Nice build, like the overall theme and the blue. Got briefly puzzled where the power supply unit went (because of the backplane mod). I get it the template came from some smaller case which has a SFX PSU mounted overhanging the mb cooler, right?

Bruno128 wrote on 2023-03-18, 12:31:

Nice build, like the overall theme and the blue. Got briefly puzzled where the power supply unit went (because of the backplane mod). I get it the template came from some smaller case which has a SFX PSU mounted overhanging the mb cooler, right?

Good question! I'll have to post a complete rear photo. Here is the original PC-65 image, Lian Li had a very innovative-for-the-time separate bracket for the PSU so it could slide out!

Just a small update, a few more photos in its operational home, the LEDs seem to do something funny to my phone camera, maybe I'll try a real camera?

Ok this is wild, I managed to dig up some old pictures from 2002-2005 of the original case in the first iteration when it was all original, and the second after I powdercoated it red! Hopefully someone enjoys this little dose of nostalgia!

Very Cool! 😀

A few more photos.
Added a NIB Zalman VF900 to keep the X850 running cool, and ramsinks too, hopefully I can get a nice long life out of this card without any BGA solder issues.

More photos due to post image limit.
The Zalman cooler is really nice!

ATi_Loyalist wrote on 2023-03-28, 22:43:

The Zalman cooler is really nice!

Looks cool! Any tips for removing old thermal interface? Also, did you maybe do a peak load temps comparison with a stock one and this one?

Looks good! I have the exact same card (X850 Pro, built by ATI). I'm the original owner... I bought it new in a retail box. Shortly afterward I flashed the XT BIOS to enable the 16 pipes but I decided to keep the Pro clockspeeds (I think the process involved flashing the BIOS back to Pro but tweaking the command to retain the 16 pipes). The card is still working great today on the stock cooler (haven't even changed the paste!).

Meanwhile, my Radeon 9700 and Radeon 9800 Pro both died (artifacting). The 9800 Pro started artifacting several months AFTER I replaced the stock cooler with an aftermarket one 🙁

I bought a 9500 non-Pro at that time, and unlocked the shaders. It was never a full 9700, though, because Ati used slower memory on the 9500 non-Pro, that didn't like being overclocked, so it was more like a 9700 with crippled memory.

sliderider wrote on 2023-03-31, 01:09:

I bought a 9500 non-Pro at that time, and unlocked the shaders. It was never a full 9700, though, because Ati used slower memory on the 9500 non-Pro, that didn't like being overclocked, so it was more like a 9700 with crippled memory.

Oh the good old days!

bZbZbZ wrote on 2023-03-30, 03:29:

Looks good! I have the exact same card (X850 Pro, built by ATI). I'm the original owner... I bought it new in a retail box. Shortly afterward I flashed the XT BIOS to enable the 16 pipes but I decided to keep the Pro clockspeeds (I think the process involved flashing the BIOS back to Pro but tweaking the command to retain the 16 pipes). The card is still working great today on the stock cooler (haven't even changed the paste!).

Meanwhile, my Radeon 9700 and Radeon 9800 Pro both died (artifacting). The 9800 Pro started artifacting several months AFTER I replaced the stock cooler with an aftermarket one 🙁

Nice! I wish I was an original owner! I do have my 9700 Pro and 9800 Pro that I bought originally, both non-working today I think. The X850 has been great though, rock solid.

Bruno128 wrote on 2023-03-29, 17:07:

ATi_Loyalist wrote on 2023-03-28, 22:43:

The Zalman cooler is really nice!

Looks cool! Any tips for removing old thermal interface? Also, did you maybe do a peak load temps comparison with a stock one and this one?

Despite age it came right off with 97% isopropyl alcohol.
Nothing detailed but it was running pretty hot around 55-60C, runs around 30C idle, 38C load now, into the low 40s with a mild overclock.