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

[BigCactus]

My currently best result, 6,8A and 108W in 2D.. minimum W is around 105W but mostly it's closer to 108W..not that it matters much Lowering memory or clocks lower doesn't get me anything either in amps or watts or temperatures, so I've left it at this.



Used only ATT latest beta and RBE 1.13 to mod my original BIOS.

Looks like that's it for me for now, I wanted to mount Accelero S1 next, but didn't have small enough screwdriver to unscrew those last 4 screwes holding GPU heatsink I guess I'll have to wait till I get one, I'm so sad right now..so close to the goal, but can't do it

Is that 108 Watts total system load? If so that's amazing.

 

[azazyl]

Is that 108 Watts total system load? If so that's amazing.

No.Its only for the 4870 gpu.

 

[bangmal]

No.Its only for the 4870 gpu.

that is the whole system, they are using the device kill-a-watt to measure.
i can get similar result(120watt) idle

 

[alexfyxodef]

Hi. Has anyone tried to rise overdrive limit in Radeon bios editor. It is in Additional features tab. I have tried the second system (Method 2-No hash) and it did not work. After flasing bios the driver does not work properly. All I have got was 800x600 resolution and even CCC did not start. Any ideas?

 

[VuurVOS]

How much did you increase the limit ? I had no problems after increasing the limit to 999/1200 (method 2)

 

[BigCactus]

that is the whole system, they are using the device kill-a-watt to measure.
i can get similar result(120watt) idle

That's impressive, so finally the 4870 has matched the gtx280 in idle wattage...all that is needed now is a 1GB 4870 version.

 

[alexfyxodef]

Only 850/1200. What bios do you have (100 or 105) and what card (reference from ATI)? And about aftermarket coolers for 4870. I would be a bit careful and watched the temperatures of voltage phases. I reached 120C with S1+2x 120 mm fans. And I went back to stock cooler (max 74C) but much noisier.

 

[VuurVOS]

Only 850/1200. What bios do you have (100 or 105) and what card (reference from ATI)? And about aftermarket coolers for 4870. I would be a bit careful and watched the temperatures of voltage phases. I reached 120C with S1+2x 120 mm fans. And I went back to stock cooler (max 74C) but much noisier.

I used the hack on the 105 bios

 

[LuxZg]

Thanks for the update guys, i agree that its most likely the changes made to the design
The sad thing is i had already loaded the bios up with rbe and implemented a new fan profile but the options for powerplay are greyed out :-(

Any suggestions?

I can provide a bios file if anyone wants to take a look?

Thanks for your support, most of it i had tried already, i have adjusted my fan profile perfectly for my card (after flashing 20 different settings ), but in the additional settings I cannot enable superior powerplay, this is not supported for my bios version and that's why I tried the Fastmix version.

Do you have the standard OC-ed version as well (default 800/950), if so can you give is to me?

P.S. I do like the custom fan, Idle approximately 50 degrees with 6% fan speed.

You both seem to have factory overclocked cards.
So far, with RBE 1.14 - these can not be modified to 2D voltages for as of yet unknown reason. Probably some minor differences in card design or something similar.

So only thing you CAN do is to lower GPU clocks, but this won't give you a lot of savings (~1-2W). So you should do like Fastmix said - just modify your fan profiles and that's it. I'd even go a step further and advise you to LEAVE your original BIOS on cards, and just use ATT for fan/clock adjustments, untill a new version of RBE arrives.

Is that 108 Watts total system load? If so that's amazing.

Yup, whole system, as in my profile.. I mean, everything that is in my case powered through PSU - so monitor and speakers are excluded. And you should note that this is 108W on the wall power plug, and my PSU has probably under 75% efficiency, so this means that components themselves draw even less power, like ~80W

I used the hack on the 105 bios

I've done a same hack (but through method 1, using 990/1200 value from dropdown list) but on my original BIOS. I've basicaly taken my original BIOS, enabled low voltages, enabled Overdrive limit, changed clocks, and tweaked fans, and everything is working. Ofcourse, I did not change memory clocks because of flickering issues..
So everything should work fine, IF it is a reference board design for the card. If any of you have cards that are factory modified - either OCed, have different cooling, or something similar, there are very good chances that you will not be able to modify your BIOS files, and in that case I believe ATT is best choice to do as much as you can. And hopefully, later version(s) of RBE will change this.

