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Flashing R9 280X for boot screens/PCI System Information
- Thread starter Mr. Zarniwoop
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Your ROM matches the genuine 7950 Mac Edition perfectly, everything is fine
Not sure about your resistor problem though, are you sure that there's no electrical connection anymore?
This may have been talked about already but I didn't notice it so I'll ask.
I have a flashed 7970 and I wondering if the R9 280X would be faster, slower or the same speed. Also, would it draw more, less or the same amount of power?
I have a flashed 7970 and I wondering if the R9 280X would be faster, slower or the same speed. Also, would it draw more, less or the same amount of power?
Depends on the model and how they are clocked ofc.
Actually I've had both in the same machine, a 7970 @925MHz and now a factory OC'ed 280X @1000MHz pretty much like the 7970 Gigahertz Edition, both flashed. Have a look at these two albums containing a few benchmarks for comparison – Luxmark, Oceanwave and Unigine stuff. Not exactly a laboratory test side by side under the same conditions (you'd have to check barefeats for that) but it might give you a clue
Sapphire HD 7970 and Gigabyte R9 280X
Never measured the 7970 sry, didn't keep it long enough.
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For all practical purposes, they are the same card in both performance and power draw. There are minor performance differences among variant models, but nothing that amounts to much.
If I needed a new card and those were the choices I'd probably get the R9 just because it's a newer model name. But if I already had one of the two, I wouldn't bother switching to the other for such a minor difference.
Actually, if I were going to buy a new AMD card I'd wait a bit as the Fiji cards are just starting to come out right now, and they have real differences this time instead of just being rebadged old cards. However, I know nothing about the status of OS X drivers for Fiji cards.
Thanks, I kind of figured the difference wouldn't be worth it but wasn't really sure about that. I'd like to see a Fiji card if it's power spec. allows it to work well with a cMP. Fiji would have to be decently priced however. I went with AMD for OpenCL use in FCPX, and because of there is no driver fussing on a clean installs/updates. If the Fiji card doesn't require messing with drivers on updates, I'll give it a hard look. If it's going to be just like the nVidia with it's driver dance, I'll probably just go with an nVidia since cards like the Titan X will run on the two 6-pin boosters and offers support for everything (except of course having to do the driver Fandango).
I guess I'll just stand pat for a while...
Fury X device ID is already in the drivers, don't know if anything already works though.
EDIT: Only in AMD9000Controller yet, not in RadeonX4000 yet.
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i followed mr.zarniwoops instructions for flashing and it looks as it should ... i have boot screen and it does show in sys info as r9 280x ... but here and there i do get some glitches
GPU is same as mr.zarniwoop suggested
any suggestions?
I read here and there (Netkas) that some people remove R17 and then use a graphite pencil to make contact between its two connections. Whilst removing a resistor cuts a circuit, putting graphite does the exact opposite... What's right, what's wrong?
I had some graphical glitches as well.
Not sure it is Mac-specific as, upon further investigation, I found references to such glitches in R9 280x reviews published on the web. It looks like the R9 280x, which are really tweaked HD 7970, were pushed a bit too close to their limits in terms of frequency and power consumption, resulting in memory corruption and glitches.
Similarly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the R9 280x seem to be amongst the cards with the highest failure/return rate (hardware.fr study based on ldlc sales). Too bad as they offer great perf/price ratios.
I gave up on mine, reverted to my stock GT120 and will wait for El Capitan to see what will be the best option then.
Not exactly. Much depends on brand. I found MSI ones worst. Even replaced under warranty with a brand new units were causing glitches in OS, artifacts in Resolve rendered clips and other weirdness.
280X (second batch) is superior than 7970 because of XTL chip. Lower power consumption and heat emission than XT and XT2 (7970 GHz Edition and first batch of 280X).
If you won't buy one used for crypto-currencies mining, it should work flawlessly for a next few years. From my personal experience with few dozens of 280X I can say that Gigabyte ones are most reliable.
Just found out this card works really well in the cMP. (Off topic a bit, this is the R9 280, NOT R9 280X)
2 x 6pin, so no power issue.
