SAPPHIRE PI-A9RX480 now at newegg.

hey guys.....

damn, i was loving my sapphire board till i started gaming with it...

im having a problem with it "locking" up in a simulation i run ( sound goes completely wacked, screen freezes, then it screams at me in one long high pitched scream)...

ive tried uninstalling on board sound, and using my audigy 2 zs ...same thing...reformated..same thing..reinstalled the simulation...same thing...tried with optimized and defaults and my normal settings with no oc...took it apart and reinstalled everything....

i have an rma# back to newegg but i felt maybe there is something else i might try before i send my board back..has anyone heard of this ???? thanx guys..

oh yea...mem slots 1and 2 wacked on me one time and wouldnt post..i pulled them and started it with one stick in slot 3 then 1 and 2 came back after i rebooted with it....

Flash

bump

Mine is purring like a kitten.

Do you have the same problem with ALL games?

I have one to test will get it setup today and get back to you

Hmm the only time that ever happened to me is when my complete system was actually drawing more than my UPS could deliver...and it was the UPS that was screaming i found out not the mobo.....It has since been removed when im benching.........Scared of how much I'm actually drawing as that UPS is a very large unit.........

hmmmmmm back at ya "chew".....lol... i never considered that as im pulling a second psu ( 500w running my motherboard CD/DVDRW 2-36 raptors,and vid card, and 520w running my pumps and fans, psu's not connected but all on the same outlet ) along with modem,and router....but then again, it was during running my Papyrus/seirraNascar2003 simulation that it happened.... the only thing i run on this system besides burning music, surfing ...etc lol..but also, i naver had any power "problems" before with 2 other mother boards ( MSI diamond plus, or my other asus board ).

im searching hard for the answer, i like this board alot.

so in answer to Raybo's question...only this one simulation, I dont do other games. it didnt do this the first few times i ran the simulation , and one time i think we practiced for about 2 hours with no hiccups, and ran 1 league race lasting about 2 hours

think ill try to seperate the outlets ( seperate circuits ) fire her up again...id hate to think it is my simulation, hell ive been running this simulation since N3 about 5-6 years ago through its progression to n2003 .

thanx for the replies guys.......

Flash

Mine is up and running for a week now.
Like the stability and the options on the board for so far.
But I have problems reaching HTT speeds higher than 285 Mhz.
The strange thing is that PLL High/Slow doesn't matter anything.

I'm running an Opteron 144 CAB2E, lowering the multiplayer or the increasing the vcore doesn't help.
Try several memory dividers doesnt help too.
Cool&Quit is turned off.
Power supply shouldn't be the problem, i'm running a huntkey 500watt with 32 amps on the 12v.
Lines are very good and stable.

Does anyone have an idea what it could be?
Or am I just having a bad board?

PS: When is the new bios coming?

May just be your CPU. Atm i'm very busy with another board so I'll be just checking to answer questions in this thread from now on. Seems the other board i got from situman has some issues.....If i plug in the 24 pin connector and wiggle it it turns on by itself :(. Gonna see if i can send it out for repairs.

What the heck? How does that happen?

I might have screwed it up? Gonna retest with another PSU first. I don't trust that antec 480 watt to much. Board appears warped after cranking the nuts on My NB cooler replacement. That could be the cause to. I tested i before if you remember, was fine when i received it.

I didn't deposit ur check yet. Let me know if anything.

Don't worry about it. I'll get it straightened out one way or another. Most likely my fault anyway.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

May just be your CPU. Atm i'm very busy with another board so I'll be just checking to answer questions in this thread from now on. Seems the other board i got from situman has some issues.....If i plug in the 24 pin connector and wiggle it it turns on by itself :(. Gonna see if i can send it out for repairs.

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OH?

My rig has turned itself on a few times, no wiggling or movement involved, just turned on. :shrug:

Has been fine recently, hope my board doesn't have issues.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Don't worry about it. I'll get it straightened out one way or another. Most likely my fault anyway.

---

hey chew, you are probably just disonecting and reconnecting the power wires on the psu... mine turns on if i put the power plug in sideways or something, this has happened to me with other boards as well.

