Radeon HD 3870 BIOS Thread (Changelog)

[joe23]

Hi All,

I am an owner of a GeCube Radeon HD 3870 X-Turbo III @ 810/1126 MHz default clock.

My question is, does an changelog for the HD 3870 BIOSes already exist?
If not maybe we are able to get the information together here in this thread! I hope we then can find good BIOS version(s) which are superb for overclocking, energy saving or generating little noise.

I like to start myself:

Model: GeCube Radeon HD 3870 X-Turbo III
GPU Freq: 810 MHz
VRAM Freq: 1126 MHz
BIOS Version: VER010.073.000.000.027243
Remarks:
- GPU frequency goes up to over 870 MHz without problem
- The fan seems to get a major speed-up at 70 degree Celsius
- BIOS seems to do undervolting (1.258 V) but does no frequency reduction of GPU frequency

This BIOS is already in the techpowerup.com database (http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?page=1&architecture=ATI&manufacturer=&model=HD+3870&interface=&memSize=0).

I invite all of you to submit your HD 3870 BIOS to the techpowerup.com database using GPU-Z (http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/).

Ed by W1zzard: Please do not submit modded BIOSes

[joe23]

Ooh, c'mon, no one interested in this? I can't imagine this. ;)

[Tatty_One]

Is there a new release of ATi Flash out that supports the HD3000 series yet?

[sam0t]

Yep the ATIflash supports the latest cards, can confirm as I flashed my Club3D 3870 with .67 BIOS to latest .73 provided by ATI.

That fixed the lazy fan problem but was so annoyed by the higher idle fan speed that flashed back the reference Club3D BIOS.

[trog100]

i have flashed mine a dozen times over plus with numerous bios using the winflash.. not the slightest problem..

i have settled for the bios now called "fanfix".. it makes more noise but targets 70 C instead of the default silent running 90 C ati bios..

i think the gecube turbo bios (havnt tried cos it wasnt available) might differ from the rest and not be compatible with normal cards..

trog

ps.. u are a bit late on the scene joe..

[joe23]

i have flashed mine a dozen times over plus with numerous bios using the winflash.. not the slightest problem..

i have settled for the bios now called "fanfix".. it makes more noise but targets 70 C instead of the default silent running 90 C ati bios..

i think the gecube turbo bios (havnt tried cos it wasnt available) might differ from the rest and not be compatible with normal cards..

trog

ps.. u are a bit late on the scene joe..

Yes, there seems to be something special about the GeCube X-Turbo III BIOS. I heared those cards don't accept other BIOSes, is this right?

[trog100]

Yes, there seems to be something special about the GeCube X-Turbo III BIOS. I heared those cards don't accept other BIOSes, is this right?

i wanted a bios to clock my fan speeds a little higher.. HIS and gecube make turbo cards with different coolers.. i sought one out..

its a while back but i think i got a "sub systems dont match" error when i tried to flash one.. so its possible the gecube wont mix and match with normal bios.. i dont know for sure thow..

your bios sounds a reasonable one.. so it would be no great loss to stick with it..

volt modding seems the way to go with these cards.. check the thread at the top of the page..

trog

[DanishDevil]

Found this while looking for info on the GeForce 9 series. Anyone ever hear about this "unlocking bios"?

http://www.geforce9.com/index.php?news=115

Although the AMD-ATi Radeon HD 3870 overclocks quite well, going from 775MHz to 860MHz just isn`t enough for some people. Before the card was released, many expected that with the new 55nm core the card�could reach 900MHz without breaking a sweat.
As we know the poor OC results are due to the new AMD-ATI function called PowerPlay, which optimizes energy consumption by switching between three different operating modes: 2D, low 3D and 3D, limiting the core OC potential.

The good news is that, if you want to go higher than 860MHz on the core, all you need to do is update the VGA bios. Once this is done the RV670XT in your Radeon HD 3870 will work with 900MHz clock. This might not be a mind-bloing improvement, but in this case its the temperature that limits the OC possibilities. Therefore the BIOS update should be mainly considered by enthusiasts with good WC solutions.

You can download the required bios HERE.

[nate39]

what would be the best bios for a Powercolor 3870 to be able to overclock past 860? thanks

[Oldjools]

Found this while looking for info on the GeForce 9 series. Anyone ever hear about this "unlocking bios"?

http://www.geforce9.com/index.php?news=115

If its this one it came out before there was even a tool to flash it :) Most modified bios' seem to be based on it including the '3870Fanfix'
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=166334

[trog100]

there are two nice ones here.. the fanfix and a 830/1200 unlock one..

both work with ati reference 3870 type cards.. some later partner modded cards can be in doubt..

trog

[nate39]

The problem I have with Winflash is there are no help files. Please tell me if I have it right. Hit the load image button and browse to where you have down loaded the bios file and click on it. I assume it will load it in the window.

I then assume the program button will then allow you to click it and that will start the process. When it is done and all seems well, hit save. Then reboot to see if you are out 200 bucks or not. Is this about right or do I need to know something else?

[sam0t]

Winflash is indeed really straight forward piece of software, it works like you described. The problem comes in when you try to flash a Bios from a vendor which is different than your card brand. IE. Try to flash ATI reference Bios to Sapphire card. This venture will come into a nasty halt when Winflash gives you an error about vendor mis match or something like that.

The latest Winflash does not have force flash ability, to my knowledge which is required to cross flash Bios files for different cards. In these cases you gotta use the DOS based AtiFlash which supports the force flash ability. I think I got this right, but do correct me if Iam talking trash.

Check out the TR excelent guide for Bios flashing:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/34

[trog100]

what i do is copyy the bios u wish to load in the winflash folder.. click load then browse.. the file shouldnt be hard to find.. he he..

select the file double click on it.. it loads.. then press the program button.. then wait.. it takes a minute or so.. it then pops up and say job done..

the save is only used if u want to save the existing bios.. if not there is no need to use it..

trog

[trog100]

Winflash is indeed really straight forward piece of software, it works like you described. The problem comes in when you try to flash a Bios from a vendor which is different than your card brand. IE. Try to flash ATI reference Bios to Sapphire card. This venture will come into a nasty halt when Winflash gives you an error about vendor mis match or something like that.

The latest Winflash does not have force flash ability, to my knowledge which is required to cross flash Bios files for different cards. In these cases you gotta use the DOS based AtiFlash which supports the force flash ability. I think I got this right, but do correct me if Iam talking trash.

Check out the TR excelent guide for Bios flashing:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/34

u are talkng trash.. he he he :)

it dont care what the vender is.. pretty much any reference 3870 card will take any reference card bios.. u can turn your msi into a saphire any time u like..

the only ones i have had problems with is the Gecube turbo it simple said sub system dont match.. i canceled the flash.. my 3870 card has been flashed twenty or thirty times with all the known names using winflash..

trog

[Lillebror]

Sorry if im bashing in here.. I got a club3d 3870 card, and i was thinking, is this - http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/5419/Club3D.HD3870.512.071226.html - a good bios to flash mine with? i got the first bios on mine.. Is it safe to flash that one?

[trog100]

dunno.. there seem to be three version numbers out there now.. the first ones were 067 and were 61k in size.. the slightly later ones were 071 and 64 k in size.. u could swop those about..

now there is 075 it seems..

VER010.075.000.002.000000

from the ones i have looked at all the 067 61k ones had the 862 lockup.. all the 071.. 64 k ones didnt..

all the early cards were ati reference cards.. now the partners are messing with em.. my knowledge with such newer cards is none existent..

trog

[Lillebror]

Is there one thats its safe to flash to? like a newer one of mine? i got the first 67 or something bios on it.. And a friend told me, that he fixed his dvi problem's by updating to a new bios

[nate39]

I have already loaded the two bios' trog posted into the winflash folder. What happens if you don't hit save? Can you test the flash by going into CCC and seeing if you can go over 860? If you can't and it crashes what happens to your bios flash? Should you save it before you try testing it or what? Also, how do you save your old bios? thanks for the help

[trog100]

save just saves a copy of the existing bios.. there is no way of testing the new one until its flashed..

after its finished the flash it will ask if u wish to reboot.. if a screen pops up the flash was successful.. if not it wasnt.. he he he

be brave.. make sure u have virus and firewall stuff turned off and your machine is stable.. as i say i have done it at least thirty times with my card checking em all out.. never a problem..

trog

ps.. just to add.. both bios will fix the 862 lock problem.. one speeds the fan up but leaves the default clocks alone.. the other sets 830/1200 as the base clocks and dosnt alter the fan.. both are based on the 071.. 64 k ati reference.. your card will show up as a saphire in gpu-z..

[sam0t]

u are talkng trash.. he he he :)

it dont care what the vender is.. pretty much any reference 3870 card will take any reference card bios.. u can turn your msi into a saphire any time u like..
trog

Yeh I knew my card was special :)

Seriously my Club3D (which should be 100% reference design) refused to flash with Winflash. Gave an error about "sub system mismatch" . This is weird as there are plenty of people out there who are flashing happily with Winflash :/

No biggie because the Atiflash does the job for me, but gotta give Winflash a go one more time.

ps. Seems like theres a new Bios out from Sapphire. Version is .77 , any ideas what it does ?