So far, looks like reference cards are best-buys if someone wants to modify it in DIY way, otherwise "what-you-buy-is-what-you-get"

 

[mr_ppp]

You both seem to have factory overclocked cards.
So far, with RBE 1.14 - these can not be modified to 2D voltages for as of yet unknown reason. Probably some minor differences in card design or something similar.

So only thing you CAN do is to lower GPU clocks, but this won't give you a lot of savings (~1-2W). So you should do like Fastmix said - just modify your fan profiles and that's it. I'd even go a step further and advise you to LEAVE your original BIOS on cards, and just use ATT for fan/clock adjustments, untill a new version of RBE arrives.



Yup, whole system, as in my profile.. I mean, everything that is in my case powered through PSU - so monitor and speakers are excluded. And you should note that this is 108W on the wall power plug, and my PSU has probably under 75% efficiency, so this means that components themselves draw even less power, like ~80W



I've done a same hack (but through method 1, using 990/1200 value from dropdown list) but on my original BIOS. I've basicaly taken my original BIOS, enabled low voltages, enabled Overdrive limit, changed clocks, and tweaked fans, and everything is working. Ofcourse, I did not change memory clocks because of flickering issues..
So everything should work fine, IF it is a reference board design for the card. If any of you have cards that are factory modified - either OCed, have different cooling, or something similar, there are very good chances that you will not be able to modify your BIOS files, and in that case I believe ATT is best choice to do as much as you can. And hopefully, later version(s) of RBE will change this.

So far, looks like reference cards are best-buys if someone wants to modify it in DIY way, otherwise "what-you-buy-is-what-you-get"

Just to update everyone here, BAGZZlash has modified the stock PCS Extreme bios i forwarded him to enable powerplay and it will be an available option in the next version of RBE

I have attached the bios if anyone wants to use it, the only downside is i supplied the stock bios for him to work on so it has the standard bugged fan profile. I'm using rivatuner to overcome that for now as im not sure if modding the bios with RBE at the moment will disable the powerplay (option is still greyed out but working)

 

[LuxZg]

@mr_ppp - bringing good news to us, tnx

@nafets - could you update your BIG POST with links to RBE 1.14 and new ATT beta with CrossfireX support?
Btw, I've written a detailed guide about all I could think of regarding 4870 boards, but so far only in Croatian, translation to english is... well... "pending" Once it's done I'll be posting link in this thread as well, as there is quite a lot of info regarding things we are attempting in this thread.

EDIT: Started translation of the guide, 1/3 done, 2/3 to go..

 

[d3m0n]

strange error

hello folks
i have a strange error after flashing my card (reference power color 4870) with a custom bios. when i boot my rig the card is always at 750mhz core clock. but if i click on "restore default clock" at amd gpu clock tool, i get the right clock. i dont know what i did wrong. i hope you can help me.

d3m0n

p.s. sorry for my bad english

 

[Fastmix]

hello folks
i have a strange error after flashing my card (reference power color 4870) with a custom bios. when i boot my rig the card is always at 750mhz core clock. but if i click on "restore default clock" at amd gpu clock tool, i get the right clock. i dont know what i did wrong. i hope you can help me.

d3m0n

p.s. sorry for my bad english

You made a mess..that's what you did.

Download the bios attached to my signature..copy all the clock values, apply them to your bios and flash it.

 

[fungus303]

Finally !!!!

heya guys and girls This page just made my DAY!

I have a: Sapphire Radeon HD4870 DDR5 512mb

When i got it i wasnt so happy, every game crashed and freezed and so on! Hehe and this is also my ___FIRST___ ATi GPU Card =) Every card before was nvidia!

1) Did the CCC Profile Fan Fix, ok dropped temp a bit
2) google, google, google, and more LOTS more google!
3) Found this AWSOME forum/threat!

Well im running everthing stock and with no modded bios and so on....
Followed the guide with ATT, and voila!!!!!

1) 2D Setting: 160/225 @ 1.083v = 44c in idle, compare to 65c with CCC Fan fix!

2) 3D Setting: 750/900 @ 1.203v = Havent tried to play a game yet!

3) 3D Setting: 820/1100 @ 1.263v = Havent tried to play a game yet!

