In the focus of the article - a budget Radeon video card7850 from the company AMD. The novelty is interesting because the manufacturer positions it as the most powerful device in the inexpensive price segment, but the potential of the video adapter allows to compete with the weak video accelerators of the High-End niche. This is a transitional model, trying to enter simultaneously into two categories. The reader will have to learn the technical characteristics of the video card, see testing and comparison with similar devices, and, thanks to reviews in the media, understand whether to pay attention to this video card when buying.
Market positioning
During the announcement of the device manufacturerunequivocally hinted that the Radeon HD 7850 is designed for fans to play in the games they are interested in. About any high performance at the maximum settings of speech does not go - this buyer should know before buying the device. Only medium and minimum settings with full guarantee of the performance of your favorite toys.
Considered video adapter, as plannedmanufacturers, must become a full-fledged competitor in the market for a similar device GeForce GTX 560 Ti and get as close as possible to the performance of the legendary Nvidia chip - GTX 570. Here, the buyer can be sure, AMD managed to not only achieve its goals, but also surpass them.
About Performance
But the technical characteristics of the graphics card AMD Radeon HD 7850 is quite attractive for a budget class. Here the manufacturer has something to surprise even fans of Nvidia:
- the number of stream processors is 1024 pieces (for comparison: the GTX 570 has a total of 480);
- the number of transistors in the core is 2.8 billion;
- memory chips in the aggregate are 2 GB;
- bus width is 256 bits (competitor GTX 570 has a 320-bit bus);
- The nominal core frequency is 860 MHz (against a competitor's 732 MHz), there is still an overclocking potential, but this is a basic setting;
- the memory runs at 1200 MHz (GTX 570 - 1425 MHz);
- power consumption is only 130 W, which is significantly less than its competitor (GTX 570 consumes 219 watts).
Will delight owners of the video card from AMD and the price - it is almost 100 conventional units less than the cost of a competitor from Nvidia.
Who is in charge here?
Однозначно потенциальным покупателям интересны comparing two state employees from AMD Nvidia, because a lot of controversy always solves testing and the final result. In the synthetic tests at standard resolution (FullHD), the GTX 570 chipset is the undisputed leader, but the Radeon HD 7850 is pretty close to the leader, leaving behind the second competitor GTX 560 Ti. But in games, the new product from AMD has a chance to outshine its rival with its performance.
So, losing a few frames per secondrecorded in tests Metro 2033, Aliens vs. Predator, Crysis 2 and GTA IV. But fans of the games DiRT 3 and World Of Warcraft, who are used to playing at high resolutions, will be delighted, because the cheaper chip could finally surpass its competitor. Albeit at 1 frame per second, but this is a decent result. It is also worth noting that testing video adapters is not always accurate, because devices from different brands are used for comparison. Some prefer to overclock their products, while others use only standard features.
First meeting
Factory-made Radeon 7850 video cardhas a presentable appearance. The printed circuit board is completely enclosed by a protective casing, which has the standard “combat” coloring of the manufacturer (red with black color). Located in the back of the video card, the turbocharged cooler of red color adds refinement to the device. Judging by the reviews of the owners, in such a performance, the video adapter gets only on the European and American market, and Russian consumers, unfortunately, will have to contemplate a less representative copy.
The protective cover hides under itselfprofessional cooling system. After all, there is not just a radiator from several sections, but a full-fledged aluminum plate, which has heat retaining plates at the points of contact with chips. The base of contact with the graphics core is made of copper. In general, this approach of the manufacturer will appeal to many buyers.
A serious player in the market
If we are not talking about expensive video cards onthe Russian market, the Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 video adapter comes into view. It is worth noting that the manufacturer has always pleased its fans with a rich bundle, and this copy is no exception. In addition to the video card, the user will find driver discs in the box, complete instructions and many different cables for mounting and connecting video display devices.
Standard cooling system from the companySapphire has two huge coolers that are installed on aluminum radiators. The owner will be pleased with the additional heat removal system, which consists of several copper tubes encircling radiators and collapsing on a copper core that is in contact with the graphics core.
The manufacturer has performed factory overclocking, increasingThe speed of the chipset up to 920 MHz, and the memory - up to 1250 MHz. In tests of special performance gains, the user will not see what looks rather strange, considering overclocking. However, using the proprietary utility and handwritten frequency settings for the Radeon 7850 video card, the owner has every chance to speed up the product. The core is perfectly capable of overclocking up to 1068 MHz, and the memory will operate stably at 1320 MHz.
Best buy
Decent factory overclocking compared toSapphire Radeon HD 7850, boasts a product from ASUS. In general, a rather strange situation at first glance. The video adapter with overclocked graphics core up to 1000 MHz and 1250 MHz memory bus shows excellent results in the testing process. And if you compare them with the previous brand, the increase is evident. Understanding the situation was not a problem - ASUS technologists completely altered the power supply system of the printed circuit board, making their own developments in the scheme (Super Alloy Power, Digi +). Such a small intervention has improved the performance of the video card.
With the cooling system, the manufacturer did nottrickle - a branded two-piece radiator with two fans and three copper tubes, which converge on the contact area with the core, perfectly cope with cooling. As a result of testing, as noted in the reviews, many owners managed to achieve decent acceleration: 1170 MHz for the core and 1450 MHz for the memory. Excellent performance for the representative of the budget class.
