Sapphire HD 6950 1GB unlocked to HD 6970 1GB!

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Card Used/Needed -
*media.bestofmicro.com/Y/W/309704/original/sapphire_6950-twin-fan.jpg
SAPPHIRE HD 6950 1GB GDDR5
SAPPHIRE HD 6950 2GB GDDR5
SAPPHIRE HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 Dirt3 Edition

Stock Settings (I am using a 1GB version) -
*img683.imageshack.us/img683/484/capture3uu.png

A Little Story Behind -
I had overclocked my card to 900/1275 and was going to overvolt to get further. Before that i decided to read some user experiences at newegg. Saw this -

Bios Switch unlocks 6970 shaders.

So thats how the fun began.

How to Unlock -
1. You need to have a Sapphire HD6950 with a dual fan cooler. 1GB or 2GB both have good chance of unlocking.
2. Make sure the card is running at stock 800/1250.
3. Turn off the system, open the cabinet side panel and locate the BIOS Switch on the card. Its near crossfire bridge connector.
4. Flip the switch towards right.
5. Reboot.
6. Open GPU-Z and you shall see this hopefully -
*img267.imageshack.us/img267/8535/capturell.png
7. Now you can overclock it to 880/1375 (the HD6970 speeds) (Note - Every card is different. Some cards may need overvolting to get to 880/1375. Overclock at your own risk)

My Overclocking Update -
*img85.imageshack.us/img85/5853/capture3p.png
This is at Stock Volt.

Temps during BC2 (UPRIVER) -
*img12.imageshack.us/img12/9251/capture2oh.png

Benchmark Comparisons -
*img832.imageshack.us/img832/7822/3dmark11u.png
*img163.imageshack.us/img163/5301/avph.png
*img51.imageshack.us/img51/5244/dirt3v.png

UNIGINE -

Spoiler

880/1375 (1536) -
*img607.imageshack.us/img607/1679/capture5yb.png
800/1275 (1408) -
*img820.imageshack.us/img820/6215/afterdb.png

 

[rajan1311]

awesome stuff mate... wonder why this went unnoticed for so long... pic of the BIOS switch would help some members i think..

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

thanks rajan.
bios switch is too small buddy. difficult to get good pic. tried.

 

[kapilove77]

any chance for me to unlock?

 

[Skud]

This is killer! Some benchmarks would be helpful.

@kapilove77: MSI had released a BIOS and instructions to unlock the shaders earlier for that card. Google it.

 

[Sarath]

Haha 6970 users burn in hell

Oh wait!

On a serious note nice little tutorial up there. i wish there was such a trick for 6970 users too but nvm

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

benches coming soon skud. let me oc first

thanks sarath.

UPDATE -

now its a full 6970 (except less vram) -
*img85.imageshack.us/img85/5853/capture3p.png

temps during BC2 (UPRIVER) -
*img12.imageshack.us/img12/9251/capture2oh.png

will post unigine and 3dmark11 tomorrow.

no voltage tweaking done!

 

[coderunknown]

@jassy, congo man. free gift. lucky

 

[Skud]

What about noise? I have read this card is noisier under load (just like other dual fan cards). Even my single fan's noise is audible at 50% and above in winter when the ceiling fan doesn't spin.

 

[mithun_mrg]

^^ i think the noise even if it will be during gaming which is easily overtaken by the speakers/heaphones u use
congrats jas

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

@sammy
yeah, thanks buddy

@skud
yes card becomes noisy with high fan profiles. i used trixx fan bar to test this.
but i use headphones, so not a problem.

and we cant give away oc due to noise

@mithun_mrg
right. and thanks buddy


Comparisons-

3D mark 11 -

800/1250 (1408 shaders) - 4804
*img256.imageshack.us/img256/2538/800ph.png

900/1250 (1408 shaders) - 5287
*img585.imageshack.us/img585/2594/900p.png

800/1250 (1536 shaders) - 4958
*img36.imageshack.us/img36/6883/capturees.png

880/1375 (1536 shaders) - 5431
*img88.imageshack.us/img88/2374/capture4fgp.png

Unigine -

800/1250 (1408 shaders) -
*img820.imageshack.us/img820/6215/afterdb.png

880/1375 (1536 shaders) -
*img607.imageshack.us/img607/1679/capture5yb.png

changed the 1st post to a little tutorial.

 

[Skud]

Yours is the story of luck, getting a 6970 from a 6950 1gb, that too a RMAed one.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Yours is the story of luck, getting a 6970 from a 6950 1gb, that too a RMAed one.

yup. RMA helped me get this card which has high chance of unlocking.

 

[topgear]

nice going mate ... now time to play with HD6970

 

[Cilus]

Jas, superb work buddy. You are becoming pro day by day. Now you got a HD 6970 from your HD 6950. So I don't think you need to puch the card much further.

 

[slashragnarok]

Does this card have 2 6 pin connectors or 6pin+8 pin?

 

[DARK KNIGHT]

Jas does we the owners of 6950 have chance to do this . i ask this question bcse we all have different company cards only kapilove have and i have the same company card. can we do this or not . and yes nice oced jas & cilius check Ur spell mistake u did it in a hurry i think edit it .

 

[Skud]

Jas does we the owners of 6950 have chance to do this . i ask this question bcse we all have different company cards only kapilove have and i have the same company card. can we do this or not . and yes nice oced jas & cilius check Ur spell mistake u did it in a hurry i think edit it .

It's answered here:

@kapilove77: MSI had released a BIOS and instructions to unlock the shaders earlier for that card. Google it.

Of course, it won't be just a flip of switch, you have to actually flash the BIOS. Else there are scripts to do it automatically. But beware, this might be risky and there's no guarantee. In any case, always backup the original BIOS.

 

[d6bmg]

@Jas: pure luck here. Enjoy your unlocked 6950.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

nice going mate ... now time to play with HD6970

thanks TP.

Jas, superb work buddy. You are becoming pro day by day. Now you got a HD 6970 from your HD 6950. So I don't think you need to puch the card much further.

thanks cilus.
yes i am keeping it at 880/1375.

Does this card have 2 6 pin connectors or 6pin+8 pin?

2 6pin.

Jas does we the owners of 6950 have chance to do this . i ask this question bcse we all have different company cards only kapilove have and i have the same company card. can we do this or not . and yes nice oced jas & cilius check Ur spell mistake u did it in a hurry i think edit it .

MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III Power Edition Unlocking - Unlocking Guide
and thanks

@Jas: pure luck here. Enjoy your unlocked 6950.

thanks.
but these sapphire dual fan versions have high chance on unlocking. check newegg.
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity