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

[The Rominator]

Let's get these figured out.

Let's see that ROM

EDIT----LINK TO CONDENSED INSTRUCTIONS TO SAVE YOU SOME READING:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7473867&postcount=886

All good, but I would leave out Natit.

Link to Pipomolo42's ROM writing instructions:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7297669&postcount=344

Link to Fan Speed modifying instructions:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7808671&postcount=1516

Link to buy power cable:

http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=3280778

ATI Part# 6110024100G

(you need 2)

Link to Cable Making Instructions:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=8253622&postcount=1726

NOTE: Be sure to use Molex part #0455590002 for "big" end

[alphaod]

Post this in the marketplace please!

[mackmack]

Wherever it comes from, it's probably going to be from someone who has ordered a new mac pro with it installed. I've got the mac 4870 on order but it's 5-6 weeks out. Hopefully someone will have the rom out by then. Then I can cancel the order instead of getting it and giving the rom to other people. :p

[nanofrog]

Wherever it comes from, it's probably going to be from someone who has ordered a new mac pro with it installed. I've got the mac 4870 on order but it's 5-6 weeks out. Hopefully someone will have the rom out by then. Then I can cancel the order instead of getting it and giving the rom to other people. :p
If it happens to be you, it would be appreciated by many I should think. :D Hopefully, such kindness will be returned three fold. :)

[mackmack]

If it happens to be you, it would be appreciated by many I should think. :D Hopefully, such kindness will be returned three fold. :)

Oh there's no doubt I'll try my best to get the rom off the card when I get it. I just think it'll happen sooner seeing as how new mac pros configured with the card ship within 4 days.

Where's the love apple?

[cooljoe349]

Would be nice that 350 price tag is complete bull****

[Pressure]

Well, in theory you can just grab the graphic kexts from the 10.5.7 build and install one, like right now :)

[nanofrog]

Well, you can in theory just grab the graphic kexts from the 10.5.7 build and install one, like right now :)
LMAO! :D Yeah Right....I'd like to see that one happen...:p

Two months later, and he/she's totally bald...:eek:

[macz1]

I am very very interested in what happens if the mac ROM is flashed to the 1GB version of the HD 4870...

beacuse it
...has twice the RAM
...costs much less than the Apple 512Mb one
...1GB could be useful for large OpenCL calculations (if the whole OpenCL stuff actually becomes true...)
...and for memory hungry games like GTA IV when bootcamping, of course

And because I do not want to be ripped off by Apple. There must be a way to tell Apple that we are very happy that this card finally has become available for us BUT at this price... a couple of days after AMD announces a 50$ price drop on this card... nah.

An insane premium to pay for a video port which I dont want... I would prefer 2 DVI ports and a DVI to Displayport adapter rather than this Apple dictature.

Well, now I ranted enough for today

[The Rominator]

Well, in theory you can just grab the graphic kexts from the 10.5.7 build and install one, like right now :)

I guess you are referring to:

http://netkas.org/?p=84

Which I think is for OSX86 folk....but I'm gonna find out.

Having a Craigslister deliver a 4870 this evening.

Will try this method on the Mac Pro 1,1 and report.

[JollyRogers]

I guess you are referring to:

http://netkas.org/?p=84

Which I think is for OSX86 folk....but I'm gonna find out.

Having a Craigslister deliver a 4870 this evening.

Will try this method on the Mac Pro 1,1 and report.

That is for BIOS machines only --OSX PCs -- We need an EFI rom for our video cards to work or a way to emulate EFI so OSX will boot. I have heard rumors that 10.6 may change all this... but only rumors.

I am going on travel for a month, so I will be standing by and watching all this closely. No one that I have found has reported success with the 3870 ROM, and that worries me regarding the 4870. 350 for this card is crazy, but you know a lot of people will pay it, just like a lot of peeps will be getting that new 8 core MP.

[grue]

I guess you are referring to:

http://netkas.org/?p=84

Which I think is for OSX86 folk....but I'm gonna find out.

Having a Craigslister deliver a 4870 this evening.

Will try this method on the Mac Pro 1,1 and report.

Extremely, insanely interested in this. If you can let me know the results, I'd be very grateful.

[The Rominator]

Craigslist guy is supposed to be here within the hour....fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I noticed something interesting in the netkas screenshots....the ROM and EFI version are EXACTLY those of a 2600XT.

And the System Profiler seems to indicate that there is another "DISPLAY" card in.

I have attached the screenshot he showed, plus ones from my 2600XT and a flashed 3870 I had lying around.

Seems odd that a kext could make the 4870 show up with a 2600 ROm number and EFI revision, but it does give one hope and adds to the excitement. If he made up the whole thing, then he went to alot of trouble to make up all those comments as well.

[JollyRogers]

Netkas didn't make anything up, that I am sure of. He is a steadfast in the OSX86 community and the recent OSX86 progress would be lost without him.

Good luck as I am interested in results also. If anything, I would think if you had your 3870 (BTW, you mention it is flashed...care to share cause I have missed this somewhere along the way) in or your 2600 installed along side the 4870 AND have the new kext, I bet you will be in business. If your display has two inputs, hook them both up to a card and use the monitor to select which to use. The EFI 2600 or 3870 would allow OSX to boot, and then with the new kext, the 4870 will also be recognized and have the needed driver to work in OSX. Switch over to the other input to the monitor.

Oh and my 1 month travel is to the SoCal area. San Diego to be sure. Rominator, I am interested in what you have "Rom'd"...

[The Rominator]

No good news I'm afraid.

I have tried the 4870 with both the 3870 and the 2600XT....no dice. When I try to boot from 10.5.6 with the linked 10.5.7 kexts, it freezes on spinning Apple. This is with or without the Crossfire Cables connected.

WHen I try from a 10.5.5 boot disk with no trick kexts, it will boot from the 2600 or 3870 but the 4870 is just a "display" card with no kext loaded.

I just tried from a 8800GT....same lockup in 10.5.6 w/.7 kexts.

I'm putting a X1900XT I have back together to try with it, but I haven't much hope.

I think the key is in the "natit" kexts that he used...something must poke the values of EFI ROM for 2600 in the appropriate registers to allow boot in OSX86.

Card is running fine in Bootcamp/Vista 64...so all those saying that PCIE 2 vs. 1.1 is the issue can be silenced.

I got 9800GTX and 9800GX2 to work in OSX using this guys tricks before...so I am hopeful. (GX2 only uses 1 core....in effect a 8800GT)

Gonna do a Crysis benchie

[grue]

No good news I'm afraid.

I have tried the 4870 with both the 3870 and the 2600XT....no dice. When I try to boot from 10.5.6 with the linked 10.5.7 kexts, it freezes on spinning Apple. This is with or without the Crossfire Cables connected.

WHen I try from a 10.5.5 boot disk with no trick kexts, it will boot from the 2600 or 3870 but the 4870 is just a "display" card with no kext loaded.

I just tried from a 8800GT....same lockup in 10.5.6 w/.7 kexts.

I'm putting a X1900XT I have back together to try with it, but I haven't much hope.

I think the key is in the "natit" kexts that he used...something must poke the values of EFI ROM for 2600 in the appropriate registers to allow boot in OSX86.

Card is running fine in Bootcamp/Vista 64...so all those saying that PCIE 2 vs. 1.1 is the issue can be silenced.

I got 9800GTX and 9800GX2 to work in OSX using this guys tricks before...so I am hopeful. (GX2 only uses 1 core....in effect a 8800GT)

Gonna do a Crysis benchie

Did you force the kexts to be recached?

[grue]

Oh whoops, probably should have told you how to do that:

sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions/

reboot, have sexy times.

[The Rominator]

So,I discovered that the drivers pacjkage linked to in the thread at Netkas actually installs Natit kext as well as replaces several ATI ones.

Tried the above terminal command as well.

When I remove the Natit one, it will complete booting, but 4870 is just a "VGA Compatable Display" with id of 9440.

I looked at infoplist of one of those extensions and there was no 9440 as a device id to match too, so I added. Still no dice.

Does anyone have a different link to 10.5.7 kexts or maybe a beta updater?

Better still....the Holy Grail....the 4870 ROM?

Please?

[The Rominator]

I'm still getting ready to flash a 4870.

I now realize that I may need to order some 256K chips.

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/152

I downloaded a couple of the PC BIOS for the card...already 128K.

So by the time the Mac EFI is added, it seems likely to be in need of a still larger chip.

The 4870 I have here has a 128K chip on it, while every PC 3870 I have seen has been 64K.

It will also be important that whoever tries to dump the ROM gets it all...this may be part of the "anti-flashing" roadblocks we have to face....will be first GPU with ROM larger than 128K....ATIFlash may not know how to deal with it.

[cooljoe349]

Awesome hopefully it will work!

[mackmack]

How did you find out your 4870 had a 128k chip? What brand is it?

Is the EFI firmware separate from the BIOS section on the chip?

[macz1]

The HD 4870 is known to have a 128K chip, as apparently additional code is required for the control of GDDR5 memory. Because of this unusual ROM size (for PC cards) there has been some trouble for people who modified their BIOS in order to tweak it...
But the application GPU-Z has been updated to version 0.2.5 and is now able to handle this ROM size. If the ROM of the mac version does not exceed this size, it should be possible to dump it whitout too many problems using the new version of this tool...

[The Rominator]

Whoa !!

My 4870 is a Saphire brand PC version.

I just want to be prepared for when the Mac 4870s start arriving TOMORROW so that I may start work on this.

I hope that GPU-Z is able to pull the ROM from Windows, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I hope that someone who gets one tomorrow has a DOS disk handy and can run ATIFlash, as WIndows based programs will have no precedent to be able to "see" this ROM.

I am just worried that if PC BIOS requires 128K, then the Mac card will have to have an even larger ROM chip...and a look at Mouser didn't show any SP8 chips with 256K pages. (2Mb chip with 8 pages of 256K)

Ideally this ROM chip would eed to be in same family as existing chips from STMicro or SST or Atmel.

[mackmack]

Are we looking at a hard soldered bios chip here? I didn't see a removable one when I was putting the waterblocks on mine.

[macz1]

Perhaps the PC rom is only slightly too large (something like 75K) and simply does not fit into a 64K chip anymore. I don't think that it's much larger than that because the HD 4850 (the same card as the 4870 except GDDR3 instead of GDDR5 memory and lower clock speeds) has a 64K rom and I cannot imagine the GDDR5 microcode to take a large amount of memory. But we will soon see how large the entire mac ROM is...

[macz1]

Are we looking at a hard soldered bios chip here? I didn't see a removable one when I was putting the waterblocks on mine.


