MSI 1651/GX620 3dMark 7000+!

I just finished overclocking the gfx card to a stable setting ( did a lot of stress testing), and i'm pleased to say that it overclocks fairly well, reaching 7000+ scores on 3dmark06 at 1280 by 1024 (all default settings). The temps stayed relatively cool, averaging about 76c and the warmest it got to was 81c, on a really hot day.

Here are some pics:



http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=9600mgtgw1.jpg


http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gpuzfh0.jpg


I believe the scores are higher than a stock 9700mgt: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9700M-GT.9454.0.html

I'm loving the performance!

 

Wow, very impressive. How did you managed to overclock the 9600M GT? nTunes will only let me adjust the shader clocks.

 

Bios overclocking through nibitor+ nvflash. Fairly easy to do.

 

wow, very nice! though 81C seems a bit too hot, might wanna get a cooler mate. Do you think a 9700m GT would also OC through the mentioned programs?

 

well, it all depends if nibitor supports the bios already and if it can be extracted through gpu-z, but it should work for that card too. Not sure how well those overclock. I've gamed at around 85c on previous laptops, the dangerous temps are closing in on the 90s and above, like with alienware machines hitting up to 100c. For the most part, this system stays at 75-76c, and i've seen it peak at 81 for just a little on a hot day, so im not too worried.

 

its not hot at all..mine peaks at 86c..stock clocks..

 

LOL. I must commend you, that's quite brave flashing a notebook video card. I was tinkering with NiBiTor and couldn't muster enough guts to flash it. Well that answers some of my concerns, thanks.

 

haha thanks. I've done it before so it wasnt a big deal for me. I just know that once in a blue moon, there are drivers released that might support software overclocking over a bios lock (169.04 & 177.85 i think?), but i like to stick with the latest drivers when possible, so there really was no other choice for me.

 

nice overclock

 

Excellent OC. I do believe the scores are higher than the 9700m GT. After all, they're basically the same card
What are your gpu speeds after OC? (i.e. 500/1250/800 stock)

 

its shown in the gpu z image.

 

**** thats a crazy OC. sorry i didn't see that pic earlier

 

vista?????
i wanna overcolck through EVGA Precision

 

That stupid Qosimo on the front page can only get 7300 3dmarks. lol.

 

haha and i wonder what resolution it was running at considering it is 1440 by 900. Might default to 1280 by 800 or w/e, instead of 1280 by 1024.

 

Actually that stupid Qosmio when overlocked, can also reach over 10K on 3DMark2006 , I have the same 9700M GTS on my Qosmio F55 and have done it Your 7000+ with the 9600M GT is also very impressive !!! God Bless

 

haha thats how it goes with everything haha. If u compare em OC to stock value, then its a gain. Otherwise, its all the same.

 

Hey Knivez, your 3dmark score blew me away... I'm hoping to achieve the same, if not similar scores as yourself.

BUUUT... I'm a nub in regards to overclocking... I have overclocked before on my old 7600go, but it was easily done in rivatuner. At the moment, I am trying to use nTune to overclock, but whenever I specify a clock setting, it resets to factory clock when I click "apply."

Can this be fixed through a forceware driver update? I am currently using the MSI default VGA driver. If so, will the latest driver found in laptopvideo2go be suffice?

If this is not a driver issue, I was wondering if you could elaborate in detail how you have used nibitor and nvflash to oc your gx620...

Thanks a bunch!

 

You cant overclock through software drivers because of the BIOS lock. You can try 169.04 (one of the few drivers that allows overclocking) and see if that works, but if u wanna stay up to date with the drivers, then you can only BIOS OC it.

I'll post the steps on how to do it later today when im out of work. Its not too bad.

 

Hi, your result in 3Dmark06 is very impressive . I tried to overclock my 9600m GT 512MB GDDR3... GPU is now 650Mhz, memory 900Mhz (1800Mhz) and shader 1600Mhz. But my result in 3Dmark06 is 4140 :-( Result befor OC was something about 3950. It's very poor improvement. Do you have any idea where is problem? :-( I've got MSI GX620, using Vista-32bit, but slower CPU - P8400. Thanx

 

umm the cpu shouldnt make THAT much of a difference. what resolution are you running 3dmark06 at? also, is vsync off?

