Crossfire Help

[merloin]

I recently ordered a Sapphire Toxic 6950 with the hope/expectation it will unlock the shaders and become a slightly underclocked 6970. My intention was to pick up another one this holiday season for crossfire. However, it seems that shortly after getting the first one, the product is deactivated on newegg and I'm pretty sure my chances of getting another one, short of having luck on ebay, are slim to none.

With that said, I'm wondering, assuming my existing card does unlock as expected, could I crossfire it with a stock 6970 and either overclock the 6950 or, gasp, underclock the 6970 slightly so they match?

Or, am I pretty much stuck with leaving the Toxic locked and just doing crossfire with another 6950 overclocked to match its speed the best I can?

Thanks,
Merloin

 

[ilysaml]

1- You can CF HD 6990 with HD 6970, HD 6970 with HD 6950.
2- IF you're going to unlock the Toxic HD 6950 to HD 6970 so you can grab a HD 6970 and CF it with the toxic (both will be HD 6970s in CF).
3- IF you're not going to Unlock the Toxic, if you add another HD 6950..you still have a great performance and great scaling comparable with HD 6970s in CF.
4- If you'll get a HD 6970 to CF with the unlocked Toxic, make sure to OC the slower card to match the faster card in (Core & Memory Clocks) IN CASE THEY ARE NOT IDENTICAL.

 

[merloin]

Perfect answer ilysaml! Thank you for making it clear to me.

 

[merloin]

Best answer selected by merloin.