How to determine original or reflashed BIOS? (Sapphire Vapor-X 7950)

[BizziBee]

I haven't had the time to try reflashing with all those BIOS files yet, but found something interesting perhaps worth mentioning....
The label on my card says SKU# 11196-09:

But when filling in the Sapphire support contact form I noticed that (after inputting my card's serial number) I noticed that the SKU# came up as: 11196-09-40G
I don't know if the "40G" addition makes any difference, but I searched for it, hoping to find a BIOS download somewhere. I didn't succeed in that, but I found a thread where someone with the same card posted a GPU-Z screenshot which had some interesting information:

BIOS version: 015.025.000.999.000000 (113-210P2HY-V08)
Release date: Jan 31, 2012
Device ID: 1002-679A
Subvendor: Sapphire/PCPartner (174B)

I miss the last 4 digits of the subsystem ID though (i.e. 3000 or E210), but it might be because they're using an old version of GPU-Z.

The posting talks about "I was playing around with TRIXX...." so it might be referring to a modified BIOS, or.... the same BIOS which has been played around with (it says GPU clock: 1175MHz which doesn't appear to be the factory default), but the BIOS number got me curious, howver I wasn't able to find any such BIOS here at TechPowerUp. What do you think?

UPDATE: I found another posting regarding the same Vapor X 7950 card as mine with a GPU-Z screenshot, and the same BIOS number is shown there (015.025.000.999.000000) although without the "113-210P2HY-V08" following it, so I assume this is most likely the factory-fitted BIOS.
Actually the user had uploaded the files as well, but the link no longer worked unfortunately.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Th

I haven't had the time to try reflashing with all those BIOS files yet, but found something interesting perhaps worth mentioning....
The label on my card says SKU# 11196-09:

But when filling in the Sapphire support contact form I noticed that (after inputting my card's serial number) I noticed that the SKU# came up as: 11196-09-40G
I don't know if the "40G" addition makes any difference, but I searched for it, hoping to find a BIOS download somewhere. I didn't succeed in that, but I found a thread where someone with the same card posted a GPU-Z screenshot which had some interesting information:

BIOS version: 015.025.000.999.000000 (113-210P2HY-V08)
Release date: Jan 31, 2012
Device ID: 1002-679A
Subvendor: Sapphire/PCPartner (174B)

I miss the last 4 digits of the subsystem ID though (i.e. 3000 or E210), but it might be because they're using an old version of GPU-Z.

The posting talks about "I was playing around with TRIXX...." so it might be referring to a modified BIOS, or.... the same BIOS which has been played around with (it says GPU clock: 1175MHz which doesn't appear to be the factory default), but the BIOS number got me curious, howver I wasn't able to find any such BIOS here at TechPowerUp. What do you think?

UPDATE: I found another posting regarding the same Vapor X 7950 card as mine with a GPU-Z screenshot, and the same BIOS number is shown there (015.025.000.999.000000) although without the "113-210P2HY-V08" following it, so I assume this is most likely the factory-fitted BIOS.
Actually the user had uploaded the files as well, but the link no longer worked unfortunately.

Their default clock was 950MHz, it was overclocked.

Beyond that, I am afraid I can't help you.

 

[BizziBee]

I've just received a reply from Sapphire where they sent me two VBIOS files which I assume are based on the GPU card info they've looked up when I gave them the serial number.
They appear fine (I've briefly tested them both out) but appear to have the same limitations as the "factory default" BIOS files (if I'm not mistaken -these things can get pretty confusing, so I really need to take notes and do some proper tests) that you pointed me to (post #7), so I think the next step is to get another DVI cable (DVI-D single link) to try all this out with.

So here are GPU-Z screenshots of the BIOS files received directly from Sapphire tech:

I immediately noticed a couple of intersting things, comparing them with the "factory default" BIOS files from post #7.
Here are GPU-Z screenshots of those two see all can be seen at once:

1) the BIOS version (015.025.000.099.000000) is the same for both, but....
2) the Subsystem ID is different (3000 vs. E210)

I see the bottom row also has some more items ticked, and "GPU clock" in the "factory default" TechPowerUp ones are rated at 0, but perhaps all those are due to not having the Windows driver (properly) installed or something...

So, what do you think? Why do the BIOS files sent from Sapphire Tech have a different subsystem ID than what's on one of the physical labels on the GPU card, and does this make any difference?
Could I have received the wrong BIOS files or have I missed something here?

