• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

GPU Bios Flash 7950

T

TeflonShadow

n00b
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
14
Greetings [H]ardware gurus,

I know enough to be dangerous in OC'ing a GPU and CPU. I don't have much experience with flashing the Bios on a GPU, though. According to this article it is possible to flash the 7950 with a 7970 Bios.

I'm upgrading a ATI 4770 to a 7000 series this quarter and have my eyes set on a non-reference 7950 (when more options are avail. i.e. MSI Lightning, most likely). Im interested in this idea of saving some funds and going this route.

So how is this accomplished and what are your [H]thoughts? (I previously posted this in the vidoe card section, with out any replies to the OP, so I thought I would get more traction in the AMD flavor section :cool: Again I would like more info on performing a GPU Bios Flash, regardless of flashing a 7950 with a 7970 Bios.

Also, Kyle or Steve, will you entertain this idea in a future review or is that beyond what you would publish on [H]?;)
 
Right now unlocking the shaders is up in the air. We know that flashing the 7970 BIOS is improving performance a little bit, putting the 7950 right in between the 7950 <-> 7970, but the theory is that none of the currently available software can detect it.

The thing is, the 7950 uses memory spec'd for 5 Gbps, while the 7970 uses memory spec'd for 6 Gbps, and they probably have different timings. If this is the case, flashing a 7970 BIOS may create permanent visual artifacts, like it did when the 6950 BIOS trick came out. So:

1) Wait until they find out the situation with unlocking the shaders, and whether it works.
2) Find out if the 7950 and 7970 use the same memory timings.
3) Wait until Radeon BIOS Editor adds an "unlock 7950" checkbox so that you don't fuck up the memory timings.
 
Really interesting. I got my Asus 7950 today and the little bios switch is taunting me :D
 
Anyone else have the Asus model? This card is ridiculous.... I'm using the GPU tweak and set the CPU clock to max (1100) and it automatically upped the voltage to 1168mV. Memory is set at 6000 memory voltage is at normal. Max temp so far is 67.0 min is 37 :eek:
 
I got the asus one and i max out around 82c. What type of case and fans do you have to get 67c?
 
According to [H]OCP HD7950 review AMD reported that the HD7950 had some key hardware on the PCB lazer cut to make it physically impossible to software flash to HD7970. [H]OCP reviewed the AMD reference cards which were not used by any of the name brand video card builders. So perhaps it is possible that the non reference HD7950s can be flashed to HD7970??? Not sure.

Good luck. Hope you don't brick your card.
 
I got the asus one and i max out around 82c. What type of case and fans do you have to get 67c?
Click to expand...


Corsair 500R with the stock fans. CPU is cooled with a H100. Ambient is around 70f.

I cant max out the card with any games i have at 1920x1200 .... get pegged 60fps.
3Dmark11 is P8362 ... know synth bms are crap but its a huge improvement over the 6870 I had :)
 
An interesting issue with the 7950....

Well, I first used the standard OC tool in Catalyst, but it would only go stable at around 1000 core and 1500 memory. I didn't want to mess with a voltage tweak that only showed percentages and not the actual voltage numbers. So I installed the ASUS GPU-Tweak that came with the card. It of course has much better options. I was able to get 1100 core (1500) 6000 memory on the max voltage setting. I didn't touch the memory voltage and left the fan to auto. Running multiple benchmarks and several hours of Skyrim worked fine. However, I noticed when my PC was idle and turned off the monitor the video card fan would ramp up to 100% in short bursts. It kind of sounded like a drill... I thought the neighbor was working out in his garage again. Come to find out by default Windows set the display adapter to turn off after 10 minutes or something ridiculous. So I set it to never turn off.... since it's underclocked when idle anyway... That seems to have stopped the short fan bursts.

A few things I haven't messed with yet but might if I have a chance:

Installing the included AMD drivers instead of using those I downloaded from the website -
Some have said that the included drivers (for now) perform better).

Toggling the BIOS switch - Not sure if the two are different or what.... Maybe one allows for higher voltage and thus higher overclocks? As of now my card at these max settings isn't even getting very hot. I think I maxed out at 70c.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top