Jump to content

{GUIDE}Is your ATI GPU Overheating?, Adjust ATI GPU Fan Speed for OSX,


sirbow2
 Share

33 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

in this guide i will show you how to modify your discrete ATI Graphics bios Fan control settings to keep your GPU cool if OSX doesnt! :unsure:

 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

 

It is a very simple process and unless YOU really mess up, this guide cannot mess up your GPU. You will need to boot into windows, until i find a ATI bios program for OSX/Linux. i may also update this guide for Nvidia :) users.

 

Basically, what you are doing in this guide is modifying your ATI GPU bios with a better Fan Control Profile. it is all by GUI, so it is very simple.

 

 

--ATI Discrete Graphics

 

1. Boot in to Windows

2. Download ATI RBE from HERE NOTE: ATI RBE stands tor ATI Radeon Bios Editor

3. open the RBE.exe

4. Click on Aquire/Flash... button

39b6868476.jpg

5. Click on Analyse button in the new window

caffaa8e78.jpg

6. Click on Acquire Bios

12b43fb5b7.jpg

7. You should have a window similar to the picture below

387338355f.jpg

8. Click Fan Settings

7a9ac246df.jpg

9. Should look like the picture below

4100d1c27b.png

10. In the Fan Settings Tab, you have several options to set your fan speeds

A. Move the dots around on the picture Similar to option "C" but on a graph

B. Use transfer function (i dont know how to do this)

C. Use Look up a table (i like this one), you simply enter the speed you want the fan at near a certain Temperature

82125dd517.jpg

11. After you are satisfied with your Temp to Fan Speed ratio click on Acquire/Flash button

31e2beca86.jpg

12. In the window that pops up select the "Flash Bios" Button

caedcec0d0.jpg

13. You may get a similar warning as below, ignore it, and click yes

d958a4b23e.jpg

14. After the bios is flashed a window will pop up asking to reboot, you do not need to do it immediately, but for the new bios to work you need to restart, who would want to stay in Windows any way?! :unsure:

 

You should have a nice cool GPU in OSX, (if thats the way you set it)

 

--Nvidia Discrete Graphics coming soon, gunna be hard as i dont have a Nvidia gpu :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the tutorial! I can confirm (with 4890) that it at least doesn't break your card ;) Didn't work for me however. I copied your settings, tried mine, read through the RBE documentation. OS X seems to override my bios gpu fan speed and sets it to about 20% no matter what happens with the card :<

In gpu bios settings I used minimum value of 70% so I could tell the difference and as soon as osx loads up fan goes back to 20%(or so) speed.

So when I load up a game or stuff like OpenCL, fan stays on 20% speed and everything dies after a while - artifacts on screen/ black display - usual overheating symptoms.

Any idea if there could be a kext responsible for this behaviour?

I have xfx 4890, intel i5 750 and snow leopard 10.6.4 and it's running in 64bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...
it will work with any Radeon / radeon Hd card for sure but it will probably work fro all ATI cards. ;)

 

 

doenst work for gigabyte radeon 4850 1GB (comes with a zalman by default) the default fan speed is fixed in 100%

 

the noise is infernal! i have tried everything... bios drivers softwares and nothing...

 

if anyone have a solution please say something or send me a PM

 

 

i read somewere i need cable to control de fan?

 

this is the cable im using:

dxs1.jpg

 

what kind of cable i need to buy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

doenst work for gigabyte radeon 4850 1GB (comes with a zalman by default) the default fan speed is fixed in 100%

 

the noise is infernal! i have tried everything... bios drivers softwares and nothing...

 

if anyone have a solution please say something or send me a PM

 

 

i read somewere i need cable to control de fan?

 

this is the cable im using:

dxs1.jpg

 

what kind of cable i need to buy?

 

that cable is for supplying power to the whole GFX card, you dont need a fan adjuster cable to change the fan speed, it is adjusted by the card itself and its bios in the card.

 

that is why i made this guide, to help people change the bios in their card, so that they can have different fan speeds.

 

But it could be that since your GFX card has a fan that only has two wires(power only ) and not three wires( power and data for fan speed etc) that the GFX bios cannot change the fan speed, and you woulld need to jerry rig a adjustable fan knob to the GFX fan.

