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6850 Asus vs Sapphire

S

soberspine

n00b
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
23
I want to get a 6850 card but I can't decide between Asus and Sapphire.
It seems that asus use the cooling from gtx 460 768mb card. So which one is better and which one is quieter? can't find any direct comparison. thanks
 
My Asus runs at 50% fan speed manual and is nice and quiet. I was also happy that I could OC it without having to use anything but the CCC.
 
I'm particular about the ASUS. Though to be fair in the Anandtech round up (cuation: canned benchmark) all cards did 940 with the Asus able to go as high as 960 (though trade off not worth it to get there.) Even though canned benchmarks, it was surprising to see the 6850 overtaking the 470 GTX in some select scenarios (caution again: canned benchmarks.)

Based on the overclock, noise, power consumption, temperatures and performance Asus 6850 is certainly sweet. (I asked about [H] overclocking and CFX article in a thread and it got deleted. Not sure when that will come up if ever. )

Anyway here is the link to Anands recent article.
 
From those charts, the XFX has the lowest load temps, while the ASUS has the lowest power consumption of any of the AIB cards. ASUS also had the lowest noise levels of any of the cards tested.
 
I've been going through this myself recently, since I'm a big Sapphire fan, but can't deny the appeal of the 'new' ASUS coolers.

Just so we have some actual stuff to look at, here's the DirectCU model the 6850 is using:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Radeon_HD_6850_Direct_Cu/images/cooler2.jpg

And here's the Sapphire:
http://www.pro-clockers.com/images/review/sapphire/6850/6850_15.JPG

Similar designs, some differences:
1. Sapphire has larger fins.
2. ASUS has direct touch.

From those charts, the XFX has the lowest load temps, while the ASUS has the lowest power consumption of any of the AIB cards. ASUS also had the lowest noise levels of any of the cards tested.
Click to expand...
XFX also has the loudest fan.
You can't compare which is a better cooler unless you equalize the fan volume (Not RPM).
 
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I'm interested in seeing what would have happened in that article if they had dropped the fan speed of the XFX down to match noise more closely with the others- I bet it would still have had excellent temps. I'm surprised by the power consumption though, but maybe that would decrease with fan speed as well.
 
vjcsmoke said:
From those charts, the XFX has the lowest load temps, while the ASUS has the lowest power consumption of any of the AIB cards. ASUS also had the lowest noise levels of any of the cards tested.
Click to expand...

If my Asus 6850s are the quietest of all 6850s then I can't imagine what all of them sound like above 60% fan speed. At 100% fan speed, my CrossFired EAH6850s sound like a jet taking off. My GPU1 temp gets up to ~87C with both cards OCed to 900/1100 on default voltage. However, my lower card (GPU2) only goes to ~68C. If you're only going to be using a single EAH6850 then I'd imagine a nice 1000/1200 OC would be doable and the temperature would be well under 80C at a bearable (noise) fan speed.
 
Who cares what 100% sounds like?
If anything, it's a failsafe to prevent your card from frying. It's supposed to be loud.

I've only ever encountered one card that actually operated at 100% fan speed, and that was my GTX 280.
 
i read that asus can't go under 1500 rpm is that true ? on the other hand sapphire can run at 1000 rpm.
 
UtopiA said:
Who cares what 100% sounds like?
If anything, it's a failsafe to prevent your card from frying. It's supposed to be loud.

I've only ever encountered one card that actually operated at 100% fan speed, and that was my GTX 280.
Click to expand...

Well my point is that the fan speed gets up there on my GPU1 since airflow is horrible between the two cards and it gets up to 87-88C at ~80-90% fan speed and 90% sounds essentially like 100%.
 
I found in a new review that from a distance of 1m asus is louder by 2.6db than sapphire in load, in a complete silent pc, is that much?
 
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