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XFX HD6850 Black Edition Review @ 1ghz : World First Exclusive!

Recently we have changed our method of measuring noise levels. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. We are using a heatpipe based passive power supply and an Intel SSD to keep noise levels to a minimum. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.

Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

The fan on the Black Edition board spins slightly faster to help maintain a high level of cooling, when gaming it registered around 37 dBa and just under 40dBa when Furmark loaded. The card is a little louder than the reference XFX board we reviewed last week.

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13 comments

  1. Shit on a stick, thats insane clocks man!

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  2. Ohhhh lovely. their modded cooler is good. shame its a tiny bit louder, but we can forgive it with those insane clocks.

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  3. ill buy a few of these I think for christmas 😉

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  4. First HD6850 over 1ghz, very sexy indeed. XFX are really taking it to Sapphire lately.

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  5. Heh, this is the start of extreme solutions. I can predict some amazing overclocks before christmas.

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  6. Absolutely stunning card, hope the price isnt much higher though.

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  7. I am not that interested in the core clock increases set in the bios, the potential overhead is what I love about the black edition boards. they have been doing this for years really and im stunned they got a 6850 black edition out so early. nice scoop KG.

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  8. Its AMD lovin on kitguru 🙂

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  9. Have to hand it to XFX< they are showing their worth as a partner for AMD. nvidia must be crying into their cornflakes.

    cocks.

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  10. oh, this will make a nice christmas present, I just need to persuade the missus to fork out for it. fat chance.

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  11. Damn it, I wasn’t expecting this so quick. XFX got the edge on Sapphire.

    but for how long? 1.1ghz possible before christmas? I think so.

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  12. XFX + AMD = Great Combo
    XFX – NVIDIA = All 4 AMD
    NVIDIA You Where Stupid To Let XFX Go As A Partner

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  13. To all the dumbasses saying Nvidia dropped XFX;
    Get your bloody facts right – XFX dropped Nvidia when they made the 400-series cards.

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