GPU Voltage Mod - Resistor Method (Continued)

After obtaining your graphics card's GPU voltage, turn off your computer and remove your card. Place it in a clear and brightly-lit workspace and look for the are outlined in the picture below.

Identify the R1597 resistor near the FAN 5240 voltage regulator.

You will need to solder a wire from one of the end of the 10,000 or 20,000 Ohm variable resistor. Then, solder a wire from the other end of the variable resistor to the R1597 SMD resistor as shown in the picture. Be careful when you solder the variable resistor to the tiny R1597 resistor, or you may disrupt the contact between the resistor and the PCB.

Don't forget to check the connections with a magnifying glass to make sure they are connected flawlessly and do not come into contact with nearby components.

Now, you may be wondering what's the difference between using the 10,000 and 20,000 Ohm variable resistor. Well, the choice of resistor determines the starting voltage (with the resistor set to the highest resistance). For example, the 10,000 Ohm variable resistor will start with a slightly higher voltage of 1.40V while the 20,000 Ohm variable resistor will start with a slightly lower voltage of 1.38V. Of course, this differs on each cards or variable resistors.

Incidentally, using a 20,000 Ohm variable resistor offers a slightly reduced risk of burning your GPU should you accidentally reduce its resistance too much at one go.

After you have soldered the wires and double-checked them, remember to set the 10,000 or 20,000 Ohm variable resistor to the highest resistance! Forgetting this step may cost you your card!

Then turn on your computer and measure the GPU voltage again. The multimeter will record a higher GPU voltage, even with the variable resistor set to its highest resistance.

Now, turn off your computer and give the variable resistor a slight turn to reduce the resistance a little. Then, turn on your computer and measure the GPU voltage again. The multimeter will show an increase in the GPU voltage. Repeat these steps until you attain your desired GPU voltage. But remember, never attempt this with stock cooling! And please try to stay below 1.4~1.45V if you are aircooling your card. Stick below 1.60~1.65V if you are watercooling your card, although some modders actually run their cards at 1.70V.

Some of you may be wondering if it is possible to adjust the voltage "on-the-fly" - adjusting the variable resistor with the system turned on. Yes, that is possible and it is safe. However, an accidental twist of the variable resistor when the system is turned on may inadvertently raise the voltage way too high and kill the GPU. So, be careful when you are doing this.

Even you already had a decent third-party cooler such as the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer, the Zalman ZM80C-HP or the Zalman ZM80D-HP on your Radeon X800 card, it may not actually be good enough for an overvolted Radeon X800. So, think twice before you start modding your Radeon X800 without upgrading your current third-party cooler if you are using those I mentioned. A modded pure copper CPU cooler is highly recommended because it performs much better than the third-party coolers above.

Nevertheless, always keep the voltage under 1.40V if you are using one of those third-party cooling solution. With good aircooling, you can try a voltage range of 1.50 to 1.55V.

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