Converting the
GeForce256 /GeForce2 to a Quadro /Quadro2 Pro has been introduced by a Chinese
guys Magicapple recently ( 1,
2 ). According to his method, many people have done it and cheered their successes just as shown
in our message board ( 3 ). Converting
the GeForce256 /GeForce2 to a Quadro /Quadro2 Pro won't give you anything when
it comes to gaming but instead would improve the GeForce's capabilities as a
professional graphics card ( 4
).
If you are looking for a professional graphics card on the cheap, Quadro's are expensive, and are capable of using multimeter and soldering SMD-parts, now here is the complete information required for successfully turn your GeForce256/ 2 GTS/ 2 MX into a Quadro/ 2 Pro/ 2 MXR.
The GeForce to
Quadro hack is based on the converting “ID” in the flash rom of a GeForce
card from “GeForce” to “Quadro”, thus unlock several features that useful to
professionals. GeForce and Quadro chip are fabricated from the same production
line in fact, except the Quadro card is running at higher core frequency, the
difference between a GeForce card and a Quadro card is that some professional
features of the Quadro card are locked due to the GeForce ID.
The ID signals of
GeForce and Quadro are generated as to voltage input state on pin 18 and pin 19
of the flash rom on video cards, and the voltage input state is controlled by
10K SMD-resistors that connect directly to those pins. According to circuits
on the video card PCB and with aid of a multimeter, the SMD-resistors can be distinguished easily. Those SMD-resistors
are located far away from pin 18 and pin 19, and may on the front or on the
back of video card PCB.
(click for large pic)
The voltage input
on pin18/19 can be measured by connecting multimeter leads to pin 16 (ground)
and pin18/19。The voltage input on
both pin 18 and pin 19 for Quadro/Quadro2 Pro/Quadro2 MXR cards are + 3.3 V,
while those for GeForce 256 SDR/GeForce 256 DDR/GeForce 2 GTS/GeForce 2 MX
cards are totally different. It is these differences that make a GeForce card
to be a GeForce card, and a Quadro card to be a Quadro card!
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 |
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 |
| GeForce 256 SDR GeForce 256 DDR GeForce 2 GTS GeForce 2 MX |
Quadro Quadro2 Pro Quadro2 MXR |
||
As you have
measured the voltage input on pin 18/19, and found locations of the 10K
SMD-resistors connected directly to the pin 18/19, it would be quiet simple to
determine soldering which SMP-resistor to hack your GeForce card. The new
SMP-resistor slot located closely to
the SMP-resistor you want to solder, and as shown in the above pics, one side
of the new slot also connects directly to pin 18/19. Here are some pictures
showing the location of those SMD-resistors after modification.
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|
|
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| Chaintech GeForce 256 SDR -> Quadro ( R101 -> R97, R102 -> R98 ) |
Chaintech GeForce 256 DDR -> Quadro ( R102 -> R98 ) |
Creative GeForce 2 GTS -> Quadro2 Pro (R121 -> R122, R123 -> R124) |
Up to here, it has
been shown that hacking a GeForce card to a Quadro card is quite easy, all
you have to do is to solder one or two 10K SMP-resistors. We have already
converted GeForce 256 SDR/ GeForce 256 DDR/ GeForce 2 GTS to Quadro/ Quadro2 Pro
cards ( 1, 2,
3 ), and our benchmark results of GeForce 2MX to Quadro2 MXR will
be posted soon.
