How to enable additional shaders on Radeon HD 6950

[remdiablo]

With the shaders unlock only, how can you get it to past 840mhz in CCC? I've heard you can use MSI AB... but when I installed that program I noticed the speeds and voltages are limited to the 6950 bios settings (max 840/1325)... Can anyone point me towards the information I need to OC my 6950 without flashing to 6970 bios???

Use that link It works perfect !!! screens for validation.
http://www.techimo.com/forum/graphics-cards-displays/256789-enable-higher-overclocks-ccc-reg-entry.html

and I attached the file ,you can create reg file ,that is so easy.

[Vicc]

Did you read the beginning of the thread? there is all the info you need to flash your card.

Download THIS (http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1920/HD_6950_to_HD_6970_Flashing_Tools.html) It has everything you need to flash back n forth.

I did read the beginning but Atiflash didn't recognize the file in my quote.

I'm guessing I just have to run the file? It opens a command window but I'm not sure as to what to type in it.

[fullinfusion]

I did read the beginning but Atiflash didn't recognize the file in my quote.

I'm guessing I just have to run the file? It opens a command window but I'm not sure as to what to type in it.
Dude you just need to open the CMD window and just copy and paste the commands you see below...


cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop\winflash
atiwinflash -unlockrom 0
atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin


BUT LOOK HERE 1ST v
- Unpack the Winflash download onto your desktop in a folder called "winflash"
- Save the 6970 BIOS in your Winflash folder and name it unlock.bin
- Click Start Button
- Type "cmd"
- Right click the entry and select "Run as Administrator"
- Black command prompt windows opens
- Type "cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop\winflash"
- Type "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0" <-- the 0 means first adapter, if you have multiple cards, physically uninstall all but the one you want to flash
- Type "atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin"
- It should complete the flashing process with a message saying something with "verified".

[slypenguin0]

I have a MSI Twin Frozr II 2gb. I downloaded the 6950mod, made a backup of my card with winflash, put it in the folder, made the modded.bin then flashed but it failed. I restarted and tried the CMD route. Upon entering the -unlock part my screen flashed a couple times then went black. Finally hit the restart button after awhile and the computer cycled through turning off on off on until finally actually booting up.

Maybe mine has the rumored code written in by ATI to not allow flashing.

[lauri_hoefs]

I have a MSI Twin Frozr II 2gb. I downloaded the 6950mod, made a backup of my card with winflash, put it in the folder, made the modded.bin then flashed but it failed. I restarted and tried the CMD route. Upon entering the -unlock part my screen flashed a couple times then went black. Finally hit the restart button after awhile and the computer cycled through turning off on off on until finally actually booting up.

Maybe mine has the rumored code written in by ATI to not allow flashing.


Hi.

I had the same problem (computer freezing, screen going black) once when unlocking too.

Don't worry, it doesn't necessarily mean trouble, I have been able to flash the BIOS many times since without it ever freezing again.

My card is the Asus 2GB reference design, so the unlocking was necessary. Do you actually even need the unlock with an MSI card?

Now that I'm thinking about it, the freezing might have occurred when I was flashing a 6970 BIOS to my card after already unlocking it when trying the modded BIOS. I haven't been able to replicate the freezing though.

Anyone else run into this?

[lauri_hoefs]

I tried my Asus 6950 flashed with an Asus 6970 BIOS, and it worked nicely. No artifacting, stable under load, run it for a couple of days without errors. The only thing I didn't like though, were the temps that started to rise to unbearable levels under heavy load and automatic fan (fan speed doesn't rise much above 40% though the temps start to hit 90).

No wonder, that some 6970 flashed cards start developing problems after a while, at least if the GPU-Z readings are to be believed (and why wouldn't they be) the mem temps can rise way over 100 degrees just under normal gaming loads!



Now for a trivial question:

With the fan set to 50% or above the modded card stays cool enough, but being quite lazy I find it troublesome to always have to change to a CCC profile to game, and to another to get the card to quiet down for watching movies etc. (That's, like, two extra mouse clicks every time! :p)

One option would be to use Smart Doctor to control the fan speed, but I noticed that the minimum speed that you can set is actually not that low, and unfortunately quite loud too.

Are any of the other manufacturers programs (like Afterburner) any better with the fan profiles?

I've put a lot of time and effort to make the computer run as silent as possible under normal usage, and balancing the cooling so that Q-Fan starts to kick in when the computer is stressed and temps start rising. Running the card with original BIOS and stock clocks it stays quiet and cool enough to my liking, but still it would be really tempting to OC and mod it..

If there is no easy solution, the I'll just keep it stock, it's not like I actually am desperately needing the marginal speed increase :)


tl;dr: Is there an easy way to cool the 6970 modded card enough, while still keeping it as quiet as possible when idling, and doing all this with minimal effort and if possible automated?

I want my cake and eat it too ;)

[xxyyy]

Hallo

i have tried to find the BIOS switch on my HD6950 but there is no switch there. You can see a printed white text on the PCB which says SW1 but there is no switch soldered on there. Is it still possible to Flash the BIOS to the HD6970. The manufacturer of the VGA is HIS.

Thx in advance

[yacoub]

I tried my Asus 6950 flashed with an Asus 6970 BIOS, and it worked nicely. No artifacting, stable under load, run it for a couple of days without errors. The only thing I didn't like though, were the temps that started to rise to unbearable levels under heavy load and automatic fan (fan speed doesn't rise much above 40% though the temps start to hit 90).

No wonder, that some 6970 flashed cards start developing problems after a while, at least if the GPU-Z readings are to be believed (and why wouldn't they be) the mem temps can rise way over 100 degrees just under normal gaming loads!



Now for a trivial question:

With the fan set to 50% or above the modded card stays cool enough, but being quite lazy I find it troublesome to always have to change to a CCC profile to game, and to another to get the card to quiet down for watching movies etc. (That's, like, two extra mouse clicks every time! :p)

One option would be to use Smart Doctor to control the fan speed, but I noticed that the minimum speed that you can set is actually not that low, and unfortunately quite loud too.

Are any of the other manufacturers programs (like Afterburner) any better with the fan profiles?

I've put a lot of time and effort to make the computer run as silent as possible under normal usage, and balancing the cooling so that Q-Fan starts to kick in when the computer is stressed and temps start rising. Running the card with original BIOS and stock clocks it stays quiet and cool enough to my liking, but still it would be really tempting to OC and mod it..

If there is no easy solution, the I'll just keep it stock, it's not like I actually am desperately needing the marginal speed increase :)


tl;dr: Is there an easy way to cool the 6970 modded card enough, while still keeping it as quiet as possible when idling, and doing all this with minimal effort and if possible automated?

I want my cake and eat it too ;)

Sapphire's TRIXX program allows custom fan control by temp: http://www.sapphiretech.com/ssc/TriXX/TriXX.aspx

[Scrizz]

hehe just picked up a MSI 6950, unlocked and flashed without a hitch.
:)

[slypenguin0]

hehe just picked up a MSI 6950, unlocked and flashed without a hitch.
:)

What kind? Twin Frozr II?

[trt740]

MSI 6950 Twin FrozerIII owners look here. Anyone seen this http://www.ocdrift.com/2011/04/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-peoc-unlocking-guide/

[slypenguin0]

Can someone post up the process they took to unlock using RBE. As I posted before, Winflash failed for me and when I went the cmd line route my computer froze when I tried to -unlock
I have the MSI Twin Frozr II 2GB

[NameonPrime]

Hey big problem

As soon as i installed the catalyst 11.4 drivers, i started expiriencing artifacting in Unigine
Heaven 2.5 Benchmarks even @ Stock 6950 Clocks , Am i Alone?, What are your suggestion

this comes as a big surprise because on amd's website it states:-

Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System
This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 11.4 software suite for Windows 7. These include:
•The GPU no longer shows high GPU usage after running Firefox 4 with hardware acceleration enabled.
•Bioshock no longer displays random tearing and screen corruption with Vsync and MLAA enabled.
•Water textures no longer flicker in Two Worlds II in Crossfire mode.
•Bulletstorm lightshafts no longer appear broken when running on a HD 6970 series product.
•Bulletstorm no longer displays random texture corruption when running in Crossfire mode.
•FI 2010 no longer slows down intermittently when in Crossfire mode.
•PowerDVD no longer crashes if Crossfire is enabled / disabled during playback of a BD title.
•WinDVD no longer displays corrupted BD playback when the monitor is rotated to portrait mode.
•Crysis Warhead corruption is no longer randomly observed when launching the game.
•Running the Heaven benchmark no longer displays graphics corruption during DirectX 11 tests.
•Catalyst Control Center Avivo settings are now correctly displayed after connecting a secondary display.
•The Catalyst Control Center screen no longer flickers while adjusting screen brightness.

[mvx15n]

hi,

Yesterday after installing 11.5 drivers the system was quite unstable and after a couple of blue screens I removed the previous drivers using the drivers funtion and the installed them again an everything came back to normal...

In my unlocked 6950 uniengine works perfectly under 11.5 of catalyst. (available in ati-amd.com

good luck and remember to unistall first previous drivers... (ati drivers suck here I never had this kind of issues with nvidia)

[slypenguin0]

Well I did even more research. The Twin Frozr II isn't unlockable =/ I had seen people say they unlocked their's the day I decided to buy it (since all the ref cards were out of stock) but now, going back to those posts, they typo'd. They meant to say their Twin Frozr III cards unlocked. Lame. But I can still overclock my card.

[jojo2peter]

Hey guys,

i have a HIS HD 6950 iceQ Turbo X
840MHz

I looked for the switch but i didnt find any, but i wanted to unlock the shaders.

Well, i did, then i had a bluescreen, so I logged in with secure mode, deleted the drivers
then i could start windows normally. Then I tried another flash (edited with RBE, like the old) thought the 900MHz i set caused the Bluescreen. So I chose only the Shader "6950 -> 6970" method, but it failed hard.

Now, no display is recognizing the card, so i took another card, (nvidia 8500gt) put it in the first PCIe slot, worked... The 6950 was in the second slot and AIDA64 recognized it... but as "ASUS EAH6950" (no screen yet, the card is just in front of me, looking for any switch >.<)
So i didn't know what I did wrong, except the try to unlock it again ^^...

Is there any solution, how to flash the card? i tried "atiflash -p 1 new.rom" (took a HIS file from here http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/95377/HIS.HD6950.2048.101223.html) i guessed it is the right one, but oviously it didn't flash, because its name is ASUS EAHxxxx

btw. didn't try atiflash -p 0 new.rom because i dont wanna flash me only left pcie card :-S

http://www0.xup.in/exec/ximg.php?fid=38513757

lol when i look at this picture, i see, that the version that is posted here as "HIS HD 6950" is a ASUS oO



SOLVED: I was able to flash the original Bios (i made a backup!!!) via ATIwinflash... nice...

[Rockitman]

Gentlemen,

This whole episode for the 6950 has become quite confusing. Let me see if I got this right:

One is led to the original instructions here on this forum regarding flashing the card with a 6970 bios, which unlocks the shaders, bumps up the clocks, and also the memory voltages. Plus one is to bump up the powerslider in CCC to 20. This is supposed to make the 6950 act just like a 6970.

Later on, others brought up the issue that the 6950 memory is not made to run at 6970 settings and that one could be harming the memory on their card by going this route.

It has then been suggested that one can modify their 6950 bios to unlock the shaders.
Then they can manually set their overclocks in Afterburner. This appears to be the safer route as the memory voltage is untouched.

If this is true, how come the original article is not modified to present this information?

Why does one have to plod through over 100 pages of forum thread to glean this vital information?

Trying to get the big picture from this 100 page thread is making my head explode.

I have 2 XFX 6950's and they have the bios switch. At the time I only had one installed and went through the procedures in the article successfully, ( I did have to do it from the command line though). I had no problems with the card but did notice it ran hotter and since I had another 6950 in the box, I decided to go back to original bios at stock settings and just add the other card for crossfire.

Now that I'm in crossfire, I'm doing fine and am even playing my games at 5760 x 1080 as I have 3 28" hannsg monitors in eyefinity now. With that said, some games require me to throttle down some of the settings to get smooth gameplay. Now I'm looking at boosting my cards again and am thinking I want to take the safer route and modify the 6950 bios and manually overclock.

Would you guys agree this is the best route to go?

[manofthem]

It has then been suggested that one can modify their 6950 bios to unlock the shaders.
Then they can manually set their overclocks in Afterburner. This appears to be the safer route as the memory voltage is untouched.

If this is true, how come the original article is not modified to present this information?

Why does one have to plod through over 100 pages of forum thread to glean this vital information?

Trying to get the big picture from this 100 page thread is making my head explode.

I have 2 XFX 6950's and they have the bios switch. At the time I only had one installed and went through the procedures in the article successfully, ( I did have to do it from the command line though). I had no problems with the card but did notice it ran hotter and since I had another 6950 in the box, I decided to go back to original bios at stock settings and just add the other card for crossfire.

Now that I'm in crossfire, I'm doing fine and am even playing my games at 5760 x 1080 as I have 3 28" hannsg monitors in eyefinity now. With that said, some games require me to throttle down some of the settings to get smooth gameplay. Now I'm looking at boosting my cards again and am thinking I want to take the safer route and modify the 6950 bios and manually overclock.

Would you guys agree this is the best route to go?

It doesn't take reading the 100 pages to determine that the majority vote goes to unlocking shaders if possible. That was discussed and agreed upon early on; that is the safer way, unlocking your shaders. Though safer, it doesnt mean that some report eventual problems; it's a gamble when messing with that stuff.

if you're worried about heat, ensure you have nice air flow in your case, and use custom fan curve in MSIAB. Im running 2 ref. cards unlocked and OC'd to 900/1375, and they never go above ~68*C, 70*C max Under load. Granted it usually means your fans are running faster and thus more noise.

[Rockitman]

It doesn't take reading the 100 pages to determine that the majority vote goes to unlocking shaders if possible. That was discussed and agreed upon early on; that is the safer way, unlocking your shaders. Though safer, it doesnt mean that some report eventual problems; it's a gamble when messing with that stuff.

if you're worried about heat, ensure you have nice air flow in your case, and use custom fan curve in MSIAB. Im running 2 ref. cards unlocked and OC'd to 900/1375, and they never go above ~68*C, 70*C max Under load. Granted it usually means your fans are running faster and thus more noise.


Well then, why isn't the original article updated to include this info?

Regarding custom fan curves, I have MSI Afterburner but it isn't very intuitive on how to set up a fan curve. Could you give me some pointers?

When playing crysis in crossfire, with eyefinity at 5760x1200, Afterburner shows that my temps on my cards will get up to 80C. Is that an ok temp? I have great airflow in my Silverstone Fortress case, but I suspect that my 6950 fans aren't kicking in better when the temps get high.

[manofthem]

Well then, why isn't the original article updated to include this info?

Regarding custom fan curves, I have MSI Afterburner but it isn't very intuitive on how to set up a fan curve. Could you give me some pointers?

When playing crysis in crossfire, with eyefinity at 5760x1200, Afterburner shows that my temps on my cards will get up to 80C. Is that an ok temp? I have great airflow in my Silverstone Fortress case, but I suspect that my 6950 fans aren't kicking in better when the temps get high.

As for the article not being updated, I don't know but I sure wouldn't question W1zzard:(

80C is safe for these cards, though personally I try to keep it as low as possible, which obviously means some more noise. I have my fan curve in MSIAB as follows:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc208/manofthem/Untitled.png

[Rockitman]

thanks for that snapshot of your fan curve. I've adjusted mine and now when I get hot and heavy in Crysis, these cards are staying much cooler, in the 60's. Of course I can hear the fans kick in and they get louder but in the middle of the game I don't hear them at all.

[menacenz]

Hi.

First time poster here and I've really enjoyed all the indepth information that I could find in this thread but I for some reason cannot get my card to unlock the shaders.

The model is a Gigabyte GV-R695OC-1GD so a non reference, over clocked 1GB 6950.
Now I've had no issue in obtaining my bios, updating it ( both with wiizard's batch files and RBE method ) and even the flashing both using GUI winflash and the command prompt method ( running the -unlock command first followed by the flash itself ).
As far as I can tell everything works perfectly, no errors or anything.