Link to the Bios: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/5394/Sapphire.HD3870.512.080109.html

edit:

Flashed the latest .77 Bios to the card. The fan seems to act similiary to the .73 Bios, idle fan speed is set to 40%. On a quick run of 3dmark06 there seemed to be less fan spin up/down occuring.

[trog100]

basically all my experimenting was done few weeks back.. back then they were pretty much all reference design cards.. the only time i got the sub system mismatch error was with a gecibe turbo which i knew wasnt a reference design..

how things have changed since the early cards i dont really know..

they could be pushing the cards out at stock with a lower voltage setting.. the last two i have looked at seem to say 1.3 volts for 3d.. even the higher clocked HIS turbo one..

trog

[Lillebror]

Everytime i try to flash my card, it says there is a subsystem error or something.. I tried with the 71' version of the club 3d bios

[Reco_St]

Yeh I knew my card was special :)

Seriously my Club3D (which should be 100% reference design) refused to flash with Winflash. Gave an error about "sub system mismatch" . This is weird as there are plenty of people out there who are flashing happily with Winflash :/

No biggie because the Atiflash does the job for me, but gotta give Winflash a go one more time.

ps. Seems like theres a new Bios out from Sapphire. Version is .77 , any ideas what it does ?

Link to the Bios: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/5394/Sapphire.HD3870.512.080109.html

edit:

Flashed the latest .77 Bios to the card. The fan seems to act similiary to the .73 Bios, idle fan speed is set to 40%. On a quick run of 3dmark06 there seemed to be less fan spin up/down occuring.

I also had version 0.73 but unfortunetly i found that it would sometime crash my games (Crysis mainly but also bioshock)or cause them to freeze up on me and i would get this message saying that i lost a driver . I wasent to impressed with my temps they seeemed to stay idel at around 65 -70 and in game they would go up to 80 - 85. very fustrateing:banghead:. Im also finding it not so great to overclock with CCC instaled. i use rivertuner with CCC unistaled .
I was looking at this new bios but there doesent seem to be any reall help on what it does or what it does differently then the .073 bios version. beside the clock speed being lowered and the volts.i would really like to know if this bios is better or not then the .073.
if anything pops up that raises a red flag for you about this new bios or even if it fixes some issues that you might of had with version .073 pls let me know.

also thanks for posting the link to the bios. I im running a 2 x3870 in crossfire atm.

[joe23]

Everytime i try to flash my card, it says there is a subsystem error or something.. I tried with the 71' version of the club 3d bios

Hi Lillebror, I am not sure I fully understand did you try to flash your Club3D card with a Club3D BIOS or a different one? Because the "subsystems don't match" error normally comes when you try to flash a BIOS of a different card manufacturer (e.g. you have Club3D and try to flash Sapphire BIOS).

BTW, I am still hoping to find a changelog for the different BIOSes out there...

[Lillebror]

I tried to flash it with another club 3d bios.. But anyway, i got it working, by flashing it with a sapphire bios :) weird, yeah, but its working :D

[Oldjools]

Everytime i try to flash my card, it says there is a subsystem error or something.. I tried with the 71' version of the club 3d bios

Problem is there is no 'force' option with the new Winflash which for some reason works for some & gives a 'subsystem mismatch' for others, I use Atiflash booting from a floppy my reasoning is that its easier to blind flash if something goes wrong & you get a black screen after flashing.

[joe23]

Problem is there is no 'force' option with the new Winflash which for some reason works for some & gives a 'subsystem mismatch' for others, I use Atiflash booting from a floppy my reasoning is that its easier to blind flash if something goes wrong & you get a black screen after flashing.

I also thought this but that's not the case! I found out that you can use ATI Winflash also within Windows and force flashing.
You only have to use the command line:

Enter "atiwinflash -help" at the command prompt and in the directory where ATIWinflash is located and you get a number of options for flashing/backing up.

I flashed my X-Turbo III with a HIS BIOS using this command "atiwinflash -f -p 0 filename" (where filename has to be replaced with the name of the BIOS file you want to flash).

joe23

P.S.: Please keep in mind that flashing can damage your card!

[Lillebror]

I was just looking around in the bios database, when i saw a sapphire with a 77' bios - http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/5394/Sapphire.HD3870.512.080109.html - anyone know what changed in it?

[trog100]

I was just looking around in the bios database, when i saw a sapphire with a 77' bios - http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/5394/Sapphire.HD3870.512.080109.html - anyone know what changed in it?

i dont think so.. least i havnt come across any comments.. try it and see.. he he

trog

[joe23]

I tried it but didn't see any changes, so I switched back to the HIS IceQ3 BIOS (v. 75).

