Having problem updating BIOS for Gigabyte OC GTX 670, anyone updated theirs?

[poohbear]

hey all,

I'm trying to update my Gigabyte GTX 670 (GV-N670OC-2GD) to the latest F13 bios (released March 2013), but when i try to do it with the Gigabyte's VGA utility "@ Bios" it tells me the Bios attempt failed and i'm using the wrong bios? I'm certain its not the wrong bios, i updated before to the F4 bios (my card came with the F2 bios), so why isn't it updating this time? I'm using the latest download of the VGA @ Bios utility (ver 5.1) that i got from the Gigabyte link, so that's not the issue. What am i doing wrong? How do i update to the F13 bios correctly?

Here is the link to the Bios page of my card:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4211#bios


There are some not so clear instructions about using the correct bios file for your vbios, but i can't make out what they're trying to say? here are said instructions:

"Please note:

You can only update to a VBIOS version of the same series.

If your VBIOS version is:

F1, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F2-F9.

F10, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F11-F19.

F20, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F21-F29.

etc."

What does that even mean? very vague indeed! are they saying that my vbios (which i assume was F1 originally because it shipped with F2) can't take the F13 bios because its a different version? but i don't see a March/2013 updated bios for my version!


thanks in advance for any help!

 

[bshole]

It says the following...

V13 is for Memory Clock : 1502MHz

V4 is for Memory Clock: 6008MHz

Does that mean that the bioses are for physically different cards with different clocks?

 

[tarmc]

different pcb revisions possibly? o had no issue updating mine


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[Tommy1983]

I think 1502mhz is the core clock. 1502mhz x 4 = 6008mhz effective clock speed.

 

[poohbear]

different pcb revisions possibly? o had no issue updating mine


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So you updated to F13? from which bios? I have rev 1.0, i bought it when it first came out, but not sure if that's the issue.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Are you having problems with your card? Why do you want to put the newer BIOS on it?

 

[poohbear]

Ive had no problems, but i wonder if the occasional(yet still rare) crash is driver related, bios related, or overclock related. Nice to remove one element from the equation, especially when the bios update promises "better game stability" as one of the update's highlights.

 

[Termie]

Most of the gtx670 bios updates simply reduced boost. The increased stability came from avoiding situations where voltage dropped before clocks, which would lead to a crash. To do this, clocks generally don't boost as high in the first place.

If you try to do this, just keep in mind that there's no way this will help your overclock get higher. It will likely drop, but could become more stable.

Honestly, I'd just try to figure out what your stable overclock is. Sounds like you're clocked too high. Easy test is Unigine Heaven. Not stable there means your not stable, even if many games work.

 

[poohbear]

Thanks Termie, i ahven't overclocked it as i never felt the need to, its already fast on all the games i play. So good to know the bios update regulates the boost feature.

Here's the official reply from Gigabyte i got just incase anyone googles this issue and comes across this thread:


"Dear Customer,

If your card came with F2 you cannot update to the F13 as that is not the correct
bios for your card. Cards running F2 bios should only use F4 as that is for your
card. The F13 is for cards running the F12 bios."

So there u have it, there seems to be different PCBs of the Gigabyte OC GTX 670 and both need a different bios update. cheers.

 

[tarmc]

kinda figured it was a pcb rev. happy flashing


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[timma]

That's not correct instruction. I told with gigabyte's RMA center before. the first number after English letter stands for PCB version and specific component update. so you can't flash F2 BIOS a card running F1 BIOS.

Correct instruction should be :
If your VBIOS version is:

F1, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F1X-F19.
F20, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F21-F29.