4850 BIOS Flash Sets Idle Clock Right

Make sure you really test it hard though.

My 4850 looks fine at 700MHz. It'll run Artifact Finder for hours without issue. It'll even run through Crysis at Very High without any problems for at least an hour...


...but if I set the same settings as HardOCP recommends for gameplay, it'll crash the driver (and because Vista is awesome, NOT crash the computer) after about 10 minutes of gameplay at any frequency over 660MHz.

I suspect the voltage for the core is not sufficient because my third party cooler is keeping the temps down.

Exactly. Open up FurMark and set it to: fullscreen, stability, 1920x1200. See how long things last. :D
 
can some one help me edit the values?

i put 160/500 for all the non 3d slots and 650/1050 for the first cd slot , i flashed with win flash and now my default and 2d clocks are 500/993 what did i do wrong.


so 650/1050 in the first left box

160/500 in the next 2 boxes

and the bottom middle box is 500/993 im guessing i have to change that one?

untitled-3-1.jpg


EDIT ive flash many times with different settings even with the original bios.

it defaults at 500/993...........i have no idea wtf ive done lol . well at least the card didnt die.

I think you want to edit the field marked 500/750, if there is one. Unfortunately, your picture is too small to read :)
 
Visiontek card... flashed to the June 5th MSI Bios using winflash... reset to defaults... worked like a champ :)

Speed seems to jump around a bit when you first open the CCC..

I think I'll flash back to the original BIOS. The temps aren't much better in my SFF case anyway.
 
I'm tempted to load the MSI bios onto my Asus EAH4850 but a little bit hesitant because it was mentioned earlier in this thread that the Asus bios was the only one that was different...
 
I'm tempted to load the MSI bios onto my Asus EAH4850 but a little bit hesitant because it was mentioned earlier in this thread that the Asus bios was the only one that was different...
I will be in the same boat on 7/1. I wonder if the Asus fan utility will work with the MSI bios. It looks like most the people reviewing the Asus card at Newegg are getting very good temps by tweaking the fan (to only 60%). If the fan utility does not work with MSI bios I think I'm more interested in being able to have fan run at higher speeds at load than have the card reduce its idle speed...Having the fan run at higher speeds also gives better overclock potential...
 
I need some help here if anyone can offer it

I extracted my current BIOS file, then used the bios editor to change the clocks to 160/500 (clock info 1 and 4, just like in the MSI bios). I loaded this onto my card, and I see no clock speed changes. It is still idling at 500/993. I've verified that the bios I loaded on there has the clock speed changes.

I even went into CCC and hit the defaults button. What am I missing here? I'd rather not just use the MSI BIOS, because I have no idea if it will work on my Sapphire card.
 
I need some help here if anyone can offer it

I extracted my current BIOS file, then used the bios editor to change the clocks to 160/500 (clock info 1 and 4, just like in the MSI bios). I loaded this onto my card, and I see no clock speed changes. It is still idling at 500/993. I've verified that the bios I loaded on there has the clock speed changes.

I even went into CCC and hit the defaults button. What am I missing here? I'd rather not just use the MSI BIOS, because I have no idea if it will work on my Sapphire card.

CCC's overdrive is defo un-ticked?
 
CCC's overdrive is defo un-ticked?

It most certainly is unticked.

I gave up on the BIOS editor, and tried out the MSI BIOS, and it works great. MY video card is idle at 160/500, and my idle temps have dropped from 80C to 75C. I'm really happy I've finally got this working, because I really didn't like all the wasted power with the clock at 500 MHz.

CONFIRMED: MSI image works on Sapphire 4850 cards. DEFINITELY use this if you like the idea of having a more efficient idle system.
 
Don't forget to edit the .xml file to fix your fan speeds:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=2751569&postcount=8

Will drop temps a lot!

You can probably do this permanently with the BIOS editor, although you saw how little success I had with that. The BIOS editor has a fan speed curve, so you only have to adjust it once.

Me - I'm not bothered by 75C idle temps, I know what silicon can handle. I just wanted to stop wasting all that power at idle running the card at 500 MHz.
 



