What I think is the easiest way to unlock any 6950

[BababooeyHTJ]

I have seen a lot of confusion on the forums about unlocking the shaders on a 6950. I have also seen a few people on the forums brick a non-reference or 1GB model by just flashing a 6970 bios. Even on a standard 2GB reference card there is a better way. This should even work on the 1Gb models and seems to work on non-reference cards, just be aware of the risk if your card doesn't have a dual bios.

What this will do is just modify the bios that shipped with your card. Of the three cards that I have used this on all three have been able to hit at least 6970 speeds while running cooler and more quietly than using a 6970 bios due to the lower voltage.

This will still take some common sense There really are some people that shouldn't be flashing a vga bios. I take no responsibility for any damage done. I find this to be the easiest way but if you are using a card with no dual bios I would flash with the dos version of Atiflash. Sure this will work but the chances of any issues popping up in the dos version are a bit lower.

I have never written a guide of any sort so I'll do my best. So here it goes.


Step 1
Download Gpu-z and use it to save the bios on your current 6950.

In gpuz hit this button and select "save to file". Save anywhere that you would like. It would be a good idea to keep this copy as a backup.



Step 2
Download the utility that will actually modify the bios HERE and extract the archive.

This is what you should see in the extracted folder.




Step 3
Now it is time to place a copy of the bios that you backed up into the folder that you just extracted. On the reference 6950 it should be named Cayman by default.





Step 4
Now you need to rename the bios to "original".




Step 5
Now you just need to run the batch file (.bat) named run and follow the directions on screen.

Now you have a shader unlocked bios. It should be named "modded".





From this point out you could just use the Techpowerup Guideand just use the bios that you just modded instead of the 6970 bios.

Step 6
Download the latest version of ATI Winflash from here and extract the archive.

Step 7
Run "AtiWinflash" as an administrator.



Step 8
Select "Load Image" and select the bios that you modified in step 5 named modded by default.



Step 8
Now select "Program" to flash the bios.



Step 9
If all goes well Atiwinflash will flash the bios and ask you to reboot the computer.

As stated in the Techpowerup Guide

If you get an error like ID mismatch or Could not erase ROM, then you'll have to do some extra work in a Windows command prompt (or DOS): Run atiwinflash -unlockrom 0 followed by atiwinflash -f -p 0 bios.bin where bios.bin is the path and filename of the HD 6970 BIOS you downloaded.

I had to do this with one of my cards.

Step 10
Check GPUz to see your new shaders.



Overclocking
Download Sapphire Trixx. I found this to be the easiest way to overclock past the CCC limits. This utility will also allow you to modify the core voltage and set up a fan profile. Sure you can use Afterburner but you have to jump through some hoops to set everything up. You can also use Trixx to disable ULPS which is a necessity for crossfire. I still use Afterburner for the OSD though.

I hope that this guide helps someone. I would like to thank Wizzard from Techpowerup for the original guide, the bios modding script, Trixx, and GPUTool which I use to test my clocks.

[soyea]

true that, this is the true method of catching and winning over a 6970

I was one of the nonbelievers and still am that flashing a 6970 flash into a 6950 was a no no, first, just because its working fine doesnt mean its not degrading faster. unlocking the gpu and then OC'ING within the specs of 6950 can get you ahead. so now, even in reviews I keep seeing silly overclocks of like 930 on the core with 1.3v which is just amateur and laughable because you can reach those speeds on stock 6950 voltage.

[STEvil]

true that, this is the true method of catching and winning over a 6970

I was one of the nonbelievers and still am that flashing a 6970 flash into a 6950 was a no no, first, just because its working fine doesnt mean its not degrading faster. unlocking the gpu and then OC'ING within the specs of 6950 can get you ahead. so now, even in reviews I keep seeing silly overclocks of like 930 on the core with 1.3v which is just amateur and laughable because you can reach those speeds on stock 6950 voltage.

changing clock speeds without touching voltage wont degrade anything faster, unless its so poorly made it would have died in a few days anyways.

[soyea]

I know, I said its the best and safest and proper way of doing this. Its safe to up the vcore to 6970 levels cause you know its the same chip. but upping the voltage to 1.3 to achieve silly overclocks of 950 is just wrong because some chips get 940-950 on 1.1v including mine which is stock 6950 volts. I get it if you want to get to like I donno 1050-1100 on core do the 1.3 sure, but this whole 1.3 to get 950 mania came from flashbiosing cause people dont check what they can achieve with stock volts. just my 2c.

[l0ud_sil3nc3]

what about flashing to the 6970 bios and using the default volts to see how far you get?

[Gorki]

Nice guide Bababooey, very useful. thanks.

[p4z1f1st]

Will this work for 1GB version of Radeon 6950?

