• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

How to enable additional shaders on Radeon HD 6950

Status
Not open for further replies.

bystander

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
52 (0.01/day)
While there are differences, it would seem all the cards can use any of the bios. Could it be that the different brands may have coded the bios differently, but they are using the same hardware?
 

itsdanny

New Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
74 (0.02/day)
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/...ufacturer=&model=HD+6950&interface=&memSize=0

Download the first and the second one, compare the binary data , and see.

My internet is shaped, so I will not bother. Although, binary data does not say anything. It could have been compiled different with different compiler settings, the PE header hence will easily be changed and hence the different binary data. And I assume that they will contain different information as well because of the brand, so of course they will have different binary data. That does not mean they have different GPU Bios settings although, but it could be the case.

Is your method a complicated task to accomplish? Either way, why not post a tutorial then for users and members who wish to do a DIY task instead of going through the inconvenience?
 

baud

New Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
13 (0.00/day)
Location
Texas
i'm actually very interested in writing a rom, i've picked up a few things from flashing 4870s for use in my mac, and reading about flashing 5770s and 5870s for mac use. before the community got a hold of the apple rom some of the more experienced users were writing roms piecemeal from other apple cards.

btw, i returned my XFX and picked up a Diamond, but flashing it still results in a black screen at startup and the comp won't load windows. i honestly don't know what would cause this; maybe the mobo being an EFI mobo, or possibly that it's got pcie 1.0 instead of 2.1. the card works flawlessly with its stock rom, it's just flashing it that borks it all up.
 

stingushon

New Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
3 (0.00/day)
i was kinda stupid when asking how to flash the 2nd card.. eventually i got it working...
weird thing tough...
in 2D i get artifacted on black backgrounds and stuff... and when entering a game/benchmark/furmark i get artifacts for like 20 seconds and than when the cards get "calibrated" they get away(the artifacts) and everything works great (even on 920/1440 clocks)
any idea ?

edit : for 2D artifacts to get away i need to lower the memory clocks to 1250~
 

vvulture

New Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
48 (0.01/day)
Location
Sydney, Australia
Who wants to have some fun ??

Go over to the AMD Game forum and start a thread about this... see how long it lasts before they delete it LOL... Mine was deleted in record time. :rockout: :rockout: :rockout:
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
1,877 (0.32/day)
Location
Cobourg,Ontario
System Name RyZen FX
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2
Cooling DeepCool AK400 Zero Dark Plus
Memory Corsair CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 X2 32gig dual channel
Video Card(s) ASUS RX 7700XT TUF OC
Storage x2 Lexar SSD NM710 2TB 2XSeagate 1Terrabyte 1x Seagate 2 Terrabyte
Display(s) 40 Inch Samsung HDTV (monitor)
Case HAF-X:)
Audio Device(s) AMD/HDMI to Onkyo HT-R508 Receiver
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G2 Power Supply
Software Windows 10 Pro X64
lol i glad most of the 27 out of 27 Sapphire cards worked,I seen a young kid and his girl in my computer store yesterday (I bought a 6970) and he was ready to buy one himself...So i said hey you want to save a few bucks get the 6950 and go to techpowerup.com and read the 6950 to 6970 thread lol :roll: So now this morning i will be heading back to pick up the last 6970 in the store wish me luck lol If it is gone i will just buy the 6950 and flash it.;)
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
289 (0.06/day)
Processor i5 4670K @4.4GHz 1.239V
Motherboard Asus Z87M-PLUS
Cooling High Pressure Fan System
Memory 24GB DDR3 2400MHz
Video Card(s) AMD R9 290 4GB
Storage 256GB Samsung 830, 500gb WD Blue 7200rpm
Display(s) 23inch Dell LCD
Case Silverstone Sugo SG10B
Power Supply Antec TP-750
Software Windows 10
Modifying the 6950 bios to unlock the shaders/SIMDS/anything else in that chip, sounds like a much better idea to me, then overclocking up to 6970 speeds.

Looking forward to this program from RUI0317!
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
76 (0.02/day)
Hello all! I just ordered a Powercolor 6950 for about 250€. I'll be getting it in a week or so and then I'll try unlocking it. I really hope to succeed!
 

Qed

New Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
102 (0.02/day)
Processor Intel i7 920
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5
Cooling Corsair Hydro H50
Memory Corsaid Dominator 1600 6GB
Video Card(s) 3x ATI HD6950
Power Supply Corsair TX950
Software Windows 7 (64 bit)
I'm confused.

1) HD 6970 and HD 6950 have the same voltage on dram/gpu? Checking the bios description it says "Voltage: VID1" on both versions but VID1 can be different in the 2 cards.

2) In this picture


How can the "HD 6950 modded +20%" use 22W less and have exactly the same temperature?

Thanks.
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
289 (0.06/day)
Processor i5 4670K @4.4GHz 1.239V
Motherboard Asus Z87M-PLUS
Cooling High Pressure Fan System
Memory 24GB DDR3 2400MHz
Video Card(s) AMD R9 290 4GB
Storage 256GB Samsung 830, 500gb WD Blue 7200rpm
Display(s) 23inch Dell LCD
Case Silverstone Sugo SG10B
Power Supply Antec TP-750
Software Windows 10
I would like to know the pros/cons of the two methods, unlocking the shaders in the 6950 bios itself, or simply flashing the 6970 bios?
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
76 (0.02/day)
With the first method (modifying 6950 Bios) you'll have the extra shaders, but everything else will be the same as in the original 6950 (clock, memory timings and so on)

With the second method, you'll have a 6970, but only if your memory holds.
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
289 (0.06/day)
Processor i5 4670K @4.4GHz 1.239V
Motherboard Asus Z87M-PLUS
Cooling High Pressure Fan System
Memory 24GB DDR3 2400MHz
Video Card(s) AMD R9 290 4GB
Storage 256GB Samsung 830, 500gb WD Blue 7200rpm
Display(s) 23inch Dell LCD
Case Silverstone Sugo SG10B
Power Supply Antec TP-750
Software Windows 10
With the first method (modifying 6950 Bios) you'll have the extra shaders, but everything else will be the same as in the original 6950 (clock, memory timings and so on)

With the second method, you'll have a 6970, but only if your memory holds.