Public favorite
Известный всему миру производитель HIS также pleased his fans by presenting his own vision of a video card based on the Radeon HD 7850. The device characteristics will appeal to everyone. Factory overclocking touched both the graphics core (1000 MHz) and the memory bus (1250 MHz). It is worth noting that the manufacturer has installed ultra-fast memory chips Hynix, for which overclocking above 1250 MHz is undesirable, and this is reported to the future owner in the instruction manual.
The attention of the user will attract the systemcooling IceQ X, which, in addition to the beautiful appearance, copes with the initial task - cooling. To say that the cooler is quiet, the language does not turn, because the system is really silent, even at peak loads. The entire printed circuit board is completely in contact with the radiators of the cooling system. Four copper tubes, painted in metallic color, are removed from aluminum plates to the contact area with the graphic core. The fan’s air flow cools the copper pad.
Beauty requires sacrifice
Interesting to modding video adapter Radeon HD 78502Gb fit manufacturer XFX. In addition to high performance, the device has received a proprietary cooling system, which has a presentable appearance compared to its competitors. The protective casing made of aluminum completely hides the printed circuit board. Above there are two huge coolers, the color of which is matched by the video adapter. Many owners in their reviews say that this cooling system is installed on the older model of the game class Radeon HD 7870. This approach of the manufacturer clearly hints to overclocking fans that the new product easily copes with overheating.
In the basic version, the video adapter has a factoryoverclocking on the core of 1080 MHz and on the memory of 1250 MHz. There is a potential for overclocking, but you should not hurry with it. The Radeon 7850 video card and without user intervention perfectly manifests itself both in testing and in resource-intensive dynamic games. There is also a negative from the owners of this device. The manufacturer sealed all the screws on the cooling system, so that to preserve the guarantee, it is better to clean the radiator with a vacuum cleaner.
Noiselessness above all
For many future owners of video card radeon7850 noiselessness characteristics are in the first place. Manufacturer PowerColor offers its solution to customers with a passive cooling system. As one would expect, the printed circuit board is completely in contact with the solid block of the aluminum radiator, which has a copper base at the point of contact with the graphics core. For better heat transfer, there are copper tubes in the cooling system, which literally pierce aluminum grilles and come down to the contact pad.
However, for the noiselessness will have to pay the weakoverclocking potential. The manufacturer has increased the nominal frequency of the graphics accelerator to 950 MHz, leaving the memory bus speed intact (1200 MHz). As a result, the owner receives a truly silent device that will adequately handle many toys at nominal settings.
Alternative for fans
No need to think that PowerColor has forgotten aboutoverclockers. The manufacturer provides a full-fledged version of the device based on the Radeon 7850 2Gb with V2 marking. The manufacturer clearly hints to users that there are two devices on the market: the first and second versions. Cooling system at the factory can do. The same aluminum radiator, pierced with copper pipes, strongly resembles the previous device. Here, only on top of the cooling system, the user will find a plastic case with one massive cooler. In general, it is very difficult to call the mechanism a cooler - this is a huge fan, the blades of which completely overlap the width of the printed circuit board.
С разгоном устройство справляется великолепно.The core accelerates perfectly to 1080 MHz, and the memory bus runs steadily at 1,250 MHz. The temperature of the Radeon 7850 chip in peak loads does not exceed 80 degrees Celsius. But to the huge fan, judging by the reviews, many owners have a lot of questions. 65 decibels is exactly overkill. Even through the closed headphones, the eerie buzz of the cooler works its way through. Quite a strange alternative to the silent device from PowerColor.
Kid with character
VTX3D brand has quite an interesting approach.The product Radeon HD 7850 is presented in war paint, identical to the factory video adapter from the AMD plant. The same black casing with red inserts, the beauty of which adds a bright red cooler. Unlike the base case, the cooling system was significantly shortened by the manufacturer of the VTX3D. This solution allows you to install video accelerators in any case: you can not be afraid that the edge of the video card will block the basket with hard drives.
Что касается производительности, то тут the manufacturer did not overclock anything, providing this opportunity to the user. The potential of the video card is. The cooling system easily copes with heat removal from the graphics core operating at 1050 MHz. But it is impossible to overclock the memory worthily - after exceeding the frequency of 1250 MHz, the stability of the work is violated. It is all about the Hynix memory chips, which are recommended to be used at the standard frequencies of 1200 MHz.
Consumer Market
The reader will note that in the review there are no devices fromfamous companies MSI and Gigabyte, because the chipset Radeon HD 7850 2Gb definitely had to attract their attention. There are products on the market of video cards from these manufacturers, only interest from test fans in them was lost when they first met. Yes, the devices have a proprietary cooling system, the price of new products is quite competitive in the market, but this is where the list of advantages ends. The leaders of the computer market have done nothing to somehow improve the performance of the graphics adapter.
There are questions from users and to overclockingvideo card potential. With a slight increase in the clock frequency of the graphics core, the chip temperature rises sharply. The proprietary cooling system of the Gigabyte and MSI devices copes with the heat sink badly. As a result, in the user reviews you can find a lot of negativity regarding the manufacturers' data devices.
Finally
If you focus on the price when buyingthe video adapter is better than the Sapphire Radeon 7850 device. Low cost, excellent performance and good overclocking potential are the main criteria of the most famous brand in the world. However, if performance is a priority, it is better to look at the products of ASUS, XFX and HIS. Silent device is best purchased under the logo PowerColor. Passive cooling system will appeal to all fans of games at night.
