

[lbhskier37]

Alright, finally after much putsing (and a few handfuls of hair pulled out) I got the 9800pro bios in. It seems to run at Pro settings pretty good, but the ram is still very very hot. Like I cant hold my finger on it hot. This is only during intense games mind you. Could this hurt my card having the memory run very hot? I havent been getting any artifacts after an hour of playing. Should I look into more cooling?

[optimummind]

Originally posted by lbhskier37
Alright, finally after much putsing (and a few handfuls of hair pulled out) I got the 9800pro bios in. It seems to run at Pro settings pretty good, but the ram is still very very hot. Like I cant hold my finger on it hot. This is only during intense games mind you. Could this hurt my card having the memory run very hot? I havent been getting any artifacts after an hour of playing. Should I look into more cooling?

If your RAM modules are that hot, I recommend buying some videocard RAM heatsinks. I did it just in case I get instability later down the road.

I used 8 copper videocard ram heatsinks from Vantec and applied in to the RAM using the Arctic Alumina Adhesive I bought from Fry's. It comes with Part A and Part B. Be sure to mix these two liquids in a 1:1 ratio, mix very thoroughly, and apply some on the memory modules before the mixture hardens. Use a very, very thin layer that is enough to glue the heatsinks to the memory modules but not more than that.

Good luck and let's see some benchmarks!!

[lbhskier37]

At pro Speeds I get a 3Dmark score of 5159
With XP1900, 512mb of PC2100.

Pretty low, but my system is really in need for a refresh. Before turning it into a pro I got 4469, so its a good little boost. Now I need to order some ramsinks before I push it any farther I think.

[Liuke]

How much higher were you guys able to OC your RAM after flashing to the Pro BIOS compared to before when using the NP BIOS? I am still waiting for more user results to see whether it's worth using the Pro BIOS for a better RAM overclock. Cause other than that, I don't think the Pro BIOS would be a necessity for 2.8ns boards. I've been running my 9800 NP w/ its stock BIOS at 425/351 for days w/o a single problem. I'd say the Pro BIOS will probably benefit the 3.0ns boards more

[molli]

sorry my bad english....

i just try flash my 3d club 9800non and i got error message at dos.

adapter 0 not found

my card still works(huh) but any ideas???

[WarheadMM]

ok i got a 9800np and i get artifacs when the mem hits 330...will the 9800 pro bios fix that??

[lbhskier37]

I got artifacts at pro speeds with the np bios, and the ram burnt myfinger when touching it. After the flash it runs fine at pro speeds and at more reasonable temps. Havent tried any hihger yet though. It is definitly worth it with the 2.8ns chips to flash

[HocusFocus]

BBA w/3.0 Infineon chips and I don't see any difference with or without the bios flash so I flashed back to the original bios. I believe the only ones to benefit from flashing are those with Samsung 2.8 memory. Maybe someone will come up with a tweaked bios for the 3.0 Infineon like what was done for the 9500pro.
Regards,
HF

[ocfool]

Could anyone tell me where I can find the Radeon 9800 Pro bios for download?

I have searched high and low for the bios described in this post.

[HocusFocus]

Originally posted by ocfool
Could anyone tell me where I can find the Radeon 9800 Pro bios for download?

I have searched high and low for the bios described in this post.

Try doing a search in these forums for 98-8004.BIN.
HF

[Brainstorm]

Originally posted by HocusFocus
BBA w/3.0 Infineon chips and I don't see any difference with or without the bios flash so I flashed back to the original bios. I believe the only ones to benefit from flashing are those with Samsung 2.8 memory. Maybe someone will come up with a tweaked bios for the 3.0 Infineon like what was done for the 9500pro.
Regards,
HF

HocusFocus, no difference in your GPU overclock either? I'm curious b/c I just got a 9800 NP yesterday (retail). It has the Infineon 3ns memory, and tops out (with artifacts) around 418/333. Gotta back it down to about 395/325 to avoid artifacts. Just curious if this may help.

[pakotlar]

gpu overclock is significantly increased in my experience. I see no reason not to flash your bios. It's VERY easy. If anyone needs help, feel free to pm me. I have both the flash utility and the bios on my comp. Is anyone interested in a slightly modified cas1 pro bios? I have that as well. made it myself, it works