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Race to dump the 4870 ROM, Who's first?

zappvirtual said:
Hi Rhildinger,

Did you try to plug 2 displays in dvi in order to work with 2 screens simultneously?
Click to expand...

No, sorry. I only have one monitor. I did try seperate boots with the monitor in each DVI port. The second port appears to be limited to single-link operation, but the first port runs in dual-link mode just fine.
 
vicentk said:
May I know which card you flash and which rom you use ?
Vincent
Click to expand...

Vincent, just take a look in my previos post in this thread, i wrote it with all details (sapphire 512MB). Rom is "self-made" (orig. ROM + EFI-Part), as described in this thread by pipolo42.

Bye.
 
jaberwocky said:
Vincent, just take a look in my previos post in this thread, i wrote it with all details (sapphire 512MB). Rom is "self-made" (orig. ROM + EFI-Part), as described in this thread by pipolo42.

Bye.
Click to expand...

jaberwocky, thank your reply, I will re-read once. As I remember the rom name is sapphire.rom ?
 
Thanks to pipomolo42 fantastic instructions and help with original rom, here's my slightly modified ROM for Sapphire HD 4870 DDR5 GDDR5 2DVI TVO, the one with the RV770XT chipset, part number 188-1E85-001SA, SKU: 11133-00-20R .

Default clock speeds are returned to Sapphire 4870 Toxic values: Memory frequency is 1000Mhz. Core frequency in 3D mode is set to native 800Mhz, idle speed remains at 500Mhz. Unlocked Windows CCC Overdrive values allow soft overclocking up to 990/1200. Fan spin up bug fix has been applied, so it doesn't go loud in random intervals. Verified to be Winflash friendly under Vista and HDMI works in windows as well.

Download link

It should also work with Sapphire SKU 21133-04, 11133-04, 21133-00 and 11133-03, but we won't know until someone tries.
 
vicentk said:
rhildinger
Thank your news again, is it easy to flash rom? Because I newbie in flash rom.

May I know the step by step?

Vincent
Click to expand...

I'm curious about the latest step-by-step also for those of us who aren't familiar with all of this flashing business. It seems like a lot of headway has been made with this card in the last couple of weeks so I'm pretty excited about all of this.
 
I've been following this thread intently for the last few days. I'm thinking of getting the 1gb Sapphire card from newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 that has been functional using the custom rom posted a few pages back.

I also read that the card doesn't fit so well in slot 1 due to tolerances with the memory cage. My question is given that I'm using a early 08' mac pro that has two 16x slots, is there any disadvantage to using slot 2? (I'm only going to use one card and one monitor)
 
medsource said:
I've been following this thread intently for the last few days. I'm thinking of getting the 1gb Sapphire card from newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 that has been functional using the custom rom posted a few pages back.

I also read that the card doesn't fit so well in slot 1 due to tolerances with the memory cage. My question is given that I'm using a early 08' mac pro that has two 16x slots, is there any disadvantage to using slot 2? (I'm only going to use one card and one monitor)
Click to expand...

i think it will fit on slot 1.
anyway my card sapphire 1 gb works on slot 1 with modified rom from elvisizer
thanks again guys.

best regards
 
More progress :

After reinstalling OSX from the disk that came with my MacPro (10.5.1), then upgrading to 10.5.6 and installing the 4870 drivers, I have regained deep sleep functionality on my card (4870 1GB Sapphire). I've also done some tests with the DVI ports :

1) First port does dual-link ;

2) Second port does single-link only ;

3) Both ports do not work at the same time. The last monitor plugged in "steals" focus from the other one.

This odd behavior seems to point to a bug in the driver rather than a problem with the parameters passed to it from EFI/BIOS..?

