X-bit labs

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 XT FAQ: All You Need to Know About It (page 8)

Category: Video

by Kirill "ALT-F13" Balalin

[ 05/05/2004 | 04:29 PM ]

3.5.  Reflashing Issues

3.5.1.  Why would you want to reflash the BIOS?

A rumor is roaming the Web about reflashing BIOSes of 5900XT cards: overclockability of the card changes dramatically depending on the BIOS. There’s no accurate info about the subject at all, only numerous guesses. I can only say that there is no universally best BIOS – you choose the best BIOS for your particular card. Some people do find their card to show better overclockability… Just be experimenting!

3.5.2.  Where do you get a BIOS for the 5900XT?

You find a whole collection of BIOSes by the following link: http://www.mvktech.net/download.php.

3.5.3.  How do you reflash?

Use the nvflash utility or Leadtek’s wfflash.

You create a bootable DOS floppy, maybe from Windows 98/Me/XP. It is recommended to clear up the contents of AUTOEXEC.BAT on the floppy created in Windows XP and leave it empty or type in the lines that follow, paying attention to the paths. These are initialization strings with additional keys. They allow flashing a BIOS with “wrong” data – from another manufacturer of from another card model.

Nvflash is NVIDIA’s reflash utility. You need two files: CWSDPMI.EXE and nvflash.exe.

The key for Version 4.41: “nvflash -f bios.rom -p -u” (where bios.rom is the name of the BIOS file).

For Version 4.46: “nvflash -f bios.rom -4 -5 -6”.

Wfflash is a reflash utility from Leadtek. You need two files: DOS4GW.EXE and WFFLASH.EXE.

The key for Version 5.1: “wfflash -nm bios.rom”.

3.5.4.  TV-Out is non-operational after BIOS reflashing. What’s wrong?

This is an often-reported problem. If you flash a BIOS from another manufacturer, TV-Out will probably refuse to work. There’s no solution yet, but sometimes you can find BIOSes compatible in their TV-outs (see Item 2.8.4 for example).

3.5.5.  What’s so special about the BIOS from the ASUS V9950SE?

I guess the BIOS from the ASUS V9950SE is the most well-described BIOS of all. This card has no division into 2D and 3D frequencies. The notorious AutoDetect function on the Overclocking tab of the NVIDIA driver doesn’t work at all on this card! And the auto-brake vanishes with it! This BIOS helps to solve all overclocking problems to many people. On the other hand, there’s information that this BIOS reduces memory overclocking on cards with the Hynix memory. So you may want to check it out first.

3.5.6.  Can I flash a BIOS from 5900/5900 Ultra/5950 Ultra?

Yes, in a majority of cases it is possible to flash a BIOS from one of the top-end cards. You only need to ensure stable work at the appropriate frequencies (400/850, 450/850 and 475/940MHz). There’s nothing miraculous about that, only the card is identified according to the BIOS information. Some users report a change in the card’s overclockability, usually a favorable one. The real performance may degenerate (especially if you use the BIOS from the 5950 Ultra) due to changes in the memory timings. That’s not very accurate information so you may want to check it out. I’d acknowledge your sharing with me your experience on the matter, feel free to e-mail me (alt@modlabs.net). From specific BIOSes, you may want to consider the BFG GeForce FX 5950 Ultra VGA BIOS Version: 4.35.20.35.33. Users speak well about it.