The 4800 series Driver, OCing, Cooling and Tweaking Thread

[EastCoasthandle]

OK, time is almost up and we need to start up a thread dedicated to all 4800 series:
-Drivers
-Over clocking
-Tweaking
-Modding
-Cooling
It makes it much easier for anyone who wants to buy this card to find what they are looking for in one thread. Right now (at the time of this OP) it's a bit early. However, I am assuming that some internet stores should leak the card out early. Well, I'm hoping they do . In the meantime, keep this thread in mind as the card's release isn't to far now.

4870 Heatsink & View of Card Itself

Before




After
The heatsink looks pretty good. I only did a mild lapping to remove the discoloration in the prior pic. There are hairline marks but nothing to worry about IMO.







The OEM thermal compound impression looks good (nothing out of the ordinary). When removing the thermal compound it was a little dry but nothing to worry about IMO.





I took a measurement of the vreg heatsink (if it's called something else let me know). The holes measured 3 3/16" not 3 1/4". I tried my best to get that right so my apology.



Memory ICs used




Overall view of 4800


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STOCK COOLING

Idle temps at 500/900 after using MX2 thermal compound.



This is the temp at idle



Temps after 15 minutes of Grid racing in San Francisco track (most graphically challenging track IMO). The fan speed went from 22% to 26%, a 4% difference. The temps only increased 3C between idle and load. I can only guess that the minor lap and MX2 made a difference. I've read some reports that temps were much higher then 3C in 3D mode. However, I didn't take any thermal measurements using the OEM TC.



Idle temps after playing grid for roughly 25 minutes. Looks like MX2 needs cure time.



Fan is now at 65%. Idle temp is now 52C. I had trouble getting the profile mod to work using Cat 8.6. It didn't work until I use Cat 8.6 Update. That is a 37C idle difference. I have to admit though, that's pretty loud. Not a fan noise loud but air moving loud.



Temps after 15 minutes of Grid racing in San Francisco track. Temp was 58C but SS took it at 57C.

Ambient temps were between 30c-31c throughout the tests



Here is my results using 98% GPU usage. It would go to over 100% but then go back to 98%. I let it sit for a few minutes until the temps no longer moved. Temo reached 60% with the fan at 65%. Ambient temps read 29.7C.



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WATER COOLING

I was able to water cool the 4870 with a DangerDen Maze4. However, I still had to use the OEM front plate that the fan is attached to so I could properly cool the vregs. Although the memory ICs are "covered" the vregs are important to cool in this case. I was able to use the OEM heatsink bracket as I wanted to reuse it. I tested the contact between the Maze4 and GPU die using thermal compound and contact looks good. Below are some pics:


This photo shows the OEM bracket along with the Maze4.


This photo shows the back of the 4870 using the OEM heat sink bracket.


This photo shows that I used Neoprene & rubber washers between the actual heat sink bracket and the video card. This will protect the video card from damage.


As for temps, idle temps are 36C-37C and load temps at 98% GPU load is 40C after several minutes. I did find disparity between CCC's GPU load and GPU-Z GPU load.


Idle temps


Load temps at 98% GPU load. However, GPU-Z shows 96% load.




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GAMES

HD 2900XT 858/900



4870 750/1800



HD 2900XT 858/900



4870 750/1800


4870 750/1800 stock, CPU @ 3.600GHz



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FAN SPEED

If you wan to change the fan speed of your 4850/4870, etc then you could do the following.
-Start up Cat
-Unlock CCC's Overclocker
-review all you settings to make sure thats how you want to save them
-click on the profile tab and select Profile Manager
-select the items you want to include in your profile (3D is a must)
or
-choose "This profile includes: all cat control settings"
-Give your profile a name and save it
-open up explorer and go to: C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Local Settings\Application Data\ATI\ACE
-Starting with Cat 8.7 the folder is now located at: C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Local Settings\Application Data\ATI\ACE\Profiles
-you should find the profile you saved
-open it up with notepad, once you do you should find the following:

<Feature name="FanSpeedProtocol_0">
<Property name="FanSpeedProtocolProperty" value="Percent" />
</Feature>
<Feature name="FanSpeedAlgorithm_0">
<Property name="FanSpeedAlgorithm" value="Automatic" />
</Feature>
<Feature name="FanSpeedRPMTarget_0">
<Property name="Want" value="0" />
</Feature>
<Feature name="FanSpeedPercentTarget_0">
<Property name="Want" value="25" />

