V5 6000 overclocking software fix needed

[amp_man]

Originally posted by lecram25

Like you're gonna get the source, lol

I don't think beta is looking for the exact source, just to know how kool got it working, like what registry values it changes or something. And seeing how this really is a community, sharing such information shouldn't really be that big of a deal, it would benefit all.

[lecram25]

lol, ok. Let's all ask amiga for the source of his driver set.

I mean come on, this is a community afterall...

[NitroX infinity]

Can anyone run some decent tests?

I ran 3DMark 2001se 330 but I don't think I got a conclusive answer:
Standard 166MHz: 2564
V5 OC 1.2 170MHz: 2624
VSA OC 1.00 170MHz: 2620

As you can see, there's no difference between the older overclocking utility and the new one. I also tried Q3A but that didn't show any difference.

[cosworth6k]

Test by pandyno: (GLexcess)



Image Insert:

69 KB

Voodoo6k@default vs voodoo6k@195 Mhz.

[koolsmoky]

Want to make OC Tools, eh?

The overclocking is achived by programming the PllCtrl1 register of all VSA100 chips. Not a registry thing. There is clear improvement with fillrate. Try running GLExcess in 640x480 32bpp mode.

The reason why V.Control only overclocks the first chip is because I had assumed that the slave chips were always snooping the master, which wasn't the case with Windows Desktop mode.

-KoolSmoky

[InSomNiaN]

Great work Koolsmoky, thanks once again for your hard work!
Just a quick question though, does anyone know if the official 3dfx overclocking tool just does one VSA or both?

[dborca]

@beta
Kool is right! Actually, that pllCtrl1 is present on all Voodoo GPUs; as a consequence ALL Voodoos can be overclocked using this technique.

@Phalanx
Those beasts are rarely fillrate limited, anyway! Overclocking them will gain little to no improvement in real world apps, which require fast T&L. Otherwise, only synthetic benchmarks will show the diff (and perhaps a few degrees in room temperature).

[beta]

Originally posted by koolsmoky

Want to make OC Tools, eh?

The overclocking is achived by programming the PllCtrl1 register of all VSA100 chips. Not a registry thing. There is clear improvement with fillrate. Try running GLExcess in 640x480 32bpp mode.

The reason why V.Control only overclocks the first chip is because I had assumed that the slave chips were always snooping the master, which wasn't the case with Windows Desktop mode.

-KoolSmoky

That was all I wanted to know, thanks!

When I first ran some Q3 timedemo's with pllCtrl1 set effectively to 183MHz (via a bios flash of course) I could tell that this made a difference, as compared to normal software overclock, which made no difference in fps.  This is good news indeed and it's good that this has been confirmed and solved.  Well done.

@dborca: True that Oc'ing is hardly worthwhile, I only recently coolmodded my Voodoo5 due the thermal epoxy being burnt up badly and the card overheating, (I had never OC'd it either).  The stock cooling was never made to last though.

@amp_man: Exactly what I meant, the simple theory or the register/variable used, not the full source code. Hehehe...

[koolsmoky]

Theory, eh? That's a good one. I look forward to your contribution, perhaps to Linux? I see you are using Mandrake.

-KoolSmoky

[amp_man]

don't expect much I think beta just wants to be able to do it himself, and not use your prog (or anyone elses) I don't know if he plans anything for linux or not...

[beta]

Originally posted by koolsmoky

Theory, eh? That's a good one. I look forward to your contribution, perhaps to Linux? I see you are using Mandrake.

-KoolSmoky

I'm pretty certain that Linux already sets the PLL through pllCtrl1 anyway, so no fixing is required in that case.

I may work on a simple overclocker in C or Pascal if I have time.  No promises there though.

[koolsmoky]

@amp_man
Thank you.

@beta
Accually, the pllCtrl1 register isn't being programmed by the Linux driver and it's using the settings from the BIOS. There is still demanding audience for a Linux Voodoo tweaker so writing one should be worthwhile.

-KoolSmoky

[amp_man]

Originally posted by koolsmoky

@amp_man
Thank you.

@beta
Accually, the pllCtrl1 register isn't being programmed by the Linux driver and it's using the settings from the BIOS. There is still demanding audience for a Linux Voodoo tweaker so writing one should be worthwhile.

-KoolSmoky

lol...

I emailed john, the developer of the linux control prog that nightbird's been throwing around the links to. I think he speaks best for himself:

(*sound of jaw hitting the floor*)

you mean people are -using- this?  I posted that stuff like 2 years ago and you're the first person who'se ever even mentioned something to me about it.  cool... I'd assumed noone cared anymore  although i -still- use my voodoo3 in my desktop, albeit as a second head.  very cool.

Hmm, I guess that says how many people really use it. He actually was using it for underclocking, in case you didn't know, to solve some heat issues. I personally think that there really aren't many people who do gaming on linux and voodoos. To be honest, the comparative performance these days of voodoos to the other technology out there makes them not really worthwhile to run on windows games, let alone the usually slower and buggier linux ports of games (hey, I'm just telling it like it is, you all know that it's the sad truth). Gaming on voodoos and linux just isn't feasible, so overclocking them under linux really isn't worth it. I'm sure that beta has much better things to do with his time then create a program that has no real demand and no real point.

[koolsmoky]

It's nice to know there is a tweaker for linux, atleast for ppl who still do use voodoos under linux. You should know that I posted the oc tool so we could all have fun. The 'binaries disclose nothing' crap pretty much ended it.

EDIT: In case you didn't know, I recommended Nightbird to post about his findings.

-KoolSmoky