Good Ati Radeon HD 6950 Overclock settings

[cannotdisplay64]

so I have a Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 6950 2GB and want to see if I can squeeze a bit more performance out of it but I don't want to unlock it as I dont want to screw the card up. so I was wondering what stable clock settings have people got their's to

 

[Terronium 12]

I'm currently running at 895/1375.

 

[cannotdisplay64]

im guessing you didn't use catalyst control center as mine only allows me to go to 840 and 1325

 

[sygnus21]

I'm currently running at 895/1375.

im guessing you didn't use catalyst control center as mine only allows me to go to 840 and 1325

Yeah it would be helpful to your question if he clarified his statement

Example: I'm running my 6950 @ 880/1375 but I BIOS flashed my card using these procedures - Unlocking The AMD Radeon HD 6950 to 6970 - BIOS Flash Mod Guide - AMD Radeon HD 6950 to HD 6970 Modification - Legit Reviews

I know you said you had concerns about bricking your card with a flash but I just wanted to show you what I did.

You can see my post on it here - http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/160836-radeon-hd-6950-2gb-flash-mod-4.html#post1455567

 

[Terronium 12]

im guessing you didn't use catalyst control center as mine only allows me to go to 840 and 1325

I did use CCC, but I also use ASUS SmartDoctor to increase the OC range and for overvolting. Considering my card is a special case, I'd recommend you use MSI Afterburner.

 

[cannotdisplay64]

I cant remember how to quote

sygnus21- its not the bricking it when i flash it im worried about its the permanent damage that some cards have been experiencing that i want to avoid as i brought this card to replace an old 5750 that was screwing up in game.

Terronium 12- i will look into those programs cheers also what you mean your card is a special case

 

[sygnus21]

sygnus21- its not the bricking it when i flash it im worried about its the permanent damage that some cards have been experiencing that i want to avoid as i brought this card to replace an old 5750 that was screwing up in game.

I can't argue this because you're always taking a risk anytime you overclock something from the norm. But that's what makes tweaking fun, and dangerous if you're not careful

I cant remember how to quote

Hit the quote button.....

 

[Terronium 12]

Terronium 12- i will look into those programs cheers also what you mean your card is a special case

Custom board and custom voltage regulators.

Nothing, bar the actual GPU, is the same as the reference design 6950's.

 

[sygnus21]

T post a link to your card. Just curious to see what it looks like.

Thanks.

 

[Terronium 12]

Tested and Burned

 

[sygnus21]

I see it has the dual bios switch so what's the deal with flashing it?

I also see it has a 6 and 8-pin connector where the reference cards just have two 6-pin connectors. This makes your card a better overclocker due to the extra volts in can draw.

Nice card.

 

[Terronium 12]

The person reviewing the card misstated that, it's actually a DVI/Displayport switch.

 

[sygnus21]

Really?

That's still a very nice card. Can I ask how much you paid for it? And does it take up 3 slots.

BTW since it has been confirmed that it is a DVI/Display port switch the author really needs to edit his review to reflect that. Very misleading if you don't read the posts below, which I normally don't do.

 

[Terronium 12]

Unfortunately, yes, it actually misled me a little until I read more and dawned onto the comments. Still, I couldn't pass it up. And yes it does eat up three slots and is longer than the average 6950 as well, hell, even the 6970.

As for the price...it was quite the pretty penny; almost 4 bills. It was a gift though so I can't complain.

 

[sygnus21]

OK, now I'm confused, or is Asus confusing people?

From this post.....

Em says:

March 30, 2011 at 9:43 pm
The card has both BIOS chips present… to verify, at the right of the South-Eastern GPU screw on the back of the card with the PCIe slot down, there is a horizontally placed/soldered chip… that’s the 2nd BIOS not present on cards without the switch.
So the article is right but might have been by mistake, and ASUS kept quiet for commercial reasons, but you might hear about it if you bump into the support team when and if needed.

If this is true then the card does indeed have the dual bios. BTW you don't have to have the dual bios to flash the card. The backup is more of a safety feature should something go wrong - in that case you can just switch to the backup.

Hmmm..... further research is needed.

 

[Terronium 12]

Wait, what?

Now I'm confused too.

EDIT: Holy crap. He appears to be right, looking at the back of the board there is, what looks like, a BIOS chip.

 

[sygnus21]

Well wait.... another site is also saying that that switch is a DVI port switch......

This is where it gets interesting. Reference HD6950s have a switch on the side that allows users to switch between a protected factory BIOS and a second BIOS. The HD6950’s ability to unlock to a full HD6970 has made it common place for buyers to opt for the cheaper SKU and simply unlocking to the latter. ASUS have kept the switch on their HD6950 but its purpose is completely different. The switch merely switches the dual link DVI port on the I/O panel to a Single Link port and “unlocks” one of the four DisplayPorts linked to it.

ASUS HD6950 2GB DirectCU II Review - Closer Look

However I would say that if you see two BIOS chips you have your answer I suppose.

Either way that is one impressive card, even at stock speed

 

[Terronium 12]

I know about the switch, there's no confusion there, but there's definitely a chip on the back of the card.

Oooo...I must investigate this but there are hardly any worthwhile reviews other than the one I posted a page back.

 

[cannotdisplay64]

that card puts my card to shame I couldn't have that card as the 6950 barley fits in my case
it appears this thread has gone a bit AWOL lol

 

[Devilz]

if I were you, I'll overclock GPU clock by 15MHZ and Memory clock by 30 MHz (step by step increase) to make sure its stable. Also keep an eye on your card temp, it should not exceed 65 or you will burn it.

Do some GPU stress tests to make sure its stable