Yes, we are talking about one of the numerous small black chips soldered onto the card. One of them holds the program code needed during the boot process of the computer, which does differ between (EFI-based) macs and standard PCs and causes the PC version of a graphics card to be unusable when booting OS X. This is not a driver issue.
Besides the contents of this ROM chip (which can be read and written), the mac and the PC version of a graphics card are almost identical in most of the cases. This makes a conversion of cheap cards (better: cards whitout Apple premium) from PC (to Mac&PC) possible

[The Rominator]

The area circled in green on the wide shot is made more legible on the tight shot. Please note no disassembley of card or fan is needed to see this particular chip. So it is hopefully the same on Mac one. Would be great to get a scan of back of Mac card, in high enough res to read the text on board.

This is a 128K ROM chip on a 4870 of the PC variety. Part number matches 128K item. (I have bumped it up in Photoshop to make it easily readable)

Good news is I had a look at the PC 4870 ROM in Hexedit. There looks to be a standard ROM, a BUNCH of dead space, and then more code, followed by more dead space.

Alltogether, the blank portion of ROM is between 20-30%. So, there may be space in there for EFI.

[mackmack]

Oh that actually doesn't look so bad to desolder. If it had pins through the board it might've been a chore. Let's hope it fits within 128k and none of this is needed.

[icyderguru]

Hi,

if someone got the 3870 Rom please upload it somewhere or send me an email supercard@gmx.at

Already installed a larcher eeprom but the rom i got doesnt seem to work...

Thanks

[The Rominator]

I do believe that the original dumps of 3870 ROM were done viz GPU-Z in WIndows and thus did NOT contain the EFI Mac part.

There were later dumps of the ROM from DOS which got the whole thing.

You should dig through the threads on the 3870.

But you have illustrated my point that as people get their Mac Pro '09s with 4870, they will likely need to use ATIFlash in DOS to dump the WHOLE Mac EFI ROM .

Good luck with the 3870 !

So...again...who is gonna be first to post a Mac 4870 ROM?

[mackmack]

I hope we don't have to wait until the first upgrade kit 4870's like mine ship in april to get the ROM.

[macz1]

I don't think so. The first 2009 Mac pros ordered with a built-in HD 4870 should arrive this week...

[mackmack]

I just hope those who have ordered them BTO have the will/interest to do the work to extract the rom. ;)

[The Rominator]

Would begging seem inappropriate?

[Tallest Skil]

Would begging seem inappropriate?

Yes? Come on, it's a piece of plastic.

WonderSausage just got his. PM him and bother him. :p:D

[dannymarr]

WonderSausage just got his. PM him and bother him. :p:D

Poor guy. He's going to get alot of PMs :D.

[The Rominator]

This guy gave a great tutorial for creating a DOS CD.

I did this and it works fine from a CD.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=5001145&postcount=109

Then you will need ATI Flash to put on the root of some drive you use in bootcamp:

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1123/ATIFlash_3.60.html

If the Mac 4870 is only card in, type "ATIFLASH -s 0 mac4870.rom"

It should verify that a certain number of bytes have been saved.

Reboot into OSX or Windows and retrieve the file.

I think you will need to ZIP it to attach here.

If you don't want to post, PM me.

[mackmack]

What if your bootcamp drive has an NTFS file system? You're not going to be able to see it with DOS.

[grue]

What if your bootcamp drive has an NTFS file system? You're not going to be able to see it with DOS.

This is why I really, really like having a "Neutral Ground" FAT32 partition of about 15GB where I can put files that any OS can deal with.

[bozz2006]

This is why I really, really like having a "Neutral Ground" FAT32 partition of about 15GB where I can put files that any OS can deal with.

Samesies!

[mackmack]

Couldn't you stick atiflash on a bootable usb drive? Or can you only boot from discs?

[cured.not.dried]

Couldn't you stick atiflash on a bootable usb drive? Or can you only boot from discs?

i don't think the macpro will boot from a usb stick... i tried it with the 9800... it was a no go.



now i'm a total noob at dos; do you just boot from a blank fat32 partition or do you hafta install xp on it? does formatting it with bootcamp install dos?

[mackmack]

You have to burn the DOS files onto a CD instead of a floppy disk. Boot from the CD and voila you're running DOS. You'll need an FAT formatted partition to run atiflash and save the ROM.

[bozz2006]

barefeats reports that there have been successful instances of the 4870 running on the 1,1 mac pro. i hope so! Just shelled out a few bucks to upgrade the processors, now i guess i'll start saving for the 4870 if it does work with the mac pro classic.

[Ronchande]

barefeats reports that there have been successful instances of the 4870 running on the 1,1 mac pro. i hope so! Just shelled out a few bucks to upgrade the processors, now i guess i'll start saving for the 4870 if it does work with the mac pro classic.

Do you have a link? Would be fantastic news :).

[bozz2006]

It's on the front page of barefeats website (http://www.barefeats.com/nehal01.html)

"We've heard from a reliable source that it has successfully run on the first generation Mac Pro. We'll be giving that a test and report next week."

[tobyg]

barefeats reports that there have been successful instances of the 4870 running on the 1,1 mac pro. i hope so! Just shelled out a few bucks to upgrade the processors, now i guess i'll start saving for the 4870 if it does work with the mac pro classic.

If that's true, I'll get to squeeze a bit more life out of my old 2.66 quad. That would be excellent news.

[The Rominator]

barefeats reports that there have been successful instances of the 4870 running on the 1,1 mac pro.

Yay!!!

I have been hopeful that 4870 "not working" was Apple's way of selling more '09's.

But this just makes me REALLY hopeful that someone will find time in the near future to dump the 4870 ROM in DOS. I have a PC 4870 here waiting.....

If there is someone in LA/Hollywood area with the 4870 and a machine...I would be happy to bring over the DOS CD and a FAT32 drive. Whole process takes under 3 minutes.

[mackmack]

Any luck PM'ing the guys who already have their new mp's?

[The Rominator]

I PM'd Wonder Snausage but no answer thus far.

Who else has a 4870?

Even if someone is unwilling to do a ROM dump, it would be great if someone would scan back of their card, or post pix of it OUT of machine.

[mackmack]

I PM'd Wonder Snausage but no answer thus far.


April 22nd can't come soon enough then. :p

[The Rominator]

April 22nd can't come soon enough then. :p

April 22nd?!!!????!!!!

I can't possibly wait that long....I'll be old by then.

Surely there must be a 4870 '09er out there ready and unafraid of DOS, all it takes is one.

[bozz2006]

Rominator, if i were interested in buying a PC 4870 to use in my mac pro classic, how would I go about doing this? Once the ROM hits the public. I mean, what's the process? I'd like to use the 4870 in my "old" mac pro, but would love to be able to get away with buying the PC version rather than almost double for the mac version.

And there are so many different versions of that card. Seriously, which one do I want/need? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048&Description=radeon%204870&bop=And&Page=2)

[mackmack]

Rominator, if i were interested in buying a PC 4870 to use in my mac pro classic, how would I go about doing this? Once the ROM hits the public. I mean, what's the process? I'd like to use the 4870 in my "old" mac pro, but would love to be able to get away with buying the PC version rather than almost double for the mac version.

Well that's the thing. We don't know if it's possible to use the PC version yet. ;) That's why we need the ROM to find out. Spread the word man. We need the ROMMM.

[bozz2006]

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs032.snc1/2591_60707086820_503151820_2045228_7728506_n.jpg
It's been taken care of.

[macz1]

And there are so many different versions of that card. Seriously, which one do I want/need? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048&Description=radeon%204870&bop=And&Page=2)

I guess the sapphire card are the closest ones to the reference design. However, it's not sure that a dual DVI card works properly with the mac rom because one of the outputs is displayport.

Another interesting experiment would be to test the rom on a 1024 Mb Radeon...

[mackmack]

There several iterations of the 4870 reference pcb. I would say anything based on the first revision reference PCB is the closest to what we'll get to the mac version.

Any 4870 with a funky looking heatsink/fan combo is most likely not a reference 4870. Only the ones that have heatsinks that look like the mac version's are the rev. 1 boards. The sticker can be different but the design has to be the same.

[grue]

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs032.snc1/2591_60707086820_503151820_2045228_7728506_n.jpg
It's been taken care of.

:D

[t4cgirl]

Just gotta contribute my moral support to this effort. Thanks to all those involved -- for every poster there are many times as many Mac Pro 2g'ers anxiously awaiting some good results!

K

[bozz2006]

and 1g'ers!

[The Rominator]

So I checked with Rob-Art.......he reiterated that the 4870 has been demonstrated to work in 1st Gen Mac Pro...with details coming next week.

Even more reason to get that ROM and get a Dual DVI 4870 that works for all Mac Pros.

[grue]

So I checked with Rob-Art.......he reiterated that the 4870 has been demonstrated to work in 1st Gen Mac Pro...with details coming next week.

Even more reason to get that ROM and get a Dual DVI 4870 that works for all Mac Pros.

So true, so true. If nothing else, as a temporary card until there's an Nvidia card worth having.

[alam]

i didn't understandif this is true????
the ati 4870 pc and mac edition for only 250$ and ship the next day?? :confused:

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/search/search.asp?search=ati%204870&redir=1&NavID_Search=false&CurDSN=simple&calledfrom=1&incimage=on&search_dismax_property_primary=&search_dismax_property_secondary=&search_sort_by_header=CatCodeOrder+asc%2C+score+desc%2C+Popularity+desc&search_sort_by_description=&search_sort_by_price=&search_filter_by_genericuser_keywords=&search_filter_by_group=&search_filter_by_brand=&search_filter_by_price=&search_filter_by_platform=&search_dpno_field=&search_mfrpno_field=&display_search_product_description=false&display_search_available_shipping=false&display_product_image=true&search_remove_license_products=false&search_license_products_only=false&search_filter_by_refurbished=false&search_filter_by_open_box=false&search_filter_by_clearance=false&search_start_row=0&search_current_page=0&search_current_words=&fq=Manufacturer:

and this looks exactly as the mac edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103061

[aibo]

i didn't understandif this is true????
the ati 4870 pc and mac edition for only 250$ and ship the next day?? :confused:

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/search/search.asp?search=ati%204870&redir=1&NavID_Search=false&CurDSN=simple&calledfrom=1&incimage=on&search_dismax_property_primary=&search_dismax_property_secondary=&search_sort_by_header=CatCodeOrder+asc%2C+score+desc%2C+Popularity+desc&search_sort_by_description=&search_sort_by_price=&search_filter_by_genericuser_keywords=&search_filter_by_group=&search_filter_by_brand=&search_filter_by_price=&search_filter_by_platform=&search_dpno_field=&search_mfrpno_field=&display_search_product_description=false&display_search_available_shipping=false&display_product_image=true&search_remove_license_products=false&search_license_products_only=false&search_filter_by_refurbished=false&search_filter_by_open_box=false&search_filter_by_clearance=false&search_start_row=0&search_current_page=0&search_current_words=&fq=Manufacturer:

and this looks exactly as the mac edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103061

Like I said in the other thread, EVERY graphics card on macmall/pcmall is listed under the "PC & Mac" category. It's not a claim of compatibility. It's just a general computer hardware category in their store called "PC & Mac".

