ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/22 23:24Hi there everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. I recently purchased an ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP edition graphics card with 512MB memory, and I'm having this small problem. You see, the control center reports the card is using 1024MB of HyperMemory. Benchmark utilities state the same thing. This is a major problem for me, as we all should know HyperMemory, along with TurboCache, should be reserved for mobile counterparts.
Anyways, I can get a BIOS dump and attach it if you like. I don't mind flashing the card, but I would prefer to use one from ASUS, not another vendor. Sadly, their technical support guy told me to RMA the card, but did forward my problem onto their engineering team. It's been four days now since he has done this, and you would think I'd get a response by now. I would rather just keep the card, I mean, it does everything it's supposed to, except report that it is using HyperMemory as opposed to the GDDR5 memory.
I'm ready to take things into my own hands. I've flashed BIOS's before, so that's not a problem. I came here because I know how extensive the community is with collecting BIOS's and providing assistance to people who need the help. I know it's the card reading as 1GB, because I have swapped out the Radeon HD 3850 and that reports correctly. I'd really like to get this problem solved as soon as possible. I appreciate greatly any input which can be provided. Thank you.
My System Specifications... - MSI K9A2 Platinum (790FX/SB600) Mainboard - AMD Phenom II 720 Black Edition Processor - 2x G.Skill 1GB DDR2-800 Enhanced Memory - ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP 512MB Card - Corsair TX750 750W Performance Power Supply - Windows XP Home incl. SP3 Operating System
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Mavke
Admin Admin
Posts: 18525
Karma: 492
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/23 19:39Mmm, mate it is reporting 1GB of HyperMemory, that means if you are certain you have only 512MB that 512MB is taken from the system memory as that is what HyperMemory is about. But you are certain you have only 512MB, cause you never know that you bought a 512MB version but due to some damn luck you gotten it equipped with 1GB. And yes it could certainly be the BIOS, so you could try some flashing.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Boombox
User Fresh Boarder
Posts: 4
Karma: 0
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/27 08:25I'm 99% positive the card is equipped with 512MB frame buffer. And also GPU-Z reports the card as physically having 512MB. I mean, if I wanted to, I could shut the system down, pull the card and write down the serial numbers from the chips and look them up. I'm almost certain they'd add-up to 512MB. Yeah, I know what HyperMemory is about, and I do not want it stealing system memory for graphics card memory.
Anyways, I have attached the BIOS dump, which you are more than welcome to add to your archive of the Radeon HD 4870's. If I have put this in the wrong place, my apologies. I just want this card to report correctly, and if it is indeed stealing my system memory I want it to stop, as that will only bring performance down.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Mavke
Admin Admin
Posts: 18525
Karma: 492
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/27 08:48Boombox wrote: If I have put this in the wrong place, my apologies. I just want this card to report correctly, and if it is indeed stealing my system memory I want it to stop, as that will only bring performance down. Okay mate, thanks for checking again and we are trusting GPU-Z for that matter of reporting only 512MB and as such indeed for the Radeon HD 4870 it is really strange and certainly annoying it is taking up system memory due to that HyperMemory feature. I don't know if RBEdit is able to disable this feature, but I doubt it and as such I would try to flash the card first with the standard ASUS BIOS for the Radeon HD 4870 and see if that makes a difference.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Boombox
User Fresh Boarder
Posts: 4
Karma: 0
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/28 06:22Unfortunately RBEdit does not have a function to disable it, as I was hoping it would. Now if I only had my software programming classes out of the way, I might be able to edit the file myself to do what I want. I can only assume this is a reference designed board with an aftermarket cooler on it. I guess I will have to try and flash with an original BIOS. I will do this in the next couple of days and report back. And yes, it is annoying.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Mavke
Admin Admin
Posts: 18525
Karma: 492
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/04/28 19:49I doubt somehow you would be able to find the right bit if one excists in the BIOS to disable the HyperMemory as that would require that you know very well how these ATI BIOS's are structured and that is not something you learn just like that. Yes you will need to try an flash with an original BIOS and see what it gives. Good luck and keep us posted!
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
Boombox
User Fresh Boarder
Posts: 4
Karma: 0
Re:ASUS Extreme AH4870 DK TOP board memory size problem? - 2009/05/08 08:48Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get my hands on an original BIOS from ASUS. The one from here is for another overclocked version of the card, and I don't want to mess a good thing up, if you know what I mean. I've done rather extensive testing to see if the card really is using HyperMemory, and so far my answer would have to be no. Windows still reports the system of having 2GB of system memory. So I'm wondering more along the lines if it's a reporting error. Maybe the BIOS code is correct, but the report function is incorrect. I don't know much about BIOS's...
I'm currently attending college for a degree in the computer engineering field, and I have asked a few of the instructors if we are going to get into BIOS editing during some of my software programming classes. One of them said we would touch on the subject, so I'm hoping we do enough so I can maybe try my hands at some tweaking. Anyways, I really appreciate your help, and your site is very well done. I'm glad I came by, bookmarked it, and come back from time to time and check on what people are posting.
| | The administrator has disabled public write access.
NiBiTor v6.06
