Question about SAPPHIRE Toxic 100312TXSR Radeon HD 6950

[apav]

Question about this product:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102951

My friend told me that flipping that switch voids the warranty of the card. They don't advertise that much but no one has said anything about voiding the warranty.

I'm gonna get two of these crossfire.

I'm still undecided if I should flip the switch to 6970 mode or leave it the way it is(in its OC'ed version).

Would these crossfire be able to handle BF3 max settings smoothly @1080p? I mean no one knows yet, but I'm not sure if flashing dual gpu's would be overkill(because it probably voids the card, and shortens the life even more).

 

[apav]

Debating whether I get these over these cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127604

or this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

 

[purple stain]

A 6950 crossfire is a powerful setup as it is.Don't see why you would need more.Even if BF3 is as demanding as some think a 6950 crossfire and a fast CPU should be able to max it out.

In another thread someone said that they were going to use the 6950 as it was and then when the Warranty is up flip the switch to make it a 6970.Something to think about.

Go with the 1GB version Twin Frozr.Their's no difference in performance between the 2GB and 1GB models.That is of course unless your using a very large display area.

 

[alyoshka]

Instead of getting two of those and then cross firing them, why don't you go in for 6990?
it'll cost you about a 100 Bucks more but........

And flipping the switch does not void the warranty, cos if it did, they'd be liable big time for having provided a switch.

 

[apav]

Instead of getting two of those and then cross firing them, why don't you go in for 6990?
it'll cost you about a 100 Bucks more but........

And flipping the switch does not void the warranty, cos if it did, they'd be liable big time for having provided a switch.

I'm pretty sure it is but I could be wrong, I think I read somewhere that it does void the warranty. And I think 2 6950's would be more powerful than a 6990 and its definitely cheaper. I know for sure 6950's CF is more much powerful than a GRX 580. I never thought about getting a 6990, but I think the 6950's are more powerful.

 

[alyoshka]

No doubt about the 6950's in CF being more powerful than a 6990..... but there is not that too big a gap, afterall the 6990's are the top tier of the GPU world right now. So you're not going to loose that much, though you might end up being on the plus side since they are in 4GB bundles and would leave you enough room for a quad cf later on..... and that is one hell of a rig for boasting rights......

Warranty voids would only happen if you were to flash the bios with a higher model bios and mess up the card during an OC.
The switch itself is for fan profiles, I think.

 

[apav]

A 6950 crossfire is a powerful setup as it is.Don't see why you would need more.Even if BF3 is as demanding as some think a 6950 crossfire and a fast CPU should be able to max it out.

In another thread someone said that they were going to use the 6950 as it was and then when the Warranty is up flip the switch to make it a 6970.Something to think about.

Go with the 1GB version Twin Frozr.Their's no difference in performance between the 2GB and 1GB models.That is of course unless your using a very large display area.

Yup 1920x1080 on a 23-27" monitor(haven't decided yet)

The only reason I'd go with the Twin Frozr 3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

over the Twin Frozr 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127562

Is because it is factory OC'ed and comes with superior cooling.

Also would an i5 2500k be a fast cpu by your standards?

 

[apav]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&Description=msi%20twin%20frozr&bop=And&SrchInDesc=6950&Page=1&PageSize=100

Here is the list of all the MSI 6950's.... ahh there's so many not sure which one is the best for CF and cooling!

I hope to get a hold of the sapphires but if I cant one of those MSI's is my best bet

 

[apav]

No doubt about the 6950's in CF being more powerful than a 6990..... but there is not that too big a gap, afterall the 6990's are the top tier of the GPU world right now. So you're not going to loose that much, though you might end up being on the plus side since they are in 4GB bundles and would leave you enough room for a quad cf later on..... and that is one hell of a rig for boasting rights......

Warranty voids would only happen if you were to flash the bios with a higher model bios and mess up the card during an OC.
The switch itself is for fan profiles, I think.

Thanks for the advice with the 6990, however I'm never going to use quad 6990's for sure!

I'm going to go with the 6950's because the CF was a little out of my budget but this rig was designed to max Battlefield 3 so I am not gonna skimp short on my gpu. But $100 more is definitely completely out of my budget!

Maybe in 2 years when 6690's get down to $300 level I'll get 2 CF's.

 

[purple stain]

Don't look at the factory O.C. as a determining factor.Those clocks can easily be achevied by yourself.

As long as you O.C. the 2500k it should be fine.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/313865-33-6950-twin-frozr-twin-frozr

So what i'm gaining from that is that their's no difference in the heatsink between the Twin Frozr II and III.I would just go with the cheaper one which is the Twin Frozr II.

 

[17seconds]

Why would they include a BIOS switch and then void your warranty if you actually use it? The thing you need to understand is that it already comes from the factory with a flashed 6970 BIOS, so you are not doing any modifications yourself at all.

Get the Sapphire Toxic and flip that switch!
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/sapphire-radeon-hd-6950-toxic_3.html

 

[purple stain]

Well AMD makes AMD Overdrive but they say any damage cause from it isn't covered under warranty.They give you a way to damage it and say they won't cover it,lol.

