ATI supports Radeon X1800 XT overclocking

ATI has sent out an official advisory called "Overclocking Configuration Support" to its board partners which allow a select number of partners to overclock boards based on Radeon X1800 XT chips. This represents a major milestone in ATI's history, which until now has been very strict concerning overclocking. Not only was ATI against users overclocking boards but ATI refused to support similar activities by its board partners.

However, with the confidential advisory, ATI says:

In response to numerous requests to allow our partners to create t heir own premium overclock or "OC" configurations, ATI is willing to relax the rules for selected AIB partners willing to assume all responsibility for testing, yield and potential fallout; and support at least 25MHz increment on the engine and memory clocks. These partners will be able to increase the default settings of those XT boards identified through [diagnostics] testing to be capable of running at the elevated speeds.

Not all board partners will be able to participate however as ATI still tries to maintain quality products that are based on their chips. ATI indicates that all Radeon X1800 XT chips have been put through extensive tests to ensure that they operate at the speeds ATI has announced they will run at.

Currently, the standard clock settings for the Radeon X1800 XT are 625MHz for core and 750MHz (1500MHz data rate) for memory. Because ATI is experiencing good yields on the Radeon X1800 XT core, it is allowing boards to be overclocked to 700MHz core and 800MHz memory (1600MHz data rate). In the document, ATI also indicates that standard clock settings are often set at conservative speeds to produce the highest output yield possible.

ATI is also showing that its sanctions about overlocking are more relaxed than ever by even supplying certain board partners with a software utility that will put their Radeon X1800 XT board through tests. Once the board has been determined to be of exceptional quality, the utility will signal a message indicating the board is capable of overlocking. The advisory indicates that at this point, partners are advised to perform application tests before locking the new speeds into BIOS.

While this advisory will be a delight for those who are considering or who own ATI based products, ATI indicates that it neither recommends nor discourages its partners from modifying Radeon X1800 XT boards. ATI however, says they will assist approved partners in performing the conversion from a standard Radeon X1800 XT to the overclocked configuration.

Most people will also be excited to know that with tests, ATI has determined that the standard ATI heatsinks and fans that are included will be capable of supporting the overclocked speeds. While the supplied ATI utility will allow for an "official" overclocked setting of 700MHz/800MHz, higher speeds may be possible if better cooling solutions are used. Currently, some partners are already shipping "premium" versions of standard products even prior to this advisory.

ATI's stance on warranty however, remains unchanged and the advisory warns its partners that ATI will not supply warranty to chips/boards that are damaged by overclocking. All responsibility for warranty will fall on the board makers, so while consumers may not receive official support from ATI, they should still receive whatever warranty that accompanied the product they purchased from its respective manufacturer.