Poll: What caused your flashed 6950 permanent damage?

[DigitalUK]

that is a stock 6970 bios which seems to be causing problems, there should be a 6950 bios with unlocked shaders around then you could try overcloking abit if stable.

 

[arroyo]

Err.. so
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159
This is moding by using HD6970 bios right?
Anyways, if I did unlock, then flash it back to 6950 within a few hours, do you think it will cause any damage to the card?

Yes, W1zzard article is dangerous because it uses HD6970 bios.

Yes, you should user regular bios or modifiy method from http://www.techpowerup.com/wizzard/Mod_BIOS_HD_6950.zip

 

[Mirmendis]

VID4 @ 1175 should be enough for upto 950 on the core (tested this on 6970 as long as the 6950 cores are not lower binned)

1250>1280 memory with no way to increase mem voltages seems what most are getting.

The problem is that VID3 is higher than VID4 in 6950 bios

 

[DigitalUK]

VID3 is for things like when the card jumps in to accelerate video etc.

so 1150 or 1100 on 6950 is for when the core is at 500mhz

VID1 is for when card boots
VID2 is for when the card is in 2D mod (eg desktop)

 

[sliderider]

i agree arroyo.. is it possible that power threw 6pins rout different then 8 power input pins to different resistors or lesser??

That was my guess. The 6970 likely NEEDS those extra ground pins on the 8-pin connector. If they weren't needed, then why wouldn't 6970 also come with two 6-pin like the 6950? Flashing a 6950 to a 6970 probably leaves the card without sufficient ground for the additional power being drawn.

 

[DigitalUK]

probably to allow for lesser power supplys.

 

[Mirmendis]

VID3 is for things like when the card jumps in to accelerate video etc.

so 1150 or 1100 on 6950 is for when the core is at 500mhz

VID1 is for when card boots
VID2 is for when the card is in 2D mod (eg desktop)

So the vid for 3d is less high than the vid for things like accelerate video ...And the 6950 has only 1.065 for 3d, i thought he was 1.1 .

 

[DigitalUK]

ive just had abit of a root around mine and 6950s bios, maybe thats where some of the problems are arrising from VID3 and VID4 seem reversed on 6970 to 6950, unless RBE is reporting wrong.

 

[sliderider]

probably to allow for lesser power supplys.

Then wouldn't that also be an advantage for the 6970 to have 2 6-pin? How much power supply are we talking about anyway? 6970 only needs 550W and 6950 requires a 500W. Most high end gaming rigs come with at least 750W. It's not like a 550W PSU is expensive. Even someone homebuilding a gaming rig on a budget can afford it.

Going by the PSU requirements posted on AMD's site, if you have a system with a 500W PSU that is chugging along nicely with a 6950 and then BIOS mod it to a 6970 which requires a 550W, you're going to have problems. That's why the extra ground pins are there, the 50W greater power draw which the components on the 6950 board are not designed to handle.

 

[DigitalUK]

i was thinking more of additional amps being drawn. cheaper supply using lower grade cables and psu not delivering the amps down 2 6 pin (better quality psu would be no problem)

 

[Qed]

I'm working in IT comany that sales computers and since monday we started to getting cards broken by using HD6970 bios. So it's like a bomb with time clock.

The thing is that cards modified with "unlocked HD6950 bios" just don't come back. People are coming to our shop and looking for HD6950 and saying: "Is my warranty will be still valid if I flash my card to HD6970?"

People! Don't use HD6970 BIOS on HD6950!
Please use modded bios with unlocked shaders on HD6950!

Is it clear?

You are just trying to save you from a storm of fried 6950... your so selfish *cough*

 

[Wijkert]

Is it even remotely possible that some/all of our problems with artifacts after flashing can be accounted for by the drivers? I have read this thread and some people seem to be having the same problems we have but without modding a 6950 or even with a regular 6970.

EDIT: just tested GTA4 without rain and no artifacts appeared...

 

[Qed]

Is it even remotely possible that some/all of our problems with artifacts after flashing can be accounted for by the drivers? I have read this thread and some people seem to be having the same problems we have but without modding a 6950 or even with a regular 6970.

Read all the thread, it was a faulty card.

 

[Wijkert]

Read all the thread, it was a faulty card.

I have read the whole thread, and also the original one (45 pages and counting), so I am definitely up to date. So please keep an open mind and consider a alternative explanation, even when it sounds/seems implossible.

 

[Qed]

I have read the whole thread, and also the original one (45 pages and counting), so I am definitely up to date. So please keep an open mind and consider a alternative explanation, even when it sounds/seems implossible.

Read all the THREAD YOU LINKED.