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

No, it looks right. I didn't notice that the ones I pointed you towards had a GPU clock of 0MHz - that is usually a sign of an incompatibility somewhere.

If Sapphire says it needs a 3000 VBIOS instead of E210, I would trust them on that one.

 

[BizziBee]

Yes, I suppose they know what they're doing, though I found it a bit odd.
I think the GPU clock of 0 MHz is due to Windows driver issues. I need to figure that out at some stage.

 

[BizziBee]

I think I've figured it out!
The problem was twofold, or actually threefold:

1) The Windows drivers for the GPU card were probably never installed properly.
(Actually I tried to re-install Windows 7 half a dozen times, but without resolving numerous issues like refusal to install the AMD drivers because of the wrong/missing digital signature etc. I finally gave in and installed Windows 10 which worked without a hitch). This solved a lot of the problems in Windows where screens were black and outputs didn't work.

2) When booting the computer (Apple Mac Pro) I need a "boot screen" (EFI) if I want to boot directly into Windows (or vice versa, depending on which OS I used last time). This is no longer present when a PC type GPU card is used (the screen doesn't display anything until it's almost done booting up into the chosen OS, which is chosen prior to actually booting up using other methods). However, someone has created a script which has taken the Mac-specific part of a "Mac edition" of the HD-7950 and patches this to the dumped BIOS file from a PC type HD-7950. Once that's done you get the EFI boot screen back
.... but there's a catch! Depending on how your HD-7950 is laid out output-wise, in comparison to the "HD-7950 Mac edition" card you might lose an output (simply because it's not available in the Mac edition which the patch is based upon), so in my case I've lost the DVI-D port, while the DVI-I port works fine.
Once I learnt this I did some testing with the different BIOS files we've already discussed here and there's definitely consistency: the "Mac bootscreen EFI-flashed" BIOS files all leave the DVI-I port non-functional, whereas the original (non-patched) BIOS files have them both working.In Windows however it didn't make a difference.

3) I recently learnt that with more recent MacOS versions, the ability to use passive DVI to VGA adapters or cables has been removed.
Actually this seems my older MacOS version as well: with two displays attached (to each of the DVI ports) whereas the DVI-I output goes to a DVI-I to VGA cable, plugged into the VGA port of the display, that monitor is detected by MacOS (in the "Display" control panel) but the screen itself is black. In Windows both screens worked fine.

So in all, quite a few things that added to the confusion!
Between the different BIOS files there were a few differing results from the above behaviour. I'm going to double-check them again to be sure, but it seems one or two of them behaved differently in Windows, so maybe they've been user-modified or not completely matched for my specific card.

PS. One thing I found interesting was that when comparing two BIOS files which had the same version number I found them NOT to behave the same way!
I'm referring to the version 015.025.000.099.000000 (subsystem ID 3000) BIOS I received directly from Sapphire customer support compared to
the same version 015.025.000.099.000000 (but subsystem ID E210) which I downloaded from here at TechPowerUp:
HD 7950 Vapor-X Boost (850MHz) vBIOS 015.025.000.099.000000 (Hynix H5GQ2H24AFR)
HD 7950 Vapor-X OC Boost (950MHz) vBIOS 015.025.000.099.000000 (Hynix H5GQ2H24AFR)

When booting into Windows 10 I found that with the ones from TechPowerUp.com I would only get an output from the DVI-I port, but with the same BIOS version number file I received directly from Sapphire customer support I would get an output from both the DVI-I and DVI-D ports. Any ideas why a BIOS with the same version number would behave differently? Could they be created for slightly different revisions of the GPU card, where they don't work properly for the other card revision?

Another thing: would it be a good idea (and legally) to upload the BIOS files I received from Sapphire customer support?
If so -is it an automated procedure when it comes to listing up all the specs etc. or do I have to know all that prior to uploading?

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Any ideas why a BIOS with the same version number would behave differently? Could they be created for slightly different revisions of the GPU card, where they don't work properly for the other card revision?

Version number is not tied to a specific model of card, iirc. Also, Sapphire could have changed something in the design and released a different subsystem ID under the same SKU. This would be using the same BIOS version from AMD, but it would be set up for a differently designed board.

Another thing: would it be a good idea (and legally) to upload the BIOS files I received from Sapphire customer support?
If so -is it an automated procedure when it comes to listing up all the specs etc. or do I have to know all that prior to uploading?

I would think so, @W1zzard can confirm. All apecs are taken from the internals, but you can add a note stating the specific submodel of card, and that it is a BIOS from the manufacturer.

