Can you update a vid card's bios?

[masterc]

I have noticed that some of the manufacturers have video card bioses on their download pages.
Can you flash the vid card's bios in the same fashion as the mobo bios?
Can you actually improve the compatibility or performance?

How about the GeForceMX's ??

 

[jcmkk]

Yes, you can flash your vid cards bios, but it is not recommended. It is sorta like updating the firmware on a HD, you can do it, but you may end up running into more trouble than it is worth. Flashing your cards bios will not lead to more performance. It is mainly just for people that have incompatibility with the vid card and somethig else in their system.

 

[Bozo Galora]

youre fairly safe to upgrade a bios FROM YOUR MANUFACTURERS SITE. Theres lots of proprietary stuff in these
bios that are lost when you flash with a generic nvidia bios. Thats where you really have to know what youre
doing. But there is still a lot more that can go wrong than with a mobo bios.

 

[RobsTV]

There is always a risk involved when messing around with your Bios.
Chances are, warranty will be void if you make a mistake and can not get old Bios back.
But, there are some good reasons to change or modify Bios.

Bios can be somewhat like drivers, in that a later version may correct issues.
Normally, a Bios is keyed to a specific manufacturer.
Some drivers will only work with certain manufacturers cards, so modifying a Bios can get around this.
You can also adjust the Bios you currently have, to change speeds and enable settings.
The following program allowed me to change the core and memory on my Visiontek GF3 Ti200.

NVIDIA BIOS Editor
It was 175/400, and now it is 200/500. Nothing else was needed, (such as Coolbits or Rivatuner.)

Before flashing Bios, always understand that you may have to restore old Bios blindly using only a boot disk.
I have never had a failed Bios flash, and I test all the time. But, it could happen next time. Just be warned.

EDIT:
If you are modifying Bios for things such as core and memory speed, first confirm your system can handle
the settings by running patches or software like Rivatuner for a while. You don't need to modify bios to
get speed increase. I have just had some minor compatability issues using coolbits or Riva tuner, and they
have now been resolved by simply adjusting Bios to speed I prefer.

 

[JagrPuck]

Rob, would editing the BIOS for a Nvidia Riva TNT with either the program you linked to or Riva Tuner help my problem with the card (actually onboard video) crashing full screen applications such as 'Age of Empires' ? If so, explain more please. I wouldn't mind knowing so I can fix my problem without having to spend some money and effort replacing or overriding this card and fixing this problem.

 

[RobsTV]

I doubt a Video card Bios update would help with AOE.
That's a 2d game that does crash if things are not perfect.
Usually crashes for me in systems that are CPU or memory overclocked near the limit.
Backing down overclocked CPU/mem seems to correct it. Or try increasing CPU core or I/O voltage.
And of course, always get the latest patch for AOE.
You may also want to tinker with Bios manual settings for "AGP Driving Value".

 

[montego]

RobsTv,
you wouldnt happen to have any working links to a Nvidia reference bios for a 64mb GF2 Ultra would ya?

 

[RobsTV]

For all your video card Bios questions, check out:
Guru3d Bios editor forum
You can find/ask for all the files and Bios needed at that forum.

 

[JagrPuck]

Rob, I have never touched my CPU's clock speed. My BIOS disallows me from accessing it, heh. Some say it is overheating, some say it is the card. Both are false, it is just crashing. I have played AoE for a while now so I have latest patches. How would I increase the CPU core and I/O voltage? And where would I find the AGP Driving Value? heh ...