Flashed an 8800GTS

Lelisevis · Mar 15, 2007, 11:53 PM

Today I took my first foray into the world of flashing graphics cards not without reason either. A little background:

I bought a release BFG8800GTS hoping to add another at a later date, however I recently heard rumblings that these cards were discontinued and scanning the stores it looks to be true with only a handful of BFG overclocked models left and none of the initial stock clocked ones, I must admit I was slightly shocked. Anyway I decided I'd better grab one quick but I couldnt find a GTS with the same clocks as mine anywhere. This lead me on an inspired look into flashing the graphics card bios. Firstly I located a bios for the 8800GTS OC dated 2 months and 3 versions later than mine. Next too come was NVflash a Dos utility for flashing your bios. Ok pause.

Slightly off track but I havent had a floppydrive in my PC for over a year so I did a little research into booting DOS from a USB pendrive. For those that have tried and suceeded I commend you, I did manage in the end using tools from HP of all people on my Disgo pen. Want to know what the most frustrating annoying tear-pulling part was? Getting DOS system files off the internet, over an hour of searching that had me punching cushions in a rage. Anyway eventually I managed, changed my mobo bios to boot from USB drive and kerpow, it worked first time showing that comforting DOS prompt. Ahhh nostalgia.

Back on track. Ok so armed with a flashing Dos prompt, the nvflash program and a shiny new gfx bios I entered the words nvflash -5 -6 <bios name.rom>, screen flashed once and it accepted it. I cautiously booted back into Vista (after initially forgetting to change boot priority and ending up back in DOS *sigh*) it detected new hardware and set about reinstalling the drivers. Compulsory restart and tadaaaa (mental pat on the back) I checked Ntune and I was now sporting a stock card running 550/1600 up from the previous 500/1600.

Doesnt seem like much but I can now invest in a matching card before the market drys up and I can overclock the two of them with software. On top of that who knows, maybe the newer bios has fixes 2-3 months on from the initial release. I don't think it's something i'd try more than once in a lifetime as it's a costly mistake if it goes wrong but this time it appears Nvidia have forced my hand.

Lel

Edit: just noticed the shaderclock has jumped from 1200mhz to 1300mhz. Hmmmmmmm

JohnDoe47 · Mar 16, 2007, 01:15 AM

nice...thought i'd just leave my hundredth post

GutterPunk · Mar 16, 2007, 12:21 PM

Ooo thanks for the info buddy. Sounds like the same grueling process I went through for just my p4c800-e deluxe.

Lelisevis · Mar 16, 2007, 01:15 PM

Ok help me need decide people. Based on my piece above and the rapidly dwindling stocks of 8800GTS with 640mb onboard I've been online shopping this morning. Sitting in my basket at the moment is a matching BFG 8800GTS OC with 640mb but I just can't bring myself to press the checkout button.

Money aside (I recently sold a car at a handsome profit) would the second card be justified on a 1680x1050. I guess I could answer my own question by saying that I can't crank everything to the max on Neverwinter nights 2 without a noticeable drop in fps but it'd be nice to have some thoughts and input.

I have to order in the next 3 hours to have it delivered tomorrow so without further ado fire away!

GutterPunk · Mar 16, 2007, 02:00 PM

Buy it! buy iT! lol. I think, might as well go SLI while the 640MB cards are being discontinued. If you plan to stick with this for awhile do it! I would.

**Mousey** · Mar 16, 2007, 02:20 PM

So is this version of the 8800 already discontinued? or is just an older version?
I was thinking of maybe flashing my 9550s bios and upping to a 9600 but from all the horror stories i've heard about boot failing and dead hardware i think i might give it a miss, not even i am willing to lower myself to onboard vga again...

And i thought the 8800 would be powerful enough already, or are you one of these people that will push it to the max despite having top of the range hardware that hogs so much power you have the national grid moaning in pain?

Anyways... nice job

Lelisevis · Mar 16, 2007, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

So is this version of the 8800 already discontinued? or is just an older version?
I was thinking of maybe flashing my 9550s bios and upping to a 9600 but from all the horror stories i've heard about boot failing and dead hardware i think i might give it a miss, not even i am willing to lower myself to onboard vga again...

And i thought the 8800 would be powerful enough already, or are you one of these people that will push it to the max despite having top of the range hardware that hogs so much power you have the national grid moaning in pain?

Anyways... nice job

As far as I can tell and from a few friends in the know the 640mb version of the GTS has been stopped, probably to put a bigger space between itself and the GTX. Unfortunately the 320mb GTS is already showing signs of limiting with the halved frame buffer which sucks just a little.

As for the reason for upgrading, this PC is going to last for about 3 years as my last one did, while it's mostly adequate for todays needs im trying to cover 6 months to 12 months down the line. I only game at 1680x1050 and have already found a limit with some games when applying HDR, AA and AF.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 16, 2007, 04:26 PM

hmm....i say, GET IT!!!!

.

it'll maximize your PC's lifespan as well

.

