ChessBoard effect, need help please

Stupid noob · May 21, 2004, 04:53 PM

Hi, i have ATI Radeon 9500np 128bit 64mb, When i softmod it, im getting some strange chessboard effect........ do someone know how to fix this ChessBoard effect ??????

I hope someone can help me ......
Also look here http://forums.ocfaq.com/showthread.php?t=1715

**dj_stick** · May 22, 2004, 02:55 AM

maybe the card is runnign too fast or too hot?

Judas · May 22, 2004, 03:04 AM

actually.... the checker board effect is due to one or more of the other 4 pipes being damaged.... (if i understand this right...) the softmod simply reenables the pipes... in which case you did... only to find out that they are indeed not working right at all... call you can do is disable the softmod be (is you used the 4.5 omegas, the soft mod swapper will do the trick)... if you used any omega previous.... you'll have to reinstall without selecting the softmod....

Stupid noob · May 22, 2004, 02:15 PM

I know how to fix that, but im looking for ... i dont know for what im looking, I want use softmod, but i cant, so maby im looking for some pathc, or fix, maby some settings can fix that ........ . Im JUST A NOOB, AND I WANT USE SOFTMOD, cuz ATI Radeon 9500 is really getting old and games like FarCry sux with it

Stupid noob · May 22, 2004, 02:25 PM

Stupid question, but can i fix this pipes ?? :o
I know this sounds crazy ....... but ...... maby .....if .......i can........

**dj_stick** · May 22, 2004, 02:33 PM

i think the pipelines in the chip itself were damaged in the manufacturing process

Stupid noob · May 22, 2004, 02:37 PM

I know so u think i cannot fix it ?

Stupid noob · May 22, 2004, 02:38 PM

Maby some patch can fix it ? What do u think ?

davidnsibs · May 22, 2004, 02:53 PM

i think i might have seen that some people have found that reducing the z-buffer depth (usually from 16,24, 8bit stencil to 16, or whatever the lowest one is) can help in this instance, but i cant find the thread whee i read it, and its a long shot. it will also reduce image quality slightly i think. however, to try this you have to get some sort of tweaking utility, radlinker which comes with the latest omega drivers can do this. create a rad link of one of your games that does this checkerboard thing buy right clicking on the exe file and choosing create radlink. then in the folder you'll have a shortcut which is the 'radlink'. right click, go to properties and the directx (or opengl if its an opengl game) and uncheck the 'use defaults' thing at the top. then change the z-buffer depth to as low as possible. choose ok and then double click on the radlink to run the game and see if it helps. if not, i dont know any other ideas, sorry

maybe some1 else will have an idea, but possibly you'll have to not softmod and just try regular overclocking to improve performance a bit

EDIT: oops, just read the link you posted and it has the same idea to reduce z-buffer. its worth a try if youve not done it already.

The_Neon_Cowboy · May 22, 2004, 03:10 PM

Maybe some screen shots could help us see what exactly you’re talking about...

But it sounds like one of the 8 pipes is damaged most likely why they were disabling and the card was sold as a 9500 NP….If this is so the card is un-modable and the problem cannot be fixed your only option is to run it that way or to remove the soft mod.

Bicka · May 22, 2004, 03:20 PM

I don't know if its the same thing but I have a Asus9800XT that will mess up the desktop if I run at an AGP aperature size of anything other than 128mb's. I could run it at 64mb's but its still a bit unstable. Its worth a look in the bios at least?

Stupid noob · May 23, 2004, 09:28 AM

Very sad

((((( Z-mask, Z-buffer, Hierarchical-Z didnt help me

((( I still have unwatchable ChessBoard effect :I

Judas · May 23, 2004, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stupid noob
Very sad ((((( Z-mask, Z-buffer, Hierarchical-Z didnt help me ((( I still have unwatchable ChessBoard effect :I

well... this would i guess tell you and the rest of us that your card isn't a lucky one..... you'll have to be happy with the way you bought that card.... as a 9500np

Stupid noob · May 24, 2004, 09:04 PM

Ok its not so bad, i have it overclocked (Core : 350, Mem : 300) and i can play farcry on medium quality (res 1280x1024) with 30 fps (I know this sux, but its still playeble) ok, if there will be some way how to fix this pipes, send me e-mail please : DenissovN@seznam.cz , thank you all for your help, bye

pr0digal jenius · May 25, 2004, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stupid noob
Maby some patch can fix it ? What do u think ?

No...there is no way to patch a hardware problem, as if the pipes are bad, it is the physical silicon that has ussues and not the chip or firmware

Shimano · Jul 23, 2004, 03:00 PM

I don't want to rain on you, but I had the same problem with (3) Asus 9800 xt cards. The first did it out of the box, and like you I tried every setting of every driver from both ATI and Omega only to give up and send it back to Googlegear. The next one lasted 3 months before it started it. The 3rd one from Asus only lasted about 6 weeks before it started the patterns, but up till then it ran great. Only I noticed that all three gave this 'hazy' appearence to the monitor that no one I know could understand. I think the last two worked because I put heatsinks on the top side ram, which got to hot to touch when playing IL-2. Don't know about your card but I always suspected the gpu & ram were too overclocked from the factory with inadequate cooling. Once a card started the problem I never did get rid of it.
If the card is still under warranty I would call the manufacturer and send it back for another. Of course don't mention overclocking.
After 3 cards I called Asus and told them I wanted my money back. I was told they didn't give refunds so they sent me a 9800 pro

as you may know it is has 256 meg ram in the Asus version.
These manufacturers need to make sure their product works and not use the paying customers as crash test dummies. My belief is I payed for one that works so give me one. So go give 'em heck!