Very good cooler, I leave it at the stock 800MHz, and lower the voltage to 0.981V, with stock fan control. Max 67C in Furmark (33C ambient), and virtually zero fan noise under full load (the PCIe fan will spin up a bit, which is just audible, but already louder than the card. With stock 1.09V, the card will go up to 72C in Furmark, that means most likely won't go above 70C in normal ops. Also, this cooler will push all the hot air out of the case, but not circulating inside the case like most of the PC card does.
Reference design, same device ID as the 7950 Mac Edition, 2 x mDP which is good for my Apple ACD, and super easy to create EFI ROM for flashing. (Standard dual ROM design, fail safe for flashing card).
No need to do anything for the driver (this is one of the reason why I didn't go for the nVidia at this moment).
$150 new card. I know it's not the cheapest, and lots of new card better than this now. But I really can't find another one has all the above advantage with this price (at least not in my town). This card is nowhere near the top of the line, but really a decent choice for the cMP if it fit your need.
N.B. I think this card has few difference versions. I pick the one that stick to the original 800MHz clock speed. Some other version may come with stock OC (most likely have 8pin input for OC, which is not ideal for an unmoded cMP), since I don't need those extra power most of the time, and I know how to OC my card anyway. So I choose this non-OC version, but a OC capable design, which will allow the card run cool and quiet in normal setting.
Update: PCIe 2.0 mod completed (R17 removed)
I simply use a tiny screw drive and apply some force back and forth few times, then the R17 pops out in 30s. The process is simple and much easier than I expect. There is no R17 marking on this card. However, it's at the exact same location as the reference HD7950. The only caution is that DO NOT apply too much force. The join is not that strong, if you use too much force, when the R17 pops out, you may unable to control the screw drive and damage some other components.
This is the actual screw drive I used.
No R17 marking, but exactly the same location and layout as the reference HD7950.
The R17 pops out and fly away, I have no idea where it is now.
OceanWave confirm that the card is now running at 5.0 GT/s range.
Update 2: Review
It's about a year I've use this card now. The card still works well. Always stay quiet and cool (0.956V). I've seen very minor graphic corruption like the VRAM has trouble twice (random single small block of square on the monitor in difference colour). However, both time fixed by reseat the card (plus some cleaning by comprised air).
The down side. This card is flashable, however, When boot with Mac EFI ROM, the HDMI port won't work. To me, this is actually a bonus function, because I can now use that switch to control if the 4k TV is considered connected by the OS. When I don't need the TV, I can simply boot with Mac EFI. So, I don't need to unplug and cable, but the OS won't detect the TV, therefore my mouse cursor cannot go "offscreen". (So far, I can use an apps to virtually disable a monitor, but OSX cannot totally disable a connected monitor like Windows does).
For crossfire, Windows 10 and the most up to date AMD driver can boot with Mac EFI, but still crash at some stage. So, must boot without EFI in order to enjoy crossfire.
2 x 6pin, so no power issue.
Very good cooler, I leave it at the stock 800MHz, and lower the voltage to 0.981V, with stock fan control. Max 67C in Furmark (33C ambient), and virtually zero fan noise under full load (the PCIe fan will spin up a bit, which is just audible, but already louder than the card. With stock 1.09V, the card will go up to 72C in Furmark, that means most likely won't go above 70C in normal ops. Also, this cooler will push all the hot air out of the case, but not circulating inside the case like most of the PC card does.
Reference design, same device ID as the 7950 Mac Edition, 2 x mDP which is good for my Apple ACD, and super easy to create EFI ROM for flashing. (Standard dual ROM design, fail safe for flashing card).
No need to do anything for the driver (this is one of the reason why I didn't go for the nVidia at this moment).
$150 new card. I know it's not the cheapest, and lots of new card better than this now. But I really can't find another one has all the above advantage with this price (at least not in my town). This card is nowhere near the top of the line, but really a decent choice for the cMP if it fit your need.
