Topic: undervolting "cheap" cards - how to? ( 7850 powercolor ) (Read 4444 times)

And?

Hi Kalus, I guess this might make you happy:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.4363696

Looks as if he did use VBE7 for editing an R9 VGABIOS.

 

Ah, now I get you, sorry I was slow :-)

So what you say is the VBE7 editor doesn't work for the R9-2xxx cards?
If you risk bricking (see below) - why not simply try to use it for one of your R9s ?

And: If you find an R9-tool, please PM me, I might buy R9 cards soon.


Oh, I really don't know. Has'nt happened to me, and that makes me happy :-)
But I am sure that I read somewhere " ... then you need another card ... ".

Oh wow. That is a pretty farm :-)
Still, don't brick a single one of them, I suggest  

Have a look here, there is a guy in this forum who is really really nice, and helpful:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/page-22#post-3034516
Perhaps he has ideas that help you with your R9s?

ya, i have seen flashes for 7xxx cards, but not for r9 2xxx cards.  oh well, i'll keep looking.

How do you 'unbrick' a card with another card?  

and i have 22 of them, so i got backups

I don't think you need to find someone else's BIOS.
With my description you should be able to make your own tweaked BIOS:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.4320578 (read to end)



Yes, my cards don't have a BIOS switch either.
So ... good preparation & full concentration when I do this :-)

AFAIK a bricked card can sometimes be "unbricked" with a second card, so be extra careful if you only have one.

It's all risky, be sure you know what you do.

anybody know how to undervolt the R9 270x?  there is no bios switch, and i haven't been able to find hacked bios's either. 

The 7970 might be readily tuned, measurements & results here:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.4320578

 

I am in the process of finding the optimal voltage for my PowerColor HD 7850 (AX7850 2GBD5-DH) with 85.3% ASIC quality - and learning a lot of things on the way :-)

I have two cards (7850 & 7970), both undervolted, so the cause for a crash is never 100% sure (or do you have a criterion?), and none of the tools are perfect; even though e.g "GPU-Z" is free and amazing, and it beautifully logs all hardware values into a file, once per second - that logfile is always only for one card at a time, how stupid.

Please help me with my reasoning now. If you have knowledge that can help us to understand this better, please share.


The cgwatcher logfile says:


So here, the 7850 is not even mentioned.
But at 5:55:25 something happens to the 7970 card, for sure - and within 3 seconds cgminer is dead.

Does a Catalyst driver crash look like that?


I don't suspect the 7970 card to be the cause, because I underclocked it first, and it was running stable for more than a day now.
But still, you never know. They sit tightly together, one overheating might trigger the other one?


I have more insight about the other card, a 7850 PowerColor. Fortunately, GPU-Z logged that one.

The columns are:
* Date           
* GPU Core Clock [MHz]    
* GPU Memory Clock [MHz]    
* GPU Temperature [°C]    
* Fan Speed (%) [%]    
* Fan Speed (RPM) [RPM]    
* GPU Load [%]    
* Memory Usage (Dedicated) [MB]    
* Memory Usage (Dynamic) [MB]    
* VDDC [V]

The 20 minutes before were without any change:

2014-01-05 05:33:00    968   1289   62   84   3839   94   1123   41   0.939
                           
2014-01-05 05:34:00    968   1289   62   84   3845   93   1123   41   0.939
                           
2014-01-05 05:40:00    968   1289   61   84   3858   97   1123   41   0.939
                           
2014-01-05 05:53:00    968   1289   61   84   3844   95   1123   41   0.939

Then something happened to the memory usage.

All over the logfiles, I do see seldom jumps in the memory usage,
and they don't (?) seem to sync with pool / difficulty change
(which is logged in the cgwatcher.log above).

Anyways, that is the first real change of values here, 2 minutes before the crash:

2014-01-05 05:53:14    968   1289   62   84   3834   94   1123   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:15    968   1289   61   84   3834   95   1123   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:16    968   1289   62   84   3838   94   1123   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:21    968   1289   62   84   3838   63   1123   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:21    968   1289   59   84   3864   58   1123   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:23    968   1289   60   82   3833   51   1079   48   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:26    968   1289   60   83   3838   51   1057   38   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:27    968   1289   60   82   3821   79   1097   40   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:27    968   1289   60   82   3829   79   1104   40   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:28    968   1289   61   83   3833   84   1111   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:29    968   1289   60   83   3847   86   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:53:30    968   1289   61   83   3846   84   1107   41   0.939

apart from that nothing special happening.

2014-01-05 05:54:00    968   1289   60   80   3808   95   1107   41   0.939


then first (!) and strangely, the fanspeed is slowing,
then the GPU temperature falls a bit:
                           
