NEW BIOS FOR 3870 CARDS to fix 860MHz lock

[AzN]

You are missing out if you don't play Crysis.

 

[bryanW1995]

I'm not a big fps game player, but crysis looks so good that I'll probably get it anyway. I figure that I can use some of the tweaks that jag mentioned the other day and get a decent oc on the 3870 at 14x9 and play on high/very high. We'll see how the demo looks first of course

 

[SniperDaws]

Any newer reviews of the 3870 with the bios update, new 7.11 drivers and core and mem clocked upto the bollocks ?

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Azn
I just read it and it seems to top off at 877mhz core. Not much but still.

They've gone higher now but only up to around 900MHz...it seems more volts are needed now to get any higher. Gotta wait for ATITool to work properly now I suppose.

Anyone know if software voltage control is even possible on 3870 cards?

 

[AzN]

But it reads 877mhz.

 

[bryanW1995]

Thanks thilan29, while looking at your sig I just realized that I need to swap my hx520 with the 620. I'll do that when I install the 3870 tonight. (fingers crossed that 3870 is still on porch).

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Azn
But it reads 877mhz.

Go further into the thread. Rivatuner now reads 890...then another 902 screenshot.

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Thanks thilan29, while looking at your sig I just realized that I need to swap my hx520 with the 620. I'll do that when I install the 3870 tonight. (fingers crossed that 3870 is still on porch).

Yeah I was originally intending to get the 520...but then I heard so many good things about the 620 that I just decided to shell out the extra money for it. I still haven't got my rebate though...and this was from sometime in the summer. It is a REALLY nice PSU...quiet, 1 big 12v rail, modular, small compared to some of today's PSUs, and very efficient. Plus the 620 will come in handy if I do XFire. I never thought I'd do multi-card but it's actually fairly cheap now...although some of the problems may still be there.

 

[taltamir]

Some people here claim the bios comes from ati... So I gotta ask,
does this process void your warranty?

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
Thanks thilan29, while looking at your sig I just realized that I need to swap my hx520 with the 620. I'll do that when I install the 3870 tonight. (fingers crossed that 3870 is still on porch).

I am now holding it ransom!

 

[bryanW1995]

no you're not b/c my pit bull will eat your yap dog!

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
no you're not b/c my pit bull will eat your yap dog!

I have a panther now.

 

[Sylvanas]

Wow a Bios release by a manufacturer to increase overclocking? Thats got to be a first! One guy in the XS thread got to 902 core, but it seems it needs more volts, hope updated ATI Tool with voltage control arrives soon .

 

[Nedder]

Can we get some Crysis benches at default and 850-900 o/c?

 

[thilanliyan]

Updated OP with my flash. I'm at 890/1200 right now.

 

[bryanW1995]

hey, what are you using for stability testing? I tried CCC's auto-tune feature and locked computer up. every time I reboot now it goes to windows but freezes once CCC reloads. It of course locked up once I got over 862 core, obviously CCC is trying to load it over 862 every time it loads. I'm going for a system restore right now b/c I've had tons of problems all night with crysis, 3dmark06, ie7, you name it...I'm thinking about a fresh windows install.

ok, no more thinking...fresh install time...damnit...

 

[aiya24]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
hey, what are you using for stability testing? I tried CCC's auto-tune feature and locked computer up. every time I reboot now it goes to windows but freezes once CCC reloads. It of course locked up once I got over 862 core, obviously CCC is trying to load it over 862 every time it loads. I'm going for a system restore right now b/c I've had tons of problems all night with crysis, 3dmark06, ie7, you name it...I'm thinking about a fresh windows install.

ok, no more thinking...fresh install time...damnit...

can't you boot into safe mode and uninstall drivers?

 

[TC777]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
hey, what are you using for stability testing? I tried CCC's auto-tune feature and locked computer up. every time I reboot now it goes to windows but freezes once CCC reloads. It of course locked up once I got over 862 core, obviously CCC is trying to load it over 862 every time it loads. I'm going for a system restore right now b/c I've had tons of problems all night with crysis, 3dmark06, ie7, you name it...I'm thinking about a fresh windows install.

ok, no more thinking...fresh install time...damnit...

I think I remember reading in the latest driver release that the problem you described with the auto-tune locking up is a known bug, but not fixed yet.

Release Notes Link

"The Windows Vista operating system may fail to respond when running the Auto-tune utility found in the Catalyst? Control Center OverDrive? option. Further details can be found in topic number 737-30584"

 

[bryanW1995]

i'm using xp home, but it failed for me, too. what they failed to mention was that you have to uninstall CCC unless you don't have it set to automatically load upon startup...grrrr...

 

[Stoneburner]

anybody know when atitool will be updated?

 

[bryanW1995]

version.27 beta 2 is out I think.

thilan29, are youstill at 890/1200 or did you go higher? I'm at 860/1331 and all seems well thus far. I'm still hesitant to flash the bios unless there is a significant performance increase. 30 mhz core doesn't seem like enough to me.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Nedder
Can we get some Crysis benches at default and 850-900 o/c?

e6750 @ 8x375
1gb ram single channel
1440x900
all settings high
xp home
cat7.11, crysis fixpatch


860/2602 clocks

2xAA, no AF
25.22 avg of last 3 runs (I throw out the first since it's been 25% off on every card I've used)

2xAA, 16xAF
19.44

noAA, noAF
34.75

noAA, 16xAF
25.31

default 777/2252 clocks:

2xAA, no AF
22.56

2xAA, 16xAF
17.43

no AA, no AF
31.47

noAA, 16xAF
22.77

11.79%, 11.53, 10.40, and 11.16% increase in perf at the 4 settings by using the 860/2602 clocks, so let's figure around 11% real world performance increase.

I have no interest in 4xAA when 2xAA destroys perf so much. When I get my ballistix back from rma land and get my oc back up to 3.5 then I'll re-test to see if crysis REALLY takes advantage of extra ram/cpu power.

I hope that the fps improves...I really like playing this on all high now!!

unbelievable, checked out gpu temp immediately after default testing of noAA, 16xAF (left CCC on in the background). temp was only 47c!!! that is just stupid, I can barely heat my room with temps that low, much less the whole house like my x1950xt did!



moved this to a new thread on crysis benchmarks.

 

[ArchAngel777]

The hit from 1x to 2x is more than the hit from 2x - 4x generally... In fact, I doubt 4x would drop FPS much more than an additional 10% over 2X. This is with nVidia cards though... I am not sure what affect it would have the Radeon. Should try it out though!