*****MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 Rev1 2048MB GDDR5 ONLY £197.99 Inc. VAT!*****

[tummelv]

Good deal again for anyone looking to upgrade!

I'm still torn between getting one of these, sticking with my 5770 till next gen of cards at the end of the year or getting another 5770 for crossfire as a stopgap.

 

[Wyrdo]

These are still the rev 1 boards? I was going to get a gtx 570 but for this price and the fact I can flash it to 6970 seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[tommybhoy]

These are still the rev 1 boards? I was going to get a gtx 570 but for this price and the fact I can flash it to 6970 seems like a no brainer to me.

Yes they are revision one boards. £200 for similar performance to a 570 when flashed, yep it's definitely a no brainer.

 

[Ashfield]

how can you tell which models are flashable?

 

[[timko]]

how can you tell which models are flashable?

Firstly they must be revision 1 (sometimes also referred to as revision A). Secondly, the most important distinction is that only 2Gb versions of the rev 1 (or rev A) can be flashed to have the shaders unlocked. 1Gb 6950 cards regardless of revision (or manufacturer, colour, time of the month, current prime minister etc) can NOT be unlocked.

 

[Ashfield]

thanks mate, could this one be done: Sapphire 21188-00-40R?

 

[Marvin]

I've figured it all out! The pricing of the 6990 is so you can sell the (more profitable) 6950s to us! Ha! Got ya!

 

[[timko]]

thanks mate, could this one be done: Sapphire 21188-00-40R?

Should be able to, here's Sapphire's own 6970 BIOS file for you to try...

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/88845/Sapphire.HD6970.2048.101124.html

Remember, all these 6950 2Gb cards have dual BIOS switch. That means that even if you somehow manage to screw up the flashing, it's as easy as flicking that switch to recover.

Just read the guide on Techpowerup (linked below) on how to do it, it even uses that same Sapphire 6970 bios I mentioned to above so it's like it was written just for you

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159

 

[Ashfield]

Fantastic

Thanks for that pal, much appreciated

 

[TaKeN]

I can confirm these flash to the 6970 Bios

I've had mine for a week or two now. Absolutely cracking card!

 

[Nelly]

[QUOTE='[timko]]Firstly they must be revision 1 (sometimes also referred to as revision A). Secondly, the most important distinction is that only 2Gb versions of the rev 1 (or rev A) can be flashed to have the shaders unlocked.[/QUOTE]So how come my Revision B flashes fine, I think it's just a false rumour about Revision A / B being able or not able to flash and work perfectly.

Here is my results.

 

[[timko]]

So how come my Revision B flashes fine, I think it's just a false rumour about Revision A / B being able or not able to flash and work perfectly.

It seems like it then, I was only going off of users on other sites claiming rev1 only, and also Gibbo making a point of it on the product description for this MSI ...

Features:-
- Revision 1: Flashable to 6970

...at the start of this thread. I'm sure he can now go on to fully advertise all revisions of 2Gb 6950 as being flashable

 

[chrisarm]

Aww I want one

 

[Wyrdo]

Got mine yestrerday (Thanks to DPD **** ups) and the cooler is kinda noisy, do I have a bad one or is this the standard? I'ts pretty damn noisy when I'm playing something

 

[[timko]]

Got mine yestrerday (Thanks to DPD **** ups) and the cooler is kinda noisy, do I have a bad one or is this the standard? I'ts pretty damn noisy when I'm playing something

At 35% and above on mine there's a noticeable "droning" kind of noise with the default fan profile. That only happens on load when I'm gaming so I don't really notice it due to game noise.

 

[Wyrdo]

At 35% and above on mine there's a noticeable "droning" kind of noise with the default fan profile. That only happens on load when I'm gaming so I don't really notice it due to game noise.

Yeah, I'm guessing this is normal but I even turned my game sound up to try and hide the fan noise and I could still hear the damn thing

 

[[timko]]

Have you ran Afterburner in the background whilst gaming to see what percentage the fan peaks at?

Perhaps make a custom fan profile to reduce the rate at which it ramps up. Of course, temps will go up but if it keeps the noise down to a more bearable level then it's better.

Also, is your case on the floor or on the desk at ear level?

 

[tommybhoy]

I have 2 6950's one HIS, noisy fan which got replaced by the AC extreme 5870 cooler and the second from MSI. I was expecting to slap another cooler on it but was (pleasantly)surprised in the difference of noise levels. I know they are both the same card, but the MSI one is nowhere near as loud as what the HIS one was, and even when gaming it's much more bearable than the HIS one ever was. I think it's just your luck whether it's noisy or not.

 

[IronWarrior]

I got my MSI 6950 today, fan is really nosy at high fan speeds! but can't be helped.

Hoping to flash or unlock it soon, just unsure if to flash it with a 6970 bios or unlock it then OC it to 6970 levels.

 

[tommybhoy]

fan is really nosy

You should tell it to mind it's own business!

Hoping to flash or unlock it soon, just unsure if to flash it with a 6970 bios or unlock it then OC it to 6970 levels.

Best of both worlds when you use this method, full easy instructions included:

http://www.fileserve.com/file/gMr4VbG

You can unlock just the shaders and have higher CCC over clocking limits.
There is possible memory problems with the 6970 bios flash because of the higher memory clocks.