 

Awesome. Looking forward to the guide. At work myself so I'll be looking forward to your post when I get back home.

BTW, does it matter if you have different versions of the GX620? I bought mine there while I was on vacation. Mine is virtually the same as the u.s. gx620, except it came with a P9500 cpu and a Korean Windows Vista (which I replaced the MUI to English.)

 

It should be fine i think. quick guide.


ok so download the LATEST nibitor, gpu-z, and nvflash.

Using GPU-Z, extract the video bios by clicking the button located next to the bios version number. Save it to the desktop. Make a copy just in case you need to flash back to the default settings.

open the bios file with nibitor and it should display the clock /memory/shader values of ur card. U only wanna overclock the 3d mode values, but nibitor may not display them in the correct category, so make sure that whatever values u are changing, that they match with the ones shown in GPU-Z as your maximum core/shader/memory values. Dont change anything else, and save it back to the file.

Get yourself a usb floppy drive or find a tutorial on how to make a usb bootable stick and dump the contents of nvflash into it along with the bios file.

restart the computer and boot from the usb floppy drive or usb bootable stick/

type "nvflash -A -j -4 -5 -6 bios.rom"
without the quotes, and make sure that u use a CAPITAL A.

It will say that something is mismatched and to proceed anyways. Hit Y and thats that. Be careful doing all these steps because u can potential mess up ur computer if u screw things up. Also, i recommend running on power and making sure the usb is plugged in well.

Use ati tool as a way to test for artifacts and make sure the card heats up for 15+ minutes at least before calling any set values as stable.

Start with small values and incremement by 10-15mhz. Once u get the hang of the process, (its very repetitive until u find the highest stable values) you should be comfortable with it.

Big tip. Once u realize a sort of range of when artifacts start to show and when it is stable, i would use Ntune to downclock (u cant overclock but u can always software downclock) until u see that everything is stable. Then go back one last time and change/flash the values so that they match those that u used with ntune.

 

well, all setting in 3dmark06 is default... resolution 1280:1024, but I didn't find Vsync in settings of 3dmark06...

 

Check the nvidia control panel settings and also dl 178.24 DOX version from laptopvideo2go.

 

knivez! thanks for the great guide... I just want to confirm some things with you and get everything 100% straight before I follow up (don't wanna screw up something when this laptop is like ~1 week old...)

the bios I extracted using gpu-z and copied to my desktop is called "G96 M.bin" ... is this the bios I should be copying over to my flash drive along with nvflash? When I type "nvflash -A -j -4 -5 -6 bios.rom", am I replacing "bios.rom" with "G96 M.bin" in the command... or do I have to download a different bios?

Finally, when I am testing my settings in increments of 10~15mhz using Nibitor, do I have to reboot/flash (i.e. boot up flash drive and type nvflash -A -j -4 -5 -6 bios.rom) each time, or is this just a one time deal? Once I flash, will I be able to software clock and use ntune, or do I continue using Nibitor? BTW, my Nibitor is displaying 4 categories of clocks... Extra, 3D, Thrtl, and 2D. You mentioned I should be adjusting the 3D clocks, but it is displaying 400/800/300... while Extra is displaying 500/1250/800 (which appears to be the correct stock settings for my 9600m gt). So will I be touching 3D or Extra..?

Thanks a lot for your help... you can probably tell my ignorance when it comes to tech stuff

 

knivez~

I just wanted to check with you... I was curious about the commands you listed for using nvflash and I noticed -4 "nvflash -A -j -4 -5 -6 bios.rom" <- is not listed as part of the commands according to nvFlash 5.63. Here are the list of available commands the readme is showing...

Are we using different versions of nflash... if so, what has the -4 command changed to based on the pasted command listed above? Thanks!

