The easiest way to get more or less fast SDRAM chips is to buy ASUS V7100 Pro 64MB. This is GF 2 MX400 card with 4.0 ns EtronTech chips. Note that 32MB version (which is also available) is equipped with 4.5 ns EtronTech chips. Once these mem chips were the most hunted by overclockers - average overclocking potential of both versions is about 250 MHz and there is chances to get 4.0 ns ones to 260-270 MHz on stock voltage. EtronTech did a great job with these last SDRAM chips. I'd say this should be far enough for VSA-100 core. And you still can voltmod the card with proper cooling to get even more! 

We have tested this RAM (4.0 ns EtronTech) on V5-5500 (this is a note for people disturbed about VSA-100 compatibility with different mem chips).

Here are the pics.



Card belongs to cUsLs. I have enough RAM for similar modding of my card too, but decided not to perform the operation until we'll be able to get something big from first one.



Memory swapped from ASUS V7100 Pro 64MB. Yesterday we (me and cUsLs) tested this card. It does 195 MHz without any troubles at all on stock cooling. 200 MHz is reachable but after 10-15 seconds any test start showing artifacts which looks like troubles of SLI interconnection (like 1 GPU is less overclockable than other).

Oh by the way, can anybody remind me the recipe for voltmodding V5-5500, both Vcore and Vmem?

I need to find a few of these cards, I have a V6K that is begging for mods.

so you definately have to volt mod the card .. and maybe sub-zero cooling for both VSA100 

Now that's something! At last something interesting happends! Now gary, it's up to u! Show us the power of modded V5 6k, but do try not to fry it 8)

Alt F, can u post in some results; benchmarks; how much did u gain from the extra 30MHz?

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I absolutely agree. Since voltmodding for the GPU helped overclock a V5 up to 205Mhz without doing anything to the memories, prooved to me that the GPU is the bottleneck. As Hank mentioned to me, the V5 5500 has an earlier revision of VSA100, the 220 (or even 200) and these revisions do not reach 183Mhz stabilly. The 3700A should be able to do more, since it has the 330 silicon VSA, but mine did not do better then my 5500.
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You are right. Overclockability is different for different parts, even if they are the same type, and it is definetly worth a try. Memory volages are specified in their datasheets, which are available on different sites.

well I just did a max stable 191 Mhz cores/mem OC with my 3dfx Voodoo 5 5500 PCI which I bought from Mojo along time ago, it's a Rev.A1 2900 with 6ns MT SDRAM and it has 220 VSA-100's as well, though 191 Mhz was stable no glitches nothing, I used AmigaMerlin 3.1 R11 & Kool Smokey's Voodoo Control as control panel and OC utillity which I used to tune her up @ 195 Mhz the chips were showing glitches, so dunno if the 220 VSA-100 chips are the main problem. The VMAC 5500 PCI Rev.A1 2900 Prototype ran smoothly @ cores/mem 197 Mhz with a hitch, didn't go further than 197 hehe, oh it has 6ns Toshiba SDRAM 8)

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1) The 3700-A may use different VSA-100 then production 5500, they are hand built cards after all! Hank indicated that the 3700 used latest and last revision of VSA-100 A3.

2) All the 3700's I have owned hit 190 mhz with no problem, I have not pushed beyond that (for safety)

But the V3 didn't support 32bit colours and textures larger than 256x256 and didn't have FSAA and a Z-buffer.

A Napalm is a bit more complicated than an Avenger