 

[SvB4EvA]

Ok, so I have been lurking these forums for a long time and this is my first post. I just bought a ASUS 6950 a few days ago and flashed the ASUS 6970 BIOS to it. It's been rock stable through all my benchmarks, FurMark, and games, but this thread is starting to scare me.

The poll seems to have a lot of choices, but it also leaves me wondering, what specific card manufacturers boards are failing?

So, are all manufacturers 6950s exactly the same? Are all manufacturers 6970s the same?

I was under the impression that the GPU maker (AMD) makes the GPUs and then sends them off to the manufactures to have a board built around them. Is there an exact code from AMD that tells them exactly how to make each board? How does all this work? I know there must not be an exact way AMD/Nvidia tells the card makers to make a video card because all different companies do different things with their cards, like factory overclocking and adding different features, etc...

I'm really interested in how it all works, but have no way of really knowing. It isn't the industry I'm in.

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions.

 

[Mirmendis]

It seems drivers related for a few peoples here :
BFBC2:Vietnam - 6900 series cards and artifacts

 

[Wijkert]

Read all the THREAD YOU LINKED.

I have done so and please don't use caps and use full English sentences so I can understand what you are saying. I know that it was a faulty card, but others seem to have similar problems with cards that weren’t modded. I am as skeptical as you are, but it is possible that a new driver will fix some problems that we have wrongly assigned to damage through modding.

 

[tecnoworld]

I just saw that copenhagen69 and KainXS voted for "other", but they didn't specify what caused permanent damage to their card.

 

[sliderider]

Ok, so I have been lurking these forums for a long time and this is my first post. I just bought a ASUS 6950 a few days ago and flashed the ASUS 6970 BIOS to it. It's been rock stable through all my benchmarks, FurMark, and games, but this thread is starting to scare me.

The poll seems to have a lot of choices, but it also leaves me wondering, what specific card manufacturers boards are failing?

So, are all manufacturers 6950s exactly the same? Are all manufacturers 6970s the same?

I was under the impression that the GPU maker (AMD) makes the GPUs and then sends them off to the manufactures to have a board built around them. Is there an exact code from AMD that tells them exactly how to make each board? How does all this work? I know there must not be an exact way AMD/Nvidia tells the card makers to make a video card because all different companies do different things with their cards, like factory overclocking and adding different features, etc...

I'm really interested in how it all works, but have no way of really knowing. It isn't the industry I'm in.

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions.

At this point all the cards that are out are reference cards so for the most part they will be identical from one maker to the next. There may be minor alterations, but probably not enough to make a huge difference. When we start seeing non reference cards with wild coolers and overclocks is when they start to really distinguish themselves from one another.

 

[sliderider]

Ok, so I have been lurking these forums for a long time and this is my first post. I just bought a ASUS 6950 a few days ago and flashed the ASUS 6970 BIOS to it. It's been rock stable through all my benchmarks, FurMark, and games, but this thread is starting to scare me.

The poll seems to have a lot of choices, but it also leaves me wondering, what specific card manufacturers boards are failing?

So, are all manufacturers 6950s exactly the same? Are all manufacturers 6970s the same?

I was under the impression that the GPU maker (AMD) makes the GPUs and then sends them off to the manufactures to have a board built around them. Is there an exact code from AMD that tells them exactly how to make each board? How does all this work? I know there must not be an exact way AMD/Nvidia tells the card makers to make a video card because all different companies do different things with their cards, like factory overclocking and adding different features, etc...

I'm really interested in how it all works, but have no way of really knowing. It isn't the industry I'm in.

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions.

The difference is the 6970 BIOS tries to provide different voltages and clock speeds than what the 6950 BIOS is set up for. The memory chips on the 6950 cards can't handle either the extra voltage, the additional clock speed, or both as they are not the same chips that are on the 6970 boards. You're better off with a modded 6950 BIOS that unlocks the shaders but leaves the voltages and clocks at stock 6950 specs and then manually overclocking until you find the stable limits or just running it as is with the shaders unlocked and the reference clocks.

 

[Mirmendis]

I just saw that copenhagen69 and KainXS voted for "other", but they didn't specify what caused permanent damage to their card.

And Crazyeyesreaper doesn't have a 6950 , and F0d thinks his issue are drivers related.

 

[DigitalUK]

that didnt look like artifacts in either of those videos, looks like graphics glitches by drivers. also theres someone with a 5850 crossfire with same problems on same map.

 

[Mirmendis]

Yeah, so the poll result is skewed.

 

[wmblalock]

Well, the poll isn't the end all, it was just an idea I had to help everyone try to figure this out. It's still informative so we shall see how it goes... it has brought up a lot of good discussion too.