2014-01-05 05:54:01    968   1289   60   80   3809   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:02    968   1289   60   80   3801   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:03    968   1289   60   80   3801   95   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:04    968   1289   60   79   3783   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:05    968   1289   60   79   3780   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:06    968   1289   60   79   3794   95   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:07    968   1289   60   79   3782   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:08    968   1289   60   79   3781   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:09    968   1289   60   79   3786   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:10    968   1289   60   78   3748   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:11    968   1289   60   78   3750   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:12    968   1289   60   77   3740   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:13    968   1289   59   77   3745   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:14    968   1289   59   77   3741   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:15    968   1289   59   77   3739   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:16    968   1289   59   76   3724   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:17    968   1289   59   76   3711   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:18    968   1289   59   76   3718   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:19    968   1289   59   76   3727   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:20    968   1289   59   75   3700   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:21    968   1289   59   75   3690   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:22    968   1289   59   74   3674   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:23    968   1289   59   74   3670   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:24    968   1289   59   74   3678   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:25    968   1289   59   74   3677   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:26    968   1289   59   73   3657   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:27    968   1289   59   73   3659   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:28    968   1289   59   72   3647   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:29    968   1289   59   72   3633   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:30    968   1289   59   72   3623   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:31    968   1289   58   72   3623   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:32    968   1289   58   71   3609   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:33    968   1289   59   71   3606   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:34    968   1289   58   70   3596   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:35    968   1289   59   70   3585   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:36    968   1289   58   69   3552   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:37    968   1289   58   69   3536   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:38    968   1289   58   68   3524   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:39    968   1289   58   68   3514   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:40    968   1289   58   67   3488   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:41    968   1289   58   67   3460   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:42    968   1289   58   66   3446   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:43    968   1289   58   66   3433   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:44    968   1289   58   65   3414   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:45    968   1289   58   65   3401   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:46    968   1289   58   64   3378   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:47    968   1289   58   64   3350   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:48    968   1289   58   63   3336   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:49    968   1289   58   63   3320   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:50    968   1289   58   62   3301   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:51    968   1289   58   62   3286   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:52    968   1289   58   61   3259   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:53    968   1289   58   61   3227   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:54    968   1289   58   61   3223   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:55    968   1289   58   61   3225   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:57    968   1289   58   60   3208   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:58    968   1289   58   60   3196   95   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:54:59    968   1289   58   59   3182   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:00    968   1289   58   59   3165   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:01    968   1289   58   59   3161   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:02    968   1289   58   59   3163   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:03    968   1289   58   58   3135   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:04    968   1289   58   58   3103   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:05    968   1289   58   57   3082   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:06    968   1289   58   57   3065   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:07    968   1289   58   57   3058   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:08    968   1289   58   57   3061   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:09    968   1289   58   56   3047   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:10    968   1289   58   56   3030   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:11    968   1289   58   55   3002   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:12    968   1289   58   55   2969   93   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:13    968   1289   58   54   2946   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:14    968   1289   58   54   2925   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:15    968   1289   58   54   2922   92   1107   41   0.939

Then the GPU load collapses within 5 seconds,
almost all memory is suddenly freed,
GPU rises again to 64% for five seconds ...
... then the GPU load drops to zero, and the clockspeeds go idle:

2014-01-05 05:55:16    968   1289   58   54   2921   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:17    968   1289   58   53   2907   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:18    968   1289   58   53   2885   92   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:19    968   1289   58   53   2877   94   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:20    968   1289   55   53   2887   80   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:21    968   1289   54   53   2891   60   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:22    968   1289   54   53   2890   47   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:23    968   1289   54   53   2889   29   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:24    968   1289   53   53   2889   9   1107   41   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:25    968   1289   53   53   2887   64   79   23   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:26    968   1289   53   53   2887   64   80   23   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:27    968   1289   53   53   2889   64   80   23   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:28    968   1289   52   53   2890   64   76   23   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:29    968   1289   52   53   2892   64   76   23   0.939
2014-01-05 05:55:30    300    150   52   53   2890   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 05:55:32    300    150   50   53   2891   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 05:55:33    300    150   49   53   2891   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 05:55:36    300    150   48   53   2891   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 05:58:17    300    150   31   53   2847   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 06:00:27    300    150   30   53   2828   0   76   23   0.825
2014-01-05 06:00:50    300    150   29   53   2827   0   76   23   0.825


Where it stays, cooling down ...

2014-01-05 05:58:17    300    150   31   53   2847   0   76      23   0.825

2014-01-05 06:00:27    300    150   30   53   2828   0   76      23   0.825

2014-01-05 06:00:50    300    150   29   53   2827   0   76      23   0.825

2014-01-05 06:30:00    300   150   28   53   2805   0   86   23   0.825

Until I find it half an hour later - because my little port4028 watcher-tool looks suspicious.



Hmmm ... that was all 7850 data. which I am currently testing to undervolt.
Unfortunately, I do not have parallel 7970 data :-(
Perhaps the 7970 malfunctioned first?


For now, I have raised the voltage of the 7850 a little bit.
Let's see if that is enough for stability.


What do you think, which card was the cause of the above crash?

excellent
Do you know how to undervolt r9 280x cards ??

Very nice results! Wish I knew about that other thread before, could have been of assistance.

I just want to announce SUCCESS :-) I did it!
Undervolting XFX 7970 DD by tweaking the original BIOS;
amazing results, saving 1/3 energy!

Instructions here:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.4282261

 

I have done that, thanks a lot.

Have a look here, perhaps anyone has any ideas:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/page-23#post-3042091

Happy New Year!

Mine are VTX3D (crap brand, I guess). I was lucky though: cheap, hash well, voltage regs supported and trouble free so far.

To figure out the voltage regulators, perhaps you have to remove the cooler, I dunno.  You can register at that forum and ask...

SUPER, thanks.

And which brand were your 7?70 - or doesn't that matter?




How can I find out, which voltage regulator is on my cards?
 CHL822x, CHL8214, UP1637, UP1801, ST6788A, VT1556M


Thx :-)

I changed the voltage of my 7970 and 7870 with this tool:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/

1.05V for the 7970 allows 1100Mhz and 1V for the 7870 allows 950+Mhz. YMMV, of course

Afterburner doesn't allow to change the voltage, cgminer doesn't do it.

I have:
1 PowerColor HD 7850 (AX7850 2GBD5-DH) with 85.3% ASIC quality
1 XFX R7970 DD (FX-797A-TDFC) with 68.6% ASIC quality

How to unlock the voltage control? Undervolt the cards? Overwrite the vga-bios?
Any hint welcome. Manuals to read?

I checked techpowerup.com but I already have the newest BIOS.

Thanks a million!
Enjoy your new years celebration!