Unlocked pipes

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by theven 4, Sep 5, 2005.

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  1. theven 4

    theven 4 Private First Class

    HI
    I've seen some people saying they have they're pipes unlocked for they're graphics cards and i wanted to ask what is that and how to do it. :D
    Thanks
    Tony
     
  2. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    Its basically saying.. Oh i got the card with 12 pipelines then i unlocked 6 of them... I can't remember for sure, but i think you flash your cards bios to get advantage of the extra pipelines. Or maybe it was a hardmod?
     
  3. theven 4

    theven 4 Private First Class

    But what is the advantage of unlocking pipelines. :confused:
     
  4. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    The more, the faster, the better... etc...


    The more, The Merrier!
     
  5. theven 4

    theven 4 Private First Class

    thanks for the answers sleepygamer, but now the thing i really want to know HOW DO I UNLOCK THE PIPELINES. :D
     
  6. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    post your model number and all that jazz and i'll tell ya if i can find what your looking for, if not, adrynaline or someone will probably step in and tell you how.
     
  7. theven 4

    theven 4 Private First Class

    Sure. It's a dell dimension 4600 3.06 ghz 512 ram and a NVIDIA GeForce 5900 se/xt(it's a se, but se and xt are the same)
     
  8. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    Could'nt find anything on it, your card might not have the extra pipelines to be unlocked... Although you could always keep googleing...
     
  9. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    Sorry theven 4, I dont think you have anything to unlock but I'm sure you can OC a bit.

    On the general subject here's what I got.

    I have unlocked my "Leadtek WinFast A400 LE" It's a nVidia GeForce 6800LE, AGP Card.
    Unlocking Pipe Lines & Vertex shaders is a hit & miss kinda thing, no Guarrantees, some can some cant!
    Ive heard the card I have has one of the best success rate's, around 40%??
    Here's mine and where I got:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122212
    Check out the reviews lot's of sucessful unlocks.
    I have been able to unlock my card using "Riva Tuner 2.0 RC 15.6"
    Would'nt Ya Know, It's avaible here at MG:
    http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=737
    Riva Tuner seems to work great for Ocing Graphics cards too!

    A 6800LE has 8 pipes and 4vp, the other 8 pipes & 2vp are masked or locked
    A 6800 has 12 pipes & 5vp, the other 4 pipes & 1vp locked
    6800 gt has 16 pipe lines & 6vp , nothing locked

    In my case I can unlock all pipes & 1 vp giving me 16 pipe Lines & 5 vertex shaders "16x1,5vp" ( remember stock was 8x1,4vp ) this gives makes my card perform as good as 6800 or bit better not quite a 6800GT
    Actually there are some other differances regarding memory/bandwidth, I'll skip that for now (remember I'm no expert)

    I can unlock the last Vertex shader but there's no point cause if i do I get lot's of artifacts my 6 vertex shader is dammaged.

    After unlocking run 3DMark05 or play your games if you have dammaged pipes or shaders you'll see artifacts.

    I have run acrossed some other mods to unlock pipes for my card & dozens of others, I used Rixa tuner it seemed to be the easiest & safest to try first.
     
  10. theven 4

    theven 4 Private First Class

    What are you saying that you can damage the pipelines or that some are already damaged???

    and why the hell do they lock the pipelines??? But then again you can buy a cheap card that doesn't cost much unlock the pipelines and get an awesome card that costs the double so nevermind. :D
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2005
  11. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    They basically make a 6800GT, lock pipelines, label it as a 6800LE and sell it at a high price, and a smart end user will unlock the pipelines!
     
  12. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    Yes & no & dont know (that narrows it down LOL), Ive seen compairson of Leadtek 6800's three versions they all use the same cool copper HSF but the circutry & soldering the back of the cards were different, the same Web page also had soldering mods to unlock, I'll post the link if I can find it again must be on one of my other PC's.

    A Dumb end user can unlock with Riva Tuner, also some luck may be needed as not all can be unlocked, it's roll of the dice.
    The soldering mod is chance & luck too, Riva Tuner safest, some guys just RMA if they cant unlock, which may be tuff if youve done some soldering.
    Even with 8 pipes & 4 shaders the leadtek card is good value at newegg.
     
  13. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    When you cant unlock pipes or shader's or can but get Artifacts they are refered to as damaged.
    Can you cause damage to them Good question?? I could probably damage anything if I wanted too

    Seems I read (also refering to all cards in general with locked pipes/shaders) damaged or locked pipes were result from manufacture process failure, some locked at factory just to have more production of the lower end cards, problems with capasitors/risistors something of that nature.
    So most likely the answer would be different for each manufacture, my memory isnt that great so I dont reommend ya quote me on the subject.
     
  14. tHe MAd GaMEr

    tHe MAd GaMEr Private E-2

    Caution anything you do to YOUR card is your problem. This is for informational Purposes only!!! Period.

    Generally you have to download a new bios and flash it onto the Card using the appropriate Flash program. If you don't know where to go to get it, You probably shouldn't do it. :) You could damage your card beyond repair short of sending it back and they will know you botched a flash on it. The advantage to more pipelines is more pixel throughput from the core hence faster frame rates and smoother gameplay. Free speed. Buying a card like my X800Pro, a 12 pipe card and unlocking the other Quad. giving you four more pipes that's a 33% increase. It did not work on my card. The pipes were off in hardware. I had to flash a Gigabyte Bios onto my Sapphire card, then check to see if it (The only one that works) unlocked the pipes. But they did not unlock. I had to flash back to my original bios, which I had saved before attempting the unlock.

