The AMD switch

GJ02 · 27 Jan 2011 at 09:55

What is the real reason behind the dual bios switch.
I dont think AMD knew that someone would discover the shader unlock and put it there for that reason.
Why would they want you to have the option to flash ? Surely the bios when the card leaves the factory is the only bios needed for the card.

Helios1234 · 27 Jan 2011 at 10:05

It's a strange one. It seems almost too convenient that they have the dual BIOS and a card that can be unlocked, especially because we haven't seen an unlockable card since the X800 series.

It's almost like they wanted their cards to be unlocked.

deusexlumina · 27 Jan 2011 at 10:06

makes money. possible scenario is that 6970 yields were v good, but they needed a slightly lower end part still, so they flashed the Bios to lock out some shaders.

mmj_uk · 27 Jan 2011 at 10:31

My guess is it's there in case they need to tweak the TDP limiter in the future, there could be a game comes out that hits the limiter and they may need to raise the bar.

They've put it there expecting a possible BIOS update scenario not to encourage modding.

tommybhoy · 27 Jan 2011 at 10:50

Helios1234 said:
It's a strange one. It seems almost too convenient that they have the dual BIOS and a card that can be unlocked, especially because we haven't seen an unlockable card since the X800 series.

It's almost like they wanted their cards to be unlocked.

+1 Too much of a coincidence to add a switch 'because people like playing around with the bios', they got an extra sale from me and many others who would not have bought one if there was no bios mod.

kristmace · 27 Jan 2011 at 13:55

tommybhoy said:
+1 Too much of a coincidence to add a switch 'because people like playing around with the bios', they got an extra sale from me and many others who would not have bought one if there was no bios mod.

I agree. I think they've planned it this wat from the beginning.

Cleeecooo · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:07

Cant believe i was one of the mugs whobought the 70.

Jakus · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:11

Being required GFX card bios updates are almost unheard of , I suspect they had plans on trying a few sneaky things that required the safety of a failsafe backup.
You bet Your life they knew the cards could be cranked up to 6970 speeds...
And it's done them no harm at all to an otherwise unspectacular card.

Did You all see how the prices changed the best part of £40 as the interest/demand increased

Cleeecooo · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:14

Amd definitely had pretty good marketing with this card

zombiegenesis · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:17

Given that the 6970 is selling only around £30 higher than the 6950 now, it doesn't seem like they'd lose too much if they actually intended this. I don't think they DID, but from a market standpoint, it would be a good plan.
Especially now that it's really taken off with the BIOS switch, and in the wake of the 560 release from Nvidia too... and the 1GB 6950 which cant' be flashed, but still marks as a decent alternative. Lots of sales potential.

But mostly, I think AMD was just ignorant of it.

Cleeecooo · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:20

If they knew befirwhand theyd probably have made the new 6950 unlockable

bells · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:22

Cleeecooo said:
Cant believe i was one of the mugs whobought the 70.

Does the 70 not come with a bios switch to change it as well ?

413x · 27 Jan 2011 at 21:04

I guess I wouldn't have bought one either had it not been flashable, more likely I would have just added a second 5870

alex24 · 27 Jan 2011 at 21:12

Cleeecooo said:
If they knew befirwhand theyd probably have made the new 6950 unlockable

I disagree, they've made the new 1GB versions slot into that gap and compete against the GTX 560 Ti. Perhaps by allowing the HD 6950 to unlock, they realised it would push up the price and open up demand in the ~£200 or less segment, where they'll slot in the new 1GB cards quite nicely. It was known that the Cayman yields were good for quite some time. The cards were also delayed for last minute changes to the BIOS, according to some sources. The price of the 6870 has also been cut recently (though so has the 6950..).

GJ02 · 8 Mar 2011 at 15:26

I think AMD have shot themselves in the foot big time with this bios switch, don't you think ?
Along with the unlockable shaders,
Makes the 6990 launch look like Katie Price and Alex Reids marriage.
I bet Nvidia are looking forward to their party piece even more now

el Kuarlos · 8 Mar 2011 at 23:22

They knew exactly what they were doing.

bru · 9 Mar 2011 at 00:14

I understand that the 6990 has a yellow warning label over the bios switch that tells you to read the manual, it would be interesting to know just what the manual says in relation to the AMD disclaimer about void warranties with damage due to overclocking.

■Break barriers. Crush records. Flip the Unlocking Switch and take your AMD Radeon™ HD 6990 beyond the bleeding edge.8

footnote

8.AMD’s product warranty does not cover damages caused by overclocking, even when overclocking is enabled via AMD software.

taken from here

a few of the reviews I have read have commented on this possible warranty issue with the use of the switch, so if anybody receives their card it would be nice to know what the manual says.

kylew · 9 Mar 2011 at 00:20

bru said:
I understand that the 6990 has a yellow warning label over the bios switch that tells you to read the manual, it would be interesting to know just what the manual says in relation to the AMD disclaimer about void warranties with damage due to overclocking.

footnote

taken from here

a few of the reviews I have read have commented on this possible warranty issue with the use of the switch, so if anybody receives their card it would be nice to know what the manual says.

A manufacturer can say anything it likes about its warranty, the law still trumps it though. They could say "actually using our product for its intended purpose will void your warranty" it doesn't mean that's a condition of the warranty. They can't include features, but take away your warranty if you use them, it's farcical to even suggest that.

On top of that, there's no way for them to tell if you've even overclocked it anyway, and I would expect the majority of people whose graphics card broke simply from overclocking, would RMA it, and they'd get a replacement as well.

mountaincow · 9 Mar 2011 at 00:31

bells said:
Does the 70 not come with a bios switch to change it as well ?

So he can lock it down to a 6950?

bru said:
I understand that the 6990 has a yellow warning label over the bios switch that tells you to read the manual

I was wondering if this was the case, do you know this for sure or is it just rumours?

bru · 9 Mar 2011 at 00:57

doh if only id have gone to the page that the sticker mentions then i would already know the answer to my question.

support tab of previous link...

it clearly states that damages caused by using the card outside of the factory shipping setting is not covered by your warranty. so if you flip that switch and you then have problems with card your stuffed.