I order this card because I be look for a 2gb 6950 from a good manufacturer with non reference cooling . -lrb- I hate Turbine Coolers with a passion -rrb- I be not look to unlock , but I do consider it a bonus . the good : it run Cold . at 900 core and 99 % load it be only 65c in my Antec p280 . in a case with better airflow , it will be even cooler . at 900mhz core its a definite upgrade from my old gtx470 at 775MHz Core . look good shader may unlock depend on the method you use . the Bad : only sapphire trixx offer voltage control for overclocking which make a otherwise great card that would be fun to push nearly useless . after one night of work with MSI Afterburner -lrb- Industry Standard -rrb- and the . cfg file change , the most I be able to do be get the Core clock to be modifiable . Voltage remain tweakable only in Trixx . if you dont mind , its a great buy , but TRIXX be a terrible program for someone who be use to Afterburner , and end up be a deal-breaker . most of the time , shader be lock , and not even a bio flash to a 6970 -lrb- which can damage the VRAM by force it to run out of spec -rrb- change that . unlock on a non first gen 6950 usually only add about a 3-6 % performance increase and ~ 80watt of power draw . Max VCore be 1.18 , mean the card be really hold back from its max potential . why 5 Stars even though I sound like I hate it ? if you be new to overclocking , want a very fast card that can do 900 core on stock voltage , or do not care about use terrible software for you overclocking , there be far worse choice than this card . it be a truly solid card , and worth every penny . but I mess up a order a card that be not what I need . that not a reflection of the card quality , its a reflection of I . Addendum : after speak with spicybomb via email , they agree to give I a refund even though it be not defective and do not meet they requirement for return . they be incredibly helpful , and very easy to work with . im send it back with the unused Dirt3 Code and Unregistered Warranty information , and ill be look for another 6950 2gb with fewer restriction . probably a he iceq or a MSI Twin Frozr II\/III .