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

[Fastmix]

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.

There is only one way to find out.........

 

[VuurVOS]

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.

You can mod one of the biosses on your card (if you have the version with 2 biosses on it) If something goes wrong you can switch back to the normal bios. But remember to make always a backup of the orginal bios with GPU-Z (atiwinflash can't make a good backup)

 

[Mistral]

I will refrain from calling VuurVOS "Captain Obvious", since I never wrote that I've already researched all I could on the card, and I only need and answer to my "if Palit's 4870 Sonic design allows for changing voltages at all" question.

I was thinking about getting the newer version,

though that shouldn't matter to my voltage question since the power related part of the PCB seems unchanged from the previous Sonic.

In the end, if none knows then it's as Fastmix said - only one way to find out...

 

[Winterwind]

Could anyone help me to mod my MSI HD4850 bios?

Bios dl link: http://rapidshare.com/files/158245103/msihd4850.rar.html
i have already modded fan speed and oc limit, now it would be nice to have
lower 2d power draw and higher 3d vcore(if its possible)
Card works fine @ 740/1075 and looks like that:

 

[fungus303]

Grand Theft Auto 4 PC

Many many users have problem with GTA 4 for PC with Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb !!

!Important to note for this solution is that this works ONLY for the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5!
This is because this solution requires a BIOS update of the card, which is provided by Sapphire.

So, to make sure you have the correct card, it's easiest to consult the box where the card came in. On the box you will find a green sticker with some barcodes and some serial numbers. The BIOS update is only applicable if on your sticker the serial numbers are:

PN 188-01E85-001SA
SKU# 11133-00-20R

If all of this checks out for your card the BIOS update can be done. To do the BIOS update we will need a few things:

The BIOS update from Sapphire, http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/support/drivers.php
An alternative download from RapidShare, http://rapidshare.com/files/14833927...rking.zip.html


Maybe OLD news, but new NEWS for me! Beacuse i bought this game!

Gonna try to flash it now

Report back later

BLESS!

 

[bokah]

Many many users have problem with GTA 4 for PC with Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb !!

!Important to note for this solution is that this works ONLY for the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5!
This is because this solution requires a BIOS update of the card, which is provided by Sapphire.

So, to make sure you have the correct card, it's easiest to consult the box where the card came in. On the box you will find a green sticker with some barcodes and some serial numbers. The BIOS update is only applicable if on your sticker the serial numbers are:

PN 188-01E85-001SA
SKU# 11133-00-20R

If all of this checks out for your card the BIOS update can be done. To do the BIOS update we will need a few things:

The BIOS update from Sapphire, http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/support/drivers.php
An alternative download from RapidShare, http://rapidshare.com/files/14833927...rking.zip.html


Maybe OLD news, but new NEWS for me! Beacuse i bought this game!

Gonna try to flash it now

Report back later

BLESS!

what problems will this fix?

this is what ive done so far for gta:

install new xp to fix .net
rewert back to official 8.11 from farcry fix
install ATT without any fixes and use EATM + Alpha Sharpening wich is awesome to any game

lower cpu oc to get perfectly stable

no more ctd's for me

 

[eidairaman1]

Sounds like the Game is bunk cause even NV users are having problems.

Many many users have problem with GTA 4 for PC with Sapphire Radeon HD4870 512mb !!

!Important to note for this solution is that this works ONLY for the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5!
This is because this solution requires a BIOS update of the card, which is provided by Sapphire.

So, to make sure you have the correct card, it's easiest to consult the box where the card came in. On the box you will find a green sticker with some barcodes and some serial numbers. The BIOS update is only applicable if on your sticker the serial numbers are:

PN 188-01E85-001SA
SKU# 11133-00-20R

If all of this checks out for your card the BIOS update can be done. To do the BIOS update we will need a few things:

The BIOS update from Sapphire, http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/support/drivers.php
An alternative download from RapidShare, http://rapidshare.com/files/14833927...rking.zip.html


Maybe OLD news, but new NEWS for me! Beacuse i bought this game!

Gonna try to flash it now

Report back later

BLESS!