However whenever I reboot back to windows GPU-Z continues to tell me I only have the 1408 shaders unlocked even though loading up my bios in RBE tells me it's already been flashed to the 6970 shaders ( as will Wiizard's batch file error if I try flash a second time ). This implies the flashing worked but for some reason the shaders have not unlocked?

I do note earlier in the thread another user with the exact same model as me had success using the RBE method.

Not too sure what else to try from here because I would have thought if anything was wrong in thep rocess I would have got an error or the bios would not show as being updated after reboot.

I guess it could be a hardware thing in the sense the bios is indeed udpated but the old architecture that linked the bios flash to the physical unlocking of the shaders could be removed but that doesn't explain how the other user did it with this card being this is marked as revision 1.0 on the card so I can't possibly have a newer model?

Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

edit:

As an update I DO have a 8800GT in slot 1 of my PC I plan on patching to use for physx but I don't believe anything I can read of here could be having that cause the issue since I'm not actually getting any flash errors?

[Vargtass]

Have you run a benchmark with both 1408 and (presumably) 1536 shaders and observed any difference in score? There should not be any need for reinstall the catalyst drivers.

[capital]

Hey guys, making my first post and I've got a question about the 6950 I'm picking up tomorrow afternoon.

How can I be sure that it's indeed a reference card that I'd be picking up? From what I gather, it should at least have the black back plate and the dual bios switch, along with the red fans/exhaust? Anything else I can look at from a physical stand point?

Here's an image of the card that the seller had sent me: http://i.imgur.com/0Gd9L.jpg

Thanks! I'll get back to reading the rest of the thread.

[lauri_hoefs]

Can someone post up the process they took to unlock using RBE. As I posted before, Winflash failed for me and when I went the cmd line route my computer froze when I tried to -unlock
I have the MSI Twin Frozr II 2GB

Did you try this more than once, and did it freeze every time?

Note that in Windows Vista you have to open cmd with administrative privileges (with right mouse button, select "Run as administrator")

Other than that, the shader unlock does not involve anything else than the steps mentioned in many other posts:

1. Save your original bios with CPU-Z
2. Open it with RBE, on the last tab select "Unlock shaders"
3. Save the modified bios file (to unlock.bin or what ever you wish)
4. Write the modified bios to the card with Winflash
5. Reboot and enjoy

ADDITIONAL STEPS IF PROGRAMMING THE BIOS FAILS, NOT NEEDED ON ALL CARDS
4. Unlock the cards bios with "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0"
5. Write the modified bios with "atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin"
6. Reboot and enjoy




-Lauri

[lauri_hoefs]

Can someone post up the process they took to unlock using RBE. As I posted before, Winflash failed for me and when I went the cmd line route my computer froze when I tried to -unlock
I have the MSI Twin Frozr II 2GB

There's also this from a couple of pages ago:

MSI 6950 Twin FrozerIII owners look here. Anyone seen this http://www.ocdrift.com/2011/04/msi-r...locking-guide/

It's for TwinFrozer III, but the method should work just fine for other cards and bios files too.

[Mad Diplomat]

Greetings :) I've been planning on trying this out on my PowerColor HD6950 2GB for quite a few months now, but never found the time (too busy OCing the CPU and RAM :)) Anyway, just did it today (flashed it to PowerColor HD6970 BIOS) and so far so good. All 1536 shaders show up in GPU-Z and I managed to complete 99 runs of Metro 2033 benchmark without any visible artifacts. I will keep out an eye for any issues in the coming days as I test it in other games.

So far I am running it at stock 6970 speeds (875/1375 I think?). Before the BIOS flash I was running my card at 875/1475 MHz. I read somewhere that 6970 BIOS changes settings for the VRAM as well? Does anyone know what they are? Voltage, timings, something else? If so, can I expect the card to still reliably operate at 1475MHz memory now that I flashed it (first I have to make sure it's 100% stable at stock). Or maybe it will even go higher if only voltages are higher and timings are not? Did anyone have any experience with this? Thanks :D

Update:
Everything's still running great. It seems that memory @ 1475 is no longer a go for some reason, 1450MHz is the stable maximum since the flash. Just as well, since I can now basically uninstall Sapphire's TRIXX I've been using to get past the limits of ATI's control panel. Since I flashed the card, ATI's utility now maxes out at 1450MHz which is what I need.
So 880 core, 1450 mem, +20 power is what I'm running at. My futuremark score increased by around 1000-1500 points since the flash.

[capital]

Been having problems unlocking the shaders on my card. It's the AMD reference 2GB model. I've used my own bios (saved from gpu-z) and ran the script for the shader unlock. Then ran atiwinflash, loaded the modded.bin, programmed and restarted my PC.

GPU-Z still reports my shaders to be at 1408. I've tried other how-to's online and have been able to get 810/1250 as default, but shaders still remain at 1408. I did try one of the 6970 bins as well as other 6950 ones from other manufacturers; the 6970 bios did hit the whole 880/1375 number but shaders remained at 1408

So now I'm back to stock at 800/1250. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

[manofthem]

First time i unlocked my card back in January, the shaders remained at 1408 in GPUz. Someone recommended reinstalled the drivers, since they had had the same problem and fixed it that way. Worked for me. Others say you don't have to do it, but it's worth a shot if you haven't tried it yet.

[capital]

First time i unlocked my card back in January, the shaders remained at 1408 in GPUz. Someone recommended reinstalled the drivers, since they had had the same problem and fixed it that way. Worked for me. Others say you don't have to do it, but it's worth a shot if you haven't tried it yet.

Yeah, after reading some other forums, I ran the installer again (no luck); uninstalled the drivers, rebooted then ran GPUZ again and it detected the vender as an Asus (rather than ATI), reinstalled drivers and it kept the 810/1250 but the shaders remained locked at 1408.

- saved my bios via atiwinflash & gpuz
- ran the script that modded the bios to unlock shaders only
- flashed through the atiwinflash gui & command line
- no shaders unlock.

Then did the same with various bios files here, like the modded asus and diamond one.

I'll definitely try again and am open to any ideas on what to do.

[menacenz]

Have you tried using the atiflash dos flashing utility? That is my next attempt coming up because I too have tried everything (including grabbing the original bios off this website for my card to try unlock that but to no avail) but nothing seems to get it to shader unlock. One thing I did note is when using winatiflash via command it never actualyl gives a success message so I wonder if that implies something is off.

I'll try this dos flash idea once I get my hands on a usb stick i can format for it but if that fails then im out of ideas. Anyway thoguht you might want to give it a try also if you have not already.

Another thing I noticed is I can't change my voltage in afterburner no matter how I try enable the feature (.cfg and in the settings) so I wonder if that voltage locknig has anything to d iwth my inability to unlock but I did find someone with the exact same card as me and they had success the dos method so i'm hopign that will work out for me.

[Darkrix]

:banghead: i have problem. Sapphire toke the bios switch out:mad: Cant flash bios at all..
allways error Cannot erase rom..no matter where ill try in DOS OR CMD OR WIN nothing goes trough even the orginal bios if ill try to flash it says CANNOT ERASE ROM.


some help i want those shaders up and running..:toast:


CPU AMD Phenom II X4 975 @ 4100mhz 1.48Volt
GPU Sapphire HD 6950 2 GB@ 860/1400 1.2volt
MEM G-Skill 4X 2GB 1600mhz 7-8-7-24 1.65Volt
MB Asus Croshair IV Formula
PSU Corsair HX 620W < BTW i think i need bigger PSU

PN 288-4E186-000SA
SKU# 11188-00-40R

[menacenz]

When I say dos I mean real dos, not a command prompt. Basically there's a tutorail on it somewhere (probably in this thread undoubtably) in that you run I think it's a HP app that makes a usb pen drive a bootable floppy and you then copy atiflash tool ( not ati winflash )to it as well and power down then power back up with the correct bios boot sequence and then flash from there completely outside of windows.

Yet to try it myself because im just biding my time til I pickup a pen drive I can format.

[Darkrix]

nothing works. no dos no dos with another card, just tryed with useing hd2900pro@xt bios in and the hd6950 in pcie 2 slot went in atiflash -i showed both cards fine unlockked the rom from hd6950 thne tryed to flash it with command atiflash -f -p 1 unlock.bin and tenmiljon times rom not erased.. so they have lockked it someway that we dont know and yes I WAS IN CALDERA DOS,, have been modding and soft modding GPU and MBOS long time so i know what im doing but this card is killing me..

[Darkrix]

edit picture includet in dos and yes i was trying here to put 6970 bios in but same think whit even ORG bios..

[panacuba]

Well I did even more research. The Twin Frozr II isn't unlockable =/ I had seen people say they unlocked their's the day I decided to buy it (since all the ref cards were out of stock) but now, going back to those posts, they typo'd. They meant to say their Twin Frozr III cards unlocked. Lame. But I can still overclock my card.

Dont worry I have a solution for you, you can unlock those shaders in your Twin Frorz without using a 6970bios. read this post i found in tomshardware, it give you a good tutorial on how to do that. it works with your video card, i have talked to the guy who gave the directions and he has that same model, im waiting for my card to arrive i ordered the same as you :)

edit: search for it seems like i cant post links to other forums:
this is the name of the post : MSI r6950 2gb Issues Help?

[jayc]

Yeah, after reading some other forums, I ran the installer again (no luck); uninstalled the drivers, rebooted then ran GPUZ again and it detected the vender as an Asus (rather than ATI), reinstalled drivers and it kept the 810/1250 but the shaders remained locked at 1408.

- saved my bios via atiwinflash & gpuz
- ran the script that modded the bios to unlock shaders only
- flashed through the atiwinflash gui & command line
- no shaders unlock.

Then did the same with various bios files here, like the modded asus and diamond one.

I'll definitely try again and am open to any ideas on what to do.

What version of GPUZ are you using?
Make sure it's at least v0.5.1.

What brand is your card?
Have you tried flashing with the switch in the other position?

[Yosharian]

I'm getting an MSI 6950 2GB and I'm a bit confused about how I should approach unlocking the shaders. Apparently it's now NOT recommended to flash the bios to a 6970 one?

It seems like I'm supposed to use a WinFlash script to modify the existing bios in order to unlock the shaders. I think I understand that part.

What do I do next? Bearing in mind it's an MSI so I have access to Afterburner?

And also, where does the risk come in with regard to voltages and so on? What can I do safely, and where does the risk start coming in?

Edit: oh and also its not a Frozr version. Link (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752)

[ace80]

Hi guys, been a while since i been on here.
Just got back into the pc game and bought myself a Sapphire 6950 2gb then found out it could be moddified.
After reading all the info thought id give it a go, tried all methods apart from flashing to 6970 to no avail, seems i have a card that cant be unlocked :cry:

Used RBE to unlock shaders and the script file too.
When using winflash through the command line the progress bar shows up for a sec then dissapears with no verification of successful flash even after leaving for about 5 mins.

Also tried 2 versions of atiflash on bootable usb.

http://img.techpowerup.org/110519/Capture001.jpg

I always get the rom not erased error. U guys think ive hit a dead end. oh and it has no bios switch on this card.

Wish id done my research before buying the card now :banghead:

[panacuba]

I'm getting an MSI 6950 2GB and I'm a bit confused about how I should approach unlocking the shaders. Apparently it's now NOT recommended to flash the bios to a 6970 one?

It seems like I'm supposed to use a WinFlash script to modify the existing bios in order to unlock the shaders. I think I understand that part.

What do I do next? Bearing in mind it's an MSI so I have access to Afterburner?

And also, where does the risk come in with regard to voltages and so on? What can I do safely, and where does the risk start coming in?

Edit: oh and also its not a Frozr version. Link (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-119-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752)

Its a Reference card, its possible to unlock shaders by removing the 6950 bios and adding the 6970. but after i read this entire thread I dont sugest doing that. its better to just mod the 6950 bios to unlock those shaders and then OC

[Yosharian]

Its a Reference card, its possible to unlock shaders by removing the 6950 bios and adding the 6970. but after i read this entire thread I dont sugest doing that. its better to just mod the 6950 bios to unlock those shaders and then OC

Yes... the OC part... how do I do that? Can I do it just using MSI AB?

And is it only the OC part that comes with the risk of damaging memory?

[manofthem]

Yes... the OC part... how do I do that? Can I do it just using MSI AB?

And is it only the OC part that comes with the risk of damaging memory?

OC using MSIAB. Remember to enable unofficial overclocking and allow voltage control, otherwise you'll be stuck at same clocks as CCC. I've been running an overclocked 6950 since January at about 900/1375-1400. Then in march I got another one and run them both at 900/1375@1.175V. No problems or stability issues.

OC as high as you can per voltage until unstable. Then either raise voltage to go higher or back clocks off a tad.

[Kdubb223]

Hey guys just wondering if anyone experienced slightly higher scores after reducing the power in CCC.

I have a HIS 6950 2gb flashed to 6970 bios and stock clock speeds 880/1375. originally had CCC set to +20%

I ran Kombustor at 20%, 10%, and 0% CCC power settings and the highest score was when it was set to 0%...

Just wondering if anyone else experienced this and would be safer to have it set to 0%?

Thanks

[capital]

What version of GPUZ are you using?
Make sure it's at least v0.5.1.

What brand is your card?
Have you tried flashing with the switch in the other position?

Used .5.3 GPUZ.

It's a Visiontek reference card, the one with the big black cover and not the one with the two cooling fans. This time I've tried both positions just now with no luck with the RBE method

- Saved bios 1 & 2 via GPUZ (1 I'll assume is the one farthest from the crossfire connector)
- Loaded bios in RBE, clicked the 6970 shader unlock option; saved new bios.rom file
- ran CMD as admin, did the whole "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0" thing (progress meter showed up, filled, disappeared)
- "atiwinflash -f -p 0 bios.rom" progress meter filled up, another confirmation popup then a prompt to restart.

Restarted, ran GPUZ, nothing changed. 1408 shader, 800/1250 clock. Did that for both switch positions and it remained the same.

I guess I'll try the actual dos one using the USB method and see if that helps.

[Vicc]

Dude you just need to open the CMD window and just copy and paste the commands you see below...


cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop\winflash
atiwinflash -unlockrom 0
atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin


BUT LOOK HERE 1ST v
- Unpack the Winflash download onto your desktop in a folder called "winflash"
- Save the 6970 BIOS in your Winflash folder and name it unlock.bin
- Click Start Button
- Type "cmd"
- Right click the entry and select "Run as Administrator"
- Black command prompt windows opens
- Type "cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop\winflash"
- Type "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0" <-- the 0 means first adapter, if you have multiple cards, physically uninstall all but the one you want to flash
- Type "atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin"
- It should complete the flashing process with a message saying something with "verified".

Sigh. Doesn't work for me. Once I flash the card my pc refuses to boot up.

[jayc]

Used .5.3 GPUZ.

It's a Visiontek reference card, the one with the big black cover and not the one with the two cooling fans. This time I've tried both positions just now with no luck with the RBE method

- Saved bios 1 & 2 via GPUZ (1 I'll assume is the one farthest from the crossfire connector)
- Loaded bios in RBE, clicked the 6970 shader unlock option; saved new bios.rom file
- ran CMD as admin, did the whole "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0" thing (progress meter showed up, filled, disappeared)
- "atiwinflash -f -p 0 bios.rom" progress meter filled up, another confirmation popup then a prompt to restart.

Restarted, ran GPUZ, nothing changed. 1408 shader, 800/1250 clock. Did that for both switch positions and it remained the same.

I guess I'll try the actual dos one using the USB method and see if that helps.

You seem to be doing everything right.
The next time you attempt this, uninstall the ATI catalyst drivers from Windows first.
There have been previous reports of the windows drivers blocking unlock attempts.

[Second]

i'd flashed my xfx card with edited bios and now i have a problem with hardware acceleration in firefox.
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/6791/beztytuutz.png
PIC: hw acc. top-enabled bottom-disabled
Anyone knows the solution?:(

EDIT: it was morphological filtering on.

[PoulGrym]

I had the same thing a few months ago. I beleive it was an Gaming>3D setting in the AMD Vision Engine Controll > Anti-Aliasing Filter or something.. Give that a spin..

[jayc]

Sigh. Doesn't work for me. Once I flash the card my pc refuses to boot up.

More info Vicc ??
What did you do?

[Vicc]

More info Vicc ??
What did you do?

