Pixel Pipelines (1 Viewer)

[Sefi]

Hey all.

I've heard that some graphics cards which are based on similar GPU's etc. Will have disabled pixel pipelines and so forth, and therefore enabling these can give much better performance.

I have a Leadtek A6600 TD (256Mb, AGP) card, normal speeds are 300Mhz Core and 500Mhz RAM, i have it at 460Mhz Core and 620Mhz RAM (All stable)
I'm pretty sure i can push it further, but i'm gonna wait till i get some better cooling for it.
So, does anyone know if there are any Pipelines/Shaders etc. That can be enabled on my card?

Also, can anyone reccomend a cooling solution? I'd rather not get some mighty heatsink to put on it, coz i've heard of too many storys of people breaking stuff when moving their PC (which i often do) due to big heatsinks. Although i am thinking of getting cooling fins to put on the RAM etc that isn't covered by the heatsink.

Thanks
- Sefi

 

[Raginsheep]

Alot of disabled pixel pipelines are disabled by an industrial strength laser....try googling for your card and cross your fingers.

 

[Collin]

No more pipes are unlockable for the 6600GT. In relation to NV43s, you could unlock a 6200 to a 6600.. but that's pretty much it. The 6600 is the highest-graded card out of the 6600 series - trying to find additional unlockable pipes is a futile effort.

If you're serious about overclocking, you should go water. Although I wouldn't bother with water for something like a 6600GT.

 

[Capitalist Scum]

I dunno why you'd bother with water when you can get higher graded cards (I mean, even the 7300GT beats a 6600GT) for less than the cost of such a cooling system.

 

[Adam1987]

Ooops, the 6600 already has the full 8 pipelines.

 

[Collin]

He said 6600 not 6600GT... I seem to recall a thread on some people unlocking the pipelines, it's really old technology (~2 years?) so I doubt you've got one of the early ones that were just BIOS locked.

Doesn't matter. Of the NV43 range, the only one with a remote chance of unlocking pipes is the 6600LE.

 

[Templar]

Generally not advisable to try unlock pipelines on NV4x family. The disabled are actually faulty, and it's an almost irreversible process.

 

[phatic]

This guide is for the 6800's, but if you follow the first few steps you should be able to work out if there are any unlockable pipes on your 6600.

http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/aoa-faq/32005-overclocking-your-nvidia-6800-6800le-ddr.html

Failing that a volt-mod might enable some higher clock speeds. I've heard that the hard-mod takes things too far in terms of stability on the 6600's, so the soft-mod might be your best bet. I may be wrong though.

http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/hardware-hacking/38232-nvidia-video-card-bios-volt-mod.html

 

[Sefi]

Thanks for the help guys.
With that about faulty pipes, i think thats just a software mask (or thats what i've heard) like, the bios is told 'this pipe is faulty' so it doesnt work).

And I know the 6600 is fair old, but its still good, and it was the best sub $150 card i could get for AGP. Although i'm gonna try and get a 7800GS.

 

[Collin]

Although i'm gonna try and get a 7800GS.

Ditch the AGP.. it's dead. Nothing wrong with trying to OC an existing AGP card.. but upgrading again to another AGP seems a little pointless. Save yourself for a new PCI Express PC.

Coming from a current AGP gamer (X800XT-PE).

 

[Templar]

Have to agree with Collin on AGP. From another AGP gamer (6800GT), there is no need for upgrade on AGP, save for PCIe.

However, having said that, there was a period when my 6800GT wasn't working, and I was contemplating on an X1950 Pro in AGP. That's the best AGP card you can buy, and at $350, it's not too bad either. Far more impressive than the 7800GS, cheaper than the Gainward 7800GS+, and comes with factory installed aftermarket cooling.

 

[Raginsheep]

PCI-X means a whole new system though......

 

[Collin]

PCI-X means a whole new system though......

You mean PCI-E?

And yes, it does mean a new system. If you were gonna make a big video card upgrade after a number of years for gaming, you would certainly want a new CPU (and hence most probably new mobo) & RAM to balance the video card anyway.

 

[Raginsheep]

yes..........PCI-E.....