[macz1]

Is there no ROM floating around yet?...

[bumble-bee]

i didn't understandif this is true????
the ati 4870 pc and mac edition for only 250$ and ship the next day?? :confused:

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/search/search.asp?search=ati%204870&redir=1&NavID_Search=false&CurDSN=simple&calledfrom=1&incimage=on&search_dismax_property_primary=&search_dismax_property_secondary=&search_sort_by_header=CatCodeOrder+asc%2C+score+desc%2C+Popularity+desc&search_sort_by_description=&search_sort_by_price=&search_filter_by_genericuser_keywords=&search_filter_by_group=&search_filter_by_brand=&search_filter_by_price=&search_filter_by_platform=&search_dpno_field=&search_mfrpno_field=&display_search_product_description=false&display_search_available_shipping=false&display_product_image=true&search_remove_license_products=false&search_license_products_only=false&search_filter_by_refurbished=false&search_filter_by_open_box=false&search_filter_by_clearance=false&search_start_row=0&search_current_page=0&search_current_words=&fq=Manufacturer:

and this looks exactly as the mac edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103061

At macmall there is also a 4870 x2 listed as pc & mac!
That must be a failure.

If not, I would import one or two to Germany for Crossfire my old 1.1 MacPro.

Too good to be true...

[The Rominator]

If you find a Roll of Toilet Paper on the Macmall site it will be listed as "Mac and PC Compatable"

WIshful thinking is NOT going to get 4870s running in everyone's Mac Pro.

Apple could NOT charge $350 for their 4870 if the $170 one at Newegg worked just as well. Especially as we are now having "ADC"...I'm sorry "MiniDisplay Port"....shoved down our throats. $350 for card, another $100 for an adapter to be able to use it like the $170 Newegg card....for a total cost of $450 vs $170....hmmm.

I am hopeful that someone finds 15 minutes to help the community soon and we get this ROM posted.

[Chaos123x]

If it has been taking care of, where is it?

[Grimace]

If you find a Roll of Toilet Paper on the Macmall site it will be listed as "Mac and PC Compatable"

Loved that. :p

[netkas]

Extremely, insanely interested in this. If you can let me know the results, I'd be very grateful.

Once smbd flash a 4870 card with 4870 mac rom and it will be alive - user need to install few kexts to system, easiest way is to get 48x0 pkg for osx86 and install it with pacifist( because real macs doesnt need Natit.kext (u can delete it anytime if accidentialy installed)).

[alam]

i don't know what is going on with apple, i think that they still don't understand that the world is having a financial crisis :confused:
350$ for a stupid graphic card, i mean wtf!!!!!
pc's gets more options and better prices, why apple don't have something that it's could "Why whould You Hate A Mac!!":-
1_ NO Graphic Cards!
2_ NO Cool Games on MacOSX Only on Bootcamp Windows.
3_ We Don't Call our Mac's Pc's but we still run Windows on Bootcamp :confused: So that they can save our A$$
4_ NO SLI only CROSSFIRE, also if it needs high amount of energy then Forget it!!! and don't forget that crossfire is not avaliable on macosx, only on bootcamp windows so thanks to windows for saving our A$$ again :p
I hope apple changes there business way to their costumers and try to be more easy on the prices and more graphic cards options!!!

[Tallest Skil]

"Why whould You Hate A Mac!!":-
1_ NO Graphic Cards!
2_ NO Cool Games on MacOSX Only on Bootcamp Windows.
3_ We Don't Call our Mac's Pc's but we still run Windows on Bootcamp :confused: So that they can save our A$$
4_ NO SLI only CROSSFIRE, also if it needs high amount of energy then Forget it!!! and don't forget that crossfire is not avaliable on macosx, only on bootcamp windows so thanks to windows for saving our A$$ again :p

1. So none of the computers boot up... ever?
2. COD4, Spore, et al beg to differ.
3. Okay... I don't. I don't need Windows at all.
4. This is nVidia's doing, not Apple's.

I hope apple changes there business way to their costumers and try to be more easy on the prices and more graphic cards options!!!

Not happening.

[The Rominator]

Once smbd flash a 4870 card with 4870 mac rom and it will be alive - user need to install few kexts to system, easiest way is to get 48x0 pkg for osx86 and install it with pacifist( because real macs doesnt need Natit.kext (u can delete it anytime if accidentialy installed)).

Hey, nice to see you here. Your 9800GTX trick worked for a 9800GX2....but with the 2 cores showing up as separate GX2 cards on the Mac Pro.

I was hopeful that your 4870 trick would work like the 9800 trick....NO EFI NEEDED.

Just need to get that ROM.

But on behalf on the community, thanks for your efforts in OSX.

[netkas]

ATI cards will not work this way (like nvidia)

ATI card has to be initialized by bios/efi rom before it can be used by osx driver

So, in this case hackintoshers has less headache :)

[slughead]

An insane premium to pay for a video port which I dont want... I would prefer 2 DVI ports and a DVI to Displayport adapter rather than this Apple dictature.

You can't do that, I don't think they have an adapter that goes DVI -> mini

[slughead]

2. COD4, Spore, et al beg to differ.

False: Spore sucks.

I don't know why you would make games for OS X... seems like a LOT of effort to make a game that runs just fine on the system if people would just reboot.

Apple still makes money even if I don't use OS X for gaming--as long as I use apple hardware.

Therefore, they shouldn't charge us crazy-markups on video cards.

[grue]

False: Spore sucks.

I don't know why you would make games for OS X... seems like a LOT of effort to make a game that runs just fine on the system if people would just reboot.

Apple still makes money even if I don't use OS X for gaming--as long as I use apple hardware.

Therefore, they shouldn't charge us crazy-markups on video cards.

Because most people don't want to pay for Windows, and honestly most of Apple's customers are too stupid to figure out how to set up Boot Camp anyway.

That having been said, I can't see why people buy the Mac versions of games if they DO have Windows, since the Mac versions almost invariably run poorer.

[The Rominator]

yeah, let's just say that the Mac port of "Crysis" is probably not something you should be waiting for down at Gamespot.

Meanwhile......where is our hero?

Downloading FreeDos by any chance?

[Ronchande]

yeah, let's just say that the Mac port of "Crysis" is probably not something you should be waiting for down at Gamespot.

Meanwhile......where is our hero?

Downloading FreeDos by any chance?

Yep, the 2 hottest topics are still not answered :D.

1. Will the card run on a MacPro 1.1

2. Will the BIOS/EFI fit on a 128kb Rom

..............

[Concorde Rules]

Yep, the 2 hottest topics are still not answered :D.

1. Will the card run on a MacPro 1.1

2. Will the BIOS/EFI fit on a 128kb Rom

..............

Lets hope so.

Im praying for much chances of it fitting on the 4870 extreme 1Gb :D

[netkas]

Radeon card has EBC efi rom (EBC - efi byte code), so they are architecture-independent. and should work in old macpro just like 2600xt did. IMO

[Ronchande]

Radeon card has EBC efi rom (EBC - efi byte code), so they are architecture-independent. and should work in old macpro just like 2600xt did. IMO

And the 3870....the chance is not bad - even if old MP are excluded on the Apple product page, but that's another story.

Just some couple of days and we'll know more :D

[bumble-bee]

Radeon card has EBC efi rom (EBC - efi byte code), so they are architecture-independent. and should work in old macpro just like 2600xt did. IMO

Hmm, has a 4870 X2 two rom's or only one?

Do u know this?
:confused:

[The Rominator]

Looks like the 4870 X2 uses two different BIOS files...a master and a slave.

So, doubtful that there will be an easy "Flash" for Mac.

We need to keep our eye on the ball...and get that 4870 ROM file available for various "video card enthusiasts" to start trying this stuff out instead of postulating about it.

[vicentk]

Hope will get it soon, because I can't wait Apple in 5-7 weeks

[alam]

1. So none of the computers boot up... ever?
2. COD4, Spore, et al beg to differ.
3. Okay... I don't. I don't need Windows at all.
4. This is nVidia's doing, not Apple's..

1. I Meant Decent Graphic Cards (GTX 295 - ATI 4870x2 - GTX 285 - GTX 285 - GTX 260) I mean gamer developers wont make games on mac osx if we don't have these graphic cards so that we can enjoy our games!!! :confused:
2. Hey did you forget these games (COD 5:eek: - Crysis WARHEAD - F.E.A.R 2 - Fallout 3 - L4D - Farcry 2 - GTA IV) these games what do i call them real games not spore or cod 4 grempa ;)
3. Well you know what, we have somthing in common.....neither do i want to run windows but to play the above games (i have no choice :p)
4. i don't care if it's nvidia's or apple's fault i only care on what do i need not what apple or nvidia wants (I'm the one who's paying remember), hey how about this, if i really want to help apple from there problems why don't i spare them one of kidneys that will help, and then apple will allow me to be on there side and tomorrow we will throw tomatoes on nvidia's doors because it's there fault (I DONT CARE WHO"S FAULT IT IS!!!!!).

Not happening.

well it should happen because they need there previous Mac Pro costumers happy and the new costumers feel safer.

[netkas]

Mac's 4870 is underclocked a bit, standart memory freq for 4870 - 900, Mac's card has 850 (or 3400 effective)

more here - http://netkas.org/?p=89

p.s. i dont have rom, only bios part of it.

[Tallest Skil]

1. I Meant Decent Graphic Cards (GTX 295 - ATI 4870x2 - GTX 285 - GTX 285 - GTX 260) I mean gamer developers wont make games on mac osx if we don't have these graphic cards so that we can enjoy our games!!! :confused:

You'll notice that those are the ONLY graphics cards that are better than the best one offered right now. That's far higher up on the scale than Apple usually does.

4. i don't care if it's nvidia's or apple's fault i only care on what do i need not what apple or nvidia wants (I'm the one who's paying remember)

So pay for something from some other company. It isn't a difficult concept to grasp. If one company is not selling what you want... don't freaking buy from them.

It's like buying a Delorean even though you need a pickup truck.

hey how about this, if i really want to help apple from there problems why don't i spare them one of kidneys that will help, and then apple will allow me to be on there side and tomorrow we will throw tomatoes on nvidia's doors because it's there fault (I DONT CARE WHO"S FAULT IT IS!!!!!).

