Asus EAH6850 Direct CU Overclock Edition Review

The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.

Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.

The heatpipe cooler on the Asus card delivers a very good showing, peaking at 65c when gaming and 70c under Furmark. The fan peaks at 39% under Furmark and around 35% when gaming.

Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time, the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.

This cooler is one of the better heatpipe designs, capable of reducing the full load Furmark temperatures back to idle in 19 seconds. This is around 8 seconds faster than the reference design.

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