N.B. I think this card has few difference versions. I pick the one that stick to the original 800MHz clock speed. Some other version may come with stock OC (most likely have 8pin input for OC, which is not ideal for an unmoded cMP), since I don't need those extra power most of the time, and I know how to OC my card anyway. So I choose this non-OC version, but a OC capable design, which will allow the card run cool and quiet in normal setting.
Update: PCIe 2.0 mod completed (R17 removed)
I simply use a tiny screw drive and apply some force back and forth few times, then the R17 pops out in 30s. The process is simple and much easier than I expect. There is no R17 marking on this card. However, it's at the exact same location as the reference HD7950. The only caution is that DO NOT apply too much force. The join is not that strong, if you use too much force, when the R17 pops out, you may unable to control the screw drive and damage some other components.
This is the actual screw drive I used.
No R17 marking, but exactly the same location and layout as the reference HD7950.
The R17 pops out and fly away, I have no idea where it is now.
OceanWave confirm that the card is now running at 5.0 GT/s range.
Update 2: Review
It's about a year I've use this card now. The card still works well. Always stay quiet and cool (0.956V). I've seen very minor graphic corruption like the VRAM has trouble twice (random single small block of square on the monitor in difference colour). However, both time fixed by reseat the card (plus some cleaning by comprised air).
The down side. This card is flashable, however, When boot with Mac EFI ROM, the HDMI port won't work. To me, this is actually a bonus function, because I can now use that switch to control if the 4k TV is considered connected by the OS. When I don't need the TV, I can simply boot with Mac EFI. So, I don't need to unplug and cable, but the OS won't detect the TV, therefore my mouse cursor cannot go "offscreen". (So far, I can use an apps to virtually disable a monitor, but OSX cannot totally disable a connected monitor like Windows does).
For crossfire, Windows 10 and the most up to date AMD driver can boot with Mac EFI, but still crash at some stage. So, must boot without EFI in order to enjoy crossfire.
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It works well in the tests, but it takes time to tell how long this card can perform.
I hope this model will work for you flawlessly. HIS cards are almost like XFX, nothing but problems.
I don't have it, as I am looking to buy one because my 8800GT died on me.
But I don't want to gamble
.Is this helpfull? (the bios update download):
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/152305/msi-r9280x-3072-131226.html
One would need a BIOS dump of the exact same card to be sure that this model will work, so the MSI BIOS won't help.
However I'd be really surprised if this card didn't work, I think in the worst case the HDMI port might become non-functional after flashing, but obviously I can't gurantee this.
However I'd be really surprised if this card didn't work, I think in the worst case the HDMI port might become non-functional after flashing, but obviously I can't gurantee this.
Ok thanks.One would need a BIOS dump of the exact same card to be sure that this model will work, so the MSI BIOS won't help.
However I'd be really surprised if this card didn't work, I think in the worst case the HDMI port might become non-functional after flashing, but obviously I can't gurantee this.
I hoped for someone who tried.
I have seen an second hand MSI, Ill contact that person first.
Otherwise I am going to try the Club 3d (new).
Edit:
I ordered the MSI from Germany.
Thanks for the help.
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I got the MSI card now.
Flashed it, and seemed to work.
But than I started having random freezes. (Within 10 minutes after booting, if I open high res images for example)
After a freeze I turned it off, and It didn't want to boot (repeating the starting 'boing' sound). Took out the MDP cable of my 4k display. Than it booted again with one of my other display's connected (this happens only when I use the Mdp cable, otherwise it boots again). Hooked up the 4k again and workes until the next freeze.
Tried with an HDMI cable on my 4k display, Still freezes.
With that it does boot again after a freeze though.
Tried running with 1 screen, does not help either.
Reinstalled the OS (no freezing while installation was running weird enough), after installation still the same probem though.
Did A memory check in save mode, ran fine with no issues.
Opened high res images in Save mode, no freezes???
in normal mode It freezes still, it seems to freeze when I open high res images.
I wanted to download some 4k wallpapers from the Internet when it happend. Every time when i try that, it freezes within the minute.
Am i draining to much power? I have 4 harddrives and an SSD. Took the harddrives out. Does not help.
Took all but 2 banks of ram out as well. Not helping either. Sigh.