Then don't complain at all if you won't complain to the right people.

well it should happen because they need there previous Mac Pro costumers happy and the new costumers feel safer.

Tech gets outdated; nothing can be done about this.

[mackmack]

Stay focused on the task on hand guys. We need that ROM.

Should we resort to bribery? :cool:

[Ronchande]

Mac's 4870 is underclocked a bit, standart memory freq for 4870 - 900, Mac's card has 850 (or 3400 effective)

more here - http://netkas.org/?p=89

p.s. i dont have rom, only bios part of it.

Can you already see how large the Firmware file is? Would be great if it was not above 128kb :).

Ronl

[PatrikL]

Mac's 4870 is underclocked a bit, standart memory freq for 4870 - 900, Mac's card has 850 (or 3400 effective)

more here - http://netkas.org/?p=89

p.s. i dont have rom, only bios part of it.


Are you sitting on a Mac pro 4870?
Couldn't you just dump the rom and post it to us?

//BR
Patrik

[netkas]

i dont own macpro

[PatrikL]

i dont own macpro

Ok! but you have a 4870 macpro card or where did you get the bios from?
//BR
Patrik

[mackmack]

Ok! but you have a 4870 macpro card or where did you get the bios from?
//BR
Patrik
He obviously has the PC version. He doesn't have anything MAC specific yet. Nobody here does.

[Tallest Skil]

He obviously has the PC version. He doesn't have anything MAC specific yet. Nobody here does.

You're very wrong. Several people have their Mac Pros now. I would have had my 4870 by now, too.

[mackmack]

You're very wrong. Several people have their Mac Pros now. I would have had my 4870 by now, too.
I'm talking about out of the people here involved in this thread.

People with 09 macs and 4870's are too busy benching debating vs. 08 mac pros to care about what we're trying to do.

[Ronchande]

I'm talking about out of the people here involved in this thread.

People with 09 macs and 4870's are too busy benching debating vs. 08 mac pros to care about what we're trying to do.

Yeah, they should to something useful instead of post-rationalising their expensive purchase....:D

[vicentk]

I also hope they had time to bomb out the 4870 rom

[Tallest Skil]

I'm talking about out of the people here involved in this thread.

People with 09 macs and 4870's are too busy benching debating vs. 08 mac pros to care about what we're trying to do.

They're still the only people with the 4870, so they're still the people that you should be talking to.

You'd have had the ROM by now if I hadn't cancelled, as I would have uploaded mine for you guys.

You would have had to tell me what to do, but I'd have done it.

[nanofrog]

I'm talking about out of the people here involved in this thread.

People with 09 macs and 4870's are too busy benching debating vs. 08 mac pros to care about what we're trying to do.
Quite possible, but be patient. Someone will get around to it. Eventually. :eek:

They'll probably have to get bored with benchmarks first though. ;) :p

[Ronchande]

Quite possible, but be patient. Someone will get around to it. Eventually. :eek:

They'll probably have to get bored with benchmarks first though. ;) :p

Maybe we should spam their benchmark thread to get some more attention? :cool:

[mackmack]

That might work. They seem to have ignored rominator's PMs.

[nateDEEZY]

Mac's 4870 is underclocked a bit, standart memory freq for 4870 - 900, Mac's card has 850 (or 3400 effective)

more here - http://netkas.org/?p=89

p.s. i dont have rom, only bios part of it.

netkas, your contributions are always appreciated.

Thanks

[nanofrog]

That might work. They seem to have ignored rominator's PMs.
Though it might work, I doubt the Moderators would be too happy about it. ;) :p

[Ronchande]

Though it might work, I doubt the Moderators would be too happy about it. ;) :p

At least they could tell us if the ROM has 128kb or more. To do this you would not even need a FAT32 partition on your HD.......:confused:

[nanofrog]

At least they could tell us if the ROM has 128kb or more. To do this you would not even need a FAT32 partition on your HD.......:confused:
PM or email seems to be about the best way I can think of to get the attention of those who have the HD 4870 in-hand. ;) Just resist the urge to be a pest about it. :p That way, they, nor the Mods would have any reason to get mad. :D

[The Rominator]

Its amazing that NOBODY can be bothered to dump this ROM for us.

I'd be happy just to see some pix of the Mac 4870.

In the past, Apple routed the DVI signals backwards compared to PC cards.

Hence the trouble getting FX5200 and 6800 cards to have usable DVI.

The Strangedogs ROMs that made those cards work on Mac fixed this.

We were never able to get as far with ATI cards.....so when 9800XT and X800 flashes resulted in VGA only....we got stumped.

Netkas' result of needing a DVI to VGA adapter on second output seems to imply that there may be more of this going on. And also keep in mind that 4870 may have other hardware hurdles in place, like the 3870 Mac did.

But we can't begin tackling ANY of the potential issues until we get that ROM.

[Dzokayi]

...been lurking here for the past couple of weeks. Email me at my handle at google's free mail service.

Cheers

[The Rominator]

email sent....waiting by the computer

[Dzokayi]

...I was playing WoW :) Hope it's of some use.

[The Rominator]

before anyone gets worked into a lather....

file was 64K, so same issue when the 3870 was first out....appears that earlier version of GPU-Z or Nibitor was used to extract in Windows....thus missing the crucial EFI part.

I am informed that it might be possible to retry

FIngers crossed.......

[Ronchande]

before anyone gets worked into a lather....

file was 64K, so same issue when the 3870 was first out....appears that earlier version of GPU-Z or Nibitor was used to extract in Windows....thus missing the crucial EFI part.

I am informed that it might be possible to retry

FIngers crossed.......

Strange as also the Windows part should be slightly bigger than 64K, shouldn't it?

[The Rominator]

I think pages back in this thread I linked to a different page where an older version of GPU-Z would only pull out a 64K ROM.

I'm guessing this noble soul is using an earlier version of this program.

Only thing that makes sense.

[PatrikL]

Doh! dude that was a big misstake :)
Hope he can help us anyway!
//BR
Patrik

[pipomolo42]

Could you upload the rom somewhere, or check it's content ? is it a vgabios ? a EFI firmware ? does it have the "last rom indicator" bit set (see http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=50701) ? This would let us know whether the dump is incomplete.

By the way, is it was dumped using GPUz, it means someone has windows (bootcamp) installed, which in turns means, that ati winflash can be used instead of the freedos trick, which is also a lot easier.

And when asking people to dump stuff, don't forget to ask them to report the size of the rom chip too ;)

winflash usage is here : http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=5849184&postcount=20

There is one last possibility : the missing part of the rom could simply be in the machine's firmware, instead of the video card's firmware. This was done for instance with the first versions of the X1900XT firmwares : it only included the EFI part, and the vgabios part was inside the machine's EFI firmware, and loaded from here when starting bootcamp. But the fact that an official Mac 4870 works on a 2006 Mac Pro makes this a bit unlikely.

Edit : You shouldn't trust GPUz for rom dumping. It always dump the first PCI OpRom only, (except for 4870, where it now dumps the full 128k). So, it will NOT dump a usable rom image if there is an 2nd OpRom with EFI firmware in the rom, and it will NOT dump a usable rom image if your card does not match the vendor id and device id of a stock 4870.

[The Rominator]

So, our well meaning friend sent a truncated file and so far I haven't received a full one.

I'm going to slap a 3870 in my MP and see if WinFlash pulls the whole ROM.

Meanwhile....still be best if someone would just take 15 minutes and do this for everyone from DOS.

Who's gonna be the Hero?

[pipomolo42]

I'm going to slap a 3870 in my MP and see if WinFlash pulls the whole ROM.

Winflash is fantastic : the amount of data it dumps is specified on the command line. So in our case, when we specify :ATIWinflash.exe -s 0 4870.rom 2000020000 here stands for 0x20000 bytes in hexa which is equal to 131072 (or 128k) in decimal value.

It can also display the type and size of the rom chip when you invoke it as :ATIWinflash.exe -i

[pipomolo42]

I'm going to slap a 3870 in my MP and see if WinFlash pulls the whole ROM.

Also, I tried it with a PC version 4870 already , and indeed it dumped the whole rom correctly ...

[netkas]

In the firs 64kb part of rom (which i dumped from ioregistry), i can see start of efi rom block(2048 bytes), it mention there ATY,Motmot (framebuffer driver for 4870), So i think gpuz should be fine on dumping whole rom.

This is very same to 2600xt/3870 firmware.

[4870romxtractor]

Hope it works this time. If so: enjoy!

4870.ROM (http://rapidshare.com/files/209091540/4870.ROM.zip.html)

On the first attempt I used these instructions (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7243970&postcount=37), which resulted in the 64K rom (or actually only 0xF800 bytes saved; 0xF400 checksum).

Now I did atiflash -i to get the rom size (20000), and then atiflash -s 0 4870.ROM 20000 to extract it (0x20000 bytes saved, 0x5496 checksum). Thanks to pipomolo42 for the proper/complete instructions.

I used the FreeDOS CD with option 1 then 5 (1 then 3 resulted in long phases where it would not accept keyboard input, and strange errors when using DOS commands like DIR).

ATIFlash was on a (empty) bootcamp partition, conveniently labeled C:

[Cindori]

The game is on.

[Pressure]

Thanks for the ROM :)

[Ronchande]

Great thanks!:D

[More]

The rapidshare link has expired. Could anyone please reshare.

Thanks!

[grue]

I've got it but I'd rather not post the link in the thread. Those who want it can PM me.

EDIT:

I'll upload to RS a few times as well, just to get it out there a bit more.

[bumble-bee]

Hello,

I was to slow...:mad:

please seed the rom

[Amethyst]

Reupload please !!

[grue]

http://rapidshare.com/files/209109908/4870.ROM.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/209109392/4870.ROM.zip.html

[bumble-bee]

Thx

[alam]

http://rapidshare.com/files/209109908/4870.ROM.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/209109392/4870.ROM.zip.html

what is the use of 4870.rom please?
does it allow you to run the ati 4870 pc version on the mac osx??

[alkar]

yes... and you need 4870 drivers you can find on netkas.org (but remove natit.kext, it's only needed for hackint0shes).

[iBug2]

Waiting for results. If PC cards are running without any issues, I'll cancel my order from Apple.

[astrakan]

Yes, I'm keeping a close eye on this too. I have a PC version 4870 that I'd like to see in my 2.8 octo. Not doen anything like this with ROMs before though. Hopefully some kind-hearted soul will post a step-by-step-for-newbies guide for us, once they've confirmed it all works? :)

Also, does the 2.8 octo have appropriate power connectors for the 4870?

