X800GTO Flash: Should I force it?!

[iRONic]

Hola!

Sorry for the seperate post, but 'Search' won't let me find the other flash topics.

The flash to 16 pipes doesn't seem as simple as I've read. Here's a pic of what happens when I try:

Videobios

I bought the card in December from Newegg. It's a red PCB Saphire. Research here shows it should be modable according to the guides posted here and at ExtremeTech. ATITool verifies that.

ATITool one

ATITool two

I didn't save the original video bios file because I don't know it's name, hence my trepidation to force the new file. I'd prefer a recoverable situation in case the bios change force goes bad.

I hope my info is sufficient. Thanks!

 

[MDE]

Do you have a Sapphire GTO2 or a normal GTO?

I had to "force" the flash on my GTO2 and it works fine.

 

[iRONic]

GTO². There's a pic in my sig.

Thanks, MDE.

 

[Munky]

Always save your original bios before flashing. To save the bios, simply type:
flashrom -s 0 biosname.bin - you can name it to whatever you want

to flash the new one type:
flashrom -f -p 0 newbios.bin - notice I included the -f force option. It's ok to force flash, just make sure you have the correct bios.

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: munky
Always save your original bios before flashing. To save the bios, simply type:
flashrom -s 0 biosname.bin - you can name it to whatever you want

to flash the new one type:
flashrom -f -p 0 newbios.bin - notice I included the -f force option. It's ok to force flash, just make sure you have the correct bios.

Thanks, munky, but I don't know where to find the original bios file name.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: iRONic

Originally posted by: munky
Always save your original bios before flashing. To save the bios, simply type:
flashrom -s 0 biosname.bin - you can name it to whatever you want

to flash the new one type:
flashrom -f -p 0 newbios.bin - notice I included the -f force option. It's ok to force flash, just make sure you have the correct bios.

Thanks, munky, but I don't know where to find the original bios file name.

The flashrom.exe knows where to find it. You just have to type the command to make it save the bios.

 

[iRONic]

Ahhhhhhhh.

I didn't think 'biosname.bin' was the actual file name. Duh!

Muchos gracias!

 

[iRONic]

Worked like a champ! Running OC'd @ 480/570.

Thanks guys.

So, what drivers does everyone run?

I'm on the Cats that came with the card. The Omegas ran fine on my 9800Pro.

 

[iRONic]

Driver experiences/opinions. *bump*

 

[Steelski]

go to the ati website for the latest drivers.

 

[iRONic]

I know where to get 'em, I'm just looking for opinions people running this card have had with different driver sets.

 

[agathodaimon]

I use the most current drivers... Right now I have mine at 510/550 with the stock cooler & it works fine. Never gets above 55c.
The memory doesn't like to clock much higher, but I've had it at 570 with "some" artifacts. The core seems to want to go forever, but I really need the Zalman HS.

In ATI Tray Tools, my card reads as an R430 core X800XL, but with 16 pipes enabled... Do you think flashing the bios would
make any difference with this thing?

 

[iRONic]

Thanks for the driver info.

Interesting that your card is reported as an R430 core X800XL. Mine is reported as an R480 X850. Here's a pic.

There are many threads about this card here, but I don't know if 'Search' is working yet.

I'd research a bit more before flashing the bios as I understood it was a file specifically for R480 chips.

 

[iRONic]

Originally posted by: agathodaimon

In ATI Tray Tools, my card reads as an R430 core X800XL, but with 16 pipes enabled... Do you think flashing the bios would
make any difference with this thing?

Here's the mod article.

 

[agathodaimon]

Thanks for the link to the mod article... That really helps me out.

 

[iRONic]

Good deal. 'Search' is working here again too.