Diamond Radeon HD 6450 Silent - Fully Working

[tonymacx86]

Diamond Radeon HD 6450 Silent
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Multimedia-Radeon-GDDR3-6450PE31G/dp/B00519BEG4

Just in case anyone has this card, I tested it just now. The framebuffer by default in Chimera will give you Bulrushes. If you type this at the Chimera boot screen:

AtiConfig=Pithecia

You'll get full port recognition with GraphicsEnabler=Yes. Add this key to your /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist by opening and editing with TextEdit as shown:

<key>AtiConfig</key>
    <string>Pithecia</string>
    <key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>
    <string>Yes</string>
    <key>GenerateCStates</key>
    <string>Yes</string>
    <key>GeneratePStates</key>
    <string>Yes</string>
    <key>GraphicsEnabler</key>
    <string>Yes</string>
    <key>Kernel Flags</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>Legacy Logo</key>
    <string>Yes</string>
    <key>Timeout</key>
    <string>2</string>
    <key>UseKernelCache</key>
    <string>Yes</string>

Hope this helps.

For more information check out:

ATI/AMD 5xxx & 6xxx Graphics Cards Framebuffer Personalities
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=46392

 

[FranzWerfel]

I found this interesting and tried it. I have the same card in a GA-H67M-D2-B3. However, I can't see the boot screen (No signal to screen) until I am fully booted. So, if I use Pitheca, I get a black screen and must reboot with the monitor hooked up to the integrated graphics to see a boot screen. From there, I have to boot with GE=No and then reset to Bulrushes.

I know this sounds Mickey Mouse, but I am back with Bulrushes. That said, I did not set any value for the AtiPorts. What do you suggest? I modify Chameleon with Chameleon Wizard since I cannot see the login screen with my monitor hooked up to the HD 6450.

 

[tonymacx86]

I'm using the latest Chimera. Use that and it will work as stated.

 

[FranzWerfel]

I'm using the latest Chimera. Use that and it will work as stated.

I tried to reinstall it. But I am a novice, obviously, and Chimera won't overwrite my current org.chameleon.boot.plist which reads as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Bulrushes</string>
<key>AtiPorts</key>
<string>4</string>
<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>Graphics Mode</key>
<string>1920x1080x32</string>
<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>Kernel</key>
<string>mach_kernel</string>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>npci=0x2000 darkwake=0</string>
<key>Legacy Logo</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>Theme</key>
<string>LoginToLion</string>
<key>Timeout</key>
<string>2</string>
<key>UseKernelCache</key>
<string>Yes</string>
</dict>
</plist>

I am still not seeing the post screen from the HD 6450, so I can't really test things safely without having to hook up the HD 3000 graphics to get back to the HD 6450 side. Again, a novice ...

 

[tonymacx86]

<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Bulrushes</string>
<key>AtiPorts</key>
<string>4</string>

Replace this part with what I have above.

 

[FranzWerfel]

<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Bulrushes</string>
<key>AtiPorts</key>
<string>4</string>

Replace this part with what I have above.

So, I should not use Chameleon Wizard to do this? My problem is this: I can't see the Post screen to enter these settings in order to test them them. It's as if the HD 6450 is not generating a signal until the PC is fully booted. That's not right and I can't seem to fix it. (This is why I have to hook a cable up to the onboard graphics to see the screen again and repair the bad settings.) That said, why doesn't the Chimera installer overwrite the current org.chameleon.boot.plist? I may have a different problem that is just in the way of testing this new capability. Did you get HDMI sound, too, with Pitheca?

The bottom line is this: I can't see the Chimera screen when I turn on the computer unless I am hooked up to the onboard graphics. I don't think I need to disable the onboard graphics, or do I?

 

[FranzWerfel]

<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Bulrushes</string>
<key>AtiPorts</key>
<string>4</string>

Replace this part with what I have above.

