Sapphire 6950 Toxic Edition in stock @ Newegg

I wonder how much of an upgrade this will be over my xfx 6950 1gb... I also wish these had come in stock before BF3 beta ended. Also does anyone have any instructions on whether I need to uninstall my current amd video card drivers, as well as if sapphire has released a bios update yet? to fix the 20% issue? Also should I boot up first without switching the bios switch, or should I just boot up, install drivers, shut down, flip bios switch then check if shaders are unlocked?
 
Well none, unless you were out of video memory - AMD aren't like nvidia where if you buy the same product with more memory it's faster. An HD6950 is an HD6950, and that's an end of it.
 
Well none, unless you were out of video memory - AMD aren't like nvidia where if you buy the same product with more memory it's faster. An HD6950 is an HD6950, and that's an end of it.

Yep, though BF3 will usually take all of the VRAM that is available to it, so you should hopefully see some improvement. I couldn't tell you for sure since the BF3 beta never ran on my system! Freaking Origin error. :rolleyes:

As for the BIOS update, there definitely is one out, as the HardOCP review of the 6950 Toxic had it with it updated. Whether or not it ships stock is another story, but then again, we'll probably be using the 6970 BIOS from the switch (providing it unlocks) anyways.
 
You had to persevere, I had problems with Origin too, but making a new account fixed it. Not that you can play the beta any more.
 
Yep, though BF3 will usually take all of the VRAM that is available to it, so you should hopefully see some improvement. I couldn't tell you for sure since the BF3 beta never ran on my system! Freaking Origin error. :rolleyes:

As for the BIOS update, there definitely is one out, as the HardOCP review of the 6950 Toxic had it with it updated. Whether or not it ships stock is another story, but then again, we'll probably be using the 6970 BIOS from the switch (providing it unlocks) anyways.

so the 6970 bios on the 6950 doesn't have the 20% issue?
 
I am really considering an upgrade from Asus HD5850 (950/1200) crossfire but the gains are not that substantial. Am I missing something? I play at 2560x1600.
 
I am really considering an upgrade from Asus HD5850 (950/1200) crossfire but the gains are not that substantial. Am I missing something? I play at 2560x1600.

From two HD5850s to two HD6950s it'd be about a 35-40% increase at 2560x1600, more in games that use more video memory or tesselation (increasingly common). Still not enormous though. Obviously, if you went from two 5850s to one 6950, that'd be a downgrade in most cases.
 
From two HD5850s to two HD6950s it'd be about a 35-40% increase at 2560x1600, more in games that use more video memory or tesselation (increasingly common). Still not enormous though. Obviously, if you went from two 5850s to one 6950, that'd be a downgrade in most cases.

I will wait for BF3 then. it does not seem to worth it unless I can get HD6950 crossfire for $350.;)
 
has anyone in canada ordered the 6950 toxic this week? I ordered mine and it is shipping from los angeles, like what the hell, how long does that take its like 3500km jesus. I swear to god if this card is broken...
 
Well your other option would have been going through canadacomputers or tiger, but they both have it ridiculously overpriced at the moment.
 
I think it would be Tri-fire, but I would like to see the looks of that set up.
 
so the 6970 bios on the 6950 doesn't have the 20% issue?
Its not really a 6970 bios. Its just a 6950 with the shaders unlocked. It still had the 20% issue.

I don't think they ever officially released the "fixed" bios. Its not available on their site, and their support doesn't have a clue. Its possible newer units may be fixed, but they never released the bios for download.
 
My cards came with the updated bios (about a month ago) so I would say it's a safe bet the new ones also have it on there.

One of the first things I did is submit it to techpowerup's site (vga bios area), it still never appeared there.

Here's the bios on rapidshare, mod's if this is against the rules please remove the link.
https://rapidshare.com/files/4045339177/6950_toxic_2gb_unlocked_bios.rar
MD5 of the bios is included in the file.

The MD5 Hash is as follows
7a0a79a46b18f1cb0522142c671fda4b Cayman.bin
 
Spudsdude, I still had the same throttling issue with furmark with your bios where I had to bump the power up otherwise it would throttle back.
 
Spudsdude, I still had the same throttling issue with furmark with your bios where I had to bump the power up otherwise it would throttle back.

very odd that I don't have that issue with 3 of the cards using that bios. if you export the bios and then do a file compare on it, is it the same bios (i.e. did the flash actually work as expected)
 
Yeah I really hope they didnt make it so these don't unlock anymore.

