Enhance your 6950=unlock to 6970!

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12-27-2010, 03:45 AM
SubZero.it

Enhance your 6950=unlock to 6970!

The guide from techPowerUp!, none of the cards failed the flashing process.

http://tpucdn.com/articles/159/images/before.gif

http://tpucdn.com/articles/159/images/after.gif

:up:
12-27-2010, 03:57 AM
Metroid

lol, this is a blast :D
12-27-2010, 04:05 AM
Pantsu

I wonder if this was the reason AMD added the bios switch? I suppose it does add substantial value to the product (for those who feel comfortable flashing gpus) while at the same time AMD isn't responsible if you brick your card. :ROTF:

GG AMD. :up:
12-27-2010, 04:10 AM
Mechromancer

At $299.99, no tax, and free shipping, this makes the 6950 really hard to pass up. I haven't unlocked shaders since the GeForce 6800. YIPPEE!
12-27-2010, 04:14 AM
Easybeat

:rofl:This is the second time this has happened to me. I bought a 2900pro and found out it was a 2900XT under-clocked and now I buy a 6950 and find out the same.

I'll wait a few days and see how this pans out as I am in no great hurry but this is a hell of a bonus.
12-27-2010, 04:24 AM
NanoBullet

if this prove to be reliable, i think i'm not going to the gtx 570 because the price/quality relationship is on this 6950 :yepp:
12-27-2010, 04:27 AM
Metroid

First thread about the topic: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=264159
12-27-2010, 04:52 AM
jmke

second thread: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=264189
12-27-2010, 04:56 AM
Loque

now that looks more tempting.. any chance of future versions not being able to unlock ?
12-27-2010, 04:57 AM
Oztopher

I can imagine if they do bring out the 1GB versions, then those will be hard locked or whatever.
12-27-2010, 06:01 AM
DilTech

Depending on how reliable this ends up long-term wise, this makes the 6950 2gb a very good deal in my eyes. I'm also doubtful the 1gb 6950 will have the same success story for unlocking unfortunately, but this definitely makes the 6950 a lot more attractive.
12-27-2010, 06:11 AM
Mats

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pantsu

I wonder if this was the reason AMD added the bios switch? I suppose it does add substantial value to the product (for those who feel comfortable flashing gpus) while at the same time AMD isn't responsible if you brick your card. :ROTF:

GG AMD. :up:

:confused:Sooo, what are the chances you brick a card if you have a switch? ;)
12-27-2010, 06:19 AM
PatRaceTin

good news for 6950 !!!!!
12-27-2010, 06:24 AM
andos

Ordered an ASUS 6950 just now.

Can't wait.
12-27-2010, 06:55 AM
FlawleZ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechromancer

At $299.99, no tax, and free shipping, this makes the 6950 really hard to pass up. I haven't unlocked shaders since the GeForce 6800. YIPPEE!

False.

You were unlocking Pixel Pipelines, not shaders. :p:
12-27-2010, 06:57 AM
FlawleZ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mats

:confused:Sooo, what are the chances you brick a card if you have a switch? ;)

Chances are always there, but if done properly you can even revert from a bad flash when the card has no video. Just slap in a PCI video card or use the on board. Everyone should be backing up their original BIOS before the flash.
12-27-2010, 06:58 AM
Mad Pistol

If you look at both the 6950 and 6970, the cards are identical. It sounds like AMD made unlocking the 6950 to 6970 all to easy.

Maybe that's their ace in the hole. AMD has given users very powerful cards for a lower price, and yet nvidia has to compete with it using their "hard locked" cards.

Good Game indeed AMD. Very good game. :)
12-27-2010, 07:02 AM
Mats

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlawleZ

Chances are always there, but if done properly you can even revert from a bad flash when the card has no video. Just slap in a PCI video card or use the on board.

So you're saying the switch doesn't help in such situation, contrary to what TPU says? You lost me there..:shrug:
12-27-2010, 07:06 AM
FlawleZ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mats

So you're saying the switch doesn't help in such situation, contrary to what TPU says? You lost me there..:shrug:

I haven't seen a case where it hasn't worked. I was merely suggesting another method which can work when recovering cards from a bad flash.
12-27-2010, 07:20 AM
flopper

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Pistol

If you look at both the 6950 and 6970, the cards are identical. It sounds like AMD made unlocking the 6950 to 6970 all to easy.

