Ultimate Thread: 4890 in Mac Pro

[Treksdot]

My stone cold data:
Qimonda
1D6V16-05A1F1C-40X
HVV22049
http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=201243&d=1257022940

Semaca & I have Identical part numbers.

There was a time where I must have had a "pumped" driver. The fan on the card was on almost all the time, and the gaming performance was ridiculously unstoppable. I could run full res 4x4 32bit, all shadows reflections you name it... without even a hiccup. But the room was hotter then a boiler after a few hours. I did land on a more stock install, and all was wonderful until the GFX update.

Can't speak to the part numbers being identical but when reviewing past posts in this thread you mentioned your card had Qimonda RAM chips and Semaca said his were Hynix so he couldn't use the ROM Peloche had made. I agree that you must have had some mis-matched ROM at the time because in normal use, even when stressing the card, I can't make out the fans at all.

Unfortunately, I didn't backup the original ROM - even though I asked openly many times to everyone here on how to do it. Again, another assumption by many without a concern other then their own. I still don't know what tool to use in order to pull my rom off, and I'm not even sure what ROM I have now. All I know was that I had to re-flash my card on a PC to undo what I did with the ATI Flash tool so long ago. I took a chance, it didn't work, I suffered.

Not to jump on you here but this thread is littered with information on how to perform a ROM dump. It may not have been specifically directed at you but the information is there nonetheless. The simplest method is to use a utility called GPU-Z under Windows. This requires the proper drivers from ATI for your card to be installed first, otherwise it won't detect your card properly. Once you have GPU-Z running look for the line displaying the BIOS Version of the ROM currently loaded. At the end of the entry you'll see an image of a microchip with a green arrow, you will click this in order to save the ROM to disk. Simply pick a name for the ROM, it should suggest one, and where to save to. In case you have multiple cards installed make sure to have the 4890 selected from the drop-down at the bottom of the window before dumping the ROM.

I'm trying not to sound bitter here, but I would love nothing more then to never have to use any custom tools again just to work around Apples bi-annual system updates.

Just let me know what I need to do... stick with me, and I'll follow through.

I wouldn't say you come off as sounding bitter but I am detecting a defensive tone in your replies. I would like nothing more then to help you in whatever way I can so that your experience mirrors my own. Ever since purchasing my card, model HIS H489F1GP to be precise, I haven't had a single issue when it comes time to perform an OS X update. For me it's always been a matter of simply waiting for netkas to release his patch, install the OS X combo updater, apply said patch and restart. I would still like a copy of the ROM you're currently using and see if you can get a copy of the original from Altimeter88. Worst case scenario is you'll have to contact the manufacturer for a copy of it. Get me those two items and I can tell you pretty quickly if Zeus creates a custom ROM that deviates from the one you're currently using. Assuming it does differ I would recommend flashing your card with it right away, even if it doesn't solve your current problem.

 

[Drexus]

Ahh. Here lies the problem. The PC in my LAB is old and cheap = can't install card to extract ROM. I have 9 Macs in the house, but only one old PC (to run the laser). I'd gladly try a ROM from Altimeter88... if he has it handy.

 

[Treksdot]

Boot Camp not an option?

 

[Altimeter88]

Ahh. Here lies the problem. The PC in my LAB is old and cheap = can't install card to extract ROM. I have 9 Macs in the house, but only one old PC (to run the laser). I'd gladly try a ROM from Altimeter88... if he has it handy.

Drexus, OK well bad news, I guess my card is actually a Hynix card, it has been so long since I did the flash but I remember that being an issue and looking back at my PM's with Peloche who helped me get the ROM directly from the manufacturer (because I also didn't backup my original), confirmed that it was Hynix.

Here is my card info and an excerpt of the conversation I had w/ Peloche months back:

Here is the info for my card:
PN 288-1E115-D20SA
SKU# 11150-11-20R
SN A094200020749

...they [Sapphire] have replied immediatly to the first email i've sent, and attached the stock rom, i can tell you that this rom [Hynix] is very very different of the Qimonda one...




I don't know who Poleche was in contact with at Sapphire but he sent an e-mail to them with the card serial number and they sent back a stock Hynix ROM for my card. He then sent me the original Hynix ROM he received as well as a new modified EFI one that I am still using today.


Anyway make sure you do in fact have the Qimonda card, I had to take the heat sink off my card to see they Hynix brand on the memory if I remember right. I would also search back and try to find all the ROMs that were posted for the New Edition cards w/Qimonda memory and see if they differ.