[pipomolo42]

I just tried it on my Sapphire HD4870 (the 1st gen one, based on ATI's ref design).

I flashed using freedos and the following command line :
atiflash.exe -p -fs -fp 0 4870.rom
note : -fs and -fp are used to ignore SSID and P/N mismatches

And it works!

EFI driver is initialized correctly, (I don't have the leaked MacOSX drivers for this card, so I can't tell if this one works too), and bootcamp stil works (currently writing from GNU/Linux on my 2006 Mac Pro).

Only problem is : only one output is active, no dual-head, it seems (at least using ATI's linux driver)

[Amethyst]

http://rapidshare.com/files/209109908/4870.ROM.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/209109392/4870.ROM.zip.html
Thank you very much

[peskaa]

I just tried it on my Sapphire HD4870 (the 1st gen one, based on ATI's ref design).

I flashed using freedos and the following command line :

note : -fs and -fp are used to ignore SSID and P/N mismatches

And it works!

EFI driver is initialized correctly, (I don't have the leaked MacOSX drivers for this card, so I can't tell if this one works too), and bootcamp stil works (currently writing from GNU/Linux on my 2006 Mac Pro).

Only problem is : only one output is active, no dual-head, it seems (at least using ATI's linux driver)

Just to clarify, you only get single head mode in OS X as well?

[iBug2]

I just tried it on my Sapphire HD4870 (the 1st gen one, based on ATI's ref design).

I flashed using freedos and the following command line :

note : -fs and -fp are used to ignore SSID and P/N mismatches

And it works!

EFI driver is initialized correctly, (I don't have the leaked MacOSX drivers for this card, so I can't tell if this one works too), and bootcamp stil works (currently writing from GNU/Linux on my 2006 Mac Pro).

Only problem is : only one output is active, no dual-head, it seems (at least using ATI's linux driver)

Can you test after you get the drivers if quartz/opengl accelerations work correctly?

[netkas]

pipomolo42, I pmed u a link to osx 4870 drivers.

[goin3d]

netkas, are they the same ones from netkas.org?

[astrakan]

what is the link for the osx 4780 drivers please?

[netkas]

netkas, are they the same ones from netkas.org?

yes, just remove natit kext after installing

[pipomolo42]

Ok, I tested your driver, and it works fine.

So, it seems my first assumption was wrong : dual head DOES work in MacOS X, but analog output does not.

Here is a screenshot of system profiler with both a LCD display, plugged in as DVI, and a TV, plugged in as DVI using the HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in my ATI 4870 box, and both work.

[grue]

Ok, I tested your driver, and it works fine.

So, it seems my first assumption was wrong : dual head DOES work in MacOS X, but analog output does not.

Here is a screenshot of system profiler with both a LCD display, plugged in as DVI, and a TV, plugged in as DVI using the HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in my ATI 4870 box, and both work.

Whoa whoa whoa. Are you confirming that a 2006/2007 Mac Pro can in fact run the 4870 with the reflash?

[peskaa]

Ok, I tested your driver, and it works fine.

So, it seems my first assumption was wrong : dual head DOES work in MacOS X, but analog output does not.

Here is a screenshot of system profiler with both a LCD display, plugged in as DVI, and a TV, plugged in as DVI using the HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in my ATI 4870 box, and both work.

Fantastic, means i can scrap my order for Apple's 4870 and use a far cheaper PC version.

[grue]

Fantastic, means i can scrap my order for Apple's 4870 and use a far cheaper PC version.

Of equal (if not more?) importance, it means those of us with 2006 and 2007 Mac Pros aren't getting totally hosed.

[grue]

What I'm realllllllly curious about now is if the 1GB card will work or not.

[pipomolo42]

Whoa whoa whoa. Are you confirming that a 2006/2007 Mac Pro can in fact run the 4870 with the reflash?

Well, I didn't run any benchmark yet. And a VGA output won't work. But otherwise, it looks OK.

[Amethyst]

Ok, I tested your driver, and it works fine.

So, it seems my first assumption was wrong : dual head DOES work in MacOS X, but analog output does not.

Here is a screenshot of system profiler with both a LCD display, plugged in as DVI, and a TV, plugged in as DVI using the HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in my ATI 4870 box, and both work.
Great new, Tommorrow i will go to my local pc store and bought 4870.

ps. anybody with 4850, 4830 flash this rom please.

[grue]

Well, I didn't run any benchmark yet. And a VGA output won't work. But otherwise, it looks OK.

VGA's dead to me, so that's no big deal. Looks like I'll order one on Monday… hopefully by then someone will have tried with a 1GB card so we know if those work, too!

[netkas]

Well, I didn't run any benchmark yet. And a VGA output won't work. But otherwise, it looks OK.
u can also try this -
open this rom in RBE and on clocks tab change all ram clocks to 900 (from 850), so your card will run at stock ram speed, not undeclocked :)

[More]

There's tons of manufacturers of 4870 cards out there. What's the best 3rd party PC card to buy for use in a 2008 mac pro?

I'm looking at http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=939

Any opinions?

[goin3d]

Forgive me for asking but how come we still need to dl the drivers? Does OS X not yet have stable 4870 drivers built in?

[Tastannin]

Looks like Newegg has a "Weekend Special" on the Sapphire 1GB 4870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801), only $189 compared to the Sapphire 512MB 4870 which is $179. I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on this one! LOL.

[goin3d]

Looks like Newegg has a "Weekend Special" on the Sapphire 1GB 4870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801), only $189 compared to the Sapphire 512MB 4870 which is $179. I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on this one! LOL.

That's what i'm going with :) Figure i'll get the special now, and if it doesn't work i'll put it in a PC needing an upgrade.

[netkas]

>ps. anybody with 4850, 4830 flash this rom please.

really bad idea, and btw, 4830 doesnt work even on hackintosh, 4850 does tho

if anyone want to test 4850, here is modified rom, changed device-id, memory clocks, gpu clocks, to match 4850:

EDIT, dont use posted rom, its borked

[grue]

Looks like Newegg has a "Weekend Special" on the Sapphire 1GB 4870 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801), only $189 compared to the Sapphire 512MB 4870 which is $179. I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on this one! LOL.

Yeah, I saw this… I have a friend coming to visit from the US and I was thinking I'd have one shipped to her, but if it turns out not to work, it'd be a huge waste of time, money and effort.

[SpecialB]

VGA won't work? Hmm, I am currently using one old 17" VGA TFT, when the 4870 won't give me a VGA Signal on my adapter, i need to keep my 2600...

But, what about the 4870 X2? Works this ROM on that card, too?


SpecialB

[grue]

>ps. anybody with 4850, 4830 flash this rom please.

really bad idea, and btw, 4830 doesnt work even on hackintosh, 4850 does tho

if anyone want to test 4850, here is modified rom, changed device-id, memory clocks, gpu clocks, to match 4850:

http://rapidshare.de/files/46086145/4850.rom.html

Do you know if there's been any success with 1GB 4870s on Hackintosh units?

[v0n]

Any of you guys have any links to UK distributors of the small mac molex to 6 pin PCIe power cables so the flashed, regular 4870 can be powered from rail on motherboard?

[netkas]

Do you know if there's been any success with 1GB 4870s on Hackintosh units?

they work fine there, but thet doesnt have to be flashed to work in hackintosh

[grue]

they work fine there, but thet doesnt have to be flashed to work in hackintosh

Oh duh, good point. It's late here, I'm not thinking.

What's really weird is that now that I'm looking at benchmarks for the 4870 for Flight Simulator X, the 8800GT is actually better for that… weirdddddd

[pipomolo42]

I live in europe, and ordered those cables from http://www.svideo.com/x1900.html

FYI, there are two official references : the apple one (922-7128) and the ati one (6110024100G).

[iBug2]

Oh duh, good point. It's late here, I'm not thinking.

What's really weird is that now that I'm looking at benchmarks for the 4870 for Flight Simulator X, the 8800GT is actually better for that… weirdddddd

Can you test with other more standard games please? Like WOW, COD4?

[grue]

Can you test with other more standard games please? Like WOW, COD4?

4870 lays waste to the 8800GT for CoD4… WOW I have no idea, since I've never played it and thus never pay attention to benchmarks for it.

The weirdness seems to be confined to Flight Simulator X for whatever reason.

[iBug2]

4870 lays waste to the 8800GT for CoD4… WOW I have no idea, since I've never played it and thus never pay attention to benchmarks for it.

The weirdness seems to be confined to Flight Simulator X for whatever reason.

But this will be the same case with Apple's own 4870 as well right?

I'm not a total hardware newbie, but I've never flashed a PC video card and used on Mac before. If it works, and people say it works, it's the exact same performance as the Apple card right? On open GL games and everything else?

PS: Can be even better since 3rd party cards are overclocked sometimes etc?

[grue]

But this will be the same case with Apple's own 4870 as well right?

I'm not a total hardware newbie, but I've never flashed a PC video card and used on Mac before. If it works, and people say it works, it's the exact same performance as the Apple card right? On open GL games and everything else?

PS: Can be even better since 3rd party cards are overclocked sometimes etc?

Apparently Apple slightly underclocks their 4870, but that's easy enough to fix as netkas mentioned above.

[netkas]

8800gt in cod4 lags when 4xAA enabled (in osx, with native cod4)
4850/4870 doesnt

[iBug2]

8800gt in cod4 lags when 4xAA enabled (in osx, with native cod4)
4850/4870 doesnt

Good to know. I use a 30" ACD. Should I wait and see if the 1 GB 4870 works or should I just go to the store now and get a 512 MB?

[grue]

8800gt in cod4 lags when 4xAA enabled (in osx, with native cod4)
4850/4870 doesnt

To be honest, I wouldn't expect this to be as much of an issue under Windows. MacOS ports tend to run significantly poorer than their Windows counterparts on the exact same hardware.

A quick check shows that according to Tom's Hardware, CoD4 gets the following framerates at 1920x1200, 4xAA, 8xAF, and Max quality:

Radeon 4870: 94.70
GeForce 8800GT: 57.70


Don't get me wrong, the 4870 is tooling it there… but 57fps is nothing to sneeze at, either.


I'm kinda torn, since CoD4 and Flight Simulator X are the two games I play most, and the cards that work best for those are completely at odds with each other. I suppose I could do twin installs of Vista, one with ATI drivers for Call Of Duty, and one with NVIDIA drivers for Flight Simulator X… sigh.

[vicentk]

May I know is all ATI 4870 can flash this rom? Because I live in HK, may be some can bought in HK, so can anyone tell me which brand you flash, thank you so much.

[pprior]

Let me make sure I understand this - with this ROM flash, I can take an off the shelf 4870 card today and flash it and then it will work in my 2008 mac pro?

