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

I got the "mouse jumping" problem, it's driving me crazy.
My configuration is:
MP 2006, XFX 4870 XXX 1 GB flashed as described at http://web.me.com/jacobcroft/4870Flash/4870Flash.html
OS X 10.5.7
dual monitors Fujitsu H19-1 connected via DVI

It's all fine with WinXP and Win7 RC in bootcamp, but not with OS X.

Is there any solution ?

The mouse jumping (stops responding every 2 secs) is the same, wether I connect both monitors or just one (tried both ports).
 
I think the consensus is that Mouse Jumping thing is due to incompatibility with certain LCD panels. Apple 4870s have same issue in certain cases.

I would suggest finding Rihldingers posts, I seem to recall he made a Rev F ROM for XFX 1Gigs...would be good to test what exactly Apple "fixed" in the newer Rev.

On another note, as far as "making your own" power cables, a good thing to know is that these cables came out in PPC days...they were used in G5s, in fact the EASY way to get them is from ATI's website, where you can get them for $12 (US & Canada only though I think). ATI sells them for X1900GT for G5s, but as I said, same cable.

The Tenthousandpercent article is good EXCEPT he used the wrong part for big end that goes in the card. Using the one he bought requires "shaving" bits off a central connector with an Exacto....not ideal.

Somewhere in first 20 pages of this thread I listed Mouser numbers and as I recall someone else listed where to get in Europe. We have easier access to mind numbingly small electronics, you guys get better beer....it's a tradeoff.

If someone finds the "perfect" post on making these, let me know and I will add link to my opening post. I added a link to Super Kev's ROM editing post.
 
Is there anyone who have tried to overclock Apple stock Radeon 4870? Is it possible to do it in Windows and that those settings remain active in OS X? What kind of performance cooler is recommended for 4870 overclocking? Tnx!
 
The Rominator said:
I think the consensus is that Mouse Jumping thing is due to incompatibility with certain LCD panels. Apple 4870s have same issue in certain cases.

I would suggest finding Rihldingers posts, I seem to recall he made a Rev F ROM for XFX 1Gigs...would be good to test what exactly Apple "fixed" in the newer Rev.
link to my opening post. I added a link to Super Kev's ROM editing post.
Click to expand...

I yesterday flashed the card with the Rev F ROM (and additionally increased the fan speed as desribed by super kev post #1516). The mouse ist still jumping :-(
Idle temperature is down from 71C to 57C.
 
Dual 30" Options?

Hi guys,

I've been following this thread, and have just purchased a 2.93 Mac Pro :cool:

I run dual 30" 3007WFP-HC Dell screens (so I need 2x dual link dvi). I didn't get the 4870 with the machine as the upgrade and displayport to dual-link adaptor was nearly the price of the new EVGA 285.

I've was about to get a XFX HD-487A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4870 and have ordered the two power cables. I noticed people have said it only does one dual-link and one single-link. Doh! Is there any 4870 I can flash to get dual-link dvi out of both dvi ports?

I have a XFX 4870X2 in my pc that I'm going to sell, would that work?

I get the hunch I'm going to be selling the cables I just purchased and will be buying a 285.... say it ain't so guys! :(
 
in my opinion, that would be the way to go. That, or getting the 4870 with the dual MDP->DVI adaptor. You have a brand new machine, and there have been a lot of headaches with these flashed cards. If it were me, I'd spend the extra few hundred bucks just for the headache free experience. Sorry for being such a nay-sayer guys.
 
ribfeast said:
Hi guys,

I've been following this thread, and have just purchased a 2.93 Mac Pro :cool:

I run dual 30" 3007WFP-HC Dell screens (so I need 2x dual link dvi). I didn't get the 4870 with the machine as the upgrade and displayport to dual-link adaptor was nearly the price of the new EVGA 285.

I've was about to get a XFX HD-487A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4870 and have ordered the two power cables. I noticed people have said it only does one dual-link and one single-link. Doh! Is there any 4870 I can flash to get dual-link dvi out of both dvi ports?

I have a XFX 4870X2 in my pc that I'm going to sell, would that work?

I get the hunch I'm going to be selling the cables I just purchased and will be buying a 285.... say it ain't so guys! :(
Click to expand...

X2 cards can't be flashed but need to use netkas' solution to get them to work. I don't know if they can drive two monitors or not though and you'd still only have the power of one 4870 instead of the full X2 in OS X.

