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BIOS update for PowerColor HD 4870 PCS+

weta

weta

weta

Associate
Joined
24 Feb 2004
Posts
655
Location
England
Last year I purchased a PolorColor HD 4870 PCS+ from the forums. Unfortunately I didn't realize this particular product had a fan problem so I've been unable to use it. Does anyone living in the London area have the correct BIOS for this card, and how much would you charge to install it?
 
Weta

If I lived near you I would come over and do this for free but I'm miles away so I'll give you the instructions here, it's not complicated really.

If you don't know how to make a DOS bootable USB memory stick then do this, otherwise skip to to b)...


a) To create a DOS bootable USB memory stick, download Unetbootin...

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Run it, at the top select FreeDOS. At the bottom select the drive letter of the USB memory stick. Everything on that memory stick will get wiped so make sure you've backed up what you want.


b) Download and extract this to your USB stick...

http://www.dataland.com.cn/bios/hd4870a.rar

...boot into DOS, go into the hd4870a folder and then type hz.bat

That will flash your Powercolor PCS+ 4870 with a bios that has a fixed fan profile. Restart the PC and once you're back in Windows you might find that you have to reinstall the ATI drivers again, this is normal, do not freak out :)
 
Thank you for the quick reply and for the details on how to flash the card. I'll buy a USB memory stick and give it a go. Just out of interest if I screw this up is that the end of the card or can it be reflashed?
 
weta said:
Thank you for the quick reply and for the details on how to flash the card. I'll buy a USB memory stick and give it a go. Just out of interest if I screw this up is that the end of the card or can it be reflashed?
Click to expand...
yes. it would be better to use a second card if your motherboard as 2 pcie slots to reflash so you can see what your doing.
 
Email me in trust with your bios, and i will modify it and fix it. for better fan profileing if you want or dont trust yourself.

just send me your original bios, grab your bios with GPUZ
 
Thanks, I'll do that, what's the proceedure for reinstalling the modified BIOS?

I've removed my X1900 XTX and installed the HD 4870. The fan starts up for a couple of seconds and then shuts down. I've updated the drivers from 9.3 to 9.7. The 9.7 drivers have a manual setting for the fan which I set to 32% and then to 25%. At 32% the temp dropped from 66c to 42c in 2D at idle and 44c in 3D under load which doesn't sound right to me. Surely there should be a higher increase in temp. I'm also getting 42c at idle with the fan set at 25%, haven't tried 3D under load yet.
 
Oh my god mate, Powercolor really screwed your card up big time.
not only was your fan profile busted to hell

but there was no ATI POWERPLAY functionalty at all
not only that

but every voltage change was set to 3dclocks no 2dvoltages or anything everything was running SUPER DUPER HOT.

i should have your bios complete in a hour

here is a picture showing the disaster bios that is your powercolor card lol i will fix it though :)

32170060.jpg
 
ViRuS2k Thank you very much for sorting out the BIOS for me. There were a lot of complaints about this card when it was first released, can't understand how PowerColor allowed a card(s) to be shipped with those settings. At 2% the fan won't even spin up, all you get is a weird buzz from the card. I've spent 10 months trying to get PowerColor to sort this out, which they refused to do and I get it done in one afternoon on the forums. First and last time I ever buy a PowerColor product, worst customer support I've ever encountered in my life.

Would someone kindly advise the simplest and most reliable way of getting my modified BIOS back into the card. Thanks
 
weta said:
Would someone kindly advise the simplest and most reliable way of getting my modified BIOS back into the card. Thanks
Click to expand...

You would still need that DOS bootable USB memory stick. Flashing whilst in windows can be done but it is recommended to do it in DOS.
 
Can I do it from a CD/DVD instead, or should I just order a USB memory stick?
Can anyone recommend a site that explains the full procedure in layman’s terms please?
 
bodybag said:
If i send you my powercolor 4870 512mb bios, can you look/fix mine?
Click to expand...

Sure, email me your bios in trust. :)

P.s i dont recommend anyone flash in windows. few times the program has been dodgy and locked up at the begining of the flash and i have had to recover.
 
Last edited:
ViRuS2k said:
Sure, email me your bios in trust. :)

P.s i dont recommend anyone flash in windows. few times the program has been dodgy and locked up at the begining of the flash and i have had to recover.
Click to expand...

how do I send you this in trust?, I cant see the option to send an attachment.
 
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Mind if mail you my Sapphire 4850 512Mb BIOS to check its not dodgy?

By the looks of my limited research the fan settings are a bit odd (its set to idle the fan if the temp drops under 69c which seems rather high to be)
 
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