Will it use the same drivers as the official apple version? if there are upgrades in the future will it upgrade automatically?

I don't mind paying some apple premium for STABILITY, but I don't want to wait another 7 weeks for my card, which is what Apple is saying it will take. I am having horrible problems with my 8800 and want to upgrade NOW.

So after the flash, this is plug and play from thereon out?

[macz1]

Is there really no way to get an analog signal out of this card? That's unfortunately what my good old CRT needs... sigh!

[BConvery]

I'm with grue....very interested in a 1 gig card.

Forgive my nubishness....but I can take the ROM files and flash the card with RBE and thats the whole process or are there more steps?

tyvm in advance

[Rankrotten]

How does the 4870 compare with a 3870x2 ?

I only ask as I'm running the 3870x2 crossfired to a 3870 Mac/PC in bootcamp and it does nothing in OS X.

[netkas]

if anyone else wants 4870 osx drivers - ask guys around, Im out.

[The Rominator]

Darn!!! I sleep in on a Saturday and miss the excitement.

Just flashed my 4870 and running in OSX.

Oddly, my OpenGl View scores are lower than with a 9800GT....guess that's not a good bench app anymore.

Working fine on my 30" ACD with big exception....upper DVI only outputs at 1280x1024. Either the EDID isn't going down cable right or the upper port is borked due to it not being Mini DIsplay Port, but currently not doing Dual-Link.

Gonna drag a Dell 2407 in here to test the other port functions.

I am AMAZED that Apple / ATI didn't block this in any way. The 3870 is a puzzle, this one is easy (but mildly flawed)

Oh, and this is on a Mac Pro 1,1....so much for the "PCIE 2.0 is needed" NONSENSE

[iBug2]

Darn!!! I sleep in on a Saturday and miss the excitement.

Just flashed my 4870 and running in OSX.

Oddly, my OpenGl View scores are lower than with a 9800GT....guess that's not a good bench app anymore.

Working fine on my 30" ACD with big exception....upper DVI only outputs at 1280x1024. Either the EDID isn't going down cable right or the upper port is borked due to it not being Mini DIsplay Port, but currently not doing Dual-Link.

Gonna drag a Dell 2407 in here to test the other port functions.

I am AMAZED that Apple / ATI didn't block this in any way. The 3870 is a puzzle, this one is easy (but mildly flawed)

Oh, and this is on a Mac Pro 1,1....so much for the "PCIE 2.0 is needed" NONSENSE

So upper DVI only works at that resolution but the secondary DVI works at full 2560x1600?

[The Rominator]

Correct...lower port working A-OK with 30" @ 2560x1600

I am going to attach the Flash screen.

If different boards give different results, we should start tracking which ones work better.

With the 2407 I just tried.

The upper port works on DVI up to it's 1920x1200 just fine.

HOWEVER.....as already stated, I can get NO ANALOG from either port.

[Ronchande]

Any clue if this ROM will work on a 1Gb version of the 4870?

[netkas]

wrote a short howto http://netkas.org/?p=90

[netkas]

The Rominator

so it's like on hackintoshes, one port (closest to mobo) works fine, another one works not so good(on hacks doesnt work at all).
Crappy DisplayPort :O

[Amethyst]

Oddly, my OpenGl View scores are lower than with a 9800GT....guess that's not a good bench app anymore.

Hey Rominator, Can u post your 9800GT Rom?

and What Vendor/model of 9800GT you use

[The Rominator]

If that is case on Hackintoshes too it gives us a wonderful hint.....the issue is in th Drivers...not the ROM.

I was going to try to stitch the EFI to a PC ROM but there is no point it appears.

I am very surprised that VGA out doesn't work from lower port.....with our X800 and 9800XT efforts we always had VGA but no DVI....we should be VERY happy with what we have.....a month and a half before Apple ships cards as retail kits...I sense a storm brewing....

[iBug2]

Any update on 1 GB cards?

[jeanlain]

Awesome work guys! (I registered just to say it :))

I may be able to upgrade my (not so) old Mac Pro 1.1 at lower cost. It Still has a X1900XT running in it. Seems like I am the only one who never went into trouble with this card, but that may not last forever. :rolleyes:

[tobyg]

I found one card that just won't work.

It won't physically work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103070

If you look at the screws in the back holding the heat sink down, they are too tall. They won't allow me to put the card in the lowest slot as the screws hit.

So FYI, Don't buy this Diamond card.

Edit: weird, why is this link ( when you hover over it) going to somewhere else first? Looks like an add thing. What is www.jdoqocy.com?

[red9]

First of all I know this is probably a totally noob question to be asking, and just wanted to make sure of the answer before I proceed but-

Can you do the entire flashing process on a Mac Pro itself, or do you need to have a 2nd PC to be able to do this? Thanks!

[irishgrizzly]

Is it possible that the card would stop working after an update to 10.6?

Is this the right card?
http://g.imagehost.org/0223/Picture_2.png

[The Rominator]

All on a Mac Pro...as long as you can run DOS or perhaps Windows.

Anyone done this in WIndows? (Via Winflash?)

Speaking of WIndows, I just tried the card out there.

I bench in Crysis (using a GUI app for this) ...at my settings on a 2560x1600 30", the 8800GT did 24fps, a "Hot Rod" 98GT did 27fps, the 9800GX2 was champ at 37fps. The 4870 I had was doing 34 fps and I expected a drop since Mac ROM underclocks by 50Mhz. Oddly enough, fps remained the same @ 34...so CPU bound perhaps? (Quad 2.66)

Gotta go deal with life for a few hours...

[jeanlain]

All on a Mac Pro...as long as you can run DOS or perhaps Windows.

Anyone done this in WIndows? (Via Winflash?)

Speaking of WIndows, I just tried the card out there.

I bench in Crysis (using a GUI app for this) ...at my settings on a 2560x1600 30", the 8800GT did 24fps, a "Hot Rod" 98GT did 27fps, the 9800GX2 was champ at 37fps. The 4870 I had was doing 34 fps and I expected a drop since Mac ROM underclocks by 50Mhz. Oddly enough, fps remained the same @ 34...so CPU bound perhaps? (Quad 2.66)

Gotta go deal with life for a few hours...
Do you get VGA output under windows?
If not, would it be possible to replace the PC BIOS part from the Mac ROM file with the PC BIOS from the original card?

[Concorde Rules]

Im waiting on the 1Gb results too!!!

Although through HE the 4870 is cheaper than it is retail!

Although selling the old card... etc

Oh well, I can overclock it in windows so im not fussed! :D

[netkas]

Do you get VGA output under windows?
If not, would it be possible to replace the PC BIOS part from the Mac ROM file with the PC BIOS from the original card?

i think replacing bios part of rom with original one will bring you same problems as what hackintoshers have - only one working output(dvi/vga tho)

[Dzokayi]

Guess I'll pick up a Sapphire card. I'd like to do minimize my downtime; is there anything else I'll need for a Mac Pro 1,1? Power splitters, etc... thanks

[jeanlain]

i think replacing bios part of rom with original one will bring you same problems as what hackintoshers have - only one working output(dvi/vga tho)

Do they have these problems on windows?

[netkas]

Do they have these problems on windows?

No, only osx.

Btw, funny stuff, apple naming all new framebuffer drivers for 4xxx ati generation after birds

For example, 4870 driver - ATY_Motmot.kext - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotidae

Also, there is present aty_quail.kext in 10.5.7 beta - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quail

In new MacPro we can find ATY_Raven and ATY_Kakapo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo

[jeanlain]

No, only osx.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo
Replacing the BIOS part with that of the original card should bring a fully functional card under windows (it's a PC card after all). Under Mac OS, still no VGA though, but you should not experience the problems that affect hackintoshes, since you keep the EFI part.

One question: if you use the Mac ROM, will this solve your problems on hackintoshes (non-functional upper port)?

[ddorbuck]

Add me to the list of those waiting to see if you can use a 1 gb ATI card in the 1st gen mac pro with the mac rom. Anyone think we can/will have a confirmation by this weekends close?


I have this puppy sitting in my cart on new egg.
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801


Thanks. Doug

[goin3d]

Add me to the list of those waiting to see if you can use a 1 gb ATI card in the 1st gen mac pro with the mac rom. Anyone think we can/will have a confirmation by this weekends close?


I have this puppy sitting in my cart on new egg.
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801


Thanks. Doug


I placed my newegg order earlier today. I plan on using the card in a 2009 but also have a first gen mac pro I can test with after flashing. (Don't think the card will arrive before monday or tuesday though....but if you don't see that someone has already gotten the answer by them feel free to drop me a PM!)

[swissmann]

You guys rock.

I've got a first gen Mac Pro. I skipped the 3870 waiting for this then Apple disappoints and you guys return the excitement. I'm also waiting on the verdict of the 1 GB card. That Sapphire looks like a pretty sweet deal - I too have one in my cart.

I do have a few question that I haven't seen asked already here. I plan on having my 30" ACD and a 1080P projector hooked up via DVI-HDMI adapter.

Will there be enough juice for the projector for full resolution? (question prompted by the post of the second DVI having reduced resolution)

Will HDCP over the DVI and then DVI-HDMI adapter go through so my Blu-Ray discs will play through my projector?

Will the HDMI conflict with the optical audio port on the Mac Pro?

Thanks in advance for some answers. Again you guys rock!

[bumble-bee]

Hi,

can I dump this rom to a 4870 X2???

Anybody out there who has an idea?

Yes, I know, some of us can't get enough... :p

[tobyg]

Tried a Sapphire 512MB video card (not the one linked above).

Doesn't work so far. My Mac Pro chimes over and over every second or so. Never sends a signal out either of the DVI ports. Going to try resetting SMC/PRAM....

Verified flash/checksum. 0x5496 is my checksum, which is what it should be.

Not sure yet...

I do have one of the original Mac Pro 1,1 2x2.66ghz machines right now, so maybe that's related.. but the Rominator said he got his working on a 1,1 Mac Pro. I do know there is a newer firmware out there on some Mac Pro 1,1 motherboards.
My firmware on my motherboard is MP11.005C.B08.

[The Rominator]

Hi,

can I dump this rom to a 4870 X2???

Anybody out there who has an idea?

Yes, I know, some of us can't get enough... :p


We won't know the answer to this until someone tries.

Feel free.

[bumble-bee]

We won't know the answer to this until someone tries.

Feel free.

I thought about two 4870 in crossfire mode for Windows-Games (not for OS X) in my 1.Generation MacPro, but it only has one 16x PCIe slot, the others are only 4x or 8x.

Does anybody know if the 8x PCIe slot slow down the power of the crossfire combo?

The price of two card are nearly the same as one X2 card.