Maybe that's their ace in the hole. AMD has given users very powerful cards for a lower price, and yet nvidia has to compete with it using their "hard locked" cards.

Good Game indeed AMD. Very good game. :)

6950 likely is cards that didnt meet their criteria for 6970.
one of mine dosnt play well and is artifacting in windows.
the other works.
I am likely to just play with the 6950 after voltage support been added from afterburner.

maybe a unlocked 6970 bios with mem timings same as 6950 might work but I doubt it.
12-27-2010, 07:21 AM
screwtech02

Wonder how long it's gonna take em to put the halt to this????
12-27-2010, 07:23 AM
Particle

Just for giggles, if one of you does this to a 6950, please do 3-5 runs of some GPU benchmark at the 6950's stock speed to get an average first. Then after flashing, please underclock to the 6950's default core and memory clocks and re-run 3-5 passes of the same thing. I'd like to make sure performance is increasing from the extra shaders instead of purely core/mem clocks.

I think the community as a whole would owe you some gratitude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwtech02

Wonder how long it's gonna take em to put the halt to this????

Why would they? People who do this sort of stuff are still giving them money and we account for a sliver of the sliver of people who actually buy these high end parts in the first place. I think this is why historically we've seen this happen time and time again. It's not like they forget with every new product that BIOSes can be overwritten.
12-27-2010, 07:24 AM
BababooeyHTJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Particle

Just for giggles, if one of you does this to a 6950, please do 3-5 runs of some GPU benchmark at the 6950's stock speed to get an average first. Then after flashing, please underclock to the 6950's default core and memory clocks and re-run 3-5 passes of the same thing. I'd like to make sure performance is increasing from the extra shaders instead of purely core/mem clocks.

I think the community as a whole would owe you some gratitude.

:yepp:
12-27-2010, 08:19 AM
~CS~

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Pistol

If you look at both the 6950 and 6970, the cards are identical. It sounds like AMD made unlocking the 6950 to 6970 all to easy.

Maybe that's their ace in the hole. AMD has given users very powerful cards for a lower price, and yet nvidia has to compete with it using their "hard locked" cards.

Good Game indeed AMD. Very good game. :)

It looks like they are,but not exactly,6950 uses different memory chips.If people are having stability issues,chances are it's because of memory,but the fused off cores could be at fault as well.

And to people saying that later cards ,will not be unlockable, if we look at AMD CPU's they never started to lock them,chances are they won't lock these as well :)

And tests have been done,did you guys actually read the link in the OP ? The performance increase is there.
12-27-2010, 08:19 AM
Loque

Quote:

Originally Posted by Particle

Just for giggles, if one of you does this to a 6950, please do 3-5 runs of some GPU benchmark at the 6950's stock speed to get an average first. Then after flashing, please underclock to the 6950's default core and memory clocks and re-run 3-5 passes of the same thing. I'd like to make sure performance is increasing from the extra shaders instead of purely core/mem clocks.

I think the community as a whole would owe you some gratitude.

Why would they? People who do this sort of stuff are still giving them money and we account for a sliver of the sliver of people who actually buy these high end parts in the first place. I think this is why historically we've seen this happen time and time again. It's not like they forget with every new product that BIOSes can be overwritten.

check the op's link.. techpowerup did that test and is 100% same thing as a 6970
12-27-2010, 08:25 AM
zalbard

Don't think they will lock these. So just roll with it if it works for you! :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loque

check the op's link.. techpowerup did that test and is 100% same thing as a 6970

Minus 8 pin connector.
12-27-2010, 08:35 AM
RaZz!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~CS~

It looks like they are,but not exactly,6950 uses different memory chips.If people are having stability issues,chances are it's because of memory,but the fused off cores could be at fault as well.
[...]

i think so too. it's either that the ram clocks are too high or the ram timings of the 6970 bios are too tight for or the memory on the 6950.

however, we don't know how the unlocked shaders on the 6950 behave if some of them are defect/broken. :shrug:

flopper (here on xs) already had one 6950 from powercolor that doesn't work properly after the flash.
12-27-2010, 08:43 AM
Particle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loque

check the op's link.. techpowerup did that test and is 100% same thing as a 6970

Excellent. Now there's a good bit of news!
12-27-2010, 08:47 AM
XSAlliN

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loque

check the op's link.. techpowerup did that test and is 100% same thing as a 6970

Yep, but it still says 6950 on the logo.
12-27-2010, 08:57 AM
RaZz!