Question: Can i play with stock 750/900 @ 1.203v?? Or should i set 1.263?? =)

Question 2: Anyone know a good fan speed on Radeon 4870 512 to play with a good clock, as i said earlier, everything is stock, fan, bios... and so on! =) can i play that clock with fan set to 30-35% ? Or is it so little?

And remember, im a total n00b with ATi cards and all of this So please feel free to give me some cool and great tips!

Thanks guys, and thanks for the BEST GUIDES ever on 4870 cards! =)

 

[VuurVOS]

heya guys and girls This page just made my DAY!

I have a: Sapphire Radeon HD4870 DDR5 512mb

When i got it i wasnt so happy, every game crashed and freezed and so on! Hehe and this is also my ___FIRST___ ATi GPU Card =) Every card before was nvidia!

1) Did the CCC Profile Fan Fix, ok dropped temp a bit
2) google, google, google, and more LOTS more google!
3) Found this AWSOME forum/threat!

Well im running everthing stock and with no modded bios and so on....
Followed the guide with ATT, and voila!!!!!

1) 2D Setting: 160/225 @ 1.083v = 44c in idle, compare to 65c with CCC Fan fix!

2) 3D Setting: 750/900 @ 1.203v = Havent tried to play a game yet!

3) 3D Setting: 820/1100 @ 1.263v = Havent tried to play a game yet!

Question: Can i play with stock 750/900 @ 1.203v?? Or should i set 1.263?? =)

Question 2: Anyone know a good fan speed on Radeon 4870 512 to play with a good clock, as i said earlier, everything is stock, fan, bios... and so on! =) can i play that clock with fan set to 30-35% ? Or is it so little?

And remember, im a total n00b with ATi cards and all of this So please feel free to give me some cool and great tips!

Thanks guys, and thanks for the BEST GUIDES ever on 4870 cards! =)

You can create a fan table within ATT. The max temp in this table must be 100 degree with 100% fan to be safe. Other values can be 60c/25%, 65c/27%, 70c/30%, 75c/34%, 80c/39%, 85c/45%, 90c/90%. These values work fine on my hd4870. I recommand the max voltage during 3d mode for more stability.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

In order to keep the power consumption down of their card AMD has implemented R600 style 2D/3D clocks in their card - the dynamic power management of the RV770 is not used at all.
On the HD 4850 and HD 4870 the GPU is configured in a way to dynamically adjust the clock frequencies based on GPU load, without any software intervention - this is disabled now. Instead the driver detects if the card is running in 2D or fullscreen (!) 3D and switches clocks accordingly. In 2D and windowed 3D the card will always run at 500 MHz / 500 MHz to conserve power. Also it seems CrossFire is disabled when running windowed 3D apps. I did a quick test with Crysis (same settings for both tests) and got 27.1 FPS in a window and 54.4 FPS in fullscreen 3D, quite a difference.

I'm a little confused. Do they mean crossfire went off on the 4870X2 in windowed mode or was he doing that test with two 4870s and crossfire went off? This is pretty much the only thing keeping me from getting a 4870X2 at this point. I need it to be at full clock speed and with crossfire enabled based on gpu load, not whether or not I'm in windowed mode. It's sort of worded like he's saying they fixed it but they didn't at the same time. "In 2D and windowed 3D the card will always run at 500 MHz / 500 MHz", this seems to contradict what he just said and I'm assuming he means both cores on the 4870X2, cause I don't think the mem drops to the same freq as the core... maybe he meant on the two 4870s but then again he didn't say he was using two 4870s in crossfire for that test so idk if hes saying the 4870X2 still has the windowed performance drop or not. That whole bit is very undefined and confusing.

 

[fungus303]

You can create a fan table within ATT. The max temp in this table must be 100 degree with 100% fan to be safe. Other values can be 60c/25%, 65c/27%, 70c/30%, 75c/34%, 80c/39%, 85c/45%, 90c/90%. These values work fine on my hd4870. I recommand the max voltage during 3d mode for more stability.

