Can I flash a HIS 3870 ICEQ3 with a HIS 3870 Iceq3 Turbo Bios???

[alexp999]

Hi,
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I did look, so if it has, point me in the right direction, thanks.
I have done it before where i "upgraded" a 9550 to a 9600pro.

If it is possible:
1, Where is the best place to get the bios from (here [if so which one is best] or an official source??)
2, What is the best utility? (and win/dos?)
3, If it goes pear-shaped, can i flash the bios with the card in pci-e 2 and boot from another gfx card?
4, Does the turbo bios have higher voltages to make it more stable??
5, Is it better to use a bios editor instead?? (if so which one??

Cheers.

 

[CrackerJack]

Hi,
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I did look, so if it has, point me in the right direction, thanks.
I have done it before where i "upgraded" a 9550 to a 9600pro.

If it is possible:
1, Where is the best place to get the bios from (here [if so which one is best] or an official source??)
2, What is the best utility? (and win/dos?)
3, If it goes pear-shaped, can i flash the bios with the card in pci-e 2 and boot from another gfx card?
4, Does the turbo bios have higher voltages to make it more stable??
5, Is it better to use a bios editor instead?? (if so which one??

Cheers.

idk about the voltage, but i posted a thread on a bios editor. I should show the voltages i your card. Then just download the turbo bios then load it, if there isn't much of a difference. then i don't see why it wouldn't work.


http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=54163

 

[sandyman]

Hey alexp666, let me know how you get on as one of those in coming to me on monday! cheers!

 

[kup]

Hi,
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I did look, so if it has, point me in the right direction, thanks.
I have done it before where i "upgraded" a 9550 to a 9600pro.

If it is possible:
1, Where is the best place to get the bios from (here [if so which one is best] or an official source??)
2, What is the best utility? (and win/dos?)
3, If it goes pear-shaped, can i flash the bios with the card in pci-e 2 and boot from another gfx card?
4, Does the turbo bios have higher voltages to make it more stable??
5, Is it better to use a bios editor instead?? (if so which one??

Cheers.

1. http://rapidshare.com/files/97975342/HIS HD 3870 Turbo Edition
2. ATiWinflash or ATiFlash
   
3. Yes you can, put fragged card in second slot, boot from first PCI-E slot with another card and then, in my experience, flash from ATiWinflash because you can select the card yourself.
4. The Turbo bios has lesser voltages because the voltage is hard coded into the PCB from what I can tell, meaning no 2D voltage, just 3D 24/7.
   
5. I've been using the Computerbase.de Editor but I think they'll both be up to the job...

 

[alexp999]

What does the difference in using a modded bios have??

 

[kup]

This bios is the stock HIS Turbo bios but it had a divider bug so I fixed it (850 in bios set 837 actual so I edited the bios to 850.5 and now it sets the core clock correctly).

Different bios seem to overclock or have different fan settings. This particular HIS bios has INCREDIBLY aggressive fan control, any above 40c and it starts to spin up to about 50% and then literally goes up 5% for roughly ever 2c. For me this was the best purely for this reason, even with the increased overclocking abilities. I could have replicated them on any bios this one has the best cooling without 3rdParty apps, IMO.

 

[btarunr]

Yes you could. From whatever I know, the cards are identical with their components. You lose warranty though, because if in the future you apply for RMA and their engineers find out you're not using the BIOS meant for that product, it won't qualify. My advice: use the current BIOS, just OC the card to that card's parameters if it allows. Optionally consult the BIOS database, some Ice Q Turbo owner would have submitted his/her BIOS in the past, compare the BIOS files to see if it's just the core/mem clocks that differ or if there are some advanced timings/ other differences, modify your current BIOS and flash it....so that if you fry it and RMA the engineers at HIS inspecting the BIOS will find it to be running the stock BIOS looking at its version string and you won't have problems with the RMA.

 

[kup]

You can just flash back, even if the card is fragged!

And certain aspects of these bios are not editable by us yet, so switching the bios to a different brand is what is required to gain control over these.

I've been flashing bios for years, right now both my £200 Motherboard and £135 Graphics card are flashed and their warranties voided but if you know what you're doing you'll have no need for concern if the components die because you can just flash back and RMA.

I understand what you are saying in your post, but flashing one manufacturer made bios for another with a different Vendor ID is not going to kill the components. If you flash an entirely incorrect bios then that is your fault for not researching correctly first.

 

[btarunr]

We're dealing with two variants of the same cards here.

Edit: Use RBE for advanced parameter changes: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1013/TechPowerUp_Radeon_Bios_Editor_v1.07.html

 

[kup]

We're dealing with two variants of the same cards here.

I know we are, I was just generalising in response to your post.

