Buy 6950 just to bios hack?

[alclarity]

Thinking of buying a XFX 6950 for a new rig mostly so I can bios hack it to 6970 performance, good idea or bad idea?

I currently have a MSI twin frozr ii gtx 470 which is great but I use higher resolutions than most and for some reason I cant fit two DVI's + 1 hdmi adapter all in to the back with a Corsair Graphite 600T

[Letum]

6950 is going to get a fix in a batch which removes the possibility of an unlock. I'm unaware when this is going to happen but it's been a reality for a week or two now so you may get unlucky and find yourself with a newer batch version which doesn't have the unlock ability.

[_dangtx_]

get old stock if you can,if not theoretically still ok.
and keep the 6950 clocks so you dont mess it up. go for the modded 6950 bios,
not the 6970 one. just in case :)

[Prolab]

I just bought mine last night. Flashed it to 6970. No artifacts so far, but damn... is it ever hot! I cant even touch it after running unigine.

I might have to flash it to modded 6950. I'll give it a week or so, if im not happy ill flash it to modded 6950.

[zoob]

Haha yep! The card runs hot as heck! If you can tolerate the noise, bump up the fanspeed manually, else buy a full cover block :)

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by Prolab

I just bought mine last night. Flashed it to 6970. No artifacts so far, but damn... is it ever hot! I cant even touch it after running unigine.

I might have to flash it to modded 6950. I'll give it a week or so, if im not happy ill flash it to modded 6950.

Mine never breaks 55C

Although I do run the fan @ 100%.

[alclarity]

Any recommendations for block cooling for the unit, hopefully nothing over $99 otherwise might as well get a 6970

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by alclarity

Any recommendations for block cooling for the unit, hopefully nothing over $99 otherwise might as well get a 6970

You really don't have a lot of options for under $100. Personally I am going to cheap out this time around and go w/ Swiftech MCW80's plus stick on heatsinks. I am sick of losing $50-$75 a block every few months when I try to sell them.

[alclarity]

Originally Posted by lowfat

You really don't have a lot of options for under $100. Personally I am going to cheap out this time around and go w/ Swiftech MCW80's plus stick on heatsinks. I am sick of losing $50-$75 a block every few months when I try to sell them.

So if you were me, what would you consider installing (custom cooling) on this unit if you intend to keep it around for 2-3 years minimum with a decent amount of use, maybe 20-40 hours of heavy use a week

[lowfat]

You doing this for silence or performance? You can always increase your stock fan speed and it will stay cool. Or you could just wait a few months and we will start to see better air coolers available.