I edited my bios rather than use the msi...im not happy with temps though looking at others i suppose i should be...idle 55,(my unhappyness comes from the fact i got my 3850 down to 30 idle) did apply some new paste and have a 120 fan positioned well on both cards. did adjust the fan speed but didn't take so shall edit the.xml
 
I used the latest MSI bios. It did bring my idle clocks down to 160/500. Old idle temps were around 75-76 for me @ 14% fan utilization. Now I am at 69-70 degrees @ 0-5% fan utilization. It is a drop in temps but I'd highly prefer a fan fix that does not blast 100% fan. 40% would not be too bad I guess and I bet it would drop idle temps down into the 50 range.
 
It did bring my idle clocks down to 160/500. Old idle temps were around 75-76 for me @ 14% fan utilization. Now I am at 69-70 degrees @ 0-5% fan utilization.

A little confused, you saying that temps dropped by 6 degrees even though the fan speed has dropped to 0-5% (from 14%) :confused:
 
A little confused, you saying that temps dropped by 6 degrees even though the fan speed has dropped to 0-5% (from 14%) :confused:

Yes, if you folks tried using the BIOS editor, you'd see that the fan range starts in the mid 60s. If you want to permanently fix your fan speed to whatever the hell you'd like, change the fan sped settings in the BIOS editor, and then re-flash your BIOS with that image.

Just have a look at the fan settings tab, and play around with them.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1121/TechPowerUp_Radeon_Bios_Editor_v1.11.html
 
Yes, if you folks tried using the BIOS editor, you'd see that the fan range starts in the mid 60s. If you want to permanently fix your fan speed to whatever the hell you'd like, change the fan sped settings in the BIOS editor, and then re-flash your BIOS with that image.

Just have a look at the fan settings tab, and play around with them.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1121/TechPowerUp_Radeon_Bios_Editor_v1.11.html

Sorry I am missing something here because what has that got to do with the question I asked?

I'll ask again...

Old idle temps 75-76 for me @ 14% fan utilization
New idle temps 69-70 degrees @ 0-5% fan utilization

So you got a 6 degree drop in temp while at the same time using a much slower fan speed? :confused:
 
To Zoid. Yeah thats what Gpu-z is saying. It dropped my idle temps by 6-7 degs and uses slower fan speed. I guess due to the lower clocks alone it went down. Yes, fiddling with the bios editor and setting fan speeds manually will lower idle and load temps even more.
 
Got my temps down in the 40's now load 55, fan speed 68% a little loud but bearable.
 
Sorry I am missing something here because what has that got to do with the question I asked?

I'll ask again...

Old idle temps 75-76 for me @ 14% fan utilization
New idle temps 69-70 degrees @ 0-5% fan utilization

So you got a 6 degree drop in temp while at the same time using a much slower fan speed? :confused:

Oh, my mistake, I thought you were disappointed that the fan reduced speed. I mean, if it had kept at %15 at idle, you'd have even lower temperatures :)

And yeah, that's normal that you'd get lower temps and lower fan speed. Power consumption is dependent on the clock speed.

The whole point of this new BIOS is to reduce the idle clock speed to 1/3, which also cuts the idle power consumption to 1/3 of the original. Lower power consumption means lower fan speeds. Not a bad deal, since you really can't tell the difference in game performance :D

Assuming the idle speed of the Powercolor card reviewed here is 500 MHz, with this new BIOS we're using less than 20w.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-radeon-hd4850_14.html#sect0
 
Update:

I used Radeon Bios Editor to view the MSI Clock info Settings, then just copied/edited them onto my Asus EAH4850 bios, and voila now I idle at 160/500.

I also used Asus SmartDoctor to set the fan at 48%, idle temps are 60-65. I have a GFXChilla that I've never used before - I may put that on to lower temps some more...
 
Oh, my mistake, I thought you were disappointed that the fan reduced speed. I mean, if it had kept at %15 at idle, you'd have even lower temperatures :)

And yeah, that's normal that you'd get lower temps and lower fan speed. Power consumption is dependent on the clock speed.