You may also try sending an e-mail to Sapphire support giving them your card serial number and asking if they would send you an original ROM for it.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

 

[Bokuholio]

where do kexts get installed? If I try new ones do they replace the previous kexts?

My issue now is that my graphics card is just a blue screen. I was successfully running with the new graphics update. Randomly when I powered on it hasn't worked again.

Re installed qeci, all my kexts that I was told to try, and even re flashed the card...

I had the same issue, looping on the blue screen. I rolled back with the 10.6.4 combo update. From there, I installed the 10.6.4 qe_ci pkg. After booting, I still didn't have QE. I then unzipped the mapp.zip. In there you'll find kext helper b7. Drag all the various ATI files onto that kext helper - type in your admin password, and click easy install.

It'll tell you to cross your fingers and reboot. I rebooted, then did the same with the dualdvi.zip -- dropped all the ATI files on kext helper b7, password, easy install.

After that, I rebooted, logged in, disk utility and repaired permissions. After that, rebooted one last time and had my QE back and running under 10.6.4 --- but I haven't dared put on the Graphics Update.

 

[Dae]

I've ran to some big problem which I have no idea how to solve. Need help please!

My setup is Mac Pro 3,1 with patched 4890. I was running 10.6.2 until I decided to update to 10.6.4 + graphics updae today. After the update I used Netkas' QE_CI from here http://netkas.org/?p=515.

Now OS X doesn't boot, I see some black and white artifacts before the login window. I can't get the safe mode working either.

What do I do?

How do I boot my system to try other patches or uninstall QE_CI?

 

[PhotoPilot]

Success - Mac Pro 1,1 Dual 3.0, XFX 4890 ZSFR 1Gb ver 3.1

very interesting to see which versions are loaded with the different updates and fixes.

as for me, i have a flashed 4890 vapor-x saphhire.
to get it to work I:
1. install SL (no QE, no dual or DP)
2. install 10.6.4 combo (no QE , dual or DP)
3. install graphicupdate (no QE , dual or DP)
4. install 10.6.4 graphicupdate patch
5. QE works but still no dual or displayport (monitor goes to standby at boot when connected to DP)
6. install dualdvi (all the kexts), reboot, connect via DP works (and dual also i guess) !

- i did not install mapp
- i did not install the 10.6.4 exotic patch (the first one, i went straight to the graphicupdate1.0 one since I installed the apple graphicupdate after the 10.6.4 combo upgrade)
- i'm not sure if I need ALL the dualdvi kexts to get the displayport working. Maybe the framebuffer one is enough.
- I'm trying to get 10bit color output in photoshop CS5 but this still doesn't work (works with mac 4870 apparently), i'm experimenting...

Success with both monitors working.

- 10.6.4 Combo Update (single monitor no QE)
- Snow Leopard Graphics update (single monitor no QE)
- QECI from Zeus 2.1:
• Click on "Driver" Select your graphics card (ATI 4000 Series)
• Choose "OSX 10.6.4 + Graphics Update"
• Click Download
- Install "QECI_1064+GraphicsUpdate.pkg"

After reboot both monitors worked with QE

Did NOT install MAPP or DualDVI kexts

Thanks Drexus and cybercap for posting clear instructions and results which gave me confidence to reattempt installation.

 

[cybercap]

thanks for your feedback photopilot

i don't have dual dvi on the card (i mean 2 dvi outputs)
i have double checked that without dualdvi.zip (which are in fact former versions of ati kexts) i can't get mydisplayport connexion to work (the monitor goes to standby at boot)

but dual dvi may be ok without that dualdvi patch; can't check that

 

[cybercap]

hi folks

just a follow-up to what i was saying

to get displayport ok i have to install duadvi after the netkas 10.6.4 gfxupgrade patch, this replaces the following 10.6.18 kexts:
- ATI4800controller
- ATIFramebuffer
- ATISUppport

with 10.6.6 older ones

I checked that i can KEEP ATI4800Controller in 10.6.18 and just downgrade the 2 other kexts and still get displayport and dualdvi ok

however, i checked with ATIFramebuffer or ATISupport in 10.6.18 and just downgrade one of the two to 10.6.6, the screen gets ****ed up at boot.

