New graphics cards based on the Radeon R9 290 chip with a little luck can be converted to the more expensive version of the R9 290X. The first reports that this is possible appeared on the German PC Games Hardware vortal. It presents Radeon R9 290 from PowerColor, in which by downloading the BIOS from the Asus Radeon R9 290X card managed to unlock additional shading units. We decided to check it on two copies that we had in the editorial office.
Table of Contents
Highlights
- Radeon R9 290 @ R9 290X
- Operation
Some history
It has always been that electronics manufacturers sold constructions based on the same layout at different prices. The differences were in blocking some functions or parts in it. This affects performance and price. It is not profitable to produce several versions of the system that would only differ slightly in the final product. Multicore processors are a very good example. Non-core specimens are sold in a dual or triple core version. Sometimes it is so that the manufacturer, to keep up with orders for slower versions of the CPU, decides to sell systems with all cores functional.
The practice of blocking functional parts of cores is then used. The processor is sold as a less-developed and cheaper unit. Advanced computer users know this very well and sometimes by changing the BIOS settings they manage to unlock additional processor cores. A good example is the AMD Phenom II X2 550 or Phenom II X3 720 processor. In many copies, additional cores were unlocked using the motherboard BIOS.
GPUs since GeForce 256 also sometimes allowed themselves to be converted into a more expensive model by changing the BIOS, modifying drivers or using a soldering iron. The aforementioned Nvidia card along with its younger brother, GeForce 2, could be converted into a professional model, Quadro. Radeon 9500 pro systems have been massively converted to 9700 pro version .
If you didn’t feel comfortable with the soldering iron in your hand, you could rewrite the cards in the next few years by simply copying the new BIOS to them. GeForce 6800 cards were such rarities on the market. There were copies in which additional pixel and vertex shading units could be unlocked. This operation allowed replacing the 6800 model with 700 PLN more expensive 6800 GT. A few years after them, the time for modal Radeons HD 6950 came. Thanks to the BIOS change, the lucky user got the more expensive model, HD 6970.
Radeon R9 290 @ R9 290X – is it possible?
Immediately after the Radeon R9 290 and R9 290X hit stores, information on successful attempts to convert the slower version to a faster version by uploading the appropriate BIOS appeared in western discussion forums. These reports were confirmed by the results of tests and pictures from GPU-Z, which showed the unlocked additional shading units and changed clocks. It probably sounded because the R9 290 is the same system as the R9 290X, except that some of the executive blocks do not work in it.
| R9 290X | R9 290 | R9 280X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shading units | 2816 | 2560 | 2048 |
| ROP | 64 | 64 | 32 |
| Texture units | 176 | 160 | 128 |
| Core clock | 1000 MHz | 947 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| Computing power | 5,905 gigaflop | 5084 gigaflops | 4294 gigaflops |
| The pixel fill speed | 67.1 gigapixels / pp |
63.6 gigapixels / pp |
33.5 gigapixels / pp |
| The speed of filling with textures | 184.5 gigatex / pp |
158.9 gigatex / pp |
134.2 gigatex / pp |
| Memory clock | 1250 MHz | 1250 MHz | 1500 MHz |
| Memory Rail | 512 b | 512 b | 384 b |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 312.5 GB / s | 312.5 GB / s | 281.5 GB / s |
| Technological process | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
We had two reference graphics cards in our editorial office: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 and an analogous Sapphire model. Because they differ only in the stickers on the fan, you did not have to look for special versions of the BIOS.
Operation
First you need to complete several programs that will allow you to perform diagnostics and modification of cards:
- MemoryInfo
- GPU-Z
- Atiflash
- R9 290X BIOS.
The MemoryInfo program will check the type of memory and its producer.
It is important that the Radeon R9 290X, whose BIOS we will be copying, uses the same memory chips. This will avoid a lot of trouble. The whole operation is quite safe, because Radeons R9 290 have a dual BIOS. The switch on the R9 290 laminate switches it between different operating modes. On most cards equipped with slower GPUs, it allows you to choose the BIOS that the card should use.
After failing to load the BIOS, you can always go back to the original. This gives a great sense of security and even an inexperienced user can afford to play modding Radeon.
After checking the memory chips used, we select the appropriate BIOS version. We checked two: Asus and Gigabyte. To copy the BIOS, you need to prepare a boot disk with DOS. A pen drive is best for this. When the computer starts, a command line will appear. As a reminder, a few DOS text environment commands that you may find helpful:
- cd directory_name – entry to the directory;
- dir – display the contents of the current directory;
- up or down arrow – undo the last entered command.
On the flash drive that will be used to start the computer should be Atiflash and BIOS from R9 290. At the very beginning we copy the original BIOS:
- Atiflash -s 0 biosname.rom
The -s parameter copies the BIOS, and the number 0 indicates the number of the card from which it is being copied. After completing this operation you can upload a new BIOS.
- Atiflash -p 0 -f bios_r9_290x.rom
The -p switch copies the BIOS from the file, the number 0 is the number of the card to which the BIOS is copied, and -f causes the operation to be forced without checking AsicID etc.
Finally, restart the computer, install drivers and check in the GPU-Z whether the card has been unlocked to the full version of the R9 290X. Unfortunately, in our case the operation was unsuccessful and both cards reported the number of units characteristic of regular R9 290. Of course, the default core clock speeded up.
Is it worth trying?
In our opinion – yes. In previous years, card modifications required more skill and knowledge. Added to this was a significant risk of damaging the card. Currently, the dual BIOS option protects against failure in 99%. However, there is always some risk and the warranty is voided. R9 290 has already appeared on the market, transformed by sellers into R9 290X. This reduces the chance of buying a modal card on the primary market, because those that went on sale are probably now selected. What if it doesn’t work out? We don’t lose a lot because by blocking some of the R9 290 shading units, they get better overclocking, so you can make up for the difference in performance by not paying extra for the R9 290X. We are still waiting for the availability of non-reference Radeons R9 290, because at current prices it is a very attractive offer.
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