8800gt EFI64 ROM

[mrcandy]

So you'd say (from what I skimmed in the other thread) that 700Mhz is the safe limit for overclocking a PC 8800 GT. How do I go about actually doing this so that it sticks in OS X?

Someone else posted saying that any 8800 ever made was capable of running at 700MHz, but no reference for that claim was provided. However, the card I'm using is marketed as a 'stock' 600 MHz 8800, and it is certainly capable of running at 700, so their claim is certainly true for me. There's a couple of other people now reporting success with OC'ing and nobody is at less than 700.

You need to flash the changes into the ROM to make them work in OSX. Check this thread in post #35 for the ROM image, #44 for the flashing instructions, and #109 for how to flash using the MP. To edit the ROM image you'll need to download NiBiTor.

Does this work with the Apple standard card, too? That would be amazing and I don't see why it wouldn't.

Two 8800 GT... 700Mhz each...In OS X.

I don't see why it wouldn't work just as well with an Apple card. The only consideration might be a backup plan in case you flash the card with too high an OC. It's easily fixed by flashing it back, but to do so you would need to either i) flash blind, ii) flash in MP while using a different video card, or iii) have access to another PC in which to flash the card

 

[cmturner2]

I guess another question is 'has anyone tried the overclock with the Apple 8800GT'?

I'd be surprised if it didn't work.

 

[thagomizer]

There's a couple of other people now reporting success with OC'ing and nobody is at less than 700.

mrcandy: thanks for finding and posting the relevant tools. Just another data point, my card is now at 700/1620/1000, and stable. It was originally factory set to 650/1620/950.

 

[antsh]

Hey guys its me again, and with all this talk of overclocking I had to chime in. Even though I am using my XFX 8800GT with a PC at the moment, I can explain to you guys how to get it to stick using the bios of the card.

What you will need is access to windows somehow, be it through bootcamp or a VM. You then need to get a program called Nibitor 3.7a. It can be easily found using google. You then open up the rom file for the 8800GT bios using the program. I recommend opening the rom file and not trying to read it from the card, as this will avoid more possible issues. The first tab that you will see will be the clockrates tab. It should have a set of clocks for 2D and a set for Extra. Change the values in the Extra field to whatever you desire (read: that you know to be safe and working). Save the file, and use nvflash again to flash the new bios back to your card. The card should now run at your new speed.

Now, for the more adventurous people out there, you can also raise the voltage of the card very slightly using this program. This will give you a very small boost in overclocking. What you need to do is go to the voltages tab, go to the exact tab and select 1.1V (default for these cards is 1.05V. Save and flash as above.

Regarding how far these cards will overclock, it is really up to luck. Most cards online seem to do fine up until 700 core and 1000 (2000 DDR) memory. I was lucky and at stock voltage my card does 730/1728/1000. At 1.1V it does 750/1836/1000. I never tried to push the memory since it has a very small effect on performance and the chips these cards use are 1.0ns.

If you guys have any further questions, post them up and I'll do my best to answer them, or PM me if you want.

Oh, and one more thing, I will be looking to sell my card in a week or two, so if you guys are interested, let me know and I will preflash it with the Mac bios and the clockspeeds you want before I ship it off.

 

[Ikyo]

I tried running mine at 700:1600:1000 and the card ran great for a little bit. After about 4 or 5 hours, it caused crashes in Mac OSX. I moved the speed down and haven't seen an issue since.

 

[sweedigel]

Hi,

I just received my Jetway 8800GT this morning. I put it in the SLOT1 and my original RadeonHD in the SLOT2.
I powered on the Macpro, and there was a loud strident noise, so I quickly stopped it.
Maybe it happened because I didn't use any additionnal power cable on the GeForce ? I thought it was possible to use the card without it as long as it's not running a 3D app.
And If I use the two molex connectors on the optical bay, I'll not be able to use my optical drive as well.

 

[aLoC]

Yup, the high-pitched squeal is from not connecting the extra power. It happened to me but no permanent damage.

If you get a molex splitter (which nearly any computer shop will have) you can split the lower optical drive molex in to two connectors.

 

[GotPro]

Ok... I've read almost all the posts in this thread... and I'm still a bit confused.

I'm sorry up front for the idiocy...

I have the 2.8 Quad and 8800GT...

If I edit the bios with the tool in windows, increase the clock rate, boot off the CD, flash the new firmware...

AND WILL THE HIGHER CLOCK RATES BE RETAINED IN OS X???

Thanks in advance...!!!

 

[Pressure]

Ok... I've read almost all the posts in this thread... and I'm still a bit confused.

I'm sorry up front for the idiocy...

I have the 2.8 Quad and 8800GT...

If I edit the bios with the tool in windows, increase the clock rate, boot off the CD, flash the new firmware...

AND WILL THE HIGHER CLOCK RATES BE RETAINED IN OS X???

Thanks in advance...!!!

Indeed but you will also void your AppleCare in the process.

 

[antsh]

If you edit the clocks in the bios, they should be retained regardless of OS being used. Both OSX and Windows will use the clocks that the bios of the card reports. Please post if you experience something otherwise.

