Any successful Sapphire 6950 2GB non-ref flash BIOS to unlock shaders?

yacoub · May 5, 2011, 02:34 AM

I'm curious if anyone with this specific Sapphire 6950 card has been able to successfully unlock the extra shaders via BIOS flashing.

I have one on order, but in viewing the lengthy thread here, I have seen two recent reports from users with this exact card that reported they were unable to flash the BIOS successfully to unlock the extra shaders no matter which method they tried. (users RedLine888 and NameonPrime.)

I'm curious to know if anyone with that card has been able to unlock the extra shaders so I know whether I should even bother attempting it and risk bricking the card (it does not have dual BIOSes like the reference model).

Thanks.

yacoub · May 6, 2011, 03:53 AM

Bueler?

RejZoR · May 6, 2011, 04:00 AM

I was thinking of it (the unlocking) but then decided to go for HD6870 Toxic which is usually as fast as HD6950 but much cheaper. Some say that unlocks don't work with new revisions of HD6950. I think no one really knows for sure, but it makes sense though. It was the same with Radeon 9500 in the past. First versions were unlockable, later on they were not anymore.

SpaceGhost · May 31, 2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yacoub

I'm curious if anyone with this specific Sapphire 6950 card has been able to successfully unlock the extra shaders via BIOS flashing.

I have one on order, but in viewing the lengthy thread here, I have seen two recent reports from users with this exact card that reported they were unable to flash the BIOS successfully to unlock the extra shaders no matter which method they tried. (users RedLine888 and NameonPrime.)

I'm curious to know if anyone with that card has been able to unlock the extra shaders so I know whether I should even bother attempting it and risk bricking the card (it does not have dual BIOSes like the reference model).

Thanks.

Hey Yacoub - did u ever successfully flash the BIOS? I bought this card with a view to increase the shaders but am having similar issues. I suspect it is not possible. I'd be interested in what you found.

Cheers.

LordJummy · May 31, 2011, 03:56 PM

Get a reference card. Get a reference card. Get a reference card.

RejZoR · May 31, 2011, 04:20 PM

As it turns out i'm getting the HD6950 after all. It'll be from MSI. I'll try to flash it, maybe it'll work. I have nothing to lose anyway.

LordJummy · May 31, 2011, 04:23 PM

even if it doesn't unlock it can be OC'd to hell, and it will match and beat a 6970 easily. The shaders don't make that much of a difference, but heavy overclocks do.

RejZoR · May 31, 2011, 04:27 PM

Well you still hit an overclock wall eventually but if you can unlock + overclock, that's even better.
If cooling is good and if VRM part is a bit more advanced i think it's perfectly possible.

LordJummy · May 31, 2011, 04:30 PM

Does the model you're looking at have the nice backplate that the reference models have?

RejZoR · May 31, 2011, 05:53 PM

Based on review here it doesn't have a backplate...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/M...Twin_Frozr_III

But then again i don't really care about that much, though if backplate is thermally connected to the back of GPU that is a plus.

LordJummy · May 31, 2011, 05:58 PM

It is connected to the back of the GPU and the RAM AFAIK. It definitely conducts heat away from the RAM. I don't know if it's connected with thermal tape or anything but it definitely conducts heat

erocker · May 31, 2011, 06:17 PM

I don't see anything on the back of a 6950/70 that looks like it needs a backplate for cooling. No chips to speak of anyways.

This particular card does not have a dual bios switch, I would try looking at a different model if you want to unlock.

RejZoR · May 31, 2011, 06:48 PM

The MSI does have a switch. It's marked as Silence/Performance but in the nutshell, it's a dual BIOS thingie. One BIOS is tweaked for silence and another for performance. At least that's what ppl are saying here.

erocker · May 31, 2011, 06:50 PM

I was refering to the Sapphire card.

LordJummy · May 31, 2011, 06:55 PM

Actually, not sure if the frozr 3 is unlockable. I was thinking of a different card. I think most people have reported that one does not unlock. Who knows.

RejZoR · Jun 1, 2011, 06:46 PM

Oh well. Just flashed it and shader count hasn't changed. Anyway, at least cooler is perfectly silent in idle and i have plenty of overclodcking headroom left. Maybe someday someone will come up with a solution to unlock these cards as well.

LordJummy · Jun 1, 2011, 06:57 PM

I think most of the ones that don't unlock are impossible to. I think some of them are locked at a hard ware level. I am thinking about buying all the unlockable reference cards at my local store and selling them on ebay unlocked or something.

Evolved · Jun 1, 2011, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yacoub

this specific Sapphire 6950 card

Wow, that's the american price?

That's the price of a 6870 here in Canada. Our 6950's are $279

LordJummy · Jun 1, 2011, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evolved

Wow, that's the american price?

That's the price of a 6870 here in Canada. Our 6950's are $279

Most of them are about the same price as yours. The $239 one is extremely cheap. Most are around $270-300 still.

Gabkicks · Jun 2, 2011, 12:42 AM

powercolor 6950's are supposed to be able to unlock, my 1gb model should be here in a few days...

May 5, 2011, 02:34 AM	#1
yacoub Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 14 (0.01/day) Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post System Specs	Any successful Sapphire 6950 2GB non-ref flash BIOS to unlock shaders? I'm curious if anyone with this specific Sapphire 6950 card has been able to successfully unlock the extra shaders via BIOS flashing. I have one on order, but in viewing the lengthy thread here, I have seen two recent reports from users with this exact card that reported they were unable to flash the BIOS successfully to unlock the extra shaders no matter which method they tried. (users RedLine888 and NameonPrime.) I'm curious to know if anyone with that card has been able to unlock the extra shaders so I know whether I should even bother attempting it and risk bricking the card (it does not have dual BIOSes like the reference model). Thanks.

System Name:	Win7x64
Processor:	Core i5 750
Motherboard:	EVGA E652 P55 Micro SLI
Memory:	8GB Corsair XMS3
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 6950 2GB non-reference
Hard Disk:	Intel SSD Gen2 120GB, WD 2TB Green
CRT/LCD Model:	1920x1080 x2
PSU:	Corsair HX650W modular

System Name:	Win7x64
Processor:	Core i5 750
Motherboard:	EVGA E652 P55 Micro SLI
Memory:	8GB Corsair XMS3
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 6950 2GB non-reference
Hard Disk:	Intel SSD Gen2 120GB, WD 2TB Green
CRT/LCD Model:	1920x1080 x2
PSU:	Corsair HX650W modular

May 6, 2011, 04:00 AM	#3
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	I was thinking of it (the unlocking) but then decided to go for HD6870 Toxic which is usually as fast as HD6950 but much cheaper. Some say that unlocks don't work with new revisions of HD6950. I think no one really knows for sure, but it makes sense though. It was the same with Radeon 9500 in the past. First versions were unlockable, later on they were not anymore. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

System Name:	The BlackBox 3
Processor:	Intel Core i7 920 4,2 GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS Rampage II Gene + 2x Noiseblocker XM2 on chipset/VRM
Cooling:	ANTEC H2O 920 + 2x Noiseblocker M12-S3HS
Memory:	6GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
Video Card:	GIGABYTE RADEON HD7950 3GB WindForce 3X (1100/6000)
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar Black 2TB 64MB
Optical Drive:	SAMSUNG SH-S223F
CRT/LCD Model:	SAMSUNG SyncMaster 931c
Case:	Lian Li PC-V354 Black
Sound Card:	Creative Sound Blaster Z + Altec Lansing MX5021
PSU:	Corsair HX750 + Noiseblocker BlackSilent XR2
Software:	Windows 8 Professional x64
Benchmarks:	It can run 3DMark and all...

May 6, 2011, 03:53 AM	#2
yacoub Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 14 (0.01/day) Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post System Specs	Bueler?

May 31, 2011, 03:56 PM	#5
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	Get a reference card. Get a reference card. Get a reference card.

System Name:	Workstation1 \| Asus G55VW-DS71
Processor:	i7 970 3.8GHz \| i7 3610QM
Motherboard:	RIII Formula
Cooling:	EK 360 Supreme HF \| Asus G55VW
Memory:	24GB Dominator \| 12GB DDR3
Video Card:	2x Diamond HD 6970 \| GTX 660M
Hard Disk:	2x Vertex4 256GB \| 256GB Vertex4 & 750GB HDD
Optical Drive:	Samsung DVDRW + Asus BDRW
CRT/LCD Model:	3x Crossover 27" LED S-IPS + 30" DELL IPS
Case:	Corsair Obsidian 800D
Sound Card:	X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro + Gigaworks G550W
PSU:	HX1000 + NZXT Black Sleeved Extensions
Software:	Win7Ult64Bit
Benchmarks:	ballz

May 31, 2011, 04:20 PM	#6
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	As it turns out i'm getting the HD6950 after all. It'll be from MSI. I'll try to flash it, maybe it'll work. I have nothing to lose anyway. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

May 31, 2011, 04:23 PM	#7
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	even if it doesn't unlock it can be OC'd to hell, and it will match and beat a 6970 easily. The shaders don't make that much of a difference, but heavy overclocks do.

May 31, 2011, 04:27 PM	#8
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	Well you still hit an overclock wall eventually but if you can unlock + overclock, that's even better. If cooling is good and if VRM part is a bit more advanced i think it's perfectly possible. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

May 31, 2011, 04:30 PM	#9
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	Does the model you're looking at have the nice backplate that the reference models have?

May 31, 2011, 05:53 PM	#10
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	Based on review here it doesn't have a backplate... http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/M...Twin_Frozr_III But then again i don't really care about that much, though if backplate is thermally connected to the back of GPU that is a plus. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

May 31, 2011, 05:58 PM	#11
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	It is connected to the back of the GPU and the RAM AFAIK. It definitely conducts heat away from the RAM. I don't know if it's connected with thermal tape or anything but it definitely conducts heat

May 31, 2011, 06:17 PM	#12
erocker Senior Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI. Posts: 31,879 (12.78/day) Thanks: 2,779 Thanked 12,249 Times in 7,804 Posts System Specs	I don't see anything on the back of a 6950/70 that looks like it needs a backplate for cooling. No chips to speak of anyways. This particular card does not have a dual bios switch, I would try looking at a different model if you want to unlock.

Processor:	Intel i7 3770K @ 4.6ghz 1.256v
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Formula
Cooling:	Water
Memory:	2x4gb Patriot Viper 2133mhz 10-11-10-25 2T 1.55v
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 7970 1125/1575 1.14v
Hard Disk:	Crucial M4 128Gb / Corsair Force 3 120Gb / Samsung 240Gb / 2Tb Seagate
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Acheiva Shimian 27" IPS 2560x1440
Case:	Corsair 500R White
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	NZXT Hale90 1Kw
Software:	Windows 8 x64

May 31, 2011, 06:48 PM	#13
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	The MSI does have a switch. It's marked as Silence/Performance but in the nutshell, it's a dual BIOS thingie. One BIOS is tweaked for silence and another for performance. At least that's what ppl are saying here. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

May 31, 2011, 06:50 PM	#14
erocker Senior Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI. Posts: 31,879 (12.78/day) Thanks: 2,779 Thanked 12,249 Times in 7,804 Posts System Specs	I was refering to the Sapphire card.

May 31, 2011, 06:55 PM	#15
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	Actually, not sure if the frozr 3 is unlockable. I was thinking of a different card. I think most people have reported that one does not unlock. Who knows.

Jun 1, 2011, 06:46 PM	#16
RejZoR Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Europe/Slovenia Posts: 3,963 (1.26/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 752 Times in 540 Posts System Specs	Oh well. Just flashed it and shader count hasn't changed. Anyway, at least cooler is perfectly silent in idle and i have plenty of overclodcking headroom left. Maybe someday someone will come up with a solution to unlock these cards as well. __________________ RejZoR's Little Secrets @ rejzor dot tk

Jun 1, 2011, 06:57 PM	#17
LordJummy Join Date: May 2011 Location: US of A Posts: 1,346 (1.83/day) Thanks: 352 Thanked 250 Times in 220 Posts System Specs	I think most of the ones that don't unlock are impossible to. I think some of them are locked at a hard ware level. I am thinking about buying all the unlockable reference cards at my local store and selling them on ebay unlocked or something.

System Name:	Cookies N Cream Sundae with Strawberries on top.
Processor:	Intel \| i7 2600K \| 4.2Ghz \| 1.30v \| HT Disabled
Motherboard:	Asus \| Maximus IV Extreme \| P67 Chipset \| B3 Revision
Cooling:	Corsair H80 \| BZ-502B \| Corsair SP120/AF120 \| 200mm Spectre Pro
Memory:	Mushkin Blackline \| DDR3 \| CL8 \| 4x2GB @ 1600Mhz \| 1.50v
Video Card:	Asus \| GTX 670 \| DirectCU II \| GPU: 1056Mhz \| MEM: 1803Mhz
Hard Disk:	Mushkin \| Chronos Deluxe \| 240GB \| R: 560MB/s \| W: 520MB/s
Optical Drive:	Asus \| DRW-24B1ST \| SATA \| OEM
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus \| VE248H \| 24" \| LED
Case:	Corsair \| Graphite Series \| 600T White \| Window Side-Panel
Sound Card:	Realtek \| HD Audio \| Creative \| Sound Blaster \| X-Fi \| Go! Pro
PSU:	Corsair \| AX850 \| 80+ Gold certified \| Fully modular
Software:	Microsoft \| Windows 7 \| Professional \| x64 \| OEM
Benchmarks:	BlackWidow \| DeathAdder \| Goliathus \| Creative Fatal1ty Headset

Jun 2, 2011, 12:42 AM	#20
Gabkicks Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: NJ, USA Posts: 179 (0.06/day) Thanks: 22 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts System Specs	powercolor 6950's are supposed to be able to unlock, my 1gb model should be here in a few days...

System Name:	黒い美
Processor:	i7 920@ 3.8ghz 1.24v
Motherboard:	ASRock x58 Extreme
Cooling:	Xigmatek Dark Knight
Memory:	OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX 670 OC Windforce
Hard Disk:	640gig+1tb WD 7200rpm sata
Optical Drive:	DVD
CRT/LCD Model:	LG IPS236V
Case:	Antec Twelve Hundred
Sound Card:	Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Music
PSU:	OCZ 780watt ModXStream Modular
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Benchmarks:	Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo s wheel

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