Hey buddy, this sounds like software issue rather then hardware, is this a fresh install of windows? is there any patches out fore the game you dot have? try and think about things like that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by flashnc

hey guys.....

damn, i was loving my sapphire board till i started gaming with it...

im having a problem with it "locking" up in a simulation i run ( sound goes completely wacked, screen freezes, then it screams at me in one long high pitched scream)...

ive tried uninstalling on board sound, and using my audigy 2 zs ...same thing...reformated..same thing..reinstalled the simulation...same thing...tried with optimized and defaults and my normal settings with no oc...took it apart and reinstalled everything....

i have an rma# back to newegg but i felt maybe there is something else i might try before i send my board back..has anyone heard of this ???? thanx guys..

oh yea...mem slots 1and 2 wacked on me one time and wouldnt post..i pulled them and started it with one stick in slot 3 then 1 and 2 came back after i rebooted with it....

Flash

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I dunno i Replugged it in 3 times........I might add the board wont Fire up unless i jiggle the 24 pin atx also.............

well it may very well have been a software issue REvv all updates for the sim, and i even reformated 2 different times, tried my 4000+ x2 4400+ a64 3500+...different hardrives,even tried with disabeling the onboard, and using my audigy ZS card..

but as stated before, slot 1-2 wouldnt post one time , but after changeing an getting the board to post in slot 3, then putting mem back in 1+2 it booted.

but ive recently started to have random shutdowns, just shutdown and restarts, same overclock as before, even with a lower OC that prior to this was rock stable, so changed out ram to 2 other pairs that i have, one set of gen pc 3200....PNY 3500...and the OCZ 533 Tccdsticks i have....so ive sent here back RMA..hate that.

Situman that boards all set man, Shoddy power supply for the win. Go antec, build some more crap. Seasonic woke the beast up from its slumber. I swear by these psu's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raybo

OH?

My rig has turned itself on a few times, no wiggling or movement involved, just turned on. :shrug:

Has been fine recently, hope my board doesn't have issues.

---

Wake on Lan disabled in bios?

wake on kb and or mouse?

Chew good to hear everything is ok. I used Antec once and I didn't like it. Enermax and PCPC is the schnitz, though I might try a seasonic some day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by situman

wake on kb and or mouse?

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Am I missing these situman? Are they worded differently?

:para:

something like that. just look for wake that relates to a kb or a mouse. It booted up automatically when i hit my kb by accident.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by situman

something like that. just look for wake that relates to a kb or a mouse. It booted up automatically when i hit my kb by accident.

---

Well, they were both enabled. :am:

I'm not using PSM or sleep mode, would it still make a difference?

My rig powered up 4 or 5 times in a two day period and has not happened since. (this was two or three weeks ago)

just disable them. it should solve ur issues.

Anyone know if we are going to get a new bios?

chew* :stick:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raybo

Anyone know if we are going to get a new bios?

chew* :stick:

---

Grayskull says "The updated bios for the PI 480 board is ready according to Sapphire and should go up before the end of the week. This is what we are being told."

We will see.....:confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markr

Grayskull says "The updated bios for the PI 480 board is ready according to Sapphire and should go up before the end of the week. This is what we are being told."

We will see.....:confused:

---

Thanks Mark,

Not that the current bios is that bad but I think a few more tweeks could make this board one of the best.

:toast:

OK, I got the board from da'egg and have been trying to get windows installed.

I keep getting a BSOD during install when it tries to "register components".

The system is a 3800+ X2 with 2Gb of G.Skill HX and a X300se vid card all at stock speed with memory running off spd. NEC DVD burner with Maxtor 60G drive SATA. Tried two diff. harddrives (same model will try different model later today after work) both failed. Tried diabling audio, firewire, and LAN; still failed. I have tried flashing to the current bios from Sapphire webpage (still shows 9/26/05 or thereabouts). Cooling is Zalman Flower Tower thingy, not the best but better than stock.

The version of XP pro that I am trying is SP2 oem.

I am at my wits end, what gives here... any help would be great, PLEASE

try going into bios and setting up the memory manually and also raising the mem voltage.....also set the vcore up one higher ,i think the board defaults memory voltages to 2.6..i had the same problem one time when i first got the board and setting up the bios voltages, and manually setting up the memory was what was needed to get it to install...hope this helps

flash- thanks you got me on the right track... I finally managed to get windows loaded and it is running.

Excerpt of trials to get Winblows installed and running NOTE: all at 200htt 1:1 and 1.4v Core
2x1Gb G.Skill HX off SPD.... FAIL
2x512Mb GeiL Ultra4400 off SPD.... FAIL
Tried each with 2.7v off SPD.... FAIL
Manually timed GeiL with MemTest to zero errors in test 8 at 2.7v.... FAIL
Manually timed G.Skill with MemTest to zero errors in test 8 at 2.7v.... FAIL
Upped voltage to all parts of mainboard one step with G.Skill as above... FAIL
Reseated Zalman cooler using AS5 thin coat with all above and ambient temps down about 10 degrees... PASS

Bottom line: I think I have a bad mem-controller on this CCBWE 0541 X2 3800+ (yes, that is a 3800+ X2)... This thing has got to be an Opty that failed binning, what a POS so far. It appears to not even want to run at stock volts and speed on air.

