AMD: R9xx Speculation

[DavidGraham]

Only future drivers? AMD cant add extra performance now? How many times we have to repeat obvious examples of review sites using diff revisions and getting diff results?

Different sites use different test scenarios , different set of games , and even different settings .

No they dont, not with pre-release drivers like its now.

I am pretty sure it happens with all drivers , pre-releases or not , if you disagree , then please provide an example .

BTW, sorry to disappoint you, but even lowly and cheap 6850 CF beats 580 SLi in ultra resolutions, what to speak of Caymans...

consistently or in special cases ?

2% difference doesnt register at all to you as close cards in one case, but in another its equal footing? You rejected 2560 in the first place, why you even quoting it?

I am quoting it because according to your logic , HD 5970 isn't beating GTX 580 as you claim , but since special cases don't count , then you can't claim the same for HD 6970 .

I never rejected 2560 at all , in fact I said only at 2560 and 8X AA does the HD 6970 close in at GTX 580 , in the rest it can't do that , you are grasping at straws here .

 

[swaaye]

I'm just not convinced that the drivers for this chip are raw. This isn't R600-level newness here. And like has been said, the driver team didn't get the silicon just recently.

3.4 unit utilization would be barely better what they got with VLIW5, so I doubt it's as good as it's going to get.
Also, utilization of VLIW-cores isn't the only factor related to how fast the drivers can get the cards to run

What I meant here was that they dropped the 5th specialized ALU because it was idle most of the time. A waste of die space. They were seeing 3.4/5 units being utilized. By moving to 4 units they believed they would get more efficient use of die space. But then they went and added more GPGPU stuff which is superfluous for graphics (see Fermi lol). So that makes me doubt that the chip is any more efficient per die space at graphics, but it is probably much better for OpenCL than prior chips.

 

[Kaotik]

consistently or in special cases ?

Consistently in the 2 or 3 games HardwareHeaven tested in Eyefinity

 

[Lightman]

So it seems that my feeling was right, HD6950 unlocks to HD6970 after simple BIOS flash :smile:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263635&page=30

I wonder though, how long this will work. Probably AMD will block it on future shipped cards.

Anyway great news!

 

[digitalwanderer]

So it seems that my feeling was right, HD6950 unlocks to HD6970 after simple BIOS flash :smile:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263635&page=30

I wonder though, how long this will work. Probably AMD will block it on future shipped cards.

Anyway great news!

I had a feeling that would be the case, thus their switch from a lot of 6950s to a lot of 6970s.

 

[CNCAddict]

Gigabyte 6950 for $279 at newegg after rebate & free S&H. I just got one...and somehow I think the 6950s will sell out rather quickly now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125356&cm_re=6950-_-14-125-356-_-Product

 

[tannat]

I had a feeling that would be the case, thus their switch from a lot of 6950s to a lot of 6970s.

Yes, and finally an explanation for the delay. It was the bios.

 

[ECH]

Unlock a 6950 to 6970. So was that what the extra bios was for? What's interesting is that increasing the SP increases performance but with just 2, 6-pin power connectors.

 

[GZ007]

What's interesting is that increasing the SP increases performance but with just 2, 6-pin power connectors.

If your PSU and GPU is capable than a 6-pin conector is able to provide 150W without problem. The missing extra 2 pins dont make much difference.

 

[Kaotik]

The 2 extra pins are both grounds, when they first came you could even use a paperclip or something with normal 6pin plug to fool the card to think you have 8-pin plugged in

 

[Arty]

W1zzard posted a detailed guide and results.

AMD Radeon HD 6950 to HD 6970 Mod

13 out of 13 successful mods from different vendors.

 

[ECH]

If your PSU and GPU is capable than a 6-pin conector is able to provide 150W without problem. The missing extra 2 pins dont make much difference.

The 2 extra pins are both grounds, when they first came you could even use a paperclip or something with normal 6pin plug to fool the card to think you have 8-pin plugged in

The issue I'm seeing is that the 6950 with just 2, 6pins is capable of performing just like the 6970, even OC. And still offer similar performance results. But consuming less power. So the question is, what is going on with the 6970? What is it about the 6970 that requires more power? Regardless if it uses 8pin, 6pin or not it shouldn't need more if it's not using more. Is it by chance a lower binned chip? Or something else?

 

[Man from Atlantis]

there are extra resistors on 6950 pcb that should be guilty of lower power consume.. probably those resistors are some kind of over current protection or else..

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2079/pcbn.jpg

 

[DarthShader]

Does Vcore change with the BIOS flash too? Xt has 1.175V stock, Pro only 1.1 or so...

Or those TPU results are just typical card to card variation as seen among different reviews.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

The issue I'm seeing is that the 6950 with just 2, 6pins is capable of performing just like the 6970, even OC. And still offer similar performance results. But consuming less power. So the question is, what is going on with the 6970? What is it about the 6970 that requires more power? Regardless if it uses 8pin, 6pin or not it shouldn't need more if it's not using more. Is it by chance a lower binned chip? Or something else?

I'd guess a 6970 has more overclocking room (ie more power) that an unlocked 6950 is not going to reach. So you can get a 6950 to 6970 level, but only a genuine 6970 is going to get much beyond that with the +20 percent available on powertune.

 

[ECH]

Does Vcore change with the BIOS flash too? Xt has 1.175V stock, Pro only 1.1 or so...

Or those TPU results are just typical card to card variation as seen among different reviews.

Here you go

 

[eastmen]

well considering i'm stuck in 2 feet of snow , I went down the street to my buddys house and just flashed his 6950 and its working fine at 6970 shaders and clocks.

I'm glad the 6970 i ordered ended up back ordered. Canceled it and ordrered the gigabyte 6950 on newegg.com for $300 with a $20 mail in rebate. So I'm going to end up saving over $100

 

[ECH]

I'd guess a 6970 has more overclocking room (ie more power) that an unlocked 6950 is not going to reach. So you can get a 6950 to 6970 level, but only a genuine 6970 is going to get much beyond that with the +20 percent available on powertune.

I don't know...the only benefit that I see now is that the 6970 is suppose to have better memory ICs. And that shouldn't account for the power consumption difference when they are both using 2gigs of ram. Right now those who do use mod their 6950 can still OC them based on what the head room is for the 6950 but get similar to 6970 OC results at much lower power consumption then the 6970. That's what I'm concerned about.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I don't know...the only benefit that I see now is that the 6970 is suppose to have better memory ICs. And that shouldn't account for the power consumption difference when they are both using 2gigs of ram. Right now those who do use mod their 6950 can still OC them based on what the head room is for the 6950 but get similar to 6970 OC results at much lower power consumption then the 6970. That's what I'm concerned about.

The 6950 does seem to have an extra block of resistors on the PCB that are maybe some kind of artificial limit on the card's power consumption. What exactly are you concerned about?

 

[ECH]

The 6950 does seem to have an extra block of resistors on the PCB that are maybe some kind of artificial limit on the card's power consumption. What exactly are you concerned about?

That extra block of resistors on the PCB is not something I'm concerned about since it's functionality is not clear. What does that do exact? Also, why would it be on the 6950 and not the 6970? Too many questions and someone in the know would need to address. What I am concerned about is the lower power envelope for the same/similar performance now that the 6950 is "unlocked". Which generates the question of why does the 6970 need the extra power consumption at stock clocks when the 6950 (using a 6970 bios) can produce the same performance at a lower power consumption?