I tried both the BIOS mod and the 6970 bios. The 6950 mod simply didn't do anything (tried both switch positions). With the 6970 bios, I think I flashed successfully, but when I restarted my pc it wouldn't load. I don't have a second pc to check it with. I had to flash back by starting my pc with the BIOS switch in 2nd position, and while the pc was running I switched to the 1st.
I'm using MSI 6950 Twin Frozr iii Power Edition.

Hmm should I try another manufacturer's BIOS, or try modding the previous version of Twin Frozr BIOS?

[bardoczx]

How safe is unlock shaders and raise the clocks 840/1325 (CCC overdrive limits)???
Improvement the min FPS, worth for Crossfire, decrease the life time???
Thanks.

[jayc]

I tried both the BIOS mod and the 6970 bios. The 6950 mod simply didn't do anything (tried both switch positions). With the 6970 bios, I think I flashed successfully, but when I restarted my pc it wouldn't load. I don't have a second pc to check it with. I had to flash back by starting my pc with the BIOS switch in 2nd position, and while the pc was running I switched to the 1st.
I'm using MSI 6950 Twin Frozr iii Power Edition.

Hmm should I try another manufacturer's BIOS, or try modding the previous version of Twin Frozr BIOS?

Vicc,

did you try this guide for the Frozr III?
http://www.ocdrift.com/2011/04/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-peoc-unlocking-guide/

[metilic]

How safe is unlock shaders and raise the clocks 840/1325 (CCC overdrive limits)???
Improvement the min FPS, worth for Crossfire, decrease the life time???
Thanks.

When I flashed my first card, I didn't notice such a big improvement...maybe around 5% with those settings; 6950 in Crossfire doesn't need modding, except if you play on huge resolutions or Eyefinity. Most of the people here did not report bad things happening from unlocking just the shaders, the tricky part was flashing to a 6970 bios, which had different memory timings and voltage. Only time will tell the effect on life time, but I personally believe that just unlocking the shaders and OC-ing to CCC limits at stock voltage can't harm your card. The decision is yours my friend; keep us posted with your progress :)

[bardoczx]

When I flashed my first card, I didn't notice such a big improvement...maybe around 5% with those settings; 6950 in Crossfire doesn't need modding, except if you play on huge resolutions or Eyefinity. Most of the people here did not report bad things happening from unlocking just the shaders, the tricky part was flashing to a 6970 bios, which had different memory timings and voltage. Only time will tell the effect on life time, but I personally believe that just unlocking the shaders and OC-ing to CCC limits at stock voltage can't harm your card. The decision is yours my friend; keep us posted with your progress :)

When I unlocked shaders with those settings my improvement was around 4 extra average FPS in games like Aliens v/s Predator and Resident Evil 5. In Heaven Benchmark my increment was 1 FPS :( However, I have not yet valid conclusions about the increase of min FPS (the most important for me).

I agree with you, those setting can't harm my card. Thanks

[metilic]

This depends also on the driver version and related issues; glad to be of any assistance :)
I got mine on May 2nd, and before doing anything to it I read all the 103 pages of this thread, call me a geek blah blah :D
Best of luck with your overclocking endeavors mate.

[foxy@OC'd]

Unlocking shaders doesnt actually give you that big of a performance increase to risk bricking your card now, does it?

[Vicc]

Vicc,

did you try this guide for the Frozr III?
http://www.ocdrift.com/2011/04/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-peoc-unlocking-guide/

Thanks for the link. I'm gonna check it out once I'm back from work.

[manofthem]

Unlocking shaders doesnt actually give you that big of a performance increase to risk bricking your card now, does it?

Unlocking the shaders is an optional free performance upgrade. I haven't heard anyone brick their cards from unlocking shaders. There exists the possibility of a bad bios flash, which won't allow the card to boot. Without a bios switch, it takes a few more steps to correct abd reflash to a working bios.

[garretth9090]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=322873&CatId=7005

Has anyone had luck unlocking this card?

[metilic]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=322873&CatId=7005

Has anyone had luck unlocking this card?

Non-reference 2 GB model, but possibly with no dual-bios switch; i guess it could work, but i wouldn't flash a card with no dual bios frankly :) Do you have the card or just plan on buying it?

[milesc]

Hi, I hope this hasn't been answered too many times... I've read through about 60 pages thus far.

I have a Sapphire 6950 1GB. I would like to unlock the additional shaders. I have followed the directions to obtain my bios, patch it with RBE, and then write it back. Writing from RBE doesn't work. Also, if i drop to command line (with administrator privs) and run the two commands:
atiwinflash -unlockrom 0
atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin

Both command display the flashing window with progress bar for a few seconds, before exiting silently. Upon reboot and also uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, I still show the default number of shaders.

Is my bios unflashable or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you for any help,
milesc

[tdbone1]

hi all:
i just sold my 5870 crossfire setup (because bfbc2 problems)
i was going to get a gtx 580 but really it benches lower then the 5870 crossfire setup i just got rid of

but it would be quieter if i got the 580 and probably not as many problems with the game itself since i would not be in cfx

anyhow here i am in the 6950 bios thread.

im thinking about buying (2) 6950`s for cfx again..i know i cant believe it either but the game i really want is BF3

anyhow i just want the CHEAPEST 6950`s that can be flashed to a 6970 and that cfx will still work good.

i would have two cards so i dont need a reference card with dual bios do i?

anyhow your thought would be appreciated.

thanks

[Kaj]

Hey guys,

I followed this guide to flash my 6950 club3d card but things aren't working out for me. The normal process described in the OP did not work, I had to go through the BIOS and do the EXTRA WORK thingie. It said a succesful flash was completed and reboot was nescessary, it also showed me a window with some info in it, things like: new device id and old device id or something.

After the reboot me monitor went on and showed INPUT NOT SUPPORTED! Message. I tried a few bios versions: the club3d 2gb 6970 and the xfx/sapphire 2gb 6970 BIOS. All with the same result: "input not supported".

I also tried a different guide:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1608/5/

This gave me exactly the same results, the flash is succesful but after a reboot the monitor displays a input not supported message. Specs will be below, I hope someone can help me out here!

Thanks (:

Specs:

Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB, 7200rpm, 32MB, SATA
Asus P7P55D PRO, S1156, P55, 4xDDR3, 3xPCIe, ATX
CLUB3D HD6950 2GB GDDD5 (with 2 coolers on it and the 1-2 bios switch)
Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz, 8MB, S1156, Box
Corsair Dominator 4GB(2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz
Antec Sonata III Piano Black Quiet Midi Tower,500w

Monitor: Acer AL2216W

[ace80]

Hi, I hope this hasn't been answered too many times... I've read through about 60 pages thus far.

I have a Sapphire 6950 1GB. I would like to unlock the additional shaders. I have followed the directions to obtain my bios, patch it with RBE, and then write it back. Writing from RBE doesn't work. Also, if i drop to command line (with administrator privs) and run the two commands:
atiwinflash -unlockrom 0
atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin

Both command display the flashing window with progress bar for a few seconds, before exiting silently. Upon reboot and also uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, I still show the default number of shaders.

Is my bios unflashable or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you for any help,
milesc
I got exactly the same problem, mine is the Sapphire 2gb non reference model without bios switch, does yours have the switch.

Have you tried flashing from a bootable usb device, i alway get the rom not erased message, check my post at top of page 103 for screenie.

[SyRenity]

Hi.

Having hit performance issues in Witcher 2, I decided to give a go to flashing my launch-day XFX card.

Reading this thread, I see that recommendations have quite changed, and instead of flashing a 6970 BOIS, the recommendation now is to re-flash the card with modded original 6950 BIOS that came from the card, then tune the clock speed via MSI AB, correct?

On another hand, I see the RBE tool mentioned here several times - so perhaps the best way do all above from RBE?

Also, what clock timings/voltages are considered safe?

Thanks for any advice!

[capital]

I tried the hp usb boot method with no luck once again on my Visiontek 6950 card.

- Used wizzards .bat patch with one of my original bios files, saved as modded.bin
- boot to dos
- "atiflash -unlock 0" (got ok) "atiflash -f -p 0 modded.bin (http://i.imgur.com/HikZi.jpg)
- removed usb, powered off system
- checked GPUZ, nothing changed.

- opened RBE and loaded original bios file again; saved file as modded.rom
- checked off 6970 shaders option
- boot to dos
- "atiflash -unlock 0" (got ok) "atiflash -f -p 0 modded.rom (http://i.imgur.com/HikZi.jpg)
- ...
- GPUZ, no changes.

So I'm at a loss as to what's going on. Is there a difference between the .rom and .bin file? I saved my bios in RBE in both positions. The file that was created with the switch to the far right (away from CF, which I understand is bios 1) comes up as an error when I rename it as original.bin and run wizzards patch: "could not find byte sequence in file."
Whereas if I load the bios file that was saved from what should be bios 2, wizzards patch runs fine.

I came across another thread, either here or somewhere else that had someone successfully flash their 6950 which had the bios switch and aftercooler fans installed.

This is driving me crazy.

edit - maybe I should just try another vendors bios file found here on TPU.

It's still weird if I do one of the other methods where it changes my clock speeds but does not unlock the shaders.

[mm540]

I just wanted to add my success to this forum. I had posted a few months ago and wanted to update my experience. I have an XFX 2gb Reference card. I tried a couple of different mods over the months and have the best results with the shader mod using Sapphire TRIXX. Core is 884mhz and Memory 1366mhz. The system runs the most stable with these settings. Unique Heaven was the hardest Bench to set. Furmark and 3D Mark 11 did not present any problems at all. Scores for Unique 1094, 3D Mark 11 5617 Performance preset, Furmark is 2998. Maybe not the highest scores, but good enough for what I do. Hope this helps someone.

[b0uncyfr0]

Im having some trouble unlocking the shaders on my Gigabyte 6950 1 GB. One guy did it before but the other was having trouble, same as me.

Has anyone had any luck getting it to work??

[menacenz]

Yeah I've still not managed to unlock that Gigabyte card though I'm yet to try the dos usb bootdisk method.

On a side note they are sexily overclockable. So far I'm stable at 920/1425 at stock voltage and just a fairly standard fan curve in Afterburner. Hottest I've seen it thus far is 60 degrees and it run witcher 2 at 100% GPU utilization very well without artifacts or crashes. Must be the 3 fans they put on these cards. Best stock card I've ever had anyway.

[Bengie]

With the shaders unlock only, how can you get it to past 840mhz in CCC? I've heard you can use MSI AB... but when I installed that program I noticed the speeds and voltages are limited to the 6950 bios settings (max 840/1325)... Can anyone point me towards the information I need to OC my 6950 without flashing to 6970 bios???

I found this on the web and have been using it. I would normally use AB/Trixx/etc, but Punkbuster has been having issues crashing computers that use ANY software that probes the video card. Even GPUz will make PB crash(BSOD). So, to OC using CCC, I have this in a .reg file, then just run the file. I don't know what it all means, but I found the exact same file linked from a few sites

Probably have to restart after applying it, can't remember.




Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000]

"PP_PhmSoftPowerPlayTable"=hex:6f,01,05,01,00,04,04,10,18,58,00,68,00,b8,00, e8,\
03,e8,03,58,00,00,80,01,00,0f,00,00,02,08,3c,00,00 ,68,00,b8,00,00,18,01,09,\
00,18,01,26,01,83,01,00,00,a0,0c,00,00,30,01,40,01 ,4b,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
aa,00,00,00,78,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,56,01,0a,00,00 ,00,14,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,01,01,02,03,02,02,02,04,03,02,02,04,80,38,01,48 ,e8,01,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,\
01,00,00,00,a8,61,00,98,3a,00,84,03,b6,03,00,00,01 ,00,00,00,50,c3,00,48,e8,\
01,e8,03,7e,04,00,00,01,00,00,00,68,3c,01,48,e8,01 ,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,01,00,\
00,00,34,1b,01,48,e8,01,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,01,00,00 ,00,08,00,00,00,78,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,05,00,00,00,78,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,04,00,00,7a,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,f0,d2,00,00,40,9c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,00,00,7a,00,00,00,00,04,\
00,70,11,01,00,c0,da,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,06,94 ,11,c4,22,54,24,60,09,3c,\
0f,88,13,0a,00,d0,78,02,00,90,d0,03,00,03,40,9c,00 ,84,03,50,c3,00,e8,03,68,\
3c,01,01,ff,02,98,3a,00,b6,03,48,e8,01,7e,04,02,98 ,3a,00,84,03,48,e8,01,e8,\
03,04,84,03,11,00,00,00,e8,03,1a,00,00,00,4b,04,28 ,00,00,00,4c,04,28,00,00,\
00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001]

"PP_PhmSoftPowerPlayTable"=hex:6f,01,05,01,00,04,04,10,18,58,00,68,00,b8,00, e8,\
03,e8,03,58,00,00,80,01,00,0f,00,00,02,08,3c,00,00 ,68,00,b8,00,00,18,01,09,\
00,18,01,26,01,83,01,00,00,a0,0c,00,00,30,01,40,01 ,4b,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
aa,00,00,00,78,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,56,01,0a,00,00 ,00,14,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
00,01,01,02,03,02,02,02,04,03,02,02,04,80,38,01,48 ,e8,01,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,\
01,00,00,00,a8,61,00,98,3a,00,84,03,b6,03,00,00,01 ,00,00,00,50,c3,00,48,e8,\
01,e8,03,7e,04,00,00,01,00,00,00,68,3c,01,48,e8,01 ,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,01,00,\
00,00,34,1b,01,48,e8,01,01,ff,7e,04,00,00,01,00,00 ,00,08,00,00,00,78,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,05,00,00,00,78,00,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,04,00,00,7a,00,00,00,00,\
00,00,f0,d2,00,00,40,9c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 ,00,00,7a,00,00,00,00,04,\
00,70,11,01,00,c0,da,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,06,94 ,11,c4,22,54,24,60,09,3c,\
0f,88,13,0a,00,d0,78,02,00,90,d0,03,00,03,40,9c,00 ,84,03,50,c3,00,e8,03,68,\
3c,01,01,ff,02,98,3a,00,b6,03,48,e8,01,7e,04,02,98 ,3a,00,84,03,48,e8,01,e8,\
03,04,84,03,11,00,00,00,e8,03,1a,00,00,00,4b,04,28 ,00,00,00,4c,04,28,00,00,\
00

[tomigun]

I have a Sapphire 6950 1gb non-reference that I tried to unlock the shaders on . BSOD Dead. think I corrupted bios?
I was using winflash and had modded a bios using RBE to unlock extra shaders.
I had saved the bios as a .rom and I think that may have been an issue?
Lucky for me I had just dumped the original bios using the sapphire software Trixx.
in .bin format.
I restarted using my intergrated graphics and tried to flash with winflash.
I keep getting "cannot read Rom " error.
after following this link http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...6&postcount=19 using the command prompt and the original .bin bios I managed to restore my card.
I tried again to unlock the shaders this time saving the modded bios as a .bin , but with no luck.
Shaders stayed the same, funny thing is memory increased to 1325mhz,
haven't experimented anymore yet.
lucky to still have a working card I guess.

Regards

[blinzi]

I got exactly the same problem, mine is the Sapphire 2gb non reference model without bios switch, does yours have the switch.

Have you tried flashing from a bootable usb device, i alway get the rom not erased message, check my post at top of page 103 for screenie.


i have the exact same problem with my sapphire 2gb (bios p/n: 113-4E18600-S42)

this card seems to be hardware locked on the PM25LV010 Flash Memory.

you have to use a SOIC8 Clip to bridge the WP# and the VCC pin.

never tried it tough cuz of the risk ;)

good luck!

[tomigun]

Well I managed to alter my bios I think, the card would not work ,

cannot read bios error message.

BSOD when flashing.

Then working again after attempting to reflash original bios, with unlock command.

Maybe there is hope for us non-reference owners.............

[Zhorn]

Yeah I've still not managed to unlock that Gigabyte card though I'm yet to try the dos usb bootdisk method.

On a side note they are sexily overclockable. So far I'm stable at 920/1425 at stock voltage and just a fairly standard fan curve in Afterburner. Hottest I've seen it thus far is 60 degrees and it run witcher 2 at 100% GPU utilization very well without artifacts or crashes. Must be the 3 fans they put on these cards. Best stock card I've ever had anyway.