 

[fungus303]

Sounds like the Game is bunk cause even NV users are having problems.

Got it to work with my old computer that has a 8800GTX, but still lots of lags and stuff.. max FPS when playing was 27fps Looks like GTA 3 (3D) if you remember that

 

[eidairaman1]

im point out with this game its goin both ways as Nvidia released the Beta 180.84 driver and they state its recommended for GTA 4 to get best experience out of that game.

 

[fungus303]

im point out with this game its goin both ways as Nvidia released the Beta 180.84 driver and they state its recommended for GTA 4 to get best experience out of that game.

Yes, that is the driver i playing with made a driver cleaner in safe mode, OMG the graphics is so killer ____NOT___ 27fps, its like beer without alcohol

 

[eidairaman1]

lolz, wow, so you used Driver Heaven Driver Cleaner and then also used Driver Sweeper from Guru3D?, also sometimes those apps dont get rid of everything, so you have to go into registry, but be careful what you remove as Nvidia Related stuff can be your mobo and also the Graphics card. It happens with ATI Too when ATI had their own core logic.

 

[fungus303]

lolz, wow, so you used Driver Heaven Driver Cleaner and then also used Driver Sweeper from Guru3D?, also sometimes those apps dont get rid of everything, so you have to go into registry, but be careful what you remove as Nvidia Related stuff can be your mobo and also the Graphics card. It happens with ATI Too when ATI had their own core logic.

HAHA what? no no... DRIVER SWEEPER from guru3D, nothing else... uninstalled the driver in windows, then rebooted into SAFE MODE... Cleaned the registry, i have done this lots of time...... still 27fps, some guys on GTA forums get even LOWER FPS, like 11FPS with 280GTX.....

 

[eidairaman1]

ya the game is bunked, just like Crysis/Crysis Warhead and Far Cry 2, they say they use the RAGE Engine, which i think was only developed for the Console and not PC.

 

[fungus303]

ya the game is bunked, just like Crysis, I blame EA with SecureRom for this Bullshit.

well the 200k for protection was a real knockout for them i think... found this on google:

Protection: SR+Serial+Custom+PA+xlive <---so much for the SUPER protection Rockstar!

Well i have the bought game, but still... wtf cmon... give me patches and new drivers

 

[bokah]

HAHA what? no no... DRIVER SWEEPER from guru3D, nothing else... uninstalled the driver in windows, then rebooted into SAFE MODE... Cleaned the registry, i have done this lots of time...... still 27fps, some guys on GTA forums get even LOWER FPS, like 11FPS with 280GTX.....

i was able to run it with (almost)highest settings 8x8aa 16af + view distance 30/100, rest was full @45-60fps with some +25 drops, lowerin to medium and no drops at all

i bet those having 11+fps has vsync on, as it looks like gta defaults it on and theres no option to disable it

rig: Q9300@3.27/2GDDR2@940(lowered oc for stability in gta)/4870x2 2GtDDR5(game only detects 1G)

 

[Jonny_doe]

I can't work out what i'm doing wrong ...
I run RBE_118 and load up Fastmix's number 3 bios (the 795/1100 bios) , and go onto the clocks page , there i lower all the 1100 ram clock down to 1000 , and then save the newly adjust bios ..
then load it onto a stick , boot into dos and flash it , but once windows starts again , the ram set on 1100 , so the bios changes haven't changed ...
I tried a few times now , what am i doing wrong ????

 

[bokah]

I can't work out what i'm doing wrong ...
I run RBE_118 and load up Fastmix's number 3 bios (the 795/1100 bios) , and go onto the clocks page , there i lower all the 1100 ram clock down to 1000 , and then save the newly adjust bios ..
then load it onto a stick , boot into dos and flash it , but once windows starts again , the ram set on 1100 , so the bios changes haven't changed ...
I tried a few times now , what am i doing wrong ????

reinstall drivers too, old bios settings are still there if u dont

 

[Jonny_doe]

Well i was running the asus top bios (815/925) , i then flash the newly made bios , and yes i never reinstall the drivers yet as the clocks were then at 795/1100 , and not the 795/1000 like i set them ...