Another solution might be to get two XFX 4870 cards. Flash them both. That way you'll have two dual-link DVI and two single-link DVI ports. You can also crossfire the cards together in Windows. You'd also get the full graphic acceleration of a 4870 for each 30" display.

I can't confirm whether you can drive two 30" displays like this or not but it should work. I've got two XFX 4870 1GB cards in my Mac Pro and I can power my 30" display from either card. If you'd be willing to buy me a second 30" display, I'd happily test it out for you though!! :p ;)
 
RazorWriter said:
Hey everybody, Slickdeals has a coupon code that can get you the XFX 4870 1GB card for $128 right now. (if they don't sell out by the time you get there)
Click to expand...

I want to thank RazorWriter for this deal and Jacob for his page:

http://web.me.com/jacobcroft/4870Flash/4870Flash.html

I was able to get a nice upgrade to my 2008 MacPro for not too much cash :)

It works great running both my Dell 30" @ 2560x1600 and my TV @ 1920x1080 via DVI->HDMI.

And thanks to everyone else who suffered through the pain so it's now easy for all of us.
 
The brains behind the XFX are Pipolomo42 and rihldinger. If not for them we would only have he 512 version with no crossfire Netkas also had some input.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
Another solution might be to get two XFX 4870 cards. Flash them both. That way you'll have two dual-link DVI and two single-link DVI ports. You can also crossfire the cards together in Windows. You'd also get the full graphic acceleration of a 4870 for each 30" display.
Click to expand...

What would be the best way to power 2 4870s?
 
bozz2006 said:
in my opinion, that would be the way to go. That, or getting the 4870 with the dual MDP->DVI adaptor. You have a brand new machine, and there have been a lot of headaches with these flashed cards. If it were me, I'd spend the extra few hundred bucks just for the headache free experience. Sorry for being such a nay-sayer guys.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info boz and spanky. Since the 4870 is nearly 300USD in my country I'm going to get the 285 instead, hopefully it all arrives in time for my which is due next week! :)
 
Someone needs to try NEW XFX 4870 boards

I was just fiddling about @ Newegg and noticed that there is a new line of XFX 4870 cards....with a cheaper looking fan to go with the cheaper looking price.

I am curious if these cards still have Dual DVI or if they have altered more than FAN.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

Typically when they do a "de-content" they de away with "extra" capacitors and the like. Power management gets a little dicey and the boards become less stable.

If you are somebody who has been planning to "someday" flash an XFX 4870....stop waiting, I can pretty much guarAntee that XFX has switched their attention and best components to the 4890. If you can grab a ZDDC or ZDFC variant at a retailer you are comfy with....DO IT NOW.

And hopefully a bold soul will report on these "new" XFX 4870 boards. First thing we need to find out is if they have new ROM files on them.
 
Yeah,

When i went shopping for my XFX HD4870 ZDFC I looked through the whole computer mall in my country (the biggest computer hardware market in the country)

anyways i found the last one in the place and quickly grabbed it, i figured the shops are going to replace the ZDFC with these new ones The Rominator are talking about.
 
The Rominator said:
And hopefully a bold soul will report on these "new" XFX 4870 boards. First thing we need to find out is if they have new ROM files on them.
Click to expand...

Is that the same model that Superbiiz/ewiz had on sale last week? I saw that JohnnyFlash got his XFX 4870 from Superbiiz to work using Jacob's instructions with both DVI interfaces (one dual link, one single link). JohnnyFlash, which model of 4870 did you receive from Superbiiz, the ZDFC or ZHFC?

I have the same one on order with them and hope to receive it sometime this week. When I receive it, I will let you know what I find out.
 
The Rominator said:
Another tip on the Power Connections....if you have Bluetooth and Airport, there are dainty little connections just to the right of where the PCIE Power plugs go.

VERY easy to knock the antenae connections off as you try plugging in the power.

If after a restart you lose signal strength or Airport doesn't work, have a look at these connections. They are tiny little "snaps"...you will need to be very careful attaching.

18 Gauge wire is best....20 or 22 is easier to insert in the small end pins....but carries less current.

I recomend stranded wire over solid....and it is a good idea to solder once you have crimped....makes it so that the connection CAN'T pull out.
Click to expand...

Is it okay to use 18 AWM wire? I have not been able to find 18 AWG at my local hardware stores and Radio Shacks.
My understanding is the pin out on both male molex is as follows:

mac pro
1 2 3
4 5 6

ATI 4870
1 2 3
4 5 6

So pins 1 2 & 3 are grounds.
4 & 6 are 12 Volt

Correct?

