AMD is preparing to update the specifications of its Radeon HD 7950 graphics processor to make it more competitive in the sub-$400 market segment, particularly against NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 660 Ti graphics processor. The update is much like that of the Radeon HD 7750, which got its core frequency increased from 800 to 900 MHz in a specifications update. The company released a new BIOS ROM image file which works on all AMD reference design Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards, which implements the new specifications.The new specifications sees the GPU core frequency increased to 850 MHz (from 800 MHz), and introduces PowerTune with Boost, which sends the GPU clock speed up to 925 MHz, when applications demand it. The memory frequency stays unchanged, at 1250 MHz, and so do the physical specifications of the GPU, such as stream processor, TMU, and ROP counts. All Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards manufactured from mid-August will feature the new specifications, prices will remain unchanged. If you're familiar with manually updating the BIOS, you can check it out (at your own risk) from our VGA BIOS Database. Set your card's BIOS selector switch to "1" (if available), and update the BIOS. It works only with AMD reference-design HD 7950 cards.

43 Comments on AMD Updates Radeon HD 7950 to Thwart GeForce GTX 660 Ti

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#1 Delta6326

That's sweet if you already own one its like a free upgrade. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:39 Reply

#2 LAN_deRf_HA

Sapphire copies nvidia and then AMD copies sapphire? Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:44 Reply

#3 dank1983man420

So they overclock it for you, which would put a big dent on user overclocking past those new specs. Would it not? Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:48 Reply

#4 Mathragh

dank1983man420 So they overclock it for you, which would put a big dent on user overclocking past those new specs. Would it not? Wasnt this the same with the new 7970 bios? Wasnt this the same with the new 7970 bios? Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:50 Reply

#5 buggalugs

LAN_deRf_HA Sapphire copies nvidia and then AMD copies sapphire? And Nvidia copies Intel. Actually AMD had it on their processors and onboard gpus before Nvidia used it so I guess Nvidia copied AMD too.



Anyway good move from AMD. No need to rush out a completely new GPU or drop prices too much. And Nvidia copies Intel. Actually AMD had it on their processors and onboard gpus before Nvidia used it so I guess Nvidia copied AMD too.Anyway good move from AMD. No need to rush out a completely new GPU or drop prices too much. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:53 Reply

#6 dank1983man420

Mathragh Wasnt this the same with the new 7970 bios? Yeah pretty much. AMD released a new GHz model to thwart the 680. Then the GHz bios got leaked and people found out they could just flash their standard 7970's with the bios and turn them into the GHz edition for an easy ~$70 savings. At least it's free this time without trying to release a new model !!:toast: Yeah pretty much. AMD released a new GHz model to thwart the 680. Then the GHz bios got leaked and people found out they could just flash their standard 7970's with the bios and turn them into the GHz edition for an easy ~$70 savings. At least it's free this time without trying to release a new model !!:toast: Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 9:57 Reply

#7 RejZoR

I'll get my HD7950 with core at 900MHz out of the box anyway so i don't care :P Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 10:41 Reply

#8 dj-electric

I lol'ed Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 10:43 Reply

#9 Hayder_Master

nice i am have one Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 11:00 Reply

#10 micropage7

so its called official OC, bumping some MHz to boost the performance Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 11:17 Reply

#11 dj-electric

Well, it does include the boost option so...



I say - every improvement is always welcome.

There's no need to bash AMD for actually doing something good Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 11:32 Reply

#12 Zubasa

I wonder if other non-reference models will get update bios as well :rolleyes: Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 11:57 Reply

#13 SIGSEGV





www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2012/test-grafikkarten-2012/ i don't really care on what amd did on their southern island cards as long as they can help my daily working, so yeah, i don't care with gaming benchmark scores.. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 12:58 Reply

#14 Kenshai

So if AMD is putting this out, they clearly believe every single reference design will hit 900 mhz (presumably with a minor voltage bump.) Why wouldn't they just release them this way from the start? Essentially sandbagging their GPU for extra cash at the time. I know this is common practice but just annoying :) Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 13:21 Reply

#15 hardcore_gamer

It'd be a lot better if they unlocked some cores also. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 13:31 Reply

#16 Ghost

Delta6326 That's sweet if you already own one its like a free upgrade. Overclocking is free anyways.......... Overclocking is free anyways.......... Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 13:44 Reply

#17 Zubasa

Ghost Overclocking is free anyways.......... They are also giving you the boost feature for free, need it or not ;) They are also giving you the boost feature for free, need it or not ;) Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 13:46 Reply

#18 phanbuey

Kenshai So if AMD is putting this out, they clearly believe every single reference design will hit 900 mhz (presumably with a minor voltage bump.) Why wouldn't they just release them this way from the start? Essentially sandbagging their GPU for extra cash at the time. I know this is common practice but just annoying :) Well they did not do it at the time because they didn't want to hurt the sales of their top of the line card, IMO. Well they did not do it at the time because they didn't want to hurt the sales of their top of the line card, IMO. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 14:15 Reply

#19 jateruy

800 and 850 is not too much difference. and in fact almost half of the reference 7950 could be overclocked to 1G without a volt tweak. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 14:41 Reply

#20 Crap Daddy

Interesting move. Now, I have done some research and it seems that this BIOS has been sent to reviewers with a recommendation to use it when comparing to the upcoming 660Ti. Only Wizzard can confirm this but anyway AMD seem to know more about the performance of the 660Ti than us, people who try to get a picture from different leaks. Don't want to comment about the usefulness of such a BIOS update since anyway the major benefit of a 7950 is not the out of the box performance but the overclockabilty. But then again, reviews are made with reference cards and it's not nice to loose from a lower end card. Or not? Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 14:42 Reply

#21 m1dg3t

Le Sigh....



BIOS, GOOD! Boost, BAD. :shadedshu



Now all we/I need is some better z77 iTX (hear me MFGs?) enthusiast style boards, no bottom feeder budget stuff, and my blasted case to arrive! :cool:



Side note: Just started dealing with NCIx.ca, don't think it will continue. Abhorred customer service. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 14:51 Reply

#22 pantherx12

Kenshai So if AMD is putting this out, they clearly believe every single reference design will hit 900 mhz (presumably with a minor voltage bump.) Why wouldn't they just release them this way from the start? Essentially sandbagging their GPU for extra cash at the time. I know this is common practice but just annoying :) Because they released their cards before Nvidia, by clocking them lower Nvidia release their cards at a lower clock speed (enough to beat AMD but leaving a lot of wiggle room for 3rd party board makers)



Which in turn allowed AMD to do this. Because they released their cards before Nvidia, by clocking them lower Nvidia release their cards at a lower clock speed (enough to beat AMD but leaving a lot of wiggle room for 3rd party board makers)Which in turn allowed AMD to do this. Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 14:57 Reply

#23 Frogger

m1dg3t Side note: Just started dealing with NCIx.ca, don't think it will continue. Abhorred customer servi worst in CA worst in CA Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 15:18 Reply

#24 T4C Fantasy

CPU & GPU DB Maintainer when will wizzard add TMUs to gpuz? Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 15:26 Reply

#25 m1dg3t

Frogger worst in CA Dunno 'bout worst in Canada but definately not on my "Good seller" list. Have dealt with them 3 times. Twice i've had issues. Not good odd's, unless you're gambling! :roll: Dunno 'bout worst in Canada but definately not on my "Good seller" list. Have dealt with them 3 times. Twice i've had issues. Not good odd's, unless you're gambling! :roll: Posted on Aug 14th 2012, 16:09 Reply