What are the advantages of the firmware
AMD Radeon RX 470/480/570/580/590 video cards at stock settings produce 22-24Mh / s when mining Ethereum. You can squeeze out 29-31Mh / s if you change the video memory timings. There is only one way to lower the timings on AMD cards - by modifying and flashing the BIOS of the video card.
Why lower timings?
RAM and video memory have two important metrics:
- Memory frequency indicates the speed of its work. The higher the frequency, the faster the data moves from the GPU to the memory chip and vice versa.
- Timings, they are also delays, determine how long the memory chip will look inside itself for the desired cell for writing or reading.
Imagine yourself driving a Ferrari that accelerates to frequency 250km / h Such speeds make no sense if you constantly stand at traffic lights. timing.
Memory performance can be improved in three ways:
- Raise the frequency;
- Reduce timings;
- Raise the frequency + lower the timings.
On what video cards can this method be used?
In theory, any. But on most video cards, this will have to be done manually, so in this article we will consider only the AMD Radeon RX400 and RX500 line, that is, RX460, 470, 480, 550, 560, 570, 580, 590 video cards. There is a convenient program for these video cards. Polaris Bios Editor, which shows all values in a convenient form and automatically selects the necessary timings.
Be aware of the risks before changing video memory timings. Be sure to test the video card for stability after flashing. When in doubt limit yourself to overclocking memory.
We want to do a lot of things to make mining Ethereum easier and more profitable. The procedure may seem complicated, but following our instructions everything will go smoothly. You need to:
- Install latest driver from AMD, everything is optimized for mining;
- Enable calculation mode. (go to the driver control panel and enable)
- apply atikmdag-patcher patchso that the driver does not swear at a non-original bios;
- Find out the video memory manufacturer and make a copy of the original BIOS via GPU-Z;
- Modify BIOS via Polaris Bios Editor;
- Flash modified BIOS through AtiWinFlash;
- Enjoy great income!
For AMD Radeon RX4xx and RX5xx video cards, the procedure is the same. Re-flashing the timings increases the hash rate on all algorithms that depend on the video memory speed, for example, on DaggerHashimoto and CryptoNight.
As an example, we took a Radeon RX480 8Gb from MSI of the GamingX line with Samsung memory chips and we will measure its performance on Ether. Without overclocking and without flashing, it turns out 24Mh / s.
Install the correct driver
Set latest driver from AMD and enable the calculation mode (go to the driver control panel and enable). This way you optimize video cards for mining, and you will get great stability and high hashrate.
Restart your computer after installing the driver.
Apply the patch
Run atikmdag-patcher.exeto disable the BIOS checksum check in the driver. If this is not done, the driver will not be able to recognize your video card.
Make a backup copy of the original BIOS
Run GPU-Z and do two things:
- Check with your video memory manufacturer. This information is useful if your card's BIOS contains settings for different manufacturers.
- Make a copy of the original BIOS: click on the arrow, select "Save to file ..." in the drop-down menu and save the file to a convenient location, for example, to your desktop.
Save this file to a safe place! With it, you can always return the original bios.
Modify the bios
Open the program Polaris Bios Editor... In the upper left corner, click on "OPEN BIOS" and select your file that you just saved.
The program allows you to change the frequencies, voltages, heat package and temperature limits of the video card, as well as edit the video memory timings.
In the area below the right in the column Timing Strap timings for each frequency are displayed - long combinations of letters and numbers. Each frequency has its own values. You can change them in one of three ways:
- Press the ONE CLICK TIMING PATCH button. The application will automatically select the required timings. We recommend this method for beginners.
- Copy the timing from the frequency below and apply it to the frequency above. For example, take timing from 1500MHz and set it to 1625MHz, 1750MHz, 2000MHz.
- Find on the Internet a specific value that is most effective for your memory. The most dangerous way. There is a risk that your card will refuse to work with such timings.
Save the modified BIOS to separate file after changing the timings.
Do not overwrite the original BIOS by mistake! Save the file side by side as a copy.
Sew a new BIOS
Run AtiWinFlash with administrator rights.
- Select the required video card if you have several.
- Click on "Load Image" to select a new BIOS.
- The "Program" button will flash a new file into the BIOS of your video card.
After flashing, be sure to restart your computer.
Congratulations! You did it!
If something went wrong ...
Reflash the BIOS back to the original one if you notice unstable computer operation or visual artifacts.
What if the video card does not display a picture after flashing?
Do not panic. You need a second graphics card, the one built into the processor or motherboard will do. Install both cards into the computer, connect the monitor to the working card. According to the instructions above through AtiWinFlash flash the original BIOS into the faulty card.
What to do if AtiWinFlash does not see the card after flashing?
Take the video card to the nearest service center and ask them to reflash the BIOS with the programmer. Do not forget to take your USB stick with the original BIOS with you!
What if the driver does not detect the card?
Run again atikmdag-patcher.exe