Flashed my sapphire 4870

[CyberAtomix]

i was looking for a topic related to the bios but i did not find it i flashed my 4870 with the Diamond_HD_4870_XOC_Black_Edition.bin i used RBE 1.12 to change the bios string version to the same as the original bios from sapphire and after that everything worked like a charm now i can oc it to 820 stable on stock air cooling i also got ATI Tray tools v1.5.8.1256 beta version and now the automatic fan works it kicks in when the temps go too high you can get it at http://cid-a50350ea7a969f0c.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/attsetup.exe btw i used Winflash to get it done i though it was gonna brick my card but it worked great it was my 1st time flashing a graphic card btw well thats all i wanted to share my experience and I'm glad everything went fine.

 

[kellehair]

This sounds interesting to me. I have a 4870 arriving today.

 

[Janooo]

Can you higher than 820 or it's card limit?

 

[CyberAtomix]

highest is 990 gpu clock -1200 mhz memory clock i have it set to 825/ 1120 very stable indeed, its basically the bios from the diamond black edition i had to copy the string bios number from the sapphire original bios in order to get the flash going i did that with RBE 1.12 and you can go higher but it may be unstable unless you can get higher volts i would post a pic if i knew how lol and atitray tools is a must have i just updated to 1260

 

[sgrinavi]

Can't you OC with ATI tray tools too?

 

[CyberAtomix]

yes you can but i flashed the card before i noticed that but also keep in mind that the oc to 990 is also visible with CCC if you are playing with atitray tools everything is done from there oh well i'm still gonna keep these new bios but yea you can do the overclocking with the atitray tools only.

 

[Fattysharp]

I have a Diamond 4870, and I flashed it to the asus overclocked bios. I did a fair bit of research on many of the more extreme overclocking forums. Here is what I found out. If there is enough interest, I can write up a "How to" post for the best chances, at least from what I researched.

1. Bios of the 4870 limits the ccc overdrive. The factory overclocked versions give you a higher range of clocks. So flashing to a factory overclock, will let you set your over drive higher.

2. 4870's use ddr5, and this changed the default bios size. make sure you have the correct bios, for your card. 4850 and 4870 bios' are not compatible because of this change in size.

3. The newer cards, especially the factory overclocks, have better fan settings in the bios, so you do not have to edit the ccc profile. Different cards have different fan settings.

4. All of the 512meg cards are reference design, so any 4870 512meg bios will "effectively" work on any brand.

5. Using winflash seems to have 1/3 chance of bricking your 4870, better to create a boot disk/usb key to windows 98 and use atiflash command line.

6. Make sure you wait for the comfirmation that the flash is completed before rebooting. If it does not confirm a successful flash, flash it again before you reboot.

7. if you Brick your card, W1zzard has a posted a FAQ on how to fix it.

8. Like with any overclocking, different cards will produce different results. Test your card for artifacts with atitool. Let it run for 10-15 minutes straight to ensure there are no artifacts. Some people will suggest longer run times.

9. the 4870 seems to give a wide span of differing results on overclocking. For instance, my core is stable at 800/1050 not artifacts in atitool. average seems to be anywhere between 810-830. Most factory overclock bios default at 815. it will boot to windows fine, but if your card can not handle it in games it will lock up. test it before gaming. I had to underclock that bios to 800 core.

10. If you plan to flash your card, make sure you are ready to use it as a paper weight My heart was pumping rather quickly as i waited for the confirmation that the flash was successful.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Sounds like there is a fair chance of failure for just another 20-30MHz on the core then (seeing as they all seem to be able to get to 790MHz already)? I think when I get my 4870 I'll just wait for a version of Rivatuner that supports the 4870.

 

[Fattysharp]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
Sounds like there is a fair chance of failure for just another 20-30MHz on the core then (seeing as they all seem to be able to get to 790MHz already)? I think when I get my 4870 I'll just wait for a version of Rivatuner that supports the 4870.

Correct If you use winflash a good chance of bricking your card. If you use atiflash from a dos boot disk, you have very low risk.

I did not do it to overclock really, I did it for the better fan settings. the difference in the noise output and how much better it keeps the card cool is amazing. My original bios had the fan setting to 0 spin on idle. while very quiet, it idled at 70-75C.

if you are waiting to buy, they are fixing these fan concerns from the early models. If i had to buy a new card, i would go with a asus model, the fan controls are worth it in my opinion.

A diamond rep also told me a ccc release should also address the fan speed concerns. He told me that in July, but has not responded to me since

 

[Don66]

Flashed mine last week with the Diamond bios and my cards running 845/1075 watercooled.

Funny I didn't have to change the bios string on my Sapphire in order to crossflash.
I just used ATI flash and flashed off a thumbdrive.

 

[Nafets]

BIOS flashing can fail in both Windows and DOS. It's just more prevalent in Windows.

There's no reason to be scared to use either method, or to not do BIOS modifying/flashing at all, because of permanent failure.

Just make sure you have a backup PCI video card.

You simply boot up off the PCI video card, and reflash the HD4850/70 with the proper stock BIOS, and you're back in business....

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Nafets
Just make sure you have a backup PCI video card.

At least, that's what you needed in the days of AGP cards. If you have more than one PCIe slot of the right physical size, then a working PCIe card should do the trick just as well. And then there's the option of flashing blind...

 

[unr3al]

And the option of an IGP... 8)

 

[Elcs]

So ATI Tool can be used to create custom fan profiles?

How flexible is it? I need some tool to do it thats very flexible as I have modded a nice 120mm fan to be powered off my HD4870 and Im dying to get it in