SAPPHIRE Nitro+ RX570 4GB Dual (question about the Dual vBIOS - do you have to flash it twice?)

[Moonspell]

Hello guys, this my first post here.

A friend of mine sold me 2 cheap graphic cards he was using for mining.
He says he bought them already modded and that he has no use for them any longer, and since he has no time or patience to revert the BIOS modification, he sold me 2 for a small amount. So I will have to get the original vBIOS myself.

The question is that so far no one has been able to tell me if the card is DUAL BIOS I have to flash each card twice for each switch position or not.

Some people say it has two physical ROMs, some say there's only one file while the switch only alternates between configurations.

Anyway, in all places I've visited there's only one BIOS file available to flash (okay, in some places there's actually a Hynix and an Elpida version of the BIOS).

So, what's the the deal with this "DUAL BIOS" after all?

Thanks in advance

Best regards

 

[flmatter]

@eidairaman1 may be able to find you a correct bios for your card by those pictures. Can you screen shot gpu-z for us? If not you may have to pull the heatsink off and take photo's of the stickers and ram so the proper memory manufacturer can be identified for the right bios. Have you checked our data base for matching bios yet? Here?
Have you tried the card in a system yet? If you can do so then take screenshots of gpu-z with each bios/switch enabled. Chances are your friend only flashed one bios to one switch and left the other alone.

PS Welcome to TPU

 

[MrGenius]

Each position of the switch enables a different BIOS ROM(unless the same BIOS ROM has been flashed on both positions). The deal is it's ALWAYS better to have more than one BIOS on any piece of hardware. If for no other reason than to have a backup(to keep the card from becoming inoperable if something happens to one of the BIOSes). But they can also be setup for different usage scenarios too(so you can change the card's performance just by flicking the switch, instead of needing to flash a different BIOS).

 

[eidairaman1]

Hello guys, this my first post here.

A friend of mine sold me 2 cheap graphic cards he was using for mining.
He says he bought them already modded and that he has no use for them any longer, and since he has no time or patience to revert the BIOS modification, he sold me 2 for a small amount. So I will have to get the original vBIOS myself.

The question is that so far no one has been able to tell me if the card is DUAL BIOS I have to flash each card twice for each switch position or not.

Some people say it has two physical ROMs, some say there's only one file while the switch only alternates between configurations.

Anyway, in all places I've visited there's only one BIOS file available to flash (okay, in some places there's actually a Hynix and an Elpida version of the BIOS).

So, what's the the deal with this "DUAL BIOS" after all?

Thanks in advance

Best regards

Can you please upload a gpu-z screenshot of the card in each bios position when installed?

You may need to restart the machine when doing a bios position switch.

 

[metalfiber]

I flashed a MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr III to a 6970 that has dual bios and it had a little tiny switch. One was for silent mode the other performance. I flashed the silent mode side.

 

[Python]

You can have 2 bios. One has to be standard and second Oc mode.If your first bios is dead, you can start witch second and restore the first one

 

[Caring1]

I flashed a MSI Radeon HD 6950 Twin Frozr III to a 6970 that has dual bios and it had a little tiny switch. One was for silent mode the other performance. I flashed the silent mode side.

Sapphire is the same set up, silent and performance.

 

[metalfiber]

A friend of mine sold me 2 cheap graphic cards he was using for mining.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABGC6UU5082

 

[Moonspell]

@eidairaman1 may be able to find you a correct bios for your card by those pictures. Can you screen shot gpu-z for us? If not you may have to pull the heatsink off and take photo's of the stickers and ram so the proper memory manufacturer can be identified for the right bios. Have you checked our data base for matching bios yet? Here?
Have you tried the card in a system yet? If you can do so then take screenshots of gpu-z with each bios/switch enabled. Chances are your friend only flashed one bios to one switch and left the other alone.

PS Welcome to TPU

Thank you so much!

Okay, here we go.

GPU-Z screenshot with BIOS switch in Left vs Right positions, side by side:

EDIT: For easier comparison, I reorganized the screenshots after rebooting and making this post.

