HD6950 unlockable shaders?

[Medicteddy]

I'm looking at getting one of two hd6950 cards:

HIS Ice Q X HD6950 2GB --> £175
MSI Twin Frozr III HD6950 2GB --> £210


I know this seems like an obvious choice to go for the HIS card, but the twin frozr does have a dual bios switch... What I am asking is whether the potential to unlock shaders is worth that 35 quid?

also has anyone been able to unlock a HIS hd6950?

 

[Medicteddy]

Tried looking for the sapphire hd6950 toxic, but the cheapest i can find in the uk is for £240

the cheaper his 6950 is on ebay, and i dont want to lose my opportunity to buy it cheap, although I will at least wait until tomorrow when the 7950 is released...

and this will be my first build and therefore my first desktop graphics card...

How much difference does the shader unlock make? Just so you know, I'm 'upgrading' from my laptop's nvidia GeForce 8600M GT, so I know the 6950 itself will be a massive jump in itself

 

[Medicteddy]

if you had a more recent card than mine and you really noticed the leap... I can't wait to find out how much difference I notice going from my old one!

Having said that, I will take your advice and wait another week or so to see how the 7950 ends up