Anyone know the best version of the Radeon HD6850 to buy?

[tony_dudz]

anybody?
Saphire
Asus
XFX
HIS
Gigabyte
?
Anybody have any opnions?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The XFX HD6850 1GB has a shorter PCB and was available for under £135 at launch.

[Ulti]

However the XFX one runs at 70% stock fan speed, but there is a BIOS to reduce this to about 40% or something. I've since downloaded MSI Afterburner to set it to 10% and it runs at about 40 degrees in an mATX case so I guess it's pretty good still. It'd probably run at about 35 degrees in a case with better airflow. I can't really talk about load though as I don't really play many graphics intensive games now.

[tony_dudz]

The XFX HD6850 1GB has a shorter PCB and was available for under £135 at launch.

However the XFX one runs at 70% stock fan speed, but there is a BIOS to reduce this to about 40% or something. I've since downloaded MSI Afterburner to set it to 10% and it runs at about 40 degrees in an mATX case so I guess it's pretty good still. It'd probably run at about 35 degrees in a case with better airflow. I can't really talk about load though as I don't really play many graphics intensive games now.

Thanks for the info, but what exactly does the shorter PCB mean for FPS in games?

i dont mind the heat as i bought a artic cooling system for my cpu, so shud keep the pc cool enough, but i may add a few more fans

[Ulti]

Thanks for the info, but what exactly does the shorter PCB mean for FPS in games?

i dont mind the heat as i bought a artic cooling system for my cpu, so shud keep the pc cool enough, but i may add a few more fans

It means nothing for FPS in games, I can't really see any benefits but it's means it's shorter so it'll need less space and therefore won't block as much airflow in your case, etc.

Well the graphics card heat and CPU heat shouldn't be related as much as the XFX version vents air from beneath it and exhausts air through the back. Personally I chose the XFX one as it was the cheapest and because it exhausted air through the back, this is great for me as I have an mATX case so everything is really compact in there and so the heat needs to get out. The CPU fan for you should blow the air towards the exhaust, not the graphics card. I think the Asus version is a normal top to bottom cooler though (flower cooler) so the heat would be left inside the case, ideally it's not that good as it'll warm case temperatures a bit but it shouldn't make that much difference. From what I've experienced, case fans don't make much difference as long as you've got an intake and exhaust. Although I do find that having a side fan right over the graphics card does help a bit and if your motherboard has some mosfet and voltage regulator coolers etc, then some fans at the top help cool the RAM and mosfet, voltage regulators a bit.

Either way, you can't really go wrong with either of them. Some of them might be clocked slightly higher though (factory overclocked), meaning you'll get a few more FPS in games. That's about it really though. It's easy to overclock the 6850 as I guess the ATI CCC overclock limits will be easily stable for most 6850s anyway.

[tony_dudz]

It means nothing for FPS in games, I can't really see any benefits but it's means it's shorter so it'll need less space and therefore won't block as much airflow in your case, etc.

Well the graphics card heat and CPU heat shouldn't be related as much as the XFX version vents air from beneath it and exhausts air through the back. Personally I chose the XFX one as it was the cheapest and because it exhausted air through the back, this is great for me as I have an mATX case so everything is really compact in there and so the heat needs to get out. The CPU fan for you should blow the air towards the exhaust, not the graphics card. I think the Asus version is a normal top to bottom cooler though (flower cooler) so the heat would be left inside the case, ideally it's not that good as it'll warm case temperatures a bit but it shouldn't make that much difference. From what I've experienced, case fans don't make much difference as long as you've got an intake and exhaust. Although I do find that having a side fan right over the graphics card does help a bit and if your motherboard has some mosfet and voltage regulator coolers etc, then some fans at the top help cool the RAM and mosfet, voltage regulators a bit.

Either way, you can't really go wrong with either of them. Some of them might be clocked slightly higher though (factory overclocked), meaning you'll get a few more FPS in games. That's about it really though. It's easy to overclock the 6850 as I guess the ATI CCC overclock limits will be easily stable for most 6850s anyway.

ok thanks alot man,
i think i'l go for the XFX version then as my case looks compact enough, yeah i have my cooler fan pointed towards the back man.

Thanks

[sammorris]

XFX should be about the most reliable, but obviously by far the loudest. Avoid Powercolor Sapphire and Asus, the HIS or Gigabyte should also be safe bets.

[Pob255]

Sapphire are normally rated as some of the best ATi cards, not that that is saying much as generally there's very little difference between cards, esp when they are this new and mainly are all the same reference design.
Coolers are normally the only difference and non-reference pcb's (printed circuit board) will not appear for a month, at least, after a new card comes out.

XFX's reputation is patchy it depends a lot on the card as some of their cards haven't been too good and others far better.
Msi has recently seriously stepped up the quality of their graphics cards, although I don't know what their 6850's are like.

[sammorris]

Sapphire only have a good reputation for reference cards, i.e. the cards they don't make. The failure rate of Sapphire's own designs is absolutely appalling. The £700+ 4GB HD5970s were sent out for retail even if they failed quality control. Further, Sapphire do not even have a tech support / returns facility, you have to use the retailer by proxy. XFX may not be perfect but they're miles ahead of Sapphire.

[Hawker1986]

Agreed I had to RMA my 5870 to sapphire via the retailer and it was over a month before I had it back, disgraceful tbh.

Hawker

[tony_dudz]

so it comes down to the asus and the XFX
Does anybody know if i wait to the end of the month will there be any other cards available?

[sammorris]

There are plenty of others, and they're also in stock at other retailers. It's basically just an initial stock shortage at the moment.

[tony_dudz]

There are plenty of others, and they're also in stock at other retailers. It's basically just an initial stock shortage at the moment.

plenty of other what mate?

[sammorris]

versions of the HD6850, than just Asus and XFX. (And the Asus cards are probably to be avoided anyway)

[tony_dudz]

versions of the HD6850, than just Asus and XFX. (And the Asus cards are probably to be avoided anyway)

rite, il probably end up going with the xfx version then, or il look at the other brands

[Domestic_Ginger]

After seeing what XFX were strapping to the top of 4k cards I would avoid them personally.