GeForce FX5900 to FX5950 Ultra Flash Mod

ClubOC has posted details of a ‘no cost, reversible’ mod to bump a GeForce FX5900 up to FX5950 which entails downloading a 5950u bios and flashing your card with a bios flashing utility. This one obviously comes with a tinker-at-your-own-risk dislaimer:

I was searching around the net the last couple of days, and found quite a few recent news postings about bios flashing a GeForce FX5900 128mb video card and turning it into a 128mb FX5950 Ultra (the 5950u is a 256mb card). The default clocks on the 5900’s are 400mhz core and 850mhz memory. The clocks on the 5950 Ultra are 475/950. My first thought was that my BFG FX5900 card will overclock to 483/936 without artifacts, so how much would I gain? The forum posts I found claimed that the 5900 using the 5950u bios will overclock even higher than before the flash. Common knowledge is that the 5950u is the same card as the 5900 and uses the same GPU, but has 256mb of faster memory on board. The memory difference is not an issue because the bios will recognizes the 128mb as “normal” and works fine. Being one that likes a challenge and has a bit of nerve, (and a Radeon 9700 Pro to fall back on) I looked into this further.

. . . By flashing the 5900 to the 5950u bios, we are assuming a few things. It appears that the 5950u bios is applying a small amount of extra voltage to the GPU core, allowing it to clock higher. It also adjusts or “loosens” the memory timings, so that the memory can reach higher clock speeds. The card’s “ID” is also changed. The driver will now recognize the card as a genuine 5950 Ultra part. It seems that all of the 5900 cards are pretty much the same. The TV out and VIVO functions may or may not work after the flash depending on your bios choice and card. I never use my TV out, so this was not a concern.

DISCLAIMER: We at Club Overclocker assume no responsibility for overclocking and/or flashing your video card. We provide this article as an educational tool only. Bios flashing can render your video card unusable and will void your warranty. Overclocking may void your warranty and damage your video card. If you follow this tutorial you do so at your own risk. Do not contact us for support. You are on your own and have been WARNED.

ClubOC
GeForce FX5900 to FX5950 Ultra “Flash Mod”