Powercolor PCS+ 5850

[headsh0t]

So I'm wanting to buy a 5850 and it's really hard to find one at a decent price. I did however come across this one: Powercolor PCS+ Radeon HD 5850 760MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DP PCI-E Video Card W/ Cod MW2 - DirectCanada available at a few places. Just looking to know if Powercolor is a decent company. I know their warranty/support probably isn't the best but what about their products themselves? I've read a few places that this Powercolor 5850 seems to use more power than reference design 5850's. The card is factory overclocked so that would raise consumption a little bit but in the Tom's review, it's pulling over 40W more than reference at maximum, and around 36W average. Does that seem right? Are they using cheap components on this card?

Oh ya here's the links

techPowerUp :: Powercolor HD 5850 PCS+ Review :: Page 27 / 33

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...&limitstart=14


edit- and since I just checked the other sections of the benchmark reviews it looks like they use a different (cheaper) voltage regulator. I'm assuming this is the reason for the higher consumption? Yes/no? Also is this card longer than a regular 5850? Anybody own one?

[crazyhorsejohnny]

I've had a couple Powercolour cards, a 4670 and 4850. Both were excellent while I had them.

[Arinoth]

A cheaper voltage regular, most of them should still all be created equally but i could see one with lower tolerances making over volting more difficult though i'm no expert in over volting cards or powercooler

[_dangtx_]

better cooling means they can throw in some cheaper components? if the end result is the same(but looking at power figures i guess not)...


5000 series run rather cool stock cooler, plus it exists the warmer air out the case. i like third party solutions, but in the rare instances where stock is actually good, one might keep it.

[technix]

Originally Posted by crazyhorsejohnny

I've had a couple Powercolour cards, a 4670 and 4850. Both were excellent while I had them.

I know this is off topic but did you, by chance, have the 4850 512MB version? I was wondering what the temps and power consumption would be. I'm considering one for an upgrade but not sure yet. Is $90 a good price for one?

I'm not sure if any HD 4xxx is available on B&S but probably can't find any of that generation, cheaper.

[crazyhorsejohnny]

Originally Posted by technix

I know this is off topic but did you, by chance, have the 4850 512MB version? I was wondering what the temps and power consumption would be. I'm considering one for an upgrade but not sure yet. Is $90 a good price for one?

I'm not sure if any HD 4xxx is available on B&S but probably can't find any of that generation, cheaper.

I had the 1GB version and it stayed cool and quiet. Easy on power too.

Back to topic, my buddy pulled the trigger last week on the card Headshot is looking at and he said so far so good. He said it takes less power than that Tom review showed. He also has an XFX so he tested them alone and then together. He's very happy with his purchase.

[headsh0t]

What was the wattage difference at the wall between the XFX and Powercolor? What test was he running to stress? I also heard that the powercolor 5850 is about as long as a 5870, is that true?

[crazyhorsejohnny]

Originally Posted by headsh0t

What was the wattage difference at the wall between the XFX and Powercolor? What test was he running to stress? I also heard that the powercolor 5850 is about as long as a 5870, is that true?

Pretty sure he used FurMark. He said it was about 20W more with the Powercolour card. As for the length he doesn't have a 5870 so he can't answer that.

[headsh0t]

Ok cool. And of course it makes sense now that they're out of stock at Direct Canada. Grrrr

[Ryoohki]

Originally Posted by _dangtx_

better cooling means they can throw in some cheaper components? if the end result is the same(but looking at power figures i guess not)...


5000 series run rather cool stock cooler, plus it exists the warmer air out the case. i like third party solutions, but in the rare instances where stock is actually good, one might keep it.

Nah, my friend have a standart cooler and after 30min of gaming is gaming machine turn in Tornado mode, witch i consider not really usable unless you have headphones. With in PCS+ in Crossfire, 2nd Gen XBOX make more noise (without the CD LOADING, just fan noise from playing a game).. LOL! :)