I ordered this card because I was looking for a 2GB 6950 from a good manufacturer with non reference cooling.
(I hate Turbine Coolers with a passion)
I was not looking to unlock, but I do consider it a bonus.
The Good:
It runs Cold. At 900 Core and 99% load It was only 65C in my Antec P280. In a case with better airflow, It will be even cooler.
At 900MHz Core its a definite upgrade from my old GTX470 at 775MHz Core.
Looks Good
Shaders May unlock depending on the method you use.
The Bad:
Only Sapphire TRIXX offers Voltage control for Overclocking which makes an otherwise great card that would be fun to push nearly useless.
After one night of working with MSI Afterburner(Industry Standard) and the .cfg file changes, the most I was able to do is get the Core clock to be modifiable.
Voltage remained tweakable only in Trixx. IF you dont mind, its a great buy, but TRIXX is a terrible program for someone who is used to Afterburner, and ended up being a deal-breaker.
Most of the time, Shaders are locked, and not even a BIOS flash to a 6970(Which can damage the VRAM by forcing it to run out of spec) changes that.
Unlocking on a non first gen 6950 usually only adds about a 3-6% performance increase and ~80Watts of power draw.
Max VCore is 1.18, meaning the card is really held back from its max potential.
Why 5 Stars even though I sound like I hate it?
If you are new to overclocking, Want a very fast card that can do 900 Core on stock voltage, or don't care about using terrible software for your overclocking, there are far worse choices than this card. It is a truly solid card, and worth every penny. But I messed up an ordered a card that wasn't what I needed. Thats not a reflection of the card quality, its a reflection of me.
Addendum:
After speaking with SpicyBomb via email, they agreed to give me a refund even though It wasn't defective and didn't meet their requirements for return.
They were incredibly helpful, and very easy to work with.
Im sending it back with the unused Dirt3 Code and Unregistered Warranty information, and ill be looking for another 6950 2GB with fewer restrictions.
Probably a HIS IceQ or an MSI Twin Frozr II/III.
Awesome Cheap and best
Pros -1) Unlockable to 6970 with push of switch2) Can overclock it to HD 6970 easily with Trixx software utility3) Very quiet and runs very cool4) Constant 40+ fps for battlefield 3, crysis 2, assassin's creed brotherhood with(1920x1200, 8xAA, everything maxed out)Cons -1) Must Give A Game DVD not coupon.My PC config --AMD Phenom II x6 1100TASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3Corsair XMS3 CMX1600C9 4GBKingston Hyper X T1 4x2=8GB 1600MhzWD Cavier Green 1TBCrucial M4-128GB SSDCooler Master 690 II Advanced CabinetCooler Master GX750 PSUSamsung PX2370 MoniterConclusion :Buy It Only 15 in stock .
