Gigabyte or Asus 6850?

[Flyinfinni]

I'm probably going to pick up a new 6850 very soon- I'm trying to decide between the Gigabyte version and the Asus version. I keep going back and forth. Anyone got any insight here?

 

[Xzyrus]

Gigabyte if you plan on going as high as you can on stock voltage. I'm not sure if the Gigabyte version is capable of adjusting voltage, if it isn't then I would say ASUS if you do plan on tinkering with voltage when you OC.

My conclusion is based on cooling from these reviews:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...rd-review-temps-noise-power-overclocking.html
http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/12873-amd-radeon-hd-6870-och-hd-6850/21#pagehead

Although ASUS has the highest evidenced OC of all the 6850s (see TPU review I believe), I wouldn't bet my money on it since OC has always been a YMMV thing.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I ordered the Asus based on the OC from the TPU review.



http://www.gpureview.com/

 

[bastage]

I Chose the Gigabyte because of the cooler. I like my system to be quiet & since I am running at 19x12 the 6850 at stock speeds very well anyway.

 

[ChronoDetector]

Gigabyte. Because it has dual fans. Better cooling.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Gigabyte. Because it has dual fans. Better cooling.

One could also say the Asus if it overclocks better you get better $ to performance.

 

[Xzyrus]

What is a tad weird is how the Sapphire version keeps up with Gigabyte's dual fan cooler. Originally at launch, I had found Gigabyte versions $10 lower than the Sapphire version but I waited too long and it went OOS.

I trust cooling to be more consistent among specific model of cards than O/Cing is.

According to HWC (See http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...6850-vs-gtx-460-1gb-overclocking-study-2.html ), Sapphire Trixx is capable of adjusting voltage, so hopefully some ppl can test it with Gigabyte cards to determine if they're voltage adjustable.

 

[Flyinfinni]

Well, I ended up with the gigabyte. I'm sure that once MSI-afterburner is updated or Sapphire Trixx are available, I'll be able to voltage adjust it as well. Though I'm not sure I really want to as if I can get it to 850+ on stock volts, that should be plenty of performance for me right now at 1920x1080. I'm hoping to get enough cash to get 2 more 23" panels at some point, and when that happens, I'll be looking at a second 6850 Cool and quiet was my goal for this purchase, so Gigabyte was it. I imagine if I turn the fan speed down it'll get quiet without impacting temps too much.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

6850 Afterburner.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1557569

 

[Flyinfinni]

thanks for the link!

 

[WaTaGuMp]

thanks for the link!

YW, the Gigabyte sure is a good looking card.

 

[Flyinfinni]

yeah- I showed both to my wife and she said- get the gigabyte- it looks cooler.

 

[zyzeast]

gigabyte beats everything else on cool factor, since they are really all the same card, just get gigabyte.