Quote:

Originally Posted by XSAlliN

Yep, but it still says 6950 on the logo.

+ the device id is still 1002-6719 (6970 has 1002-6718).

we'll be able to fix the device id and memory timings etc. when RBE gets an update for the 6900s - which hopefully happens soon :D
12-27-2010, 09:19 AM
Particle

I was wondering about RBE myself. Anyone else unable to even get ATIWinFlash to read the 6900 BIOS, yet alone have RBE edit it?
12-27-2010, 09:50 AM
tbone8ty

So does this maybe give us a clue as to maybe the 6970 was suppose to have more Shaders like 1920
And yields were bad so they had to detune it?

Regardless this is awesome... I will be ordering a 6950 today! Then pray for improved drivers on this new arch.
12-27-2010, 09:53 AM
sin0822

i really like how everything has backup BIOS now, its great no more bricked products from flashing. ASUS switch works well, so does gigabyte's auto flash and evgas auto flash, video cards I haven't messe dup the the point it needed the back up, but it is nice to knwo AMD put it in there.
12-27-2010, 09:59 AM
flopper

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaZz!

i think so too. it's either that the ram clocks are too high or the ram timings of the 6970 bios are too tight for or the memory on the 6950.

however, we don't know how the unlocked shaders on the 6950 behave if some of them are defect/broken. :shrug:

flopper (here on xs) already had one 6950 from powercolor that doesn't work properly after the flash.

one card works so I limp with it ;)
12-27-2010, 10:19 AM
Particle

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbone8ty

So does this maybe give us a clue as to maybe the 6970 was suppose to have more Shaders like 1920
And yields were bad so they had to detune it?

Regardless this is awesome... I will be ordering a 6950 today! Then pray for improved drivers on this new arch.

I don't think so. As far as we know, it was going to have 1920 shaders only so long as it was on 32nm. When it was clear they'd have to use 40nm, shader clusters were cut.
12-27-2010, 10:23 AM
cowie

Unlocking pipes kicks ass!!!

but i dought amd wants you to do that,so enjoy it while you can.
12-27-2010, 10:28 AM
7he ]-[0rr0r

Of course I find this out after I order a 6970... I surely hope the clock limits come down to show more headroom on my card otherwise who wants a 6970 and why did I pay the extra monies AMD?
12-27-2010, 11:51 AM
Tuvok-LuR-

Just tried it on my brand new 6950 (Gigabyte)
The interface gave me the Could not erase ROM error so I had to use the cmd line, but when I issue the flash command the progress bar comes up, advances 4 or 5 blocks and then closes silently :(
Also my 6950 is a bit strange (it's 100% retail tho) cause the bios switch doesn't pop up, it's just flat and I wonder how could I switch it (crappy pics of the "switch")

UPDATE: got it working.
I checked better and I was able to flash to 6970, don't worry!
The switch was flat but still actionable with a toothpick, and in fact it was sitting in the "2" position, preventing the unlock to work.
Once switched to "1" position with a toothpick I am now enjoying a gigabyte 6970 ;)
12-27-2010, 12:01 PM
mattkosem

Quote:

Originally Posted by sin0822

i really like how everything has backup BIOS now, its great no more bricked products from flashing. ASUS switch works well, so does gigabyte's auto flash and evgas auto flash, video cards I haven't messe dup the the point it needed the back up, but it is nice to knwo AMD put it in there.

Meh, i've flashed to bad bios images dozens of times and never had the card end up bricked. Even if you don't have a spare card, a bootable USB stick with an autoexec.bat that kicks off atiflash is all it has taken to revive 38xx, 48xx, and 58xx series cards that I've broken over the years.