On a side note, I really like the motherboard :D

Can't wait to water this bad boy.... now, where is that new case I ordered? ;)

Glad its working out for you guys. I still havent had time to install # 2 grouper in my sons PC.........RD 580 testing has me busy as hell.....As far as groupers bios i put a little pressure on them.

Yeah, we need the new bios for the grouper.

:slapass:

So, week is just about to end and there's no new bios. Sapphire? :stick:

Thx for the heads up. Will look into it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Thx for the heads up. Will look into it.

---

Thanks chew :toast:

IT'S UP! IT'S UP!

http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/suppo...s_viewlist.php

Thanks Chew*, Grayskull and Tony and anyone else who helped.:D

Impressive! Thanks guys! :clap:

Changelog, anyone? Still waiting for my new case to arrive before setting Grouper up ...

I ntoiced there are a lot of new SB drivers too. Which one to choose?

Guys any problems please report back here. I will try to duplicate it and see what i come up with. Also any questions about certain settings feel free to ask.

Got a few questions, if you don't mind :toast:

1. I just tried to set up a system with Grouper for the first time, used an "old" 3500+ Winnie and a S3 Virge PCI gfx card. System seemed to boot, but screen kept blank. I flipped in my 7800GTX and it worked fine, did a quick win install without any issues. But it leaves my screen blank if I try to run it with the S3 only. Any ideas?

2. Do you - or anyone - happen to know what the new bios is up to?

3. I'm planning to use my watercooling setup with this board, this'd mean a watercooled cpu and gpu. Do you think the lack of airflow would affect overclockability, stability or even lifetime of Grouper by a big margin? If so, I might have to throw the NB cooler into a volcano to get it off and put a watercooler on it :mad:

Thanks for your time and effort chew :)

Yah i seem to have a problem running a PCI graphics (trident and a voodoo2) but it was just an annoyance so i popped in my other card. I'm sure there is a setting in bios needing setting to use it just never investigated it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Yah i seem to have a problem running a PCI graphics (trident and a voodoo2) but it was just an annoyance so i popped in my other card. I'm sure there is a setting in bios needing setting to use it just never investigated it.

---

There indeed is a setting, "Init display first". The values are PCIex, PCI or onboard. Neither works for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sicness

There indeed is a setting, "Init display first". The values are PCIex, PCI or onboard. Neither works for me.

---

Yah i think theres another setting also. I know the ATI techs use PCI graphics for testing so let me look into it.

Thanks. Tried the new bios yet?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sicness

Thanks. Tried the new bios yet?

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Not yet. I'm still on a beta. Need to slap the old cmos chip back and flash it. I don't think this chip is flashable or copyable for obvious reasons.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markr

IT'S UP! IT'S UP!

http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/suppo...s_viewlist.php

Thanks Chew*, Grayskull and Tony and anyone else who helped.:D

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http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/5...g5bj4sv9kt.gif

Anybody had any luck with the new bios?

I can't get it to take. AWDFLASH starts and then reboots.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markr

Anybody had any luck with the new bios?

I can't get it to take. AWDFLASH starts and then reboots.

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You are trying to flash at stock speeds right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markr

Anybody had any luck with the new bios?

I can't get it to take. AWDFLASH starts and then reboots.

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Did you try flashing from Windows?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raybo

Did you try flashing from Windows?

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was gonna be my next question.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Was from dos boot disk and was all stock settings. I downloaded file again and replaced the file on floppy and it worked. Must have been a corupt file.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by markr

Thanks for the quick reply.

Was from dos boot disk and was all stock settings. I downloaded file again and replaced the file on floppy and it worked. Must have been a corupt file.

---

Post your results with the new bios.

:toast:

I was hoping for more cpu voltage options. Instead of fixing the ones we already had now there is only 3 to choose from and you have to use offset to go higher. I forgot to check if the 150 divider is there or not. I seem to be having some boot issues after entering bios twice in a row. I have to clear cmos to get back in. Instead of creeping up incrementally on the fsb I just went straight from 200 to 270 and it booted just fine. Not a biggy but the splash screen is fixed. I will reboot now and see what happens.

