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What's the best 7850 HD card?

ramadan93

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Hey there,

Im looking to buy a graphics card for my first build, so far i'v made my decision on the 7850 2gb version. There is so many to choose from, frankly i'm going crazy from watching and reading reviews all over the internet.

So i thought best to ask the community itself, like i said before; the requirements are a 2gb version and also if possible i would like some headroom for overclocking.

So far the brands that sparked my interest are : Asus, MSI, Sapphire and GIGABYTE.

So yeah, hope you guys can help me out.

thanks : )
 
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They are all the same. Only differene is the brand and warranty, and for the most part the warranties are identical.

Go for the cheapest branded one.
 
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get one with 2 fans.
 

ramadan93

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They are all the same. Only differene is the brand and warranty, and for the most part the warranties are identical.

Go for the cheapest branded one.

Im really thankful for your quick reply, but i find it hard to believe there is no difference between them after checking out so many reviews. Could you please elaborate?
 
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get one with 2 fans.

Would you pay £25 more for an extra fan? No


Im really thankful for your quick reply, but i find it hard to believe there is no difference between them after checking out so many reviews. Could you please elaborate?

Not much to elaborate on. ATI make the GPU and give third party companies the blue print of the PCB and third party companies produce the same card to specification under their own brand. Thus they all perform virtually the same +1/-1 margin for error.

Aside the warranty differences, as a means to justify raising the price some manufacturers bundle free accessories, games, or equip the card with a non reference cooler etc.

But as I said performance doesn't change.
 

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Would you pay £25 More for an extra fan? No

Not much to elaborate on. ATI make the GPU and give third party companies the blue print of the PCB and third party companies produce the same card to specification under their own brand. Thus they all perform virtually the same +1/-1 margin for error.

Aside the warranty differences, some cards come with free accessories, game bundles. They might opt for a different cooler as a means to justify raising the price.

The cooling alone might well be worth it, as well as how popular the brand is in your area (for RMA reasons). They might overclock differentely as well. Most of these things mostly matters for enthusiasts (maybe except RMA/warranty), but there are differences.
 

ramadan93

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i'v looked up the suggestions and what the others had to say, i'v chosen the MSI twinfrozer, looks pretty cool too.

Thanks alot guys, great community!
 
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The Power Colour is $15 cheaper.
PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-...

TBH $199 seems the average price, so I wouldn't get anything costing more than $199.


The cooling alone might well be worth it, as well as how popular the brand is in your area (for RMA reasons). They might overclock differentely as well. Most of these things mostly matters for enthusiasts (maybe except RMA/warranty), but there are differences.

You can open 10 boxes of the same video card and they will all overclock differently. Some brands and model combinations might have better quality memory thus allowing you to overclock the memory bus slightly higher, but we are talking a few Mhz extra. It's not going to change performance beyond a superficial level. Now of course there are exceptions to the rule where a specific model of card overclocked beyond normal but this is few and far between.
 

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The Power Colour is $15 cheaper.
PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-...

TBH $199 seems the average price, so I wouldn't get anything costing more than $199.




You can open 10 boxes of the same video card and they will all overclock differently. Some brands and model combinations might have better quality memory thus allowing you to overclock the memory bus slightly higher, but we are talking a few Mhz extra. It's not going to change performance beyond a superficial level. Now of course there are exceptions to the rule where a specific model of card overclocked beyond normal but this is few and far between.

He has already chosen, and if I were him. I wouldn't touch a power color. Asus, MSI, and Sapphire would all be good choices for the OP.
 

ramadan93

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He has already chosen, and if I were him. I wouldn't touch a power color. Asus, MSI, and Sapphire would all be good choices for the OP.

I was also weary about brands like that, not that i heard anything bad about them perse but i better go with a brand that is reliable and at least some people have experience with.
 
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I was also weary about brands like that, not that i heard anything bad about them perse but i better go with a brand that is reliable and at least some people have experience with.


There is no such thing as a reliable brand.

Be weary of people whom say they wouldn't touch a particular brand. Because in all honesty over the last 12 years I've probably used every single popular brand. Some i've had issues and some I haven't. Some friends and colleagues have had better luck with brands I found defects with.

With all electronics its luck. You can open a Powercolour box and have faults, I can buy the same item and it lasts 3 years straight. You can call customer service and get someone helpful. I might call customer service and get someone unhelpful.

It's sheer luck.

Personally I've had a MSI motherboard fail completely, ASUS Motherboard's integrated LAN card develop a hardware fault after about 2 years of usage, although I've never had issue with ASUS video cards. Never had issue with Sapphire or MSI. Had two faulty XFX cards, although their warranty treated me the best. It's luck.

Given the issue I had with my faulty MSI motherboard, I wouldn't hesitate getting another MSI product. The MSI twin frozer looks decent.
 
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With all electronics its luck. You can open a Powercolour box and have faults, I can buy the same item and it lasts 3 years straight. You can call customer service and get someone helpful. I might call customer service and get someone unhelpful.


+1, on that.

My old Powercolor Run's Far Cry 3 , and BF3 faster than ALOT of this years GPU'S in it's Class, and some above.

But I've had the SAME EXACT model/Brand/Family of GPU shit the bed in a year, or atleast perform to a level which basically made me wish it would.


This IS a good deal!!
http://www.frys.com/product/7417765?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
 

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brand names are indeed important. more reliable companies like the popular ones, use expensive and more reliable auxiliary components. for example for the same blueprint you have an option of using all electrolytic caps or all solid caps or both. this is just one example.

some companies employ a better VRM design with more reliable chips which make the car last longer, etc.

after sales service is not sheer luck either. one company which has served 10 people badly wont turn over a new leaf for you.

but there are exceptions sometimes. and as far as i have learned, its safe to stay among brands that are popular IN YOUR REGION. popularity in a particular region has to do with proper sales and service both!
 
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