Which model 7850 to consider?

[aghusker]

I have i5 2500k; 1920x1200 resolution. RPG and Strat games like Dragon Age and Witcher and Starcraft 2.

Thinking 7850 (unless I hold out for 670/660), but interested in which brand/model to get?

Top 2 contenders seem to be the Sapphire OC 7860 or MSI Twin Frozer.
Might to mild OC in future, but would prefer quiet & cool neartime.

Thoughts?

thx,

 

[dirtnap101]

I have the Sapphire 7850 OC and I have no complaints at all. Quiet, cool, overclocks to the current CCC limits of 1050 core and 1450 mem easily with no voltage increase needed.

I also did consider the MSI, but the Sapphire was in stock and the MSI was not. I'm sure the MSI is excellent as well.

 

[DeeJayeS]

both are good cards, sapphire has 2 year non-transferable warranty, msi has 3 year transferable warranty

take your pick

 

[RavenSEAL]

Sapphire is the top dog in the AMD camp imo, can't go wrong with their cards.

 

[Lyfer]

Get the basic Sapphire for two fitty and OC the crap out of it.

 

[sbaradaran]

It was a tough choice between the Sapphire, MSI, and ASUS card.

I went with the Asus because the cooling numbers were the best. However, it is longer than the Sapphire and MSI versions because the cooler was designed for a longer card.

I don't think you can go wrong with any.

 

[Concillian]

I think if your case has room in it, the ASUS cooler being too long is an advantage. I mean, how many CPU tower heat-sinks are made with a wall 1/4 inch from the output side.

The less restrictive flow-through should be a benefit.

I just can't tell about VRM cooling. None of these seem to have good VRM cooling, just looks like incidental airflow over bare VRMs. Maybe it doesn't need it, but I'm wary since I got my MSI 4850 that basically wouldn't OC at all. Significantly worse than people in the forums with a stock cooler. Then I changed the cooling of the card by mounting a heatsink on the VRM and a fan right above it and went from no stable OC period to a greater than 20% OC. VRM cooling is one place for them to cheap out on these low tier midrange cards and it scares me when I see it due to that past experience.

 

[aghusker]

Thx for the feedback everyone!

 

[bigsnyder]

MSI here. The cooler seemed beefier to me with three heatpipes vs the two on the Sapphire. I do not have any data to confirm the three heatpipe design is any better, just a judgement call based on pictures and user feedback. Unless there is someone that has compared the various models, I would take any thermal comparisons with a grain of salt.