--Matt
12-27-2010, 12:46 PM
Xope_Poquar

I'm going to miss my 6950. But now I can say, 6970 user reporting in. :)
12-27-2010, 01:42 PM
naokaji

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwtech02

Wonder how long it's gonna take em to put the halt to this????

Don't think they will, just look at the reputation they gained from all the "hidden" unlocks and upgrades back in the old days with the 9500, 9700 and 9800 cards.
In other words, its not just good for us, it also gives the manufacturer a reputation of being nice which is hard to get as a company.
12-27-2010, 01:47 PM
Loque

are the modded 6950's noisy at default 6970 clocks ?
12-27-2010, 01:56 PM
Xope_Poquar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loque

are the modded 6950's noisy at default 6970 clocks ?

Just got done playing Crysis for 2 hours and so far it seems exactly the same. Gets up around 70C. Idle fan speed is around 27% which is the same as before. It's still the loudest thing in my case but I have a very quiet computer.
12-27-2010, 02:44 PM
gr8golf

OK - ordered the Sapphire 6950. This is just like my beloved MSI GTX 465/470. Props to the brave ones who went before me.
12-27-2010, 02:47 PM
BeepBeep2

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlawleZ

Chances are always there, but if done properly you can even revert from a bad flash when the card has no video. Just slap in a PCI video card or use the on board. Everyone should be backing up their original BIOS before the flash.

2nd BIOS activated by the switch...it's write protected.

No matter how bad the first flash is you flip the switch and you instantly get a funtional 6950 back...
12-27-2010, 03:16 PM
Stormgiant

Just upgraded 2x powercolor 6950 without a problem.
Benching now with new clocks.

Question: For HWBOT, this cards are 6950 with 6970 clocks or are 100% 6970 ?
Just asking before upping results :)

Cheers and hell of a pick on these cards :up:
12-27-2010, 03:27 PM
miahallen

Congrats on the free upgrade :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormgiant

Question: For HWBOT, this cards are 6950 with 6970 clocks or are 100% 6970 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HWBot rules

3.4. Unlocked CPUs and Modded Video Cards

Again this is a subject where we have to trust on the honesty of the submitter; if you have a CPU with unlocked multiplier, please only submit results under the hardware category of its original model. Don’t emulate other models to gain HWboints, if you are caught you will get penalized or even banned. The same goes for video cards which are modified either with a flashed BIOS or modded software, post your scores in the category of the original hardware.

Update 27th July 2009: It is allowed to unlock extra cores and cache if your processor allows that. Again, you do have to submit your result to the category of the original hardware.
12-27-2010, 03:39 PM
Stormgiant

Cheers for the info. Forgot to check on the more obvious place ;P

Getting some huge jumps in performance. that is nice coming from GTX460.
12-27-2010, 03:52 PM
Glow9

Can a 6850 be unlocked to 6870? I doubt it but anyone ever try it?
12-27-2010, 04:03 PM
Dezmen

So maybe 6970 do have more than 1536 SP?
12-27-2010, 04:08 PM
flopper

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glow9

Can a 6850 be unlocked to 6870? I doubt it but anyone ever try it?

no, lazer cut.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dezmen

So maybe 6970 do have more than 1536 SP?

no.
gpu-z dont read card it just run what is input by wizzard.
12-27-2010, 04:13 PM
hurleybird

Just ordered 2 XFX 6950's. Was originally very disappointed with the Cayman launch, but a combination of cheap prices, good cfx performance, future driver improvements, 2GB memory (eyefinity user here), and a very good chance of unlocking to HD6970 speeds has put me back in the AMD camp. Here's hoping both unlock.
12-27-2010, 04:15 PM
Loque

hmm.. maybe this was AMD's secret plan after all.. sneaky.

will put my cards on sale, if someone buys them I'll join the 6950's gamble club :p
12-27-2010, 06:20 PM
CobraXP

Quote:

Originally Posted by hurleybird

Just ordered 2 XFX 6950's. Was originally very disappointed with the Cayman launch, but a combination of cheap prices, good cfx performance, future driver improvements, 2GB memory (eyefinity user here), and a very good chance of unlocking to HD6970 speeds has put me back in the AMD camp. Here's hoping both unlock.

