Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

XFX HD-4870-ZWFL on a Mac pro

G

Gomff

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2009
802
1
Hello everyone
This is my first post here, although I have been lurking and reading the threads for a while.

Anyway. I bought an XFX 4870 ZWFL card thinking that I could flash it with a rom that would enable me to use it on a Mac pro. I followed this guide:

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


And promptly bricked my card. In OS X it half booted, the screen was garbled and in low res, I got a spinning beachball and that was it. I got an error message in red capitals when trying to boot to DOS / Windows saying something about power cables not being plugged in.

I did back up the ROM as suggested and after quite a lot of buggering about I restored it back to it's PC only original state.

My question is, can I use this card at all in OS X or is it a complete loss? I really don't want to pay more than double the price for the Mac version so if this card isn't a viable option, which is the best to go for? What are the key things to look for (model numbers etc). I knew about looking for a reference card version of the 4870 and was sure that was what I was buying but it was obviously not the right one. A lot of the links to sites posted on here are US ones and I am in the UK.

I apologise if the answer to this question is somewhere on page 65 of some thread. I have searched and read one or two comments but nothing really definitive either way. I'll settle for using injectors or flashing the rom again....I just want to get a decent card running in my Jan 2008 Mac pro without remortgaging the house.

Thanks very much

Peace :)
 
I don't mean to sound mean... but I do think the answer is in the monster 4870 thread. Some where towards the end. You're gonna have to read. But as I remember there were issues with this particular version.

EDIT: Just did a quick search on "ZWFL"... it tuned up all sorts of things you might be interested in.

hyram
 
hyram said:
I don't mean to sound mean... but I do think the answer is in the monster 4870 thread. Some where towards the end. You're gonna have to read. But as I remember there were issues with this particular version.

EDIT: Just did a quick search on "ZWFL"... it tuned up all sorts of things you might be interested in.

hyram
Click to expand...

I just searched "ZWFL" (as I had done before) and got two hits. This thread, and the monster thread which I have read most of. There are a few references to the ZWFL model but I couldn't find anything about say, injectors or any mention of this particular card by netkas or rominator who seem to be authorities on what is and isn't do-able.

I appreciate it's annoying if people ask the same questions again and again without looking but I did search before posting. I'm new to Flashing roms and injectors so it's all a bit daunting....There's a lot of references to things I have no idea about and I'm really just looking for straight answers.

Apologies if I've made anyone's eyes roll.;)
 
When searching, click on the "Show posts".... It'll take you right to where you what to be.

hyram
 
Part of problem is that there are EVil Twin cards to avoid. The ZWFC is also one I have written about.

Basically we got 4870 late in game. While it was new to us, the board manufacturers were already playing musical components as they tried to find ways to cut retail cost without hurting bottom line. They finally have changed the XFX boards enough that we need to re-write the official XFX 4870 1 Gig ROM with a "ZWXX" version.

I am NOT going to write it for you, but I will tell you how...and this will apply to any card that comes in future.

Get the XFX Rihldinger ROM. Creat an XFX ROM using the Pipolomo42 method. Use the compare function of a hexedittor to see where rihldinger had to make adjustments to the ROM to get everything to fit in proper place.

Now follow his lead and do same thing with whatever ROM came on your ZWXX card and the Mac EFI ROM. You will likely have to think about what you are doing.

Or beg Rihldinger to work his magic again on the new cheaper 4870 ZWXX boards. Somewhere he explained what he did...maybe search his posts.

Be aware that the new board uses a simpler 2 wire fan. It may not cool properly as the Mac drivers may still be looking for the bigger, different 4 wire unit on OEM and the previously flashed cards. We have same problem flashing a 9800GT with an 8800GT ROM...the fans either run 100% or 0% in many cases due to changes in heat sensor/fan control circuits.

If there is any possible way to find a ZHXX series XFX 4870, I would do that. They are nearly gone from retail channels but some still lurk in corners.
 
The Rominator said:
Part of problem is that there are EVil Twin cards to avoid. The ZWFC is also one I have written about.

Basically we got 4870 late in game. While it was new to us, the board manufacturers were already playing musical components as they tried to find ways to cut retail cost without hurting bottom line. They finally have changed the XFX boards enough that we need to re-write the official XFX 4870 1 Gig ROM with a "ZWXX" version.

I am NOT going to write it for you, but I will tell you how...and this will apply to any card that comes in future.

Get the XFX Rihldinger ROM. Creat an XFX ROM using the Pipolomo42 method. Use the compare function of a hexedittor to see where rihldinger had to make adjustments to the ROM to get everything to fit in proper place.

Now follow his lead and do same thing with whatever ROM came on your ZWXX card and the Mac EFI ROM. You will likely have to think about what you are doing.

Or beg Rihldinger to work his magic again on the new cheaper 4870 ZWXX boards. Somewhere he explained what he did...maybe search his posts.

Be aware that the new board uses a simpler 2 wire fan. It may not cool properly as the Mac drivers may still be looking for the bigger, different 4 wire unit on OEM and the previously flashed cards. We have same problem flashing a 9800GT with an 8800GT ROM...the fans either run 100% or 0% in many cases due to changes in heat sensor/fan control circuits.

If there is any possible way to find a ZHXX series XFX 4870, I would do that. They are nearly gone from retail channels but some still lurk in corners.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rominator for answering my question.

So it's good news and bad news. At least it's in theory possible, but I don't have the skills to do it, having never used a hex editor or delved into these things before....I really wouldn't know where to start:confused:
 
For reference, here is the patched ROM I sent to Gomff.

