Introduction
As many of you already know, the GPUs that ATI use in their desktop graphics cards are the same GPUs used in their workstation-grade graphics cards. The reason for the performance differences between desktop and workstation graphics cards lie in the driver. The driver detects the type of card and automatically disables certain functionality for desktop cards. That's why workstation graphics cards perform much better than desktop cards in professional 3D applications.
Physically, both desktop and workstation cards are basically the same. There may be some minor differences between the two cards but both workstation and desktop cards are essentially the same. Therefore, it is possible for us to modify the desktop cards into full-fledged workstation cards. We can do so either by soft-modding or hard-modding the card.
In our ATI Radeon To ATI FireGL Soft Mod Guide, we went through the possible soft mods for different ATI Radeon desktop cards. Although soft-modding is relatively painless and risk-free, it doesn’t always work. You will also need to spend a lot of time trying different drivers, patching them and so on. With that said, the soft mod way is worth a try for those who don’t want to risk damaging their cards or voiding their card’s warranty.
Unfortunately, those minor physical differences mentioned earlier may prevent efforts at soft-modding. ATI may have done so for that very purpose. Otherwise, these cards can be easily soft-modded into full workstation-grade cards by merely fooling the driver into identifying them as proper workstation cards. With such cards, soft-modding is not an option.
Luckily, we still have another option left - a hard mod! This form of modding is guaranteed to work, as long as it was performed correctly. However, this mod usually involves soldering or physically modifying your card. Therefore, hard-modding your card will instantly void its warranty. You also risk damaging your card in the process. The good news is, hard- modding your card isn’t actually hard, if you have good soldering skills. As the title suggests, this guide is going to teach you how to hard-mod your Radeon 9800-series card into a FireGL X2 workstation card. This guide will cover all Radeon 9800 cards - Radeon 9800 SE, Radeon 9800, Radeon 9800 Pro and Radeon 9800XT.
Disclaimer : We will not be held responsible for any damage to your card that occurs as a direct or indirect result of performing this mod. Please note that performing this mod automatically voids your card's warranty. So, please be aware of the risks associated with this mod and make your own informed decision on whether to perform this mod or not.
Identifying Your Card
There are many kinds of Radeon 9800 cards. Even models like the Radeon 9800 SE comes with different versions. So, it's necessary to identify your card because you will need to find the right BIOS images for your card. Please note that some of these cards have lower chances of success than others.
Radeon 9800 SE
The Radeon 9800 SE normally comes in two different flavours. As most of you know, they come with either a 128-bits or 256-bits memory bus. But both versions have half of their pixel pipelines disabled. The disabled pixel pipelines may be totally defective or not functioning properly. But in some cases, they are actually working properly. That's when it becomes possible to mod the Radeon 9800 SE into a Radeon 9800 Pro!
The easiest way to identify your Radeon 9800 SE is to look at the arrangement of the memory chips on the PCB. The memory chips on a 128-bits Radeon 9800 SE card are arranged in an “I” shape while the those on a 256-bits Radeon 9800 SE are arranged in an “L” shape, similar to that of a Radeon 9800 Pro.
Of course, only Radeon 9800 SE cards with properly-functioning (but disabled) pixel pipelines are moddable into the FireGL X2. To verify whether the disabled pixel pipelines in your Radeon 9800 SE are still working, you can try soft-modding your Radeon 9800 SE into a Radeon 9800 Pro. Then try running 3D games or applications on the soft-modded card. If it runs them properly, then your card’s disabled pixel pipelines are all functioning properly.
For more information on enabling your Radeon 9800 SE's disabled pixel pipelines, you can have a look at our Radeon 9800 SE To Radeon 9800 Pro Mod Guide.
The Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB with old PCB layout.
The layout should be exactly the same as the Radeon 9800 SE 256-bit.
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If your Radeon 9800 SE has fully working pixel pipelines and it comes with a 256-bits-wide memory bus, then this mod should not be a problem. Radeon 9800 SE cards that come with only a 128-bits-wide memory bus have a different PCB layout that may make it harder to mod them into the FireGL X2. In addition, even if you manage to mod one, its performance would not match that of the real FireGL X2 as it has far less memory bandwidth compared to the real FireGL X2 card.