AG
 
pipomolo42 said:
So, here is how I do it:

- get the Mac 4870 rom available in this thread (named 4870.ROM)
- get the 128k vgabios of your PC card (named pc4870.rom)
- get tyhe fixrom.py script that I attached here

run the following commands in a shell (either MacOS X or Linux)
Code: 
dd if=4870.ROM of=efi.part bs=1 skip=63488 count=49152
blocknum=`printf %d "'\`dd if=pc4870.rom bs=1 skip=2 count=1 2>/dev/null\`"`
size=$(($blocknum * 512))
dd if=efi.part of=pc4870.rom bs=$size seek=1 conv=notrunc
python fixrom.py pc4870.rom pc4870.rom

first one extracts the efi part of the Mac rom
then get the number of 512 bytes blocks of the bios part of your pc rom
then converts it to a size in bytes
then injects the efi part right after the bios part
then the script fixes last rom indicators and checksums

You can then flash the pc4870.rom to your card, using FreeDOS for instance

If you want to do manual modifications to either part of the rom, don't forget to run the fixrom.py script after.

This should work with most (if not all) of the 4870 cards. If it doesn't work for you, just pm me a link to your pc vgabios.

EDIT : MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EXTRACTED THE FULL 128K OF YOUR CARD'S ROM BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING, OR ELSE IT WON'T WORK!
ALSO, MAKE SURE YOUR PC 4870 ROM FILE IS ACTUALLY NAMED "pc4870.rom" IF YOU GET AN ERROR MESSAGE LIKE "dd: bs must be between 1 and 2147483647"
Click to expand...

These instructions seem to be yielding some working ROMs.

Very thankful for having them so concise.

What folder do the two ROM files need to be in to be found by those commands?

Or do I include the path?
 
Hi Guys. I have an opportunity to pick up a early 1st gen Visiontek HD4870 512mb card for my first gen intel mac pro. Of all the different roms floating around this board which one should I focus on? I was going to follow use the standard 4870 rom and follow the posted instructions from this thread. The board is a ati reference design since it was purchased right when the 4870 hit the market. I know there are quite a bit of different makes and models and all boards are different but am I best off following the initial flashing instructions from this thread?

Thanks for any info.

Doug D
 
ddorbuck said:
Hi Guys. I have an opportunity to pick up a early 1st gen Visiontek HD4870 512mb card for my first gen intel mac pro. Of all the different roms floating around this board which one should I focus on? I was going to follow use the standard 4870 rom and follow the posted instructions from this thread. The board is a ati reference design since it was purchased right when the 4870 hit the market. I know there are quite a bit of different makes and models and all boards are different but am I best off following the initial flashing instructions from this thread?

Thanks for any info.

Doug D
Click to expand...
I suggest that you follow the procedure indicated just above you post.
 
medsource said:
I've been following this thread intently for the last few days. I'm thinking of getting the 1gb Sapphire card from newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801 that has been functional using the custom rom posted a few pages back.

I also read that the card doesn't fit so well in slot 1 due to tolerances with the memory cage. My question is given that I'm using a early 08' mac pro that has two 16x slots, is there any disadvantage to using slot 2? (I'm only going to use one card and one monitor)
Click to expand...

Upon reinstalling mine (as my additional auxiliary power cable finally showed), it was surprisingly easy to get into the double wide slot 1 in my late '08 MP. I had problems originally installing it like that while the MP was upright, but while it was laying on its side it was remarkably easier. I think I was just having issues getting the two tabs into the holders for the case's expansion slot openings. Regardless, it appears to fit just fine without any real strain on the card.
 
jeanlain said:
I suggest that you follow the procedure indicated just above you post.
Click to expand...

Jeanlain, I just want to be sure but where is the "128k vgabios of your PC card (named pc4870.rom)" file found? Searching this thread does not yield it .

Anyone have a rapidshare of d/l link for both the files below?
- get the Mac 4870 rom available in this thread (named 4870.ROM)
- get the 128k vgabios of your PC card (named pc4870.rom)


Thanks. Doug
 
It means THE PC BIOS THAT IS ON WHATEVER 4870 YOU ARE TRYING TO GET TO WORK IN YOUR MAC.


ie...you go out and buy a Powercolor 4870...the Bios you need to start the process is the one that is already on your card.

You need to dump it....per instructions that are given in the thread.
 
