The 4870 "2D Low", GPU voltage/Memory clock rate Bios Thread

[backfeed]

Put the gpu core up to 550 and you will notice no change in power consumption...just a little tip.

Exactly, and as I said earlier, it appears that it's more than just that; x264-encoded video playback can suffer (lots of artifacts) if the GPU speed is very low, such as 160 MHz which many people seem to use for their 4870's. This ofcourse only applies when using the idle state for video playback (forcing it using ATI Tray Tools for instance), but worth noting nonetheless.

 

[Nickod]

Thanks Fastmix

i will try it!

my PN start with 102 its ok ? cuz i see 105 and variant :S

just to be sure

Thanks again

EDIT:

PN 102-B50701-10-AT

SKU# 21133-00-20R

EDIT2: i have modded 2 or 3 option in the STOCK2

if i can flash it , its OK with this setup?

 

[Dudidum]

Exactly, and as I said earlier, it appears that it's more than just that; x264-encoded video playback can suffer (lots of artifacts) if the GPU speed is very low, such as 160 MHz which many people seem to use for their 4870's. This ofcourse only applies when using the idle state for video playback (forcing it using ATI Tray Tools for instance), but worth noting nonetheless.

Hmm that's a point.
I didn't notice any artefacts during x264-encoded video playback but some kind of stuttering. Don't know if it's that but since it doesn't affect the power consumption there should be no problem with higher core clocks.

Thx!

 

[LuxZg]

Exactly, and as I said earlier, it appears that it's more than just that; x264-encoded video playback can suffer (lots of artifacts) if the GPU speed is very low, such as 160 MHz which many people seem to use for their 4870's. This ofcourse only applies when using the idle state for video playback (forcing it using ATI Tray Tools for instance), but worth noting nonetheless.

Haven't had problems with 160-200MHz and HD video, tried all kinds of encodings that I could find.
Also, I have been playing Crysis on 200/200 before I've found out why I'm getting 5-7 fps (ok, so it only lasted few minutes )

Ofcourse, it could be me having good "low-2D" card that can work on low frequencies.. I guess having it on 500-550MHz can't hurt, because indeed, diffrence in power consumption is around 1W (measured on the wall plug for a whole system, so could be a measurement deviation or error etc ).

 

[Dudidum]

Yea it's just 1W.... but 4-12 hours a day. If it works you can save another watt, if not well than you draw 1W more^^. Thats up to you!

 

[backfeed]

Haven't had problems with 160-200MHz and HD video, tried all kinds of encodings that I could find.

I tried switching between 160 and 500 MHz on the GPU (RAM and voltage stayed the same) using ATT, and always got artifacts in 160 MHz, but it could of course just be my card acting up. I can't even get the official Sapphire BIOS upgrade made specifically for my card to work. Suckage.

 

[Fastmix]

Thanks Fastmix

i will try it!

my PN start with 102 its ok ? cuz i see 105 and variant :S

just to be sure

Thanks again

EDIT:

PN 102-B50701-10-AT

SKU# 21133-00-20R

EDIT2: i have modded 2 or 3 option in the STOCK2

if i can flash it , its OK with this setup?

105 is the last 3 digit of the bios string, it has nothing to do with the card P.N.

 

[Nickod]

I have flashed it!

ok fine the PC reboot

but :S something wrong:

Ram Downclock at 200 on idle= OK
GPU=750 MHZ all the time! at 28 Amp... 1,2625v

Really don't understand why the GPU lock at 750 :s

edit: CCC not ON= same bug, i have try 2or 3 auto tune and after this the card donclock at 500/450 and clock to 750/900 if i start asomething use 3d. i will reboot my pc to see wich appen lol

Edit2: power off, power on, on windows= GPU 750, RAM=200 :s CCC disabled.

 

[backfeed]

...
Really don't understand why the GPU lock at 750 :s
...

The same thing happened to me, and depending on which bios you're using, I think I know what it is (I'm using the original Sapphire bios).

For me, two of the Powerplay states have the same name, "... yada yada performance etc ..." (I'm at work now so I can't check), and when I made the same GPU/RAM/voltage changes to both of them, not knowing exactly which one of them would be used, the GPU would always lock to 750 MHz in the way you describe.

I started over from scratch and only changed the settings for the first of those two identical states, and then it worked just fine.

For some reason, changing the second state is apparently not supposed to be done. I would guess this is somehow related to Radeon Bios Editor incorrectly identifying the Powerplay states, or it's just the Sapphire bios being flaky.

