4870 BIOS Flash

[bobbytomorow]

I have been interested in flashing my 4870 pretty well since I installed it and for a few different reasons. Theres the obvious of having a higher ceiling to overclock in CCC, higher default speeds and the best of all a better fan profile that keeps the card cool without having to mod anything or lock the fan at a certain speed thats either too high or not high enough.

After some sifting around different forums I think the Asus TOP BIOS is probably the best bet for those that are not too adventurous yet want a combination of a great fan profile with some moderately higher default speeds.

I will go through the process I went through step by step(steps mostly "borrowed" from other forums :p ). This method and particular BIOS also seems to have a very high success rate, in fact I have not encountered anyone who has bricked their 4870 this way. Bricking seems to occur when flashing in windows, this will be through DOS. This is for any vanilla 4870 512MB , mine happens to be Powercolor.

You will need a USB stick (you will be booting from it)

Then the following:

1)first back up your existing BIOS using gpuz in case you ever want to switch back you will have it handy. It will be 128kb

Latest GPU-Z

2)Then download the following rar package containing:

~atiflash.rar (which has asus.rom(new BIOS) and atiflash)

~hpusb.exe which will format your usb stick to FAT and create dos file system (dos.zip) included which you will use with it

RAR Package

3)Extract dos.zip to a folder (has 3 files though you wont be able to see 2 of them as they are .sys after you extract them)

4)Install hpusb.exe and run the installed program , insert your usb stick , keep file system to FAT and check "create dos startup disk" and also check "using dos system files located at" and link the folder you extracted dos.zip to

5)Extract the contents of atiflash.rar to your usb which has asus.rom included

6)When finished reboot PC and boot from your usb stick and then you will enter dos

7)Enter the following to flash your 4870 (without quotes and that is a zero not the letter o) :

"atiflash -p -f 0 asus.rom"

8)after a few moments you will get a confirmation message and only then reboot your pc

You will need to reinstall video rivers once back into windows so perhaps download them first so they are there and ready for you once you are back into windows.

Benefits

Your new default speeds will be 815/925 as opposed to 750/900. Also in CCC the overdrive ceiling is raised to 900/1100. Fan control is also much better, my 4870 idles at 55ish now as opposed to high 70's and load is mid 60's as opposed to low 80's. Its obviously a little louder though. So it is roughly 20 degrees cooler at idle and also under load plus the card is faster.

If you do not like the results (fan too loud perhaps) you can re flash the same way using the same method only substituting the asus.rom BIOS with the old one you saved via gpuz.

Here is a screen grab I took post flash

note the higher default clocks, low idle temp and higher overdrive ceiling

*try this at your own risk*

[roadgeek9]

I can see it now, "Hey - this guide didn't work - now my computer is blowing smoke out of the sides. Should I try some Nicorette (stop-smoking gum) on my computer?"

[bobbytomorow]

I have posted this on another forum and so far 100% success rate. This is basically steps from other guides, I just tried to make it simpler for those who have never flashed.

[Andrew93]

I just signed up for this forum to save anyone the headache i went through trying to get this working on my 4870. I could not get it to work on my PowerColor AX4870 512MD5. ATIFlash said everything successful to reboot and when i rebooted i was awarded with a black screen and my motherboard throwing all kinds of errors at me. When i removed the 4870 and connected to integrated graphics, the computer worked fine but as soon as i plugged the 4870 back in, my motherboard went crazy again. Also the fan on the 4870 was turning at an extremly low RPM. I was sure i had lost my 4870 but ran up on this forum. My computer would not POST until i set my Integrated as Primary. Somehow the computer booted, still giving errors since the 4870 was in the PCI-E slot, and ATI-Flash recognized the RV770 chip and i flashed my BIOS to the backup i made in GPU-Z. Card worked fine after that. So pretty much if you have THIS card, i wouldnt try this BIOS flash. However if youve already tried it, it doesnt work, and you didnt make a Backup of the BIOS, i uploaded it HERE (VER011.010.000.002.029896).

Hope this helps someone.

More specs:

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+

GPU: ATI Radeon 4870 (PowerColor AX4870 512MD5)

Processor: Phenom 9950