I'm looking for a new videocard, budget about <= 150 euro (in het Netherlands). Is there a (significant) difference between different vendors for the 6850? It doesn't use that much energy, especially at idle.
The MSI R6850 Cyclone 1GD5 Power Edition/OC looks good. Any thoughts?

BTW, are there any comparions between the HSFs of different vendors for videocards? Didn't find any at SPCR.

As for every IT products yes, there's a significant differences between vendors, with reference to noise.

IME that R6850 is very quiet at idle, while a bit less good at load: but definitely a very good choice (I don't know if it's even the best one).
I can add that the TwinFrozr II cooler is noticeably quieter than the Cyclone, IME, but it's available only for the more powerful (and expensive) R6870.


No, there isn't. But if you mind, I think that you may get enough reliable information (at least about noise) from the german reviewer HT4U.

Also the ASUS DirectCU 6850 which received the Editor's Choice award here at SPCR.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1126-page6.html

Though some users have since complained about that product.
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=61455&view=viewpoll

Even at idle? SPCR wrote the 6850 is only using 16 W...

The 6870 TF2 isn't available anymore (in NL).


Does he do English reviews?

The 6870 might be an option too. How's the HD-687A-ZDFC (dual fan)?

Even at idle.


No: but you can use Google Translate if you need.

About the XFX, I don't know it, but if it's similar to the XFX BE it's way noisier than a TF-II.

That's disappointing. Seems they still don't pay enough attention to noise. What's the XFX BE?
And what brands / coolers are recommended for 6870?
There's the GV-R687OC-1GD and R6870-2PM2D1GD5/OC, but I'm not sure about noise.

The XFX Black Edition, it has a dual fan cooler also which is noisier than the MSI TwinFrozr II.


I can't help: maybe the ASUS Direct CU II may work well, as it works well for the 6950. But it's just a supposition.


I don't know the Gigabyte cards, but that MSI is a no-go, noise wise.

If you have the room in the case, and are willing to spend a bit more on a passive 6850 from Powercolor:
http://www.amazon.de/PowerColor-Radeon- ... 762&sr=8-1
I have one and am not using it passive, but with a 12 cm Scythe Slipstream at ~600 rpm zip-tied to the beefy radiator.
It's not audible over my other ~600 rpm Slipstream fans, but keeps the card relatively cool in games.

What's so bad about the MSI?
ASUS has a 6870 DC, but not a DC2.


If I go for a 6850 I think the Cyclone is quiet enough.

I'd recommend the ASUS EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5/V2. And in case it turns out to be to loud, i'd carefully dismount the fan and plastics. Then i'd strap a 120 fan@5v on the cooler and check load temps.

regards

I have the MSI Cyclone PE and at idle I cannot hear it over my case fan. When gaming it is very noticeable. However I did not set the settings to "silent" (there is a physical switch on the board that I neglected to switch from performance to silent, now it is almost impossible to reach without removing the card). There are also extensive options in the bundled software to mess with the fan settings, so if you took some time youy could probably make it quieter. However I doubt you could ever really make it that quiet at load and it could certainly never be truly "silent."

The only comparison I can offer is sitting next to my Xbox when both are on, the Cyclone is a little quieter than the Xbox when the Xbox is also at full load, i.e. playing a game (as opposed to browsing stuff on xbox live or something.)

That's disappointing. There are lots of different Xbox 360 versions though, so the comparison doesn't tell much.