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ATi BIOS-Editor - HelpDesk |
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ATi BIOS-Editor - HelpDesk |
(This is an inofficial tuning/modding tool and is not supported by AMD/ATi, usage on your own risk)
This editor is designed to modify the original BIOS rom images of ATi
Radeon HD 2000/3000 series graphics cards.
Depending on the GPU type you have access to all performance levels of the card.
You can also choose the appropriate GPU voltage for each performance level.
Some of the 3000 series cards support a simple fan control which is also adjustable by this tool.
Windows XP users have to install the
".Net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1" (or later) from Microsoft to run this tool.
You can download it
here...
Windows Vista is already shipped with the above mentioned framework.
1. Downloading and installing the BIOS-Editor
Please visit the download page and download the latest version of the editor.
| After downloading the file, extract the "CBABE" executable from the archiv using WinRAR, WinZIP, or similiar tools. |
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2. The BIOS-Editor - An
overview
After double-clicking the executable, the start screen appears on your
desktop.
Here's a short summary of all important editor controls...
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By clicking the "File Menu"
(1) you get access to the most important
"Open original ROM" function where
you can select the file to be modified with this editor. Also the "Save modded ROM as..." and "Language" button is available in this menu. The "Help Menu" (2) give you some hints on the program and a link to this page. The Button "BIOS Informations" (3) displays some infos about the opened ROM file while "ATi HD 3000 series fan fix" (4) shows the fan control settings (Only available for HD 3000 series) With the "Clock Sliders"
(5) you are able to manipulate the clock
frequencies of the Use the "VCore Up/Downs" (6) to select the appropriate GPU Voltage for each performance level. |
3. A short guide on opening, modding and saving a HD 3850 BIOS (incl. fan settings)
| First select "File->Open original ROM" with your mouse and open the desired file |
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| or drag and drop the BIOS file to the editor's main window. |
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Hint: You can only
open "*.rom" or "*.bin" files!
After the editor has successfully loaded the image, it will display all
important clock/vcore values and BIOS informations,
so it makes it easy for you to change most parameters.
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BIOS informations frame |
To get more infos on HD3000 BIOS version issues, please visit the
FAQ section
Refer to Section 2 for more
details on the available controls
Before adjusting any clock values, be sure that the
desired settings are working 100% stable.
If you need help by finding these values, please have a look at the
FAQ section.
As soon as you got the right frequencies and voltages,
you can adjust the sliders and Up/Downs.
The editor shows a warning as soon as you enter unsafe (too high) clock areas.
You can directly enter the desired clock value by clicking on the appropriate
slider and typing the new frequency.
Hit the 'return' key to accept the new value.
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The clock-frequency sliders with (yellow) warning |
The BootUp-Clocks should only be changed by professional overclockers! Very
risky setting!
You can adjust the VCore from 0.5 to 1.4 Volts but AMD/ATi is currently using
a range of 0.9 to 1.33 Volts!
So, as already mentioned for the clock frequencies, the editor also colours the
respective control to indicate an unsafe voltage.
Also not any voltag can be used with any type of GPU. For example: 3850 cards
only support up to 1.25 Volts!
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The VCore Up/Downs with pink warning |
If you want to adjust the fan threshold
and acceleration/steepness you can do this by entering new values in the
ATi HD 3000 series fan fix control.
Visit the FAQ
section for some default fan values.
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Fan control settings |
After you finished adjusting all settings, you should save the BIOS
rom file now.
Be sure NOT to overwrite the original one and give the new file a short extra extension
like "_mod".
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The File menu with saving enabled |
The editor automatically adds this "_mod" extension, so don't worry about
overwriting any original files :)
While saving the file, the checksum should be
automatically corrected. If this is not possible, a warning window will pop up
and saving will be aborted.
Checksum correction is necessary to store/flash the modded file back to your
card by using ATiWinflash.
Without the correct file-checksum flashing is NOT possible!
Now store the modded rom file on your card's rom by using ATiWinFlash. That's all
How do I get the maximum stable clock/vcore values of my graphics card?