 

[trog100]

the turbo appears i have a lower core voltage (1.3) than the HIS early reference type card.. at least according to RBE it does..

not a lot of sense in that.. but it seems the case..

see my earlier odd voltage comments..

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=54877

trog

 

[kup]

the turbo appears i have a lower core voltage (1.3) than the HIS early reference type card.. at least according to RBE it does..

not a lot of sense in that.. but it seems the case..

see my earlier odd voltage comments..

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=54877

trog

Does that stock voltage change if you edit the bios though? On my GeCube it doesn't. I can set 1.3v, 1.327v or even 1.2v and it makes no difference to the vGPU when reading using a DMM.

 

[trog100]

Does that stock voltage change if you edit the bios though? On my GeCube it doesn't. I can set 1.3v, 1.327v or even 1.2v and it makes no difference to the vGPU when reading using a DMM.

unknown.. i am guessing it dosnt.. a lower voltage and higher gpu speeds dont add up to me..

i would edit my gigabyte at 1.241 but i have no way of doing it with two cards in situ.. swopping them around needs a complete driver reinstall for some daft reason..

i cant be arsed.. but we are talking a whole bunch of testing.. edit the bios then volt meter test the volts to look for real changes..

i am guessing my gigagyte 3870 showing 1.241 is hard wired and the volts read (editor) dont mean much.. but i dont know..

trog

 

[DanishDevil]

DO NOT OC THAT CARD STRAIGHT AWAY. Make sure it can overclock to those speeds first. My HIS IceQ3 can't hit any more than 830 core without pencil modding it!

 

[sneekypeet]

seems like a lot of risk and effort to do what Rivatuner offers already...and no flashing or anythig.

Just set your own fan settings and clock it till it quits.

Only thing really needed is to flash for the 862MHz clock lock.

 

[DanishDevil]

And the IceQ3's don't have the clock lock.

 

[trog100]

and if without the volt mod it wont run stable past 862 there is no point in flashing ether..

trog

 

[alexp999]

Thanks for all your posts guys. I was just wondering, cus ati tool found the highest clock speeds as 870/1300 (well I dropped it a bit from the max). I can complete 3dmark on a speed of 860/1300 (850/1297 actual). But it never seems 100% stable. I.e it is luck if I finish 3dmark without crashing. Then there are some games which run fine and others which have to run on stock speeds. So i thought maybe the turbo bios has higher voltages to make it stable, and/or games and apps would not "think" it was oc'd if the "stock" speeds were that of a Turbo version.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers.

 

[DanishDevil]

Nope, the Turbo BIOS doesn't change the voltages. The max voltage I get on the multimeter messing with my BIOS is 1.30V, and the Turbo BIOS won't change that. Only a pencil mod or other volt mod. And you want to make sure the card is completely stable at speed before flashing, so I definitely don't recommend it.

 

[alexp999]

How come ati tool got to 870/1300 +, and got no artifacts. But overdrive sometimes fails at 800/1150???

 

[jammy86]

The turbo bios is much better. The fan control is much better that the non turbo bios.

I can get mine upto 891/1340 (as inputs so these drop a little bit) and it doesnt care. Cant get above that, might need a volt mod, might be ati tool... havent tried.

if you need anymore help pm me.

JAmes.

 

[trog100]

How come ati tool got to 870/1300 +, and got no artifacts. But overdrive sometimes fails at 800/1150???

cos atitool does a lousy job of find true stable speeds..

do it manually.. your card isnt stable period.. ignore all auto clocking tools.. they aint worth a wotsit..

these 3870 cards do seem to have a very wide "not quite stable" range.. playing games for few hors is the only real stability test..

an example.. my volt modded 3870 card.. runs furbench at a true 931 core.. runs a 2006 at a true 918 core.. but needs dropping to 870 to game stable..

without the volt mod things were the same but 50 or 60 mhz less..

real stable is way lower than what at first seems stable..

the 3870 cards do seem unusual in this not quite stable respect..

trog

ps.. if u want an unlocked default speed bios that runs the fan faster try this one..

 

[alexp999]

The turbo bios is much better. The fan control is much better that the non turbo bios.

I can get mine upto 891/1340 (as inputs so these drop a little bit) and it doesnt care. Cant get above that, might need a volt mod, might be ati tool... havent tried.

if you need anymore help pm me.

JAmes.

I know my card can run at turbo speeds, so do you reckon I should try kup's bios from above?? How do i check the settings he has applied to it?? And shall I use winflash??

Cheers.

 

[philbrown23]

yes you can both my cards are flashed with the turbo bios and they both run soooooo much beter atiwinflash is the best way to go.

 

[alexp999]

We're dealing with two variants of the same cards here.

Edit: Use RBE for advanced parameter changes: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1013/TechPowerUp_Radeon_Bios_Editor_v1.07.html

RBE just keeps saying please select proper video card??