AMD Radeon HD 6950 1 GB

[yogurt_21]

awesome card, good to see that the memory doesn't change anything. I'd been figuring it didn't. (well unless you're trying for an uber res like cad does but if you can afford 3 monitors you can afford the 2gb version of this card, or rather a pair of them in crossfire)

 

[alexsubri]

Wow it beat the 470 in Metro 2033. Good to see my 5850 crossfire is still holding strong I am waiting for the 7xxx. I was semi impressed by the 6xxx series.

 

[jamsbong]

Because it's a leakier chip. Considering that all four versions off the 6900 series use exactly the same chip, AMD have decided to designate the best binned chips for the 6990 and the worst binned ones for the 6950-1GB.

Judging from the higher voltage and the low sale price. It is quite possible that this is a relatively low quality chip. That would mean the chances of modding the chip to become 6970 1gb will be low.

I imagine, increasing voltage and possibly underclocking the GPU will be necessary for a successful mod.

I wonder if anyone has gotten experience modding this card?

 

[20mmrain]

Judging from the higher voltage and the low sale price. It is quite possible that this is a relatively low quality chip. That would mean the chances of modding the chip to become 6970 1gb will be low.

I imagine, increasing voltage and possibly underclocking the GPU will be necessary for a successful mod.

I wonder if anyone has gotten experience modding this card?

I have looked it up but too my sadness.... I can find know one who has tried to do so. Although...my XFX 6950 1gb Cards do have the Duel BIOS switch option..... I could definetly see something like a XFX 6950 1gb Flash to a ASUS 6950 1gb Direct CU flash... where maybe it's not a 6970 but it would have the CCC Cap removed??? Something to consider. At very least I bet I could flash it to the 1gb XFX Black version

 

[Jonap_1st]

buy two stick of this for $470, and bam.. you got 6990 twins

for noise and heat, i will wait until non-reference card arrive..

 

[Arska]

Um, so did W1z mod this card to a 6970 with a bios flash or not? With a quick look I couldn't find any such info. As far as I could see, it was just speculation based on the overclockability of the review card.

Surely this is very important for enthusiasts. I mean, I haven't seen a bios for 6970 1GB around, for obvious reasons.

 

[dj-electric]

"Modding the card to HD 6970 also seems possible, making this a nice toy for tweakers and overclockers." wait.... WHAT?!

 

[W1zzard]

I mean, I haven't seen a bios for 6970 1GB around, for obvious reasons.

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/95720/ATI.HD6950.1024.110311.html

 

[devguy]

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/95720/ATI.HD6950.1024.110311.html

Nice W1zz. My XFX 1gb HD 6950 arrives on Friday, and I intend to try and unlock the shaders using the utility on the forums. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Note: Do NOT try flashing an HD 6970 BIOS. There's really no need, as with the higher stock voltage of the 1GB version, one could easily overclock the card to 6970 speeds after unlocking the shaders.

And BTW, I highly doubt that a 3.8Ghz Bloomfield would hold back this card at 1080p or higher. At high resolutions, my Phenom II at 3.75Ghz should perform almost identically.

 

[runevirage]

Why is the performance/watt so different from the 2GB version when both the performance and TDP are extremely similar?

 

[buggalugs]

Wow its really a top performance card for a cheap price. I dont think performance/dollar has ever been better.

BTW theres an error on the value and conclusion page

"AMD's Radeon HD 6850 1 GB can be found online for around $235"

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Nice W1zz. My XFX 1gb HD 6950 arrives on Friday, and I intend to try and unlock the shaders using the utility on the forums. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Please be sure to post your results. I am thinking about doing the same thing. Except strapping a full coverage waterblock on it and OC'ing the crud outa it.

 

[Calleidoscope]

I use a HD R6950 oc gigabyte 1 GB windforce . if i use the shader unlocker bios will it have any effect on my VGA or will it break it ?

 

[devguy]

Please be sure to post your results. I am thinking about doing the same thing. Except strapping a full coverage waterblock on it and OC'ing the crud outa it.

Sorry I forgot to post back in this thread. Unlocked just fine. I haven't overclocked it much, as the CCC limits are very low, and I haven't bothered to use a 3rd party util yet.

Although, my XFX card is a reference card (has the BIOS switch and everything), but with a custom cooler. Many are saying that they've had worse luck with the non-reference 1GB cards (like the XFX card with dual fans), but I cannot confirm.

 

[alecela]

Sorry I forgot to post back in this thread. Unlocked just fine. I haven't overclocked it much, as the CCC limits are very low, and I haven't bothered to use a 3rd party util yet.

Although, my XFX card is a reference card (has the BIOS switch and everything), but with a custom cooler. Many are saying that they've had worse luck with the non-reference 1GB cards (like the XFX card with dual fans), but I cannot confirm.

Would you mind posting the model/part # of your XFX card? Tx.

 

[devguy]

Would you mind posting the model/part # of your XFX card? Tx.

Mine is the XFX with the ZNFC suffix and dual BIOS switch. But remember, even if you get the same model as I have, you aren't guaranteed that the shaders will unlock. There's a good chance, but you never know...

 

[Gabkicks]

I just ordered a powercolor 1gb 6950, but amazon says it wont ship for 2-4 weeks. Hopefully I can turn it into a 1gb 6970