NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › FX2500 in an Inspiron 9400/E1705.. Drivers and O/C question.
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

FX2500 in an Inspiron 9400/E1705.. Drivers and O/C question.

post #1 of 43
1/8/08 at 5:53pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

First post for me although I've browsed this forum a lot over the 1 and a half years I've had my Inspiron 9400. Had a look using search for answers to my query but I've come away more confused. So here we go :

1) I'm ordering in a FX2500 to replace my 7800 go. I'm currently using Extreme-G Mobileforce driver 92.91 (I've tried some of the newer versions but prefer this one). Will this driver be compatible with the FX2500?

2) What are the best drivers for the FX2500 if not Mobileforce?

3) Overclocking... I've read the posts about flashing the 7900GTX bios to enable overclocking, does this mean i cannot overclock using the normal software way. In the Mobileforce drivers for the 7800, the option is in the Advanced Settings options in Windows. Does the FX2500/7950GTX not have this option and is BIOS flashing the only way to overclock the card?

4) If the BIOS flash is to enable voltage adjustments as well as clock adjustments, is this something I need to do or will the card do well with just altered clock speeds?

I'm sure the answers to all these may well be buried in the forum somewhere but I've had no real luck finding them.

Thanks in advance for any help

Dan
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 43
1/8/08 at 6:25pm
Ive just installed a fx2500m and i had to install mobileforce 169.09 and they work great.
Im still looking into overclocking it as it cant be done by software. You could however use nibitor to modify the clocks on your own bios and flash it back to the card and overclock that way. I dont see anyneed to adjust the voltage unless your overclock is pants. Some people have had good results on there GTX with 1.32v but im sure the temps will be high.

I have flashed my card with a modded bios just to optimise the memory but im looking for a GTX mod for it if it exists.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 43
1/8/08 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
OK, I've done a little more digging and think that I've got the general idea.

I uninstall my old card and install the new one, along with whatever drivers I think best (thanks for the 169.09 suggestion!) My card will then run at stock speeds.

I'll still have the option of overclocking through the normal method (For me Mobileforce drivers, but i'm assuming RivaTuner and even the coolbits mode will be the same) but the overclock won't "stick". In order for the overclock to stick I need to flash the card BIOS? Is this correct? Or can you not overclock AT ALL until you flash the BIOS?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 43
1/8/08 at 8:34pm
Ive tried ati tool and it just wont stick, i can move the sliders but when i set the clock speed it just goes back to normal.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 43
1/8/08 at 9:20pm
Software OCs are locked out of 169.09 for some reason. 169.04s work fine.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 43
1/9/08 at 12:40am
I used nibitor, no problem with that method

Just make sure you back up

and check twice before hitting enter lol
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 43
1/9/08 at 7:12am
Thread Starter 
Is Nibitor something you can use instead of the BIOS flash image which is stickied elsewhere on this forum? This works with an FX2500 right?
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 43
1/9/08 at 8:24am
nibitor can backup your own bios and edit it. Then you flash the bios back to your card using Nvflash
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 43
1/9/08 at 1:49pm
You can either mod your own bios to "unlock" it or use one from the stickied thread.
BUT, software OC'ing is pretty much not working even with the "unlocked" bios from driver versions ABOVE 169.04.
SO, what I did is mod my 3D clock speeds to my desired OC clocks.
It is not ideal (as I preferred to use software OC to only OC when I game) but with the software OC'ing not working on the newer driver sets, this is the best option.

OR, you could just use 169.04 drivers and an unlocked bios, this would give you software OC'ing and good performance.


Good luck

D.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 43
1/9/08 at 8:16pm
Thread Starter 
Ok,

Thanks for all the advice so far. Here's the list of the programs/stuff I've downloaded to install/overclock my FX2500 (which hopefully I'll get next week sometime). I've got a 130W Dell PSU on order too.

Nvidia Forceware Drivers 169.04 (Beta)
Forceware Coolbits 2.0
NiBiTor 3.7
NVFlash 5.50

Have I got the right version of everything? I just googled each name and selected the highest numbering version I could see.
Anything I've missed?

I'm not going down the JuanLu route as I won't be constantly changing the clockspeeds, I'm just going to want the maximum SAFE clock I can get and keep it at that, not too bothered about a mhz here or there.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 43
1/9/08 at 8:30pm
Ive just flashed my fx2500-m to 550/650 and my 3dmark 2005 is 9375 so im well happy with that.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 43
1/10/08 at 10:05am
Confirmed 169.04 drivers allow to overclock via software, thanks for that dannyboyslim.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 43
1/12/08 at 9:55pm
Just a quick question.

Once you replace the old card for the FX2500 should you reinstall again the OS?

Thanks
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 43
1/13/08 at 2:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by inspiron_geek View Post
Just a quick question.

Once you replace the old card for the FX2500 should you reinstall again the OS?

Thanks
there is no need to re-install, just uninstall your old drivers and then shutdown. Install your new card and the install new drivers.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 43
1/20/08 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
Still waiting for my card to clear UK Customs...

Doughy, when you say overclock via software did you still flash the card BIOS using nvflash or something, or did you solely use something like RivaTuner (which is what I'm using at the moment for my 7800 software overclock)
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 43
1/20/08 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyboyslim View Post
Still waiting for my card to clear UK Customs...

Doughy, when you say overclock via software did you still flash the card BIOS using nvflash or something, or did you solely use something like RivaTuner (which is what I'm using at the moment for my 7800 software overclock)

How much did you pay for yours? I paid $220 but i also had to pay £29 to clear it through customs. I did get half of that back from the ebay seller though because i complained that he left the value on the despatch note.

I have flashed it to 550/650 and thats where it stays, any higher i use ati tool but i could only overclock through software with the 169.04 drivers.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 43
1/20/08 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyboyslim View Post
Still waiting for my card to clear UK Customs...

Doughy, when you say overclock via software did you still flash the card BIOS using nvflash or something, or did you solely use something like RivaTuner (which is what I'm using at the moment for my 7800 software overclock)
I save my original bios and changed the clocks and then flashed it with nvflash.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 43
1/20/08 at 3:34pm
Thread Starter 
I paid $259, which including extra postage came in at around £149. I thought it was still a bargain given the prices of 7900GTXs and 7950s.

When did you have pay the duty? Did Customs contact you and you had to pay to release the goods, did you pay upon receiving the card, or did you have to contact Customs and query where the package was? It's been there for about three days at the mo.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 43
1/20/08 at 6:51pm
Parcel force sent me a letter, i paid over the phone and they delivered next day. mine was in customs nearly 5 days. who did you buy from?
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 43
1/20/08 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dannyboyslim View Post
Still waiting for my card to clear UK Customs...

Doughy, when you say overclock via software did you still flash the card BIOS using nvflash or something, or did you solely use something like RivaTuner (which is what I'm using at the moment for my 7800 software overclock)

If you want to do OC, you should flash the card BIOS..

1. You can flash the BIOS to unlock it， and use something like RivaTurner or AtiTool。。
2. You can flash the BIOS to set the card default frequence to some higher frequence.
3. Both above.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › FX2500 in an Inspiron 9400/E1705.. Drivers and O/C question.