Yep those Gigabyte 1 GB OC cards are awesome. After unlocking the shaders you may find that you can't O/C it as high, possibly owing to the extra voltage needed for the unlocked shaders? That's what happened to me. I havent tried upping the voltage on it yet tho. It still runs fine at it's factory OC speeds (870/1250) with shaders unlocked. I guess you'd need to decide what gives better performance.. locked shaders at 920/1425 or unlock shaders at 870/1250?

The key to flashing that card for me was to 1) save the bios using GPU-Z (not winflash as I read it saves corrupted bioses for some cards) 2) edit with RBE and save 3) flash it using ATIflash from a bootable USB or floppy.

[milesc]

It seems people (including myself) are still not having any luck unlocking the shaders on the newer non-reference Sapphire 6950s. So, I ask again, has anyone been successful, and if so, what were your steps?

Second question: even though the dual bios switch is not there, I still see the 1 and 2 printed on the PCB as well as the pads to which the switch would have been attached. Would it be possible to solder a switch in there?

[blinzi]

@milesec: the sapphire rev.2 is hardware locked!

look at my post:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2298603&postcount=2584

[milesc]

Thanks for the info Blinzi... do you have a link to a site with a bit more information regarding your proposed modification?

Thanks,
milesc

[tomigun]

I noticed a modified sapphire 6950 1gb bios with unlocked shaders for download here on techpowerup.

For this non-reference card?

or did sapphire release a 1gb reference model before?

[blinzi]

Thanks for the info Blinzi... do you have a link to a site with a bit more information regarding your proposed modification?

Thanks,
milesc

http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=3968672&postcount=2

its a gigabyte card tough - the chip is on the backside of the card. the sapphire has the flash memory on the gpu side, which makes it much more difficult to use this moddification!

thats the chip (U11) http://circuits.datasheetdir.com/403/PM25LV010-pinout.jpg

u can find it here on the sapphire card: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/846/dscf6848d.jpg

bridge VCC to WP# (the arrow on the card indicates Pin1)

but really, id rather go with a better VGA-Cooler like the accelero extreme plus and pump that GPU Clock to 950Mhz. the shaders only give you like 5fps at max!

[b0uncyfr0]

Ok this might explain why im getting the same error "Rom Not Erased" on my Gigabyte 695OC 1GB. Ive been trying to get it it unlocked for a while now and many people dont have the card so i couldnt verify it was a problem.

Funny thing is, it worked the first few times i flashed, then it just wouldnt let me flash anymore. Is there a sort of limitation on the number of flashes you can do? Is that possible because ive used everything and still getting the same error.

That chip-thing above maybe what i need, but if its too costly im not going to bother with it. On a side-note i cant go past 1310 on my memory without artifacts in Ati-Tool. Thats very shallow isnt it?

[blinzi]

On a side-note i cant go past 1310 on my memory without artifacts in Ati-Tool. Thats very shallow isnt it?

dont touch the memory! my card cant even handle 1300Mhz on the memory... thats because its already at its limit with 1250!

with the SOIC clip it should be quite easy! be sure to check if the chip is on the backside of the card, else you wont be able to use it with the stock cooler.

BACKUP YOUR CURRENT BIOS and get a 2nd graphics card in case u dont have one onboard.

thats because u want to redo the flashing if something goes wrong.

always remember that this will completely destroy your warranty rights :pimp:

[b0uncyfr0]

Wow and some people are past 1400, thats insane. Must be cause of that extra voltage. Well how would the manufacturers know i did this mod, they isnt any physical damage right?

Ive attached a picture of the back of my card, it looks identical to the reference 6970 2GB that the polish user (SonyHD) posted.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/854/dscf1139z.jpg/

[blinzi]

nice - mount that clip on the chip with the yellow dot, bridge pin 8 to pin 3 (look at my diagram for numbers) put the card back in the pcie slot and follow the polish guys instructions.

[b0uncyfr0]

Hmm sounds easy enough, now i just have to get that clip in Australia.

Another side-note, how did SonyHD get 990 Core on 1.175. Im on that voltage now and that seems impossible. Also just realised his card is non-reference otherwise he would ave used the dual-bios switch. Duhh..

[blinzi]

dunno how he did that - im stuck at 950Mhz@1.150V but i only have a stock cooler my temps are 85°C in furmark....

you have +20% in CCC ?

[Sk1nner]

I have a Powercolor HD6950 unlocked 880/1375 1.125v with catalist 11.5b and i never had a problem in any game ,the temperature never rise above 74Cº, but now in dirt 3 this is happening (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KHBceMfwiM)
look for the license plate and the name of the player ahead.
Is the graphic card dying?
Thanks

[blinzi]

shader unlock only? what happens when you reset the clock speeds to default? reinstalled driver already? tried a different resolution? why did you raise the memory? :-P

[Sk1nner]

shader unlock only? what happens when you reset the clock speeds to default? reinstalled driver already? tried a different resolution? why did you raise the memory? :-P

shader unlock only, tried catalist 11.4, 11.5 and 11.5b, format , tried default speeds ( not default shaders), and still happens in any of these scenarios.
And i forgot to mention that i have a folding program that i have been running for the past month but the temperature never raised above 74Cº.

[blinzi]

re-flash your old bios and see if it helps...

[Sk1nner]

re-flash your old bios and see if it helps...

original bios and... same result :S

[b0uncyfr0]

you have +20% in CCC ?

Whats that? EDIT:Found it. Interesting, i just turned it on on my fps on Dirt 3 went up by 3fps. Not bad. Going to test with a higher clock.

To Sk1nner, id check my vrm temps. The card may not be raising past 74 but they might be above that. Normally artifacts are a memory problem.

[Sk1nner]

the temperatures while folding
http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/11/06/01/dz0.png
i keep the memories at 1250 while folding because it doesn't make difference with higher clocks.

[b0uncyfr0]

Hmm thats strange then, it might be a problem with your card. Have you tried other games? Load up Crysis 2 or something really intensive and see if you can spot anything strange.

I saw your video, i cant see anything wrong with it.

[fullinfusion]

I have a Powercolor HD6950 unlocked 880/1375 1.125v with catalist 11.5b and i never had a problem in any game ,the temperature never rise above 74Cº, but now in dirt 3 this is happening (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KHBceMfwiM)
look for the license plate and the name of the player ahead.
Is the graphic card dying?
Thanks
I think it's just the game mate! and don't fret it just yet. Let AMD get there driver working proper and code master to release a patch. ;)

[Sk1nner]

i played 1 hour of crysis2 and saw nothing, i´m gonna wait for new patch and drivers before taking my conclusions.
thanks.

[b0uncyfr0]

The first patch for Dirt 3 just came out so give that a try, its huge though. Hopefully new content.

[tomigun]

I have a Powercolor HD6950 unlocked 880/1375 1.125v with catalist 11.5b and i never had a problem in any game ,the temperature never rise above 74Cº, but now in dirt 3 this is happening (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KHBceMfwiM)
look for the license plate and the name of the player ahead.
Is the graphic card dying?
Thanks

Dirt 3 gets all funky on me too, occasions horizontal bands in green purple...
think it might just be the game

[blinzi]

i only get those when i heavy crash into something with the car :-P

[Sk1nner]

horizontal bands in green purple its normal when u crash , its not a artifact.

[Sk1nner]

The first patch for Dirt 3 just came out so give that a try, its huge though. Hopefully new content.

I played with the patch already, same result .

[nawe]

I made another thread about my problem here: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2301689&posted=1#post2301689

and was told to ask this thread for help.

So here goes: I can't get my bricked (non reference) XFX HD6950 to flash back to its old bios (flashing it in the first place was easy) using a second, old, PCI card. Atiflash in DOS recognizes the card fine, and the -unlockrom 0 command seems to work, but whenever I attempt to flash the card, I get "Rom not erased". AtiWinflash, on the other hand appears to recognize the card when I run the GUI, but I get a subsystem ID mismatch error (as expected, I needed to unlock the rom when I first flashed it). Running it in command prompt, however, fails to do much of anything. Every command (unlockrom, flashing a bios, and even "-i") results in the progress bar flashing up for a second, before disappearing completely without leaving so much as an error. RBE won't recognize the card at all.

Anything else I could try before I end up returning it?

[fullinfusion]

I made another thread about my problem here: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2301689&posted=1#post2301689

and was told to ask this thread for help.

So here goes: I can't get my bricked (non reference) XFX HD6950 to flash back to its old bios (flashing it in the first place was easy) using a second, old, PCI card. Atiflash in DOS recognizes the card fine, and the -unlockrom 0 command seems to work, but whenever I attempt to flash the card, I get "Rom not erased". AtiWinflash, on the other hand appears to recognize the card when I run the GUI, but I get a subsystem ID mismatch error (as expected, I needed to unlock the rom when I first flashed it). Running it in command prompt, however, fails to do much of anything. Every command (unlockrom, flashing a bios, and even "-i") results in the progress bar flashing up for a second, before disappearing completely without leaving so much as an error. RBE won't recognize the card at all.

Anything else I could try before I end up returning it?

A bricked 6950 gpu from flashing the bios? ya dont say! So xfx should give you a new gpu because you willingly knowingly voided your warranty flashing something you shouldn't .... ahh but anyways

What version of Atiflash you using? Try 3.84 *I have better luck using that version* and grab your gpu bios file from the data base here on TPU.
What other gpu are you using to see while flashing? another 6950? if so move the working gpu to the bottom pci-e slot and the non working one to the top slot.. plug your monitor into the lower gpu and get into DOS.

type atiflash -i and see what comes up. It should show the bricked gpu.
now type atiflash -f -p 0/1 file name.bin (whatever number i shows you for your bricked gpu)
so again it's
atiflash -f -p 0 filename.bin
or
atiflash -f -p 1 filename.bin

If it works and askes for a restart, restart but go into the bios and hit the power button on your case. That will shut down. Now unplug your power and wait 60sec and then power back up.. Good luck and just a note.. I was just bustin your balls at the top of my message lol :rockout:

[fullinfusion]

Stupid link is weird but look HERE (http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/593427-how-unbrick-your-bricked-graphics-card.html#post12185153) to unbrick your gpu

[nawe]

A bricked 6950 gpu from flashing the bios? ya dont say! So xfx should give you a new gpu because you willingly knowingly voided your warranty flashing something you shouldn't .... ahh but anyways

What version of Atiflash you using? Try 3.84 *I have better luck using that version* and grab your gpu bios file from the data base here on TPU.
What other gpu are you using to see while flashing? another 6950? if so move the working gpu to the bottom pci-e slot and the non working one to the top slot.. plug your monitor into the lower gpu and get into DOS.

type atiflash -i and see what comes up. It should show the bricked gpu.
now type atiflash -f -p 0/1 file name.bin (whatever number i shows you for your bricked gpu)
so again it's
atiflash -f -p 0 filename.bin
or
atiflash -f -p 1 filename.bin

If it works and askes for a restart, restart but go into the bios and hit the power button on your case. That will shut down. Now unplug your power and wait 60sec and then power back up.. Good luck and just a note.. I was just bustin your balls at the top of my message lol :rockout:

Afraid I've tried all of the above :-( I'm using an ancient PCI card for my monitor output - the -i command detects it in atiflash, but when I try the actual "atiflash -f -p 0 bios.rom" command, or any variation thereof, I get "rom not erased".

I think I'm just gonna return it. It was sold to me, and advertised as safely flashable from the OverclockersUK site, and I was given a slightly revised version of the card (which I wasn't aware of at the time), so regardless of whether I've voided XFX's warranty, I'm still technically within the T&Cs of the seller (the T&Cs they actually broke by sending me a slightly different model without telling me).

[fullinfusion]

^ good luck mate! I hope they do you good this time and not mislead ya :toast:

[Gabkicks]

I am using a powercolor 6950 1gb (dual fans/dual bios) and 11.5b drivers .

i just tried with atiflash and atiwinflash and sofar it still shows 1408 unified shaders :(

* i just tried the methods listed by techpowerup to no avail. Also, i tried flashing to 6970 and that just gave mea blank screen w/ artifacts, so I blindflashed it back to my "unlocked" bios that isnt really unlocked according to gpu-z.

Any Ideas? RBE says my bios is already set to 6970 shader count, but not GPU-z

[Gabkicks]

Before using thebear's bios (he unlocked his powercolor 1gb a couple months ago):
http://i53.tinypic.com/9qh82f.jpg

after:
http://i55.tinypic.com/28244s8.jpg

[JPS1982]

packaged the hd 6950 bios modding script.

www.techpowerup.com/wizzard/Mod_BIOS_HD_6950.zip
give it a try and let me know how well it works

Podrias explicarme un poco más como se utiliza este script.

Tengo una MSI TwinFrozr III 6950 y quiero desbloquearle los shaders aunque sea.
Agradeceria tu ayuda. Desde ya muchas gracias.

---
Could you explain a bit more as you use this script.

I have an MSI TwinFrozr III 6950 and I want to unlock the shaders. (6970)
Appreciate your help. Regards !!

[Phrozin]

Hi all,first time here;)
Firstly thanks to all who contributed to this awesome thread!!!

The benefit of living in a third world country is that we were lucky enough to get some reference cards:laugh:,MSI R6950 2gb-2PM2D2GD5.Mine will arrive tomorrow and the other nine later this week(for my friends).

I have read through the whole thread so far and have decided to do the modded 6950 bios via script and unlocking the shaders.

I was thinking then further is it possible to put in overclock settings via RBE?
There is a setting in RBE that allows this,but found this thread:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143965
and in the help file of RBE they say this:
"The overdrive limit in the BIOS is protected by this key. It can be changed, but if so, the key won't match any more which makes the catalyst driver not recognize the card any more and therefore, this BIOS is unusable. RBE can't decrypt this key, but it can transplant an overdrive limit and its key to another BIOS"

So the ideal would be to have a standard 6950 bios with unlocked shaders and the gpu and memmory overclocked in bios.
I don't wanna do it via software-I want it to boot up with selected clocks.

If this is not possible,what about using a overclocked bios from another 6950 like the "MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition/OC" and unlock the shaders via script.

with these methods if possible it seems better than playing around with a 6970 bios that has different memmory timings/volts.

Hope the guru's here can point me in the right direction or have a possible solution to the bios OC part:respect:

Cant wait for tommorow to get my hd6950:rockout:

[edit] Ok,got my card today,it's the black pcb with bios switch(awesome)..
So me pushing it through benches & games at stock level to test stability and look if the card is ok(no artifacts) before I go for shader unlock.
Will keep updating as I go;) - Will try to find out some more on the flashing of a factory overclocked 6950 bios to 6950-reference card..

[xrror]

It seems possible that using the PowerColor HD 6950 PCS++ 2 GB BIOS this should be possible, since if I'm reading this correctly it has a "signature" already that allows higher overdrive limits:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6950_PCS_Plus_Plus/27.html
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't gotten around to trying this yet.

I need/want to try this myself when I have some time, otherwise it's always a race to see if the latest MSI Afterburner beta supports the latest catalyst driver each month.

Also I'm not sure if Radeon BIOS Editor (RBE) supports editing voltages yet, or if it's still experimental on the 6950. My goal is to make a modded bios for my 6950 with the voltage and overclock "baked in" to the card bios, so I don't need to worry about using other tools to get the card up to speed. That way it "just works" regardless of what computer or OS the card gets stuck in.

[antipesto93]

Just a note:

Asus HD6950 Direct CU2 2gb
- You CAN flash a 6970 bios BUT you CANNOT unlock the shaders.

- so basically, it cant unlock the shaders.

[Phrozin]

@ xrror,
Awesome buddy,seems we've got the same idea of getting our stable clocks into the bios..;)
Hope the guru's can shed some light here for us!

[1uk3]

I have the XFX 6950 2GB reference card - I used a bios from the XFX 6970 and flashed it using atiflash and no issues whatsoever. Perfect and temps are fine.

It's always nice to get something for free!

---

UPDATE: I decided to go back to original bios but unlocked the shaders. After a lot of reading I became slightly concerned that I might damage my card using the 6970 bios.

The card doesn't seem to like to overclock to 6970 speeds with the 6950 bios though even though it was fine with the 6970 bios. I get some flickering occasionally when I've enabled AMD Overdrive.

