4870 Fans Constantly Revving

[McKrakin]

So, I got a flashed ATI Radeon HD 4870 off eBay. It's running fine, but it revs for every little thing I do. Every time I scroll on a webpage...It's revving for every letter I type. The faster I type, the louder it gets. If I watch a video, it runs at high speed. The X1900 XT was quiet compared to this thing.

It's like it's set to run the fan as high as it can for every little thing that happens. What do I do?

I also just tested it in WoW, and it was getting about 12FPS in Shattrath at full graphics. I think I remember my x1900 getting the same, if not better. Something's gotta be wrong. Now it's just constantly running its fans, and I'm not even doing anything. I'm on my Macbook. My Mac Pro is just sitting there, nothing but the Finder.

I'm also not happy with the speed it renders video compared to my dinosaur x1900 XT. Not worth the upgrade. Could the ROM they flashed it with be bad?

 

[MacVidCards]

If you can run Windows, you can modify fan profile there. Most 4870 cards get a ROM that is based on original PC card ROM. The fan profile is thus the original one tt came with card in most cases. If you look at first post in big 4870 thread, instructions for modifying fan profile are there.

 

[McKrakin]

If you can run Windows, you can modify fan profile there. Most 4870 cards get a ROM that is based on original PC card ROM. The fan profile is thus the original one tt came with card in most cases. If you look at first post in big 4870 thread, instructions for modifying fan profile are there.

Thank you. I'm guessing you're talking about this thread. https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/7808671/

This would be great if the card was recognized by Windows. Nothing but black. I booted Parallels to install the driver, but it won't install for some reason. Not even the Catalyst. It'll go through the installer, say it finished but with some errors, and I'll click finish and nothing.

What do I have to do?

 

[MacVidCards]

If you want REAL Windows, you need Bootcamp.

Parallels is the Mickey Mouse version. I don't think the hardware abstraction thing works.

Or move the Mac to the floor instead of ontop of desk.

But no serious Windows hardware tricks are going to work in Parallels. Bootcamp runs Windows on an Intel machine. Parallels is a Virtual World..and like a virtual Daisy Field, you can't smell the daisies.

 

[McKrakin]

If you want REAL Windows, you need Bootcamp.

Parallels is the Mickey Mouse version. I don't think the hardware abstraction thing works.

Or move the Mac to the floor instead of ontop of desk.

But no serious Windows hardware tricks are going to work in Parallels. Bootcamp runs Windows on an Intel machine. Parallels is a Virtual World..and like a virtual Daisy Field, you can't smell the daisies.

Yes, I'm aware. But when I boot real Windows, it's just black. That's why I said, "Nothing but black." So, I booted Parallels to see what was going on. It recognizes new PCI hardware, but it doesn't know what to do with it. I tried installing the drivers for it, but the installer just runs through, I click Finish, and I find that it didn't actually install. If I right-click on the desktop and go to the Catalyst, nothing happens.

My old ATI driver isn't even there anymore. I tried deleting anything that has to do with ATI, rebooting, then installing the driver, but nothing. I updated Windows as much as possible along with Boot Camp, but nothing is working. I've been trying to fix it for about six hours now.

Really, I just want to open the Catalyst so I can modify the fan settings, but it won't install.

 

[tmohr]

So, I got a flashed ATI Radeon HD 4870 off eBay. It's running fine, but it revs for every little thing I do. Every time I scroll on a webpage...It's revving for every letter I type. The faster I type, the louder it gets. If I watch a video, it runs at high speed. The X1900 XT was quiet compared to this thing.

It's like it's set to run the fan as high as it can for every little thing that happens. What do I do?

I also just tested it in WoW, and it was getting about 12FPS in Shattrath at full graphics. I think I remember my x1900 getting the same, if not better. Something's gotta be wrong. Now it's just constantly running its fans, and I'm not even doing anything. I'm on my Macbook. My Mac Pro is just sitting there, nothing but the Finder.

I'm also not happy with the speed it renders video compared to my dinosaur x1900 XT. Not worth the upgrade. Could the ROM they flashed it with be bad?

Hello,

Firstly I know this is an older thread but this is the only place on the net where I have found someone with the exact same problem.

I also bought a flashed HD4870 off ebay to replace my old Nvidia which had just died. I installed it and booted it up in OSX 10.6.5 and immediately noticed how loud the fans are. They rev up and down very annoyingly even if I am just typing in a form field (like I am now).

Did you ever find a solution or fix this?

Thanks for any help you or anyone else can provide on this forum.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[gpzjock]

If it is possible to install a 2nd ATI card in your Mac Pro, a HD2600 XT for example (it doesn't need a power cable), you could conceivably run Bootcamp Windows with it and reflash the card with a suitable ROM from the flashing guide thread. Ask Rominator's opinion about the best methodology, he is the expert here not me.
My last HD4870 only ever thrashed the fans at start up for a couple of seconds then went very quiet despite the caning it got from WoW.