GTX 560 ti Overclock VS Radeon HD 6950 Bios Flash

[oneseraph]

There has been a lot of churn in this segment of the market. In recent days we have seen some big changes. For instance the GTX 560 ti showed up. AMD responded by lowering the price of the 6950. Basically these cards are now within a few dollars (Quid) of one another. The big question is, which one is the better value? would you like see overclock3D do a shootout between the overclocked GTX 560 TI and the bios flashed Radeon HD6850.

 

[wotevajjjj]

tom already said in the review video that the 560 outperforms the 6970 ..

 

[murphy7801]

Yer also you have no warranty and there been alot of reports of 6950 unlocked breaking sounds like a waste of a card.

 

[oneseraph]

tom already said in the review video that the 560 outperforms the 6970 ..

What I am asking is, Since the HD6950 is now basically the same price as the GTX 560Ti and the HD6950 can be flashed into a fully functional HD6970. How do they compare on identically set up systems. The Idea is to see which one provides the best overall value. The way I see it, that is what overclocking is all about. What happens to these cards when playing Crysis Warhead 1920x1200 with 8xAA and enthusiast setting? The same for metro? how about 3DMark11 (DX11) performance preset I'd like to know, because since the cards are about the same price, I want the one that preforms the best. What happens when the tests are run at 2560x1600, again does one preform better that the other? I know not everyone has a display that supports 2560x1600 but if they upgrade they're monitor are they going to have get a new graphics card as well, because it can't cut the mustard?

That said, What I would like to see is Tom doing a comparison between these two setups. I would like to hear his thoughts on his experience with flashing the bios of a HD6950 to a HD6970. I would like to hear his general impression of the results, if there are any real problems. I would like to see tom do the same with the GTX 560 ti. I want to see tom compare these very formidable mid range cards head to head. Both overclocked and bios tweaked for maximum stable performance. Finally I want metrics of these cards being pushed to the absolute limit. I don't want either card treated with kid gloves. Push the resolutions and quality until the cards are brought to they're knees bleeding and begging for mercy. I want to see Nvidia and AMD/ATI go at it with (Baseball/cricket) bats. Give us blood in the arena!

I can't be alone in wanting to see this done, can I?

I can't be alone in wanting Tom to be the "Ring Master" for this middleweight bloodbath.

So, who's with me?

 

[oneseraph]

Yer also you have no warranty and there been alot of reports of 6950 unlocked breaking sounds like a waste of a card.

Flashing the HD6950 bios does not void the warranty. If it did then owners could not update they're bios as they are released. Further the 6950 and 6970 reference cards are dual bios "there is a switch on the side of the card" one for factory default and one for enthusiast settings (whatever they may be. they are setup that way specifically for bios modding.

Don't get me wrong, overclocking has risks. So mod or overclock at your own risk. That said, I have seen the HD 6950 to 6970 bios flash done on six different PC'S. With cards from three different companies (Asus, XFX, Sapphire). None of them have had any problems. All of them have run benchmarks as fully functional 6970's after being flashed. What I am saying is that in my experience the 6950 bios flash option has been 100% successful and without problems. I grant that six PC's is a very small sample size, still 100% success rate is nothing to sneeze at.

All of this has very little to do with having Tom pitting these two contenders against each other and have them brawl it out until one stands victorious over the bludgeoned and bloody mass that was it's opponent. Who wouldn't want to see that?

 

[marsey99]

latest drivers with pre and post flash figures with overclocks vs stock and overclocked 560ti sounds like a very interesting showdown to me.

 

[thewire]

I can't be alone in wanting Tom to be the "Ring Master" for this middleweight bloodbath.

Calm down oneseraph your not alone.. LOL

Sounds great as long as your not a Nvidia fan. I'd like to see Tom do a video anyway.

LOL.....

BTW nice avatar and sig...

 

[murphy7801]

Flashing the HD6950 bios does not void the warranty. If it did then owners could not update they're bios as they are released. Further the 6950 and 6970 reference cards are dual bios "there is a switch on the side of the card" one for factory default and one for enthusiast settings (whatever they may be. they are setup that way specifically for bios modding.

