Permanent Solution, ONLY for Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5
!Important to note for this solution is that this works ONLY for the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5!
This is because this solution requires a BIOS update of the card, which is provided by Sapphire.
So, to make sure you have the correct card, it's easiest to consult the box where the card came in. On the box you will find a green sticker with some barcodes and some serial numbers. The BIOS update is only applicable if on your sticker the serial numbers are:
PN 188-01E85-001SA
SKU# 11133-00-20R
Also you can check these settings in the ATI CCC:
Original BIOS on board with date: 24.07.2008
BIOS version: 011.006.000.003.000000
If all of this checks out for your card the BIOS update can be done. To do the BIOS update we will need a few things:
The BIOS update from Sapphire, http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/support/drivers.php
An alternative download from RapidShare, http://rapidshare.com/files/14833927...rking.zip.html
ATI Win Flash, for easier BIOS updating in Windows, http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...h_2.0.1.2.html
With both these we can perform the BIOS update. Note that it is also possible to flash the card via the regular ATI flash but I decided to go for the WinFlash solution. As it doesn't require the creation of a Boot Disk.
The steps to undertake to flash the BIOS.
First, make sure to end all applications which do something with the GFX card (such as RivaTuner or any game)
Install ATI WinFlash to a "simple location" (fex. C:\WinFlash)
Unzip the contents of the BIOS update into a folder
Copy/Paste the file named 1e8501sa.002 from the folder where you extracted the BIOS update, to the ATI WinFlash install folder
Click on the Start menu and select Run
Type in "cmd" (without the quotes) and press OK
Browse to the install path of ATI WinFlash (fex. C:\WinFlash)
Run the BIOS update by executing: atiwinflash.exe -f -p 0 1e8501sa.002
Wait until the flashing finishes, should it fail do NOT reset, yet try to flash again
If it worked, reboot your system.
A note about the WinFlash utility, if your card is not in the top slot, or if you want to update two cards you can do so by changing the command line. The third parameter in the list is the PCI-E slot (the 0), where 0 is the top slot, and where 1 is the PCI-E slot below it. So if you were flashing your card in the second slot the command line would look like: atiwinflash.exe -f -p 1 1e8501sa.002"