 

[Nickod]

a ok

i have try to flash it with the fastmix power play but only the first was modded.

the second and thirth remain the same( 750/900 1.2xx v)

same bug i don't want my original bios cuz voltage was too high lol.

Can i just use my original BIOS and notch the box, "Enable Superior PowerPlay,Also Decrase Voltage" i have try it and i got the same voltage like in the 1083 (fastmix) bios.

EDIT: if i drop only the gpu, its work, if a underclock both gpu, ram only ram donwclock.

 

[backfeed]

a ok

i have try to flash it with the fastmix power play but only the first was modded.

the second and thirth remain the same( 750/900 1.2xx v)

same bug i don't want my original bios cuz voltage was too high lol.

Can i just use my original BIOS and notch the box, "Enable Superior PowerPlay,Also Decrase Voltage" i have try it and i got the same voltage like in the 1083 (fastmix) bios.

EDIT: if i drop only the gpu, its work, if a underclock both gpu, ram only ram donwclock.

I now use the officially updated bios from Sapphire, and have modded it in exactly the same way as the original bios, but it doesn't work; the GPU always runs at 750 MHz. The "trick" I used with the original bios, i.e. only change the gpu/ram/voltage in the first of the two equally named Powerplay states, apparently doesn't work with the updated bios. Hence, I'm experiencing the same problem as you now.

Since I use ATT to set gpu/ram/voltage (to 500/200/1,083 @ idle) it doesn't really matter though.

What's much worse in my case though, is that when I use the updated official bios, which is made specifically for my card (all p/n etc numbers match exactly), I get a violent black screen + forced reboot if one of these two applications are started:

1. Catalyst Control Center
2. HWMonitor

Hence I cannot have CCC installed, and in HWMonitor I have to disable its polling of display adapter data to avoid the crash.

Since yesterday I now dual-boot 32-bit XP Pro and 64-bit XP Pro, and I have the exact same problem in both. I can only hope that it's a fault in the Catalyst 8.9 drivers, the same fault in both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

More likely, however, is either that Sapphire's bios is bunk or that my card is somehow faulty.

I have the slightly newer Sapphire 4870 512 MB with the blue pcb, if that matters...

The guy who wrote the massive guide on how to reduce the idle power consumption of the 4870 said that he probably should have bought a GTX 260 instead, saving a lot of time and trouble. I'm starting to agree.

EDIT: Does anybody having the same Sapphire 4870 (with blue pcb) experience the same problem, or do you use a 4870 bios from another manufacturer than Sapphire?

 

[H82LUZ73]

Since I use ATT to set gpu/ram/voltage (to 500/200/1,083 @ idle) it doesn't really matter though.

What's much worse in my case though, is that when I use the updated official bios, which is made specifically for my card (all p/n etc numbers match exactly), I get a violent black screen + forced reboot if one of these two applications are started:

1. Catalyst Control Center
2. HWMonitor

Hence I cannot have CCC installed, and in HWMonitor I have to disable its polling of display adapter data to avoid the crash.

Since yesterday I now dual-boot 32-bit XP Pro and 64-bit XP Pro, and I have the exact same problem in both. I can only hope that it's a fault in the Catalyst 8.9 drivers, the same fault in both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

More likely, however, is either that Sapphire's bios is bunk or that my card is somehow faulty.

I have the slightly newer Sapphire 4870 512 MB with the blue pcb, if that matters...



EDIT: Does anybody having the same Sapphire 4870 (with blue pcb) experience the same problem, or do you use a 4870 bios from another manufacturer than Sapphire?[/QUOTE]

Is your SKU on the box 11130-***

I think the new Bluce pcb is made of the Toxic design.I would try a toxic bios moded or the july 24th bios.

 

[backfeed]

Is your SKU on the box 11130-***

I think the new Bluce pcb is made of the Toxic design.I would try a toxic bios moded or the july 24th bios.

My SKU is 11133-00. You wrote 11130, was it just a typo, or is that the SKU of the Toxic?

Interesting idea. Perhaps I should try to locate a Toxic bios. Don't know if I dare risk bricking the card trying it on though...

 

[H82LUZ73]

My SKU is 11133-00. You wrote 11130, was it just a typo, or is that the SKU of the Toxic?

Interesting idea. Perhaps I should try to locate a Toxic bios. Don't know if I dare risk bricking the card trying it on though...

yeah a typo just woke up srry.

 

[piperprinx]

a ok

i have try to flash it with the fastmix power play but only the first was modded.

the second and thirth remain the same( 750/900 1.2xx v)

same bug i don't want my original bios cuz voltage was too high lol.

