6950 1gb and 6870 1gb Same PCB??? Maybe be able to use Same water block???

20mmrain · Feb 19, 2011

So I was looking at the pics I took from the quick undressing of my XFX 6950 1gb cards and looking for some after market cooling when it hit me. The PCB from the XFX 6950 and the PCB from the Reference 6870 look almost identical. I can't see too much of a different except for two Crossfire fingers and a BIOS switch.

I looked a little harder and there are a couple of very small other differences but nothing that tells me that I couldn't use anything that was designed for a reference 6870 in terms of after market cooling?

So my question is.... Could you guys look over these pics as well and let me know if you think I should take the risk in ordering a water block made for a 6870 for my 6950 1gb card.

Here they are let me know what differences if any you might see....

6870

xfx 6950 1gb

another look at 6950 1gb

20mmrain · Feb 19, 2011

Looking at this more length might be the only difference.... Maybe this will idea will be stopped before it's begun.... But still an interesting thought... I can't help but notice the striking similarities.

Still would like other opinions

20mmrain · Feb 19, 2011

Well guys sorry for starting this thread prematurely but I got excited there for a second. You see I am looking for water cooling for my cards and I thought this would work.

It would with the exception of one thing after more research..... There is whole at upper part of the reference 6870 that is not present on the 1gb models of the 6950's. So this would make it not be able to work. Everything lines up exactly after looking into it except that one whole. So answered my own question..... But if anyone has thought on how to get past this or if it would be safe not to use that one mounting whole please let me know.

Other wise thread dead

MT Alex · Feb 19, 2011

It might not matter. I'd try contacting someone who has seen both blocks. From my experience, Gary at Sidewinder Computers is very knowlegeable and helpfull. He usually repiles to email the same day, if not the same hour. I'd ask him. Although they look to be the same price, so I can't really see an advantage of using one instead of the other.

pr@$r1g · Feb 19, 2011

its not much of a risk ..... both of them are same "PCB & hole spacing".

They are quite a similar & if u intend to buy a water block it will fit ur 6950.

zhadlp · Feb 19, 2011

There is hole at upper part of the reference 6870 that is not present on the 1gb models of the 6950's.

no screws on that hole shouldn't affect performance one bit, and that one hole shouldn't affect the blocks mounting as well...

20mmrain · Mar 1, 2011

Sorry to take for ever to get back to this thread honestly I forgot about it..... But what I wanted to point out here is the difference that I am talking about....

The first pic is the 6870 PCB.... the top hole is where I am talking about

The Second Pic is on mt 6950 1gb card and the missing top hole.....

The reason I say it might now work is because of this hole.... and in most full cover water block there is a Standoff looking thing going through this hole on the 6870 water block. That is why I am saying it might not work. Now I know a few people said that I should be able to use it anyway.... If I can use it with out that hole explain it to me because I would love to the experiment for everyone.

Heres the pics of the 6870 water block reference and the standoff I am talking about....

****Edit****

After further examination maybe I could just leave this hole unscrewed considering this standoff will not travel through the PCB. I wonder then if it would still allow enough pressure to attach it to the card with leaving that one hole undone.

AstuteCobra · Mar 28, 2011

What about the EK Radeon HD 6870 VGA Liquid Cooling Block

20mmrain · Mar 28, 2011

AstuteCobra said:
What about the EK Radeon HD 6870 VGA Liquid Cooling Block

You know you bring up a good question...l I guess it depends what the back plate looks like. If it is just screws that mount into it holding it on.... then yeah maybe it would work.... otherwise it all depends if that standoff towards the back will cause a porblem. Right now I am using Swiftech MCW80 Universal blocks.... but I always wouldn't mind going for a full block.

System Name	My Gaming System
Processor	Intel i7 4770k @ 4.4 Ghz
Motherboard	Asus Maximus VI Impact (ITX)
Cooling	Custom Full System Water cooling Loop
Memory	G.Skill 1866 Mhz Sniper 8 Gb
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 780 ti SC
Storage	Samsung SSD EVO 120GB - Samsung SSD EVO 500GB
Display(s)	ASUS W246H - 24" - widescreen TFT active matrix LCD
Case	Bitfenix Prodigy
Power Supply	Corsair AX760 Modular PSU
Software	Windows 8.1 Home Primeum

System Name	My Gaming System
Processor	Intel i7 4770k @ 4.4 Ghz
Motherboard	Asus Maximus VI Impact (ITX)
Cooling	Custom Full System Water cooling Loop
Memory	G.Skill 1866 Mhz Sniper 8 Gb
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 780 ti SC
Storage	Samsung SSD EVO 120GB - Samsung SSD EVO 500GB
Display(s)	ASUS W246H - 24" - widescreen TFT active matrix LCD
Case	Bitfenix Prodigy
Power Supply	Corsair AX760 Modular PSU
Software	Windows 8.1 Home Primeum

System Name	My Gaming System
Processor	Intel i7 4770k @ 4.4 Ghz
Motherboard	Asus Maximus VI Impact (ITX)
Cooling	Custom Full System Water cooling Loop
Memory	G.Skill 1866 Mhz Sniper 8 Gb
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 780 ti SC
Storage	Samsung SSD EVO 120GB - Samsung SSD EVO 500GB
Display(s)	ASUS W246H - 24" - widescreen TFT active matrix LCD
Case	Bitfenix Prodigy
Power Supply	Corsair AX760 Modular PSU
Software	Windows 8.1 Home Primeum

System Name	PR@$R1G +1
Processor	!7 950
Motherboard	Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
Cooling	Venomous-X
Memory	Kingston KHX2000C8D3T1K3/6GX
Video Card(s)	ZOTAC GTX470
Storage	2x 500gb Seagate RAID-0
Case	CM SCOUT
Audio Device(s)	Realtek 889
Power Supply	Seasonic M12D 850W

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Motherboard	Asus P55 Maximus 3 Gene
Cooling	XSPC 240 Rad / XSPC RASA CPU / Swiftech MCW80 GPU / XSPC 750 Dual Bay Res + Pump
Memory	2 x 2GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 @ 2000 cas7 with Arctic-Cooling AC heatspreader
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD6950 w/ HD6970bios 900/1450
Storage	Corsair F60 SSD / 1TB Seagate HDD SATA2
Display(s)	24" Samsung P2470
Case	Modded Lian-li PC-A04b
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-fi XtremeMusic
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	Win7 Ultimate 64bit

6950 1gb and 6870 1gb Same PCB??? Maybe be able to use Same water block???

20mmrain

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Processor	AMD Phenon II X6 1090T 4Ghz
Motherboard	Asus Crosshair IV Formula
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB 1600
Video Card(s)	XFX HD 6950 1GB
Storage	Patriot Inferno 60GB SSD
Display(s)	LG Flatron M2762 27"
Case	Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	AX 850
Software	Windows 7 Home Primeum 64-Bit