Sapphire 6950 2gb Flex Edition

[Mr. Lennon]

Does anyone know if this card can be unlocked/bios trick?

 

[Skurge]

Most custom cards don't, but that one does have dual BIOS, so I don't why it wouldn't work.

 

[Dark Shroud]

If there isn't a Flex edition of the HD 6970 than probably not. This is a very custom series for Eyefinity setups.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

I was reading through a review of the card from Overclockersclub and found this:

"The Dual BIOS switch is located just behind the rear bridge connection and allows for a quick recovery if the BIOS should be corrupted or incorrectly flashed."

So you're right Skurge, it does have the BIOS switch. Finally a card with custom cooling AND BIOS switch.

 

[Pooman]

I did a ton of research before ordering my HD 6950 FleX. All of the first generation HD 6950's are pretty much sold out and this was the only one that seems to still at least have a dual bios switch. Since its so new there aren't many reviews on it so, experimenting is the only way. I should receive mine in a couple days from newegg and will try right away and post a detailed analysis. There are a couple sites that vaguely state that is modifiable and Youtube vids that show how to do it.

This video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nspprw1bZs shows a stock Sapphire HD 6950 with a bios switch and how to force Winflash to flash the bios through cmd prompt if Winflash doesnt do it as its suppose to. In theory, any HD 6950 with this switch should be able to be forced to flash. If it doesnt, you can simply flip the switch to the '2' position and your bios will default back. Keep in mind there is no reason to have a dual bios switch if this isnt possible. If for some reason the new bios mess with the FleX programing (the ability to run 3+ monitors without an active displayport adapter),.. go get a cheap $25 one and you're good to go. I already have the adapter running my eyefinity setup now so I will include in my analysis how and if this was an issue.

 

[GaiaHunter]

I was reading through a review of the card from Overclockersclub and found this:

"The Dual BIOS switch is located just behind the rear bridge connection and allows for a quick recovery if the BIOS should be corrupted or incorrectly flashed."

So you're right Skurge, it does have the BIOS switch. Finally a card with custom cooling AND BIOS switch.

There are others like the PowerColor PCS++ HD6950.

 

[RussianSensation]

So you're right Skurge, it does have the BIOS switch. Finally a card with custom cooling AND BIOS switch.

There is another one as well, and boy is it a killer card.

MSI TwinFrozr III 6950 2GB for $285

Dual BIOS (bottom pic).

Cooler than a stock 6850 :thumbsup:

 

[Pooman]

There is another one as well, and boy is it a killer card.

MSI TwinFrozr III 6950 2GB for $285

Dual BIOS (bottom pic).

Cooler than a stock 6850 :thumbsup:

Yup,,.. I stand corrected. Are there any others available right now with the switch? And more importantly, any links to legit results for these specific models?

 

[RussianSensation]

Yup,,.. I stand corrected. Are there any others we're missing that have Dual Bios switches??

As Gaia mentioned above, PowerColor does offer a 6950-based card, the AX6950 PCS++, which comes with a 1536-shader enabled BIOS pre-installed on the card and accessible via the switch, and that card comes with 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors to handle the extra load.

 

[3DVagabond]

You probably wouldn't be able to flash it to a 6970 because there wouldn't be a compatible bios. You should be able to unlock the shaders though. Assuming the gpu is capable of running unlocked. Sapphire has one of the lowest unlock rates overall though.