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FRONTPAGE ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP Graphics Card Review

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That BIOS limit on 570s was imposed by Nvidia though, and was specific to GTX570 and GTX580 GPUs.
Not all limits are the same.
 
That BIOS limit on 570s was imposed by Nvidia though, and was specific to GTX570 and GTX580 GPUs.
Not all limits are the same.

True

Its still EZ to save the bios and take a look at the volts limit with a bios editor.
 
It was easy on the 5xx cards, have you tried a 7970? It won't be the same regardless, and generally once you brick an AMD card it's dead, there's no blind flashing.
 
Nope, never played on 79xx bios. Last AMD i played with was a 5870, i'm on the Nvidia side ever since and i bios modded every card i had. 4xx, 5xx, 6xx.

These 7970 have dual bios IIRC ?
 
Negative. Well, technically yes it has dual BIOSes, but not in the way you're thinking. The 7970s by ASUS with non-reference PCBs have six-display capability. The switch only changes the display configuration.

Handy-dandy image time:

asus-7970dcut-ioports2.jpg

That's all it does. Tis not a backup BIOS in the traditional sense that it would help recover a borked flash.
 
Crap ... In my mind, all 7970 had dual bios :) Something i would like to see on all high end GPU BTW....
 
Most do, but its seems like the ones that can handle several monitors, like my HIS 7970 X Turbo, does the same thing. Same with the 7870 Flex IIRC...
 
Hokie> I doubt if it would brick my card, winflash will either accept it or it won't and I've already made a backup of the OEM bios so ya that would be GREAT if you could do that.
Want me to PM my Email addy to you ?
 
Depends on the card. Most are kept. If things are needed for the front page (i.e. monitors for testing, component replacement for test beds, etc), we'll sell them in the classifieds for funding as we get no monetary support form iNet for front page operations. ES cards (I get most of those) can't be sold or even given away, so they're just piling up in my shop. The TITAN we recently reviewed for instance will probably go in my HTPC because of its low power draw....and because it's cool to have a TITAN in an HTPC. :)

This particular card has replaced the AMD HD 6970 for game/GPU benchmark testing in processor reviews.

:rofl:

OMG...

Hokie; you need to put up some sort of "Overkill HTPC" article for the front page. Hell; I found a thread over at "that other forum" where a guy is building a gaming PC and he dropped coin on four Asus Titans just a few days ago...

Something along these lines wouldn't be beneath me if I had a Titan to put into my HTPC... Oh well; I guess I'm infantile, immature and all that. :chair:

35465702.jpg
 
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bios update mm?

You guys are funny with the bios update. All you need to oc the sh.. out of the card is on these thread. So i download the version (2.2.1.4) that i see on the thread witch have the voltage unlock n'till 1.4(big number eh..) but i need it only 1.188 to run either 1125/6300 or 1201/7000. I got my asus 7970 top on 01.02.2013. So i test it hours and hours and no stability problem at all. As for performance is identical with the sapphire toxic (without oc only with toxic boost on)
Now if you do a clean install like after the driver install will work ok:) if you install gpu tw 2.2.1.4 after other version is possible not to work (reinstall the driver again then gpu t) - your goal is to see the voltage unlock.
The second problem is to check overclocking range enhancement exactly on these version of Gpu Tweak since is the only one with the voltage unlock (from all the version i test it) and the voltage works...tough if you cant find it:) your stuck with 1125/6300.
The max oc for me was 1260/7600 but was to close to the limit and was not 24/7 oc like 1200/7000 and still i use 1125/6300 when the game don't demand high power.
As for afterburner+gpu t :) did not work ok at all for me, at 1200/7000 the board was not stable.

Bottom line: get the version that is linked on the post install it right:) unlock the frequency and foget about that crazy idea with the bios rewrite. You brake your card for what? to loose one bios and maibe get 12 to 15 fps...o yeah defo is worth it.

Piece:facepalm: and nice review:) when i done read it i knew i have found my 7970. :thup:for the writer
 
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Asus Hd 7970 DCII Top

"belatedly" A little informative update on what dual bios installed
after a small mistake with the flash, I found that my card had 2 different bios versions = OK!
Switch: bios mode 1 = 113-AD44400-101
Switch: bios mode 2 = 113-AD44300-101

In other words, bios switch has double functions!
The switch changes the display configuration and have backup bios
 
Mine is going back to Asus under RMA. It has always been a bit flaky (locking up periodically), but the past couple of weeks it's gotten to the point where it would lockup many times a day. I have to take it apart (remove the EK waterblock) and put it back to stock. Hope I can find all the screws!
 
I don't think there will be a difference between the two. It is literally the same GPU. If one has the capability, the other does too unless AMD intentionally differentiates them (which I don't think they do).
 
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