HD 7970 High Temperature and Voltage Idle (problem and how to fix)

[m0pelley99]

Hi everyone. I recently had problems with my XFX Core Ed. HD 7970 when I attempted to flash a GHz BIOS on the card. When I flashed the card using the .EXE file that you can download on a couple different sites, the card wouldn't display video. Thankfully my card had a dual-bios switch so I was very easily able to flick it over and boot into Windows like normal.

But, after that close call I started having voltage problems. I guess the second BIOS didn't like lowering the voltage at idle which caused it to run in the mid-50's lower 60's temperature range.

I did some looking around on Google for a good hour looking for a cure, most people were saying that it was impossible to revert the changes done to the BIOS and therefore people like me were stuck with a high idling HD 7970.

So I found a solution for people with the same problem I had. Here it is in three simple steps:

1. Take a look at this very informative guide to using ATiFlash

2. Download the stock BIOS file for your card (or another one if you so desire)

3. Place the dual-bios switch (if your card has one) to the position of the defective BIOS, place the BIOS file and ATiFlash .EXE file on your thumb drive, boot into that thumb drive and simply type:

atiflash -f -p 0 'bios filename'

And there you go!

Hopefully this helps someone.

[m0pelley99]

Something else I should mention. For those of you who are looking for an alternative to the .EXE file that you download online, which supposedly flashes your stock HD 7970 with the GHz BIOS:

Follow the steps in the OP. Instead of the stock BIOS of your card, chose this one instead. Flash this as your second position on your dual-bios switch and BAM, you now have an ATi Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition card. Windows should try and install new drivers once you boot into Windows with the new BIOS flashed.

This process SHOULD work on every HD 7970. You may, although, need to reinstall Catalyst drivers if you plan on flashing the BIOS to one other than the one designed for your card.

[IRQ Conflict]

Hey m0pelley99. I seen your in DV. So I thought I'd say hi. HI!.

[m0pelley99]

I've been having problems with aftermarket programs crashing my video card and causing my system to lock up, with stock and GHz Edition BIOS's. If you are having the same problem and want to fix it, uninstall the program causing you to crash and use the preset system within the CCC (Catalyst Control Center). This fix is more for users who have multi monitor setups and want to keep their card cool without the use of another program like MSI Afterburner.

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Here's how you do it:

1. Go into the CCC and enable "AMD OverDrive" under the "Performance" tab.

Explanation: It will allow you to set your clocks, fan speed, and power level.

2. Set your clocks, fan setting, and power control settings to what you want and click "Apply".

Explanation: Set it to what ever you feel is a comfortable overclock. I set the clock speed to 1050MHz, memory speed to 1500MHz, fan speed to 80%, and power setting to +20%.

3. Open up the "Presets" menu to the left of the window and click "Add Presets...". In the next window set a name and a key combination. Click "Save". Whenever you press those keys, it will apply those settings.

Explanation: For me, I wanted the ability to play my games while overclocked and then underclock while I'm not. So, I set the clock speed to 1050MHz, memory speed to 1500MHz, fan speed to 80%, and the power setting to +20%. I then opened up the "Presets" menu to the right of the window and clicked "Add Presets...". In the next window I named my preset "Overclocked" and checked "Assign Hotkey", set it to CTRL + Shift + X, and clicked "Save". This makes it so whenever I press the keys CTRL, Shift and X, it would apply my preset.

4. Go back into the "AMD OverDrive" page and change your settings to these:
High Performance GPU clock settings: 300MHz
High Performance memory clock settings: 150MHz
*Check* Enable manual fan control: 30%
Power control settings: -20%

Click "Apply".

Explanation: These are the settings you will use while you are performing idle tasks.

5. Open up the "Presets" menu to the left of the window and click "Add Presets...". In the next window set a name and a key combination. Click "Save". Whenever you press those keys, it will apply those settings.

Explanation: You now have two presets. One for GPU intensive tasks, and one for idle tasks.

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Using this, I have my HD7970, running two monitors, idling at 31C with an estimated power consumption of ~0.38W. But, as always, YMMV. I know without this fix, I would be idling at 47C with an estimated power consumption of ~15.72W.

Cheers!
Mike

[trayton]

Hey,

How much difference do you notice from your stock card to the (2nd bios switch) 7970 GHz edition?

Just curious if its worth doing with my 7970

Thanks in advance :)