1. Introduction.
2. RV360 Voltmodding.
3. Memory Voltmodding.
4. Advanced Cooling.
5. Overclocking Summary.

Well, it has been mentioned already that the original cooling of Sapphire Radeon 9600XT is anything but not impressive. What can you expect from a 40mm sleeve-bearing fan mounted on a tiny little aluminium radiator? So, it has got to go in favour of a fast 50mm ball-bearing fan (Titan TFD-5010M12C 12V 0.13A 4500rpm) which is supplied with a fine copper radiator. Much better, but don't forget about the memory chips. Accordingly to the datasheet, a single 3.3ns part running at default 2.5V consumes 290mA current in burst mode, what makes 0.75VA (volt-amperes; it's incorrect to use watts for peak loads). However, a single 2.8ns part running at default 2.8V consumes 400mA current in burst mode, what makes 1.12VA. That's much more than in the previous example, and it can be even higher with advanced overclocking. Consider that four memory chips are placed on the front side of the card and benefit from the cooler's air-flow, but other four are located on the back side and exposed to overheating. Of course, this issue may be ignored completely, but don't wonder if any of the memory chips dies because of it some day. So, the author has decided to install fine aluminium radiators on the memory chips. See below how the video card looks like after all upgrade actions taken.
  

(click to enlarge, 154Kb)

(click to enlarge, 157Kb)