 

[BizziBee]

Version number is not tied to a specific model of card, iirc. Also, Sapphire could have changed something in the design and released a different subsystem ID under the same SKU. This would be using the same BIOS version from AMD, but it would be set up for a differently designed board.

Yes, that sounds plausible. I'll just stick to the BIOS that works the best and forget about the version numbers etc.

I would think so, @W1zzard can confirm. All apecs are taken from the internals, but you can add a note stating the specific submodel of card, and that it is a BIOS from the manufacturer.

Good idea.
I haven't tried it yet, but it seems you upload them via GPU-Z according to the Video BIOS collection page:

Video BIOS Collection​

Latest BIOS flashing utilities for graphics cards can be found in our Downloads Section: AMD/ATI | NVIDIA

In case something goes wrong, make a backup of your original BIOS before flashing.
Have BIOS not listed here? Submit it using GPU-Z to extract and upload your BIOS.

By submodel, are you referring to the SKU#, name of the card or something else? I've understood that the subsystem ID is tied to the BIOS, so that could change (as I've experienced, with 3000 and E210).
Here's the info I have from my card:

Name: Sapphire Vapor-X HD-7950 3GB OC with boost
Part no: 299-2E210-201SA
SKU#: 11196-09
Device ID (GPU-Z): 1002 679A
Subsystem ID (GPU-Z): 174B 3000 (or 174B E210)

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

By submodel, are you referring to the SKU#, name of the card or something else? I've understood that the subsystem ID is tied to the BIOS, so that could change (as I've experienced, with 3000 and E210).
Here's the info I have from my card:

Name: Sapphire Vapor-X HD-7950 3GB OC with boost
Part no: 299-2E210-201SA
SKU#: 11196-09
Device ID (GPU-Z): 1002 679A
Subsystem ID (GPU-Z): 174B 3000

Yes, model is HD 7950 and the submodel is Vapor-X OC with Boost.

Subsystem ID is usually tied to submodel.

I haven't tried it yet, but it seems you upload them via GPU-Z according to the Video BIOS collection page:

Yes, you click the button between the UEFI checkbox and the BIOS version field. Follow the prompts afterwards.

 

[BizziBee]

Thanks.
I just tried it, but was told that both BIOS files had already been submitted by someone else and uploaded here:

unverified HD 7950 Vapor-X Boost (850MHz) vBIOS 015.025.000.099.000000 (Hynix H5GQ2H24AFR)
unverified HD 7950 Vapor-X Boost (950MHz) vBIOS 015.025.000.099.000000 (Hynix H5GQ2H24AFR)

For some reason I must have missed them, so I'm going to download and reflash my card to see if it makes any difference. There's an interesting comment at the bottom of the 850MHz version (emphasis by me):

Sapphire, Vapor-X OC with Boost, AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ x16 1.1, GDDR5, 3072, Updated bios from Sapphire for non-boost bios

So I'm guessing that this is an improved version of the "factory default" ones I linked to in post #31 (which didn't work very well -even in Windows only one of the DVI outputs worked).

There's no comment about an improved version of the unverified 950 MHz BIOS, so I don't know what to make of that although I see that the date (27. Sept 2012) is one day more recent than the ones from post #31 (26. Sept 2012) which I'm guessing means a bug-fix right after discovering that the ones they had just released had some issues ("Oops! We've lost a DVI output! Better get that back immediately!!!" ).
I'd better just try them all out.

To sort out unnecessary confusion: is there some free software available which allows me to compare two VBIOS files to check if they're identical or not?

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

To sort out unnecessary confusion: is there some free software available which allows me to compare two VBIOS files to check if they're identical or not?

I haven't gotten too deep into that, but @Solaris17 has. They might be able to recommend one.

BTW, thanks for the information and feedback, most times advice is dropped into a hole and we never hear back.

 

[Solaris17]

I haven't gotten too deep into that, but @Solaris17 has. They might be able to recommend one.

BTW, thanks for the information and feedback, most times advice is dropped into a hole and we never hear back.

HxD is the most accessible. It has a compare function.

HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor | mh-nexus

 

[BizziBee]

I haven't gotten too deep into that, but @Solaris17 has. They might be able to recommend one.

BTW, thanks for the information and feedback, most times advice is dropped into a hole and we never hear back.

You're welcome, and glad to give something back.
Perhaps it can help someone else in the same situation some day

HxD is the most accessible. It has a compare function.

HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor | mh-nexus

Cool! Thank you