The Rominator said:
It means THE PC BIOS THAT IS ON WHATEVER 4870 YOU ARE TRYING TO GET TO WORK IN YOUR MAC.


ie...you go out and buy a Powercolor 4870...the Bios you need to start the process is the one that is already on your card.

You need to dump it....per instructions that are given in the thread.
Click to expand...

It may be a good idea to start a new thread or edit the first post with a step-by-step procedure, download links, the cards that have been flashed, the limitations...
I'd rather not do it since I have never flashed a card myself and because English is not my first language. But this would be helpful for many.
 
I managed to flash a wrong rom into my 4870. :eek:
Now I can't get past POST on my MacPro even with a second graphics card installed. All damned PCs at work are Dell and the 4870 doesn't fit because the cpu cooling is in the way. :mad:

Is there any way to get past POST, to reflash the 4870?
 
jeanlain said:
It may be a good idea to start a new thread or edit the first post with a step-by-step procedure, download links, the cards that have been flashed, the limitations...
I'd rather not do it since I have never flashed a card myself and because English is not my first language. But this would be helpful for many.
Click to expand...

Maybe we could use a wiki for this, like the one at http://themacelite.wikidot.com/
 
jeanlain said:
Good to hear. Have you tried dual screen?
Others had only one port working with the sapphire cards... Have you installed natit.kext? Or maybe it's because your card is closer to the original design.
Click to expand...

Update: Got a second screen for testing purpose today, but no luck with OS-X :apple: (still only Beta-Driver installed).

After PRAM-reset the display connected to the socket away from motherboard displas gray screen, other was blank. After a short while both displays got blue background and shortly after that system beeps and reboots.

If i run OS-X and connected the DVI-cable later the display extends to the second display, but system freezes (only mouse works, but no klicks).

Within VISTA (currently writing from it), no problem. I will take a look at the system log later and read what netkas has written to other people here.

Bye
 
zoppa said:
I managed to flash a wrong rom into my 4870. :eek:
Now I can't get past POST on my MacPro even with a second graphics card installed. All damned PCs at work are Dell and the 4870 doesn't fit because the cpu cooling is in the way. :mad:

Is there any way to get past POST, to reflash the 4870?
Click to expand...

If it is doing the thing where it starts to "Gong" but restarts before the "Gong" is even over, it is likely you will need a PC. It may be possible to use an Nvidia card in slot one and this errant 4870 in another slot...not sure.

jeanlain said:
It may be a good idea to start a new thread or edit the first post with a step-by-step procedure, download links, the cards that have been flashed, the limitations...
I'd rather not do it since I have never flashed a card myself and because English is not my first language. But this would be helpful for many.
Click to expand...

I would be happy to edit the first post with some of this info. However, much of what can be learned actually requires reading all 20+ pages here. It is pretty obvious that some people just hit "Last Page" and request a Personal Spoon Feeding. If they wish to benefit from everyones trials & tribulations, they should be willing to at least read about them if not actually live through them all.

I agree that using pipolomos method seems to be the best course of action. It is odd that the first few of us who tried just happened to have cards that Mac ROM worked A-OK on.....now we are finding that MOST 4870's require a custom ROM based on the ROM already present in card.

I am curious about the people who did a few personal edits afterward...what did they do? How did they know it needed it?

I have one Diamond 4870 here that works perfectly and another on a different PCB that crashes when a second display is connected. I am curious if these final tweeks that others did could fix this issue.
 
zoppa said:
I managed to flash a wrong rom into my 4870. :eek:
Now I can't get past POST on my MacPro even with a second graphics card installed. All damned PCs at work are Dell and the 4870 doesn't fit because the cpu cooling is in the way. :mad:

Is there any way to get past POST, to reflash the 4870?
Click to expand...

At this time there does not appear to be any way to do this on a Mac Pro as the system startup sequence appears to halt if it attempts to load up a bad EFI option ROM. There is currently no way to make it stop querying video display devices after it finds one that works correctly. The only way you could achieve this would be to flash a modified firmware into the Mac Pro to make it stop loading ROMs after it finds the first working display ROM, and sadly there is no such modified firmware.
 
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