Update for you: Got mine in today, put it in, saved the BIOS first (just in case), and then shut down and flipped the BIOS switch. Fortunately for me, it unlocked! Success! Now time to overclock. :D
 
Update for you: Got mine in today, put it in, saved the BIOS first (just in case), and then shut down and flipped the BIOS switch. Fortunately for me, it unlocked! Success! Now time to overclock. :D

Congrats, mine still has not arrived! it started off in los angeles, last thing it has said is Left via VANCOUVER, BC depot, get to toronto already! :( It said this like last thursday, I am hoping it arrives tommorow.


oh yeah, let me know what you overclock it to and what your temps are before you do thanks! also did yours come with the free dirt 3/deus ex? last question what did you use to save the bios?! sorry for the 20 questions :D
 
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So I got my card today, put it in read 700 shaders, windows manually updated it and it showed 1408, so i installed ati drivers, shut it off, flipped the switch to the right side, turned it on, and still 1408 shaders. I am so sad right now. Looks like I am one of the unlucky few who got one with no 6970 bios. Can anyone tell me how to check if I need to turn the 20% powertune on and if I should even try to flash it to a 6970. How do I find out if my shaders are laser blocked?
 
I got 2 of these monday, I flipped the switch right away then installed them and the drivers and 1536 no issues.

Try reinstalling the drivers if you havnt flipped the switch first. not the other way around, might make a diff...
 
I got 2 of these monday, I flipped the switch right away then installed them and the drivers and 1536 no issues.

Try reinstalling the drivers if you havnt flipped the switch first. not the other way around, might make a diff...

which position is your bios switch on? the left or right? also how come when I put powertune to 20% its still capped at 725mhz

also how do I know which bios is the 6970 one?
when i uninstall everything its at 704 shaders on the default one until drivers get installed.


Okay scratch that, everytime I uninstall drivers and flip the switch, even after windows does its random install of the card, it still shows 704 shaders in gpu-z until I install amd drivers.
 
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I'm expecting two of these cards on Monday that I bought of off Newegg, and now Amazon is selling the HIS 6970 for $224! It's a price mistake I'm sure, but not enough of one that they still might honor it. Do I refuse delivery of the 6950's on Monday, and put in an order on Amazon right now? I'm in a bit of a conundrum. It would save me $140, and I'd get guaranteed 6970's. Beyond the cost savings, I'm worried the Toxic 6950's wont unlock. :(
 
Congrats, mine still has not arrived! it started off in los angeles, last thing it has said is Left via VANCOUVER, BC depot, get to toronto already! :( It said this like last thursday, I am hoping it arrives tommorow.


oh yeah, let me know what you overclock it to and what your temps are before you do thanks! also did yours come with the free dirt 3/deus ex? last question what did you use to save the bios?! sorry for the 20 questions :D

Yes it came with Dirt 3. No Deus Ex. I used Trixx to save the bios. I haven't OC'ed it yet (haven't had the need to), but I will over the weekend and let you know the results. :)
 
I'm expecting two of these cards on Monday that I bought of off Newegg, and now Amazon is selling the HIS 6970 for $224! It's a price mistake I'm sure, but not enough of one that they still might honor it. Do I refuse delivery of the 6950's on Monday, and put in an order on Amazon right now? I'm in a bit of a conundrum. It would save me $140, and I'd get guaranteed 6970's. Beyond the cost savings, I'm worried the Toxic 6950's wont unlock. :(

since it's an out of stock item with a wrong price, odd's of getting it are very slim, if it was in stock they would honor the price (if it's not too far outside the normal price error range), it could also be the wrong part number and description

in the end it's up to you
 
I have come to the conclusion mine will not unlock :( I tried using winflash, rbe, nada, i tried overwriting the 6970 bios I downloaded with the 6950 bios which is suppose to be 6970 bios, still won't work I get unable to write image or w.e even using command prompt it would not work with different bios, this blows but what can I do... I seem to somehow have resolved the powertune issue with all this tinkering. I don't even have it set to 20% yet gpu-z is showing it running at 880hz/1300 without dropping while metro 2033 is on, so this means I dont need to set powertune to 20% right? are there any other methods I could try or to verify for sure the shaders are laser blocked? I also tried uninstalling the drivers completely and then flipping the switch still shows 704 shaders and then 1408
 