So, I should not use Chameleon Wizard to do this? My problem is this: I can't see the Post screen to enter these settings in order to test them them. It's as if the HD 6450 is not generating a signal until the PC is fully booted. That's not right and I can't seem to fix it. (This is why I have to hook a cable up to the onboard graphics to see the screen again and repair the bad settings.) That said, why doesn't the Chimera installer overwrite the current org.chameleon.boot.plist? I may have a different problem that is just in the way of testing this new capability. Did you get HDMI sound, too, with Pitheca?

The bottom line is this: I can't see the Chimera screen when I turn on the computer unless I am hooked up to the onboard graphics. I don't think I need to disable the onboard graphics, or do I?

I am embarrassed. I had a Sapphire, not the Diamond. The Diamond was in the Windows box. I swapped them and, yes, the Diamond HD 6450 works. But the HDMI sound doesn't show up in the Output Sound devices. So, it doesn't quite fully work. But it works ...

 

[psydafke]

<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Bulrushes</string>
<key>AtiPorts</key>
<string>4</string>

Replace this part with what I have above.

So, I should not use Chameleon Wizard to do this? My problem is this: I can't see the Post screen to enter these settings in order to test them them. It's as if the HD 6450 is not generating a signal until the PC is fully booted. That's not right and I can't seem to fix it. (This is why I have to hook a cable up to the onboard graphics to see the screen again and repair the bad settings.) That said, why doesn't the Chimera installer overwrite the current org.chameleon.boot.plist? I may have a different problem that is just in the way of testing this new capability. Did you get HDMI sound, too, with Pitheca?

The bottom line is this: I can't see the Chimera screen when I turn on the computer unless I am hooked up to the onboard graphics. I don't think I need to disable the onboard graphics, or do I?

I am embarrassed. I had a Sapphire, not the Diamond. The Diamond was in the Windows box. I swapped them and, yes, the Diamond HD 6450 works. But the HDMI sound doesn't show up in the Output Sound devices. So, it doesn't quite fully work. But it works ...

For the HDMI sound, there are some excellent guides by Toleda in the audio threads.
You'll need to edit the DSDT for that.

 

[FranzWerfel]

The HDMI sound now shows up as an Output device in Sound. I've not tested it through a television yet, but I would expect it to work. I made a working patched DSDT using Toleda guide but, for step 3, did not have a way to read the HD 6450's BIOS. So, I searched and found this discussion and PhilWil007's edit of the ATI6000Controller.kext for a Sapphire HD 6450 using Pitheca as the Aticonfig:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=35803&start=90

His change:

00 04 00 00 04 03 00 00 00 01 00 00 21 03 02 04

with this:

00 08 00 00 04 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 21 03 02 04

gives you the HDMI option in Sound. Although this was taking the plunge more than doing it the right way, it seems both the Sapphire 6450 512MB he uses and the one Tony discusses on this page are very similar using Pitheca. Some more background: Tony's testing of this card caught my eye because it has originally been in a Windows box while a Sapphire HD 6450 1GB using Bulrushes in the Aticonfift and 4 Ati ports would not work with Pitheca. So I swapped them and this has been a good trade between the two PCs.

 

[tonymacx86]

The HDMI sound now shows up as an Output device in Sound. I've not tested it through a television yet, but I would expect it to work. I made a working patched DSDT using Toleda guide but, for step 3, did not have a way to read the HD 6450's BIOS. So, I searched and found this discussion and PhilWil007's edit of the ATI6000Controller.kext for a Sapphire HD 6450 using Pitheca as the Aticonfig:

http://tonymacx86.com/viewtopic.php?f=1 ... 3&start=90

His change:

00 04 00 00 04 03 00 00 00 01 00 00 21 03 02 04

with this:

00 08 00 00 04 02 00 00 00 01 00 00 21 03 02 04

gives you the HDMI option in Sound. Although this was taking the plunge more than doing it the right way, it seems both the Sapphire 6450 512MB he uses and the one Tony discusses on this page are very similar using Pitheca. Some more background: Tony's testing of this card caught my eye because it has originally been in a Windows box while a Sapphire HD 6450 1GB using Bulrushes in the Aticonfift and 4 Ati ports would not work with Pitheca. So I swapped them and this has been a good trade between the two PCs.

Wow- great- this worked for me! Thanks for the info!