[Mistral]

So, any word on the virtues of the Sapphire 77 bios?
I tried to see for myself but WinFlash gets me the "sub system mismatch"... Same it if I try the 73 version. And I have a Sapphire with the 67. Should be working fine, no?

Then again, the few extra MHz (be it 10 or a 100) I'll get from the new bios will hardly compare to what I got for unlocking my old 800GTO, so I wander if I should even bother.

[dolf]

So, any word on the virtues of the Sapphire 77 bios?
I tried to see for myself but WinFlash gets me the "sub system mismatch"... Same it if I try the 73 version. And I have a Sapphire with the 67. Should be working fine, no?

Then again, the few extra MHz (be it 10 or a 100) I'll get from the new bios will hardly compare to what I got for unlocking my old 800GTO, so I wander if I should even bother.

Guys it is normal to have "sub system mismatch" when using atiwinflash and trying to change the BIOS version. If you want to use atiwinflash just try to find older version because they have the option "forced flash" (you can check the box) and to flash different BIOS over the existing. The other option to avoid "sub system mismatch" is forced flash under DOS using atiflash with the following command line: atiflash -f -p 0 biosname.bin

[Oldjools]

Older version is no good as its not compatible with the 3800 series, just use the DOS command prompt & -f to force flash it with Winflash or Atiflash with a DOS boot disk.

[joe23]

Older version is no good as its not compatible with the 3800 series, just use the DOS command prompt & -f to force flash it with Winflash or Atiflash with a DOS boot disk.

I use following command in Vista command prompt window:

atiwinflash -f -p 0 biosname.bin

This works, you can even get a help if you enter atiwinflash -help in DOS box.

[Mistral]

Floppy died a while ago and I didn't feel like making bootable CD or USB. Hadn't realized ATIWinFlash would work with command prompt though.

Anyhow, flashed from 67 to 77 and here are my observations:
- card got renamed from "HD 3870" to "HD 3800 Series"
- temps are a couple of degrees lower, guess thanks to the 1.3V in the 77 bios, so now ATITool tops my card at 56C under load.
- overclocking is disappointment - ATITool goes artifacts wacko at 877, at 864 it's ok. Weird thing is before I could get the memory to 1260 artifacts free, now it starts to complain at 1215.

All in all, flashing it was fairly pointless. I hope we get a new 1.327V bios that does over 860MHz.

[joe23]

Floppy died a while ago and I didn't feel like making bootable CD or USB. Hadn't realized ATIWinFlash would work with command prompt though.

Anyhow, flashed from 67 to 77 and here are my observations:
- card got renamed from "HD 3870" to "HD 3800 Series"
- temps are a couple of degrees lower, guess thanks to the 1.3V in the 77 bios, so now ATITool tops my card at 56C under load.
- overclocking is disappointment - ATITool goes artifacts wacko at 877, at 864 it's ok. Weird thing is before I could get the memory to 1260 artifacts free, now it starts to complain at 1215.

All in all, flashing it was fairly pointless. I hope we get a new 1.327V bios that does over 860MHz.

Regarding the memory overclocking problem, perhaps Sapphire cards with .77 BIOS are using different memory modules than you card has and therefore your memory is not optimal driven with .77 BIOS.

[sam0t]

Iam looking for Bios that has 23% idle fan speed but ramps up the fan on load more than the older Bios versios. Anybody found one?

[borgfish]

hello,

i came here because gpu-z told me my bios was already in the database (6220.rom), havent found it there.
i already mailed the bios to the tech... given adress a month ago, still shows not up.
maybe the database needs a maintainer ? would be great if i could find a new bios for my powercolor pcs 3870 (i got v75)

anyways site called computerbase.de got an editor for bios mhz mods and also voltage. for those who care http://www.computerbase.de/forum/showthread.php?t=372893

[W1zzard]

there are about 4000 submissions to be added .. i have to inspect each single one for errors or intentionally wrong information so this might take a while as you can imagine

[borgfish]

i dont want to bother but this huge delay is not optimal, maybe you could add those to the database with special flags like "not checked, therefore own risk" and check them afterwards.

grüsse aus darmstadt

[W1zzard]

no people will break their cards .. also descriptions are VERY bad usually

http://img.techpowerup.org/080226/Capture1412.gif

people dont even know or cant type their manufacturer. look at how thin the scrollbar is.

then there people who upload 7600 gs bios and call it 8800 gtx.. or 9600 gt made by abit with mezza 5.0 memory

[W1zzard]

put your bios up: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/details.php?id=6220