 

You may want to specify what version of nbitor and other applications you're using Knivez, before someone bricks their 9600M GT. These things are going for at least $350, so it's not something you want to turn into a paperweight.

 

heh, I'm probably just being very paranoid...

knivez's instruction was pretty clear I think... and there's always backup.

anyways, looking forward to try this tomorrow after work once knivez replies

 

That's the problem. If your failed to flash your card properly, you can't recover or undo the damage. On a desktop, if you have a bad bios flash and bricked the card, you can use a second video card as a primary display device, and install the bricked card in another slot in order to reflash it. Since your laptop only has one slot for a video card, you do not have the same luxury if you brick your 9600M GT.

 

I finally finished overclocking my Geforce 9600m GT... I reached 6020 points in 3Dmark06. On stock clocks was my score 3956 points. Now it's ticking on 650 core 1650 shader and 925 memory. Thanks Knivez

 

Why are some of you guys getting such low original results? A factory 9600M GT DDR3 should be getting about 5000 points.

 

yea i'm not sure why the low score for tommy hawk.

i know the -4 switch isnt documented but thats how i've done it before and its worked. worse case scenario, it will get ignored if not recognized. im using the latest version of every program i listed. also the g96.bin is the bios.rom file i mentioned in the command. probably works the same with the bin file u extracted but i think u can choose to extract as .rom from gpu-z. click on the file type on the save dialog and choose rom and save as bios.rom or w/e.\


oh and u edit the extra values( since thet match the real stock values). it was the same for me, but other non-msi 1651 laptops might not show the 'extra' category so i didnt wanna confuse people.

u will have to repeat the nvflash process everytime u need to overclock.

but u can overclock to a somewhat high setting and then downclock with ntune to test and save time that way. just dont overdo it in the beginning. i also suggest to only overclock 1 value (core, shader, memory) at a time to test for artifacts and find the max value of each. then when u find the stable values, reboot one last time to flash these values.

 

Tommyhawk's scores looks more along the line of what you would get from 3dmark Vantage... I saw a benchmark for one with 9600m gt with a p8400 cpu score about 3500~3600 in these forums... I'm assuming with gx620's cpu OC feature and a faster processor might get you 3900 or somewhere around Tommy's original score.

May be a stupid question, but are you sure you're using 06? I know I make these mistakes...

Anyways, since I'm using a notebook coolor underneath and the same laptop models (thus the same 9600m gt) as you guys, I don't think I'll run into much problems if I OC it slightly lower than the clock settings you guys mentioned and start incrementing by 10~15mhz from there.

BTW, if all goes successfully, I'm thinking about buying thermal paste (?) or whatnot and make the gpu cooler and OC it even more... not really experienced in this, but I wanna OC it to the point where I can be on par with 9700... or even 9800 cards ~ lemme know if anyone has experience in this (i.e. cooling). Which leads me to wonder, Knivez OC'd approx ~100mhz clocks more per core/mem/shader over Tommy. So is Knivez using additional cooling options, or is Tommy running it a little lower? Because IMO stable is used in diff context... for some games, Knivez OC'd clocks will probably crash and burn while being perfectly okay in benchmarking...

P.S. - TRF, I installed x64 edition of home premium successfully and everythings working great. If there are GX620 users here and are unsatisfied with the x86 version of home premium... you can borrow a 64-bit vista disc from someone else and use the OEM key that came with your copy of 32-bit and have it work. Saved me a couple hundred $$$.

 

I havent had issues with games crashing yet, but i'll let u know. I do have artic cooling thermal paste on it, but its not like u can gain much in terms of OC just by replacing the paste.

 

Hey Knivez... I was googling around and I had the chance to come across this post...

Is this true for the GX620 as well? I believe the quote was talking about the heatsink on the CPU. What was your experience like with the GPU? I am also thinking about applying ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 (non-conductive) paste to my cpu as well.

Thanks~

 

Only the Northbridge die gets the thermal pad. MSI was kind enough to use thermal compound for the CPU and GPU, albeit not as good as the Arctic Silver 5 or MX-2.