Hmmm. it might be me but I don't see any difference going by the BIOS revisions. Maybe whoever modded this, used a modified BIOS that appears to have the same reference numbers as the original ones.

So, what's really going on with this graphics card? Is the "Dual BIOS" physical and you gotta flash it twice or just 2 aspects of the same firmware that you flash one time?

If this was modded I don't see where or how. I don't really know what I'm doing at this point. Any clarifying will be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[eidairaman1]

Ok i will proceed to locate a working bios

Ok to answer your question, since this card has a mining bios on it, there is no telling if both bios 1 and 2 are flashed with it.

Some cards have a quiet bios but we typically don't have that info here. I would suggest flashing 1 position, verify that the card boots up first.

Here is the file needed, download it.

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/191336/sapphire-rx570-4096-170323

Download this tool
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ati-atiflash/

Disable any antivirus/malware tools before you attempt to flash.

Open the tool up, locate bios file, follow directions in tool, flash card, reboot when prompted.

Take a gpu-z screenshot after you reboot and come back here, post it.

Thank you so much!

Okay, here we go.

GPU-Z screenshot with BIOS switch in Left vs Right positions, side by side:

EDIT: For easier comparison, I reorganized the screenshots after rebooting and making this post.

Hmmm. it might be me but I don't see any difference going by the BIOS revisions. Maybe whoever modded this, used a modified BIOS that appears to have the same reference numbers as the original ones.

So, what's really going on with this graphics card? Is the "Dual BIOS" physical and you gotta flash it twice or just 2 aspects of the same firmware that you flash one time?

If this was modded I don't see where or how. I don't really know what I'm doing at this point. Any clarifying will be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Moonspell]

Interestingly, I've found a site which claims to have different original vBIOS for this card:

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Hynix memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-hynix-bios/

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Elpida memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-elpida-bios/

Still no reference to different vBIOS according to the BIOS switch.

However I downloaded both and interestingly the original BIOS for the Hynix assembly is 256KB while the original BIOS for the same card with Elpida memories is 512KB large.

The BIOS file available here is 256KB in size and it says it works with both builds.

Thoughts on this?

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Interestingly, I've found a site which claims to have different original vBIOS for this card:

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Hynix memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-hynix-bios/

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Elpida memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-elpida-bios/

Still no reference to different vBIOS according to the BIOS switch.

However I downloaded both and interestingly the original BIOS for the Hynix assembly is 256KB while the original BIOS for the same card with Elpida memories is 512KB large.

The BIOS file available here is 256KB in size and it says it works with both builds.

Thoughts on this?

Those are modded for mining bios, which is your problem right now, you need a stock bios for your card @eidairaman1 found you the correct bios files and you have ignored his post.

 

[eidairaman1]

Interestingly, I've found a site which claims to have different original vBIOS for this card:

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Hynix memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-hynix-bios/

One for the RX570 Nitro+ with Elpida memories:
https://miningtweaks.com/sapphire-rx-570-nitroplus-4gb-elpida-bios/

Still no reference to different vBIOS according to the BIOS switch.

However I downloaded both and interestingly the original BIOS for the Hynix assembly is 256KB while the original BIOS for the same card with Elpida memories is 512KB large.

The BIOS file available here is 256KB in size and it says it works with both builds.

Thoughts on this?

Do you or do you not want the card restored to stock with an unmodified bios???

Please Listen to what is written.


Do not screw with those files, download the one i posted above and follow the directions.

Do not waste more time with questions and just do what is asked please or I will drop the thread and you will be on your own from here on out

 

[Moonspell]

No need to be aggressive, I'm not ignoring anyone.

I'm just saying that I found a site where they have modded AND original BIOS files in case you need.

They have it for the same RX570 and they make a difference between the very same graphics card with Elpida and Hynix GDDR, in case someone does something wrong.

My question is: Why some sites have Original BIOS for the same graphics card with different GDDR manufacturers? I think it's a reasonable doubt.

I'm not questioning your experience, I have doubts and I kindly pose them as questions.

If you don't want me to give any input or partake in any form of debate, no harm done. Thanks anyway.

.