 

see your GFX card only two wires...

http://www.guru3d.com/imageview.php?image=14925

 

hope that made since (it did for me)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
thanks for this tutorial. i successfully changed my bios following your instructions but how can i monitor my temp and fan speed in osx? i don't hear my fan chugging away. :\

you have to get a FakeSMC kext with the correct temp plugins and then just use any OSX temp monitor APP like iStat Pro

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you have to get a FakeSMC kext with the correct temp plugins and then just use any OSX temp monitor APP like iStat Pro

 

Thanks for the info.

 

So I followed your instructions, ended up flashing it out of windows. When I retrieve the BIOS using the same method you initially instructed it shows up as having the new fan settings, great. But when I go into windows and monitor the temperature, it seems like the fan isn't even budging in windows...

 

Am I doing something wrong here?

 

post-436441-1307144042_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ended up reverting to the BIOS's default which uses the transfer function setting and modifying it slightly to be more sensitive. Windows now works fine, maybe the table setting just doesn't work on my card. However I seem to have the other users same issue of it sitting at 20% in OSX.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

In 'Fan Settings' I have no option to select or use the 'Lookup Table'.

 

My card -> Gigabyte 4850 512mb (GV-R485-512H-:unsure:.

 

I bought and installed a new Accelero Twin Turbo Pro today and the fans run at a constant 100% in 10.6.8 and Vista. Luckily I can manually change the fan speed in Vista with CCC, but I've spent the last 6 hours trying to find a solution for 10.6.8 or Lion.

 

It seems that my card supports PWM only with my stock fan for some reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think you need a nvidia bios editor use google.

 

So, for my ATI 4850 I need to use an nvidia bios editor and not radeon bios editor (RBE)?

Seems a strange proposition, but I'll google it I guess.

 

I've looked at other 4850 bioses in RBE and some of them have the lookup table in Fan Settings, but my card doesn't.

Spent the entire day yesterday reaching such dead-ends :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

oooh wow i didnt see that fro some reason i thought you had nvidia sorry bout that.

 

umm im not sure why, try reloading the bios into RBE, or try finding another bios editor, i dunno why it wouldnt work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RBE's fan profile modification does work with any card or only with reference design ones?

 

I also saw problems at techpowerup forums where users modifying their BIOS couldn't get Windows desktop loaded anymore (BSOD).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

im pretty sure it will work with non reference. and for those who get BSOD they are dumb and probably messed up some of the settings in RBE when changing temp stuff etc. or it could not be their fault, maybe a bios flash error but HIGHLY unlikely that its not their doing that caused issue.

 

thanks for the ques, have fun !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the tut. Unfortunately as soon as I boot into SL it lowers the fan speed.

As Im in bios you can hear the gpu fan increased speed, but once booted in SL it goes back to normal. Around 20%?

 

Any ideas? Or if someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks

 

 

EP45T-UD3P

ATI Raedeon HD5870

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Thanks for the tut. Unfortunately as soon as I boot into SL it lowers the fan speed.

As Im in bios you can hear the gpu fan increased speed, but once booted in SL it goes back to normal. Around 20%?

 

Any ideas? Or if someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks

 

 

EP45T-UD3P

ATI Raedeon HD5870

 

I have the same issue as well. After modifying the BIOS, it does run at 100% until OS X lands onto the desktop, then it drops again.

 

Anyone with ideas?

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Can I also use this guide for my 2 ATI 4870's mac edition cards ??

Ive got two of them in my MacPro 1,1..

 

They have a EFI ROM instead of a BIOS Rom as far as I know..

They in fact have both.  The only Mac Pro cards to ONLY have an EFI were the first, the X1300 and X1900.

 

Since then, they have an EFI that provides boot screens and sets card up with drivers but card is actually run by the PC BIOS part.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi,

 

thanks for you answer !

 

I've followed the toturial but i cant get any further than stap 4 !
I cant click on the analyse button on in stap 5..

 

IS there anybody who has experience with EFI Cards and Fan speed modding on them ?

 

Also i cant get any way possible showing my GPU temps in OSX..

Ive used many temp programs but none of them shows GPU temps in OSX, only all the other MacPro temps its got..

 

Need some help here please..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...