6950 still unlock to 6970?

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21XL

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Dec 13, 2011
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Hi, I'm new to the forums. Hello there!

So I bought my first Sapphire 6950 when they were first available and unlocked it successfully.

Since then I'm fairly sure they don't have this "feature", since graphics card manu. are not sticking to the reference design anymore from what I understand.

My question is, is there still any variety of 6950 that still unlocks? Brand doesn't matter much. since I can't see into my case any how.

Thanks!
 
My Sapphire 6950 model 100312-3L unlocked right out of the box with the dual bios switch. Which i recently purchased about 3 weeks ago. I think its the same as the Dirt 3 edition.
 
People have unlocked all sorts of cards, but I think it is more hit and miss with the non reference ones.
 
I unlocked 2 MSI Twin frozr III PE/OC 2gb r6950's and the Sapphire and TOXIC, Flex and dirt 3 editions unlock.But it is hit and miss.
 
Definitely a hit or miss. I unlocked my Sapphire Toxic 6950 but my room mate was not as lucky.
 
Apparently the toxic edition is as easy as hitting the switch and thats it.
 
I unlocked 2 MSI Twin Frozr II's, people seem to have very good success rates still with the II version. I have heard recent success with the III version too.
 
bought the sapphire 6950 3gb (non dirt version) this past cyber monday. It caame with a dual bios switch. asiest unlock ever =).
 
apehangers said:
I unlocked 2 MSI Twin Frozr II's, people seem to have very good success rates still with the II version. I have heard recent success with the III version too.
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Something to keep an eye open for when time comes to upgrade! Thank you.
 
I will second this. MSI made a special bios that just changes the shaders and does not change the clockspeed or voltages (however it does give you more head room in MSI to up the clockspeeds. The Toxic versions AFAIK uses a 6970 bios that can damage cards (rare but it can happen) Simply create a boot disk / flash drive place the new bios and atiflash on the boot drive, boot the system and flash away!

This is where I got the bios from and unlocked 2 MSI TF III's PE/OC 2gb
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/msi_r6950_twin_froz_iii_power_edition_unlocking,1.html IF for some reason this website looses the bios I have one saved so If anyone needs the bios, atiflash, or anything else just let me know through PM.
 
Anyone had any reports of unlocking or failing to unlock the gigabyte 3 fan cards? I'm eyeing one of these at the moment. EDIT: Nevermind, just noticed it was only a 1gb card, dang. Maybe I'll get a Sapphire dual fan card and see how it goes.
 
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Don't forget that it HAS to be a 2gb version! For unlocking, I suggest either MSI (enhanced cooler version, latest. Twin Frozr III methinks?) or Asus (enhanced cooler version, 3 slot. DirectCU II ) as I've read the most success with these models and they come with an enhanced cooler design that's better able to handle the additional unlocked resources' heat. I would NOT go with Sapphire as I've heard bad things about overheating or failed flashes.
 
Sapphire 6950 Dirt 3 from last month unlocked with a flip of the switch.

As for Overclocking it i just used the ATI overclock and slide them all the way to the right.
I think it is 840/1325.
I sure it will clock a lot better but i just have not had time to tweak it.
 
Any 6950 has the potential to unlock, although aftermarket cards may be harder if they don't have a bios switch. Even then there are ways to get it done. My best recommendation would be a sapphire card like the dual fan non dirt 3, the dirt 3 edition and the toxic. Then a 6950 twin frozr 2 or 3 by MSI. Cards with dual bios switches are much easier than cards without so keep that in mind.
 
With Twinfrozr's it varies... my TF II unlocked fine and then I bought my TF III and it wouldnt unlock the shaders. I could unlock the frequencies but then even at stock frequencies I had micro-stuttering so had to go back to stock BIOS...
go figure... I do gaming but mainly wanted the TF for silence/quieter & cool.
 