 

Well, I'm running litle lower clock's, cause on higher clock's it get jammed in middle of test. Yes, I'm sure of 3DMark06.

 

Woot...

Got home today and tried OC'ing... everything worked like a charm. At stock 500/1250/800 I received 5369... ATITools read maximum 67c after testing for artifacts for about 15min.

I OC'd to Tommy's clock setting at 650/1650/925 and reached 6589 with no artifacts and running at 75c for about 20min.

I'm going to try OC'ing somewhere in between Tommy's and Knivez's clock setting... maybe around 685/1685/975.

Btw, these temp readings are based on me using a zalman notebook cooler underneath...

 

Imlinked, what's your CPU, and which drivers are u using?

 

I've got question... I installed ATITool, but it wouldn't run that test for artifacts... :-( ATITool tells me: "The video card you selected for overclocking in ATITool does not seem to be used by Windows. Visual testing has been disabled. To fix this, go to Display Properties, settings and enable the monitor output of the card." Any idea what should i do?

 

I have a P9500 and I'm using the downloaded drivers off MSI (using 176.60 from the manufacturer's website.) Chipset, video, audio, everything is from MSI.

To update my findings... my 3DMark06 scores came out to be 6819 with 685/1685/975 and passed it with flying colors... HOWEVER, after running ATITools artifact search for about 5min, I started seeing artifacts and the tool started give off these "ting" sounds every 3~4 seconds.

I think I will be downclocking back to 650/1650/925... I'm really tempted to buy some arctic cooling MX-2's and applying it to my cpu/gpu heatsinks. I really~ would like knivez's OC settings >.< friggen ~500 pts difference!

About ATI Tools... dunno about you but I had a different error... something about unsigned drivers and would not let me run it at all with version 0.26... I had to get 0.27 beta 4 before it ran. I googled around and found out 0.27 beta 4 supported x64 operating systems. Other than that... I haven't came across that problem you mentioned ;x

Have you tried the given suggestion? Selecting the display to match your video card under display properties? Really don't have much tech experience to give you a full answer... sorry bro.

 

So wouldn't it be a good/nice idea to write a short dummy batch startup file that makes a menu with two option, with the top either being dump to DOS or flash the card as above while the 2nd menu item would be to automagically re-flash the original BIOS?

Or make 2 disks/bootable USB sticks one with the automagic script to re-flash the original BIOS, and the other for tweaking?

[EDIT]
And what sort of impact is the overclocking having on some actual ingame scores? Before/after preferable of course...

(Waiting for my MS-1651 to be built by avadirect...)
[/EDIT]

 

So, to dump VBIOS from my current 8600M GT to a usable file.
nvflash [options] --save <filename>

nvflash --save 8600mgt.nvr(or rom)

 

Yea i live in a warm area, so ambient temps are hot and can get to 81c. But yea if ati tool is giving u artifacts, i wouldnt use those settings even if 3dmark passed.

 

no idea how to do that batch startup thing you mentioned... could you elaborate on that? lol...

as for ingame scores, the only game I own is assassin's creed. I'll give it a run when I get back home. Is fraps the best tool to see/record framerates?

Oh... I forgot to mention, it runs Warhammer at about 60~70 fps stock settings outdoors uncrowded. Solid performance imo.

 

Found out your problem tommy. I googled around and came across this post...

forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2816964

If the 3ghz threshold is true... than a P9500 would be getting 3ghz (OC'd using turbo feature by 20%). Default OC is 15% but you can make it changed to 20% in the bios.

 

Thanks, that can be reason of my low score.
But i find another problem... I run 3Dmark06 and first test go fine, but in second (firefly forest) monitor go black, and PC is not responding... Nothing helps, only to turn off whole pc. But when I play Crysis, or Whitcher everything goes ok. Test of stability in nTune - OK. My clocks: 700/1700/950 If I downclock memory to 800Mhz - the same problem, but it wouldn't happens every time... It's strange

Update: I ran 3dMark Vantage and everything went fine... I get 2120 points...