You should first determine the maximum stable settings by using
RivaTuner or
ATiTool and use some 3D Benchmarks (like
3DMark) for testing.
This ensures that the modded BIOS file runs properly after doing any changes...
For detailed instructions how to use this tools, please refer to the greatest Wiki on the net: Google
How to dump/restore the BIOS of my card?
It is recommended to use
ATiWinflash to save or restore your card's BIOS rom.
I think this tool is self-explaining and therefore it's usage should be very
easy. For any questions please ask Google ;)
HD 3000 BIOS issue - The PLL bug (aka "locked bios files")
ATi (probably) made a mistake by programming the PLL or divider section in
their BIOS files up to version 010.070.xxx
The effect of this bug is relatively clear to see: Most cards reach the "magical"
864 MHz setting without any problem but won't go any faster.
To fix this very bad problem you should upgrade your card's bios to a version
later than the above mentioned one.
You should have a look at the BIOS collection on
www.techpowerup.com and download an appropriate version for your graphics
card.
But: Don't worry too much about this. The editor will give you an warning window as soon as you hit the save button ;)
ATi Overdrive (CCC) is not working anymore
In most cases this is caused by entering very high 3D clocks.
If you enter clock rates higher than support by ATi Overdrive, the function
can't be initialized.
So if you want to use Overdrive in the future you should first check for the max
adjustable settings there...
Up to now there is no known fix for this problem.
Which values should I use for the HD 3000 fan control?
The settings depend on the assembled cooler/fan, so you should try some
values to find the best result.
Below are two sample settings:
Threshold = 73°C & Acceleration = 52%
For Silent-Enthusiasts, card is very quiet but also gets very hot under
load
Threshold = 40°C & Acceleration = 60%
For Overclockers, card keeps cool but the fan makes lots of noise
My BIOS supports fan settings on my HD3000 but the fan won't slow down! The BIOS fan support is
only one part (software) of the fan control. I made a pic of my Sapphire 3870 where the small transistors for regulation can be seen.
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The editor crashes when trying to run!
You have to install the
.Net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 1 (or later versions)
Windows Vista users don't need to install this framework, it's already included...
-> V0.96 Beta - 23.03.2008
--- General information ---
Due to numerous requests, I decided to add full support for the HD 2000 series
cards from ATi graphics.
Furthermore, I converted the whole project to the new .NET technology.
This helps me to get much more compatibly with Windows Vista.
Special thanks to fenderfreak and
Haunter1982 for beta testing the new
version.
--- Improvements ---
1. Added support for HD 2000 series cards
2. Added support for the new HD 3450 (thx to
Cruzadar)
3. Lowered the limits of the GPU/RAM sliders down to 100/100 MHz
4. More extenden VCore range: From 0.5 Volts to 1.4 Volts
5. Implemented an alternate checksum correction
6. Added frequency direct setting by entering the desired value on any GPU/RAM
slider
7. Warning window if possible PLL-Bug is located in the opened BIOS
--- Bugfixes ---
1. Fixed another (minor) bug in the checksum correction
-> V0.95 Beta - 04.03.2008 (-->
Download <--)
--- General informations ---
The new added fan control for the HD 3000 series was developed by the members of
3dcenter.de
Thanks to BAGZZlash and all other active members of 3D-Center.
--- Improvements ---
1. Fan Control for the HD 3000 series (all but X²)
-> V0.94a Beta - 02.03.2008 (-->
Download <--)
--- Bugfixes ---
1. Fixed bug which causes a wrong display of clock frequencies (HD 3650 only)
-> V0.94 Beta - 01.03.2008
--- Improvements ---
1. Support for the new HD 3650 added (thx to opti99)
2. Added an automatic version checker
-> V0.93 Beta - 25.02.2008 (-->
Download <--)
--- Improvements ---
1. Support for the AGP version of the HD 3850 (thx to
sfiri and degen)
2. Added some extended BIOS informations (Part No. & SubVendor)
-> V0.91 Beta - 13.02.2008 (-->
Download <--)
--- Bugfixes ---
1. Major Bug fixed inside the checksum correction (thx to
AckytheG)
See the whole changelog on the forum thread over at forumbase.de