:up: right on
12-27-2010, 08:24 PM
Glow9

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowie

Unlocking pipes kicks ass!!!

but i dought amd wants you to do that,so enjoy it while you can.

Don't expect AMD is really gonna throw down the hammer. Just like how they did with manufacturers and unlocking cores on their cpu's. It's win win for enthusiasts and AMD. Cards costs same to produce (likely) you got buy it everyone wins. Free enthusiast marketing. All us nerds are buzzing around the forums talking about awesome deal on the card it drives up sales.
12-27-2010, 08:29 PM
miahallen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glow9

Don't expect AMD is really gonna throw down the hammer. Just like how they did with manufacturers and unlocking cores on their cpu's. It's win win for enthusiasts and AMD. Cards costs same to produce (likely) you got buy it everyone wins. Free enthusiast marketing. All us nerds are buzzing around the forums talking about awesome deal on the card it drives up sales.

Speak for yourself :shakes:....most of us are "geeks" :p:
12-27-2010, 09:03 PM
ajaidev

Quote:

Originally Posted by miahallen

Speak for yourself :shakes:....most of us are "geeks" :p:

+1

http://www.wikihow.com/images/c/c5/I...-Christmas.jpg

How-to-Tell-the-Difference-Between-Nerds-and-Geeks

:rofl:
12-27-2010, 10:31 PM
Mad Pistol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glow9

Don't expect AMD is really gonna throw down the hammer. Just like how they did with manufacturers and unlocking cores on their cpu's. It's win win for enthusiasts and AMD. Cards costs same to produce (likely) you got buy it everyone wins. Free enthusiast marketing. All us geeks are buzzing around the forums talking about awesome deal on the card it drives up sales.

Fixed for our benefit :p:

This is marketing that AMD can't even hope to buy. Nothing gets people excited like buying a $300 card that can be modded to a $380 card for free. I'm 100% sure that they knew that enthusiasts would learn about this.

1. The 6950 and 6970 are physically identical, down to the last circuit.
2. BIOS switch on the side of the card.
3. Coolers are identical.

It seems like AMD is ahead of the game again in terms of features. Why didn't Nvidia think of this? :ROTF:
12-27-2010, 11:31 PM
flippin_waffles

I guess this confirms the rumours of excellent yields.
12-27-2010, 11:40 PM
Olivon

Quote:

Originally Posted by flippin_waffles

I guess this confirms the rumours of excellent yields.

Unfortunately, HD 69X0 series are not that great compared to HD58X0 and that's not a rumour ...

Who will buy HD6970 now ?
12-27-2010, 11:53 PM
LordEC911

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Pistol

1. The 6950 and 6970 are physically identical, down to the last circuit.

Nope...

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2319/front1pn.th.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9784/frontkc.th.jpg

Edit- Uploaded pics and replaced above pics with thumbnails.
12-28-2010, 12:01 AM
570091D

can you really feed an unlocked cayman without the 8-pin? :confused:
12-28-2010, 12:08 AM
Gilgamesh

In this review:
http://lab501.ro/placi-video/asus-ra...overclocking/8

an HD6950 /out mod, pushed to 1.2-1.35-1.45-1.5V with cold air, so I don't see great problems with HD6950@HD6970 and 1.175V
12-28-2010, 12:09 AM
STEvil

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordEC911

Nope...

-images removed-

Uh.. mind pointing out the difference? If you mean the power connectores, the extra two wires on an 8-pin dont actually do anything for helping bring more power to the card and are not "different" between the 50 and 70 due to that. You can bypass them on any card by using some gator clips.
12-28-2010, 12:09 AM
96redformula

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordEC911

Nope...

Maybe it is just me, but other than the VRM heatspreader tape, they look the same to me.
12-28-2010, 12:18 AM
LordEC911

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5...0vs6950.th.jpg

Had to whip out paint really quick.

Edit- Do I have any idea what it is or does? Nope.
I just know they aren't 100% identical.
12-28-2010, 12:58 AM
Bodkin

^ huh, wonder what the hell that is...
12-28-2010, 01:02 AM
MisterMagoo

Obviously they threw a mini flux capacitor on there xD

/twiddles thumbs
12-28-2010, 01:49 AM
vvulture

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaZz!

+ the device id is still 1002-6719 (6970 has 1002-6718).

we'll be able to fix the device id and memory timings etc. when RBE gets an update for the 6900s - which hopefully happens soon :D

:stop: :stop: :stop: This has me worried and has possibly got us all fooled.
Think for a minute... the drivers think that you are still using a 6950 purely because of the divice ID and install drivers for it respectively.
Now, this would mean that the drivers are infact still using the 1408 shaders and not the 1536 we are lead to believe...
The performance increase could be purely from the extra core speed.
I found it weird that when i downclocked my flashed cards to 6950 speed i saw next to no gain...

Anyone care to speculate ?
12-28-2010, 01:51 AM
MisterMagoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

:stop: :stop: :stop: This has me worried and has possibly got us all fooled.
Think for a minute... the drivers think that you are still using a 6950 purely because of the divice ID and install drivers for it respectively.
Now, this would mean that the drivers are infact still using the 1408 shaders and not the 1536 we are lead to believe...
The performance increase could be purely from the extra core speed.
I found it wierd that when i downclocked my flashed card to 6950 speed i saw next to no gain...

Anyone care to speculate ?

The benchies from stock 6950 clocks with the unlocked shaders showed improvement so they are getting used. At least in TPU's article, 5fps I think it was. That is still a gain, however small over stock clocks/shaders. And at 6970 clocks/shaders the tests were identical next to a full blown 6970.
12-28-2010, 02:04 AM
vvulture

I hope you are right MM, but i feel like something is not right...
3Dmark11 still sees the cards as 6950's, so logically if it can still differentiate after flashing, i'm sure the drivers can too...

Time will tell i guess... as soon as we can change to the correct device ID.
12-28-2010, 02:31 AM
MisterMagoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

I hope you are right MM, but i feel like something is not right...
3Dmark11 still sees the cards as 6950's, so logically if it can still differentiate after flashing, i'm sure the drivers can too...

Time will tell i guess... as soon as we can change to the correct device ID.

You are making me want to flash stock back, run high clocks, and see if it is the same :D
12-28-2010, 02:47 AM
Neova

Anybody have an easy guide to installing ATI drivers? ATI virgin coming over from Nvidia. 6950 CF waiting to be installed. :D
12-28-2010, 02:52 AM
vvulture

Don't have to flash back... just put bios switch to position 2 and boot up.
cheers
12-28-2010, 02:57 AM
MisterMagoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

Don't have to flash back... just put bios switch to position 2 and boot up.
cheers

Oh yea forgot about the magic switch xD Have you tried it yet?

Edit: I also saw your posts on TPU, are you not able to run 950/1450?
12-28-2010, 04:08 AM
RaZz!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

:stop: :stop: :stop: This has me worried and has possibly got us all fooled.
Think for a minute... the drivers think that you are still using a 6950 purely because of the divice ID and install drivers for it respectively.
Now, this would mean that the drivers are infact still using the 1408 shaders and not the 1536 we are lead to believe...
The performance increase could be purely from the extra core speed.
I found it weird that when i downclocked my flashed cards to 6950 speed i saw next to no gain...

Anyone care to speculate ?

i guess 3dmark recognizes the card with help of the device id. however, i don't think the device id influences the drivers that much. the amount of shaders, gpu clocks etc are hardcoded in the bios of the card. the drivers are just the interface for the OS to communicate with said bios and hardware.

btw, computerbase unlocked the card and ran tests with 6950 clocks: http://www.computerbase.de/news/hard...altet/#update1

there's definately an improvement even without increased clocks :up:. even though it's less than i've expected.
12-28-2010, 05:42 AM
Andi64

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaZz!

i guess 3dmark recognizes the card with help of the device id. however, i don't think the device id influences the drivers that much. the amount of shaders, gpu clocks etc are hardcoded in the bios of the card. the drivers are just the interface for the OS to communicate with said bios and hardware.

btw, computerbase unlocked the card and ran tests with 6950 clocks: http://www.computerbase.de/news/hard...altet/#update1

there's definately an improvement even without increased clocks :up:. even though it's less than i've expected.

