Sapphire HD5850 Toxic 1GB Video Card Review

I have always admired AMD's 5xxx range of cards with my particular favourites being the 5770 and the 5850. Both series of cards combine great performance with truly competitive pricing. If you have a 24 inch screen and are limited to 1920×1200 then we feel moving up to the HD5870 might be money wasted – for considerably less the HD5850 really delivers high frame rates while still allowing for the highest IQ settings.

Sapphire's redesigned card takes an already class leading product and takes it to the next level. You not only get higher performance but the core operates around 15c cooler and generates less noise under load. The power consumption is also only marginally more and would not be noticeable when getting your quarterly bill. The fact it still takes 2 x 6pin power connectors means it is adhering close to the reference power draw which is confirmed with our testing.

The Sapphire HD5850 Toxic Edition normally costs around £250-270 in the UK, but we managed to find it on Amazon for £230 inc vat with free delivery which is a staggering bargain. This is actually the price normally paid for the reference HD5850 model!

If you want a video card in the £250 price range – then we suggest you get a HD5850, more specifically the Sapphire Toxic Edition, it is simply the best HD5850 on the market right now.

KitGuru Says: Low temperatures, class leading performance with barely any noise at all. As close to perfect as it gets.

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