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Is overclocking is safe on R9800pro & is it realy make difference in gaming?
I m going to overclock my MSI Radeon 9800pro (just bought 4 days ago) bcoz i m not getting good performance from it. What r the advantages and disadvantages of overclocking. From where can i get the bios of Radeon XT to overclock it into my 9800pro.

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A concise, practical follow-up to . Members , and raised brand/driver concerns, so this answer focuses on what to do with an R9800 Pro right now: how to tell if an overclock will help, a safe in‑Windows workflow, and what to avoid when considering a BIOS swap.

First, check whether the GPU is the limiting factor. Run a built‑in benchmark or a repeatable scene with a tool that records FPS, then increase resolution and image quality. If frame rates fall substantially when you push pixel load, the GPU is the likely bottleneck; if CPU cores stay pegged near 100% while FPS is unchanged by resolution, the CPU is the limiter and a GPU OC will show little benefit.

Safe in‑Windows overclock workflow:

  • Record stock behavior: baseline FPS, temperatures and fan speed under load.
  • Use a trusted overclocking utility to raise clocks in small steps (core first, then memory). Small increments let you catch instability early.
  • After each step run a sustained stress/bench session and check for visual artifacts, driver resets or crashes.
  • Monitor temperatures and voltages; increase fan speed if temperatures climb. Stop if stability or temperatures become unacceptable.
  • Expect modest gains in real games — noticeable mainly in GPU‑bound scenes; results vary by title and resolution.

About flashing an XT BIOS: do not flash blindly. Only flash a ROM specifically matched to your card’s exact PCB and board ID, and always back up the original ROM first. Restoring a bad flash can be difficult and often voids warranty. A safer route is software overclocking unless you fully confirm hardware compatibility.

Quick checklist: verify PSU headroom, back up the original BIOS before attempting any flash, test stability thoroughly, and proceed incrementally. For BIOS images and BIOS‑dump tools, use reputable collections and utilities rather than random downloads.

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Member Avatar for mikeandike22

Umm dont overclock it, overclocking can result in performance increases but it can also fry your card. Buy more system memory or mb you do not have the processing speed for the games. But in my experience Ati=crap, buy a BFG Nvidia card like a 6800 or if you have the money and the pci-e slot buy a 7800GTx, most BFG nvidia cards come overclocked out of the box. Notice that i am recommending BFG nvidia, nvidia products are sold by many companies but not all of them are that great, I like BFG the best there are also other companies that are pretty good i think Digitek is also good.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

It has been my experience in the business world that the nVidia drivers are quirky and unreliable, whereas the ATI materials have been stable and trustworthy. I have seen a lot of nVidia cards cause some monitor problems, and unstable graphics. The business environment that I am referring to comes from publishing and CAD applications

Now, as a gamer, you might see that nVidia comes out with a new device that is fast and cool. Cutting edge drivers and everything. IF that works, great. But you will also find that ATI comes out with a new card that has similar capabilities, and a more stable environment.

Christian

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

Well we could argue on for days about the pros and cons of each, but mainly i will just say that overclocking is the not the best solution to getting more power.

Member Avatar for jwenting

Hello,

It has been my experience in the business world that the nVidia drivers are quirky and unreliable, whereas the ATI materials have been stable and trustworthy. I have seen a lot of nVidia cards cause some monitor problems, and unstable graphics. The business environment that I am referring to comes from publishing and CAD applications

My personal experience with these brands is almost diametrically opposed to yours :)
Unstable (to the point of rendering the card inoperative until the driver is replaced) ATI drivers and rock solid NVidia drivers.
Of course if you go out and install leaked and tweaked beta drivers (which many people seem to do because they promise higher framerates) you're on your own, but I've experienced situations in which there was NO release driver for an ATI card that worked.

Worst situation: An ATI card for which the release driver failed to put the card into any graphics mode (do they test those things?).
The only driver that did work was a beta driver for a completely different chipset (beats me, but it worked).

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