Don't get me wrong, overclocking has risks. So mod or overclock at your own risk. That said, I have seen the HD 6950 to 6970 bios flash done on six different PC'S. With cards from three different companies (Asus, XFX, Sapphire). None of them have had any problems. All of them have run benchmarks as fully functional 6970's after being flashed. What I am saying is that in my experience the 6950 bios flash option has been 100% successful and without problems. I grant that six PC's is a very small sample size, still 100% success rate is nothing to sneeze at.

All of this has very little to do with having Tom pitting these two contenders against each other and have them brawl it out until one stands victorious over the bludgeoned and bloody mass that was it's opponent. Who wouldn't want to see that?

I sorry but your straight up wrong read the terms and conditions of every manufacture of a 6950 unlocking is in direct violation of the terms and conditions I already had this discussion with someone actually go read them it comes under the misuse section. If want to know why I know this I work for an electrical manufacture not pc but if look at terms and conditions of warranty on any item that would covered.

 

[Stryker64]

When it comes to 6950/6970 vs 560 Ti it depends on the games you play. For most games atm, the 560 will beat the 6950 unless you are running at 2560x1600, where the higher resolution will require the extra GRAM that the 6970 comes with. But with 1080p, and with most titles atm, 560 will be faster. However if you are looking forward to Crysis 2, the 6950/6970 MIGHT be the better option, depends on how intense the DirectX 11 tessellation in that game is. But for majority of games 560>6950

 

[Stryker64]

Also if I recall correctly Tom is against BIOs flash since it voids the warranty and it does kill cards.

 

[thewire]

I sorry but your straight up wrong read the terms and conditions of every manufacture of a 6950 unlocking is in direct violation of the terms and conditions I already had this discussion with someone actually go read them it comes under the misuse section. If want to know why I know this I work for an electrical manufacture not pc but if look at terms and conditions of warranty on any item that would covered.

You both may be right. I am an attorney here in the USA. Because the ability to modify the bios is explicit "a built in feature of the product" the manufacturer has no right to deny warranty claims based on the argument that the bios has been flashed. In the USA a manufacturer can make assertions in a EULA or a TC documents that may not be enforceable. In other words, No matter what the manufacturer claims about the terms of they're warranty the customer has a right to expected functionality.

Here is an example

You purchase a blender with a two year warranty. Bring it home and open the box. Inside you find the warranty card inside. The terms or conditions of the warranty forbid you from putting any liquid in the blender. The condition forbidding liquids is not enforceable in the USA and though I am not sure, I doubt that could be enforced under UK law. This is equivalent expectation of function.

I happen to own a sapphire HD6850. My "terms of use" does not mention bios flashing. Even if it did I would ignore it for the reasons I pointed to above. Mine has been flashed into a 6970 for quite a while now. Other than running a little hotter i haven't seen any problems.

 

[oneseraph]

When it comes to 6950/6970 vs 560 Ti it depends on the games you play. For most games atm, the 560 will beat the 6950 unless you are running at 2560x1600, where the higher resolution will require the extra GRAM that the 6970 comes with. But with 1080p, and with most titles atm, 560 will be faster. However if you are looking forward to Crysis 2, the 6950/6970 MIGHT be the better option, depends on how intense the DirectX 11 tessellation in that game is. But for majority of games 560>6950

Well, what you are saying could be right? If it is, your saying that the HD6950 is the better card. That is to say, it has superior performance at high resolutions. That pretty much sums up the cornerstone feature of a good graphics card. At least it is the feature that makes the card more future proof. Because they are about the same price there is no reason to buy the GTX 560 ti. Nothing is certain though, I for one would still like to see Tom do a video on the subject. If I just wanted metrics I could get those from a variety of reliable sources. What brings me back to this site is Toms videos and the very cool community. (yes you too Zeals

)

 

[BrokenThingy]

I happen to own a sapphire HD6850. My "terms of use" does not mention bios flashing. Even if it did I would ignore it for the reasons I pointed to above. Mine has been flashed into a 6970 for quite a while now. Other than running a little hotter i haven't seen any problems.

Me too mine has been flashed for about a month and I run the thing hard. No problems here

 

[marsey99]

You both may be right. I am an attorney here in the USA. Because the ability to modify the bios is explicit "a built in feature of the product" the manufacturer has no right to deny warranty claims based on the argument that the bios has been flashed. In the USA a manufacturer can make assertions in a EULA or a TC documents that may not be enforceable. In other words, No matter what the manufacturer claims about the terms of they're warranty the customer has a right to expected functionality.

