6950 BIOS Unlocking (At Users Risk)

Discussion in 'Videocards - AMD Radeon' started by davetheshrew, Dec 26, 2010.

  1. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

    Messages:
    25,211
    Likes Received:
    9
    GPU:
    7950 Vapor-X 1100/1500
    It's a 6970 if your clocks are at 880/1375.
     
  2. UZ7

    UZ7 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    72
    GPU:
    nVidia RTX 4080 FE
    A 6950 will always be a 6950 regardless of what you do to it (unless its some non-reference brand/custom bios). There are slight differences with the hardware and one noticeable one on the reference is the 6x2 pin for power connector (vs 6x1 8x1 pin on the 6970).

    Now when you unlock the shaders then you will have the same one as the 6970. So you're going from 1408 to 1536 shaders which is the same as the 6970.

    As for clocks, the 6950's default is 800/1250 along with (1.1v~). The 6970 is default to 880/1375 with 1.175v. Technically the 6950 can run at 6970 clocks without having to up the voltage so some people prefer this as less power = less heat.

    Now there are people who "flash" the 6970 BIOS to their 6950 card. Heres what happens, they get the extra shaders and clocks but there is a chance for corruption because the 6970 has different ram chips than the 6950 which means it will have different timings/settings. This is why most people just get 6950, do the unlocking method then up the clocks so technically it will perform like a 6970.

    Other things such as TDP are also affected (higher on the 6970) thats why some people up their power limit to 20% etc...
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2012
  3. marvindessica

    marvindessica Guest

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    6950/Sapphire/2GB
    Hi.

    I saw your post and wanted to sign up to ask about the part I highlighted. I bought a card for an outright steal (160 Shipped) after selling my 580 replacement and just pocketed the extra cash toward something else like a new monitor.

    Back to the subject. After unlocking the shaders only I overclocked to the following settings- 900/1375/1.125 and in all the games/benches I've tested everything seems to be fine.

    But I'm wonder if I should increase the Board Power Li/TDP to 20% or not. Does it give me more performance? Should I leave it alone? Would it hurt the card? This is probably the only thread on the internet still being updated and even though I'm a regular on Overclock.net it's hard to really get them talking about older stuff.
     
  4. UZ7

    UZ7 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    72
    GPU:
    nVidia RTX 4080 FE
    Well think of it as throttling. If you play a game or do benchmarks and it hits a certain temperature (high) it will start to throttle, if you increase the limit then you can go higher. I tested a 6950 on benchmarks and furmark, it got to the 70-80C+ range and it wasnt at 100% use anymore, for most games it wont hurt performance but for those people looking for constant performance then it may be good to up it. My results based on points were higher with 10-20% limit. Now most people don't really care about points but for those benchers and enthusiasts they want to get the most out of their cards and/or get the highest score.

    I also did a registry edit that would allow me to get 50% limit but with testings it really didnt affect me. I saw 10-15% would be a good range. It shouldnt hurt you card but it would help if you had good cooling to keep the temps down. Now if it was around 100C+ and it wasnt throttling then constant use may damage the card but if you keep it under that it should be fine. You can test your benchmarks with it on and off to see if theres any difference, of course it also wouldn't matter as much if the game you play doesn't use all the power.

    So think of it as increasing the limit of you card to get more out of it, but for the most part I would test it out see if it makes any difference :)
     

  5. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

    Messages:
    25,211
    Likes Received:
    9
    GPU:
    7950 Vapor-X 1100/1500
    It won't make a shred of difference unless you're running a seriously stressful app like Furmark.
    The default setting of 0% is fine in most cases, it's only when the card starts downclocking you will need to raise the TDP limit.
     
  6. up2nogooduk

    up2nogooduk Member Guru

    Messages:
    191
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    Sapphire HD 5970
    Thanks for your help guys :)
    I just overclocked to 900 1400 with 1.175v but crashes in games!
    What you you recomend to do now.. lower the mem?

    Thanks alot :)
     
  7. UZ7

    UZ7 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    72
    GPU:
    nVidia RTX 4080 FE
    Try stock first, 880/1375 if it still crashes try different drivers.
     
  8. Clouseau

    Clouseau Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    2,841
    Likes Received:
    508
    GPU:
    ZOTAC AMP RTX 3070
    Found that my card is quite tempermental. I can pass Kombuster and Furmark without artifacts at much lower voltage but crashes in games. That being said, my card is only stable at 900/1400 with an Afterburner voltage setting of 1.179
     
  9. scosco

    scosco Guest

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    Radeon HD6950 2gb
    After unlocking CCC not work!

    Hello... (and sorry for my english),

    I have a PowerColor Radeon HD 6950 (Core 800MHz, Memory GDDR5, 1250MHz, 2GB, DVI 2xHDMI DisplayPort) and I followed the instructions for unlocking the AMD Radeon HD 6950 to 6970 (unlock shader and BIOS flash mod guide).
    At the end of the procedure and after rebooting the pc GPU-Z tool are indicated 1536 shaders and the video card is recognized as RADEON HD 6900 family but... the CCC (ATI Catalyst Control Center) does not work!

