RAM overclocking on Radeon 9700 TX

[Hukuis]

Hi all, several months back I purchased a Dell Radeon 9700 TX on eBay.
Yesterday I got a new powersupply and decided I would see how far i
could push my card. I have yet to hit a limit on the core clock,
currently I'm running at 330 mHz (which is above 9700 Pro stock
settings). The funny thing is, I haven't been able to go over 280 mHz
on my RAM. The RAM is 3.3ns Infineon DDR, which should translate to a
maximum speed of 300 mHz. Is there any reason why my RAM would perform
a full 20 mHz lower than it's rating? Would additional cooling be
required to attain the maximum rated speed, or would flashing the 9700
Pro BIOS do something to help? I'm completely comfortable with BIOS
flashes, but if that is the solution I would also like to know which
Pro BIOS my card should use for the best compatibility/performance.

Thanks in advance,
-Hukuis

 

[Augustus]

Hi all, several months back I purchased a Dell Radeon 9700 TX on eBay.
Yesterday I got a new powersupply and decided I would see how far i
could push my card. I have yet to hit a limit on the core clock,
currently I'm running at 330 mHz (which is above 9700 Pro stock
settings). The funny thing is, I haven't been able to go over 280 mHz
on my RAM. The RAM is 3.3ns Infineon DDR, which should translate to a
maximum speed of 300 mHz. Is there any reason why my RAM would perform
a full 20 mHz lower than it's rating?

The Dell Radeon 9700TX is just a branded straight 9700 card. Stock clocks
are 270/263. You are at the limit with this slow RAM. 17Mhz over stock for
a card with slow RAM is typical. Ramsinks may give you a bit more, but don't
expect miracles.

 

[Hukuis]

But the RAM is rated 3.3ns... does that not mean a rated clock speed of
300mHz for the RAM?

 

[Augustus]

But the RAM is rated 3.3ns... does that not mean a rated clock speed of
300mHz for the RAM?

Yes, in theory DDR rated at 3.3ns is good for 300Mhz or beyond. But the BIOS
on the card matters too. Dell branded hardware is notorious for being
underclocked and having ultra conservative BIOS settings. Dell has released
many downclocked OEM Radeon and Nvidia cards over the years. They generally
do not overclock really well, have generic quality video RAM (even though it
may be rated OK). Read this thread regarding o/c the 9700 NP.
http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33667164

 

[Hukuis]

Would flashing to a Pro BIOS give me a few more mHz? I was really
hoping to get a little bit closer to Pro speeds on RAM...

 

[Augustus]

Would flashing to a Pro BIOS give me a few more mHz? I was really
hoping to get a little bit closer to Pro speeds on RAM...

You can try.....but you MUST back up the original BIOS first, and have a PCI
video card on hand to restore the original BIOS if there's problems. I'd be
Googling around looking for flashing experiences dealing with this Dell
branded card as well.

 

[First of One]

The only way a different BIOS version can give higher overclocks is by
relaxing the memory timings, which is detrimental to performance. Don't even
bother.

Your best bet is to crank up the memory voltage a little. There are plenty
of such guides on the web. It could be as simple as penciling in a couple of
resistors (be sure to measure with a multimeter afterwards). RAM sinks will
be necessary, as heat generation increases with the square of voltage.