    There are also a few hardmods around, But tinkering in that fashion is beyond my expertise. It all depends on what card you got, what core it is, Was it a defective quad that demoted that core to a lesser card or was it speed binned? It's always a toss up. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. And sometimes you can F*** it up royally so be sure of what your doing. I know Mine was a long shot as VIVO X800Pro cards are the ones that seem to work, and mine isn't one, but it was worth a try.... (Insert diabolical laugh!)

    Tha's how you do it, But You need to have pipes to unlock and you do NOT. The 5900 was an 8 pipe card. that's it. No extra pipes to unlock.

    Wow 3 posts tonight... I must really be bored :)
     
  15. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek



    This is Not true, Not for my leadtek, anyways, There are no Bios flashes that will unlock mine or none that I could find.
    In my case, Riva Tuner works without any Bios flash, also done within Windows.

    "In General" Yes there are some Bios that will unlock Pipes on some Cards, but you cant say that is the only way!
    Riva Tuner might do the trick for you and dont forget there may be some mod's out there too.
    All cards are different, As is the various ways to unlock em, & some cant be unlocked!
    Remenber Luck is involved here too.
     
  16. tHe MAd GaMEr

    tHe MAd GaMEr Private E-2


    Yes, actually it is true for the most part, but Thanks for nitpicking that post. Yes, I suppose in the your 6800's case Rivatuner works, But I'm, in turn, talking from my experience with ATI cards.

    I DID NOT say that was the only way to unlock any extra pipes. Generally means just that. I also mention Hardmods, and I also say that it depends on the card you have. What's seems to be your problem?

    PS. I'll take my 12 pipe X800Pro which will run stably at 590/575, any day over your 6800LE unlocked or not.

    3DMark 05 - 6159 http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1189166

    3DMark 03 - 12,063 http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=4236143

    Happy Gaming!
     
  17. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    Calm Down Mad Gamer!

    I wasnt trying to Frost your Cupcakes.

    Want Sprinkles on yours???

    Ya didnt even compair to my best score! shame on you!
    I think your scores a bit low especially considering the differance in memory/clock speed.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2005
  18. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    whats the link for the card your running ASUS? I might have to purchase one.... :D
     
  19. tHe MAd GaMEr

    tHe MAd GaMEr Private E-2


    Then lets see some linkage?
     
  20. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    Still frosted?

    There's nothing wrong with your scores or your card.
    In your links looks like all compairsons were of mine, Kool!
    The highest I posted in 05 was 4352 & 03 was 9323, not bad for my $140 card, that has 1/2 the memory of yours, (Today you can buy one like mine for $133 shipped from newegg)
    My Scores, I had posted them in the Benchmark thread, I'm sure I can do better if I wanted too:
    http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=43563&page=11&pp=20
    When I posted at Futuremark, I had seen score's of the same card as mine that were better than your scores, what up with that?

    Ya beat me in Benchies, So What!
    Benchmarks not the same as realworld performance.
    ATI vs NVidia who's better, Who Cares, I dont!


    Hey sleepy, here's the Link at Newegg:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122212
     
  21. tHe MAd GaMEr

    tHe MAd GaMEr Private E-2

    Nah, Just tired of having to deal with Lamers and Posers who like to tell little fibs to make themselves look good.

    That's Funny? I just did a search of the ORB using All CPU's, Any OS, FM approved drivers and the 6800LE card for the sort and the highest score was a paltry 5482 Seems your fibbing again. Guess we can't believe anything that comes out of your mouth. :rolleyes:

    Although 3DM01 was more of a system bench, '03 and especially '05 have been shown to reflect real-world performance in DX9 Games to a fairly high degree.
    As for beating you in benches, well I AM giving up a few Mhz in CPU speed, about a 25% deficit in memory bandwidth, and 4 less pipes than your unlocked 6800le.
    All I can say is Na-Na -Na -Na -Na -Na I BEAT YOU loser. :) :) :)


    *BTW, How's that texture shimmering problem in the new 78.whatever driver look on your Nvidia card?
     
  22. sleepygamer213

    sleepygamer213 First Sergeant

    I wouldn't just make fun of someone in a big post... by the by, if you havent already heard ALL of futuremarks programs are being questioned at the moment. Anyway, thanks for the link ASUS im the proud new owner of a 6800LE! (gonna unlock it soon as it gets here)

    JTLYK Ive got a 9600XT 128MB card that scores a measly 3300+ in 3Dmark03... but it handles Battlefield 2 excellently on 1024x768@85hz, ALL settings on HIGH, and i get 30+ FPS in firefights and whilst flying.

    Like ASUS said, realworld performance and benchmarks are TOTALLY different things.
     
  23. ASUS

    ASUS MajorGeek

    WOW! Testy arn't We!
    I think there's medication for that:
    http://www.uterol.com/
    Love you too! "LOL"



    I only made one mistake, Oversite on my part, Not meant to Mislead, Your right the highest score from 6800LE is 5482(By the way, it has 1/2 the memory of your card yet the score is close to your 6159 "Cough Cough")
    I also noticed many other wth the same card as your's getting in the 7000's??
    Either way, Either card, scores not bad, as far as I know either will play any game on the market, even at stock configuration, Period!

    I didnt intend to miss inform anyone, For That, I'm Sorry.
    This is Kinda like compairing Apples to Oranges.

    Maybe would be best to compair your 12 pipe 256mb card with a 6800 12pipe 256mb card, I noticed those 6800 got high score of 9438, Impressive!
    Cpu speed isnt a big factor here.

    I'm very happy with my 6800LE, I hope you enjoy your ATI

    I think it's time to end Our chat together, It's been fun!


    SEE YA!
     
  24. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    While I agree that some points need to be thrashed out on PC info/benchies etc, I agree ASUS that its best to end any slanging matches now before threads get locked!

    Keep it civil folks and refrain from personal attacks :)
     
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