Bios Update Unlocks 128 Stream Processors AMD RX 460

By admin On Dec 12, 2016

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Through a firmware update it appears possible to unlock a number of stream processors of the Radeon RX 460. The method increases the number of stream processors on at least some Asus and Sapphire cards from 896 to 1024. It doesn’t work straight away in combination with the new ReLive drivers.

Overclocker der8auer has tested six RX 460 cards with 4GB vram and with all those models it turned out to be possible to unlock 8 tmu’s for 128 extra stream processors. As a result of the bios update, the AMD Radeon RX 460 has 64 TMUs and therefore 1024 stream processors, where this is standard 56 TMUs and 896 stream processors. The performance gain is up to 12.5 percent in some cases, claims der8auer.

He has released the modified bios versions for the Asus Strix O4G and Sapphire Nitro 4G and is currently testing more cards on how the unlock method works. The overclocker doesn’t know why the unlock works. In the past, manufacturers have more often switched to deactivating parts of chips, for example in the event of disappointing yields. It is not yet certain whether the unlocking will work with every RX 460.

The Asus Strix O4G performs about ten percent better on The Witcher 3. The Sapphire Nitro shows a nine percent higher score on the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark. Der8auer warns that while the method is fast and simple, flashing the bios is not without risk and can lead to problems with the card.

According to TechPowerUp, unlocking doesn’t work without a hitch in combination with the new Crimson ReLive drivers, which AMD released last week. Those drivers check for RX 400 cards if the original bios is present on a video card and if the hash does not match, the driver cannot be installed. The method does work with the previous driver suite with version number 16.11.5. It is also possible to bypass the signature check of the ReLive drivers. The workaround, devised by forum member asder00 of Overclock.net, is described at TechPowerUp.

Update 14.05: Added info about bypassing bios signature check.