Realistically, what are the chances of RX 480 flash failing?

[UnversedXI]

Got a day 1 4GB RX 480 from XFX, havent taken off the cooler but what are the odds of it not being flashable? or if it is, then the odds of it failing realistically. Everyone warns of problems but it seems to be more of a saving face thing rather than a likely possibility.

Asking because don't have a spare gpu on hand if it goes wrong ;o

 

[evernessince]

Very low if you used the DOS utility, much higher if you used the windows. A bad flash or flashing to the wrong bios can not only cause permanent damage to the card but it also voids your warranty. Companies like sapphire will still RMA the card but they will charge you a $30 out of warranty fee.

 

[Solaris17]

Got a day 1 4GB RX 480 from XFX, havent taken off the cooler but what are the odds of it not being flashable? or if it is, then the odds of it failing realistically. Everyone warns of problems but it seems to be more of a saving face thing rather than a likely possibility.

Asking because don't have a spare gpu on hand if it goes wrong ;o

its not a saving face thing no one is going to try and white knight someone elses stupidity.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/amd-ati-flashing-guide.212849/

you can brick your shit. smarten up and backup.

If your so inexperienced to not have a grasp of the risks than the chances of failure because of mistakes is higher.

 

[FR@NK]

Just do it already.

 

[INSTG8R]

Sorry if you're worried about flashing you shouldn't be flashing. period. Certainly not worth "playing the lottery" over if you're not even sure you should be flashing it in the first place. If you can't confirm it's 8GB you are just asking for trouble

 

[UnversedXI]

its not a saving face thing no one is going to try and white knight someone elses stupidity.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/amd-ati-flashing-guide.212849/

you can brick your shit. smarten up and backup.

If your so inexperienced to not have a grasp of the risks than the chances of failure because of mistakes is higher.

Saving face was probably the wrong phrase to use, i just meant clearing themselves of responsibility (I dont mean that in a negative manner either, that is the sensible thing to do). And of course i will take all the necessary safety steps so recovery is possible.

What i'm meaning to ask is- is the chances of something in the process going wrong high enough to where i should make sure i have a second GPU on hand so i can easily rectify any issues, or is it generally safe enough that i shouldn't have any problems but it's just important to be aware of the possibility of bricks and whatnot?


Sorry if i come across particularly ignorant or arrogant in the original post

Sorry if you're worried about flashing you shouldn't be flashing. period. Certainly not worth "playing the lottery" over if you're not even sure you should be flashing it in the first place. If you can't confirm it's 8GB you are just asking for trouble

Well i'm almost dead certian that its got all the memory chips on board considering the circumstance (Was purchased day 1, an XFX model which have been proven to be flashable, no other reference 4gb models seem to have been produced beyond the initial batches). I'm more concerned of the possibility of bricking through problems in the process rather than whether or not its truly a 8GB model that is bios locked to only 4

 

[Solaris17]

Saving face was probably the wrong phrase to use, i just meant clearing themselves of responsibility (I dont mean that in a negative manner either, that is the sensible thing to do). And of course i will take all the necessary safety steps so recovery is possible.

What i'm meaning to ask is- is the chances of something in the process going wrong high enough to where i should make sure i have a second GPU on hand so i can easily rectify any issues, or is it generally safe enough that i shouldn't have any problems but it's just important to be aware of the possibility of bricks and whatnot?


Sorry if i come across particularly ignorant or arrogant in the original post

Its hard to say, I cover multiple ways of recovering. Including not having a second GPU on hand. My advice to all beginners is simply to read the guide. Though most breeze through it. Make sure you have a backup of the current BIOS. Nothing should be that impossible as long as you have that.

 

[UnversedXI]

Its hard to say, I cover multiple ways of recovering. Including not having a second GPU on hand. My advice to all beginners is simply to read the guide. Though most breeze through it. Make sure you have a backup of the current BIOS. Nothing should be that impossible as long as you have that.

That gives me some confidence in going ahead with it Ill give it a shot after work tomorrow and ill be sure to report back how it goes. Thanks!

 

[Solaris17]

That gives me some confidence in going ahead with it Ill give it a shot after work tomorrow and ill be sure to report back how it goes. Thanks!

No problem best of luck

 

[Caring1]

Check the box the card came in, they placed a 4Gb sticker over where it says 8Gb, which indicates it is an 8Gb card.
Remember to back up your bios prior to flashing, twice is safer in case something happens to the original.

