Tuesday, July 5th 2016
AMD Retail Radeon RX 480 4GB to 8GB Memory Unlock Mod Works, We Benchmarked
Earlier this week, we heard reports of some early adopters of the 4 GB variant of AMD Radeon RX 480 claiming that their cards shipped with 8 GB of memory physically present on their cards, but their graphics card BIOS somehow prevented the GPU from addressing more than 4 GB of it. In its Reddit AMA, the company presented a vague answer to the question of whether such 4 GB cards are moddable to 8 GB by flashing it with the BIOS of the 8 GB variant, by stating that the ability to mod is restricted to review samples. This is both true and false. Short answer: retail 4 GB RX 480 can be flashed to 8 GB, and the modified card perfoms on par with the 8 GB variant.
AMD sent out review samples of the 8 GB variant, and to enable reviews to also put up reviews of the 4 GB variant, it sent a special BIOS that converts the 8 GB card to 4 GB, by reducing its address-space and memory clocks, perfectly simulating the 4 GB variant. AMD's claims of 4 GB cards with 8 GB physical memory being restricted to review samples was proven false when early adopters of retail 4 GB cards discovered eight Samsung 8 Gbit memory chips on their card amounting to 8 GB. We currently have an AIB partner-branded retail 4 GB Radeon RX 480 card which we bought online (invoice posted), and which we're using to prepare our 4 GB RX 480 review. We first discovered that our 4 GB retail card had the same exact Samsung 8x 8 Gb chips (including the same bin, specc'd for 8 Gbps) as the 8 GB card. We flashed this card with the 8 GB card's BIOS, and were successful in doing so. The trick here is to extract the BIOS of the 8 GB card with ATIFlash 2.74 and then transplanting that BIOS onto the 4 GB card. The 8 GB card BIOS image which we used, can be found here. Use at your own risk.
To confirm that this mod works, we first tested our 8 GB review sample with its untouched 8 GB BIOS, and used that as control. Next, we tested the retail 4 GB card with the BIOS it shipped with. Lastly, we flashed this 4 GB card using ATIFlash with the 8 GB BIOS, which we extracted from our 8 GB card using ATIFlash. We ran "Call of Duty: Black Ops III," on the three. This game can consume dedicated video memory beyond 4 GB at 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160).
The 8 GB control and the modified 4 GB to 8 GB card performed on-par with each other. The 8 GB control card produced 24.6 fps, the 4 GB to 8 GB modified card produced 24.7 fps. The 4 GB card with its original retail BIOS produced 23.3 fps. To make sure that each GPU runs at a predictable GPU frequency (usually thermal and power limit reduces clocks), we've set both fan and power target to maximum, which results in a constant frequency of 1266 MHz on both cards.
Also, to prove that the game-test (COD: Black Ops III) was able to consume more than 4 GB of video memory on the modified card, as it does on our 8 GB control card, we observed the "Memory Usage (dedicated)" graph of GPU-Z. The modified card was indeed able to address >4 GB of video memory on the card, just as it does on the 8 GB card.
In conclusion, flashing the reference 4 GB Radeon RX 480 to 8 GB works, if you're sure your card has 8 GB of memory physically present. Sadly the only way to know for sure is disassembling your card, which will definitely break some seals and void your warranty. You also need to be sure how to use ATIFlash correctly.
AMD sent out review samples of the 8 GB variant, and to enable reviews to also put up reviews of the 4 GB variant, it sent a special BIOS that converts the 8 GB card to 4 GB, by reducing its address-space and memory clocks, perfectly simulating the 4 GB variant. AMD's claims of 4 GB cards with 8 GB physical memory being restricted to review samples was proven false when early adopters of retail 4 GB cards discovered eight Samsung 8 Gbit memory chips on their card amounting to 8 GB. We currently have an AIB partner-branded retail 4 GB Radeon RX 480 card which we bought online (invoice posted), and which we're using to prepare our 4 GB RX 480 review. We first discovered that our 4 GB retail card had the same exact Samsung 8x 8 Gb chips (including the same bin, specc'd for 8 Gbps) as the 8 GB card. We flashed this card with the 8 GB card's BIOS, and were successful in doing so. The trick here is to extract the BIOS of the 8 GB card with ATIFlash 2.74 and then transplanting that BIOS onto the 4 GB card. The 8 GB card BIOS image which we used, can be found here. Use at your own risk.
The 8 GB control and the modified 4 GB to 8 GB card performed on-par with each other. The 8 GB control card produced 24.6 fps, the 4 GB to 8 GB modified card produced 24.7 fps. The 4 GB card with its original retail BIOS produced 23.3 fps. To make sure that each GPU runs at a predictable GPU frequency (usually thermal and power limit reduces clocks), we've set both fan and power target to maximum, which results in a constant frequency of 1266 MHz on both cards.
In conclusion, flashing the reference 4 GB Radeon RX 480 to 8 GB works, if you're sure your card has 8 GB of memory physically present. Sadly the only way to know for sure is disassembling your card, which will definitely break some seals and void your warranty. You also need to be sure how to use ATIFlash correctly.
110 Comments on AMD Retail Radeon RX 480 4GB to 8GB Memory Unlock Mod Works, We Benchmarked
You better tell that to people buying the cards from newegg!
The very first post is of someone unlocking the memory on a non reference card.
I got my Sapphire RX 480 4GB yesterday (in germany for 219€ from Alternate) and this published test gave me confidence in trying the 8GB bios. Worked like a charm. But i think the days of the reference 4GB version are counted. Only hours after i ordered mine (early monday) it disapeared from all online shops (not even listed as out of stock) in germany and even the marked up offerings from ebay are gone.
Furthermore i want to add: My GPU voltage in the highest power state is only 1.03x volts (forgot the last digit) at stock settings and my power draw is correspondingly lower.
Best regards,
a very happy RX 480 4to8 GB owner
Same difference, is buyer scammed by not being privy to information of RX480 download more memory upgrade, when he or she is buying 8 GB model? No. Do they feel scammed? Possibly ... but thanks to w1zz the information came early enough.
low end card? not really. this is a perfect 1080p card, and a good bargain for 1440p, depending on the title. Plus it's not limited to single GPU config for future upgrades and the company is not asking you a shitload of money for the 4GB memory difference. $30 is a minuscule difference if you compare it to NVIDIA's 780's 3GB vs 6GB price difference which was more than $100.
I once got myself the 6950 Toxic which had the 6970 bios on the second switch position. While not 100% guaranteed, which was stated on the box, it did work as intended. I got it at a time already newer revisions of the 6950 pcb did not unlock anymore so I "payed" off the risks. While having a bios switch on my 7970Ghz, it proved useless since any modification made to the bios simply did not unlock anything or changed voltages etc.
This was rather disapointing for me, as is the lack of a bios switch on my 390, which otherwise would give me a "safe" crack in unlocking extra shaders if at all possible.
Anyway, no such thing as a scam, just an extra bonus for those willing to roll the dice and gain some extra memory. Tweakers galore, a nice extra for those that like to tweak and take a chance.