He told me that it works, but it's not perfect:

I'd say it's about 85% there. After flashing, I held down the alt key to boot to OSX. The first thing I saw was the hard disk icons as you'd expect but at a much lower resolution than 2560 x 1600, I'd say 1280 x 960. So I selected OSX and got the grey Apple logo, again at a much lower resolution than usual. After that, the screen went black (no signal) and did nothing. I plugged the monitor into the second DVI port and got the login screen at 1280 x 960 along with an error message saying the power cables weren't plugged in properly. I logged in and couldn't change the screen resolution to anything higher, but OSX seemed to be working ok.

I then plugged in the monitor back to DVI port one and got my desktop again at 1280 x 960, although I was able to change the resolution up to the native 2560 x 1600.

Anyway, I restarted my machine and got the same low res Apple logo and then the black no signal screen. I unplugged and then plugged back in my monitor to DVI port 1 and got the login screen again at full native resolution. I also got the same error message about power cables. Other than that it seems to be working well, the machine sleeps and wakes up properly and OpenGL seems fine. I've attached a screen grab showing my system profiler's GPU info, hope this is helpful.

When booting to windows the machine is exactly as it was before flashing…..Works perfectly and there were no error messages about power cables. I launched a game and it seemed to be running perfectly, as good as it was before I started flashing the card at all.
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • xfx_zwfl.zip
    94.6 KB · Views: 192
Hi pipomolo,

I just saw you here and wanted to ask if you know about a ROM for the 4870 which will have VGA operative under 10.6. I need it for Samsung HDTV. I have an old XFX card that flashed ok with the original ROM.

Many thanks for looking into this issue.

gugu
 
I have a Sony HDTV which only has VGA input too. Know how I did it? I just got a HDMI cable and then used the adapter that came with my card. (HDMI>DVI). Then I can connect to the TV's HDMI input. Get higher res and no problems.
 
Cindori said:
I have a Sony HDTV which only has VGA input too. Know how I did it? I just got a HDMI cable and then used the adapter that came with my card. (HDMI>DVI). Then I can connect to the TV's HDMI input. Get higher res and no problems.
Click to expand...

Do this. The signals are compatible and going digital is always a better idea than using an analog input such as VGA. Also, HDMI-DVI cables are now respectably cheap on monoprice, as are adapters.

Also, good to see you again, Pipomolo. Haven't heard from you in a while.
 
Cindori said:
I have a Sony HDTV which only has VGA input too. Know how I did it? I just got a HDMI cable and then used the adapter that came with my card. (HDMI>DVI). Then I can connect to the TV's HDMI input. Get higher res and no problems.
Click to expand...

That is actually not working for my Samsung. Only in VGA I get 1:1 pixel mapping. In HDMI I get scaling which will allways give me worse picture quality.

I'm wondering if this issue is connected to the MDP on the Apple 4870. I understand that the Apple 4870 EFI was patched. On an Apple 4870 MDP VGA would only be available with an adapter. Perhaps something like this has also to be done to the PC 4870.
 
I have a Samsung LE32A456 HDTV, connected to my Sapphire 4870 through HDMI, and I have 1:1 pixel mapping in both Snow Leopard and Vista.

I only have one issue with it : when the HDMI cable is plugged in, and the TV is off, the mouse cursor has a "lag" every two seconds.
 
I have an LE46A958 which is very particular about the input. It never worked with an 3870 and 4870 on the MP1,1.

I have switched to an MP4,1 lately and perhaps that will work with the EFI64.
 
rasmusonline said:
Yeah, but you said it is probably working with ZWFL. Is it working or not? ;) And what about this signal error? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Here, let me get my spoon out.........

I spent an hour writing a ROM but you can't be bothered to go read a few pages?

Trying to remember why I do this.

If you READ, you will see the ROM works, with exception of a power cable warning, that goes away by itself.

But by all means, keep posting previously answered questions here rather than doing 5 minutes of actual research. The regulars here have nothing better to do than regurgitate the free work they have already put in to this project.
 
Rominator & Cindori.

Many thanks for all your work.

I bought a ZWFL this week. Very limited choice of cards in Ireland, we've only just got electricity never mind 4870's ;):)

Anyway the ATI flash tool did the trick and the rom is flashed with the one in the rom zip pack.

Is there any update on getting rid of the 'power cable error' warning ? If a new rom was to become available is it just simply a case of using ATI flashing tool once more ?

Thanks.
 
MacRumorUser said:
Rominator & Cindori.

Many thanks for all your work.

I bought a ZWFL this week. Very limited choice of cards in Ireland, we've only just got electricity never mind 4870's ;):)

Anyway the ATI flash tool did the trick and the rom is flashed with the one in the rom zip pack.

Is there any update on getting rid of the 'power cable error' warning ? If a new rom was to become available is it just simply a case of using ATI flashing tool once more ?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Go ahead and start a ticket at the Help Desk

Other than that warning, the card is 100% functional in Snow Leopard for less than 50% of an Apple one.

Count your blessings.

BTW, there is a guy who has been PMing me about another XFX 4870. Please post your questions and original ROM in this thread. I would rather help everyone at once instead of everyone individually one at a time via PM.
 
The Rominator said:
Go ahead and start a ticket at the Help Desk.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I wasn't being condescending and actually do appreciate all you and cindori have done in getting these cards working.

It was just a general question and not intended to rustle either your or cindori's feathers or cause offense.

Your response is quite obtuse and unexpected. :confused::confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back