The whole point of this new BIOS is to reduce the idle clock speed to 1/3, which also cuts the idle power consumption to 1/3 of the original. Lower power consumption means lower fan speeds. Not a bad deal, since you really can't tell the difference in game performance :D

Assuming the idle speed of the Powercolor card reviewed here is 500 MHz, with this new BIOS we're using less than 20w.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-radeon-hd4850_14.html#sect0

Well as I already said in an earlier post I have already flashed by HIS 4850 with the newer bios from the MSI cards, the card at idle is 160/500 however my temps have only dropped by aprox 2 degrees, which is why I find it amazing that someone else says their temps dropped by 6 degrees while fan speed has reduced by 9%, does not make any sense to me. Oh and here's a link to where I post about the bios update I did on my card...

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48680&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90&sid=e8fbff4bae118ca2ea4b95a9f9d838fe

Just because clock speeds are a 1/3 slower does not necessarily mean that power consumption will also be reduced by the same amount, as far as I can see the newer bios does not drop idle voltage compared to the older bios.

Also have a look at this review showing data for both a powercolor and msi 4850...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_4850/21.html

System power consumption – Idle

MSI 124W
Powercolor 128W

System power consumption – Peak

MSI 208W
Powercolor 208W

So there is a difference of 4 watts at idle which I’m guessing is due to the fact that the MSI card was using the newer bios.

So can you show me your evidence that this bios update reduces power consumption by a 1/3 as you claim, or is this just your guess?
 
Also there is been some discussion about 48xx series power play features not working properly yet, this will be corrected in future drivers, atleast so the story goes.

I'll wait for newer bios straight from Asus for 4850, had some issues with RBE modded bios files with my old 3870. Seems like AMD rushed these cards to the market, one would think setting correct idle speeds for vanilla bios would be easy enough.
 
ive noticed something strange with the powerplay functionality on the 4850. im running vista x64 using dual displays with a visiontek 4850. ive flashed the bios with the msi bios. the strange thing ive noticed is when i run just a single monitor the powerplay settings are what they should be ie 150/300. if i run both displays the settings are 625/933. its like the card thinks im in 3d mode when i have two displays going. also if i o/c even by a couple of mhz using ccc i will see flashes on the 2nd monitor when i open a window on the first monitor. with no o/c i dont see this. can anyone with dual displays confirm this?
 
vidcard noob here. do you guys think ATi themselves will release something (drivers?) that will get the idle temps as good as you all have them? or is it the job of the brand company (sapphire, powercolor, etc)? or is it something that will likely not happen at all?

the idea that this card wastes so much electricity and creates so much heat at idle is one i can live without! but i definitely dont want to void my warranty.
 
ive noticed something strange with the powerplay functionality on the 4850. im running vista x64 using dual displays with a visiontek 4850. ive flashed the bios with the msi bios. the strange thing ive noticed is when i run just a single monitor the powerplay settings are what they should be ie 150/300. if i run both displays the settings are 625/933. its like the card thinks im in 3d mode when i have two displays going. also if i o/c even by a couple of mhz using ccc i will see flashes on the 2nd monitor when i open a window on the first monitor. with no o/c i dont see this. can anyone with dual displays confirm this?

I have confirmed something similar. Open the bios in RBE.

With a single monitor and idling, my card runs at the value in clock info 1,2, 4, or 5. I am using the Asus cards so each of these values is 500/750.

With two monitors and idling, my card runs at the value in clock info 7,8, or 9. In the Asus bios these values are 500/933.

So it appears normal that dual monitors use different idle speeds.
 
I have confirmed something similar. Open the bios in RBE.

With a single monitor and idling, my card runs at the value in clock info 1,2, 4, or 5. I am using the Asus cards so each of these values is 500/750.

With two monitors and idling, my card runs at the value in clock info 7,8, or 9. In the Asus bios these values are 500/933.

So it appears normal that dual monitors use different idle speeds.

i hope ati can fix this then. with my 3870 i was able to run dual displays at low power settings without issue. seems really stupid to have overlooked this. its not like there are only 2 people on the planet that run dual displays and use ati cards.
 
i flashed to the msi bios right now.

