Roundup: Four Radeon HD 6850 1 GB Cards Compared

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Improvements to performance, acoustics, and bundles can add big value once a reference graphics card is modified by third-party vendors. We compare four modified Radeon HD 6850 1 GB boards to find out which company's additions best suit your gaming needs.

PowerColor PCS+ AX6850 1GBD5-PPDHG

One of the two highest-clocked samples in today’s roundup, PowerColor’s PCS+ AX6850 sweetens the deal with a free download of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

That “deal” is for a card that includes a four-phase voltage regulator to stably support its high clock rates on a circuit board that’s only 8.5” long. Identical in other ways to MSI’s PCB, the 8.6” distance between the slot plate and the end of its PCIe power connector allows reasonable cable clearance in tight cases. A plastic cover over the card's cooling fan extends its total mounting depth to 8.9".

Clock rates of 820 MHz GPU and GDDR5-4400 are sure to boost the PCS+ AX6850’s frame rates to performance levels not consistently supported by MSI’s similar three-phase design. A slightly larger heat sink keeps things cool under the added load.

PowerColor does not yet offer an overclocking utility for its Radeon HD 6850 cards, but users can always try one from a third party.

Registration gets PCS+ AX6850 buyers a month of VIP access to SuperStar Racing, an online multiplayer formula racing game.

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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
48 Comments Comment from the forums
  • It would be nice to see overclocking results. I know the whole "results will vary" malarkey but still, it would be interesting to see things like the benefit (if any) to having two pci-e power connectors on the Sapphire card or how high you could take the ASUS card using the software that came with it. Oh, and also, can you use Afterburner with the Powercolor and Sapphire cards?
    Reply
  • Scanlia
    Oh, and also, can you use Afterburner with the Powercolor and Sapphire cards?
    I use afterburner with a Gigabyte Card, (Flashed to ASUS). Works fine.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    BillehBawbOh, and also, can you use Afterburner with the Powercolor and Sapphire cards?Yes
    Reply
  • tomskent
    last line of the article...
    "Now, here did I put that Christmas list?"
    here = where
    Reply
  • scrumworks
    Why are you using catalyst 10.6 (drivers from june) instead of latest, quite long already available 10.11 or 10.10-beta with HD6800 support?
    Reply
  • sudeshc
    love this card looking to buy it for my new build and would go for ASUS as i already own the game.
    Reply
  • karma831
    No OCing?
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    so, wheres the comparison between these cards and rival cards from nvidia??? using recent drivers?? and OC???!this doesnt really tell us anything except the performance is so close you may as well get the cheapest of the lot.
    Reply
  • ATI driver support is a complete debacle. That's why this article uses stone age drivers (10.6)
    Reply
  • Crashman
    karma831No OCing?iam2thecroweso, wheres the comparison between these cards and rival cards from nvidia??? using recent drivers?? and OC???!this doesnt really tell us anything except the performance is so close you may as well get the cheapest of the lot.Er dude...
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6870-radeon-hd-6850-barts,2776.html
    The previous article, which answered all your questions a month ago, was linked numerous times in this article.
    Reply