May 21, 2004, 04:53 PM	#1
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	ChessBoard effect, need help please Hi, i have ATI Radeon 9500np 128bit 64mb, When i softmod it, im getting some strange chessboard effect........ do someone know how to fix this ChessBoard effect ?????? I hope someone can help me ...... Also look here http://forums.ocfaq.com/showthread.php?t=1715

May 22, 2004, 02:15 PM	Thread Starter #4
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	:( I know how to fix that, but im looking for ... i dont know for what im looking, I want use softmod, but i cant, so maby im looking for some pathc, or fix, maby some settings can fix that ........ . Im JUST A NOOB, AND I WANT USE SOFTMOD, cuz ATI Radeon 9500 is really getting old and games like FarCry sux with it

May 22, 2004, 02:25 PM	Thread Starter #5
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	:O Stupid question, but can i fix this pipes ?? :o I know this sounds crazy ....... but ...... maby .....if .......i can........

May 22, 2004, 02:37 PM	Thread Starter #7
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	:) I know so u think i cannot fix it ?

May 22, 2004, 02:53 PM	#9
davidnsibs 9500pro Forever Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bath, UK Posts: 273 Rep Power: 0	i think i might have seen that some people have found that reducing the z-buffer depth (usually from 16,24, 8bit stencil to 16, or whatever the lowest one is) can help in this instance, but i cant find the thread whee i read it, and its a long shot. it will also reduce image quality slightly i think. however, to try this you have to get some sort of tweaking utility, radlinker which comes with the latest omega drivers can do this. create a rad link of one of your games that does this checkerboard thing buy right clicking on the exe file and choosing create radlink. then in the folder you'll have a shortcut which is the 'radlink'. right click, go to properties and the directx (or opengl if its an opengl game) and uncheck the 'use defaults' thing at the top. then change the z-buffer depth to as low as possible. choose ok and then double click on the radlink to run the game and see if it helps. if not, i dont know any other ideas, sorry maybe some1 else will have an idea, but possibly you'll have to not softmod and just try regular overclocking to improve performance a bit EDIT: oops, just read the link you posted and it has the same idea to reduce z-buffer. its worth a try if youve not done it already. __________________ Goodbye 9500pro, you've been a faithful servant through Half life, Deus Ex, Unreal 2, Max Payne 1+2, Nolf 1+2, CoD, Far Cry, Civ IV, F.E.A.R and many more Last edited by davidnsibs; May 22, 2004 at 03:00 PM.

May 22, 2004, 02:38 PM	Thread Starter #8
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	Maby some patch can fix it ? What do u think ?

May 22, 2004, 03:10 PM	#10
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Maybe some screen shots could help us see what exactly you’re talking about... But it sounds like one of the 8 pipes is damaged most likely why they were disabling and the card was sold as a 9500 NP….If this is so the card is un-modable and the problem cannot be fixed your only option is to run it that way or to remove the soft mod. __________________

May 22, 2004, 03:20 PM	#11
Bicka DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 670 Rep Power: 0	I don't know if its the same thing but I have a Asus9800XT that will mess up the desktop if I run at an AGP aperature size of anything other than 128mb's. I could run it at 64mb's but its still a bit unstable. Its worth a look in the bios at least?

May 23, 2004, 09:28 AM	Thread Starter #12
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	Very sad ((((( Z-mask, Z-buffer, Hierarchical-Z didnt help me ((( I still have unwatchable ChessBoard effect :I

May 24, 2004, 09:04 PM	Thread Starter #14
Stupid noob DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0	Ok its not so bad, i have it overclocked (Core : 350, Mem : 300) and i can play farcry on medium quality (res 1280x1024) with 30 fps (I know this sux, but its still playeble) ok, if there will be some way how to fix this pipes, send me e-mail please : DenissovN@seznam.cz , thank you all for your help, bye

Jul 23, 2004, 03:00 PM	#16
Shimano DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	I don't want to rain on you, but I had the same problem with (3) Asus 9800 xt cards. The first did it out of the box, and like you I tried every setting of every driver from both ATI and Omega only to give up and send it back to Googlegear. The next one lasted 3 months before it started it. The 3rd one from Asus only lasted about 6 weeks before it started the patterns, but up till then it ran great. Only I noticed that all three gave this 'hazy' appearence to the monitor that no one I know could understand. I think the last two worked because I put heatsinks on the top side ram, which got to hot to touch when playing IL-2. Don't know about your card but I always suspected the gpu & ram were too overclocked from the factory with inadequate cooling. Once a card started the problem I never did get rid of it. If the card is still under warranty I would call the manufacturer and send it back for another. Of course don't mention overclocking. After 3 cards I called Asus and told them I wanted my money back. I was told they didn't give refunds so they sent me a 9800 pro as you may know it is has 256 meg ram in the Asus version. These manufacturers need to make sure their product works and not use the paying customers as crash test dummies. My belief is I payed for one that works so give me one. So go give 'em heck!