Thanks
 
The card I received from Superbiiz/eWiz today was indeed the XFX ZHFC model. The heatsink/fan still seems pretty hefty to me and not cheap at all. The quality of the board still seems pretty decent for as cheap as the card was.

I flashed rhildinger's ROM from the ZDFC onto this card and it seems to be working fine for the most part so far. VGA does not work of course. Dual DVI does work, but one of my monitors (a cheap Acer P221w) causes the jumping cursor problem. When I disconnect the Acer P221w (my secondary monitor) and leave my Westinghouse L2410NM connected the cursor jumping goes away.

The cursor jumping problem may be HDCP related as when I try to play an HiDef TV show on iTunes on the P221w, I get an HDCP warning message and a gray screen, which does not happen when connected to the HD2600XT. The HiDef shows play fine on the L2410NM.

I may make a custom ROM when I have some time, but it may not be any different as ATIFlash reports the same BIOS version for the ZHFC and ZDFC images. Only the SSID and Part numbers have changed. I may make a custom ROM with faster fan speeds at some point, because the card seems to get pretty hot and it is already a lot quieter than my HD2600XT crossfire setup.

Here is the output from ATIFlash:

Old SSID: 2445
New SSID: 2441
Old P/N: 113-HD487AZHF81_113-BA0706-101
New P/N: 113-BA0706-101
Old DeviceID: 9440
New DeviceID: 9440
Old Product Name: Wekiva RV770 B50706 Board
New Product Name: Wekiva RV770 B50706 Board
Old BIOS Version: 011.013.000.001.030513
New BIOS Version: 011.013.000.001.030513
Flash type: PM25LV010
20000/20000h bytes programmed
20000/20000h bytes verified

In the mean time, I may just put my HD2600XT in the other slot to drive my second display. I also have another DVI monitor I can test, but that one is not HDCP capable. I may give it a try tomorrow.
 
So I bought this but I used these instuctions to flash. Failing to realize that it is only for the" XFX line"

Which resulted in an incorrect flash, and now all I get is a chiming Mac Pro. Everything went fine as far as the instructions were concerened. I booted to Dos on my mac without a problem, flashing was fast, but I take it since the rom version is incorrect this is what is stopping it from working right, right? Anyhow this card is going back to newegg for an exchange.
 
treo360 said:
So I bought this but I used these instuctions to flash. Failing to realize that it is only for the" XFX line"

Which resulted in an incorrect flash, and now all I get is a chiming Mac Pro. Everything went fine as far as the instructions were concerened. I booted to Dos on my mac without a problem, flashing was fast, but I take it since the rom version is incorrect this is what is stopping it from working right, right? Anyhow this card is going back to newegg for an exchange.
Click to expand...


And this is why it is important to read BEFORE flashing
 
The Rominator said:
And this is why it is important to read BEFORE flashing
Click to expand...

haha so very very true:p. I kinda figured what's the harm. I have another PC with a PCIE slot to reflash if needed. Only to find out that the card is a smidge too big and bumps right into the power supply cables:mad:

Live and learn.
 
If there is somebody who has time/interest to put some ROMs together, I can test them.

I assume we are trying to find a ROM that enables Crossfire on the OEM and 512 Meg flashed cards.

I'll test and verify if somebody else will do some work too.
 
The Rominator said:
If there is somebody who has time/interest to put some ROMs together, I can test them.

I assume we are trying to find a ROM that enables Crossfire on the OEM and 512 Meg flashed cards.

I'll test and verify if somebody else will do some work too.
Click to expand...

That is correct, I cant test at the moment as I am at work..but here is one I have made using pipomolo's method.

It is based off the ATI Brand HD4870 Wekiva RV770 B50701 Board vs the Apple ATI 4870 Wekiva RV770 B77101 Board. So I don't know how well it will work and im not responsible if it bricks your card.

Attached is the method creation and also the rom created. Will be interested to hear if it works or not.

edit: I also logged a support call with AMD to see if there is a standard firmware available for the ATI 4870 Wekiva RV770 B77101 Board...Dont know my luck!
 

Attachments

  • flash.png
    flash.png
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  • pc4870.zip
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Success stories!

using pipomolo's method

with HIS Radeon 4870 Dual 512MB

performance Far exceed than 2600XT

thank everybody!!

ps. have one question , if i adjust core/mem speed down , can i reduce power consumption from 4870.
 
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