Can i just use my original BIOS and notch the box, "Enable Superior PowerPlay,Also Decrase Voltage" i have try it and i got the same voltage like in the 1083 (fastmix) bios.

EDIT: if i drop only the gpu, its work, if a underclock both gpu, ram only ram donwclock.

same problem here, with a club3d 4870 1GB.
I can get 160/225 with ATT, but with bios flash the card is stuck on
750/225 both in 2d and 3d

 

[bokah]

Actually if the 1.276 is available in your bios, it means that you can use it and yes it will work.

my original sapphire bios has 1.276 option, i have never figured how to get it into work.
tested to put it into every power plan in bios and ccc profiles

could u please confirm that it is actually shown somewhere(maybe gpu-z) and please explain in simple english how u made it happen

 

[Fastmix]

my original sapphire bios has 1.276 option, i have never figured how to get it into work.
tested to put it into every power plan in bios and ccc profiles

could u please confirm that it is actually shown somewhere(maybe gpu-z) and please explain in simple english how u made it happen

The way to confirm that that value works is to compare the power comsumption, if it's taking more than 1.263 than it's working.

Just use the third bios on my signature, on that one works for sure.

 

[mdp]

hi there.
is it not posible to flash a non reference card ?

 

[barr3l rid3r]

New Bios mod for use in ATi 4850 512mb Qimonda w/ or without default cooler.

Improovements:

1) Less Clock and voltage while in Idle mode, bringing better durability an lower idle temps.

2) Higher voltage and default 3D VGPU Clock while in FULL load mode (680/1000Mhz).

3) Higher overclock limit in default ATi CCC driver (800Mhz GPU highest setting) and also better overclock ability cause of the higher default 3D voltage.

4) Adjusted Default cooler fan speed adequately, to keep it cool and quiet.

http://rapidshare.com/files/148699499/4850mod.rom.html



And that is custom made one for hardmodded cards.

Idle GPU @ 400Mhz 1.02V

Full Load GPU @ 830Mhz 1.33V




How to


Windows XP, use last Ati Winflash utility, for Vista must do via DOS floppy disk or Pendrive w/ booting abilities.

Pendrive:

1) Get HPBOOT

http://rapidshare.com/files/107282064/HPUSBFW.zip

2) Get BOOT Files

http://rapidshare.com/files/107282214/USB-Boot.zip

3) Unzip All for both and run HPBOOt, select your pendrive, check quick format and create DOS startup disk, files located at: choose extracted folder containing Boot files.

4) Get and unzip ATiflash 3.60 and then copy the extracted files to your pendrive don`t forget the bios file 4850mod.rom linked above.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1123/ATIFlash_3.60.html


5) Set pendrive as first boot and also first disk in your motherboard bios.

Run:

Atiflash -f -p 0 4850mod.rom

Please post your comments

 

[H82LUZ73]

Sku`s

it seems the 11133-00 is actualy based off the toxic ,The toxic Sku is 11133-06

 

[backfeed]

Just thought I'd let you know that the problem I had with black screen + reboot with the official updated bios (VER011.010.000.002.029896, 2008-09-08) for the Sapphire 4870 512 MB now seems to have disappeard after upgrading from Catalyst 8.9 to 8.10!

Also, the updated bios works much better with games - I used to have more or less frequent crashes in both Crysis and Crysis WARHEAD with the old bios, but now there's no hint of them.

Yay.

 

[Mistral]

Can anyone please confirm if and which of the tweaks posted here work on Palit 4870 Sonic cards?

 

[Fastmix]

Can anyone please confirm if and which of the tweaks posted here work on Palit 4870 Sonic cards?

I don't think the bios posted will be compatible, but you can mod your bios coping the settings that we have altered on the reference and flash it.

 

[Mistral]

I don't think the bios posted will be compatible, but you can mod your bios coping the settings that we have altered on the reference and flash it.

That much I gathered myself. I'm just not that sure if Palit's 4870 Sonic design allows for changing voltages at all, and that's why I ask if anyone has experience with it. I'd like to know that before I go off and buy it. I want the Display Port connection but I also want the power savings - if I can get both I'll be one happy camper.

 

[nafets]

You would most definetly be able to lower the GPU/MEM clocks using AGCT/ATT/Rivatuner. The possibility of using lowered voltages is unknown as it's not a reference design, but probably possible via ATT. But you get the most power saving lowering MEM clocks anyways, so that lowered voltages play a much smaller part...