Heeeeeeelp me please
Flashed it, and seemed to work.
But than I started having random freezes. (Within 10 minutes after booting, if I open high res images for example)
After a freeze I turned it off, and It didn't want to boot (repeating the starting 'boing' sound). Took out the MDP cable of my 4k display. Than it booted again with one of my other display's connected (this happens only when I use the Mdp cable, otherwise it boots again). Hooked up the 4k again and workes until the next freeze.
Tried with an HDMI cable on my 4k display, Still freezes.
With that it does boot again after a freeze though.
Tried running with 1 screen, does not help either.
Reinstalled the OS (no freezing while installation was running weird enough), after installation still the same probem though.
Did A memory check in save mode, ran fine with no issues.
Opened high res images in Save mode, no freezes???
in normal mode It freezes still, it seems to freeze when I open high res images.
I wanted to download some 4k wallpapers from the Internet when it happend. Every time when i try that, it freezes within the minute.
Am i draining to much power? I have 4 harddrives and an SSD. Took the harddrives out. Does not help.
Took all but 2 banks of ram out as well. Not helping either. Sigh.
Heeeeeeelp me please
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AMD cards run hot. Tahiti cards don't last as long as Kepler cards. I have a box of dead cards I keep for parts. Plenty of 7950/70 cards, fewer 680s by a long shot.
We thought Tahiti ran hot, then Hawaii was hotter.
Now to make us long for the mildly hot Tahiti they have given us "Fury" which can match heat output of a small jet engine.
While their GPU and CPU divisions are in a sad decline, their future as makers of fine space heaters is keeping share prices up.
Freezing and/or going to black screen is standard dying Tahiti behavior. Try running heavy benchmark like Valley a few times at high res, this is how I weed out the bad ones to avoid sending duds to customers. Used Tahiti cards get toughest testing since they die so often.
We thought Tahiti ran hot, then Hawaii was hotter.
Now to make us long for the mildly hot Tahiti they have given us "Fury" which can match heat output of a small jet engine.
While their GPU and CPU divisions are in a sad decline, their future as makers of fine space heaters is keeping share prices up.
Freezing and/or going to black screen is standard dying Tahiti behavior. Try running heavy benchmark like Valley a few times at high res, this is how I weed out the bad ones to avoid sending duds to customers. Used Tahiti cards get toughest testing since they die so often.
TBO, with the "unable to boot" symptom, that points to the hardware failure.
However, the very 1st thing I will try is to boot the system without EFI. If problem persist, then it's not EFI / flash related.
Next step I will try bootcamp. If same thing happen in Windows, then most likely it's hardware related. Otherwise, it may be software related.
For me, I use OCCT error test to stress the card in Windows. I found that's even more demanding than Furmark. It has error count, so no need to keep your eye on the screen through out the whole test, and usually the machine will shows error / freeze in less than 5 minute if something wrong.
In terms of power demanding. The overall power draw should not be a problem. The PSU can roughly provide 2x the max power your config can draw. However, your card has a 8pin connector, if you just use a single 6 to 8pin convertor, that single line can draw up to 200% of it's limit. This is the real concern for me.
However, the very 1st thing I will try is to boot the system without EFI. If problem persist, then it's not EFI / flash related.
Next step I will try bootcamp. If same thing happen in Windows, then most likely it's hardware related. Otherwise, it may be software related.
For me, I use OCCT error test to stress the card in Windows. I found that's even more demanding than Furmark. It has error count, so no need to keep your eye on the screen through out the whole test, and usually the machine will shows error / freeze in less than 5 minute if something wrong.
In terms of power demanding. The overall power draw should not be a problem. The PSU can roughly provide 2x the max power your config can draw. However, your card has a 8pin connector, if you just use a single 6 to 8pin convertor, that single line can draw up to 200% of it's limit. This is the real concern for me.
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The card is new, so only if its DOA this can be true.
I run it on both 6 pin connectors from the motherboard, with one of them using the 6 to 8 pin adapter.
So that should be fine.
With running without EFI, you mean set the switch on the card on the bios side? I will try that, and booting to Windows and test it there as well.