Graphics cards play a crucial role in enhancing the overall performance of a computer, especially when it comes to gaming and other graphic-intensive tasks. The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card is one such graphics card that has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. In this article, we will take a comprehensive look at this graphics card and see whether it lives up to its hype.
Overview
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card was first released in 2010 and quickly became a popular choice among gamers and PC enthusiasts. This graphics card is based on the AMD Cayman GPU and features 960 stream processors, 48 texture units, and 32 ROPs. It also has a core clock speed of 775MHz and 1GB of GDDR5 memory running at 1GHz.
Performance
The performance of the Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card is impressive, especially when it comes to gaming. It can handle most modern games at high settings with ease, and even more demanding games can be played at medium to high settings. The graphics card also supports DirectX 11, which means it can take advantage of the latest gaming technologies.
When it comes to benchmarks, the Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card performs well. In 3DMark 11, it scores around 4700 points, which is quite good considering its price range. It also performs well in other benchmarks such as Unigine Heaven and Crysis 2.
Cooling
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card comes equipped with a custom fan and heatsink design that keeps the graphics card cool even under heavy load. The fan is quite silent, and the heatsink does an excellent job of dissipating heat. This means that the graphics card stays cool even during long gaming sessions, which is essential for maintaining optimal performance.
Connectivity
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card features two DVI ports, one HDMI port, and two mini-DisplayPort ports. This means that it can support up to four displays simultaneously, making it an excellent choice for multi-monitor setups. It also supports AMD Eyefinity technology, which allows you to combine multiple displays into a single large display.
Power Consumption
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card has a TDP (thermal design power) of 127 watts, which is quite reasonable considering its performance. It also has a 6-pin power connector, which means that it can draw additional power from the power supply if needed. Overall, the power consumption of this graphics card is not a significant concern.
Price
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card is quite affordable, with a price range of around $100-$150. This makes it an excellent choice for budget-minded gamers who want a graphics card that can deliver excellent performance without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
The Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card is an excellent graphics card that offers impressive performance, excellent cooling, and versatile connectivity options. It is also quite affordable, making it an excellent choice for budget-minded gamers. Overall, if you are looking for a graphics card that can handle most modern games at high settings without breaking the bank, then the Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB PCI-E Video Card is an excellent choice.