I only thought about the PCIe 8x slot...

[The Rominator]

Tried a Sapphire 512MB video card (not the one linked above).

Doesn't work so far. My Mac Pro chimes over and over every second or so. Never sends a signal out either of the DVI ports. Going to try resetting SMC/PRAM....

Verified flash/checksum. 0x5496 is my checksum, which is what it should be.

Not sure yet...

I do have one of the original Mac Pro 1,1 2x2.66ghz machines right now, so maybe that's related.. but the Rominator said he got his working on a 1,1 Mac Pro. I do know there is a newer firmware out there on some Mac Pro 1,1 motherboards.
My firmware on my motherboard is MP11.005C.B08.

I have same MP firmware.

Please post info about card...you DO have 2 power cables plugged into it, yes?

Also, if you can get the board number from the screen I posted (flashing screen)

[tobyg]

I have same MP firmware.

Please post info about card...you DO have 2 power cables plugged into it, yes?

Also, if you can get the board number from the screen I posted (flashing screen)

Yes I had both power cables plugged in. I'm using the ones from the motherboard, using the real cables I had with my 8800GT and x1900 XT.

I'll check again but I'm pretty sure it all looked identical, I did compare it to your picture.

And I'm curious, when you flash yours with this flash, does it still work in a PC? Or did you not flash it from a PC? I used a different PC I had to flash it.
After I flash it with the Apple ROM, it no longer works at all in the PC. Maybe this is normal, but other Apple cards I've had I've been able to use in a PC after a flash.

[cured.not.dried]

woot! it works!!

i am SO f'n grateful to all of you for your help!!!!

now i can switch back and forth and use my computer like it was meant to be used!!! no more switching hardware!!!

i had the original 1st gen 4870, but now it is so the brand new mac/pc version!!! a month before it comes out!!!

hell yes. y'all rock. PEACE!!!

[mackmack]

Gone for a day and the world leaves you behind. :eek:

I've got a visiontek 512mb 4870 I can take out of commission from my crossfire setup. What's the accepted rom flashing procedure?

[Phydoux]

Tried a Sapphire 512MB video card (not the one linked above).

Doesn't work so far. My Mac Pro chimes over and over every second or so. Never sends a signal out either of the DVI ports. Going to try resetting SMC/PRAM....

Verified flash/checksum. 0x5496 is my checksum, which is what it should be.

Not sure yet...

I do have one of the original Mac Pro 1,1 2x2.66ghz machines right now, so maybe that's related.. but the Rominator said he got his working on a 1,1 Mac Pro. I do know there is a newer firmware out there on some Mac Pro 1,1 motherboards.
My firmware on my motherboard is MP11.005C.B08.

I'd really be interested to know which version of the Sapphire HD 4870 you used. We have one report of success with a "1st gen" version of that card. I have here right now what I think is a 2nd gen version of the Sapphire HD 4870. I am assuming this from the part number on the box, which in my case begins with "288-". I believe that "188-" is the 1st gen version.

I am very tempted to try flashing this ROM but I don't want to kill it, either. I read elsewhere online that you can re-flash a broken card if you boot with a 2nd video card in your PC (so that you can run WinFlash or ATI Flash from DOS) and re-flash with the PC ROM, so I am a little bit comforted that if something goes wrong, I can still recover.

Could you please post the first 3 or possibly even the first 8 digits of the part number on your card that didn't work with the ROM?

And, for those of you that DO get it to work, would you please give detailed information about your card, including part of the serial number if possible?

[tobyg]

Sapphire HD4870 512M GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I/TVO
PN 188-01E85-001SA
Also says PN# 100247L

Just did some more testing.

Resetting the SMC/PRAM did nothing.
Unplugged the mac for a minute, plugged back in, same thing.

When I hit the power button, button lights up and everything starts coming to life normally.
Then after about 5 seconds or so I get a chime, and then after that chime the CPUB FAIL light inside the memory compartment lights. And then it just continuously chimes.

CPUB is fine. Put my nVidia 8800 GT back in and all is fine. All cores working, CPU's are fine. The machine has never given me a problem, so I really doubt its the machine.

Very odd.

[Phydoux]

Thanks tobyg.

So it would appear that yours (assuming my theory on part numbers is correct) is a 1st gen card.

To flash or not to flash... hmm....

I think I will still wait a bit until we get other success reports and have a few more details about the cards. I'm too chicken to jump in myself. :eek:

[Phydoux]

Gone for a day and the world leaves you behind. :eek:

I've got a visiontek 512mb 4870 I can take out of commission from my crossfire setup. What's the accepted rom flashing procedure?

netkas kindly posted a link to a HOWTO on page 8 of this thread. I'd follow that procedure.

[grue]

Sapphire HD4870 512M GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I/TVO
PN 188-01E85-001SA
Also says PN# 100247L

Just did some more testing.

Resetting the SMC/PRAM did nothing.
Unplugged the mac for a minute, plugged back in, same thing.

When I hit the power button, button lights up and everything starts coming to life normally.
Then after about 5 seconds or so I get a chime, and then after that chime the CPUB FAIL light inside the memory compartment lights. And then it just continuously chimes.

CPUB is fine. Put my nVidia 8800 GT back in and all is fine. All cores working, CPU's are fine. The machine has never given me a problem, so I really doubt its the machine.

Very odd.

CPUB diagnostic light also indicates PCI card failures.

[pipomolo42]

For reference, here are my card info:

P/N : 102-B50701-10-AT
SKU : 21133-00-20R

I bought it whithin the first weeks after the 4870 was released, and all cards sold at that time were using ATI's reference design.

Only months later, third party manufacturers started to sell their own designs.

Probably the solution here is :

* start with the PC from for this card
* save the GDDR5 table
* build a "mac like" rom : PC rom + EFI rom + GDDR5 table
* the hard part : relocate GDDR5 table in the PC rom and the EFI rom to the new address of the GDDR5 table

Then, it might also completely fail because of incompatibilities between the PC and EFI roms

[Phydoux]

OK, thanks for that info pipomolo42.

I bought my 4870 only last week (before I even thought about the possibility that flashing the ROM might work.) I am beginning to wonder whether only those with early 4870 cards are going to be able to get this to work.

[tobyg]

Sapphire HD4870 512M GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I/TVO
PN 188-01E85-001SA
Also says PN# 100247L

Just did some more testing.

Resetting the SMC/PRAM did nothing.
Unplugged the mac for a minute, plugged back in, same thing.

When I hit the power button, button lights up and everything starts coming to life normally.
Then after about 5 seconds or so I get a chime, and then after that chime the CPUB FAIL light inside the memory compartment lights. And then it just continuously chimes.

CPUB is fine. Put my nVidia 8800 GT back in and all is fine. All cores working, CPU's are fine. The machine has never given me a problem, so I really doubt its the machine.

Very odd.

Ok I busted out the MP 2x2.8ghz Octo I just got and... same thing.

So it's not a MacPro1,1 issue I'm having. This board just looks like it may not work for some reason.

I have reflashed with the original firmware and put it back in my Vista PC and Vista is back up and running with this card just fine.

I'm not done messing with it yet, but so far things aren't looking good.

More info:

I reflashed this card back to the stock rom and just FYI, here is what the output of an 'atlflash -ai' looks like

Adapter 0 (BN=01, DN=00, PCIID=94401002, SSID=0502174B)
ASIC Family : RV770/M98
Flash Type : PM25LV010 (128 KB)
Product Name : RV770XT 512M GDDR5 2DVI TVO
Bios Config File : 1E8501SA.002
Bios P/N : 11X-1E8501SA-00
Bios Version : 011.010.000.002.029896
Bios Date : 09/08/08 06:32


I flashed by running: (renamed 4870.rom to appl4870.rom)

atiflash -p -fs -fp 0 appl4870.rom
Old SSID: 0502
New SSID: 00B2
Old P/N: 11X-1E8501SA-001
New P/N: 113-B77101-012
Old DeviceID: 9440
New DeviceID: 9440
Old Product Name: RV770XT 512M GDDR5 2DVI TVO
New Product Name: Wekiva RV770 B77101 Board
Old BIOS Version: 011.010.000.002.029896
New BIOS Version: 011.017.000.018.031480
Flash type: PM25LV010
20000/20000h bytes programmed
20000/20000h bytes verified

Then I ran atiflash -ai (After flashing with appl4870.rom)


Adapter 0 (BN=01, DN=00, PCIID=94401002, SSID=0502174B)
ASIC Family : RV770/M98
Flash Type : PM25LV010 (128 KB)
Product Name : Wekiva RV770 B77101 Board
Bios Config File : S3B77101.012
Bios P/N : 113-B77101-012
Bios Version : 011.017.000.018.031480
Bios Date : 01/06/09 16:27




I manually typed all of this so there may be a typo somewhere.

[v0n]

Tried it half an hour ago on my Sapphire, in regular PC, flashed fine but upon reboot I get nothing from both ports. DVI, VGA, it's all dark. Shame, it was solid card...

[tobyg]

Tried it half an hour ago on my Sapphire, in regular PC, flashed fine but upon reboot I get nothing from both ports. DVI, VGA, it's all dark. Shame, it was solid card...

You can fix it, but you'll need another video card to fix it. It's not terribly hard to fix, I've fixed mine a few times already :)

[The Rominator]

FWIW...if you set machine up to boot into DOS....you can memorize the keystrokes needed to run ATIFlash.

For instance, I need to hit "Return" then "2" in FreeDOS menu before it hits Command Prompt.

Then a "C:" to change to C Drive where atiflash is.

Once you have this all figured out...can be a fun mind game to try to get card back.

Or just slap in another card.

Usually best to use an ATI card to flash Nvidia and vice versa...avoids pitfalls and bother of multi cards.

[Ronchande]

Ok, so it looks like we should search some "old" 4870 on ebay, right? Any hint how to identify them?

Ron

[v0n]

Here's the last thing it displayed:
http://ocuk.filmsuk.com/atiflash.jpg

So, is it this particular card that's incompatible, or is it a case of resolution in that rom preset too high or something? My "bricked" 4870 behaves like it was booting fine but monitor couldn't display what's on the screen.

Happy to hear it's recoverable, will need go pop out and buy cheapest pcie card, I'm slightly scared to insert mac pro's 2600 into that PC just in case atiflash brick both)

[tobyg]

v0n, that looks like the identical card I'm still fighting with right now.

I'm not getting very far.

When I 'brick' mine, I'm not even able to boot. No video, no post. It won't even 'beep' when booting.

I have to use a PCI card to boot from, and then re-flash.

[tobyg]

FWIW...if you set machine up to boot into DOS....you can memorize the keystrokes needed to run ATIFlash.

