Solved Radeon HD 6950 2GB Flash Mod

[MadSupra354]

So, I've got the first interface design Radeon HD 6950, and I can flash it to a 6970. But, apparently if you don't do it the right way, after a week or so you'll get artifacts. This is caused by the RAM which in the 6970 is set to a different voltage. I'm using an XFX card, which according to the graphs on TechPowerUp, has a high success rate.
I just wanted to know: Would it matter if I used the .zip or followed the instructions?
Also, it says after you flash it and set the PowerTune to +20%, your card will consume 252W and reach 92°C. My card has only ever reached 78°C so far. Is 92°C OK and is 252W OK considering I have a 650W?

 

[DarkXeno]

Hey there, I have a MSI R6950 and I unlocked the card to the use the extra shaders but not the full 6970 bios.

Unlocking Radeon HD 6950 2GB

her is the link i used, i can still overclock my card with just unlocking the bios and not using the full 6970 on, with the 6970 on I can no longer overclock the card and keep it stable. with just opening the shader's I can overclock and run fine, I have tested this out myself and it works great.
Let me know what you decide on doing.

 

[gazz9496]

don't forget if you do flash it and it goes wrong you will not get a replacment card or get it fixed on warranty you will lose the money you spent.

there is a very good reason they aren't 6970's just be aware of that.

 

[sygnus21]

I'm actually doing research now on whether to flash my 6950 to a 70 or not. When I bought it months ago I that was the plan, but once I got it and used it as is there wasn't any need to flash it.

Now the flash would be purely for the sake of saying I did it, though he extra umph wouldn't hurt either

We'll see.

 

[DarkXeno]

don't forget if you do flash it and it goes wrong you will not get a replacment card or get it fixed on warranty you will lose the money you spent.

there is a very good reason they aren't 6970's just be aware of that.

I knew well before i bought it what i could do and what they wouldn't take back. But with the dual bois on the card it makes it very nice to have the extra shaders and to have it overclocked easily. I have two setting on my afterburner software. Desktop and game mode, desktop keep everything to factory speeds and game mode over clocks it to max I keep an on screen display of the heat on the card so if it gets too hot i can stop the overclock.

 

[gazz9496]

Ok i just wanted you to be sure what you were doing is all

i'm not trying to put you off doing it or anything but several have been bricked from flashing it so dual bios or not it killed the card.

flashing is not like overclocking at all, what your doing will open up the gpu to unstable voltages. They failed that test and became the 6950's we see on the market as there is nothing wrong with them at slightly lower voltages.

the 6970 has much stricter voltages and the pass rate to get that isn't easy for the manufacterer to achieve.

 

[sygnus21]

Like any overclocking/tweaking of hardware there's always the risk of bricking something. This we know, this we understand, yet we proudly take the risk anyway. Why..... because we're overclockers/tweakers – we do it because we love it

 

[gazz9496]

indeed i'm an avid supporter of overclocking to maximise hardware, but even i draw a line at flashing a bios to make a gpu think it's something it wasn't cut out to be.

 

[sygnus21]

indeed i'm an avid supporter of overclocking to maximise hardware, but even i draw a line at flashing a bios to make a gpu think it's something it wasn't cut out to be.

Well this is more safe than most considering the card has a dual BIOS. But you have a valid point.

 

[MadSupra354]

I'm actually doing research now on whether to flash my 6950 to a 70 or not. When I bought it months ago I that was the plan, but once I got it and used it as is there wasn't any need to flash it.

Now the flash would be purely for the sake of saying I did it, though he extra umph wouldn't hurt either

We'll see.

That's exactly my story! I bought it and planned to flash it, and haven't needed to!
I heard it consumes more power though, and you need to put the power control in CCC to +20.
I may flash it soon, just right now I need to upgrade my CPU and monitor

 

[sygnus21]

Yeah I'm on the edge too. And I heard the same thing about doing the +20 increase under Power Control settings. I was going to do some research and see if this is neccessary.

I don't know, if I get bored enough I may just flash it anyway just for the sake of it. I can always revert back if I don't like the results.

 

[DarkXeno]

Ever since Adobe added in GPU Rendering, I have been using it. So thats one of the reason I unlocked the card and then OC it when i need the extra power sure its only a 2-6% increase in that and 5-15 FPS in games depending on the settings. I did my research I bought this card due to it being able to do it and hell saved me some bucks in the end.

So to be its each his own.

 

[LUVABBW]

You can use this to just unlock the shaders using your existing BIOS. With the TechPowerUp Radeon Bios Editor it's what I plan on using.

 

[sygnus21]

For those interested in flashing to a 6970 here's a nice discussion here - How to enable additional shaders on Radeon HD 6950 - techPowerUp! Forums. I'm only on page 10 of 100+

Anyway here's the how-to the discussion is based on - AMD Radeon HD 6950 to HD 6970 Mod | techPowerUp

Seems there is a of discussion on artifacting and power/heat issues. Again I'm only on page 10 of 100 but so far I've gleaned that.....

- Power Supply matters - can your power supply handle the extra current draw from the update?
- Type of card - reference vs none-reference board
- Stock clock speed of the card - 800/840/880

 

[essenbe]

Like any overclocking/tweaking of hardware there's always the risk of bricking something. This we know, this we understand, yet we proudly take the risk anyway. Why..... because we're overclockers/tweakers – we do it because we love it

Well said Sygnus21, you might add that sometimes we do it just because we can.

 

[MadSupra354]

Seems there is a of discussion on artifacting and power/heat issues.

That's exactly what I'm scared of. If it goes wrong, it's permanently damaged.

 

[sygnus21]

Like any overclocking/tweaking of hardware there's always the risk of bricking something. This we know, this we understand, yet we proudly take the risk anyway. Why..... because we're overclockers/tweakers – we do it because we love it

Well said Sygnus21, you might add that sometimes we do it just because we can.

LOL I started to add that line but didn't

Seems there is a of discussion on artifacting and power/heat issues.

That's exactly what I'm scared of. If it goes wrong, it's permanently damaged.

Well you can always revert back to your old BIOS you saved (hopefully)

 

[MadSupra354]

No, if you damage the card you can't. It's in the VRAM that the 6970 has it set to a different voltage, so after a week you get artefacts and you can't revert back. It's permanently damaged.

 

[DarkXeno]

No, if you damage the card you can't. It's in the VRAM that the 6970 has it set to a different voltage, so after a week you get artefacts and you can't revert back. It's permanently damaged.

Thats why Im not using the 6970 bios, I still have the 6950 bios but unlocked with the extra shaders, so Im not upping the vrams voltage unless i choose to do the OC

 

[sygnus21]

No, if you damage the card you can't. It's in the VRAM that the 6970 has it set to a different voltage, so after a week you get artefacts and you can't revert back. It's permanently damaged.

Well I guess that means you won't be doing the tweak then?