Flash your FX5900 to a FX5950 Ultra
Posted by: Newsfactory on: 01/09/2004 01:08 PM [ Print | 4 comment(s) ] · 5644 views
Just got word those mad guy's over at Madshrimps have dug up some Info on howto for flashing your nVidia FX 5900 none ultra to a fully fledged FX 5950 Ultra graphics card!
nVidia used to hardwire all graphic cards with the correct BIOS so flashing cards like ATi wasn't possible... However, newly released information suggests that the NV38 (5950u) is simply a software rebadged NV35 (5900).
From a simple flash, the 5900's Device id:0331 could be transform into te 5950's device id:0333 Now you may ask yourself about the 128MB vs 256MB question and how the 5900 has both variants while the 5950u only supports 256MB. Well unlike ATi's cards, nVidia chipsets do not store their buffer memory into its BIOS and rather, the amount of memory onboard is detected each time when then computer is booted. This means that even a 128MB 5900 can be flashed into a 128MB 5950u. This also applies to VIVO. Does this turn you on yet?
Flash your FX5900 to a FX5950 Ultra
nVidia used to hardwire all graphic cards with the correct BIOS so flashing cards like ATi wasn't possible... However, newly released information suggests that the NV38 (5950u) is simply a software rebadged NV35 (5900).
From a simple flash, the 5900's Device id:0331 could be transform into te 5950's device id:0333 Now you may ask yourself about the 128MB vs 256MB question and how the 5900 has both variants while the 5950u only supports 256MB. Well unlike ATi's cards, nVidia chipsets do not store their buffer memory into its BIOS and rather, the amount of memory onboard is detected each time when then computer is booted. This means that even a 128MB 5900 can be flashed into a 128MB 5950u. This also applies to VIVO. Does this turn you on yet?
Flash your FX5900 to a FX5950 Ultra
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AJCrowley Posts: 8 Joined: 2002-06-19 |
#50593 Posted on: 01/09/2004 10:49 PM
If this actually works, I might pick up a 5900 next week, the big question that I have is this - does flashing the card to think that it's a 5950 Ultra actually give you the true performance of a 5950 Ultra, or does it just make you feel nice by telling you that's what your card is, without actually changing the performance? Presumably a 5950 Ultra would score significantly better than a 5900 non Ultra in a 3D benchmark such as 3DMark, so would flashing your card to a 5950 Ultra give you the benchmark score of a 5950 Ultra, or would your scores remain the same as for an unmodded 5900? If anyone is able to answer this question for me, I'd be extremely grateful, as it may mean the difference between dropping a few hundred on a new card or not. I already have a ti4600, and if the upgrade is not significant, I'd rather hang on to my money until I can afford a new top of the line card. Cheers, AJC |
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hinkle Unregistered |
#50594 Posted on: 01/09/2004 11:04 PM
A modded 5900 performs exactly the same as the 5950 since it's running at exactly the same specs as a 5950. There is no hardware difference between both cards except the cooling and exactly there "may" rise a problem if the 5900 cooling cannot keep up with the increase heat dissipation due to the higher frequencies... |
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Professor_Von_Murder Unregistered |
#50595 Posted on: 01/09/2004 11:17 PM
128 MB vs. 256 MB |
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gr33d Unregistered Posts: 13 Joined: 2002-12-23 |
#50607 Posted on: 01/11/2004 12:07 PM
DDR chip quality may be different also. Maybe someone can confirm if a 5900 has same make/model/speed DDR as a 5950. |