 

[alyoshka]

The software always has a different conditions, that why they make you read the EULA and then accept them, since AMD overdrive is used to manipulate stuff on the entire rig, the maker can never possibly give guarantees that their software won't blow up a minute component not manufactured by them on the mobo that could lead to major electrical damage of other parts of the rig.
I'd say it's pretty logical why they don't cover stuff under warranty if that software is used.
It's like saying the Manufacturer of a Car should cover the insurance liabilities of the owner if he was to go on a killing spree at 180Kmph.

Whereas a physical switch will only push the card to it's max physical limit and thus can still be covered under warranty.
The software has limits but it could be way beyond the hardware it's being used on, like using Nitro in your car......

The main problem is that people are going to flip the switch and then OC the card, this is going to go well above the physical limits of the card which the company is sure about. Thats why, I guess they must have put a clause in like that.

 

[apav]

The software always has a different conditions, that why they make you read the EULA and then accept them, since AMD overdrive is used to manipulate stuff on the entire rig, the maker can never possibly give guarantees that their software won't blow up a minute component not manufactured by them on the mobo that could lead to major electrical damage of other parts of the rig.
I'd say it's pretty logical why they don't cover stuff under warranty if that software is used.
It's like saying the Manufacturer of a Car should cover the insurance liabilities of the owner if he was to go on a killing spree at 180Kmph.

Whereas a physical switch will only push the card to it's max physical limit and thus can still be covered under warranty.
The software has limits but it could be way beyond the hardware it's being used on, like using Nitro in your car......

The main problem is that people are going to flip the switch and then OC the card, this is going to go well above the physical limits of the card which the company is sure about. Thats why, I guess they must have put a clause in like that.

So if I were to do one, which one should I do? Is there one that shows more of a performance increase and that is less damaging?

 

[alyoshka]

Well, Personally, I'd go for the Twin Frozr III.
The main thing in OCing a card is to keep the Temps Low and the Voltages intact.
A better cooling solution enables you to stretch the limits a little further in a less damaging way, so the choice.

 

[purple stain]

^+1.

Although the Toxic version from Sapphire does come with their Vapor-X technology it's still a reference cooling design so it will run hotter and louder than the Twin Frozr design.

I seriously think that x2 6950's in crossfire is already enough.

 

[apav]

Don't look at the factory O.C. as a determining factor.Those clocks can easily be achevied by yourself.

As long as you O.C. the 2500k it should be fine.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/313865-33-6950-twin-frozr-twin-frozr

So what i'm gaining from that is that their's no difference in the heatsink between the Twin Frozr II and III.I would just go with the cheaper one which is the Twin Frozr II.

Apparently reviews are saying the heatsink is better on the Twin Frozr III, and there are no reviews on the Twin Frozr 1gb version, are you sure the extra gb of ram isn't better for framerates as all?

 

[alyoshka]

The extra GB of GDDR is a plus when you go into multi monitor setups, where very high resolutions are needed, thus the Memory capacity of the cards come into play.
I would suggest going in for the Twin Frozr III with the 2GB version. Just incase you plan to go to HD gaming

 

[apav]

The extra GB of GDDR is a plus when you go into multi monitor setups, where very high resolutions are needed, thus the Memory capacity of the cards come into play.
I would suggest going in for the Twin Frozr III with the 2GB version. Just incase you plan to go to HD gaming

By "HD gaming" do you need multiple monitor setups? I thought a 1080p monitor connected with an HDMI is hd gaming?

Thanks I'm not an expert with all of this

 

[alyoshka]

Yup, You're right to think that running a game on a 1080p monitor is HD gaming, but not fully.
Running it on a HD monitor at HD resolutions... is HD gaming, which actually means the textures and maps for the games have to be in High Resolutions as compared to the normal game.
I meant a few monitors all running a 1080... That requires a lot of Video Ram and computing power.

 

[apav]

Well I'm never doing multimonitors, they hurt my eyes haha, but Battlefield 3? Is that HD gaming?

 

[alyoshka]

Most probably all the games that will come out after Crysis II will follow suit, they will come out in standard versions as well as with High Resolution Patches.

 

[apav]

Ah I see. Well will a 2gb model have more fps on a 1080p monitor than a 1gb model?

 

[nightmare106]

I got a question... if on the box of the product says that the cards works on 230GB/s of memory bandwidth but when I use this product, install all the drivers it says it's running 127GB/s of memory bandwidth. (it's a GPU ) Can I use the warranty to replace this product due to false product advertising on the box?

 

[purple stain]

Their is little to no difference comparing a 1GB 6950 to a 2GB 6950.The only need for a 2G model is for extreme resolution's.Something like an Eyefinity setup or any resolution over 2560x1600.

Their is also no difference at all from the Twin Frozr II to III model.The Frozr III model just has a different look and it's O.C.ed.The Twin Frozr II is cheaper and you can easily obtain the higher clocks manually without having to pay the extra $30.