Hehe nice !, But i run my fan speed manual =) Just wondering if that clock can run with fans @ 30-33% and play stable =)

Played bioshock @ everything maxed out @ stock speed, didnt go over 70c full load after playing 1.30hours =) (vista 64bit sp1)

very happy with this card, and the ATT guide =)

My computer:

1) Gigabyte EP35C-DS3R Rev 2.1 - Bios F3 (stable)
2) Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 4.5ghz - Thermalright 120 extreme with MX-2 + 120mm noctua
3) Corsair Dominator 4GB 1066mhz @ 1:1-fsb/dram - 1000mhz - 5-5-5-15
4) Creative X-Fi Extreme Music
5) Razer Copperhead Mouse
6) Some cheap windows keyboard
7) Corsair 520w PSU
8) Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (Chassi) All fans replaced with 120mm Noctua
9) Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512 DDR5 - 8.8 driver only - ATT v1.5.9.1290 Beta

Maybe something i forgot my memory sucks

One more question: Should i flash my bios or just go with what a got now on my GPU card?
Im really happy and personally dont think i should do anything

But what do yall recommend? =)

Bless

 

[VuurVOS]

Hehe nice !, But i run my fan speed manual =) Just wondering if that clock can run with fans @ 30-33% and play stable =)

Played bioshock @ everything maxed out @ stock speed, didnt go over 70c full load after playing 1.30hours =) (vista 64bit sp1)

very happy with this card, and the ATT guide =)

My computer:

1) Gigabyte EP35C-DS3R Rev 2.1 - Bios F3 (stable)
2) Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 4.5ghz - Thermalright 120 extreme with MX-2 + 120mm noctua
3) Corsair Dominator 4GB 1066mhz @ 1:1-fsb/dram - 1000mhz - 5-5-5-15
4) Creative X-Fi Extreme Music
5) Razer Copperhead Mouse
6) Some cheap windows keyboard
7) Corsair 520w PSU
8) Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (Chassi) All fans replaced with 120mm Noctua
9) Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512 DDR5 - 8.8 driver only - ATT v1.5.9.1290 Beta

Maybe something i forgot my memory sucks

One more question: Should i flash my bios or just go with what a got now on my GPU card?
Im really happy and personally dont think i should do anything

But what do yall recommend? =)

Bless

Hmm what do I recommand. The fan table function in ATT. If the bios part number is 113-B50701-100, you can flash it to 113-B50701-105 without any problems.

 

[fungus303]

Hmm what do I recommand. The fan table function in ATT. If the bios part number is 113-B50701-100, you can flash it to 113-B50701-105 without any problems.

Ok nice !

My bios # is, according to ATT latest beta:

Video BIOS Information:

Version.....................: 011.006.000.003
Part Number..............: 113-AB68800-XXX
Date........................: 2008/07/24 06:37
Vram Type................: GDDR5

=)

 

[Fastmix]

New modded bios for 4870 reference design only.

Hello guys,

I have modded another bios, this one is you want to push your card a little more and still have some sort of powerplay.

2D settings =550/1100/1.083

3D settings =795/1100/1.263

CCC settings are

clock limit = 990

ram limit = 1250

Plus a table fan profile has been added.

Please post your comments and let me know what do you think.

Thanks

 

[BigCactus]

Just picked up a sapphire 4870 1gb version at newegg for $299 for my HTPC...will the bios be different from other 4870s? I'm thinking yes...as this is a reference model 1gb version....but not sure. Definitely want to see the low idle temps that you guys have been seeing.

 

[Fastmix]

Just picked up a sapphire 4870 1gb version at newegg for $299 for my HTPC...will the bios be different from other 4870s? I'm thinking yes...as this is a reference model 1gb version....but not sure.

Yes it will be different, I suggest you open two instances of RBE and just copy the values of the bios that you want in your bios, then flash.

 

[fungus303]

Best Bios for Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb

Heya! Just wondering, i dont know much about flashing bios! But is there a "recommended" bios for my card: Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb, if so can you recommend one ? =)

Now im running stock bios and 750/900 stock speed =)

Bless

 

[Fastmix]

Heya! Just wondering, i dont know much about flashing bios! But is there a "recommended" bios for my card: Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb, if so can you recommend one ? =)

Now im running stock bios and 750/900 stock speed =)

Bless

My card is a sapphire, both of the bios attached to my signature are fine, the first one is @ stock speed, the second one overclocked, they both have powerplay but ovviously the first one offers more power savings.

 

[BigCactus]

Yes it will be different, I suggest you open two instances of RBE and just copy the values of the bios that you want in your bios, then flash.

Alright, but do you think that since the 4870 1gb card has 512mb more memory, it should thus require more voltage, or do you think I'll be fine using the same values as your tweaked bios? My main goal is simply to have sweet idle temps...and low power consumption at idle.