Turn your 6950 to a full fledged 6970 with a Bios mod
209 replies, posted
[quote]A few weeks ago AMD released the Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 6950. Both cards are based on AMD's new Cayman core which is their first graphics processor to use a VLIW4 shader configuration.
Just like on all other similar products, AMD's two Cayman variants, called Cayman Pro and Cayman XT, are based on the exact same GPU silicon. The model variant a GPU chip becomes is decided after the die is produced, at some point before it is put on the card. Creating new SKUs from the same silicon by locking features has been common practice in the industry since at least the Radeon 9500 in 2002.
This article is to unlock the Radeon HD 6950. The HD 6970 has nothing that can be unlocked.
AMD has two methods of locking the shader count on all of their recent GPUs. The first one relies on fuses inside the GPU, or on the substrate - a mechanism similar to Intel's multiplier locking. It is not reversible as far as we know. The second mechanism is the one we are interested in, AMD can configure the VGA BIOS in a way that it disables extra shaders, in addition to the ones disabled via the on-die fuses. This method is mostly used to create engineering samples or reviewer cards that match the target specifications. Usually production cards come with the shader count configured in the fuses, so that it can not be changed.
Apparently currently shipping Radeon HD 6950 cards from all manufacturers - which actually are all the same card with different sticker - have their shaders locked via the BIOS method, so we can exploit it easily.[/quote]
[url=http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159]Source[/url]
I think I may buy a 6950 today.
Thats about a $100 value there. Wow.
Better buy them soon though, AMD's likely to fix this very quickly.
Dang, ain't that somethin!
Will 2 6950's CF'ed with the mod still work/be stable?
Dangit, I got my hopes up, until I saw that was a 6950, not a 6850.
Oh well, my 6850 is more than enough for my needs.
remember to oc to the 6970 clocks
I ordered 2 6950 yesterday lol i'm mindblown.
*Fuck yeah! Worked flawlessly, my bios was protected however. But it was still very easy thanks to techpowerup and you get a great satisfactory feeling when you are done. Pushed them past 6970 specs without problem.
anything on turning a 6870 into a 6950? :saddowns:
[QUOTE=EBS-Gamer;27003722]anything on turning a 6870 into a 6950? :saddowns:[/QUOTE]
How's the 6870? I got one for Christmas.
Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
You are aware that doing it different ways would suck even more for the consumer? They bin parts based on how good they are just like Intel, the overly good ones are sent to become OC versions for other manufacturers; the ones with problems have problem areas disabled and are turned to a lower series. The HD4830 is an HD4850 that has ROPs disabled. Sometimes the demand for the lower-end stuff is higher then that of the lower end stuff, so they need to make more supply or make a new card with a different process ala 4770, meant to replace HD4830.
[QUOTE=ss1234;27003760]How's the 6870? I got one for Christmas.[/QUOTE]
Good, I can still run blackops maxed as my 8800GT could.. but I can max BC2 at 1680x1050 with steady framerate no lag
Damn, I better buy a 6950 then before they realize this and fix it.
[QUOTE=meppers;27004483][img_thumb]http://www.ubergizmo.com/photos/2010/9/intel-processor-upgrade-card.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE]
Wow. That's actually an ingenious idea, it makes upgrades for the average consumer easy and allows them to spend money way more easily than if they had to replace the components themselves.
Purchased a 6970 yesterday :froggonk:
[QUOTE=Mayco;27005241]Purchased a 6970 yesterday :froggonk:[/QUOTE]
Cancel the order quick!
Too late, they sent it earlier today and it'll be here tomorrow. I can probably still return it though.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
Do you honestly think they would sell the 6970 cheaper if they weren't allowed to sell it as a 6950?
You can do this with a lot of ATI/Nvidia cards, I turned my old HD2900pro in an XT easy. I might upgrade my 5770 to a higher model if possible..don't need to until it gets old though.
Hmm anyone know / guess if it will fit in this?
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-119-106&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo[/url]
Probably not, doesn't hurt to ask though. Putting a piece of paper in there really doesn't leave wiggle room.
Can some one explain why they go through the trouble of locking the card? Why not release only the good card for a midline price?
There's a 6950 now?
[QUOTE=melonmonkey;27006821]Can some one explain why they go through the trouble of locking the card? Why not release only the good card for a midline price?[/QUOTE]
Part of the card didn't past testing or something, so rather then scrap the whole card the xx50s are born.
[editline]27th December 2010[/editline]
Hence why this is kinda dangerous.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
Its AMD. Value is their thing.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
What? But they're selling it for less.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
It costs more and adds more labor to do changes to hardware than to just disable cores and clock speeds at a lower price. You might as well complain that the GTX 460 you have could have been produced with the same cost as a GTX 480.
[QUOTE=Cookieeater;27008604]You might as well complain that the GTX 460 you have could have been produced with the same cost as a GTX 480.[/QUOTE]
I would complain about that.
[editline]27th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Robber;27005974]Do you honestly think they would sell the 6970 cheaper if they weren't allowed to sell it as a 6950?[/QUOTE]
I like to think they would but no, probably not
[QUOTE=Zeke129;27003948]Artificially limiting products so that you can sell the same thing under another name for more money should be illegal[/QUOTE]
0/10
I am more than certain it voids any warranty, and is not recommended. By that logic Overclocking should be non existent, because you can make a i5-750 act like a i5-760 by a simple oc..
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