Can't find a reasonably priced 6850 or 6870

[SeductivePig]

I've been looking on newegg and amazon (I have a $22 credit at amazon) and I simply can't find a 6850 or 6870 that runs cool and quiet..

If it has great cooling, it has loud noise
If it has low noise, it has crappy cooling
If it has both great cooling and low noise, it's like $50 extra

Can somebody please find me one with a happy medium? I'm willing to spend no more than $180, before the $22 credit at amazon.. shipped.

 

[happy medium]

The quietest coolest running 6850 for a reasonable price is the MSI cyclone 6850 for 155$AR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127576
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-DisplayPo...IA2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313434999&sr=8-1

review...
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/02/08/msi_r6850_cyclone_power_edition_video_card_review/9

The Gigabyte windforce 3 6870 is cool and quiet for a good price at $170AR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125357

And from Amazon..
http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Radeon-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-GV-R687OC-1GD/dp/B004IF6I1S

You got your happy medium from happy medium.

 

[Jhatfie]

Seems like the decent pricing only comes after rebates. I personally picked up the following and it is very quiet and cools quite well, not a super overclocked, but mine does 1000Mhz at 1.2v:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150521

But it is $197 with FS and has a $30 rebate. You can get Dirt3 and Shogun 2 with it however, which you can sell for another $30-40. So if you are willing to wait and deal with the hassle, you can essentially get the card for $127-137.

 

[SeductivePig]

Hmm so it looks like I'll be choosing between the XFX and the Gigabyte 6870 from newegg.. from what I've heard, the XFX rebates are a little shady.. do you guys know how the rebates are for gigabyte, and how their warranty is?

After reading reviews on both.. they both seem to have their share of problems.. XFX has shady rebates and ran out of coupons for dirt 3, and gigabyte has no signal issues.. hmm.

 

[happy medium]

Gigabyte has a 3 year warranty

 

[Jhatfie]

Hmm so it looks like I'll be choosing between the XFX and the Gigabyte 6870 from newegg.. from what I've heard, the XFX rebates are a little shady.. do you guys know how the rebates are for gigabyte, and how their warranty is?

I have always gotten my XFX rebates, no complaints thus far with them. Only company that has shafted me has been BioStar. I believe Gigabyte warranties are 3 yr and based on serial if I remember right.

 

[SeductivePig]

From what I understand, the 6870 has less overclocking potential than the 6850; if I were to go for a 6850, what would be my best options? It just doesn't seem worth it to get the 6870 for a 10% increase and potentially $30-40 extra cost.

Is there any option besides the MSI 6850? I feel that if I wanted to crossfire in the future this card wouldn't be ideal.

 

[abekl]

I have the following 6850 and it is quiet and stays cool, even under load.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908
It costs 140 after rebate.

 

[Jhatfie]

From what I understand, the 6870 has less overclocking potential than the 6850; if I were to go for a 6850, what would be my best options? It just doesn't seem worth it to get the 6870 for a 10% increase and potentially $30-40 extra cost.

Is there any option besides the MSI 6850? I feel that if I wanted to crossfire in the future this card wouldn't be ideal.

6850's can OC quite well, the one I have in my son's rig does 960/1160 at 6870 voltages. He is using: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.701867 ($139 AR)
It is pretty quiet, but then again, his case fans in his Antec 300 case are not super quiet so it might just be blending in sound wise.

 

[3DVagabond]

6850's have more O/C potential because they are the same chip, presumably lower binned, that starts off at a lower clock. Max clocks are comparable for the both. Most 6870's have beefier PCB's and VRM. If you are wanting to run your card at it's max Volts and clocks the 6870 might very well be a better value than many 6850's.

The card happymedium suggested though does have a very strong power stage, excellent cooling, and will crossfire just fine.

I assume you think it might not because of the cooler design? Not having a shroud won't affect it at all though, other than dumping the heat into the case, which all of the other coolers do anyway. The only one that wouldn't would be a reference model, but you can't actually buy any of them.

 

[gevorg]

The Sapphire 6850 is very quiet at idle:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102908