As for the onboard memory buffer, you don’t have to worry about its size, whether it's 128MB or 64MB. The hard mod should work as long as you have the appropriate FireGL X2 BIOS. So far, I’ve only seen Radeon 9800 SE with a maximum buffer size of 128MB. Since the original FireGL X2 only comes with 256MB of memory, you will need to either modify the original BIOS, or find a modified/hacked FireGL X2 BIOS that supports your card's memory size.
If you don't know how to modify BIOS images, RaBiT is a good BIOS editor for ATI BIOS images. You can easily change the memory bus width, memory size, memory timings, clock speeds and so on.
Radeon 9800
The Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB with old PCB layout
The vanilla 9800's PCB should look exactly the same.
As for the onboard memory buffer, you don’t have to worry about its size, whether it's 128MB or 64MB. The hard mod should work as long as you have the appropriate FireGL X2 BIOS. So far, I’ve only seen Radeon 9800with a maximum buffer size of 128MB. Since the original FireGL X2 only comes with 256MB of memory, you will need to either modify the original BIOS, or find a modified/hacked FireGL X2 BIOS that supports your card's memory size.
As mentioned in the previous page, RaBiT is a good BIOS editor for ATI BIOS images. You can easily change the memory bus width, memory size, memory timings, clock speeds and so on.
Radeon 9800 Pro
As for the Radeon 9800 Pro, there are now three versions. When Radeon 9800 Pro was still the king of the hill, there were only two kinds of Radeon 9800 Pro - each with a different PCB layout. The early Radeon 9800 Pro (R350) came with either 128MB of DDR memory or 256MB of DDR II memory. As a result, they used different PCB designs.
Soon after the R360 was released, ATI stopped producing the R350 GPU. Therefore, later Radeon 9800 Pro cards came with the R360, instead of the R350. These cards also have a slightly modified PCB, which is the same one used on the Radeon 9800XT.
The Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB with R350/R360 core and old Radeon 9800 PCB
The Radeon 9800 Pro 128/256MB with R360 core and Radeon 9800XT PCB
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The Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R350 core and old Radeon 9800 PCB
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Since the FireGL X2’s PCB is almost totally based on the Radeon 9800 Pro, there should be no problem modding them into FireGL X2 cards, as long as you have the appropriate BIOS for your card.
As for the onboard memory buffer, you don’t have to worry about its size, whether it's 128MB or 256MB. The hard mod should work as long as you have the appropriate FireGL X2 BIOS. Since the original FireGL X2 only comes with 256MB of memory, you will need to either modify the original BIOS, or find a modified/hacked FireGL X2 BIOS that supports your card's memory size; if your Radeon 9800 Pro only comes with 128MB of memory.
As mentioned in the previous page, RaBiT is a good BIOS editor for ATI BIOS images. You can easily change the memory bus width, memory size, memory timings, clock speeds and so on.
Note: There are some budget-level Radeon 9800 Pro cards that only come with a 128-bits memory bus. Like the Radeon 9800 SE with a 128-bits memory bus, modding these cards may not be possible; and even if successful will not result in a FireGL X2 level performance.
Radeon 9800XT
The Radeon 9800XT is actually same card as the new Radeon 9800 Pro. In fact, it is possible to mod a Radeon 9800 Pro into a Radeon 9800 XT! But that's another guide altogether. If you are interested in that mod, you can check it out here.
Coming back to topic, it is therefore possible to mod the Radeon 9800XT into the FireGL X2. All you need is a suitable hacked BIOS.
The Radeon 9800XT/Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R360 core and 9800XT PCB
AIW Radeon 9800 Series
The All-In-Wonder Radeon 9800 series of cards are the same as their "normal" counterparts. The chance of modding them into a full FireGL X2 is the same as that of their "normal" counterparts. For example, modding the AIW 9800 SE is the same as modding a normal Radeon 9800 SE.
One thing you should be aware of - if you mod an AIW card into the FireGL X2, you may lose your card's AIW capabilities. So, this may not be a mod you want to attempt.
Okay, now that you have identified your card, let's proceed with the mod!
Hard-Modding The Radeon 9800
The modding procedures are same for all cards in the Radeon 9800 series. The only exception is the Radeon 9800 SE - its modding procedue may be slightly different.
First of all, you need to remove your card’s cooler. The area under the heatsink is exactly where you need to do all the modifications. The picture below is that of a Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with a R360 core and Radeon 9800 XT PCB. The resistor layout around the R360 core, however, is exactly same as the R350 core.
The Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R360 core and 9800XT PCB
Take a close look at the outlined area. All you need to do is remove the resistor connecting points 1-2 and resolder it to connect point 2-3.
Be very careful when you are doing this because the resistor is very tiny and you may lose it. Also, try not to let your soldering iron loiter on resistor for too long as excessive heat from the iron may damage it. If you can’t solder the resistor within 2-3 seconds, back off and wait for another few seconds. Then give it another go.
It’s not easy keeping the small resistor from moving around when you are trying to solder it in place. You can try pressing one end of the resistor while soldering the other end. I used a pocket knife to do that.
If you don’t do this, the resistor may stick to your soldering iron when it touches the resistor. Remember, the resistor is very small at approximately 2mm x 1mm. It actually happened to me but fortunately I quickly grabbed my screwdriver and knocked it off the soldering iron!
You must make sure the resistor makes proper contact with the solder points. Otherwise, your card won't work at all.
If you have a Radeon 9800 SE, you may need to resolder more than one resistor as ATI used the same trick to ‘transform’ their Radeon 9800 Pro cards into Radeon 9800 SE cards. Just make sure the resistor layout is same as the one outlined in the picture below.
The resistor layout on the real ATI FireGL X2-256
Now that you have hard-modded your card, you will need to flash your card into a true FireGL X2!
Finding The Right BIOS Images
Here is the list of Radeon 9800 cards and their corresponding FireGL X2 versions. I can only provide you a few BIOS images for downloading. You can try to look for other FireGL BIOS images from sites like http://www.ocfaq.com/.
For your convenience, the official clock speeds (core/memory) in MHz have been posted next to each card. For example, (380/350) means a core clock of 380MHz and a memory clock of 350MHz.
Radeon 9800 SE 128MB 256-bit (380/300-340) To FireGL X2-128* (380/350)
If you don't want to overclock your card or if your card cannot run at 380MHz core and 350MHz memory, you can edit the FireGL X2-128 BIOS image to adjust the clock speeds. If your card can run at those clock speeds, then flashing the standard BIOS image to this card shouldn't be a problem.
The PCB Layout of Radeon 9800 SE 128MB 256-bit/Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB(R350)
I only have a Tyan FireGL X2-128 BIOS image for you to download. Please note that it is only for Radeon 9800 SE cards that come with Samsung memory.
If you are modding a Radeon 9800 SE with 64MB memory or a Radeon 9800 SE with a 128-bits memory bus, you will need to edit the BIOS image using RaBiT before flashing it to your card.
Download the Tyan FireGL X2-128* BIOS here (only for Samsung memory chips, 378/338).
* Note : The FireGL X2-128 does not actually exist!
Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (380/340) To FireGL X2-128* (380/350) / FireGL X2-128t* (412/365)
Let's start with the original Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB using the R350 core. The Tyan FireGL X2-128* BIOS image will work on these cards without any problems. I successfully flashed my own Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro into a FireGL X2-128* using this BIOS image.
The Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB with R350/R360 core and old Radeon 9800 PCB
The newer Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB cards using the R360 core can be flashed to FireGL-X2-128*. However, this card can also be flashed into the FireGL X2-128t* because it comes with the R360 core. The letter "t" behind the name FireGL X2 basically designates the newer FireGL X2 cards using the R360 core.
The new Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R360 core and Radeon 9800XT PCB
But again, you will need the hacked BIOS images in order to do this. That's because the 128MB FireGL X2 does not exist!
Download the Tyan FireGL X2-128* BIOS here (only for Samsung memory chips, 378/338, new or old PCB).
* Note - Both FireGL X2-128 and FireGL X2-128t cards do not exist!
Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB (380/350) To FireGL X2-256 (380/350) / FireGL X2-256t (412/365)
The original 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro, which uses the R350 core, should have no problems being flashed into the FireGL X2-256 since they are exactly the same cards, down to the DDR II memory chips.
The Original Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R350 core and old Radeon 9800 PCB
As for the new 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro which uses the R360 core, it can be flashed into either the FireGL X2-256 or FireGL X2-256t
But please remember that the FireGL X2-256t runs at higher clock speeds. It will generate as much heat as the Radeon 9800XT. The Radeon 9800 Pro's stock cooler won't be capable of handling that kind of heat. Therefore, you will need to upgrade the card's cooler before attempting to flash this card into the FireGL X2-256t.
The new Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R360 core and Radeon 9800XT PCB
If you don't want to spend money upgrading the cooler, you can lower the clock speeds by editing the BIOS image before flashing it into your card. You will need the hacked FireGL X2-256t BIOS image because the real FireGL X2-256t card is using DDR II memory.
Please remember that you will need to find a hacked FireGL X2-256 BIOS image for cards using DDR memory. Do not use the original FireGL X2-256 BIOS image which is meant for cards using DDR II memory.
If you are not lucky enough to find any suitable BIOS images for your 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro (DDR), you can always try the 128MB FireGL X2 BIOS image. However, this may disable half of your card's memory because that BIOS is meant for 128MB cards.
Download the Hercules FireGL X2-256 BIOS here (only for DDR Hynix memory chips, 412/365, new PCB).
Download the ATI FireGL X2-256 BIOS here (only for DDRII memory chips, unknown manufacturer, 378/351, old PCB).
Download the ATI FireGL X2-256 Rev.01 BIOS here (only for DDRII Samsung memory chips, 378/351, old PCB).
Download the ATI FireGL X2-256 Rev.01 BIOS here (only for DDRII memory chips, unknown manufacturer, 378/351, old PCB).
Radeon 9800XT 256MB (412/365) To FireGL X2-256 (380/350) or FireGL X2-256t (412/365)
This is the same situation as that of the new Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with the R360 core. You will need the hacked FireGL X2-256t BIOS image because the real FireGL X2-256t uses DDR II memory.
The PCB layout of the Radeon 9800XT/Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB with R360 core and 9800XT PCB
However, you won't need to adjust the clock speeds in the BIOS image because both the cards run at the same clock speeds.
Download the Hercules FireGL X2-256 BIOS here (only for DDR Hynix memory chips, 412/365).
Flashing The BIOS Image
Before attempting to flash the video BIOS, I would like to remind you that you need to identify your card's memory type and manufacturer. Only then will you be able to find the suitable BIOS image for your card. For example, if you are flash a BIOS image meant for a graphics card with DDR II memory into a card using DDR memory, the mod will fail.
You may also need to edit the clock speed settings within the BIOS image if your card is not able to run at the clock speeds set by the new BIOS image. You can do this by using the ATI BIOS Editor or RaBiT.
Also, you may need to try several different BIOS images before you find one that works for your card. Not all the BIOS images will work on your card, even if it appears to be suitable. For archives of BIOS images and utilities, please visit our new Downloads Area.
The flashing procedure is quite easy. We will use the Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB as an example. If you have never flashed a graphics card before, please refer to our Video BIOS Flashing Guide.
You will need :-
- A suitable FireGL BIOS image for your graphics card
- A BIOS flash utility (i.e. FlashROM)
- A PCI graphics card (you will need it if your card fails to function)
Here is just a simple guide of how to flash your graphics card using FlashROM 2.23. If you are using a different version of FlashROM, you will need to consult the FlashROM documentation of that version.
| Step 1 : | Insert the floppy disk and boot the system. Once DOS has loaded up, your screen should display the command prompt A:\>. |
| Step 2 : | Before you flash the new video BIOS, I highly recommend that you backup your old video BIOS, just in case. Type in: 'flashrom -s 0 backup.bin' to back it up as the file backup.bin in the floppy drive. |
| Step 3 : | To flash your video flash BIOS with the BIOS image in your floppy drive, just type in: 'flashrom -f -p 0 xxx.bin' The -f option forces FlashROM to program the BIOS irrespective of whatever the ASIC ID or other identifiers say., while t The -p option sets FlashROM to program the BIOS into your card's Flash ROM. Replace xxx.bin with the name of the BIOS image. After flashing, you should see a message indicating a successful flash. That's it!  |
| Step 4 : | Remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. |
After you have flashed your card with the BIOS image, install the latest FireGL driver and that's it!
When A Flash Goes Wrong
If you see any error messages, do NOT reboot your system! If you reboot, you may see garbage or even nothing on screen! Because, without a working BIOS, your card will not work properly.
Although it is not common if you take precautions, this can happen if the BIOS image you downloaded is corrupted or if the floppy disk is faulty.
What you should do now is flash your old video BIOS back into the Flash ROM. That should restore your graphics card back to normal.
However, if the worst happens and the card fails due to a corrupted BIOS, you will need to use a PCI graphics card to boot up and reflash the dead BIOS.
Just plug in both the PCI and 'faulty' AGP graphics cards into the system. Attach the monitor cable to the PCI graphics card. Then boot up the computer.
If your system does not boot, it is probably because the Primary Display option in the BIOS was set to AGP. You will need to unplug your AGP card, boot into the BIOS and set this option to PCI. After that, plug your "faulty" AGP card back to your system. Now your system should boot with the PCI graphics card as the primary display card of your system.
Then, repeat steps 1 and 3 to reflash the 'faulty' graphics card. You can do so either with the original BIOS image or a new BIOS image. This time your AGP card should be the second graphics card of your system and the PCI card should be the first.
Please note that if you are booting up using an ATI PCI graphics card, you need to replace the "0" (zero) with "1" when you are flashing the AGP card. Otherwise, leave it at "0".
Performance Improvements
After modding, you should test the performance of your modded your. If successful, you should see much better performance in professional 3D applications. For example, the viewset in 3D Studio MAX.
Let's take a look at some performance numbers. Please note that these are the results from the FireGL soft mod. But you should see similar improvements after performing the hard mod.
Here are some performance numbers from Saki. Check them out!
| Viewset | Weighted Geometric Mean (FPS) | Difference | |
| Before | After | ||
| proe-02 | 8.376 | 18.44 | + 120.01% |
| ugs-03 | 14.69 | 28.58 | + 94.55% |
| light-06 | 8.814 | 17.44 | + 97.87% |
| dx-08 | 53.42 | 82.19 | + 53.86% |
Great results, eh?
Frank also kindly provided us with the results of his FireGL mod. For those who are curious, he is using the AIW Radeon 9800 with a 2.4GHz Pentium 4C overclocked to 3.15GHz, 1GB DDR RAM and an ABIT IC7Max3 motherboard. In addition, the card's All-In-Wonder capabilities, like video capture, worked after the mod!
| Viewset | Weighted Geometric Mean (FPS) | Difference | |
| Before (Catalyst 4.9) | After (FreeFireGL) | ||
| proe-02 | 15.58 | 27.54 | + 76.76% |
| ugs-03 | 26.53 | 39.41 | + 49.56% |
| light-06 | 16.44 | 33.87 | + 106.02% |
| dx-08 | 87.93 | 153.90 | + 75.02% |
| drv-09 | 37.76 | 121.40 | + 221.50% |
| 3dsmax-02 | 14.60 | 25.55 | + 75.00% |
But what about in non-workstation "applications" (read : games! 
Here are the 3DMark 03 results :-
 Before Modding |
|
|
|
There seems to be a drop of 118 3DMarks. However, the difference is actually only 2% so it's really not significant.
Conclusion
Before you actually start modding your card, you need to find a proper BIOS image for your card. You can actually flash the BIOS before physically modding your card to find out if it works for your card.
If you are thinking that you can get away by just flashing the Radeon with the equivalent FireGL BIOS image, you would be very disappointed. You won’t be able to unlock the FireGL capabilities or even install the driver. This is why we need to soft-mod or hard-mod the Radeon.
Be very cautious when you are removing and resoldering the resistor. The resistor is very small and a small mistake may damage it or your card. Therefore, if you are not very good at soldering surface mounted components, you should get someone with experience to help you with the mod. If you accidentally damage the resistor, there's still hope. You can salvage a similar resistor from another card. You will, of course, have to scrounge for a useless or dead card to sacrifice.
If you are thinking of getting a new Radeon 9800 and hard-modding it into a FireGL X2, it is advisable to get the Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB with Samsung memory chips as there is a working BIOS for these cards. I already tested the BIOS image and it works well with my Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB.
However, I don't recommend that you buy a new 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro or Radeon 9800XT to mod because you may not find any suitable hacked BIOS images for them. There are not many hacked BIOS images out there. Also, someone actually reported that some BIOS images for the 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro do not actually work.
Incidentally, if somebody else has a Radeon 9800XT or 256MB Radeon 9800 Pro which is similar to the one you are considering to buy, you can try flashing those BIOS images on that card first to see if the BIOS images work. This way, you can evaluate the chances of a successful mod before actually buying the card.
Of course, if you happen to own the card already, then it’s worth a try if you have full confidence in your soldering skills and don’t mind voiding your card’s warranty.
Finally, if you attempt this mod, please do us a favour and report your experience here! Thanks!
Questions & Comments
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