[deadman_uk]

I have a MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III Power Edition which arrived today. Is it worth me flashing to an 6970? What is the best way for me to do this? I hear people saying it's best to flash, others saying revert to original BIOS and just OC. Also some saying they need to unlock the shaders, while others don't need to. I am confused, can someone take me by the hand and help?

Thanks!

[Boatski]

I have a MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III Power Edition which arrived today. Is it worth me flashing to an 6970? What is the best way for me to do this? I hear people saying it's best to flash, others saying revert to original BIOS and just OC. Also some saying they need to unlock the shaders, while others don't need to. I am confused, can someone take me by the hand and help?

Thanks!

I just got my Twin Frozr III 6950 in today. I've tried using RBE to unlock the shaders in the existing BIOS, but that hasn't work for me.

[Olleing]

Read this article
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1. html

and use / try this bios file
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/96402/MSI.HD6950.2048.110324.html

[Phrozin]

Hi All:)
Again thanks to all who posted their thoughts and ideas..helped me a bunch.
So here is my findings and updates since my last post on the MSI R6950 2gb-2PM2D2GD5 reference.revision1 card-http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2307086&postcount=2621

It's a shame not a lot responded on the questions asked there,but no biggie.
Thanks as well to "xrror" for your idea on the PowerColor HD 6950 PCS++ 2 GB BIOS.

Like stated in previous post I didn't want to run a 6970 bios,but rather a 6950 bios with unlocked shaders and overclocked gpu at 850 or 880mhz thus ensuring the memory timings/volts stay intact.

Ok, here is what I did.
1.Firstly I tested the card on benches and games at stock to see for artifacts(none found).

2.Then I upped my gpu clock and memory clock to 6970 specs via Msi After Burner(first have to unlock the unofficial overclocking values via the .cfg file found install diectory of app)

3.Then I ran it through benches again-I used 3dmark Vantage,3dMark11,Crysis Warhead,Crysis2,Metro2033 *benched for a half hour checking temps and game play.Used Msi Kombuster to max gpu to 99% to see temps and custom fan profile I created in Msi After Burner.- no artifacts or crashes.

4.I then tried a overclocked bios->http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/96402/MSI.HD6950.2048.110324.html Unfortunately manage to flash it via atiwinflash using cmd console due to "id mismatch error" in gui ,flash was a success,but didn't boot up-no signal..

5.So I switch to bios2 and boot up and tried the powercolor bios which only has gpu clocked to 880mhz->http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/94169/Powercolor.HD6950.2048.110121.html
It booted up no problems(my ati drivers were already uninstalled) then I installed the new ati driver 11.6 and checked via gpu-z and it showed unlocked shaders and gpu clock 880mhz.:rockout:

6.So then I did the usual benching and stress test to check heat etc..all is ok;)
Memory is at 1250Mhz,this i can clock to 1300mhz if i need/want to via Msi AB:)

So in short,yes you can flash a overclocked 6950 bios which is better i.m.h.o. than a 6970 bios to a MSI R6950 2gb-2PM2D2GD5..Mwuhaha

Here is my benches:
Vantage: http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/6508/6950unlockedvantage.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/6950unlockedvantage.jpg/)

3DMark11: http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6751/6950unlocked3d11.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/402/6950unlocked3d11.jpg/)


Happy unlocking:pimp:

[b0uncyfr0]

Just a quick update guys, i got the soic clip but i was unable to unlock it. Very disappointed though, i thought it was a guranteed unlock.

[reddie007]

was anyone able to unlock the card recently and which bios to use?

I am asking because on the page:
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1. html

a custom bios is provided to unlock the both OC and nonOC version of the card and the 'modified' bios has only 64kb. Atiwinflash will come out with a warning screen that the bios is probably corrupted. Wouldn't dare just to load this to the card as such

thanks for any reply

[kalawera]

was anyone able to unlock the card recently and which bios to use?

I am asking because on the page:
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1. html

a custom bios is provided to unlock the both OC and nonOC version of the card and the 'modified' bios has only 64kb. Atiwinflash will come out with a warning screen that the bios is probably corrupted. Wouldn't dare just to load this to the card as such

thanks for any reply

I've both the BIOS you linked and the one from TPU database with unlocked shader, they both unlocked my TFIII (no matter the size) but both rendering artifacts even on desktop w/out any OC (at first it was all OK, but once I started DAII the artefacting started) so now I am just OC with the stock BIOS: 950/1400@1.24 Witcher2 stable, can not get to 1GHz stable
tried also Lightning BIOS- it did not work at all

[reddie007]

I've both the BIOS you linked and the one from TPU database with unlocked shader, they both unlocked my TFIII (no matter the size) but both rendering artifacts even on desktop w/out any OC (at first it was all OK, but once I started DAII the artefacting started) so now I am just OC with the stock BIOS: 950/1400@1.24 Witcher2 stable, can not get to 1GHz stable
tried also Lightning BIOS- it did not work at all

ok thanks - I had Sapphire Flex HD6950 2GB recently, OCed to 960/1400@1.20 w/o errors, but was not satisfied with the noise it was producing, so I am buying this one instead, expecting better cooling & less noise.
Pity it didn't work for you. Tried to modify your own bios with the RBE v1.28 to unlock too? Maybe the shaders are corrupted - if it is even possible(?). I'd also try with non OC-ed system, but that's a blind shot.

[kalawera]

ok thanks - I had Sapphire Flex HD6950 2GB recently, OCed to 960/1400@1.20 w/o errors, but was not satisfied with the noise it was producing, so I am buying this one instead, expecting better cooling & less noise.
Pity it didn't work for you. Tried to modify your own bios with the RBE v1.28 to unlock too? Maybe the shaders are corrupted - if it is even possible(?). I'd also try with non OC-ed system, but that's a blind shot.

maybe they were "corrupted" deliberately at the factory, I mean not properly laser cut or something... or the software- drivers, CCC, MSI AB, etc. have troubles understanding that a 6950 can have 1536 shaders... did not try RBE myself- too many options and was afraid not to mess something up...strangely enough even with the size difference according to TPU database both BIOSes are reported the same
I am moving to SB tomorrow and will see how things are with a fresh Win install

[blinzi]

Just a quick update guys, i got the soic clip but i was unable to unlock it. Very disappointed though, i thought it was a guranteed unlock.

you sure u bridged the right pins??

[reddie007]

maybe they were "corrupted" deliberately at the factory, I mean not properly laser cut or something... or the software- drivers, CCC, MSI AB, etc. have troubles understanding that a 6950 can have 1536 shaders... did not try RBE myself- too many options and was afraid not to mess something up...strangely enough even with the size difference according to TPU database both BIOSes are reported the same
I am moving to SB tomorrow and will see how things are with a fresh Win install

good luck with that; its even stranger to see its not working when on the contrary some ppl claim that the unlocking shader bios was issued by msi itself granting that ability :-(

if you would want to use RBE:
save the original bios to a file, run RBE, load the bios into it, click on the "additional features" tab, and on the right side of the window, there is "unlock 6950->6970" section. Here select the "6970 shader count" and save your new bios to a file...

well this didn't work for me on the saphire flex card, but that's how it should be done. tmorow i hope i get the msi twin frozr3 too, so.. we'll see :rolleyes:

[uki789]

can the card from the title(or any other 1GB HD 6950) be ulocked to radeon HD6970???

[kalawera]

good luck with that; its even stranger to see its not working when on the contrary some ppl claim that the unlocking shader bios was issued by msi itself granting that ability :-(

it was indeed posted on the MSI UK site, but it was taken down since then
here it a thread (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18278371) from overclockers.co.uk started from the MSI Rep there. he *** Removed pending updated information *** 2 days after posting

[reddie007]

it was indeed posted on the MSI UK site, but it was taken down since then
here it a thread (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18278371) from overclockers.co.uk started from the MSI Rep there. he *** Removed pending updated information *** 2 days after posting

With great interrest I read all the thread. So, you were able to unlock with artefacts ony, you re back at the stock bios now. I just dont know if I was in your position, and wanted to OC the card more than up to 900Mhz - I guess you would still need to load the unlocking bios, but .. is there any bios which is only unlocking the OC potential (to be able to raise the GPU core frequency more than 900), and doesn't unlock the shaders ??

[ehmdjii]

hello, i would like to flash my sapphire 6950 to a 9670 using the BIOS as many have done already.

the only thing is that i have a 1GB version and on this page only BIOSes for 2GB cards can be found:
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?page=1&architecture=&manufacturer=&model=HD+6970&interface=&memSize=0

is it safe to also use this BIOS for the 1GB model?

thanks!

[kalawera]

With great interrest I read all the thread. So, you were able to unlock with artefacts ony, you re back at the stock bios now. I just dont know if I was in your position, and wanted to OC the card more than up to 900Mhz - I guess you would still need to load the unlocking bios, but .. is there any bios which is only unlocking the OC potential (to be able to raise the GPU core frequency more than 900), and doesn't unlock the shaders ??

OK, today I moved to SB and here you the results: artifacts are gone, MSI Kombustor 2.0.2 extreme benchmark preset results/stock clocks: 1536 sh: 1941/1937p; 1408 sh: 1931/1932p (tests done twice, GPU-z 0.5.3 reports shaders)
So for me it is official- unlocking shaders gives you (almost)nothing and I am done fiddling with it. Essentially 6950 and 6970 are the same chips and the bigger difference is stock clocks, binning and higher OC potential. More shaders might give something here and there, but IMO OC can give you much more.
On the other question- unlocking the OC limits use this small program called RacerX (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41847&d=1303762561) from RacerX/TechIMO forum to edit registry and enable OC as high as you want.

[reddie007]

I've both the BIOS you linked and the one from TPU database with unlocked shader, they both unlocked my TFIII (no matter the size) but both rendering artifacts even on desktop w/out any OC (at first it was all OK, but once I started DAII the artefacting started) so now I am just OC with the stock BIOS: 950/1400@1.24 Witcher2 stable, can not get to 1GHz stable
tried also Lightning BIOS- it did not work at all


question (just got the card now): the OC you are mentioning, did you do anything with the memory/aux voltage in afterburner? I tried 940/1325@1.25 and it fails in the FinalFantasy14 benchmark, so not very stable. going to try to unlock the shaders right now

[reddie007]

question (just got the card now): the OC you are mentioning, did you do anything with the memory/aux voltage in afterburner? I tried 940/1325@1.25 and it fails in the FinalFantasy14 benchmark, so not very stable. going to try to unlock the shaders right now

ok, unable to unlock the shaders :( (tried both the custom bioses and RBE mod too)

worse thing: I cant overclock the card at all. Will get a "display driver failed and recovered" error every time i move the slider on the core clock in Afterburner (2.2 beta4) and run the FF14 benchmark (was stable with the sapphire flex card)

everything is perfectly stable at the stock clocks :((

[kalawera]

ok, unable to unlock the shaders :( (tried both the custom bioses and RBE mod too)

worse thing: I cant overclock the card at all. Will get a "display driver failed and recovered" error every time i move the slider on the core clock in Afterburner (2.2 beta4) and run the FF14 benchmark (was stable with the sapphire flex card)

everything is perfectly stable at the stock clocks :((

make sure that you are actually increasing the voltage- at first I was unable even when moving the slider. in AB settings change graphics processor type to 1150mv, also make sure clock settings in CCC are the same, +20% power, put some more AUX voltage (I personally did not see any difference with it) and increase vcore a bit more
try the OC in games, I am using witcher 2 to test as it is very picky and that's how I found what is stable for me

[reddie007]

make sure that you are actually increasing the voltage- at first I was unable even when moving the slider. in AB settings change graphics processor type to 1150mv, also make sure clock settings in CCC are the same, +20% power, put some more AUX voltage (I personally did not see any difference with it) and increase vcore a bit more
try the OC in games, I am using witcher 2 to test as it is very picky and that's how I found what is stable for me

thanks - should I combine the power tune in CCC (set to 20%) with increasing the voltage in Afterburner? When I did try 880/1325 only in CCC i did put powertune to +20% and it was stable. I was thinking I shall use either powertune or the voltage adjustments but not both.. with sapphire flex I was only using Trixx and didnt do anything whatsoever with CCC

[reddie007]

hello, i would like to flash my sapphire 6950 to a 9670 using the BIOS as many have done already.

the only thing is that i have a 1GB version and on this page only BIOSes for 2GB cards can be found:
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?page=1&architecture=&manufacturer=&model=HD+6970&interface=&memSize=0

is it safe to also use this BIOS for the 1GB model?

thanks!

I read through this whole thread and some other on another forums, but I encountered only 1 person who was able to unlock 1GB version [so the answer is very unlikely, 99% no]

[kalawera]

thanks - should I combine the power tune in CCC (set to 20%) with increasing the voltage in Afterburner? When I did try 880/1325 only in CCC i did put powertune to +20% and it was stable. I was thinking I shall use either powertune or the voltage adjustments but not both.. with sapphire flex I was only using Trixx and didnt do anything whatsoever with CCC

I personally first increase powertune and then start to OC/voltage tweak with AB, but now with a Z68 board in i-gpu mode(monitor plugged to mobo) CCC does not even work and since games work fine I keep it stock

[ehmdjii]

I read through this whole thread and some other on another forums, but I encountered only 1 person who was able to unlock 1GB version [so the answer is very unlikely, 99% no]

thanks for the info. you dont happen to have a link to this other forum?

also let's say i try it with RBE. extract the bios, unlock the shaders and reflash. and then it fails, will my card be broken or will it just not work?

this is the card btw:

http://deviantsart.com/upload/2352dno.jpg

[reddie007]

I personally first increase powertune and then start to OC/voltage tweak with AB, but now with a Z68 board in i-gpu mode(monitor plugged to mobo) CCC does not even work and since games work fine I keep it stock

results from OC - not very exciting - I am now at 920/1325 but with the voltage of 1.23 - thats too much for that frequency I'd say. I did read few articles where they were able to reach 1Ghz with 1.3v so so far it doesnt look like I am going there. 940@1.23 doesnt work too.
Was able to reach 880/1325 w/o any voltage increase, I guess thats what I will be using for gaming unless I play Metro 2033 (not my favorite game anyway so.. :rolleyes:)

I checked the powertune, every time when I raised the core frequency by 20Mhz and must say I didnt see any difference - didnt help /didnt harm the stability when puting it to +20% / reverting back to normal.

The cooling is better than with the Sapphire Flex, but given the needed voltage, I guess thats not much of an advantage here - at 920 with Flex, I was at 1.15v, which, compared to the twin frozr3, was giving less heat, so - now I am with better cooling producing more heat.. not much of an improvement. :banghead:

The noise from the fans needs to be reduced in my opinion. What is the advantage of having the hairdryer inside of the PC with 65 Celsius temperature, when the chip is designed to work under 100 Celsius? Under 45% of the fan speed is almost inaudible and with 45%, its still ~72 under full load (default clocks).

Its really cool that frozr3 have triple voltage to control, but its completely useless as I didn't gain any extra stability by increasing the memory to +20mv and if i try increase the Aux in MSI AB 2.2 beta4, it reverts back when I click on apply... omg :confused:

Have you noticed any performance improvement when increasing memory speed? When I compared 1250 to 1325 on the Flex, It didnt give me any performance increase whatsoever.

And yes, I think that thats what most of us will be doing - checking the overclocking possibilities and then reverting back to the normal - this card is quite powerful for today's games w/o much an of extra tweaking :toast:

[reddie007]

thanks for the info. you dont happen to have a link to this other forum?

also let's say i try it with RBE. extract the bios, unlock the shaders and reflash. and then it fails, will my card be broken or will it just not work?



Honestly - I am cured out of the unlocking shaders business. People are gaining 2% more performance at maximum at games, at the cost of risking bricking the card or spending hours and hours flashing and reflashing again and again, never sure when this break something... Even more if your card doesn't have dual bios...

No sorry, I dont have the link - that was just really a one note at that forum, don't remember it anything.

