XFX 6850 dual fan

[djkest]

XFX released an improved dual-fan 6850 a couple months ago. I ordered one. It was $10 more than the standard XFX model, and the cooler looks to be worth that additional price premium.

Instead of a reference cooler, it has a direct-touch heatpipe cooler with what looks like 2x 120mm fans. It uses the standard clocks and voltages, thus making a potentially quiet and powerful graphics card.

I'm going to be stuffing it in my HTPC case, so we'll see how that works. I am also looking forward to their famed "Double Lifetime Warranty".

The 6850 was really the only choice for me, because it seems to be squarely at the intersection of efficiency and DX11 performance.

http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/grap ... /6850.aspx

I should have it Thursday so I can see how well it works for me and if it really is as great as it looks. I'm expecting a 25-50% increase in performance from my 5770, which I desperately need for some newer games now that I've moved up to 1920x1080 resolution.

[Rekonn]

Cool, let us know what you think. I'm in the process of building a new system (currently delayed by chipset situation) and was looking at the xfx dual fan cards. One guy here was very positive about the 6870 dual fan, while another said his made a low vibrating sound. link

[djkest]

Well, I got it installed. First impressions of the card are- looks very solid and serious. And oops, those are very slim fans. At idle it is using the same power that my 5770 did, but during gaming the fans become very audible. I'm going to have to see if I can tweak the profile or do something because the noise is not acceptable.

I would like to install the GeLid Icy Vision if it fits, but that probably wouldn't be good for my XFX warranty that I paid extra for. Very dissappointed in the performance so far. Also, when I turned my computer on this morning ATI overdrive set the memory and core clocks all the way up! I had to go in and return to stock. The load power consumption is about 10-15W higher than the 5770, as expected.

ETA: Icy Vision will fit. I'm wondering why I paid $10 extra for this card when I'm already looking to ditch the stock cooler....

[Rekonn]

How does it sound at idle? Seems like the noise only becomes an issue once you're gaming?

[djkest]

At idle it's unobtrusive but definitely audible. It's a lower pitched kind of whooshing broadband sound of air. As the fans increase in speed, the pitch becomes a little higher and the whooshing noise gets quite a bit louder.

[Rekonn]

Maybe you can return that card and try another? I've been seeing some really good things about the MSI 6850 Cyclone PE. Review Link

If the noise measurements can be compared with other reviews on the same site, it looks like a great card.

ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU 1 GB - Idle 28dbA Load 38dbA
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1 GB - Idle 25dbA Load 39dbA
MSI HD 6850 Cyclone Power Edition (silent mode) - Idle 24dbA Load 27dbA

[Rasterman]

I bought a XFX 8800 GTX 5 years ago when they first came out, the video card showed corrupted bios and windows screens out of the blue a few months ago, called XFX they promptly sent me a new Radeon HD 5750 as a replacement. Double thumbs up for the warranty and their handling of their replacement.

I then bought a XFX 6950 for my current build (see my other thread), it was to loud though and the first non reference quiet 6950 that came out was an MSI, at stock it was audible, but using MSI Afterburner (which you can use for any video card) I ramped the fans down to 25% and although it is audible with the case open and from 1' away, it is definitely inaudible in a closed case from 3' or more away. During gaming though I have my system ramp the fans up since I have the sound blazing or am using headphones.

If its audible at idle even did you reduce your fan speed on it?

[djkest]

I need to try MSI afterburner. I'll give that a shot, along with a mild undervolt, and report back.