I have come to the conclusion mine will not unlock :( I tried using winflash, rbe, nada, i tried overwriting the 6970 bios I downloaded with the 6950 bios which is suppose to be 6970 bios, still won't work I get unable to write image or w.e even using command prompt it would not work with different bios, this blows but what can I do... I seem to somehow have resolved the powertune issue with all this tinkering. I don't even have it set to 20% yet gpu-z is showing it running at 880hz/1300 without dropping while metro 2033 is on, so this means I dont need to set powertune to 20% right? are there any other methods I could try or to verify for sure the shaders are laser blocked? I also tried uninstalling the drivers completely and then flipping the switch still shows 704 shaders and then 1408

Wait, were you actually able to flash a bios to the card and are you sure your trying to overwrite the correct bios? Too many people keep confusing the switch position on this card.
 
I have come to the conclusion mine will not unlock :( I tried using winflash, rbe, nada, i tried overwriting the 6970 bios I downloaded with the 6950 bios which is suppose to be 6970 bios, still won't work I get unable to write image or w.e even using command prompt it would not work with different bios, this blows but what can I do... I seem to somehow have resolved the powertune issue with all this tinkering. I don't even have it set to 20% yet gpu-z is showing it running at 880hz/1300 without dropping while metro 2033 is on, so this means I dont need to set powertune to 20% right? are there any other methods I could try or to verify for sure the shaders are laser blocked? I also tried uninstalling the drivers completely and then flipping the switch still shows 704 shaders and then 1408
Which version of winflash did you use and what error did it return?
Which position was the switch in when you tried to flash?
 
Wait, were you actually able to flash a bios to the card and are you sure your trying to overwrite the correct bios? Too many people keep confusing the switch position on this card.

No I do not think I was able to flash the card, and the switch was in position 1 I believe, the switch was on the side closer to the fan on the card. Yes I do think I was trying to overwrite the correct bios :/
 
No I do not think I was able to flash the card, and the switch was in position 1 I believe, the switch was on the side closer to the fan on the card. Yes I do think I was trying to overwrite the correct bios :/

For shits and giggles flip the switch to the left (away from the fan and check using gpu-z and see how many shaders it says. Also try flashng over that bios. IF it is the fail safe it wont let you flash over it. Perhaps the writable bios is actually to the left side and the opposite of a reference design card like the ones I have?
 
For shits and giggles flip the switch to the left (away from the fan and check using gpu-z and see how many shaders it says. Also try flashng over that bios. IF it is the fail safe it wont let you flash over it. Perhaps the writable bios is actually to the left side and the opposite of a reference design card like the ones I have?

I'm pretty sure I tried both sides of the switch, neither worked :(
 
I'm pretty sure I tried both sides of the switch, neither worked :(

The system has to be off, then flip the switch and let it boot up. If you flip the switch while in windows it's too late the other bios was loaded already, at that point flipping the switch does nothing unless you plan to flash it to overwrite the secondary bios. Have you tried shutting down and flipping the switch?
 
The system has to be off, then flip the switch and let it boot up. If you flip the switch while in windows it's too late the other bios was loaded already, at that point flipping the switch does nothing unless you plan to flash it to overwrite the secondary bios. Have you tried shutting down and flipping the switch?

Yes I have multiple times, completely powering it off, still nothing.

I am kinda confused as to how I fixed the powertune problem, I must have done something for it to work properly at not be capped at 725mhz without 20%
 
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hm quick question, could mine perhaps not have unlocked because I put it in, and installed the drivers and then preceded to flip the switch, thus making it so that the card was stuck on 1408 shaders? perhaps removing it from the pci express slot or putting it in the other one will make it work?
 
hm quick question, could mine perhaps not have unlocked because I put it in, and installed the drivers and then preceded to flip the switch, thus making it so that the card was stuck on 1408 shaders? perhaps removing it from the pci express slot or putting it in the other one will make it work?

Your might just have been unlucky with the card. I unlocked mine after installing drivers and then flipping the switch. My room mate on the other was unlucky and his didn't unlock either.
 
Your might just have been unlucky with the card. I unlocked mine after installing drivers and then flipping the switch. My room mate on the other was unlucky and his didn't unlock either.

well this kinda sucks.. should I rma it or is there not much of a difference between the 6970 and 6950? how do i check if it cant be unlocked for sure
 
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