Radeon 5850 Reference Card Question

[ThorofThunder]

I've researched graphics cards and their respective prices and have finally settled on a Radeon HD 5850. I have no idea what brand I should lean towards, though ASUS, Sapphire, and XFX are the commonly chosen ones.

I plan to overclock it and will need to alter its voltage. Reading a bit up on this, I've come to an impasse and can't seem to find an answer.

If I want to OC the 5850 to just-under-stock-5870 levels, then I'm going to need to change the voltage of the 5850. However, apparently I can only do that, to the most effective degree, with a "reference card." What is a reference card, exactly? Would a Sapphire Vapor-X 5850, as a theoretical example, be considered a "reference card"?

I apologize in advance if this question is ridiculously stupid.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Anyone know if the Visiontek one is?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...y=REVIEWS#tabs

 

[Athadeus]

I'm not totally sure, but I believe that all the cards with the blower, stock clocks, full top shroud, and the placement of the 2 DVI, hdmi, and DP connections which match the Visiontek card linked there are reference cards. I don't know any other way to identify what is and what is not a reference card unless they mentioned specific under the hood features that made it obvious.

That visiontek model seems to be a reference card. I think the only 2 reference cards on newegg are these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102857
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814103085

However, I expect that you can get the OC you want from the Asus and some of the others, but you should try to confirm that specifically with someone that has firsthand experience.

 

[The Sauce]

I believe that most of the cards out there are reference. There are very few exceptions and I can't remember them off hand. Don't go buying any of the higher-priced, pre-overclocked cards. Just get the cheap basic versions and that will be reference and easy to overclock. I have the HIS model and overclocking was a breeze.

 

[Kenmitch]

Anyone know if the Visiontek one is?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...y=REVIEWS#tabs

That is the one I bought 2 months ago. Mine is ref design should still be as don't think visiontek does any other way.

I flashed with msi bios and used afterburner to test the card. Once I figured out what worked for my card I then modded the modded asus bios with clocks and voltage and flashed it again. Boots at specs in sig

Sure way to tell ref design is black pcb and if look above pci-e connector you'll see AMD

 

[ThorofThunder]

Sure way to tell ref design is black pcb and if look above pci-e connector you'll see AMD

Thank you!

 

[Tempered81]

word, two 11 year members with identical rigs & reference 5850's giving you some solid advice. Take it from those pros. Getting a 5850 1/2 year ago at $259 was genius. Too bad people couldn't see the fate of the 470/480 back then, Ati probably would have sold double the number of 5850's last year

 

[The Sauce]

I used the exact same procedure as Kenmitch. Flashed to MSI BIOS (for unlocked clock access), used Afterburner to test, then modded the MSI BIOS with RBE and reflashed. Not hard at all.

 

[TemjinGold]

word, two 11 year members with identical rigs & reference 5850's giving you some solid advice. Take it from those pros. Getting a 5850 1/2 year ago at $259 was genius. Too bad people couldn't see the fate of the 470/480 back then, Ati probably would have sold double the number of 5850's last year

Seeing as ATi was selling cards faster than they could make'em, I seriously doubt that...