Yes "if your memory holds". I would like to know if there is any performance difference between using 6950 unlocked bios at 6970 clock speeds, and the stock 6970 bios.
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
76 (0.02/day)
I can only guess, here, but I think the difference is negligible, if you then overclock the 6950 to 6970 speeds.
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
289 (0.06/day)
Processor i5 4670K @4.4GHz 1.239V
Motherboard Asus Z87M-PLUS
Cooling High Pressure Fan System
Memory 24GB DDR3 2400MHz
Video Card(s) AMD R9 290 4GB
Storage 256GB Samsung 830, 500gb WD Blue 7200rpm
Display(s) 23inch Dell LCD
Case Silverstone Sugo SG10B
Power Supply Antec TP-750
Software Windows 10
Well I would say that doing it by using the 6950 modded bios then overclocking as far as you can seems the way to go for maximum stability/performance. Because a lot of people are reporting green artifacts
 

Patjuh

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
9 (0.00/day)
Location
Duiven, Netherlands
Processor Intel Core i7 860
Motherboard Asus Maximus III Gene
Cooling 2x 120mm Noctua intake and 2x90mm outtake, Noctua B9SE PushPull CPU Cooling
Memory Corsair Dominator GT 1600-CAS7
Video Card(s) Asus HD5870 Voltage Tweak and XFX HD6950 @ 6970 Bios
Storage 2x 500TB WD and Maxtor
Display(s) Samsung Syncmaster 2253LW and 931BW
Case Lian Li PC351v2
Audio Device(s) Xtreme X-Fi Asus
Power Supply Corsair HX620W & Corsair HX850W
Yes I've restarted the computer over and over, installed it over, uninstalled it over, and still not working...

Anyone? my Ati Catalyst isn't installing... Yes I've already flashed the card...
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
259 (0.04/day)
Location
Holland
System Name i5Panther
Processor Intel i5 760 @ 4Ghz (Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B)
Motherboard ASUS P7H55
Cooling Front: 1x140mm, Left Side: 1x140mm Right Side: 1x80mm, Rear: 120mm Top: 2x140mm, Bottom: 2x120mm
Memory Corsair Vengeance LP 2x4GB DC DDR3 PC12800 @1600Mhz
Video Card(s) XFX AMD Radeon HD 6950 (Unlocked Shaders, 880/1375)
Storage Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 32MB/Wester Digital Caviar Green 1TB 64MB
Display(s) Iiyama E2002WS-B1 20"
Case Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic (Logitech X-530 5.1)
Power Supply Corsair ModXStream Pro 700w
Software Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
Benchmark Scores P6040 - 3DMark11
Yes I've restarted the computer over and over, installed it over, uninstalled it over, and still not working...

Anyone? my Ati Catalyst isn't installing... Yes I've already flashed the card...

Use a program to erase all amd drivers first than reinstall?

I always use DriverCleaner
 

Icer Jo

New Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
3 (0.00/day)
Placed an order @ NewEgg for 2 Sapphire 6950's one to replace my 8800gts 512MB rig and one for my future Mini-ITX build. When they arrive I'll test them both to make sure their are no defects, then ill unlock and flash. Thanks for the Find and now I'm glad I turned down the 4890, 5870, and the 6870.
 

postumus

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
Hey guys,

Wondering if somebody can help me out here. I obtained an odd looking "6950", it's probably an engineering sample. It has the 8+6pin out of the 6970 but the sticker on it reads 6950. Anyway, the drivers just will not install! I've tried them over and over again, and even though they seem to install just fine, I'm not prompted that I need to reboot at the end. Even if I reboot manually, when I get back into win7 64 it's still just a standard vga adapter. I've tried the latest drivers off AMD's site. Also, under GPU-Z I noticed the device ID is just 1 digit away from what they say it should be. Could it be that b/c of that ID being off the drivers won't go in? I've tried flashing the card using W1z's guide, hoping that would change the ID, but wasn't successful in that endeavor either.

Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated!
 

Yidaki

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
18 (0.00/day)
Could you take a picture? Where did you get it? Retail market?

What VGA did you use before your 6950?
 

postumus

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
I'm at work, but could take a picture later, there's not much to see though, looks exactly like a 6970 but with a 6950 sticker on it. I've used many gpus before this, but most recently the GTX 460. I've never had a problem installing drivers or flashing a gpu before though.
 

obsoletepower

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
23 (0.00/day)
Location
Canada
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83 GHz (one day I will OC)
Motherboard GIGABYTE EP45-UD3P rev. 1.6
Cooling ZALMAN CNPS7500-ALCU Air Cooler
Memory 2x4GB OCZ PC2-6400 + 2x4GB Corsair PC2-6400 (same timings)
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB
Storage 1TB WD Caviar Blue 7200 RPM
Display(s) 23" Dell SP2309W LCD + Soundbar
Case Antec Performance P180
Audio Device(s) Build-in HD sound
Power Supply Antec EarthWatts 650W
Software Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
I am also looking forward to RUI0317's utility. If it works, I will gladly donate some money for it.
 

Yidaki

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
18 (0.00/day)
@ postumus

Okay, I get it. Like a AsRock 890GX Extreme3 mainbaord with a 880G sticker on it :D

Have you tried any driver cleaner? Or installing the driver under "safe mode" (if this is possible).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top