Same problem. It will boot once that is it. Upon second boot I get a long beep every 3 seconds. No amout of resets or complete power downs will get rid of it. Only a cmos reset. This is even at all stock clocks. Any ideas?

memory issue.

That seems to be it. Something in the 2nd or 3rd group of settings.



Thanks for the help situman.

150 divider is still not there.

I am glad to see they added a CPU temp in the bios. It reads about 10c higher than SysMngr does in windoze.

yah i tried to get them to add the 150 mem divider.....I was told it is not an official JEDEC speed........cpu temps are actually preety accurate in sytem manager at least for me on phase . How realistic are your guys NB temps with the new bios?

so any overclocking results? higher lower? Mem clocks? Easier, higher, lower?

This bios is sh:banana:t for me.
I had I hard time getting the thing working after the bios flash.
Now I have cold boot problems.

What settings were stable before may not be stable now. You will have to start from scratch guys.......I had to when i swapped to the beta version of it to......

NB temps seem to be the same for me as before.

As far as OC goes I am getting 50Mhz more out of stock volts, yet I need .02v more for my next bump.
First bios would do 2.60Ghz at stock volts, now it does 2.65Ghz.
2.75Ghz used to need 1.42v now it needs 1.44v for dual prime stable.

Also the layout of the new bios is much better. More logical.

just updated to the new bios... it keeps hanging at the SIL 3132 page.. just before the windows blue loading bar.. any remedies?? i need my com to work..

Guess I'm either completely stupid, blind or my ATI System Manager isn't the same as what I've seen in this thread.
The ATI System Manager on my Sapphire CD just shows me this:

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/2508/ati3kd.jpg

Any idea where the OC options are hiding?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sicness

Guess I'm either completely stupid, blind or my ATI System Manager isn't the same as what I've seen in this thread.
The ATI System Manager on my Sapphire CD just shows me this:

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/2508/ati3kd.jpg

Any idea where the OC options are hiding?

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Yes they are hiding in one of the chipset driver dl's for rx 480 on sapphires site. That is the old ati system manager.

chew* could you be so kind as to tell me where i can get the old bios?? the one just before this new release?? :toast:

got the old bios from my cousin who is also a innovation user...
really very dissapointed.. hopefully within the next few weeks you guys can work around the cold boot issue.. and then just maybe i'll use the new bios. if not im just gonna use this bios an save up for a DFI instead...

i've lost hope in sapphire... :slapass:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chew*

Yes they are hiding in one of the chipset driver dl's for rx 480 on sapphires site. That is the old ati system manager.

---

Found it, it's in their chipset driver here. Thanks chew :)

I flashed my old bios back also.
This morning I couldn't even boot at all.
Everyting is running fine now.
I can shut windows down normally again also.

If you guys need the old bios i can host it for you. I'm currently on the new bios myself trying to figure out the bugs. Some things are changed in it and you guy's aren't crazy as it definitely has some issues. Trying to straignten the cause of it as quicky as possible.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chew*

If you guys need the old bios i can host it for you. I'm currently on the new bios myself trying to figure out the bugs. Some things are changed in it and you guy's aren't crazy as it definitely has some issues. Trying to straignten the cause of it as quicky as possible.

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So I guess this means it was good that I waited?

My file is still sitting on my desktop.:wasntme:

Should I use the older 3. Nov. bios then? I'm still on the stock bios, which is dated 26. Sept. Any idea about the changelog there? Sapphire lacks of that ...

Gosh, forget it. Sapphire doesn't host the old bios anymore. No changelogs, no older bioses, just the latest bugged bios without any notes. As much as I like my Grouper so far after running it 24 hours at stock settings, I dislike their support and lack of information for files. If they're seriously planning to improve their reputation among enthusiast, they should work on that.

:2cents:

November 3rd 2006 bios hosted. You will need to extract it with win rar then rename it to (name).BIN. make sure extension for all file types is on in windows for those who aren't to experienced. Sorry about the hassle but my ISP won't let me upload anything with the extension .BIN

http://members.cox.net/wmdieselmc26/BIOS.rar

Thanks once again chew. What's improved in this bios over the older stock bios?

Never used it. dunno. the bios i'm hosting got me to 3 gig stable though on my older x2. Had a slight video performance gain over the beta i tested.

I've got the new bios apart right now via my bios editing tools. I might be able to fix it not sure yet, my skills have somewhat faded due to lack of using them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Never used it. dunno. the bios i'm hosting got me to 3 gig stable though on my older x2. Had a slight video performance gain over the beta i tested.

