Member Avatar for mah300274

I am looking to buy a graphics card and was looking at VisionTek Radeon HD 6950 Graphics card (only because this one should go pretty cheap) but it is currently bricked.

This is the exact wording of the person,
"This graphics card is bricked meaning a bios flash gone wrong. I do not have the time to do the research and get it fixed, My lost if your gain.
The card has been tested in a PC, It was seen by the system but no output when connected to display. Fan spins up fine.
The item is in excellent condition physically. The original box will be included."

I am wondering if it is possible to fix this. If so, how hard would it be? Is it worth it?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rubberman

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Short answer: often fixable but not guaranteed. Given ’s report that the card was “bricked” after a BIOS flash and ’s caution about time/cost, recovery should be attempted only if the buyer is comfortable with flashing tools or cheap enough that losing the card is acceptable.

If the GPU is still seen by the system the usual software route is this:

  1. Boot the PC using integrated video or a second GPU so the bricked card is idle.
  2. Back up the current ROM (use GPU‑Z or a command‑line tool). With atiflash the workflow is to list adapters (atiflash -i) and save the ROM before touching it.
  3. Locate an exact match VBIOS for the board (same vendor/PCB and memory vendor) and verify ROM size/checksum.
  4. Flash using ATIWinFlash or atiflash and retest. If the board has a physical dual‑BIOS switch, try the backup position before flashing.
    Notes: do not flash a BIOS from a different PCB variant or different memory vendor — that’s a common way to make a permanent hardware problem.

If the card does not enumerate at all the recovery becomes hardware work: direct SPI reprogramming with a CH341A (SOIC8 clip) or swapping/programming the BIOS chip on a donor board. Those methods require ESD precautions, soldering/programmer skills, and the correct ROM image; they carry real risk of irreversible damage.

Practical judgement: a low asking price and a seller who provides clear part/PCB photos and a return option make this a reasonable tinkering project. Without photos, a known good BIOS, or a return policy, the safer option is to pass — as suggested — unless willing to buy a programmer or pay a tech to reflash it.

Member Avatar for rubberman

Leave this one at phone pole length... You can get decent (and new) video cards for between $50 and $100 USD from many on-line stores, although I'll grant that this one will cost you between $250 and $300 (about $300 USD at buy.com - http://www.buy.com/prod/visiontek-900352-radeon-6950-graphic-card-800-mhz-core-2-gb-gddr5/219360590.html). Before you buy this "brick", I would suggest that you do the research and figure out whether or not you and unbrick it, and whether or not you are willing to flush the $$ the card will cost you if you can't fix it.

Do bear in mind that this card requires two PCI slots.

Edited by rubberman because: n/a
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