Overclock your card, enjoy it, don't mess with the shaders :cool:

Noone can guarantee what will happen if you try this with RBE. Anyway, If you want to go that way, here's couple of links:

Script from w1zzard which modifies file with bios and updates it for enabling the shaders:
(just an another alternative of unlocking)
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137136&page=16)

Techpowerup Vga bios db (i guess you know this already :) ):
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?page=1&architecture=&manufacturer=&model=HD+6950&interface=&memSize=1024

btw this bios could possibly be for you (shaders unlocked):
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/95237/Sapphire.HD6950.1024.101224_2.html

testing locked/unlocked shaders:
http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/909086-6950-shaders-unlocked-vs-full-unlocked.html
http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/946615-stock-vs-unlocked-hd-6950-a.html

on non-reference cards with one bios, I would personally never use the -f switch when flashing, due to these bioses are mostly extra modified. So use only:

atiwinflash -p 0 bios.bin

Also if you get ID mismatch message during flashing, cancel it and use another bios. I did force the bios flash on my previous Sapphire Flex card even with the ID mismatch message, and almost bricked it. Sooo happy for the second Bios switch :o If you read somewhere else to not bother with ID mismatch messages, thats probably only for the reference cards design only.

[ehmdjii]

reddie007: thanks a lot for the detailed information. i will try the flash later and then report here if it was successfull.
i will probably use RBE and create a modified BIOS myself.

[Atelophobia]

I have a Powercolor 6950 2048MB. Pretty new one I guess because I bought it yesterday.
I tried the 6970 unlock method with the complete pack in the guide (bat-files).
After that, gpu didnt work anymore after reboot.
I flashed my original bios with the help of a bootusbstick back on my GPU and Bios 1 works again. Then I tried to modify the bios myself with RBE... I selected to unlock the shaders and used that rom but nothing did change. I also used the rom Phrozin proposed a page earlier -> GPU bios 1 blackout again. So Im back to my original bios again and Im still looking for a method to get the shaders. Is there sth I can try?

[reddie007]

I have a Powercolor 6950 2048MB. Pretty new one I guess because I bought it yesterday.
I tried the 6970 unlock method with the complete pack in the guide (bat-files).
After that, gpu didnt work anymore after reboot.
I flashed my original bios with the help of a bootusbstick back on my GPU and Bios 1 works again. Then I tried to modify the bios myself with RBE... I selected to unlock the shaders and used that rom but nothing did change. I also used the rom Phrozin proposed a page earlier -> GPU bios 1 blackout again. So Im back to my original bios again and Im still looking for a method to get the shaders. Is there sth I can try?

JUST two posts earlier ;)

Script from w1zzard which modifies file with bios and updates it for enabling the shaders:
(just an another alternative of unlocking)
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137136&page=16

[Atelophobia]

JUST two posts earlier ;)

Script from w1zzard which modifies file with bios and updates it for enabling the shaders:
(just an another alternative of unlocking)
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137136&page=16

Thanks for the hint!

I used the script and "edited" the bios. I flashed my bios 1 with atiflash, bootusbstick and the new modded bin but nothing did change. I still have 1408 shaders in GPU-Z 0.5.3
Did I do sth wrong?

[ginsoked boy hd]

i am from india i bought an sapphire hd 6950 card but it is tottaly diffrant from reffrance desins and does not have an dual bios switch and the card is also the bad naked looking ilike the packed one reffrance desine i maintioned to my dealer about which type of 6950 i want i told them i want card with amd stock cooler and pcb but the dont give me that instid of that they give me a i think vapour x edition which has the modded sapphire 6950 pcb without dual bios


so guys can u help me on that issu
is compony will return me the reffrance card instid of this vapour x ?
is there the dual bios card are bann?
are not in stock in any country?
are the vapourx models of 6950 can be flashed?
problems facing the users of flashed 6050 to 6970?
is it safe ?(really this card is expensive)


so plese help me
thaks in advance

[ginsoked boy hd]

http://images.izideal.com/img/product/10164313/l/be_fr/sapphire-technology-radeon-hd-6950-1-g-gddr5-pci-express.jpeg


this is my card

[liquidtension]

I think i may have somehow overwritten the stock bios in position 1. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks! - Dom

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148051

[reddie007]

I think i may have somehow overwritten the stock bios in position 1. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks! - Dom

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148051

"3. Tried blind flashing the bios from a bootable usb but 'atiflash -i' couldn't find any compatible display adapters"

how do you know it couldn't find display adapters on a blind flash attempt?

take original bios, use atiflash with -f (force switch), load it to the position 1

I'd also make sure first you use latest mobo bios and do a clear cmos on the mobo before trying to flash the card (only disable the mobo integrated GPU before trying to flash the corrupted card)

this is something to study before you go on:

http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/342894-how-blind-flash-gpu.html

[reddie007]

is compony will return me the reffrance card instid of this vapour x ?
is there the dual bios card are bann?
are not in stock in any country?
are the vapourx models of 6950 can be flashed?
problems facing the users of flashed 6050 to 6970?
is it safe ?(really this card is expensive)


simply don't do it... one bios, non reference card - thats the worst scenario I'd say. Many cards now on the market are unlockable. I never heard about any non reference Sapphire being unlocked.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2322114&postcount=2650

[ginsoked boy hd]

can i return it to my dealer and get the reffrance card

[reddie007]

can i return it to my dealer and get the reffrance card

how can anyone know? simply ask your dealer

[reddie007]

Thanks for the hint!

I used the script and "edited" the bios. I flashed my bios 1 with atiflash, bootusbstick and the new modded bin but nothing did change. I still have 1408 shaders in GPU-Z 0.5.3
Did I do sth wrong?

no... looks like the card won't unlock then.. not a reference one I think ..?

[Dr. Phd]

Bought a reference model Asus 6950 2GB
http://www.ozone3d.net/public/jegx/201101/asus_hd6950_01.jpg

Followed W1zzard's instructions. First the original, then the cmd way since I got "SubsystemIDs mismatch" in ATIWinflash.
Seemed to work (didn't see any 'verified' message, just a progress bar appearing on screen for less than a second.), rebooted.

http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/11/06/28/w0.png


I'm guessing it did not do anything at all? :confused:

[Joshwaa]

Hello I am looking to purchase a 6950 and unlock it. Can some one tell me what is the best card for this as I do not see many reference cards left on newegger. Also dose it matter if it is a 1 or 2GB card?

[xrror]

There really needs to be a FAQ for this by now. Of course by saying that I suppose I should shut up and write one. :rolleyes: :nutkick:

Anyone aware of a 6950 unlock FAQ yet? Hopefully there is, cause otherwise it's looking like my horrid writing ... :slap:

edit add: Going to try and make a rough outline of a FAQ, so that if I can't, someone else can take off with it.

edit 2: canceled this due to lack of time/interest

[Joshwaa]

Ok I have found that you need a 2GB card. I am thinking of this one, anyone had luck with it? I have had powercolor cards in the past and they were exceptional.

PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393)

[Thassodar]

Ok I have found that you need a 2GB card. I am thinking of this one, anyone had luck with it? I have had powercolor cards in the past and they were exceptional.

PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393)

I don't think the twin fan ones have the BIOS switch :banghead: I have a PowerColor card I bought a few months ago that is reference design and it looks nearly identical to the one in Dr.Phd's post up above. Flashed just fine :D You may want to look on youtube and see if there is unboxing for that particular 6950, that way you'll know if it has a switch or not ;)

[Joshwaa]

I don't think the twin fan ones have the BIOS switch :banghead: I have a PowerColor card I bought a few months ago that is reference design and it looks nearly identical to the one in Dr.Phd's post up above. Flashed just fine :D You may want to look on youtube and see if there is unboxing for that particular 6950, that way you'll know if it has a switch or not ;)

From the pictures on the egg it does have the switch. But whos to say that is the correct picture.

[mrpatate]

Hi,

I tried the original method to flash my Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2Go Dirt 3 Edition, then the 2 coming from the 2 updates but nothing worked.

Be sure the BIOS switch on my card is set to the 1 position.

As it isn't a reference design card, i used ATI Winflash to save my existing BIOS, then used RBE to modify my existing BIOS (file extension : .rom not .bin), then enabled the shader unlock option on the last tab, then flashed that modified BIOS to my card.

Can the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2Go Dirt 3 Edition be flashed ?

Could someone please help me ?

[reddie007]

Bought a reference model Asus 6950 2GB

Followed W1zzard's instructions. First the original, then the cmd way since I got "SubsystemIDs mismatch" in ATIWinflash.
Seemed to work (didn't see any 'verified' message, just a progress bar appearing on screen for less than a second.), rebooted.

I'm guessing it did not do anything at all? :confused:

These cards have locked bios.
Do: atiwinflash -unlockrom 0

before you try to load the other bios.
Where did you get the new bios you are flashing it in there? This card from Asus DOES unlock for sure. Unless Asus did something very wrong with those cards recently.

[Dr. Phd]

These cards have locked bios.
Do: atiwinflash -unlockrom 0

before you try to load the other bios.
Where did you get the new bios you are flashing it in there? This card from Asus DOES unlock for sure. Unless Asus did something very wrong with those cards recently.
I did try the cmd method as described here:
For the people who need to unlockrom and fail at command line:

- Unpack the Winflash download onto your desktop in a folder called "winflash"
- Save the 6970 BIOS in your Winflash folder and name it unlock.bin
- Click Start Button
- Type "cmd"
- Right click the entry and select "Run as Administrator"
- Black command prompt windows opens
- Type "cd %USERPROFILE%\desktop\winflash"
- Type "atiwinflash -unlockrom 0" <-- the 0 means first adapter, if you have multiple cards, physically uninstall all but the one you want to flash
- Type "atiwinflash -f -p 0 unlock.bin"
- It should complete the flashing process with a message saying something with "verified".


And indeed I've never heard of this card not unlocking. It's the reason I bought it even.
I have no idea what to do now. :confused:

[reddie007]

I did try the cmd method as described here:

And indeed I've never heard of this card not unlocking. It's the reason I bought it even.
I have no idea what to do now. :confused:

Did you actually modify the bios? Because from the above, it looks like you just saved the bios from the card and uploaded it back to the card :-)

do you know RBE v1.28?

Alternatively, here is link to the one BIOS you could try to upload to the card:
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/90661/Asus.HD6970.2048.101124.html

[reddie007]

Did you actually modify the bios? Because from the above, it looks like you just saved the bios from the card and uploaded it back to the card :-)


sorry, bad reading... I see you used a HD 6970 bios; well I would try RBE or the bios I have mentioned

[Atelophobia]

Ok I have found that you need a 2GB card. I am thinking of this one, anyone had luck with it? I have had powercolor cards in the past and they were exceptional.

PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393)

This looks exactly like my Powercolor HG 6950. Same box artwork, dual fans and both black and AX6950 is mentioned on the box. But NONE of the flash methods did work. However, flashing back was never a problem.

[Atelophobia]

I don't think the twin fan ones have the BIOS switch :banghead: I have a PowerColor card I bought a few months ago that is reference design and it looks nearly identical to the one in Dr.Phd's post up above. Flashed just fine :D You may want to look on youtube and see if there is unboxing for that particular 6950, that way you'll know if it has a switch or not ;)

I have a twin fan PC card - I even think its the mentioned one. It HAS dual bios. However, havent found a bios that unlocked the shaders yet

[renq]

Ok I have found that you need a 2GB card. I am thinking of this one, anyone had luck with it? I have had powercolor cards in the past and they were exceptional.

PowerColor AX6950 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393)

I have a Club3D card like that- PCB looks identical at first glance, so does the cooling.
http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/radeon-hd-6950.html

Flashed nicely, some OC/3dmark-ing results http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2265748&postcount=873

BTW, the cooler was very-very loud, even at CCC min rpm- 20%. Couldn't stand it, bought Arctic Xtreme Plus- now 'tis quiet 'n cool:pimp:

[reddie007]

Hi,
I tried the original method to flash my Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2Go Dirt 3 Edition, then the 2 coming from the 2 updates but nothing worked.

Can the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2Go Dirt 3 Edition be flashed ?


I had Sapphire Flex HD 6950 before, and that is the same card just with different cooler. Sorry mate, I looked almost a week around many forums and noone ever been successful with that. Seems its laser-cut, as well as most non-reference cards which are out today. :banghead:

[b0uncyfr0]

you sure u bridged the right pins??

Sorry for the hold up.I followed your picture, and im sure i did it right. I managed to get it to flash once without an error but it still refused to show up in GPU-Z as 1508 shaders. Im officially done with unlocking shaders, ive tried my best. Now im just going to overclock and tweak settings.

Good luck to anyone trying though, its hit or miss now. I have a bloody soic clip that im probably never going to use again. If anyone wants it for a small fee, drop me a line.

[mrpatate]

I had Sapphire Flex HD 6950 before, and that is the same card just with different cooler. Sorry mate, I looked almost a week around many forums and noone ever been successful with that. Seems its laser-cut, as well as most non-reference cards which are out today. :banghead:

Hi,

Thank you reddie007, i'm so disappointed !
What's the best advice; let it go and keep this card or remplacing it with a reference one ?

Have a nice day !

[reddie007]

Hi,

Thank you reddie007, i'm so disappointed !
What's the best advice; let it go and keep this card or remplacing it with a reference one ?

Have a nice day !

I was able to overclock that Sapphire to 960Mhz on core, which was way way much better than any 2% unlock could ever give (btw if you overclock unlocked card, it does not scale with the gpu frequency, so even after OC you still have 2% increase max). So I was satisfied with the card (later I returned it anyway bcoz of high noise).

IMHO - let it go, try OC (1.25v max is good even for a daily use, but i was able to get that 960 with 1.20 only). If you re satisfied otherwise with the card, I'd stay with it :-)

[Dr. Phd]

These cards have locked bios.
Do: atiwinflash -unlockrom 0

before you try to load the other bios.
Where did you get the new bios you are flashing it in there? This card from Asus DOES unlock for sure. Unless Asus did something very wrong with those cards recently.

Does the -unlockrom 0 command refer to a specific PCIe slot or something? Or at least the 0 part of it? If it is then maybe that's the reason I can't get it to work...
I use the command prompt method and while there is a progress bar on screen for a split second after pressing enter, nothing about something being verified pops up or shows up in the command prompt window.


I just can't understand why it doesn't work at all. Not a single ASUS reference 6950 2GB card has been unable to flash so far.

[reddie007]

Does the -unlockrom 0 command refer to a specific PCIe slot or something? Or at least the 0 part of it? If it is then maybe that's the reason I can't get it to work...
I use the command prompt method and while there is a progress bar on screen for a split second after pressing enter, nothing about something being verified pops up or shows up in the command prompt window.


0 is the adapter number; if you would have 2 cards in the system, the one in the first PCI_E would be the 0 , the other one would be 1
try if atiflash can comunicate correctly with your card (-i 0 = to display information abt the card)

integrated mobo cards are often not valid cards for atiflash, but you should anyway be sure any integrated graphics card on the mobo is disabled prior to any of the experiments :-)

[Dr. Phd]

0 is the adapter number; if you would have 2 cards in the system, the one in the first PCI_E would be the 0 , the other one would be 1
try if atiflash can comunicate correctly with your card (-i 0 = to display information abt the card)

The same happens as when I try to use it the guided way. For a split second I see a progress bar on screen but that's it. Nothing else happens.

I managed to "print screen" at the exact moment the progress bar shows up:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/Hassun/winflashprogress.png

But other than that, absolutely nothing happens.

[reddie007]

The same happens as when I try to use it the guided way. For a split second I see a progress bar on screen but that's it. Nothing else happens.
I managed to "print screen" at the exact moment the progress bar shows up:
But other than that, absolutely nothing happens.

u sure that you have the bios switch in the right position? (the other bios is not flashable)
I'd try usb stick with dos and atiflash (not atiwinflash). other than that, I am out of ideas :(

[Dr. Phd]

Yeah the switch is on the "1" position.
I just don't get it. Is there nobody else who uses this reference model from Asus? I've never heard of this issue before and the techpowerup chart lists that not a single Asus card doesn't unlock.

I have since tried THIS (http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/923129-hd-6950-810-1250-mhz-shader.html) as well but I hit the same wall. I never see a window confirming the flash happened (and rightly so because it doesn't).

[Vargtass]

Switch it to position 2 and flash, worked for me.

[jmcslob]

Post for marking useful or pointless sections of a thread

[Dr. Phd]

Switch it to position 2 and flash, worked for me.

Really? Isn't that a read-only BIOS?