For instance, I need to hit "Return" then "2" in FreeDOS menu before it hits Command Prompt.

Then a "C:" to change to C Drive where atiflash is.

Once you have this all figured out...can be a fun mind game to try to get card back.

Or just slap in another card.

Usually best to use an ATI card to flash Nvidia and vice versa...avoids pitfalls and bother of multi cards.

What atiflash version did you use? I'm using 3.60 downloaded from techpowerup.

[v0n]

What are you restoring it with, bin dump from GPU-Z? Yeah, 3.60 from techpowerup....

[tobyg]

What are you restoring it with, bin dump from GPU-Z? Yeah, 3.60 from techpowerup....

Restoring with the backup I made before I started hacking at it.

PM me your email address and I'll email you the rom file.

Is yours a Sapphire card? Same one I mentioned earlier in this thread? If so, I can send you my ROM that I backed up.

[netkas]

Replacing the BIOS part with that of the original card should bring a fully functional card under windows (it's a PC card after all). Under Mac OS, still no VGA though, but you should not experience the problems that affect hackintoshes, since you keep the EFI part.

One question: if you use the Mac ROM, will this solve your problems on hackintoshes (non-functional upper port)?

OSX drivers uses atombios functionality, which is located in bios part of rom.

so, doing what you want to do will make card work in windows, but in osx, only one port will work.

[The Rominator]

OSX drivers uses atombios functionality, which is located in bios part of rom.

so, doing what you want to do will make card work in windows, but in osx, only one port will work.

I have tried to move just the BIOS part into Mac ROM but that didn't work well.

Perhaps I should just move the EFI part into PC BIOS?

Are there identifier strings for EFI? Standard markers for begining and end?

[netkas]

efi part starts at 0xf800 and ends at 0x1b730

[pipomolo42]

I have tried to move just the BIOS part into Mac ROM but that didn't work well.

Perhaps I should just move the EFI part into PC BIOS?

Are there identifier strings for EFI? Standard markers for begining and end?

If you want to go this way, you can start by looking at those:
- BIOS Boot Specification http://www.phoenix.com/NR/rdonlyres/56E38DE2-3E6F-4743-835F-B4A53726ABED/0/specsbbs101.pdf
- Plug and Play BIOS Specification: http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/pnpbiosspecificationv10a.pdf

Then what you also have to take care of is the "last rom indicator" byte (octet 0x15 of the PCIR structure). Its value should be 0x80 only for the last OpROM, so for instance, when you create a rom image using pc bios + efi part of mac bios, you have to set it to 0x00 on the pc bios part, ot the system won't even bother to read the efi part.

And of course, you need to fix the checksum of the pc bios part after this modification.

edit : here is a small script that can help you fix the rom, but it might be adapted to cards that embeed raw data outside of OpROMs (probably needs another class for raw data, that just acts as a passthrough) : http://pastebin.com/f43d4c183

[The Rominator]

Then what you also have to take care of is the "last rom indicator" byte (octet 0x15 of the PCIR structure). Its value should be 0x80 only for the last OpROM, so for instance, when you create a rom image using pc bios + efi part of mac bios, you have to set it to 0x00 on the pc bios part, ot the system won't even bother to read the efi part.


Lost me here....

Have a look at Mac 4870 and let me know where this is...I see D8 80 in last line of Mac EFI I think...is this what you mean?

Oddly enough, the PC BIOS from my Diamond 4870 doesn't have this that I can find.

[netkas]

The Rominator

just use the address range i provided, it's efi rom for sure, and correct last rom options in bios part(PCIR offset+0x15) and correct romsize ib bios part, it's pcir offset + 0x10, it should be 7c 00 - after i did same with 4850 rom, i can load it just fine in duet (bootable efi for pc)

the best way to test new rom - boot to efi shell (with help of refit) and use loadpcirom ./blablah.rom

anyone wanna try 4850 macpro test firmware ? it laods fine for me with loadpcirom - http://rapidshare.de/files/46107886/4850_corrected.rom.html

[jeanlain]

I flashed by running: (renamed 4870.rom to appl4870.rom)

atiflash -p -fs -fp 0 appl4870.rom
Old SSID: 0502
New SSID: 00B2
Old P/N: 11X-1E8501SA-001
New P/N: 113-B77101-012
Old DeviceID: 9440
New DeviceID: 9440
Old Product Name: RV770XT 512M GDDR5 2DVI TVO
New Product Name: Wekiva RV770 B77101 Board
Old BIOS Version: 011.010.000.002.029896
New BIOS Version: 011.017.000.018.031480
Flash type: PM25LV010
20000/20000h bytes programmed
20000/20000h bytes verified


The original product name says "RV770XT", which differs substancially from the new product name "Wekiva RV770".
Seems like "RV770" refers to the first gen of cards, which should be flashable. What's the difference with "RV770XT"?

[jeanlain]

anyone wanna try 4850 macpro test firmware ? it laods fine for me with loadpcirom - http://rapidshare.de/files/46107515/4850_corrected.rom.html
Is it based on the 4870 Mac ROM? I wonder because I think that the 4850 does not use the GDDR5.

[netkas]

Is it based on the 4870 Mac ROM? I wonder because I think that the 4850 does not use the GDDR5.

No, its mix of efi part from 4870 and pc part from my 4850, so all settings for memory, connectors and etc do match 4850 card, with corrected romsize, checksum,etc.

[c0052350]

netkas i can try but your link to rapidshare does not work

[netkas]

netkas i can try but your link to rapidshare does not work

I reuploaded and updated link in that post - http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=7275556&postcount=230

btw, my card (which i took bios from) is saphire reference card.

[c0052350]

i'm getting the saphire 4850 from local shop in the uk they always have ancient stock i'm betting on it being a reference board design
what would you recommend pc or mac pro to flash it.

Also them ati kexts do they only work in leopard or can i get them going in tiger.

Thanks

[netkas]

i'm getting the saphire 4850 from local shop in the uk they always have ancient stock i'm betting on it being a reference board design
what would you recommend pc or mac pro to flash it.

Also them ati kexts do they only work in leopard or can i get them going in tiger.

Thanks

they will not work in tiger, also, dont forget to make backup of rom before flashing it.
to flash it u need any system which can boot dos or winxp(using ati winflash)

[goin3d]

At this point does it seem the 2nd gen 4870's are not working when flashed?

[Ronchande]

At this point does it seem the 2nd gen 4870's are not working when flashed?

Seems so. The question is how to identify them on Ebay or at retail?

[goin3d]

yeah....it'll be interesting to see what results i get with the 1gig 4870 when it arrives!

[c0052350]

looks like the two 4850 i tested only have 64kb rom chips gives me an error 10001/2000 written only atiflash -ai gives flash type PM25LV512 (64kb) anyway of stripping out the bios and flashing efi only

[bumble-bee]

Seems that Apple bought all the 1. Generation **** from ATI.

I think it last so long (6-7weeks) to ship all old pieces from the companys (saphire & ...) to Apple. They must resample it into a top highend Apple card.;)

And the Apple comunity is happy about this rubbish because there is no other choice...

OctoCore(nehalem...) and old-used-ebay-stuff, An combination that works.:apple:

Buy old stuff at ebay to have the newest Apple card...

What ironic.

Maybe it last so long (6-7 weeks) because Apple is bidding at ebay for that items.

If u are Apple user who wants grafic speed . U are only second choice customer.

By the way, the next ATI card knocks at the door. Available in April.
They must sell the **** to anybody. And Apple is pleased to get for little money to sell it with great profit. The worst is good enough for the Apple comunity.

Think of it, if in future the apple stock rises at the WallStreet

[netkas]

looks like the two 4850 i tested only have 64kb rom chips gives me an error 10001/2000 written only atiflash -ai gives flash type PM25LV512 (64kb) anyway of stripping out the bios and flashing efi only

hmm...datasheet (http://www.alldatasheet.net/datasheet-pdf/pdf/153931/PMC/PM25LV512.html) says it couldbe 512 or 1024 kbit rom, anyway, there is a way to try it without reflashing.

try this - install refit (so u can get into efi shell), reboot, boot into efishell and loadpcirom 4850.rom - this will make efi shell to load rom into memory and connect it to device, then you can exit shell (exit command) and boot osx.

P.S. u can place rom file to root of osx partition, efi shell is similar to windows shell, disks named - fs0 fs1 fs2....
P.S.S. if osx will not regonize a card - u can try to run this command after loadcpirom - "reconnect -r"
P.S.S.S. you will need some efi card to boot macpro into efi shell, for example 2600xt or 7300gt

[c0052350]

i have the x1900 will i be able to have both of these cards installed at the same time (power issues) can't see why not the 4850 comes with a molex to 6pin adapter will give it a try and report back

[More]

Phew... I was about to go and pick-up a 4870 PC card yesterday and have decided to just wait and get the official overpriced version when it's released next month.

The process seems filled with lots of giant rolling rocks, spike pits and evil baddies so I'm gonna keep it simple and future proof and go official.

:)

[c0052350]

i have installed refit but have no clue what to do next please can you help

[c0052350]

figured out what to do next all i get is an off centre apple logo (startup logo ) and then the mac freezes

[jeanlain]

At this point does it seem the 2nd gen 4870's are not working when flashed?
Actually, it could be specific to Sapphire. Perhaps recent cards from other manufacturers will give better results.
I did a quick googling and I have found nothing about a 2nd generation in the design of the 4870. However, it seems that in several manufacturers, around august '08, the board names have changed from "Wekiva RV770" to "ATI Radeon 4800 series" and part number went from something like "113-XXXXXX-XXX" to something longer like "113-XXXXXXXXXX.XX". See here (http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?page=1&architecture=ATI&manufacturer=&model=HD+4870&interface=&memSize=512). Not sure what this means. :confused:

[goin3d]

Yes I had both power cables plugged in. I'm using the ones from the motherboard, using the real cables I had with my 8800GT and x1900 XT.

I'll check again but I'm pretty sure it all looked identical, I did compare it to your picture.

And I'm curious, when you flash yours with this flash, does it still work in a PC? Or did you not flash it from a PC? I used a different PC I had to flash it.
After I flash it with the Apple ROM, it no longer works at all in the PC. Maybe this is normal, but other Apple cards I've had I've been able to use in a PC after a flash.

Oddly enough, after flashing an 8800gt from my first gen mac pro to work in my '09 I experienced similar behavior in that it works great under OS X but I can no longer use it through boot camp.

[netkas]

figured out what to do next all i get is an off centre apple logo (startup logo ) and then the mac freezes

thats sad, this trick worked with 9800 card and 8800gt rom. :(

well, at least it doesnt freeze after loadpcirom, when driver loads to ram and attaches to device.