 

[sweedigel]

Yup, the high-pitched squeal is from not connecting the extra power. It happened to me but no permanent damage.

If you get a molex splitter (which nearly any computer shop will have) you can split the lower optical drive molex in to two connectors.

Yeah a molex splitter of course, sorry for the stupid question
I have also read in page 3 of this thread that using only one molex on the 6pins connector would deliver enough power for the card. Anyone tried ?

 

[mrcandy]

Yeah a molex splitter of course, sorry for the stupid question
I have also read in page 3 of this thread that using only one molex on the 6pins connector would deliver enough power for the card. Anyone tried ?

Using only one of the two molex connectors worked fine for me. If you use a splitter the power is coming from the same place anyway and two molex would only solve a problem if the wires/pins could't handle the current.

 

[smgfreak]

Hey can you get your friend to send me his ROM? What card was it that he flashed exactly?

Hi there, ok i got the Originl ZOTAC ROM for you !

 

[sweedigel]

Using the optical bay's molex is a bit tricky. Is there a place who ship in europe where I can buy an 6pin to small 6-pin adapter (like this http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/lovemacs_1991_297597737) for cheaper than 30$ ?

 

[almostinsane]

Hi,
Ive had the same problem. For flashing I used there options:

nvflash --index=0 -4 -5 -6 somerom.rom
(or nvflash somerom.rom --index=0 -4 -5 -6 dont know anymore)

It complains alot but always answer yes and nvflash will overwrite the rom. The option index=0 is needed when the PCI Devids dont match. This option can kill your card But i made a backup of my rom in case of something goes wrong with:

nvflash --index=0 oldrom.rom

Hope this helps ...

Hey Thanks! That was the solution or close. It actually had to be:

nvflash --index=1 -4 -5 -6 somerom.rom

But the flash worked and I have an 8800Gt for 1/2 the price that Apple wanted!

This is with an EVGA 8800GT Superclocked card.

 

[mac2beach]

EVGA 8800GTS 512 Working Great in Leopward with my new MAC PRO!

 

[macz1]

EVGA 8800GTS 512 Working Great in Leopward with my new MAC PRO!

Do you really mean GTS and not GT?
Did you use the unaltered GT Mac ROM? Perhaps the supplementary stream processors of the GTS (128 instead of 112) are now disabled because of the ROM... Benchmarks?

 

[mac2beach]

thats right I did it with a EVGA 8800GTS the bios doesnt affect the shaders thats in the chip..

Since I had 2 of them from my SLI Vista Box I desided to try and see if it works. Glad I did


Anyone need a EVGA 8800GTS With the MAc Bios on it? since I dont need the 2nd one ?

 

[Pressure]

Do you really mean GTS and not GT?
Did you use the unaltered GT Mac ROM? Perhaps the supplementary stream processors of the GTS (128 instead of 112) are now disabled because of the ROM... Benchmarks?

The amount of stream processors are hardwired and has nothing to do with the firmware.

 

[mac2beach]

Exactly.. so now I have a GTS in my Mac Superclocked !

 

[SuperGrobi]

If you edit the clocks in the bios, they should be retained regardless of OS being used. Both OSX and Windows will use the clocks that the bios of the card reports. Please post if you experience something otherwise.

I "overclocked" my XFX 8800GT XXX back to the factory settings (670/1650/975) again. I used NBitor 3.8 and the card still works flawless with the higher clock in both Mac OS and Win XP. I checked the higher clockspeed in Win - is there a way to confirm the settings in Mac OS?

 

[SuperGrobi]

Is there a chance that the 9800 GX2 will run with the 8800GT ROM (if this card ever makes it into shops)? I think it uses the G92 GPU as well, right? But, would Mac OS be able to handle this "2 internal GPU in SLI" card?

 

[macz1]

The amount of stream processors are hardwired and has nothing to do with the firmware.

Yes, you are right, but there were some cards in which you could activate supplementar units by a ROM flash (Radeon 9500 -> 9700 IIRC). Sometimes these units were faulty but not always. A cheap method to sell more /partially faulty GPUs.
You could also "downgrade" a card flashing the ROM of the slower one. Obviously this is not the case with the 8800 series.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Is there a chance that the 9800 GX2 will run with the 8800GT ROM (if this card ever makes it into shops)?

You're kidding, right? You'd have better luck flashing it with the Hackintosh 9800 GX2 ROM than trying to tell it that it's one 8800 GT.

 

[antsh]

I "overclocked" my XFX 8800GT XXX back to the factory settings (670/1650/975) again. I used NBitor 3.8 and the card still works flawless with the higher clock in both Mac OS and Win XP. I checked the higher clockspeed in Win - is there a way to confirm the settings in Mac OS?

I can't actually help you with that SuperGrobi as I only had a windows computer. If windows is showing the higher clocks, however, there is a good chance that OSX is recognizing these as the "standard" clocks as well. A crude way of checking this could be to run xbench or a similar program and compare the results with a similar system that is using a stock clocked 8800GT.