Here is an example

You purchase a blender with a two year warranty. Bring it home and open the box. Inside you find the warranty card inside. The terms or conditions of the warranty forbid you from putting any liquid in the blender. The condition forbidding liquids is not enforceable in the USA and though I am not sure, I doubt that could be enforced under UK law. This is equivalent expectation of function.

I happen to own a sapphire HD6850. My "terms of use" does not mention bios flashing. Even if it did I would ignore it for the reasons I pointed to above. Mine has been flashed into a 6970 for quite a while now. Other than running a little hotter i haven't seen any problems.

flashing the bios of any item of hardware is ok, what isnt is flashing it with a bos that changes the hardware, which this does so its void.

try it, lasy car i bought wasid nothing about me chipping it but if i had changed the ecu and it blew my engine i know it would of voided the warrenty for the same reason.

 

[shawry99]

Surely it would void the warranty as you have flashed with a bios not intended for that hardware, so that makes it misuse, rather than hardware failure.

 

[thestepster]

i cant remember where i seen it but apparently ppl are starting to have issues with these cards a bit down the line that have been flashed with 6970's bios's prob down to the lack of power since its 6 and 8 pin v 8 and 8 pin

but i didnt look into it as i wouldnt buy an ati card its useless for my needs

 

[cupojoe]

Me too mine has been flashed for about a month and I run the thing hard. No problems here

I have two of them in crossfire both flashed. I have not had problems with the cards in almost a month. I just wish I waited for the 560 because I would have save a bunch of money. I game at 2560x1600 so for me the 560 is way underpowered.

 

[Ya93sin]

Surely it would void the warranty as you have flashed with a bios not intended for that hardware, so that makes it misuse, rather than hardware failure.

then again though, a lot of people are making the bios available for download saying its for the 6950 as well, so although not originally intended for the 6950, the people uploading the bios are intending to tell others to use it on their 6950.

on a separate note, surely issues caused by bios flashing to the 6970 bios would be noticeable after some certain amount of usage, not normally in the short term...

 

[thewire]

flashing the bios of any item of hardware is ok, what isnt is flashing it with a bos that changes the hardware, which this does so its void.

try it, lasy car i bought wasid nothing about me chipping it but if i had changed the ecu and it blew my engine i know it would of voided the warrenty for the same reason.

OK I can see your confusion. In the case of the 6950 cards they have a dual bios setup. One of the bios can't be flashed and has a factory bios. The other bios is there for "modded bios". If a "modded bios" fails for some reason it can literally be switched back to the factory setting and the bad bios can be re flashed. That specific function of the card has been marketed as a feature for modders and over clockers. ATI has made the tools available to the public to execute the flash procedure and the oems have released bios designed specifically for the ATI design.

In the case of your car for example. The manufacturer did not make the chip programmer publicly available. They did not write the chip flashing software if its was a software upgrade. They did not sell you a chip that would blow up your engine. They did everything they could to prevent you from chipping the car.

In one case the manufacturer has gone out of it's way to encourage modification of a product. ATI

In the other case the manufacturer has gone out of its way to prevent modification of a product. your car example

Hope that clears up the difference. There is a lot more nuance in the law I don't care to go into. Most manufacturers wont argue warranty claims unless there are obvious signs of abuse like the PCB is broken or the heat sink has been removed. Its just bad for business.

 

[oneseraph]

There has been a lot of speculation about flashing a 6950 into a 6970 turning the card into a paperweight. So I thought I would do some web searches on the subject. I actually spent a couple of hours trying my best to find anything even claiming that kind of problem. Honestly guys I couldn't find anything like that. In fact most of what I found was just the opposite.

Well, here is a poll I found this one has the most bad feedback of all the ones I found.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=264624

Go to the bottom of this page for a large sample size

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

I honestly did try to find some complaints of bricked cards or even damaged cards, I just couldn't find any. I would think that if this was a big problem there would be posts about all over the web.

Those of you in the overclock3D community that have these card and have flashed them, please let us know if you have had problems. That's what this is all about overclockers and modders helping each other out.