I also checked mapp.zip, which is version 10.6.10 of all these kexts but no combination works whatsoever

so to sum up i'm running every ati kext in S/L/E in 10.6.18 version except the atiframebuffer and atisupport which are 10.6.6. I don't know which part these play in the card's performance level

i still haven't managed to enable 10 bit output on that card (as the 4870 can do) on my Eizo CG243W monitor thru DP

 

[AnimeFunTv]

List of 4890's working with new GU

Is there any possible way to get a list of 4890's that work with the new G.U. ATI 1.6.18 extensions w/QE patches? I can't seem to get any luck on my Sapphire Vapor-X to get any of the new extensions to work with the QE patches; I still have to use the old 1.6.6 extensions to make my card work. =/

 

[Drexus]

Drexus, OK well bad news, I guess my card is actually a Hynix card, it has been so long since I did the flash but I remember that being an issue and looking back at my PM's with Peloche who helped me get the ROM directly from the manufacturer (because I also didn't backup my original), confirmed that it was Hynix.

Here is my card info and an excerpt of the conversation I had w/ Peloche months back:

Here is the info for my card:
PN 288-1E115-D20SA
SKU# 11150-11-20R
SN A094200020749

...they [Sapphire] have replied immediatly to the first email i've sent, and attached the stock rom, i can tell you that this rom [Hynix] is very very different of the Qimonda one...




I don't know who Poleche was in contact with at Sapphire but he sent an e-mail to them with the card serial number and they sent back a stock Hynix ROM for my card. He then sent me the original Hynix ROM he received as well as a new modified EFI one that I am still using today.


Anyway make sure you do in fact have the Qimonda card, I had to take the heat sink off my card to see they Hynix brand on the memory if I remember right. I would also search back and try to find all the ROMs that were posted for the New Edition cards w/Qimonda memory and see if they differ.

You may also try sending an e-mail to Sapphire support giving them your card serial number and asking if they would send you an original ROM for it.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

What contact info do you have that I may secure the same service?

 

[cybercap]

Is there any possible way to get a list of 4890's that work with the new G.U. ATI 1.6.18 extensions w/QE patches? I can't seem to get any luck on my Sapphire Vapor-X to get any of the new extensions to work with the QE patches; I still have to use the old 1.6.6 extensions to make my card work. =/

i have the same card as you, you only need the older atiframebuffer and ati support once upgraded to 10.6.4 + gfxupgrade + netkas' gfxupgrade patch

 

[aminoff]

performance with 10.6.4 and GU

I am trying to use this thread (which by the way is very much off topic sometimes..) to find out which combination of ATI-drivers to use and maintain good performance.

I have a feeling that everyone who report "success" with different combinations does not seem to check if they have good performance. I have a 4870 (again OT) and have gotten QE to work (Zune reports QE OK and Aperture etc. all start and "work").

The problem is that I have slow performance on some applications but not all of them. It is most noticeable when doing iPhoto full screen viewing (the transition effect between pictures) and when clicking my "applications folder" in the Dock (that does a Genie type effect, I don't have my Mac here so I cant see exact what option I have for the viewing).

Is anyone else notice these kinds of "slow downs"? I can use the computer no problem (browsing, scrolling etc. all works OK) but some effects just seems "not OK" and would be nice to be able to solve.

I have done the following:
Installed GU from Software Update (NO QE after that)
Installed Zeus 10.6.4 GU-patch (NO QE after that)
Downloaded mapp.zip and installed all of the kext (QE OK, slow performance on some operations)

 

[Treksdot]

Is there any possible way to get a list of 4890's that work with the new G.U. ATI 1.6.18 extensions w/QE patches? I can't seem to get any luck on my Sapphire Vapor-X to get any of the new extensions to work with the QE patches; I still have to use the old 1.6.6 extensions to make my card work. =/

My HIS H489F1GP has worked like a champ since the day I flashed it. I just checked the ROMs you attached earlier and the one you've been using doesn't differ from one made by Zeus at all. With the matter of a mis-matched ROM out of the picture that leaves the card being non-reference coming back to bite you in the ass. Even though the product page for my card still list it as available I can't find it anywhere. Your best bet as I see it is visiting netkas' forums and posting your problem there. Out of curiosity what are the outputs for your card?

I am trying to use this thread (which by the way is very much off topic sometimes..) to find out which combination of ATI-drivers to use and maintain good performance.

It goes off topic because it's being used as a catch-all for anything related to 4890s and Mac Pros. To answer your question concerning performance it sounds like it's the direct result of mixing varying versions of extensions. A sure fire way to tell wether QE is enabled or not is to bring up the Dashboard and drag a widget from the tray onto the desktop. If you see a ripple effect then QE is functioning, if not then no QE. First things first make sure you're running the correct ROM for your card.

