MSI HD 6950 Twin Frozr II 2 GB, bios locked, shaders will not unlock,modders beware

[happy medium]

I just noticed this review that stated that the Msi 6950 non reference card will not unlock. And no bios switch.

Quote;While the AMD reference design had a Volterra voltage regulator and a dual BIOS switch, MSI has chosen to go without the switch and a CHiL voltage regulator. The CHiL controller is supported in MSI's excellent overclocking software Afterburner, so this shouldn't be a problem. When we tried to unlock the additional shaders to turn this card into a HD 6970, we were out of luck. It seems the ASIC on our test sample has the shaders properly locked, so a BIOS mod is not possible."

Hurry and get your unlockable reference model 6950's before there all gone.:thumbsup:

Just a heads up for our forum members.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6950_Twin_Frozr_II/32.html

 

[Castiel]

They could only hit 1030 core with 1.4v. Kinda disappointed

 

[happy medium]

They could only hit 1030 core with 1.4v. Kinda disappointed

I was shocked at the 150 watts more it used when overclocked.
Is that right? The heatsink did the job good though.

 

[Castiel]

I was shocked at the 150 watts more it used when overclocked.
Is that right? The heatsink did the job good though.

Cayman is a big power hungry chip when you turn up the voltage

 

[zod96]

Is that card for sale yet?

 

[happy medium]

Confirmed at guru 3d with the same card.

"Now one point we have to mention - with the first revision of the reference models you could flash in a R6970 BIOS into a R6950 graphics card, and get extra shader processors enabled. That trick won't work here as this card is not reference."

http://guru3d.com/article/msi-r6950-twin-frozr-ii-oc-review/1

@ castiel, they only got 987 core overclock.

 

[badb0y]

That sucks, I am at 1.175 900mhz when I get my Shaman cooler I will throw up a review . Going to go for atleast 1000c/1500m

 

[happy medium]

Is that card for sale yet?

At the end of the month.

 

[notty22]

Imo, reason they launched with un-lockable cores was to increase Cayman popularity and word of mouth, positive discussion.
Which it did. Except now its gone (maybe not all models ?).

 

[3DVagabond]

Imo, reason they launched with un-lockable cores was to increase Cayman popularity and word of mouth, positive discussion.
Which it did. Except now its gone (maybe not all models ?).

Have we heard any reports of any other cards not unlocking? Possibly does it require a different "hack" to unlock theses? Maybe it's still done through software but won't unlock by the same means?

I'd say when the reference designs fail to unlock, then it's time to sing "The Party's Over". But then I want an explanation what the switch is for. A switch that the MSI is lacking, BTW.

 

[happy medium]

It was explained to me that it was the first batch of cards that could unlock and when they sell out, the parties over.

 

[notty22]

The switch is for dual bios's, one that is write protectged, thats it.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/5.html

AMD has added a small switch near the card that lets you toggle between two VGA BIOSes. The first one is the normal one and can be flashed. The second one acts as backup and is write-protected, so you can not "destroy" it in case of a bad flash. Should you flash your card with the wrong BIOS, you can switch to the backup BIOS to boot the card, then change the switch to the normal BIOS before flashing. This looks like a good system, but I wonder if it's worth the added cost.

 

[happy medium]

The switch is for dual bios's, one that is write protectged, thats it.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/5.html

Yes and mabe they were made for the the 6970's originally, and now that the first batch of cards which were all 6970's are allmost gone, we will see the unlocking cards slowly dissapere.

Bad timing ith the gtx560 4 days away? sucks

 

[3DVagabond]

The switch is for dual bios's, one that is write protectged, thats it.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/Radeon_HD_6970/5.html

I know what the switch does. The reason they allow for "safe" BIOS flashing on the ref 6900's is what I mean. One reason we've seen is the unlocking. If they do away with that, what else do they have in mind?

 

[WelshBloke]

That sucks, I am at 1.175 900mhz when I get my Shaman cooler I will throw up a review . Going to go for atleast 1000c/1500m

Are you going to use the VRM sinks that come with the Shaman or do you have a different solution?

You wouldnt mind starting a new thread with your thoughts on the Shaman when it arrives would you? A few before and after temps and a subjectve noise analysis would be nice.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Cayman is a big power hungry chip when you turn up the voltage

You can say this about any chip.

 

[tviceman]

NM.

 

[MangoX]

Umm, we knew this was coming?

 

[badb0y]

As long as it's reference you are safe (for now), if it's non-reference you can't unlock it.

 

[BD231]

You can say this about any chip.

Yeah I don't understand why people say they're surprised when you consider the heat output/power consumption at stock in the first place, over volting GPU's is like adding lava to a fire.

 

[happy medium]

Bump for the night crew.

 

[Skurge]

over volting GPU's is like adding lava to a fire.

Brilliant analogy.