amd hd 6870 overclocking

[evereffect]

ok so i was wondering.... i have an xfx 6870 and i wanted to overclock it but i need to use msi afterburner beta 3 with voltage control to increase voltage. so do i also have to flash my bios as well for it to work correctly? it does work without doing this, so ive noticed. im working with my clocks still. i had 1000 core and 1200 memory 1.25v but after like 2 hours of just idleing with full power no screen saver or power saving type of feature it crashed my system just sitting there lol i woke up to a restarted computer after my nap but ati tool passed my clocks with flying colors like 20 times in a row before this. any suggestions or answers are greatly appreciated. thank you

Edited December 8, 2010 by evereffect

[UT66]

i suggest you to leave your 6870 alone and go play some games. im going to do just that. by!

[wevsspot]

I wouldn't recommend flashing the vga BIOS on such a newly released card unless/until the manufacturer releases an official vga BIOS that specifically remedies a problem that everyone is experiencing.

 

Until then, just reduce your clocks a little bit and go play

[joel.monteiro]

If you want to oc ur gpu use this program its the best GPUTool,But im not sure if it support 6xxx series.

[sack_patrol]

Actually you can overclock your gpu and flash the BIOS despite how new it is. It doesn't make any difference. Of course it's all at your own risk, but it's pretty safe and time doesn't affect that.

 

I think that using the BIOS is the best way to overclock anything, and also the real way.

 

In order to overclock your graphics card by BIOS flash, you'll first need to find the maximum stable overclock through overclocking in Windows. For that you'll need a program like MSI Afterburner or Sapphire TRIXX which is the only one that enables Sapphires non-ref card voltage control. Since you're crashing with your current overclock you'll need to lower it a bit and then run a stress test like FurMark or 3DMark Vantage. After a small overclock (5-10Mhz) you should do 30 minute tests, and once you're happy with your results and want to see if the card is 100% stable, run a test for 5-10 Hours. After that's done you can get on with the flashing which I want to let you know, isn't necessary for an overclock but I like it the most because your card becomes permanently overclocked and it's as if those values were it's stock values making the card look bada$$.

 

In order to flash the bios, you'll first need to extract your stock bios and modify them. That is done using a program called GPUZ. Under the big ATI logo you'll find a small icon with a chip and a green arrow. That will extract your stock bios (make sure that while you're extracting you have your card's stock settings, not the overclocked ones). Save the file with the default name, and you now have your stock BIOS file.

 

Now you will need to modify the stock BIOS file with the stable overclock. For that you will need to download a program called RBE or Radeon Bios Editor. Once you have that, open it up and drag and drop the stock BIOS file anywhere on the window. Then you go into the Clock Settings tab and that's the only one you will need to work with. Later when you gain experience with the process you can explore options like the voltage control, and fan control which will let you get the maximum of your card, but for now you don't need to worry about it because it's not a big difference. In the Clock settings window, you'll be modifying the two boxes under Clock Info 03. That is the only place you will work in since the other boxes are different speeds the card operates on in different situations like 2D applications, 3D applications, etc. The Clock Info 03 is the clocks that your card runs on when it's running 3D applications like games. In the first box you'll enter the Core Clock of your final overclock, and in the second you'll enter the Memory Clock. The third box (voltage) will stay as it is. Now that you've set the overclocked values, you will extract the modified BIOS and save them. Click on File>Save Bios and give it a name that is similar to the stock bios and is easy to remember. Make sure you don't delete the Stock Bios since that will serve you if something goes wrong with the overclock.

 

For the actual flashing you'll need a bootable USB stick. In order to make one, download this program and install it. It will format your USB stick and make it bootable. It's pretty simple but you can read this guide if you have any problems. After you have your bootable flash drive, you'll add inside it the two BIOS files and remember the names or write them down. Along with the BIOS you'll add in the USB a program called AtiFlash This is what will flash the BIOS. So extract the files inside the USB and you should be set.

 

On some computers you'll need to set the priority of bootable devices from the motherboard BIOS in ordet for it to recognize your USB. In my case it doesn't recognize it ever so I personally disable the Hard Disks. It's also safer in a way.

 

After you manage to boot the USB using a method that your motherboard works with, you'll automatically end up in ATIFlash. Once there, you will type the following: atiflash -p 0 biosname -f, replacing biosname by your modified Bios file name that you created in RBE. After a few seconds you should end up with a flashed video card. It will ask you to restart, so just reboot the PC from the button since I don't think you can through DOS for some reason. Make sure that the flashing is 100% complete and that your power doesn't suddenly go out while it's doing it since you'll end up with paperweight instead of a graphics card.

 

This is how you flash a graphics card BIOS.

 

Be warned that as safe as it can be, a simple mistake can lead to disaster as I have already had cards turn into paperweight and the process of fixing them isn't pleasant, trust me. So flash your GPU Bios at your own risk!

 

Finally, if something does go wrong, read this guide which will explain to you how to flash your old BIOS if your card gets bricked (doesn't start after a failed overclock).

 

If you have any additional questions or doubts feel free to ask.

Edited December 8, 2010 by sack_patrol

[_TheAlexO]

Sapphire Trixx is a good tool for overclocking your GPU. btw