Mar 15, 2007, 11:53 PM	#1
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Flashed an 8800GTS Today I took my first foray into the world of flashing graphics cards not without reason either. A little background: I bought a release BFG8800GTS hoping to add another at a later date, however I recently heard rumblings that these cards were discontinued and scanning the stores it looks to be true with only a handful of BFG overclocked models left and none of the initial stock clocked ones, I must admit I was slightly shocked. Anyway I decided I'd better grab one quick but I couldnt find a GTS with the same clocks as mine anywhere. This lead me on an inspired look into flashing the graphics card bios. Firstly I located a bios for the 8800GTS OC dated 2 months and 3 versions later than mine. Next too come was NVflash a Dos utility for flashing your bios. Ok pause. Slightly off track but I havent had a floppydrive in my PC for over a year so I did a little research into booting DOS from a USB pendrive. For those that have tried and suceeded I commend you, I did manage in the end using tools from HP of all people on my Disgo pen. Want to know what the most frustrating annoying tear-pulling part was? Getting DOS system files off the internet, over an hour of searching that had me punching cushions in a rage. Anyway eventually I managed, changed my mobo bios to boot from USB drive and kerpow, it worked first time showing that comforting DOS prompt. Ahhh nostalgia. Back on track. Ok so armed with a flashing Dos prompt, the nvflash program and a shiny new gfx bios I entered the words nvflash -5 -6 <bios name.rom>, screen flashed once and it accepted it. I cautiously booted back into Vista (after initially forgetting to change boot priority and ending up back in DOS sigh) it detected new hardware and set about reinstalling the drivers. Compulsory restart and tadaaaa (mental pat on the back) I checked Ntune and I was now sporting a stock card running 550/1600 up from the previous 500/1600. Doesnt seem like much but I can now invest in a matching card before the market drys up and I can overclock the two of them with software. On top of that who knows, maybe the newer bios has fixes 2-3 months on from the initial release. I don't think it's something i'd try more than once in a lifetime as it's a costly mistake if it goes wrong but this time it appears Nvidia have forced my hand. Lel Edit: just noticed the shaderclock has jumped from 1200mhz to 1300mhz. Hmmmmmmm Last edited by Lelisevis; Mar 16, 2007 at 12:34 AM. Reason: More info discovered

Mar 16, 2007, 12:21 PM	#3
GutterPunk I = Greatest Dood Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nebraska Posts: 5,949 Rep Power: 71	Ooo thanks for the info buddy. Sounds like the same grueling process I went through for just my p4c800-e deluxe. __________________ Rock On \m/ Thank you Mousey for the Sig! --------------- Intel Core2Duo E6660 (3.4GHZ) ~ Tuniq Tower 120 ~ Enermax Galaxy 1000W ~ Corsair Dominator @ 1090MHZ 5-5-5-15 (OCZ XTC Modded Cooler)~ EVGA 8800GTX W/ HR-03 Plus 120MM ~ Asus DVD-RW LiteScribe ~ LG DVD-RW ~ Corsair Voyager 2GB ReadyBoost Drive ~ Vantec Nexus Fan Controller ~ ThermalTake Armor 25CM fan ~ Personal Finance Blog: Dent Your Debt

Mar 16, 2007, 02:00 PM	#5
GutterPunk I = Greatest Dood Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nebraska Posts: 5,949 Rep Power: 71	Buy it! buy iT! lol. I think, might as well go SLI while the 640MB cards are being discontinued. If you plan to stick with this for awhile do it! I would. __________________ Rock On \m/ Thank you Mousey for the Sig! --------------- Intel Core2Duo E6660 (3.4GHZ) ~ Tuniq Tower 120 ~ Enermax Galaxy 1000W ~ Corsair Dominator @ 1090MHZ 5-5-5-15 (OCZ XTC Modded Cooler)~ EVGA 8800GTX W/ HR-03 Plus 120MM ~ Asus DVD-RW LiteScribe ~ LG DVD-RW ~ Corsair Voyager 2GB ReadyBoost Drive ~ Vantec Nexus Fan Controller ~ ThermalTake Armor 25CM fan ~ Personal Finance Blog: Dent Your Debt

Mar 16, 2007, 02:20 PM	#6
Mousey Synth's Long Lost Bro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Web Design Hell Posts: 7,189 Rep Power: 245 System Specs	So is this version of the 8800 already discontinued? or is just an older version? I was thinking of maybe flashing my 9550s bios and upping to a 9600 but from all the horror stories i've heard about boot failing and dead hardware i think i might give it a miss, not even i am willing to lower myself to onboard vga again... And i thought the 8800 would be powerful enough already, or are you one of these people that will push it to the max despite having top of the range hardware that hogs so much power you have the national grid moaning in pain? Anyways... nice job __________________

Mar 16, 2007, 04:26 PM	#8
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,802 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	hmm....i say, GET IT!!!! . it'll maximize your PC's lifespan as well . __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Mar 16, 2007, 01:15 AM	#2
JohnDoe47 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 319 Rep Power: 0	nice...thought i'd just leave my hundredth post

Mar 16, 2007, 01:15 PM	Thread Starter #4
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Ok help me need decide people. Based on my piece above and the rapidly dwindling stocks of 8800GTS with 640mb onboard I've been online shopping this morning. Sitting in my basket at the moment is a matching BFG 8800GTS OC with 640mb but I just can't bring myself to press the checkout button. Money aside (I recently sold a car at a handsome profit) would the second card be justified on a 1680x1050. I guess I could answer my own question by saying that I can't crank everything to the max on Neverwinter nights 2 without a noticeable drop in fps but it'd be nice to have some thoughts and input. I have to order in the next 3 hours to have it delivered tomorrow so without further ado fire away!