Thursday, August 6th 2015

Some AMD GCN GPU Disabled Stream Processors Unlockable via Software

by
btarunr
 Discuss (43 Comments)
This is big. A new software is doing rounds on the forumscape, with lets you check exactly which GCN compute units (CUs) were disabled by AMD to carve out your "Pro" SKU graphics card (eg: R9 Fury non-X, R9 390, R9 285, etc.), and if you're lucky, re-enable some of those disabled CUs via a good old fashioned soft-mod. Called CUINFO, developed by OCN Forums member tx12, the tool has seen some success in unlocking disabled CUs in graphics cards based on "Fiji," "Hawaii," and "Tonga" chips.

The success is limited probably because AMD appears to be using two methods to disable CUs - laser-cutting them, and through firmware. Even in chips that let you unlock, you may not unlock all CUs, since some are genuinely damaged and disabled as part of the harvesting process, to maximize yield. There are no telltale signs of which chips let you unlock and which don't, and so you'll be playing a lottery. Cards with re-enabled CUs have shown increased performance, confirming that the soft-mod is real.
Sources: OCN Forums, SweClockers, VideoCardz

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43 Comments on Some AMD GCN GPU Disabled Stream Processors Unlockable via Software

#1
Sony Xperia S
Very good. :)

It is easier to say only R9 Fury, without that non X, people are not that confused in order not to differentiate Fury and Fury X.
Posted on Reply
#2
zsolt_93
I think it is clear which cards is about. In the Fury thread i predicted this will happen, noone really noticed it, it was the only cheap solution for AMD to increase profits and survive this period instead of going bust. Probably the R9 3xx series and the Fury is affected, and the R9 2xx was laser cut from the factory.
Posted on Reply
#4
BiggieShady
With Fiji in low supply, it seems it's really hard to find Fury Air that unlocks to full Fury X without artifacting ... some had luck unlocking 4 CU out of 8 ... AMD is binning each and every good Fiji chip as Fury X.
Posted on Reply
#5
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
been reading up on this for a few days, since people are working on/succeded in 290(x) to 390(x) upgrades as well, with regular to X upgrades unlocking shaders.
Posted on Reply
#6
LightningJR
Pretty sweet. I wish I could unlock the extra shaders to get me to a 680 :)
Posted on Reply
#7
Relayer
zsolt_93I think it is clear which cards is about. In the Fury thread i predicted this will happen, noone really noticed it, it was the only cheap solution for AMD to increase profits and survive this period instead of going bust. Probably the R9 3xx series and the Fury is affected, and the R9 2xx was laser cut from the factory.
People unlocked 290's too.
Posted on Reply
#8
FordGT90Concept
"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Huh, so Fiji Pro software locks all chips to a lower standard while laser cutting still terminated the bad CUs. Seems kind of silly to have the firmware part at all. AMD should just market them as having at least x components then let it use them all it can.

I guess they can't because of power/cooling considerations. Time for a paradigm shift?
Posted on Reply
#9
Bansaku
Marshall_lockjawTahiti Support??
You can try and let me know! ;)
Posted on Reply
#11
NC37
Not surprised. AMD has a history of doing this with not only their GPUs but also their CPUs. One of the perks of going AMD. Sometimes you get little presents like this.
Posted on Reply
#12
MagnuTron
Well I mean, its awesome to have software with direct acces to HW like this - but some of us already tried unlocking our Hawaii cards back in late 13. Dual BIOS was a blessing for that.
Posted on Reply
#13
RejZoR
Now they make it when I switched the camps. Shuuu.
Posted on Reply
#14
TheButcherNL
Of course too good to be true, says not possible to unlock them, grrr...
Posted on Reply
#15
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
I remember when I could turn on/off pixel and vertex pipelines simply by clicking checkboxes in RivaTuner back in the day. Too bad things aren't so simple anymore. :p
Posted on Reply
#16
AsRock
TPU addict
NC37Not surprised. AMD has a history of doing this with not only their GPUs but also their CPUs. One of the perks of going AMD. Sometimes you get little presents like this.
Yup like the Amd 555 which i have hear with 2 unlock and usable cores
Posted on Reply
#17
KainXS
there seems to be no support at all for tahiti and pitcairn, . . . . . . yet.

" this ASIC is not supported"
Posted on Reply
#18
EarthDog
Musselsbeen reading up on this for a few days, since people are working on/succeded in 290(x) to 390(x) upgrades as well, with regular to X upgrades unlocking shaders.
lol upgrade...? Its the same card with 8GB of ram and oveclocked. Like the 290x Tri X 8GB... if you want to risk bios flashing for a name change and clocks you can set with software... have at it.

It doesn't appear that success rates are very high in looking at the OCN thread.
Posted on Reply
#19
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
EarthDoglol upgrade...? Its the same card with 8GB of ram and oveclocked. Like the 290x Tri X 8GB... if you want to risk bios flashing for a name change and clocks you can set with software... have at it.

It doesn't appear that success rates are very high in looking at the OCN thread.
if you unlock shaders on a 290, its an upgrade. people are reporting higher FPS, with issues. Still, it's interesting.
Posted on Reply
#20
EarthDog
Indeed. But your post said 290x to 390x... which is the same card but overclocked. Don't risk it for nothing. :)
Posted on Reply
#21
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
EarthDogIndeed. But your post said 290x to 390x... which is the same card but overclocked. Don't risk it for nothing. :)
some cards can do it, some cant. in the thread they've got 290->390x bioses with 290 clocks. they'll nail down a range most cards can unlock to over time.
Posted on Reply
#22
KomanderKain
Thoughts on trying this out on a FX 7500 Notebook APU?
Posted on Reply
#23
DoomDoomDoom
KomanderKainThoughts on trying this out on a FX 7500 Notebook APU?
Thought: "lol no"
Posted on Reply
#24
GhostRyder
AquinusI remember when I could turn on/off pixel and vertex pipelines simply by clicking checkboxes in RivaTuner back in the day. Too bad things aren't so simple anymore. :p
You should give it a whirl and see if you can enable anything on your card!
Posted on Reply
#25
Aquinus
Resident Wat-man
GhostRyderYou should give it a whirl and see if you can enable anything on your card!
I don't think the 390 GAMING has a BIOS switch and I'm not prepared to brick it when I'm not even running it 100% in most cases. I tend to be more cautious however I've read some interesting posts on updating not only to unlock CUs but to enforce lower timings at higher frequencies on the VRAM. Of course this all sounds interesting but, I'm not prepared to potentially brick my new toy just yet. :)
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