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Back with AMD, need some help…

A

amd7674

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
1,813
I do apologize for asking some trivial question but I was a nvidia user for little while since ATI X850XL days…so
I might be a little rusty with ATI cards and drivers.

So I’m hoping to get my Gigabyte HD6950 this weekend so I can do a fresh install windows 7 pro 64bit.

1) What drivers should I install (most stable)? 11.1a hot-fix beta drivers (I believe official release is on 25th)?
2) What is the best way to install new set of drivers, once I have old ones? Is it same as with nvidia, uninstall, reboot run driver cleaner in safe mode, install new driver?
3) Any settings I should turn on/off right away in the drivers?
4) To test stability would OCCT/Furmark be ok?
5) To monitor video card, set fan profiles, is Afterburner 2.1 beta6 the application way to go?
6) Once I test I beat the crap out of HD6950 at stock settings? How do I o/c it, with Afterburner?
7) what are safe load temps for HD6950? Below 90C?

TIA :p
 
1. For now I use 1.11a but they are releasing new performance drivers the 25th or 26th
2. Yes I switch between a 570/6870/6950 sometimes and that works for me.
3. Make sure mlaa is off unless you want to use it in game. And maybe catalyst AI for better image quality.
4. yes
5. yes
6. yes
7. yes
 
Thanks you for your prompt feedback... I'll go with 11.1a latest beta drivers...
 
Topweasel said:
Don't forget to unlock it to a 6970.
Click to expand...

Ehhh considering all of the problems people are having with the 6970 unlock, it's better to perform the shader unlock and keep the bios as a 6950 (there's a small batch file that will take a dump of your current bios, modify it to unlock the shaders and nothing else, and then you can re-flash the upgraded bios using winflash).

I definitely wouldn't recommend the 6970 bios at this stage in the game. Too many people are permanently damaging their cards with it. To my knowledge of following the main threads on it here and in TechPowerUp forums, nobody has damaged a 6950 with the shader unlock. There are some questions as to the bios changing memory voltages too high too quickly, causing permanent artifacting.
 
Dr.GumbyM.D. said:
Ehhh considering all of the problems people are having with the 6970 unlock, it's better to perform the shader unlock and keep the bios as a 6950 (there's a small batch file that will take a dump of your current bios, modify it to unlock the shaders and nothing else, and then you can re-flash the upgraded bios using winflash).

I definitely wouldn't recommend the 6970 bios at this stage in the game. Too many people are permanently damaging their cards with it. To my knowledge of following the main threads on it here and in TechPowerUp forums, nobody has damaged a 6950 with the shader unlock. There are some questions as to the bios changing memory voltages too high too quickly, causing permanent artifacting.
Click to expand...

Wasn't talking about a reflash just the shader unlock which should make it a 6970 performance and feature wise. Didn't really notice people were trying full BIOS swaps.
 
amd7674 said:
I do apologize for asking some trivial question but I was a nvidia user for little while since ATI X850XL days…so
I might be a little rusty with ATI cards and drivers.

So I’m hoping to get my Gigabyte HD6950 this weekend so I can do a fresh install windows 7 pro 64bit.

1) What drivers should I install (most stable)? 11.1a hot-fix beta drivers (I believe official release is on 25th)?
2) What is the best way to install new set of drivers, once I have old ones? Is it same as with nvidia, uninstall, reboot run driver cleaner in safe mode, install new driver?
3) Any settings I should turn on/off right away in the drivers?
4) To test stability would OCCT/Furmark be ok?
5) To monitor video card, set fan profiles, is Afterburner 2.1 beta6 the application way to go?
6) Once I test I beat the crap out of HD6950 at stock settings? How do I o/c it, with Afterburner?
7) what are safe load temps for HD6950? Below 90C?

TIA :p
Click to expand...

Why on earth are you reinstalling your operating system? I hope it's not just for a video card swap. :eek:
 
Dan_D said:
Why on earth are you reinstalling your operating system? I hope it's not just for a video card swap. :eek:
Click to expand...

I do it for video card swaps too, not because I'm paranoid about pre-existing driver elements but because I'm really lazy and don't do it more often LIKE I NEED TO.
 
Trimlock said:
I do it for video card swaps too, not because I'm paranoid about pre-existing driver elements but because I'm really lazy and don't do it more often LIKE I NEED TO.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like being lazy. It sounds like doing far more work than you need to for something relatively minor.
 
Dan_D said:
Why on earth are you reinstalling your operating system? I hope it's not just for a video card swap. :eek:
Click to expand...

To make long story short, the main reason is to install win7 64bit (previoulsly win7 32bit)...
 
1. 10.12a work fine. I can't speak for 11.1a beta yet as I haven't tested them.
2. No need to safe mode and run drivercleaner, just use the ATI Express uninstall utility, reboot and then install the new ones. The drivercleaner route may be advisable if you're coming from a geforce as your current card.
3. Everything usually comes setup correctly. You can by all means tinker with it afterwards to add certain settings.
4. Fine.
5/6. Not used afterburner myself, but yeah it seems to get good reviews.
7. Anything below 95C for the core. Ideally you don't want to exceed 90, but if you're running a stress test there's a bit more of a safety margin since they don't represent real life tests.
 
samuelmorris said:
1. 10.12a work fine. I can't speak for 11.1a beta yet as I haven't tested them.
2. No need to safe mode and run drivercleaner, just use the ATI Express uninstall utility, reboot and then install the new ones. The drivercleaner route may be advisable if you're coming from a geforce as your current card.
3. Everything usually comes setup correctly. You can by all means tinker with it afterwards to add certain settings.
4. Fine.
5/6. Not used afterburner myself, but yeah it seems to get good reviews.
7. Anything below 95C for the core. Ideally you don't want to exceed 90, but if you're running a stress test there's a bit more of a safety margin since they don't represent real life tests.
Click to expand...

Thanks ;)

What are you using for 5&6?

BTW... My Gigabyte is ready for pick up.... woot, woot :D I'll probably pick it up sometime tomorrow....
 
This may come as a shock, but I haven't overclocked the cards yet. They perform well enough that I don't really feel the need to. I manually adjust the fan speed in catalyst control center [though I had to disable ULPS in the registry to do it on the second card. Not necessary if you're just using one card]
 
samuelmorris said:
This may come as a shock, but I haven't overclocked the cards yet. They perform well enough that I don't really feel the need to. I manually adjust the fan speed in catalyst control center [though I had to disable ULPS in the registry to do it on the second card. Not necessary if you're just using one card]
Click to expand...

I'm not suprised at all ;) You have a nice CPU running at 4.1Ghz and 2x6970 .... :p

I don't know how much I'll push my GPU, because from my understaning the fan over 40% is pretty noisy...
 
my XFX 6950 2gb is on the way...

Has anything changed since last time I've asked this questions?, I will go with 11.2 drivers and latest Afterburner software.
 
Each catalyst driver will bug out for at least one person, it just happens. The clue is gauging how many people are affected. So far 11.2 doesn't seem too bad for that.
 
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