 

[c12038]

I take by the silence hes bricked his card

 

[P4-630]

Personally I would never do such, I would save up a little more cash for a 8GB version (and it really is just a little more).

 

[Tatty_Two]

For me the risk is less the flashing process, I have literally done hundreds and always use Windows without a hitch but it's more that the new Bios fits, any mismatch and it could be GPU heaven for the card, I have modded a couple of Bioses that went bad on the flash, force flashing back blind is no fun and not to be recommended for people my age as it has the potential to finish older hearts off fast

 

[SnakeDoctor]

Make sure got a UPS ...

 

[AlienIsGOD]

I take by the silence hes bricked his card

he said he would try after work tomorrow, you posted at 5:21 am today....give the guy some time to make some money at his job lol.

 

[alucasa]

He probably had a heart attack when his system wouldn't boot. Good job on killing him, guys.

 

[UnversedXI]

Personally I would never do such, I would save up a little more cash for a 8GB version (and it really is just a little more).

I bought my my card on release day for £175, you cant even buy them for less than £250 now Probably the only time buying on impulse has had a positive outcome

No problem best of luck

Well i just gave it a shot and didn't get very far :[ Tried formatting my USB with the HP tool (in administrator) but got an error and it seems to have killed off the drive haha. Windows recognizes when its inserted or removed but it displays all sorts of errors of how the drive isn't accessible when clicked on and can't be formatted with the built-in windows formatting tool either.

Hopefully that isn't a bad omen of things to come

Check the box the card came in, they placed a 4Gb sticker over where it says 8Gb, which indicates it is an 8Gb card.
Remember to back up your bios prior to flashing, twice is safer in case something happens to the original.

You was absolutely right, my mind has been blown (excuse the poor sticker removal LOL)

 

[P4-630]

I bought my my card on release day for £175, you cant even buy them for less than £250 now Probably the only time buying on impulse has had a positive outcome

I had the same thing when I bought my MSI GTX1070 Gaming X, bought it at day 1 and after that the prices went up in my country.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

either way you should join the RX series clubhouse https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/rx-480-470-460-owners-club.224352/

 

[Solaris17]

You can try opening disk management in a command prompt and wiping teh drive. Then you can try and rebuild it using RUFUS, which is a bit further down in that guide.

 

[UnversedXI]

I had the same thing when I bought my MSI GTX1070 Gaming X, bought it at day 1 and after that the prices went up in my country.

Aren't we lucky fellas! If i can get the flash to work, i'm actually tempted to cash in on the low 480 stocks and upgrade to a 1070 or used 980ti

Im loving the 480, but you can never have too much power

You can try opening disk management in a command prompt and wiping teh drive. Then you can try and rebuild it using RUFUS, which is a bit further down in that guide.

Oooo, i'll give that a try ASAP. I figure'd there would be a way to recover it. If not, then i don't mind spending a little money getting a new one and trying again in a couple days time

Update: Got the USB fixed up in command prompt (god using cmd scares the life out of me) but getting the same problem with HP formatting tool, so we're back to square one haha. Is there an alternative tool? Or a newer/older version that i could try?

 

[Solaris17]

Aren't we lucky fellas! If i can get the flash to work, i'm actually tempted to cash in on the low 480 stocks and upgrade to a 1070 or used 980ti

Im loving the 480, but you can never have too much power



Oooo, i'll give that a try ASAP. I figure'd there would be a way to recover it. If not, then i don't mind spending a little money getting a new one and trying again in a couple days time

Update: Got the USB fixed up in command prompt (god using cmd scares the life out of me) but getting the same problem with HP formatting tool, so we're back to square one haha. Is there an alternative tool? Or a newer/older version that i could try?

Not for the HP tool, just try RUFUS

 

[UnversedXI]

Not for the HP tool, just try RUFUS

Still no luck it seems. Even restarted comp a couple times and tried plugging the USB into the motherboard rather than the case front i/o but it hasn't made much of a difference. I'll try getting my hands on a new usb, or if i'm feeling ballsy then ill go against the rules of the guide and do it within windows (and hate myself when it doesn't work out )

 

[R00kie]

It seems that some extra-terrestrial force is telling you not to do it

 

[UnversedXI]

It seems that some extra-terrestrial force is telling you not to do it

Certainly seems that way, i should probably heed their warnings

Your avatar is absolute gold btw!