-change to
............<Property name="FanSpeedAlgorithm" value="Manual" />
Note: You can leave it on automatic. FanSpeedPercentTarget from 25 to 55 should still work. However, this will not fully help idle temps

-change to
............<Property name="Want" value="55" /> (or any other numerical value)

-save and exit the xml file
-go back to Profiles Manager screen, select your profile and select the activate and close
button
-close Catalyst Control Center
-play a game and see if the fan revs up.


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VOLTAGE TWEAKS (May no longer work on current cat releases)

4800 Series OC'ing Tool

If you wan to change the voltage of your 4850/4870, etc then you could do the following.

-Start up Cat
-review all you settings to make sure thats how you want to save them
-click on the profile tab and select Profile Manager
-select the items you want to include in your profile (3D is a must)
or
-choose "This profile includes: all cat control settings"
-Give your profile a name and save it
-open up explorer and go to: C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Local Settings\Application Data\ATI\ACE
--Starting with Cat 8.7 the folder is now located at: C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Local Settings\Application Data\ATI\ACE\Profiles
-you should find the profile you saved
-open it up with notepad, once you do you should find the following:

4870

<Feature name="CoreVoltageTarget_0">
<Property name="Want_0" value="1263" />
<Property name="Want_1" value="1263" />
<Property name="Want_2" value="1263" />
</Feature>

4850

<Feature name="CoreVoltageTarget_0">
<Property name="Want_0" value="1084" />
<Property name="Want_1" value="1084" />
<Property name="Want_2" value="1084" />
</Feature>

You want to adjust the the third line. For example from 1263 to 1273, etc. You are going to need to "experiment" with that to see if it offers you any gains. If the 4800 series is anything like the 2900 you should notice an improvement at higher OC's.

Side note: Don't mess with the memory voltage. Leave that at 0. Also, be mindful of this voltage increase, make sure you have proper cooling. Evaluate your temps using GPUz by paying close attention to the 3 temp readings. My suggestion is to keep the fan at 65% or higher. Increase the fan speed above 65% according to how much additional voltage you add. Also note that if you change the voltage it may boot up to that voltage change until you manually change it back to the original voltage setting. There is some risk involved doing this as there is no documentation yet on what method is best to OC these cards. So you do so at your own risk! If you don't feel comfortable, don't mess with the voltage settings!

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PROGRAMS

Make sure you have net .NET Frameworks 2.0 installed, reboot. Next install .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1, reboot. Finally, download and install Visual C++ 2005.

Keep in mind that MS Visual C++ 2008 is the lastest build and is compatible with .NET Framework 3.5
x86 version

If you use Futuremark's 3D Mark 2006 v1.1.0 make sure you have installed the February 2008 hotfix

You will also need the lastest build of directx using March 2008 update and install it in safe mode.

source


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Cross-Fire Tweaks

If for any reason a game doesn't properly function with a X2 or crossfire setup you can change the executable of that game to:
AFR-FriendlyD3D.exe
or
WarGame-G4WLive.exe or UT3.exe for unreal engine games


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Certified PSUs

For anyone wondering AMD does have certified PSUs



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Rebates

If you ever wondered if your purchase involves a rebate take a look at the MIR website.

[J-Man]

When is the 4870 X2 card out?

[ShadowFold]

I cant remember if the price of the 4000's were released? Specifically the 4870 as I am VERY interested in one!

[J-Man]

Originally Posted by EastCoasthandle

It should be officially announced tomorrow

OMG!!!!!!

[flashstar]

Originally Posted by J-Man

OMG!!!!!!

[erocker]

I'm watching that thread like a hawk! I'll be adding a bunch of info to this thread once I have my cards. I'm trying to get them as early as possible.

[KainXS]

I'm gonna get this one

[HydroIT]

That's the 4850.

I've heard rumors about 4870X2 needing 2x6 and not 1x6 & 1x8

[EastCoasthandle]

You were right.

Anyway, I got some updates.

The X4100 number for the GTX 280 was correct with the drivers at the time. Seems that NV was able to push it to X4800 with the latest drivers. They might add some more points when they enable PhysX on their GPU, but that kinda goes against Futuremark rules... since a PPU can assist for a higher score and not a GPU... this could add up to 1000 points in the CPU test... so we'll have to see what Futuremark decides about including the PhysX into the score....

But here's what you all wanted to hear.... According to the same source R700 scores about X5500> in Vantage.
Oh and my buddies at VR-Zone tested a HD4850 OC 700Mhz. P64xx score in Vantage.

Source


HD3850 scores ~P4100
HD3870 scores ~P4700
9800GTX scored ~P5851

[ShadowFold]

Why are they using vantage idk, is that 1000 point difference alot?

[Disruptor4]

This could turn out to be an intersting month.

[TonyStark]

Hopefully 2 x HD4870 in crossfire ends up faster than the GTX280, otherwise I'm switching teams this time.

[J-Man]

I plan on buying another 3870X2.

[dng29]

you too huh J-man. i have an asus 3870x2 now and i'm planning on getting another 3870x2(preferrably another asus). i'm concerned that stock of 3870x2 will be depleted and price will go up as it'll be rare. the reason i said that is because i saw the same thing happened with the 2900xt. i'm hoping the egg will drop the price of the asus 3870x2 to below $300.

[ShogoXT]

Im gona get the 4870X2 im ready for it NAO! I even have the money ready to go. Im going for the top of the line this time as ive never done it before... Watching newegg like a hawk and clicking as soon as it peeks its head in!

[Darknova]

2 4870s coming up.

Don't care about previews or any of that crap. I will be getting them, hopefully on release day

[erocker]

Originally Posted by Darknova

2 4870s coming up.

Don't care about previews or any of that crap. I will be getting them, hopefully on release day

I have my money set aside and ready as well. What brand are you going with?

[Darknova]

Originally Posted by erocker

I have my money set aside and ready as well. What brand are you going with?

HIS or Powercolor.

And I don't have money set aside, I just know I'm somehow going to get them :P

[ShogoXT]

I would get crossfire combos, but I was dumb enough to think that SLI and crossfire would be a fad more than a viable solution. So all i have is the one slot P965 board.

[EastCoasthandle]

VR Zone is reporting the final clocks to be as follow

AMD has informed their partners that the new launch date for Radeon HD 4800 (RV770) series is now 25th June therefore Radeon HD 4850 (RV770PRO) and Radeon HD 4870 (RV770XT) will launch together. AMD has also finalized the core clocks of the 4850 and 4870 cards and they will be clocked at 625MHz and 750MHz respectively. Radeon HD 4870 with GDDR5 is expected to perform 1.3x better than the Radeon HD 4850 with GDDR3

[tkpenalty]

Originally Posted by EastCoasthandle

VR Zone is reporting the final clocks to be as follow

1.3x.... disappointing.

[Darknova]

Originally Posted by tkpenalty

1.3x.... disappointing.

1.3x the 4850, we don't know how much better than 4850 performs over current gen cards.

[Winterwind]

RV770 has 800 SPs afterall
http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=285701

Remember how we told you that Eastern sources claimed that RV770 has 800 shader processors, not just 480 shader processors? When we look at the slide presented to us by a reliable source, we can only conclude that they were right. AMD evidently planted the stories of 480 shader processors (it's not uncommon for AMD/ATI to plant stuff). The slide tells us three things about both Radeon HD 4850 and 4870. First of all that they both sport a whopping 800 shader processors, but also the clock frequencies and they're individual calculation capacity measured in FLOPS. We've already told you that Radeon HD 4850 will launch at 625MHz and that AMD will clock the 4870 at at least 100MHz more, the slide says 750MHz.

Wish it was true

[Megasty]

Originally Posted by Winterwind

RV770 has 800 SPs afterall
http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=285701




Wish it was true

That is just insane. No wonder the 4850 is so much faster than the 9800gtx. 1 TF off the back. For $200 this wil be the best pp yet

[erocker]

Originally Posted by Megasty

That is just insane. No wonder the 4850 is so much faster than the 9800gtx. 1 TF off the back. For $200 this wil be the best pp yet

I think that chart is fake. I may be wrong though.