Powercolor HD6870 PCS+ Review

The first custom cooled HD6870 has not disappointed Kitguru. The Powercolor HD6870 PCS+ manages to increase the core and memory speeds while also lowering the noise levels significantly.

Powercolor have not yet quite earned the reputation of XFX or Sapphire, but they have been making strides in the last year to be taken seriously as a company who know what the enthusiast market really wants. This card is a perfect example of their design ethic, creating a heatpipe cooler design with centralised fan – all tied into a carefully configured bios which balances good airflow with minimal noise. Return to Idle speeds are also impressive.

We have not yet received pricing information on this card, but we would expect it to be around £25 more than the reference design, which is currently in the £200 sector. If they manage to keep it below £230 inc vat, then they will surely get a lot of sales from enthusiast users who want something much nicer than the plain reference design.

We like this card, there is really nothing we can fault. The bundle is strong, the cooler is fantastic and the reduced noise levels will appeal to many gamers who find the reference designs rather intrusive.

KitGuru says: A fantastic release from Powercolor, and certainly worth shortlisting.

Edit: 23rd November – Powercolor have informed us that this card will only cost £10 to £15 more than the reference card, meaning it becomes a total nobrainer to us. This is the HD6870 you buy.

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