AMD says Radeon HD 6790 can't be unlocked

In our review of the Radeon HD 6790 we already mentioned that it's using a full R6870 design, hinting that a BIOS flash might open up the full product. AMD however says Radeon HD 6790 can\'t be unlocked.

"It is not something that should be possible on the 6790. Those SIMDs are fused off," said Even Groenke, a graphics products manager at AMD.

Even though it is impossible to re-activate disabled stream processors and other units, the Radeon HD 6790 come with rather powerful coolers and ATI graphics division of AMD believes that enthusiasts will be able to speed up the novelty by overclocking it significantly.

"It is a card that has a lot of potential for overclocking, just take a look at overclocking results for other Barts-based graphics cards," said Mr. Groenke, adding that overclocking voids warranty.