 

[eidairaman1]

Different price points, it's cheaper to go with multiple vendors of ram than just one to keep production costs down in a series of cards, remember there are other card vendors out there too. Also say 1 ram vendor has production problems, the other 3 can pickup the slack.

There are also time constraints and it is typically more ecomical to have 1 bios file that contains code for 2 or more ram makers, makes it easier to find what is needed from the manufacturers technical support as well.

Sapphires bios files are tied by the serial number as that is what they use to determine what exact bios you need for your exact card. I dont have a means of decyphering the serial numbers to tell you what number belongs to hynix ram.

There is a reason why I asked for the SKU and the gpu-z screenshot, it is so I could locate the bios you needed.

It just happens the one in the verified list will work for your card, there are many others in the database but this is the best one as it is verified. Modded bios such as the site you found outside of here require patching in drivers.

If anything just flash the card with the bios I have found for you.

We have original and modified bios, rest assured the verified bios i provided is stock original and will make your card run as intended which is games.

Mining bios are not good for games and can cause data corruption/crashes.

 

[Moonspell]

Okay, I'll do it as soon as I finish work and I'll report the outcome asap. Thank you.

 

[eidairaman1]

Okay, I'll do it as soon as I finish work and I'll report the outcome asap. Thank you.

Ok so any results?

 

[metalfiber]

I wonder if the shaders has been laser cut or bios disabled?

If it would be worth trying to flash it to a 580.

 

[eidairaman1]

I wonder if the shaders has been laser cut or bios disabled?

If it would be worth trying to flash it to a 580.

Dev id mismatch can happen resulting in a hard bios lock, this is an AIB card, not a reference one.

Only @Final_Fighter could say otherwise.

 

[Final_Fighter]

I wonder if the shaders has been laser cut or bios disabled?

If it would be worth trying to flash it to a 580.

there is a lot of old information around the web that says the 570 wont unlock but i have not tried that recently. it would not surprise me if certain 570 cards during the mining blitz would unlock to the 580 because the 570 was one of the BEST cards for mining so its possible but unlikely.

i suggest that the op follows the instructions that have been outlined here to get the card to work before trying to get it unlocked. also, i suggest that the op remove any overclocking software before flashing the card and uses ddu to remove the drivers and start with a fresh set. it almost looks like a driver issue that the op is having. its still a good idea to flash the bios back to stock.

 

[metalfiber]

Oh yes definitely get the stock bios running first.

I remember sweating bullets when i flashed my 6950 to a 6970, bios switch or not. I did a lot of research to ensure the chip shaders was most likely not laser cut.

 

[eidairaman1]

Oh yes definitely get the stock bios running first.

I remember sweating bullets when i flashed my 6950 to a 6970, bios switch or not. I did a lot of research to ensure the chip shaders was most likely not laser cut.

CUs on my 290 are physically disabled.

 

[Moonspell]

Thank you for all the input so far.

The guy who got me these graphic cards is going to put me in contact with the vendor who did the modding.

I'm gonna ask them what did they do (Thursday because he will back home on Wednesday, and that's where he has all the invoices and contacts).

I need to know if they flashed with the BIOS switch in the left or right position, or both. It's still not clear in my mind what does the switch do exactly and if it's possible that they have flashed only one side.

 

[eidairaman1]

Thank you for all the input so far.

The guy who got me these graphic cards is going to put me in contact with the vendor who did the modding.

I'm gonna ask them what did they do (Thursday because he will back home on Wednesday, and that's where he has all the invoices and contacts).

I need to know if they flashed with the BIOS switch in the left or right position, or both. It's still not clear in my mind what does the switch do exactly and if it's possible that they have flashed only one side.

He took a bios mod tool and lowered the clock speeds, possibly adjusting ram times too.

Ok the bios switch by default has a quiet bios and a regular/boost bios.

Flash both bios switch positions and lets move along.

Better yet since you are so unsure ask sapphire for help since you have proven to not listen...
/thread.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

flash bios files you have been given links for, it's not rocket science though you do need to make sure you load the correct bios to match with vram and device id etc which members have done for you in their own time to help you out.