Still possible to unlock shaders in non-reference XFX 6950 2GB?

[motorneuron]

Hey guys--

Long-time reader, but this is my first post!

I just built a pretty standard gaming rig for about $1100, including a core i5-2500k and a XFX 6950 2GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549&Tpk=XFX%20HD-695X-CDFC%20Radeon%20HD%206950%202GB%20256-bit%20GDDR5

Before buying the card, I read a fair amount about unlocking extra shaders and overclocking to achieve a poor man's 6970. However, I've read more recently that the latest 6950s are not likely up to the task.

So my first question is:

*do you know if this specific board is likely to react well to a BIOS modification to unlock more shaders?
*what about overclocking? and OCing the RAM?

The second question is this:
*I'm at work so I can't look at the card to see whether it has an accessible dual BIOS switch. However, if it doesn't, will I be able to re-flash the BIOS back to stock even if the card is temporarily bricked? I know the 2500k has onboard video, so I was assuming this would be possible, but I'm curious from people who know. The guide here, http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/316974-33-radeon-6950-shader-unlock-instructions, assumes that you have a second card to place in the first PCIe slot, and I don't, but I assume you can just do that using the onboard 2500k video.

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this is repetitive/noobish (I tried to read up beforehand!).

 

[jerzeygamer]

Even if it doesnt have the switch there are ways. I hope you bought the card localy so you can return it if you you brick it. Any way you do it its still high risk even with the switch.

 

[megamanx00]

yes it's possible but non reference boards generally do not have the backup BIOS switch which means if you card doesn't boot with your new ROM image you're SOL. Of course, you can still permanently kill cards with the BIOS switch through a bad flash but without the switch the risk is that much greater.

 

[motorneuron]

Maybe I should put the question this way. What do you think the chances are that I'll destroy the card by messing with the BIOS, even in a "careful" way (i.e. modding the 6950 BIOS, not just using the 6970 BIOS)? I'd love statistics, though I'm sure there are none (but I'm that kind of guy). I don't mind bricking it and restoring the old BIOS; that doesn't freak me out. But permanently destroying it might ruin my weekend.

 

[megamanx00]

There are tutorials on how to make custom images for 6950s. The best thing to do is to make a custom BIOS that unlocks all the shaders. If the card is stable in that setting then you can try overclocking it and seeing where the limits of your stability is. Seems to me the biggest block to reaching 6970 performance would be the RAM speed, since I believe the 6970 generally uses higher speed rated RAM than the 6950 though I think that 6970 core speeds should be obtainable.