Visiontek 4850 w/ accelero s1 rev2 w/ 120mm

before bios idle/load 40-47
after bios 39-40/47
i lost whopping degree on my idle.....well....hopefully it's not drawing as much wattage so i at least save electricity
 
I think this is why some people only see idle temps drop a few degrees - the automatic fan speed control "sees" that the chip is producing less heat at idle, and as a result, it actually reduces the fan speed accordingly. If you want lower idle temps, you also need to modify the fan curve.
 
Well as I already said in an earlier post I have already flashed by HIS 4850 with the newer bios from the MSI cards, the card at idle is 160/500 however my temps have only dropped by aprox 2 degrees, which is why I find it amazing that someone else says their temps dropped by 6 degrees while fan speed has reduced by 9%, does not make any sense to me. Oh and here's a link to where I post about the bios update I did on my card...

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48680&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90&sid=e8fbff4bae118ca2ea4b95a9f9d838fe

Just because clock speeds are a 1/3 slower does not necessarily mean that power consumption will also be reduced by the same amount, as far as I can see the newer bios does not drop idle voltage compared to the older bios.

Also have a look at this review showing data for both a powercolor and msi 4850...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_4850/21.html

System power consumption – Idle

MSI 124W
Powercolor 128W

System power consumption – Peak

MSI 208W
Powercolor 208W

So there is a difference of 4 watts at idle which I’m guessing is due to the fact that the MSI card was using the newer bios.

So can you show me your evidence that this bios update reduces power consumption by a 1/3 as you claim, or is this just your guess?

No, I guess not. I will say this: comparing two different cards is not a good method, because variations in process means that two different graphics chips could have power profiles %5-20 different. This is why chip makers publish TDP numbers - the chip is guaranteed not to exceed these numbers, but it may also use LESS power.

Anyway, the idle voltages for my old (extracted by me) BIOS and the MSI BIOS are exactly the same, so I doubt that's the culprit.

I'd really like to see xbit do an in-depth comparison between the two BIOS images, so we can have a better look.
 
ive noticed something strange with the powerplay functionality on the 4850. im running vista x64 using dual displays with a visiontek 4850. ive flashed the bios with the msi bios. the strange thing ive noticed is when i run just a single monitor the powerplay settings are what they should be ie 150/300. if i run both displays the settings are 625/933. its like the card thinks im in 3d mode when i have two displays going. also if i o/c even by a couple of mhz using ccc i will see flashes on the 2nd monitor when i open a window on the first monitor. with no o/c i dont see this. can anyone with dual displays confirm this?


Yes, I flashed to the MSI BIOS and my IDLE Mhz is 625core 993ram
I am running dual monitors, but i'm running them off one card.
I have two visiontek 4850's (in this machine)

I'm going to play around with it alot today and see what happens,
like, if I plug my second monitor into my second card, if the clocks settle down.

Because with my my simple fan PWM edits,
Lowered the cut-on Temp to 40 degrees, lowered the 100% temp to 90 degrees, and made the fan spin at no less that 15%,
my fan is spinning at 50-58%.

Only 60c yes, but I could hit 60c with less fan speed if I was running at 500Mhz core, 750Mhz ram.

These cards are in a passive water-cooled system, so we are going for silence here.:rolleyes:

Edit: So it hasn't changed, I don't think the dual monitor-ness is affecting it.
I'm going to trying turning off aero next, but i'm thinking i'll tweak the bios some more and see what happens.

I'm still a little fuzzy on what states are what, meaning,
In radeon bios editor, I know what states 0-3 are,
boot up, no load, medium load, and maximum load.
but I don't know what 4-9 are for.
They are all set to 625-933 in my bios though!
 
I flashed Asus bios modified by RBE and now idling 160/500 at 52c :) Also I've done fan speed optimization recommended by RBE and my card is quiet now :) Thx guys for good solution ;)

5hf.png
 
MSI bios (or any of the others) refused to work on my ASUS card. I just downloaded RBE and modded the fan profiles and stock clock/voltage settings from my original BIOS so I hope to see some good results.
 
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