Moral Dilemma...Or Is It?

Terronium 12 · 14 Jun 2011

Haven't been around for a while as I've been in a cave somewhere feasting on beast innards...

Joking aside both of my X2's were duds, no thanks in part to the 'tard of an eBay seller claiming they "function as necessary", what a load of trot that turned out to be. In any case, things are back to square one now and by that I mean I can now purchase the card I originally wanted from the get go - the 6950 (2GB). I'm looking all over and can't seem to find anything within range of $270-280 (that doesn't top $300+ with shipping) with the reference design, dual BIOS cards as I want to unlock those additional shaders. If I need to, just buying a "basic" 2GB 6950 won't bother me at all but if possible I'd appreciate any help leading me toward those 6950's, if any of them are left.

Need this ASAP too as I'm looking to buy them tomorrow (today) before something comes up again.

Ivan the SoSo · 14 Jun 2011

Instead of the risk involved with unlocking possible dud shaders why not this:Newegg.com - XFX HD-697A-CNFC Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

6970 2gb....now its $349....but if you register it within "30 days" the warranty becomes for the duration of your life...their website isn't the most responsive, but just reregister till it shows up....

Terronium 12 · 14 Jun 2011

That's way out of my budget right now, you nut.

Looking to replace my 4870 as I'm desperate for better gaming performance at this juncture and can only afford the 6950. I can just go with the Sapphire 2GB for $279.

Dwarf · 14 Jun 2011

Have a look at some of these.

Range: $200-$250

Amazon.com: pcie, PCI Express 2.0, $200-$250 Computer Graphics Cards

Range: $250-$280

Amazon.com: pcie, PCI Express 2.0, $250-$280 Computer Graphics Cards

Ivan the SoSo · 14 Jun 2011

A chip becomes a 6850 for two basic reasons....

1 AMD has a order for X# of chips....drat... 100 short...ok pull 100 6870's and disable a shader group.....Those can be unlocked to 6870 spec's no problem.....

2 They have a chip run....test chips....this one has two bad shaders 6870, this one has one bad shader 6850, and this one has none 6970......

If you fall in group one the 6850 will unlock and Angels will sing, peace and love abounds.....If you fall in group two..........Maybe the bios backup will work.......

Yeah I know what I suggested is out of budget....but it is what you want and no risk of flushing $2XX dollars down the toliet

Terronium 12 · 14 Jun 2011

Like I said I'd be more than happy with a "normal" 6950. In fact I've been eyeing the 2GB that comes with DiRT 3.

Been playing a lot of F1 2010 lately and with 4x MSAA my 4870 can do anything from 20-40+ frames depending on the track and conditions. I want better performance and I wanna enable DX11 already.

Ivan the SoSo · 14 Jun 2011

"function as necessary" What was that supposed to mean? I'll keep looking, but there seems to a shortage of bargains right now

Was gonna suggest a 1gb 6850 since most gaming reviews don't give the 2gb any advantage....but $20 dollars difference....I wouldn't give up a gig for that.....

Terronium 12 · 14 Jun 2011

Ivan the SoSo said:

"function as necessary" What was that supposed to mean?

Damned if I know but here's how they turned out: Card 1 - Worked so much as in the PC could boot, load up W7 (without drivers) and I could do anything except game. Once the drivers were installed, loading would hang and after about a minute or so it would BSOD. RMA'd, and I specifically asked the seller to test it with W7 and Cat 11.5 installed. You think he did that? Read below to find out...

Card 2 - Basically DOA. Booted up once with a crap load of artifacts on screen as if I had clocked something to high hell and nearly fried the BIOS. There was also a big ass (pardon my language) white bar off-center to the screen. After that 'one-time only' boot it would never happen again. It would just hang during the boot process. I can't remember the display code but it was obviously video card related. Demanded a refund and I'm getting it ($189). I'll never deal with eBay again. Never.

I'll keep looking, but there seems to a shortage of bargains right now

Was gonna suggest a 1gb 6850 since most gaming reviews don't give the 2gb any advantage....but $20 dollars difference....I wouldn't give up a gig for that.....

I was thinking of just going with this one: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Ivan the SoSo · 14 Jun 2011

Sapphire is a good company and is what I am running now....this is $10 moreNewegg.com - XFX HD-695X-CNDC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity, but comes with same game, a $30 dollar rebate that you may or may not get, a factory overclock, and more important if you register within 30 days they extend the warranty to the duration of your life....I have heard if you need support you may get a refurbished card, or you might get lucky and get a better card....

As for the seller of the x2 cards did he/she seriously think they would get away with that? I'm not a big fan of Ebay, but they really can't be blamed for that...just keep the sellers feet to the fire till the refund comes in, because if he goes NARU you'll never see the refund...on the same token don't neg him till the refund arrives....

Wishmaster · 14 Jun 2011

Theres another option if interested in Nvidia.
Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P3-1469-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

The 560 is fairly close to the 6950, although the 6950 wins the large majority of Benchmarks.
But thats VS a stock 560 too, so the SC edition may close that gap a bit.

At any count, its 2GB, and the SC should be right on par performance wise, or close to, the 6950 and a bit cheaper.

Not trying to sway you from your choice of AMD, just another option that may be a bit more budget friendly.

As far as the ATI, Im a big fan of Sapphire.
But I wouldn't make any purchase with hopes of a successful bios unlock. Too much of a gamble basing the purchase on something that very likely may not work.