is there any other bioses which have 1.276 voltage , but lower memory clock ????
(i get Artifacts using the Asus top bios , so i thought i'd try uping the volts )

 

[bokah]

Well i was running the asus top bios (815/925) , i then flash the newly made bios , and yes i never reinstall the drivers yet as the clocks were then at 795/1100 , and not the 795/1000 like i set them ...

is there any other bioses which have 1.276 voltage , but lower memory clock ????
(i get Artifacts using the Asus top bios , so i thought i'd try uping the volts )

rip ur bios to file with gpu-z and see if ur ram settings are there with rbe, then u know if its flashed right

 

[Maikel205]

I'm running Ati Tray Tools to clock my 4870 down to 500mhz core/ 250mhz mem in idle mode, to minimize the power consumption.

Now I want to add another 4870 in crossfire, does somebody know ATT is able to clock down this second card too?

 

[mojo]

Does anyone else get lock-ups when playing back HD WMVs with a modded BIOS?

Is the Sapow.bin BIOS on the first page still the recommended one for a 4870? The thread is getting long but it seems like it's still the best one.

 

[mattkosem]

I'm trying to perform this mod on my 4870 X2 but am having issues. I started small, attempting to only change the GPU idle clock to 400 on both bioses. Unfortunately, in spite of this change, the idle GPU clocks remained 507. I changed all of the areas that were associated with power management and had a clock of 507 to 400 with RBE 1.18, leaving the UVD clocks where they were. The change not only didn't work, but caused catalyst overdrive not to load (similarly to when a clock higher than is allowed is forced on by another app).

Anyone have any ideas? I started a post on xtremesystems, but no one seems to have dealt with it before.

--Matt

 

[nafets]

Does anyone else get lock-ups when playing back HD WMVs with a modded BIOS?

Is the Sapow.bin BIOS on the first page still the recommended one for a 4870? The thread is getting long but it seems like it's still the best one.

If you're getting lockups playing back movies, it's possible the card is operating in the 2D state, and with a modded BIOS the GPU/MEM settings may be too low during playback. Try forcing the 3D state during playback, and you probably won't have any problems with it locking up.

I'm trying to perform this mod on my 4870 X2 but am having issues. I started small, attempting to only change the GPU idle clock to 400 on both bioses. Unfortunately, in spite of this change, the idle GPU clocks remained 507. I changed all of the areas that were associated with power management and had a clock of 507 to 400 with RBE 1.18, leaving the UVD clocks where they were. The change not only didn't work, but caused catalyst overdrive not to load (similarly to when a clock higher than is allowed is forced on by another app).

Anyone have any ideas? I started a post on xtremesystems, but no one seems to have dealt with it before.

--Matt

Forget about modding the GPU speeds as they have little effect on overall temperatures and power consumption during 2D IDLE. Your main concern should be the MEM speeds, if anything at all.

Although I don't use CCC (driver install only), it's possible CCC is using old settings saved to profiles, overriding your newly updated BIOS settings. Try re-installing your Catalyst drivers and CCC, if possible, after flashing both BIOSes.

 

[mojo]

If you're getting lockups playing back movies, it's possible the card is operating in the 2D state, and with a modded BIOS the GPU/MEM settings may be too low during playback. Try forcing the 3D state during playback, and you probably won't have any problems with it locking up.

Thanks, I figured it might be something like that.

Is there any way to force 3D mode for video, rather than having to do it manually all the time? I'm on XP x64 and have tried various renderers in MPC-HC, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

[mattkosem]

Forget about modding the GPU speeds as they have little effect on overall temperatures and power consumption during 2D IDLE. Your main concern should be the MEM speeds, if anything at all.

Although I don't use CCC (driver install only), it's possible CCC is using old settings saved to profiles, overriding your newly updated BIOS settings. Try re-installing your Catalyst drivers and CCC, if possible, after flashing both BIOSes.

Thanks. I'll give that a try when I get home. My plan is to knock both down, but I only initially started with the GPU to test the water.

--Matt