Powercolor HD6850 Single Slot CrossfireX Review

The Powercolor HD6850 Single Slot Edition is undoubtedly a graphics card which will appeal to media center enthusiast users. If you are interested in building a new system in a small form factor case then one of these cards will certainly allow for a quality gaming experience. Today we reviewed two of the cards in CrossfireX and the tests have shown that even with high resolutions there is plenty of power on tap, even with demanding Direct X 11 game engines.

Two of these cards would be an ideal SFF buying decision thanks to the single slot cooler design and subsequent improvements with chassis airflow. With a power drain of around 200 watts when gaming a new system build won't eat into the electricity bill either.

Powercolor have been releasing some great video cards in recent months, right across the range and we like the fact they are trying to push out a wider array of custom PCB and cooler designs.

Single slot cards are great for physically compromised case designs, but as we have said before, there are some compromises to be made. The cards do operate at higher temperatures than others we have tested in recent months and the fans have to spin higher to compensate for rising heat. With two cards in a CrossfireX configuration, the noise is easily noticeable under load and it may become intrusive for some.

When all is considered however there is no doubt in my mind that the Powercolor HD6850 Single Slot Edition cards will appeal to a very specific audience. Specifically gamers who want a small system build in their living room to entertain friends and family in a social environment. Two of these cards will cost around £300 inc vat … they deliver similar performance to a GTX580, but with a £100 lower premium. The only problem is, they can get rather loud, and this is why they don't earn our top award.

Pros:

• single slot opens up new possiblities
• design is good
• excellent performance in CrossfireX, right up there with a GTX580
• power consumption is excellent

Cons:

• Louder than a single, high performance solution.

KitGuru says: High performance, good price and ideal for a small case. A single high end card such as the GTX580 is much quieter however.

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