[renq]

There are ALWAYS exceptions to a/the rule! ;)

[Jakoozie]

Hello,

Unloking my MSI R6950 Twin frozr III OC Edition, to 6970 went wrong!
Already changed the bios position boton and restarting over and over, the pc even goes to the bios or even gives any beep.

Any help please.
Best

[loube]

The Switch is not to enable the secondary bios it is to change the fan profiles from normal to performance. I would see about getting a secondary vid card and trying to reflash the stock bios. Link below explains the switch and has pretty pictures.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-iii-power-edition-oc-review/5

[Migelo]

Hi guys, I have a problem. I tried flashing my 2GB HD6950 power color with the provided bat file but only the frequencies changed, sharders remained. Then I flashed some other BIOSes (from sapphire and powercolor) with no success. Only the frequencies were changing.

Then I downloaded RBE, aquired the bios file from backup (switch == 2) , unlocked the sharders and flashed it back to the card with switch set to 1. But it didn't change anything, if I read the bios file on switch == 1 it says that sharders should be unlocked but GPU-Z says otherwise.

Any ideas?

Regards, Migelo

[Skywalk]

This is strange.
My 1x6950 works well with the unlock.
But the 2nd one seem glitchy?

http://www.myupload.dk/showfile/9488785e711.jpg

I miss a few stats displayed to the far right.
Could any of you tell me what's wrong?

EDIT: Paring the lower stat card up with the normal unlocked running card makes the lower value apply on both cards - hence it being in the first slot.
Do you think it's slot mitchmatch?

2nd EDIT: Changing slots won't work. It by default in CFX chooses the lowest value :/

[WhitePrQjser]

Hi!


Wow, there has been some major development on the 6950s, eh?

I couldn't read through all the pages, but can someone answer these questions:

1. Which of the non-reference design cards are unlockable as of today?
2. Can the PowerColor (with dual fans), PowerColor Vortex II or the Club3D (almost identical to the first mentioned PowerColor) be unlocked?
3. Is there a FAQ up on this yet?

Problem is that here in Denmark, there are almost no reference design cards left! :( Only ones that cost the same as 6970.

I'm building a rig for a friend, and he's going for a black/red theme - hence the 3 different cards mentioned.

Help me, please! :)

[Dr. Phd]

So I've tried what Vargtass said and nothing changed. Still seeing the progress bar for a split second but then nothing.
How the hell is this not working on a reference card!?

[HammerHand]

I'm very confused, someone please help me:
On the article we are asked to make sure the switch is on 1 position. Running flash to 6970.bat tells me to put it on 2 position! I have a Sapphire HD 6950 2GB and I hear they flash well. Can someone tell me which position to put the switch on? 1 or 2.
Thanks. I'm on the verge of flashing it any second :D

p.s. Sorry if this has been answered before, but frankly reading 108 pages is scary and I couldn't find a "search thread" button anywhere :( Eagerly awaiting...

[Dr. Phd]

Normally it's the "1" position.
If you're not sure the documentation included with your graphics card should provide the answer.

[HammerHand]

Thanks Dr. Phd for the quick reply. I'll try and post the result soon.

p.s. The funniest thing happened. The card flashed alright, checking GPU-Z it showed what it should: GPU Clock @ 880MHz, Memory 1375MHz. Here's the funny part: in Catalyst Control Center's AMD Overdrive clock is still at 800MHz while the Memory has changed to 1375MHz!!! I guess it's because I had already enabled (unlocked) the Overdrive and the default value for 6950 clock is 800. Do I need to manually put it on 880 when Overdrive is enabled? Cuz when it's not enabled, I'm sure the current value reads 880 at its peak... How about the additional 20% power? I'm worried about overheating and/or card damage :( I'm a noob when it comes to tweaking GPUs...

[WhitePrQjser]

How about my question, anyone? :)

[gizmo1981]

Hi all, Newbie here.

I'm new to shader unlocking and the likes, And I wanted some advice off you good helpful folks on this forum on whether or not the following card can be unlocked, I'm not sure of it's revision but it is..

PowerColor HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI 2mini DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card
Product Description

Graphics Engine - RADEON HD6950
Video Memory - 2GB GDDR5
Engine Clock - 800MHz
Memory Clock - 1250MHz (5.0Gbps)
Memory Interface - 256bit
DirectX® Support - 11
Bus Standard - PCI-E 2.1
Display Connectors - DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/2* mini DisplayPort
Maximum Resolution
VGA - 2048x1536
DVI - 2560x1600
DisplayPort - 2560x1600
HDMI - 1920x1200
Power Specs + Board Dimensions
Board Dimensions - 275mmx111.2mmx38mm
Minimum System Power requirement (W) - 500W
Extention Power Connector - Two 6-Pin Express Power connectors

And that information is taken from -> Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/254950)

[loube]

From the looks of the card I would say Highly unlikely to unlocking.

[gizmo1981]

:(

What about This? (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/265907)

Sapphire HD 6950 FLEX Edition 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Mini DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card

Specification
Output
1 x Dual-Link DVI
1 x HDMI 1.4a
2 x Mini-DisplayPort
1 x Single-Link DVI-D
GPU
800 MHz Core Clock
40 nm Chip
40 x Stream Processors
Memory
2048 MB Size
256 -bit GDDR5
5000 MHz Effective
Dimension
270(L)x110(W)x40(H) mm Size.

500 Watt Power Supply is required.
2 X 75Watt 6-pin PCI Express power connector is required.


Ideally I need a 2GB 6950 that CAN be unlocked with no issues for under £250 brand new, Can anyone Advise?

[loube]

Something more like this(Reference Design). Has the blower fan in the back of the card. I think it is still not guaranteed to unlock to 6970. I here there are laser cut shaders on the newer revision cards. In the US there is a 50 dollar difference between 6950 and the 6970.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129171

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127555

[HammerHand]

@gizmo1981: I'm not really one to talk about which cards unlock and which cards don't. Reference cards manufactured in the early 2011 generally would unlock, but something tells me AMD has disabled this features in more recent releases. (That's perhaps why so many people are complaining here as to why their new Sapphire doesn't unlock) I myself unlocked a Sapphire 6950 2GB last night, but I'm guessing where I live high quality cards remain on shelves for long and I'm pretty sure mine was manufactured dome months ago. But I repeat, I myself am new here, so you should wait to get a pro's advice.

I got a question of my own. Today I was playing F.3.E.R and the card kept restarting my computer due to overheating only after 10 minutes of playing tops. Later I manually put the fan on constant 45% so it took more than an hour to go above 82-83 degrees and restart again! Then, I decided to run a 15 round loop of Metro 2033 on rather high quality (it takes 15 minutes) and no restarting!!! The final temp was almost 90 and the fan was around 45-46% on auto... My question is: could a specific game (like F.3.E.R cause the card to think it's overheating and as a result restart?!?
Thanks in advance for your patience reading this

[gizmo1981]

Can anyone advise if http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati-radeon-6950-hd-800mhz-2gb-pci-express-2-1-hdmi-79BQ.html Would be able to be unlocked to 6970?

My options are quite limited considering that many online retailers now stop selling the reference design cards and are now selling updated versions.

Thanks

:edit:
I posted this like 6 times , thinking it wasnt refreshing the page lol, sorry admins!

[loube]

Can anyone advise if http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-ati-radeon-6950-hd-800mhz-2gb-pci-express-2-1-hdmi-79BQ.html Would be able to be unlocked to 6970?

My options are quite limited considering that many online retailers now stop selling the reference design cards and are now selling updated versions.

Thanks

:edit:
I posted this like 6 times , thinking it wasnt refreshing the page lol, sorry admins!

This card looks like your best option, Good luck!
Manufactures Model #: HD-695A-CNFC
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144544

[gizmo1981]

This card looks like your best option, Good luck!
Manufactures Model #: HD-695A-CNFC
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144544

Many thanks! I can see on dabbs that they have 19 on order so I'll definitely order one in for myself!

Oh and, One more thing.
Would you happen to know where I can obtain the bios files and flasher to unlock to 6970?

That way I can download all the needed files and then unlock the same day the card arrives lol.

Thanks again loube, You've been quite helpful on this :)

[reddie007]

So I've tried what Vargtass said and nothing changed. Still seeing the progress bar for a split second but then nothing.
How the hell is this not working on a reference card!?

another idea: try to swap the card to different PCIE slot... if any chance, I'd try in another computer.. simply missing the point, why it would not work ???

are you able to save the bios from the card at all? just to ensure the atiwinflash/atiflash can communicate with that card at all?

[Anastaciu]

Excelent post, I modded my Asus HD6950, works fine, I only have one problem, when I install Asus smartdoctor it says it can't find grafics information, do you know how to solve this? thanks

[Anastaciu]

To complete the information, I used the Asus HD6970 bios, not the saphire one...

[Zimster]

So I followed the post in the original article to the dot, using all the files and instructions there. After a few minutes of not even doing anything intensive, my screen just starts shifting around. After a while it just crashes and I can hear sound for a few moments, but that eventually stops as well and my whole computer crashes. I rebooted a few times with the same result. I tried leaving the clocks as they were and only using the shaders but that yielded the same result. I flashed back to the original BIOS and everything is fine.

Any ideas as to what the problem was?

[jonathan1107]

Seeing there seems to be about 100~ pages in this article...

Could anyone help me get up-t0-date about overclocking the radeon 6950?

I have a XFX 6950 2gb and a HIS 6950 2gb in CF... They're both "shaders unlocked" only...

Here are my Questions:

1. Is there any new concrete info about the "safety" of flashing 6950 to 6970 bios? Is it still dangereous to do this? Have there been any discoveries about "how to push the 6950 further without permanently damaging it???"

2. Is it really worth it to push the 6950 clock speeds further than the CCC Overdrive limits ???

3. What exactly is there to gain when you OC a radeon 6950? something like 10-15% perf boost? And what about when you're using them in CF ???

Basically, I haven't checked in for radeon 6950 OC info for the last 4 months... so is there anything new I should know ???

[godslam]

I have a Diamond Radeon HD 6950 and I flashed it to an HD 6970 with success, but once the computer restarted there was nothing to display. I'm wondering what it is that's wrong. I tried the modified Diamon .bin and still nothing. Any help is appreciated.

I'm pretty sure it's not booting at all actually.

[jonathan1107]

Bump, I'd still like an answer to my questions in RED plzzz

[godslam]

Seeing there seems to be about 100~ pages in this article...

Could anyone help me get up-t0-date about overclocking the radeon 6950?

I have a XFX 6950 2gb and a HIS 6950 2gb in CF... They're both "shaders unlocked" only...

Here are my Questions:

1. Is there any new concrete info about the "safety" of flashing 6950 to 6970 bios? Is it still dangereous to do this? Have there been any discoveries about "how to push the 6950 further without permanently damaging it???"

2. Is it really worth it to push the 6950 clock speeds further than the CCC Overdrive limits ???

3. What exactly is there to gain when you OC a radeon 6950? something like 10-15% perf boost? And what about when you're using them in CF ???

Basically, I haven't checked in for radeon 6950 OC info for the last 4 months... so is there anything new I should know ???

I'll try and answer to the best of my ability.

1. If you have the correct card then the chances of running into issues are pretty slim. Pushing anything over its listed limits is chancing it.

2. I guess it depends on the person. The risk-reward factor is there. If you want to risk it all, you can end up with a card that is much better than before.

3. This one I'm not sure about. You gain a performance boost, but I'm not sure how great it is.

[doveman]

I've got a Powercolor 6950 2GB (non-reference) that shader unlocked with RBE no problem. I've also used Afterburner to overclock it to 900/1350 @ stock 1.1v (without editing the .cfg file).

What's puzzling me is that the article shows an increase of 50W and 27FPS in Furmark when PT is set to +20%, but when I tried it, it didn't make any difference (I've tried at +5% increments from 0-20% as well). I've been testing with GPU Tool rather than Furmark, but I'd still expect to see a noticeable increase in consumption and it loads the card to 98%.

[WhitePrQjser]

I've got a Powercolor 6950 2GB (non-reference) that shader unlocked with RBE no problem. I've also used Afterburner to overclock it to 900/1350 @ stock 1.1v (without editing the .cfg file).

What's puzzling me is that the article shows an increase of 50W and 27FPS in Furmark when PT is set to +20%, but when I tried it, it didn't make any difference (I've tried at +5% increments from 0-20% as well). I've been testing with GPU Tool rather than Furmark, but I'd still expect to see a noticeable increase in consumption and it loads the card to 98%.

Could it possibly have been this one?

http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=624065

Don't mind the Danish :)

If it is, could you PM me how exactly you did it starting from 1.? Kinda like a little guide? :)

[r2edu]

I recently bought one XFX HD-695X-CNFC 2GB vA.1, and no dual-bios switch in it, neither two phisical bios chip, only one inside the card so I take the cooler out and bridge the pins 8 & 3 (as I read in other forum or in other thread here)...

Now the card flash ok (before the bridge I get the "Could not erase rom" error) but now ATIWinflash via CMD finish the work and ask me to reboot but nothing change... 1408 Shaders

I tried via DOS with Atiflash, flash ok, but nothing...1408 Shaders

@cadaveca: Could you tell me please what version number is yours? Mine is A.1, so I think it might be flashable cause I got another XFX HD-695X-ZNFC 1GB vA.1 with dual-bios switch and unlock ok...

I am really stuck here, tried everything, RBE, script mod, with drivers, without drivers, with different flags in Atiwinflash, etc, etc....

By the way, could you upload the bios modded of your card just to see if that work in mine?

Thank you and sorry for my english (I´m from Argentina)

[doveman]

Could it possibly have been this one?

http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=624065

Don't mind the Danish :)

If it is, could you PM me how exactly you did it starting from 1.? Kinda like a little guide? :)

Yep, same card. Rather than PM you I thought I'd post here in case anyone else can benefit.

It's been a while since I did it, so I can't be precise but basically:

1. Dump BIOS from Card (maybe using GPU-Z)
2. Load BIOS into RBE and tick "unlock shaders" and save modded BIOS
3. Upload modded BIOS to card (with switch in whatever position is NOT the read-only backup). I think you can do this from within RBE
4. Reboot and check that GPU-Z shows increased shader count
5. Test with GPU Tool or Furmark to check it's stable (I didn't, but it's a good idea)
5. Install Afterburner 2.1 and increase core and memory clocks to 900/1350.
6. Test with GPU Tool or Furmark to check it's stable

[WhitePrQjser]

Yep, same card. Rather than PM you I thought I'd post here in case anyone else can benefit.

It's been a while since I did it, so I can't be precise but basically:

1. Dump BIOS from Card (maybe using GPU-Z)
2. Load BIOS into RBE and tick "unlock shaders" and save modded BIOS
3. Upload modded BIOS to card (with switch in whatever position is NOT the read-only backup). I think you can do this from within RBE
4. Reboot and check that GPU-Z shows increased shader count
5. Test with GPU Tool or Furmark to check it's stable (I didn't, but it's a good idea)
5. Install Afterburner 2.1 and increase core and memory clocks to 900/1350.
6. Test with GPU Tool or Furmark to check it's stable

What do you mean by #3? :)

And thank you very much! :D

[jonathan1107]

bump, I'd still like you guys to give me more info about my questions in RED from ealier (same page as this: page 109)

[r2edu]

Seeing there seems to be about 100~ pages in this article...

Could anyone help me get up-t0-date about overclocking the radeon 6950?

I have a XFX 6950 2gb and a HIS 6950 2gb in CF... They're both "shaders unlocked" only...

Here are my Questions:

1. Is there any new concrete info about the "safety" of flashing 6950 to 6970 bios? Is it still dangereous to do this? Have there been any discoveries about "how to push the 6950 further without permanently damaging it???"

2. Is it really worth it to push the 6950 clock speeds further than the CCC Overdrive limits ???

3. What exactly is there to gain when you OC a radeon 6950? something like 10-15% perf boost? And what about when you're using them in CF ???

Basically, I haven't checked in for radeon 6950 OC info for the last 4 months... so is there anything new I should know ???

For what I know/read:

1) NO. "Use it at your own risk" claims all the pages/forums/info about that.. In my knoweldge the mems on those cards are different, so IMHO there is no perceptible change between Only Shaders Unlock + OC and 6970 bios in a 6950.. perhaps a 5-10%? Does this percent make you take that risk?

2) No problem with that, if you dont rise the Vcore too much it´s like any other card.. test and error, temps, etc...

3) It´s up to you and your needs... if you need a 6950 CF, unlocked + OC I think you might have a 30" at 2560x1920 at least... any other way doesn´t make sense to me...

This is my opinion, I´m not an expert... so maybe you are better waitting for another answer ;)

Good luck!

[doveman]

What do you mean by #3? :)

And thank you very much! :D

On the card there's a switch. In one position, it makes the card use the backup BIOS, which is read-only, and in the other position it uses a flashable BIOS, so the switch needs to be in that position (I think it's position 1) before you can flash the card with your modded BIOS.

[WhitePrQjser]

On the card there's a switch. In one position, it makes the card use the backup BIOS, which is read-only, and in the other position it uses a flashable BIOS, so the switch needs to be in that position (I think it's position 1) before you can flash the card with your modded BIOS.

Once again - thank you! :)

And, what do you mean by uploading the BIOS? Got confused :/

[elvis0305]

Unfortunately it doesn't work for my gigabyte hd6950 1G, used RBE to enable Unlock 6950->6970 option (ticked "6970 shader count"), saved the new BIOS, and freshed it into my card, reboot.. the shader count is still 1408 ! Any help?

[b0uncyfr0]

Unfortunately it doesn't work for my gigabyte hd6950 1G, used RBE to enable Unlock 6950->6970 option (ticked "6970 shader count"), saved the new BIOS, and freshed it into my card, reboot.. the shader count is still 1408 ! Any help?

Trust me elvis you are not the first to try. Ive even bought the soic clip and tried to hard-flash and it still didint work. Take it from me, forget about it and overclock the hell out of the card.

We were lucky to get a very nice cooler so you should be able to get at least 920/1300. Monitor your temperatures though.

[T_L_O_T_D]

hey guys
i wanted to unlock my xfx 6950 2 gb and it's reference model. first i used xfx 6950 2gb modded bios to unlock shadders . and i successfully unlocked additional shadder. but problem is i tried to use 6970 xfx 2 gb. when i flashed my bios. my memory clock change to 1375.but core clock is still stock (800) :(. i checked in gpu-z texture fill rate is 76.8. :( i increased core clock to 880 but after i lunch a game at the beginning it will stop. but with 1375 memory clock and 800 core clock game is stable. i tried using second method i mean using Msi after burner version 2.1. first of all i flashed with modded bios and tried to increase voltage but in Msi after burner this option is disabled. so i tried to increase voltage via modifying bios in RBE.i've set voltage to 1.1. i flashed card with modified bios but after restarting windows won't boot. and i should place bios position to second position to boot windows again. any idea what should i do?
p.s: my psu is 585 watt.

[doveman]

Once again - thank you! :)

And, what do you mean by uploading the BIOS? Got confused :/

I mean flash the modded BIOS to the card.

[ehmdjii]

so after all i did manage to use this physical mod to flash my sapphire 9650 1gb.
i used rbe to set the shaders to 9670. saved the new rom.
used winflash and i said flash was ok!

unfortunately i still only see 1408 shaders instead of 1536 :(

[T_L_O_T_D]

so after all i did manage to use this physical mod to flash my sapphire 9650 1gb.
i used rbe to set the shaders to 9670. saved the new rom.
used winflash and i said flash was ok!

unfortunately i still only see 1408 shaders instead of 1536 :(

cuz it's n't unlockable

[WhitePrQjser]

I mean flash the modded BIOS to the card.

How? :S

[TORCH'D]

can someone please post how to do it with 1GB card ?
pics will be much of help,..

thanks

[Alchemist]

Hi, I've got a PowerColor 6950 2GB and I've tried everything and I cannot even unlock any shaders.. Really frustrating! I've used the Wizards toolkits, made sure it is unlocked and every time I reboot after a successful flash my system fails to boot. reset to position 2 again.. restart.. I've tried most of the bios in the list, I've tried RBE to unlock shaders, I just cannot get it to work. I am using a reference card, have the bios switch, and know what I am doing.. cannot use the atiwinflash gui, have to use through cmd, only have one card, running win7 x64 on Q6600, overclocked 3.2GHz, even running the rig at stock (thinking the overclock could be screwing it up) - no joy..
I'm really rather frustrated with this, and some help would be greatly appreciated. I understand it is not a given that this will work, but not even being able to unlock the shaders?? As I've said, I've used the tools provided by Wizzard and modded by RBE (funnily enough that boots, but no extra shader in GPU-Z.0.5.4..) could the shaders be lasered off I've heard mention?
Nothing.. Nada.. Zilch.. it's not like I can take it back to the shop and say, sorry, cannot flash this card, give me a new one..
Has anyone else had this type of fault? I've been reading the forums but after 20+ pages, I had to go to bed; I've flashed the &^*% out of this card, and well, I'm about to give up and resign myself to having a nice shiny new 6950 that refuses to be anything but a 6950..
Thanks to Wizzard and everyone else for all your input over the thread, and if anyone does have any ideas... please share!!
Cheers in advance, one very unhappy and by the sounds of it, rather unlucky 6950 2GB owner..

[arroyo]

@Alchemist

Question: Is it reference card? And if I say reference I mean, is it have reference PCB and reference cooler?
Possible answers:
Answer 1: Yes, It is reference. (It can be modded.)
Answer 2: No. But looks similar to the reference. (Give it up! It won't mod.)
Answer 3: No. It is totally different. (Give it up! It won't mod.)

[Alchemist]

@arroyo
Thanks for your response. Checking I cannot see an AMD sticker on the PCI slot.. so I guess it's non-reference.. gutted.. however, the 6950 is a kicking card, so I'll guess I'll have to be happy with what I have..
what I don't get, is why put a bios switch on a card that has not the possibility of being flashed, or is it just easier from a production line point of view? and why would Powercolor disable this feature??
anyway, rhetorical questions only..
Cheers

[Skywalk]

Hmm - did my own unlock of the cards i have. 2x6950.
One of the cards shows as:

"PCI-E 2.0 x16 @ x8 2.0"

How come it won't show @x16 like the other one?

[WhitePrQjser]

Hmm - did my own unlock of the cards i have. 2x6950.
One of the cards shows as:

"PCI-E 2.0 x16 @ x8 2.0"

How come it won't show @x16 like the other one?

Do you have two PCI-E slots which both are at x16?

My PCI-E slots are x16/x8/x4, which means my GTX 460s operate at x8/x8 :)

[Skywalk]

Do you have two PCI-E slots which both are at x16?

My PCI-E slots are x16/x8/x4, which means my GTX 460s operate at x8/x8 :)

Rampage II Extreme: "3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 support at x16, x8, x8, or dual x16 speed"

But seems to me it's the first time showing in GPU-Z :s

[WhitePrQjser]

Rampage II Extreme: "3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 support at x16, x8, x8, or dual x16 speed"

But seems to me it's the first time showing in GPU-Z :s

Could be a GPU-Z issue... Try downloading the latest :)

[Skywalk]

For some reason, it's showing dual x16 correctly now.
Wierd. But thanks White.
Forgot to look it up at that angle :)

[WhitePrQjser]

For some reason, it's showing dual x16 correctly now.
Wierd. But thanks White.
Forgot to look it up at that angle :)

No problem, Skywalk :) Have fun with your cards!

[hermalina]

i got one problem, might seem silly to most of you, but I can't flip the switch on my card. I found the thing using the instructions, but when I got to it, the thing won't move...

I bought the entire machine like month and a half ago, with a MSI ATI Radeon HD6950 (2gb).
I am suffering random problems with the card too, like, the screen would randomly move itself so that half of the screen that should be on left side goes to right, and vice versa for the right side...It is usually followed by random lines(like white noise almost) across one part of screen too, if I am in a fullscreen application... That's what made me consider upgrading the card to 6970, hoping the problems would go away...
the funny bit is, the card itself on it's casing has HD6970 inscribed, not HD6950.


any help would be mucho mucho appreciated.

here is a link to machine I got, i know most of you won't be able to read the language, but you will get the idea coz the configuration shows step by step:
http://www.gigatronshop.com/racunari/gigatron_blackbird-10068

[dxaniz]

if i buy a XFX Radeon HD 6950 2GB now, can it still be unlocked? or have they locked the cards so its not unlockable anymore?

[polarizeme]

Hey all, not sure if this has been covered at all yet or not, but here goes...

There are currently three different VisonTek cards circulating for sale.
1) reference card w/ fan in the back
2) a revision card w/ reference pcb, two fans and bigger heat pipe configuration
3) full revision card w/ new pcb and fan in the middle

Chances are, you will receive #3 if you're buying now. I know that VisionTek (stated by them on the phone) has limited amounts of #2 in stock and will absolutely allow you to RMA #3 for #2.

1 & 2 are absolutely firmware flashable. 1 is obvious, but 2 is 100% flashable; I know because I just did it. No issues. Took like 5 minutes for unlock, flash, reboot, OC'ing. =]

So, if anyone is curious about the VisionTek 2GB cards specifically, read what I said above and apply it to these images:

1) looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SrhNx%2B0OL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

2) looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/711y2q4aj0L._AA300_.jpg

3) looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jDed3vLvL._AA300_.jpg

Hope this helps, friends.

Cheers!

[xTr3me]

Hey,
I flashed my Sapphire 6950 with a 6970 bios in January this year, the card was running fine the last 7 month but now I`m getting artifacts when using Tesselation (Crysis 2 , Heaven Benchmark)
I`m wondering if this artifacts are caused by flashing the bios or not? In the meanwhile I decided to use a modified 6950 bios because I heard it`s safer because of the higher vram voltage in the 6970 bios. However I have still artifacts anyway, is there any way to slove this problem?

[Fapestar]

Sorry if i'm bringing up a super old thread

I'm trying to see if I can Unlock my HIS non-reference 6950 2gb using the method below.

But is there a list of cards which have succesfully unloked shaders usng the method shown in this vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-6HDuCCsg


PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER YES OR NO IF YOU 1. ARE SPECULATING 2.HAVE NO PROFF OR RECOLECTION 3. ARE ASSUMING.

[splurgenxs]

i have tried everything ..but nothing seems to work..
The ati winflash (when i used this method atiwinflash -f -p 0 modded.bin) give me a loading screen and then closes down half way then nothing happens... does anyone else have the same prob?
IM using a sapphire 6950 with no bios switch and the fan is in the center .. on windows 7
Can i even mod my card? PLZ help

[HoundComputers]

I have tried to flash my XFX HD 6950 using the manual method and the provided package. It seems to go through the whole process, doesnt say verified but looks to be completed and gets to the reboot prompt. After rebooting both times i check GPU-Z and it still shows shaders at 1408 unified. Any idea what i need to do to flash this?

[manofthem]

I have tried to flash my XFX HD 6950 using the manual method and the provided package. It seems to go through the whole process, doesnt say verified but looks to be completed and gets to the reboot prompt. After rebooting both times i check GPU-Z and it still shows shaders at 1408 unified. Any idea what i need to do to flash this?

Is that a Reference XFX 6950 2gb? My ref xfx flashed fine, but I had to do it through cmd

[HoundComputers]

How can you tell if it is Reference or not? It may be.

[manofthem]

How can you tell if it is Reference or not? It may be.

Look up at post 2744; it breaks down which card is which.

[HoundComputers]

Mine appears to be a Reference card. This is the one I have http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=93094&srkey=P450-6958

Can this one be flashed?

[r2edu]

I got the exact same model as yours, 695x-cnfc, no dual-bios -> no switch

I made the bridge mod but no luck neither, doesn´t unlock

BTW, is not a reference model, the reference from XFX is the 695A

[HoundComputers]

Yea i have tried everything on this forum with no luck. Anyone else have any ideas on how to unlock this?

[erocker]

I got the exact same model as yours, 695x-cnfc, no dual-bios -> no switch

I made the bridge mod but no luck neither, doesn´t unlock

BTW, is not a reference model, the reference from XFX is the 695A

Yea i have tried everything on this forum with no luck. Anyone else have any ideas on how to unlock this?

If your card (hound) is like r2edu's card I really don't think it is possible.

[Malign]

Hello, I have a HD 6950 Power Collor with 2 BIOS switches. I tried to install the sapphire BIOS to the first switch but it wouldnt boot anymore. I booted from the second switch and followed the recovery steps on this site but somehow i must have messed up and the card cant boot anymore in both switches? :S Does anyone knows how to make my pc work again? I already gave up on adding additional shaders.

[pivo]

Anybody knows about shader unlocking on a Asus 6950 Direct CU II ? what do you think should i take the risk, so i could have a 6970 like card with better cooling, or should i take the Asus reference 6950 for the same price(!) ?

[manofthem]

Hello, I have a HD 6950 Power Collor with 2 BIOS switches. I tried to install the sapphire BIOS to the first switch but it wouldnt boot anymore. I booted from the second switch and followed the recovery steps on this site but somehow i must have messed up and the card cant boot anymore in both switches? :S Does anyone knows how to make my pc work again? I already gave up on adding additional shaders.

Try these instructions:


Nope you can flash a card in the second slot (thank goodness!!). I booted up with my original HD 3870 in the primary slot and my dead HD 6950 in the secondary slot. The second PCI-E slot's ID is 1. So the commands with atiwinflash change ever so subtly (I've underlined the changes),
Instead of atiwinflash -unlockrom 0 it's atiwinflash -unlockrom 1 to unlock the ROM for the video card in the second PCI-E slot.
Instead of atiwinflash -f -p 0 {BIOS BINARY FILE} it's atiwinflash -f -p 1 {BIOS BINARY FILE} to flash the video card in the second PCI-E slot.
And voila, that's all it took.

originally from pg 87, post 2165 of this thread. There's likely more info on that page; take a gander

[Footman]

Such a shame:

I just bought a pair of HD6950's the Sapphire Dirt 3 edition with dual fan, dual bios and 5 heatpipes, to replace a pair of GTX 560Ti's as I am moving to 2560x1440 resolution and wanted the extra 1gb of vram.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NBXyjmVEP5w/TkmJGLWCDLI/AAAAAAAADTQ/Y4No_sFoJ2M/s720/006.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SCD5o2xIxmU/TkmJFPApbnI/AAAAAAAADTI/nrzuXvZfGQc/s720/004.JPG

I just tried flashing them and was unsuccessful. I wanted to enable the extra shaders only so here is the proceedure I followed.

Used GPU-Z to save original bios as bin file.
Loaded this in to RBE and then enabled extra shaders and saved the bios as a new bin file.

I placed the bin file in my winflash folder, moved the bios switch to position 1, rebooted the computer and booted in to dos where I successfully flashed each card separatly.

After this, I reinstalled the latest cat 11.8's and brought up GPU-Z to look for increased shader numbers and was disappointed to see 1408 still on both cards...

I tried to reflash with the bios using winflash in windows and in a cmd window and I was told that I had already flashed the cards with this bios image.

Can I conclude that my flash was successful but these cards are not able to utilize all shaders or am I missing something here?

Thanks for advice...

[Footman]

Just used Wizz's PHP scrip to try again and Winflash. Sad to say that I still have 1408 shaders on both cards.... This sucks, some reviews have successfully unlocked the shaders on this card. I can't imagine that I am missing something here, I have flashed many cards in my time, mainly Nvidia granted...

Guess my 6950's are not able to be modded.... Shame, at least I can run at 920 x 1375 in CF so all is not lost.....

[qbrix]

Just used Wizz's PHP scrip to try again and Winflash. Sad to say that I still have 1408 shaders on both cards.... This sucks, some reviews have successfully unlocked the shaders on this card. I can't imagine that I am missing something here, I have flashed many cards in my time, mainly Nvidia granted...

Guess my 6950's are not able to be modded.... Shame, at least I can run at 920 x 1375 in CF so all is not lost.....

I also have that Sapphire card, bought it here:
SAPPHIRE 100312-1GDP Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GD... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102949)

I've also tried the various methods mentioned out there, but still NOTHING at all. Very disappointed :(

[Pnorth]

I just bought one of these (sapphire 6950 dirt 3 edition) and tried to unlock it.
Wasn't successful at first but then i tried rbe to unlock shaders and
it worked. I only used the 6950-6970 fix and flashed with atiwinflash.