[DedEmbryonicCe1]

Will this work for 1GB version of Radeon 6950?

http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?top...9672#msg289672

You can try and force a flash to a shader unlocked BIOS. Every thread I've seen indicates new 6950's are laser cut and even though the flash goes through you'll still be at stock shader count when you reboot. Maybe some still work.

[W1zzard]

nice writeup

[Poci]

Got my hands on a reference model, thank god. But not gonna tinker with it yet. This thing is already a speed demon.

As far as the mod itself, from what im seeing theres a method a bit longer then flashing to a 6970 bios. This would involve RBE (radeon bios editor) editing the bios you already have and unlocking shaders and then messing with speeds and reflashing with the new edited bios.

Problem with an actual 6970 bios itself are the timings which may or may not be different then your 6950 which can and will lead to problems.

[Craftyman.]

Is the Sapphire Toxic edition any different? this thread says VID 3 and 4 are different?

EDIT:SAPPHIRE OWNERS BEWARE, YOUR VID3 AND VID4 ARE DIFFERENT TO ALL OTHER VENDORS, DONT FLASH OTHER VENDOR BIOSES

Should be fine because I'm modding the bios not replacing it right?

[BossBorot]

you might get better help if you make a new thread the last post in this thread was a month ago

[EniGmA1987]

Also arent the new boards laser cut so they cant be unlocked? Im not positive on that but I heard someone saying that...

[BababooeyHTJ]

Also arent the new boards laser cut so they cant be unlocked? Im not positive on that but I heard someone saying that...

There are a lot of people reporting that the shader unlock doesn't stick with their cards.

One guy on rage3d said that he edited the bios with RBE and flashed with ATIflash. Gpu-z reported that the shader count never changed. When he did a bios dump it was the shader unlocked bios.

[b0bd0le]

yeah i'm kinda curious as well, are the new cards laser cut? sounds like they are... Is there a list of known working 6950s?

[trans am]

this guy emailed who I play BF2 project reality on tactical gamers server with. He has this Asus card and wants our help unlocking.
can I just send him Bababooeys guide? he says his card doesnt have a dual bios switch and wants to know if he can still flash it?
anyone?

[slaveondope]

Which Asus card specifically trans am?

[trans am]

oh duh, I cannot believe I forgot to attach the link. here it is guys.
http://www.mycom.nl/Product/Beeld-Vi...II,2GB/1147729

[BababooeyHTJ]

Worst case scenario it will flash but won't unmask the shaders. I haven't heard of anyone with any common sense bricking their cards with this or the Radon bios editor method. Its probably worth a shot.

[slaveondope]

@ Trans am, you should be able to use the method in this thread. Seen several of those unlock even the 1GB versions.

[dqniel]

I modified the BIOS and flashed it (using atiflash in DOS) just fine, but the shaders aren't unlocked according to GPU-Z. I'm just going to assume the XFX HD-695X-ZNDC doesn't allow for shader unlocking

I even dumped the BIOS and opened it with RBE which confirmed the BIOS running on my card was set up for the 6970 shaders. However, they don't seem to actually be available.

[sniper_sung]

Actually, the php script written by W1zzard was inspired by rui's idea, i.e. modifying a conditional jump. Rui has written an even simpler program to do that:

Download Link

[BababooeyHTJ]

Yes, all that info is in the thread that I linked to. If I'm not mistaken they kind of collaborated on this method. Look at the TPU thread.

[M@G!C]

I know, I said its the best and safest and proper way of doing this. Its safe to up the vcore to 6970 levels cause you know its the same chip. but upping the voltage to 1.3 to achieve silly overclocks of 950 is just wrong because some chips get 940-950 on 1.1v including mine which is stock 6950 volts. I get it if you want to get to like I donno 1050-1100 on core do the 1.3 sure, but this whole 1.3 to get 950 mania came from flashbiosing cause people dont check what they can achieve with stock volts. just my 2c.

Is your 6950 game and benchmark stable at 940 GPU clock with stock voltage?
What mem speed are you running?
What are youe sttings on Power Control Settings under CCC?

[M@G!C]

I know, I said its the best and safest and proper way of doing this. Its safe to up the vcore to 6970 levels cause you know its the same chip. but upping the voltage to 1.3 to achieve silly overclocks of 950 is just wrong because some chips get 940-950 on 1.1v including mine which is stock 6950 volts. I get it if you want to get to like I donno 1050-1100 on core do the 1.3 sure, but this whole 1.3 to get 950 mania came from flashbiosing cause people dont check what they can achieve with stock volts. just my 2c.

Is your 6950 game and benchmark stable at 940 GPU clock with stock voltage?
What mem speed are you running?
What are youe sttings on Power Control Settings under CCC?