- Joined
- Jun 8, 2002
- Location
- Dunstable, uk
The softmod explained.
Q. what is the "softmod", what does it do?
A. The softmod is a software hack that enables the 4 extra disabled rendering pipelines on the 9500non-pro. It has exactly the same effect as the hardware mod (link provided below) but it doesnt require any bios flashing/hardware modification. As a result it is generally more successful (hardware mods easily go wrong) and is the prefered method.
Q. what cards does the mod work on?
A. the 9500NON-PRO and the 9800SE only. all other cards based on the r300 gpu - the 9500PRO, 9700NON-PRO and 9700PRO, and all the other 9800's (non-pro,pro and xt) have all 8 pipelines already enabled.
The 9600's only have 4 pipelines period - there are no other pipelines to enable.
Q. After doing the mod i now get checkerboards - what is this?
A. Unfortunatly, you have a core with broken/faulty pipelines. there are solutions that can help, such as disabling "hierarchical Z" or "hyper Z" via rage3d tweak (link below), but it's a long shot.
Q. If i try the softmod and it fails, can it damage my card?
A. No. No damage will be done. removing the hack is as simple as re-installing the drivers. Just download the official driver and install them without the hack.
Q. Can the cards with the "in-line" memory be modded?
A. yes. All 9500non-pro's and 9800se's can potentially be modded, regardless of wether they have "L" (256bit) or "I" (128bit) ram arrangements.
R300 core
64mb 9500np "I" >> hybrid 64mb 9500p (there arnt any "real" 64mb 9500p's)
128mb 9500np "I" >> 100% 9500pro
128mb 9500np "L" >> 100% 9700non-pro.
r350 core
128mb 9800se "I" >> hybrid 9500pro with an 350 core (instead of the 9500's r300)
128mb 9800se "L" >> 100% 9800non-pro or better.
Here's a picture of the type types of memory arrangements (applies for both the 9500np and 9800se):
The Various Procedures:
There are 3 main ways you can open up your 8 pipelines. You can either:
1) Download the modified ATi Cat's from wizzards site HERE
2) Download the Omega ATi Drivers HERE. These allow you to choose between running 4 or 8 pipelines on installation.
3) If all else fails, modifiy the Ati Cat's manually. Here's how it's done:
Q. what is the "softmod", what does it do?
A. The softmod is a software hack that enables the 4 extra disabled rendering pipelines on the 9500non-pro. It has exactly the same effect as the hardware mod (link provided below) but it doesnt require any bios flashing/hardware modification. As a result it is generally more successful (hardware mods easily go wrong) and is the prefered method.
Q. what cards does the mod work on?
A. the 9500NON-PRO and the 9800SE only. all other cards based on the r300 gpu - the 9500PRO, 9700NON-PRO and 9700PRO, and all the other 9800's (non-pro,pro and xt) have all 8 pipelines already enabled.
The 9600's only have 4 pipelines period - there are no other pipelines to enable.
Q. After doing the mod i now get checkerboards - what is this?
A. Unfortunatly, you have a core with broken/faulty pipelines. there are solutions that can help, such as disabling "hierarchical Z" or "hyper Z" via rage3d tweak (link below), but it's a long shot.
Q. If i try the softmod and it fails, can it damage my card?
A. No. No damage will be done. removing the hack is as simple as re-installing the drivers. Just download the official driver and install them without the hack.
Q. Can the cards with the "in-line" memory be modded?
A. yes. All 9500non-pro's and 9800se's can potentially be modded, regardless of wether they have "L" (256bit) or "I" (128bit) ram arrangements.
R300 core
64mb 9500np "I" >> hybrid 64mb 9500p (there arnt any "real" 64mb 9500p's)
128mb 9500np "I" >> 100% 9500pro
128mb 9500np "L" >> 100% 9700non-pro.
r350 core
128mb 9800se "I" >> hybrid 9500pro with an 350 core (instead of the 9500's r300)
128mb 9800se "L" >> 100% 9800non-pro or better.
Here's a picture of the type types of memory arrangements (applies for both the 9500np and 9800se):
The Various Procedures:
There are 3 main ways you can open up your 8 pipelines. You can either:
1) Download the modified ATi Cat's from wizzards site HERE
2) Download the Omega ATi Drivers HERE. These allow you to choose between running 4 or 8 pipelines on installation.
3) If all else fails, modifiy the Ati Cat's manually. Here's how it's done:
1) First off, if you have already installed drivers and now want to try this mod, you must first uninstall the drivers, reboot, then delete ati2mtag.sys from C\windows\system32\drivers. Now reboot and you're good to go.
2) download the drivers and the "patched ati2mtag.sys" from:
http://www.ocfaq.com/softmod/
3) run the driver setup and continue through the setup and let it unpack the files into its defult directory - once the files are unpacked, cancel the setup.
4) Unzip the patch ( the file inside will be called "ati2mtag.sys" ) and copy the file to:
C:\ATI\SUPPORT\wxp-w2k-radeon-7-88-030430m-008946c-efg\2KXP_INF\B_09006
5) Delete "ati2mtag.sy_" from that directory.
6) Run the setup.exe once again from:
C:\ATI\SUPPORT\wxp-w2k-radeon-7-88-030430m-008946c-efg
and carry through to the end of the installation.
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Remember:- You do NOT have to flash the bios for this to work, or to overclock the card - 9500np's and 9800se's are unlocked from the factory.
Interesting and useful links:- All of the ati drivers and, of course, the control panel's
- Rage 3d tweak - tweaking, overclocking, custom display modes, it's got it all.
- Super Ninteod's guide to flashing the bios
- Tipycol's post - how it all started. Useful if you want to bring yourself up to date
- The Hardmod
UPDATE:
9800se's can apparently be softmodded aswell. If anybody has any more info/personal experiance, please either PM me or post it here. Thanks.
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