 

[AnimeFunTv]

My HIS H489F1GP has worked like a champ since the day I flashed it. I just checked the ROMs you attached earlier and the one you've been using doesn't differ from one made by Zeus at all. With the matter of a mis-matched ROM out of the picture that leaves the card being non-reference coming back to bite you in the ass. Even though the product page for my card still list it as available I can't find it anywhere. Your best bet as I see it is visiting netkas' forums and posting your problem there. Out of curiosity what are the outputs for your card?

Thats what I kind of figured, I was thinking about getting a XFX 4890 since some people have abit more luck with that, my display outputs are DP/VGA/HDMI/DVI

 

[Altimeter88]

What contact info do you have that I may secure the same service?

No ideal, like I said, Peloche did all this for me without me even asking, sounded like he know someone in support. I would try e-mailing support, include the serial number for your card and ask if they could send the original ROM. You could also check with Peloche via a PM if he is still around.

Good luck.

 

[Peloche]

Drexus

Hi Drexus,

Here it is

Peloche,

 

[cagatayesentur]

hi everybody.i flashed my sapphire 4890 a few months ago,it has hynix memories.now i want to flash it back to pc rom but i couldnt find the rom anywhere.if anyone has it can you please share it here?thank you.

 

[Cindori]

why would you want to do that? mac rom carries pc bios also ..

 

[Peloche]

hi everybody.i flashed my sapphire 4890 a few months ago,it has hynix memories.now i want to flash it back to pc rom but i couldnt find the rom anywhere.if anyone has it can you please share it here?thank you.

Cindori is right, but just in case here attached

 

[cagatayesentur]

why would you want to do that? mac rom carries pc bios also ..

wow i didnt know it,thank you so much body

 

[cagatayesentur]

Cindori is right, but just in case here attached

yep i just learned that from you and Cindori,thank you so much

 

[semaca]

Hi everybody ,

I'm just back from holidays and I have read the last 2-3 pages , especially Drexus posts.I'm having the same poor performance in 10.6.4.In counter strike I'm getting 7-8 fps with QE enable.I tried all the possible kext combinations .I roll back to 10.6.2 and it's a bit better : in CS 100fps , but I can still see that the card it's not working perfect .In Bridge (from photoshop ) everything is moving in slow motion.So , I thing I've flash it with the wrong rom.
So , Peloche ,if you"re sure that the rom you post for cagatayesentur it's a Hynix pc rom , would you make from that a EFI rom for me , please ?I will flash the card with it and see what's happened.Thanks !
Semaca

 

[ikari2002]

I am trying to use this thread (which by the way is very much off topic sometimes..) to find out which combination of ATI-drivers to use and maintain good performance.

I have a feeling that everyone who report "success" with different combinations does not seem to check if they have good performance. I have a 4870 (again OT) and have gotten QE to work (Zune reports QE OK and Aperture etc. all start and "work").

The problem is that I have slow performance on some applications but not all of them. It is most noticeable when doing iPhoto full screen viewing (the transition effect between pictures) and when clicking my "applications folder" in the Dock (that does a Genie type effect, I don't have my Mac here so I cant see exact what option I have for the viewing).

Is anyone else notice these kinds of "slow downs"? I can use the computer no problem (browsing, scrolling etc. all works OK) but some effects just seems "not OK" and would be nice to be able to solve.

I have done the following:
Installed GU from Software Update (NO QE after that)
Installed Zeus 10.6.4 GU-patch (NO QE after that)
Downloaded mapp.zip and installed all of the kext (QE OK, slow performance on some operations)

I am having the same experience as this with a 4890 Sapphire New Edition card. Have 10.6.4, Apple Graphics Update, QECI Exotic patch and installed all kext files in the "mapp.zip". QE now works however i have seen no improvement in Steam games. I still have to use the lower settings and still have frame lag at times. So it doesn’t seem as if much hardware acceleration is happening for me.

In the System Extensions only 4 of the 7 extensions from the mapp.zip were installed:
ATI4800Controller 1.6.10
ATIFramebuffer 1.6.10
ATIRadeonX2000 1.6.10
ATISupport 1.6.10

Is it possible to work out what extensions i should be running to make my card work better, especially with Steam games? I should be able to run everything on the highest settings right?

 

[ikari2002]

Here's some further info. I have used OpenGL Extensions Viewer 3.32 to benchmark my card and have attached the results. They look to be a little low from others i have seen. Also, i have tried other kext installs (1.6.16 and 1.6.18) all with the patches provided in Zeus, but none of those will allow Quartz Extreme. The 1.6.10 kexts are the only ones that are working for me. I have also attached my cards Rom. If anyone can take a look and let me know what's going on, or point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks.