I have an ATi Radeon 9800 Pro, 128MB graphics card. I also have replaced the standard heat sink and fan with arctic cooling heat sink and fan, one which I have found to be the highest recommended cooler by several magazines. I also have downloaded ATi Tool, and have clocked the card from: CORE: 378 MHz to 394 MHz MEMORY: 337 MHz to 354 MHz I would like to know if this is the sort of overclocking result that I should expect with this type of cooler, with the fan set to the higher setting. I start to get disruptions on screen if I get the core above 398 MHz. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

This isn't an answer, as I'm about to attempt the same oc'ing (9800pro AIW) once my order comes in, but you should look into replacing the HSF. I ordered the arctic cooling silencer rev 3, it's cheap and very quite, and I'll be damned if I can find a less than perfect review on it. You will probably get better results with a better HSF. I also order ram heatsinks too.

SMART - I just re-read, and you did just that. If someone could delete my posts I would sleep better tonight...

If it makes you feel any better I have a 9700Pro with an aftermarket HSF and some AC-5 thermal film, using ATITool I have been able to go from the default 325/620 MHz to 375/690 Mhz. I can still kick it up a bit more without seeing any slicing and other anomalies, but any significant jump from these frequencies will probably cause real artifacting so I have decided to stay put. If you want to really push it to the limits you should consider Volt-modding the card, needless to say it does come with its own risks but @ this point you have NO warranty on the card anyway. ____________________________ The greatest risk is not taking one

Thanks for your reply's. I have had someone suggest that when I changed the heatsink, I may have put too much silicon based 'gunk' (came with the cooler) onto the core. Do any of you know whether this could be a valid reason for not getting above 400 MHz? I can see the logic in it, just wondering if any of you think that this could adversly affect the over clocking..... Alex

Ok, I'm going to try again with a post :P I was hoping when I came home today, my stuff would have arrived but it didn't, so I haven't had a chance to look at the silencer yet. Have you ever oc'd anything before? When applying the compound, depending on the finish on the bottom of the HSF (a mirror finish being the best), you want to apply the lease amount as possible. If the finish is very smooth, then you only need a "translucent haze" as AS describes it. The thinner the layer, the better the heat transfer. I'll post back after the weekend with my scores. We can be buddies =)

I got my Hightech Excalibur Radeon 9800 Pro Iceq 128mb to Core 425 MHz and Memory 380 MHz using the cooler supplied and using the program Powerstrip, I the highest I managed to set this card to was core 465mhz and memory 425mhz As my PC is on 24/7 I put the speed down a bit, this is an awesome card ________________________ MSI KT8 NEO Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2.0ghz 1.0 GB DDR PC3200 2X 160 GB HDD Hightech Excalibur Radeon 9800 Pro Iceq 128mb ( Core 425 MHz and Memory 380 MHz )