Sapphire HD 4870 bios flash - how do I know that the update was performed???

[Epsilonn]

Hi all!

It is known that Sapphire(I don't know about the other brands) released a bios update for HD4870. I performed the update and everything was exactly as in the pdf file they uploaded along with the bios(in the pdf file they explained how to correctly flash the bios under pure DOS).I did the update because my card had the same number on the back of its box as the number displayed on Sapphire's site.

Now....how do I know that my bios actualy changed....I mean I want to see numbers, letters but in CCC everything is the same as before the flash and the same thing I could say about GPU-Z.

In the pdf file there are some pictures with the PC screen in DOS and the way things should look like after the flash. What's weird is that those screens show some lines in which the old bios version is the same with the new one. There are some other lines that point out that all the characteristics of the old bios are the same with the new one(release date and some other numbers).

Is this the way it's supost to be?

PLS someone who could give me a straight answer because I just spent a lot of time today to learn how to perform the update because I didn't have any floppy and no usb stick.....

Thanks in advance!

 

[nafets]

I posted this answer over on your other thread @ the Guru3D forums. Not sure which one you'll see first.

1. Download Atiwinflash 2.0.1.7. No installation needed.

2. Run Atiwinflash. In the "ROM details" section there is a line called "Current VBIOS". You should see the following; P/N 11X-1E8501SA-001. If so, then congratulations, you have successfully flashed your HD4870 512MB with a new BIOS.

If you can't get Atiwinflash working for some reason, the following is another way to check your current BIOS.

1. Download GPU-Z 0.3.3. It's a single file, with no installation needed.

2. Run GPU-Z. Under the large ATI icon you should see a small button with a green arrow on it. Click the button and select "Save to file...". A window will pop up prompting a save location; hit "Save". Another window will pop up confirming the save; hit "Ok". You should have a file named "RV770.bin" which is your current BIOS.

3. Download Radeon BIOS Editor 1.20. It's a single file, with no installation needed.

4. Run Radeon BIOS Editor. At the bottom left there is a button name "Load BIOS...". Click on it and select the "RV770.bin" file.

5. In the "BIOS Information" section there is a line called "BIOS version string". You should see the following; 11X-1E8501SA-001. If so, then congratulations, you have successfully flashed your HD4870 512MB with a new BIOS.

 

[Hysteria]

I thought I was going mad.

I was sure I just read this on Guru forums...lol.

Thanks for confirming I've not cracked up

 

[Epsilonn]

@nafets, thanks for the instructions but I allready did those things before proceeding with the bios update....what I do not understand is why I have the same bios version/release date as befor the flashing....everything says it is like before the flashing....even though on the box of my card there is the serial number that points to the buggy version of bios.

 

[Epsilonn]

What about the pdf file I wrote in my first post. Isn't that strange?

 

[nafets]

If the BIOS versions and dates are the same, then you just flashed your card with the same BIOS.

Nothing else you can do.

That BIOS update on Sapphire's page is for older initial release cards which did come with a buggy first BIOS. I'm guessing your card already came flashed with the newer BIOS.

No big deal...

 

[Epsilonn]

What about the serial number on my box?
What about the fact that in the pdf file they shown some screens in which the old bios had the same characteristics as the new one???Exactly the same and exactly the same thing was on my screen after the flashing, same numbers, etc...but why is it this way? Sorry for asking too many questions but I need to now because this is very important to me as I spent a lot of time before flashing...

 

[Epsilonn]

They released the bios on 13 october. Why is the release date in Bios Editor shown as 8 september(as it was before the flashing because it seems that old bios=new bios)???

 

[nafets]

Serial number? That has no bearing in the BIOS. Each video card has it's own specific serial number. You're confusing serial number with the SKU# (11133-00-XXR). The box has this SKU# on it, so you figured to flash your card with this "new" BIOS. The only thing is that your card already had this "new" BIOS on it.

I checked out the PDF. Basically Sapphire flashed a card with the same BIOS it already has. Not great for demonstration purposes, but rather just to show what the end user should see during the flashing process.

RBE shows a date of Sept 8, because that's when the BIOS was made. Sapphire didn't make it available on their website until Oct 13.

The only comparative information that matters, with regards to BIOSes is;

BIOS date/time (ex... 09/08/08 06:32)
BIOS version string (ex... 11X-1E8501SA-001) - This is seen as "P/N" in Atiflash.

and to some extent

AtomBIOS version (ex... 011.010.000.002.029896) - This is seen as "BIOS version" in Atiflash

As I said before, you just flashed your card with a BIOS that it already has. That's why everything looks the same.

 

[Rexter]

Ive made a thread some months ago, when the 4870 was first released. I bought a 4870 from sapphire which had graphical artifacts when certain shaders were activated. That bios update was a fix for that specific SKU of 4870. Later models had a blue PCB which were fixed from factory.

doesnt sound like OP needed to update the bios in the first place.

 

[nafets]

I'm probably confusing the hell out of you. I'll try again.

The SKU# never changes. For your card it's always 11133-00-XXR.

The BIOS date/time can change depending on BIOS. For your card it's 09/08/08 06:32.

The BIOS version string (P/N) can change depending on BIOS. For your card it's 11X-1E8501SA-001.

The AtomBIOS version (BIOS version) can change depending on BIOS. For your card it's 011.010.000.002.029896.

----------

Some users with your card (SKU# 11133-00-XXR), may have received initial units that came with a faulty BIOS. The BIOS would have had the following example settings;

BIOS date/time - 07/04/08 02:51.

BIOS version string (P/N) - 11X-1E8501SA-001.

AtomBIOS version (BIOS version) - 011.010.000.002.029553.

If those users were having problems and flashed to the "new" BIOS made available by Sapphire, only the BIOS date/time and AtomBIOS version (BIOS version) would change, with the BIOS version string (P/N) remaining the same.

Any card (SKU# 11133-00-XXR) released after Sept 8 probably would have the "new" BIOS already, so the end user wouldn't need to flash their card upon arrival...

 

[Epsilonn]

Ok, thanks for the answers @nafets. So I should consider all this as a little error from Sapphire( the pdf file etc.)
Well, actually, I never saw artifacts but THE WHOLE SYSTEM crashed while playing GTA 4 once and a few times only the game with the possibility of ctrl-alt-tabbing. It crashed a few times in Fallout 3 and in Gothic 3. All this games had the latest patches. I just thought it was the bios of the card. Maybe the games are buggy, I do not know. What scared me a lot is that the whole system crahed on me once while playing GTA 4. Thatțs why I started in the first place with the flashing.