Unlocking 6950

Azarathal · 3 Sep 2011 at 18:43

Heya guys, recently purchased an MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III and I've read about unlocking.

I know I probably won't get the extra shaders because its a new card but I'm going to give it a go anyway.

Looking at this guide, is there an easier way to flash it?

jimbobaggies · 3 Sep 2011 at 18:59

Have you followed the links in the stickied thread?

I recently purchased the HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2048MB and was thinking of trying, but decided not to bother in the end... following the links in that thread, it seemed pretty straight forward to me.

Azarathal · 3 Sep 2011 at 19:08

I did but the bios is from Dec 2010, looking for something more up to date unless it doesnt really matter.

Jay794 · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:21

I would avoid doing it, seems like the Power Edition, at least the most recent one cannot be unlocked

MarkeR · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:46

Go for it mate, nothing to lose!

Mine didn't unlock, but I know someone who bought one at the exact same time as me did manage to unlock theirs!

Use the guide you linked too, easy as pie!

Just remember and have your bios switch set at the silent mode, the one furthest away from the DVI side of your card!

Use the BIOS from the vortex guide as well!

Jay794 · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:49

Nothing to lose? Other than bricking your graphics card

MarkeR · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:52

Jay794 said:
Nothing to lose? Other than bricking your graphics card

Nope, just flick the bios switch to the other side and it loads up as normal!! The benefit of having a dual bios card

Jay794 · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:55

Yeah but u lose the ability to use 2. I know, I've done it, I somehow messed it up and now I can only boot 1. 2 doesn't seem to want to reflash

MarkeR · 3 Sep 2011 at 22:58

That's probably because you force flashed the perfomance bios which isn't supposed to be flashed and probably got a write error!

If the OP does it properly and makes sure the risk is minimized! There of sourse still is a risk as you know!

Jay794 · 3 Sep 2011 at 23:12

How Would you force flash it? I thought it was write protected?

~Divine~Wind~ · 4 Sep 2011 at 09:54

@OP which version of the card did you buy?
MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III 2Gb PE?

Just wondering wether or not this ahs a switch before purchasing

Jay794 · 4 Sep 2011 at 10:31

The MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III 2GB Power Edition does have the switch as thats the one I'm having problems with

daveash · 4 Sep 2011 at 11:39

As others have said, give it a go. Just tread carefully and make sure you flash the right BIOS.

Jay794 · 4 Sep 2011 at 11:44

You can't flash 1, you can only flash 2, I did it and it messed up somehow, all you need to do is move the switch to the right and it works fine, until you are able to fix position 2

Azarathal · 4 Sep 2011 at 12:00

Wow cheers for all the feedback, when flashing the card bios should the switch be to the left or right? I'm guessing I should flick it the opposite way to how it is currently to save MSI's overclocked bios right?

Jay794 · 4 Sep 2011 at 13:16

Should be to the left when you flash it

Azarathal · 4 Sep 2011 at 19:48

Thanks Jay, I'll do it tonight / tomorrow and will post results

gareth170 · 4 Sep 2011 at 20:24

Jay794 said:
You can't flash 1, you can only flash 2, I did it and it messed up somehow, all you need to do is move the switch to the right and it works fine, until you are able to fix position 2

bootup on bios 1 then when your ready to flash move the switch to bios 2 then flash .

that'll fix it.

MarkeR · 4 Sep 2011 at 20:50

THe recent editions of the FROZR III have the bios marked as Performance which is closest to the DVI ports, and Silent which is closest to the hard drives in a normal case!

I flashed mine on silent, flashed went ok, but never unlocked the shaders but did allow me to OC past the limits!

MarkeR · 4 Sep 2011 at 20:58

@Jay

What if something goes wrong?
So you flashed the BIOS and your card doesn't work for one reason or the other?
If your card boots fine but does not work reliably in 3D, you can just boot the card and flash back the original BIOS of your card (that's why you should always save your BIOS before doing any flashing experiments.

In case your card does not boot at all you can use AMD's new backup BIOS feature:

Set the BIOS switch (pictured above) in the 2 position to enable the recovery BIOS and restart the computer. This will let you boot the card without problems.
Boot into Windows/DOS prompt and get ready to flash the card - do not start the flashing process just yet.
Set the BIOS switch in the 1 position with the system running and ready to flash.
Flash your saved BIOS to the card.
Reboot, done.

The dual BIOS feature is just an added convenience for easier recovery, it is not a requirement for this kind of modding, nor is it evidence that AMD has planned their cards with unlocking in mind.

@Azarathal
Mate the correct one to flash is position 1 or Silent according to all the guides I have seen and my own experience!

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Unlocking 6950

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