    Then, I tried two ways: flashing bios first with Sapphire HD6970 BIOS (much more compatible for work on any 2GB reference design 6950) and then reflashing with Powercolor HD6970 BIOS (manufacturer specific for my card), but equally the ATI CCC not works!

    I tried uninstalling the whole ATI package (and cleaning the computer with Drive Sweeper too) and then reinstalling the last ATI Catalyst Software Suite (12.4).
    The procedure starts... evolves and ends, but the problem returns!
    When I try to use the ATI Control Center... the program not work!

    What is the problem and there is a positive solution?

    I hope some expert and enthusiast overclokers help me :confused::bawl:
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2012
  10. UZ7

    UZ7 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    72
    GPU:
    nVidia RTX 4080 FE
    Actually unlocking is much better/safer than using the HD6970 BIOS itself, even though many have done so it could have some potential for problems later on down the line if the 6950 has different ram chips than the 6970.

    Try unlocking and reinstalling to the latest 12.6 beta. Use this to uninstall your catalyst. http://www.mediafire.com/?0jdko53gk5npzo0
     

  11. Mr.Joe

    Mr.Joe Master Guru

    Messages:
    287
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    670DC2-1333/3915-EK~H20
    On the other hand when the 70 bios actually works it does allow hower OC on the mem chips for the 50 cards compared to just unlocking.

    was running the first of my 6950s (reference) with the mem at 1550MHz for about two weeks untill I went back to afterburner (only allows 1500 with current sapphire 6970 bios).


    --

    Question about the catalyst problem (to the other guy):

    By "does not work". What do you mean happens when you try opening it; exactly??
     
  12. UZ7

    UZ7 Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    5,535
    Likes Received:
    72
    GPU:
    nVidia RTX 4080 FE

    1550MHz for memory? wow thats impressive! on my 7970 Dual-X highest I've ever gotten was 1540~1570MHz, on my 6950 unlocked highest I've gotten was 1475 which is about the same as my 6970.

    So you really have a good card for it to run at 1550 without artifacts!
     
  13. casamassi

    casamassi Guest

    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GTX 780 GHZ@1202/7000Mhz
    Hi at all the members of the forum!

    I have tried to unlock my 6950. ( this is my card http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH69502DI2S2GD5/ )
    I have used this bios http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/8...48.101124.html
    I believe that's gone everything and when I launch MSI I see that:
    VCore 1.150V
    Core Clock 880
    Shaders Clock 1375
    I'm using the version 2.2.3 for MSI and 12.8 drivers

    I have tried some games and some crash but they are very more fluids and it is almost disappeared the Micro Struttering..
    If i put the Core Clock to 800, everything it is all right even if it is less fluid in comparison to 880.

    I have tried to plan the VCore to 1.175V after opened MSi and I believe that it maintain the voltage up to the closing of the program.
    If I reopen MSI, it puts again me 1.150V
    I have a questions;
    why the VCore is not to 1.175V?
    it is correct that after having unlock the card the voltage remains to 1.150V?
    why if I leave the Core Clock 880 some games crash?
    how much should I plan the VCore for not having problems?

    Sorry for the questions but i will be very sure..

    Thanks
     
  14. Mr.Joe

    Mr.Joe Master Guru

    Messages:
    287
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    670DC2-1333/3915-EK~H20
    what you need to do there is "force constant voltage" via afterburner so that it never dips under your assigned value.

    if you're running crossfire i also recommend disabling ULPS
     
  15. casamassi

    casamassi Guest

    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GTX 780 GHZ@1202/7000Mhz
    i've tried to ceck "force constant voltage" in the MSI settings, set 1.175V and disable ULPS because i have a Crossfire
    but for example Skyrim crash after 5 minutes..
    when i've restarted the PC, MSI set the Vcore again 1.150V...
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2012

  16. casamassi

    casamassi Guest

    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GTX 780 GHZ@1202/7000Mhz
    can i try with trixx?
     
  17. BlackZero

    BlackZero Guest

    You can not set the voltage for a flashed HD 6970 using MSI Afterburner. To avoid the issue of voltage dropping to 1.15v you need to disable voltage control from MSI Afterburner or Trixx. If you want to change voltage for a flashed card then do it from the bios.
     
  18. casamassi

    casamassi Guest

    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GTX 780 GHZ@1202/7000Mhz
    thx
    I thought that modifying the bios was also modified the tension..
    When you say "disable voltage control" you would mean to remove the flag in the box...?
    sorry, what can i do from the bios..?
    if i can't use MSI or Trixx, what can i do?
    hi
     
  19. BlackZero

    BlackZero Guest

    Yes, you would need to uncheck the 'unlock voltage control' tick-box. To change voltage, if using a HD 6970 bios, you would have to pre-modify the bios using RBE 1.28.

    Though note that RBE should only be used for modifying voltages within reason and preferably having tested these beforehand. Also, do not change clock frequencies using RBE.
     
  20. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

    Messages:
    25,211
    Likes Received:
    9
    GPU:
    7950 Vapor-X 1100/1500
    Have you tried this?
     

Share This Page