I've got the new bios apart right now via my bios editing tools. I might be able to fix it not sure yet, my skills have somewhat faded due to lack of using them.

---

Alright. Guess I'll have a look into the Nov bios then.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chew*

Never used it. dunno. the bios i'm hosting got me to 3 gig stable though on my older x2. Had a slight video performance gain over the beta i tested.

I've got the new bios apart right now via my bios editing tools. I might be able to fix it not sure yet, my skills have somewhat faded due to lack of using them.

---

:cord:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raybo

:cord:

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Yah i know i suck :( I'll do my best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Yah i know i suck :( I'll do my best.

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Just a joke chew, you have been an ENORMOUS help.

Ok i tested a "modded bios" chipset temps are innacurate but There are a majority of improvements. If you guys want I can host it. More importantly it gets the Chew* seal of approval.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

Ok i tested a "modded bios" chipset temps are innacurate but There are a majority of improvements. If you guys want I can host it. More importantly it gets the Chew* seal of approval.

---

can we just go ahead and flash to the modded bios?? or do we need to do anything extra or special??

nah just go ahead and flash, just read my precautions. It helps to have a spare rom chip to flash in case something goes wrong.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chew*

Ok i tested a "modded bios" chipset temps are innacurate but There are a majority of improvements. If you guys want I can host it. More importantly it gets the Chew* seal of approval.

---

Can you list the improvements here or not?
:confused:

No. I'd rather not comment except to say I know its an improvement.

Modded Bios files hosted by me now.

Flash utility for pure DOS
http://members.cox.net/wmdieselmc26/F32A.zip

Modded Bios You will need to unzip and add the .bin file extension
http://members.cox.net/wmdieselmc26/RX480.rar

I would suggest all that do this use a spare bios chip in case something does go wrong. in order to do this it will require that you hot flash. If you need help feel free to PM me.

Use this command substituting the name of the bios files you receive.

Make sure you are in pure DOS and type

f32a bios.bin /b [<------- note the spacing]
Hit enter
It will either say the rom is to small or it will ask if you want to force the flash, If it says rom is to small use a different rom chip.

Ok the force flash.

Once flashed hit escape

I always do this and suggest you do also hit f1 load defaults let the machine boot then shutdown. remove battery jump cmos jumper then reinstall and you will be good to go.

Once again i have taken the risk to flash this and it does work. The bios also works which is a +.

*DISCLAIMER*

This bios is modded and unsupported. Flashing to the bios will void your warranty. I nor the author nor any other parties involved will not be held responsible for any damages incurred . You do so at your own risk.

Thanks Chew*

Time to make the donuts! :toast:

Situman clear your PM box.........You have plastic amd case incoming via priority. Just remembered it today. Got a lot of stuff on my mind. Sorry for the delay.

Thanks Chew. No rush. Don't stress yourself out. No need to be sorry, especially when ur doing me a favor. Thanks again.

Also whoever dl's it from me first can you confirm for me that it works. Just want to make sure that no one gets a corrupt DL from my FTP. Unzipped the file should be 512kb. The flash utility should be 266kb

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chew*

Also whoever dl's it from me first can you confirm for me that it works. Just want to make sure that no one gets a corrupt DL from my FTP. Unzipped the file should be 512kb. The flash utility should be 266kb

---

I can confirm the size of each file is correct. I don't have my bios chip yet to try. Any other takers?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by markr

I can confirm the size of each file is correct. I don't have my bios chip yet to try. Any other takers?

---

I don't have a spare chip either, guess I will just wait for some results.

:chicken:

Tryed the modded bios but stiil got the reboot/shutdown lockup

Followed as you put in youre post above but no luck

back to the old stock bios

List your config please........And you cant use awdflash with this bios just for the record...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chew*

List your config please........And you cant use awdflash with this bios just for the record...

---

chew*,

Is this doable from windows?

I just want to make sure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raybo

chew*,

Is this doable from windows?

I just want to make sure.

---

NO. PURE DOS ONLY.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redheads

Tryed the modded bios but stiil got the reboot/shutdown lockup

Followed as you put in youre post above but no luck

back to the old stock bios

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Red heads your config list's two types of ram.......I'm assuming you are using 2x512mb and 2x 256 mb.......all at the same time.

Mixing ram could be the cause of your problem.......

I will wait a little longer for some more results.

:chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raybo

I will wait a little longer for some more results.

:chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:

---

Why not wait on the RD580 then?

Question about BIOS chips....

My rx480 has a 49FL004T-33JC in it. I have sitting here a 49LF004B, are they interchangable?