Xaeos said:
Don't forget that it HAS to be a 2gb version! For unlocking, I suggest either MSI (enhanced cooler version, latest. Twin Frozr III methinks?) or Asus (enhanced cooler version, 3 slot. DirectCU II ) as I've read the most success with these models and they come with an enhanced cooler design that's better able to handle the additional unlocked resources' heat. I would NOT go with Sapphire as I've heard bad things about overheating or failed flashes.
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Yeah, here in Australia a Twin Frozr III and/or the Asus DCII costs almost as much as a GTX570. They cost $319AUD and the 570s start at $343. I can get a dual fan Powercolor 6950 for $279, and a HIS IceQ for $289. I've heard recent HIS cards (manufactured after March) haven't had much success unlocking. There's also a Powercolor from another store, not sure what model as they don't have a picture and its simply listed as "Powercolor 2GB 6950" for $269.
 
I bought two Asus DirectCU II 2gb 6950's in November that unlocked successfully.
 
I can also confirm that the Sapphire 100312-3L 6950 2GB has a chance at unlocking. I bought mine during the week of Cyber Monday and with the flip of a switch I had the extra shaders. I went ahead and OCed it to 900core/1380mem with 1.125v in TriXX and a custom fan profile. I still think there's some OC headroom left on the card as i've seen others OC it a little further. I bought this while NeweggBusiness was having that $50 off of $250+ orders and I got the card for $195 after manufacturer's MIR. Pretty slick for a "6970" :p
 
mangyrat said:
Sapphire 6950 Dirt 3 from last month unlocked with a flip of the switch.

As for Overclocking it i just used the ATI overclock and slide them all the way to the right.
I think it is 840/1325.
I sure it will clock a lot better but i just have not had time to tweak it.
Click to expand...

what did you use to verify shader # change?

my dirt3 switch did not show more shaders in GPUz :(

guess I need to do it manually
 
lal102 said:
please @UMtech84 can you share your unlock bios?
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Here's a gpu-z dump of the bios:

http://www.filedropper.com/sapphire6950100312-3lunlockedshadersstockspeed



Couple of things to keep in mind:

*That bios only has the shaders unlocked to the 6970 shaders and stock 6950 clocks.
*The ocing that I do is done through Sapphire's own tweak utility "TriXX." I created two profiles that I switch back and forth with on TriXX; one for running at stock speeds and a second OC profile that I use while gaming.
*My oc profile settings on TriXX are: 900core/1380mem/1.125v. I also use custom fan settings with my oc profile: 50% fan speed at 50 degrees C, 70% fan speed at 65C, and 100% fan speed at 75C.
*If i recall correctly, i think there's a similar bios to this one in TechPowerUp's bios collection: the Sapphire HD6950 2048MB DiRT 3 one.
*Lastly, i'm not responsible if you derp your card up by using a bios that was not designed for it.



Cheers and good luck with your unlocking :)
 
I just got my Sapphire 100312-3L 6950 2GB in the mail and was disappointed to find that it doesn't unlock. Flipped the switch, nothing. Flashed the 6970 bios, still nothing. Seems like everyone else can get theirs to unlock but I haven't had any luck and I can't see what I'm doing wrong.
 
My sapphire 2gb unlocked right out of the box. Purchased at the beginning of the month.


Card info:
6950-1.jpg



Overclocking settings:
6950-2.jpg
 
Both my Sapphire 100312-3L 6950 2GB unlocked running smoothly for about a week at 880/1325 1.175volts in trixx, artifacted in games at 1375 and 1350 on the memory.
 
Roost426 said:
Both my Sapphire 100312-3L 6950 2GB unlocked running smoothly for about a week at 880/1325 1.175volts in trixx, artifacted in games at 1375 and 1350 on the memory.
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I'd lower it even further and see if you get a performance boost. ECC kicks in way before the memory starts artifacting and you'll lose a good chunk of performance with it working.
 
What could be limiting the memory overclock is it heat or needs more volts? Or mine just cant be stable at 1375? Anyways im happy where its at.
 
Roost426 said:
What could be limiting the memory overclock is it heat or needs more volts? Or mine just cant be stable at 1375? Anyways im happy where its at.
Click to expand...
Most likely a combination of heat and being close to the vRAM's limit anyway. Timings, etc. play a part too, but that gets pretty technical on a graphics card. GDDR5 is pretty volt sensitive IIRC. For example, that's why many 6950's die when they are flashed with the 6970 BIOS (it adds a little voltage to the RAM). In either case, these cards have so much bandwidth you'll see very little return in overclocking the memory.
 
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