1FPS average in most games. At least is a free FPS, but the difference is 3%?
12-28-2010, 06:20 AM
Stormgiant

test made with same clock before and after flash :up:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/9...rk20115182.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6...rk20115321.jpg
12-28-2010, 07:02 AM
PatRaceTin

Ahhhhhhhhhh that 2 BIOS Switch made for This!!!!! AMD Know
12-28-2010, 08:25 AM
Gilgamesh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andi64

1FPS average in most games. At least is a free FPS, but the difference is 3%?

Posted same time ago, HD6950 vs HD6970 same clock (2-3% blue bar) :

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video...s695aa_big.png

no "epic" increase for mod HD6950@6970, but is free, so, why not? ;)
12-28-2010, 08:36 AM
7he ]-[0rr0r

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatRaceTin

Ahhhhhhhhhh that 2 BIOS Switch made for This!!!!! AMD Know

Surely doesn't seem to be made for massive overclocking ventures so far I was really hoping to see the limits broken and some nice overclocked speeds on 6970's, 50's before my own card arrived.
So far the bios switch is not to exciting or needed with 6970 I think a lot of 6970 users who spent the extra cash like myself would appreciate AMD tossing us a bone and at least giving another tool not limited like catalyst if they were to frightened by the prospect of unlimited clocking right in the driver.
12-28-2010, 08:36 AM
zalbard

Yeah, looks like they will have issues selling 6970s now.
12-28-2010, 09:01 AM
[XC] hipno650

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

Yeah, looks like they will have issues selling 6970s now.

I doubt that, considering the amount of people who buy these cards that will know about the BIOS unlock is about 2%... thats what makes us on XS special compared to the rest of "enthusiasts" if you can call them that. I would like to see a few more results but so far this looks very promising and a great value add for the 6950... after all why pay extra for a 6970 or a GTX 570 when you can get the same performance out of a cheaper card, and the BIOS switch makes this a virtual no risk try to boot
12-28-2010, 09:07 AM
zalbard

It's on all the news sites. People who spend 300 EUR on a video card do at least that minimal bit of reading.
12-28-2010, 09:31 AM
RaZz!

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

Yeah, looks like they will have issues selling 6970s now.

on one hand you're right, but on the other hand i think a lot of people who wanted to buy a gtx570 will now have a second look at the 6950. me included.

3 days ago it was still 6970 vs. 570 for me, with the 570 outpacing the 6970 by a small margin in the games i play (e.g. bc2, where the 6970 has significantly lower min fps than the 570).
now that we can know we can unlock a 6950 to a full 6970 everything changed for me and i'd buy a 6950 over a 570 anytime due to its price.

so it's a win for amd, as i didn't buy a 570. it's better for amd to sell a lower priced 6950 than no card at all ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordEC911

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5...0vs6950.th.jpg

Had to whip out paint really quick.

Edit- Do I have any idea what it is or does? Nope.
I just know they aren't 100% identical.

any news on the differences? makes me wonder why these small parts are on the 6950 but not 6970.
12-28-2010, 10:18 AM
Mad Pistol

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordEC911

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/5...0vs6950.th.jpg

Had to whip out paint really quick.

Edit- Do I have any idea what it is or does? Nope.
I just know they aren't 100% identical.

Interesting. I never noticed that.

Extra power regulation? :confused:
12-28-2010, 10:21 AM
Loque

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Pistol

Interesting. I never noticed that.

Extra power regulation? :confused:

nah, those are the hidden shadders to reach the magic 1920 number :p
12-28-2010, 10:38 AM
Eastcoasthandle

Has anyone tried to uninstall then reinstall cat drivers once the mod is made?
12-28-2010, 10:50 AM
Andypro1

I flashed my Sapphire 6950 and now have artifacts / flickering textures in Super Meat Boy. There's almost no GPU load so I assume some of my additional shaders are in fact faulty. Just a word of caution to those of you going out to buy a 6950 and expect it to run perfectly as a 6970.
12-28-2010, 11:00 AM
[XC] hipno650

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

It's on all the news sites. People who spend 300 EUR on a video card do at least that minimal bit of reading.

you would be surprised how little research so many people do before they buy, besides most people would not want to "chance it" im talking about people who don't oc there system, they build it and use it thats it. which to be honest make up way more of the custom built computer market then people who OC, most people won't even use the automated overclocking features of there Mobo's and most people use stock cooling. such a shame I know but thats the way of things. those people will still buy the 6970 over the 6950. however that does not change the fact that for all of us who like to get the best deal and the most out of our systems this is just great news.
12-28-2010, 12:00 PM
vvulture

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterMagoo

Oh yea forgot about the magic switch xD Have you tried it yet?

Edit: I also saw your posts on TPU, are you not able to run 950/1450?

Nah.. no way i can run at those speeds yet. Keeps crashing on me.
Will wait until i can incease voltage and try again.
12-28-2010, 12:16 PM
MisterMagoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

Nah.. no way i can run at those speeds yet. Keeps crashing on me.
Will wait until i can incease voltage and try again.

Bummer..

Makes me want to go to the store and get another one, seem to be good clockers in that batch.
12-28-2010, 12:53 PM
BeepBeep2

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvulture

I hope you are right MM, but i feel like something is not right...
3Dmark11 still sees the cards as 6950's, so logically if it can still differentiate after flashing, i'm sure the drivers can too...

Time will tell i guess... as soon as we can change to the correct device ID.

Actually I could make my 4850 look like a 4770 with RBE to applications and it still scores the same.
12-28-2010, 01:22 PM
BababooeyHTJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andypro1

I flashed my Sapphire 6950 and now have artifacts / flickering textures in Super Meat Boy. There's almost no GPU load so I assume some of my additional shaders are in fact faulty. Just a word of caution to those of you going out to buy a 6950 and expect it to run perfectly as a 6970.

Thats also a common AMD problem. It happens with my 6870 and I saw a youtube video with several comments saying that they see the same thing. I wouldn't worry about it.

I assume that the "artifacts" look like this?
12-28-2010, 01:44 PM
kuroikenshi

Quote:

Originally Posted by [XC] hipno650

I doubt that, considering the amount of people who buy these cards that will know about the BIOS unlock is about 2%... thats what makes us on XS special compared to the rest of "enthusiasts" if you can call them that. I would like to see a few more results but so far this looks very promising and a great value add for the 6950... after all why pay extra for a 6970 or a GTX 570 when you can get the same performance out of a cheaper card, and the BIOS switch makes this a virtual no risk try to boot

mate do not forget youtube tutorials...
12-28-2010, 02:35 PM
96redformula

Quote:

Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ

Thats also a common AMD problem. It happens with my 6870 and I saw a youtube video with several comments saying that they see the same thing. I wouldn't worry about it.

I assume that the "artifacts" look like this?

I have three same problem, its a driver bug
12-28-2010, 03:52 PM
7he ]-[0rr0r

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalbard

It's on all the news sites. People who spend 300 EUR on a video card do at least that minimal bit of reading.

Well I ordered it Christmas night (still waiting on delivery) I'm not sure when it really broke as news but I'd not read it at that point. I kind of think this takes the limelight off the 6970 as a flagship and puts it unofficially on the 6950 in the enthusiasts eye.
12-28-2010, 03:57 PM
7he ]-[0rr0r

Those artifacts are reminiscent of the ones you would get with bad 9500 to 9700 cards though so i could totally see why even if you have experience with such mods why you would think that. Funny that this is the game you are using with all that graphics power by the way.
12-28-2010, 03:59 PM
BababooeyHTJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7he ]-[0rr0r

Well I ordered it Christmas night (still waiting on delivery) I'm not sure when it really broke as news but I'd not read it at that point. I kind of think this takes the limelight off the 6970 as a flagship and puts it unofficially on the 6950 in the enthusiasts eye.

You are still guaranteed a higher binned gpu with faster ram. It's also not like the price difference is as large as say GTX570 and 580.

It's still kind of link saying why buy an X4 965 when you can just buy a 945 and overclock it. People spend a lot more on binned cpus especially on the Intel side.
12-28-2010, 04:41 PM
Budwise

Unlocked my XFX no problem and ran some benchies. What i didnt realize is my old Afterburner setting was still sticking the core at 950 from my 6870! No artifacts or issues!

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