3D Mark Vantage

Using the performance settings for a standard 3D mark run, we get a performance score of P13653 for the HIS Radeon 6850 1GB. The GPU score (which we are mainly interested in here) scores a nice 12806 points.

Overclocking

As always, we used the Catalyst Control Center to overclock (at least to until it's limits are reached) and begun by using the Auto-Tune to get a starting point. The Auto-Tune was actually pretty close to the finishing clock speeds. The HIS Radeon 6850 1GB starts at 775MHz core and 1000 Memory. The Auto-Tune took it to 840/1180 but we had no issues at 850/1200.

Overclocking – The Difference

Our 3D Mark Vantage GPU score jumped from 12806 to 14119 which is a nice increase.

Our same test demo we use to get Left 4 Dead 2 numbers but ran in a timedemo, jumped from an average of 86.42FPS to 94.16FPS. Plenty of headroom there for heavy duty third party maps or for increasing the graphic quality. It also bodes well for higher resolutions/Eyefinity.

Final Words

The 6850 is a joy to test and use in day to day PC life. A lot of what we have been saying here gets put into a bit more perspective when you look at prices. At time of writing this, Newegg have the for $179.99. The cheapest NVIDIA GTX 460 1GB is $199.99. Drop down to a GTX 460 768MB and prices are better (around $160), but the 768MB won't perform like either of these two 1GB cards can (although in some games it could be close).

So you're getting a lot of card for your money then. And that's always a good thing. The comes with minimal extras package but you get what you need to get up and running.

The performance of the card is really good at this price point, and sits in the lower mid-range very well. In all our testing, the either matched or beat our comparison card, a card that AMD would like you to compare to their 6870; I think they are being a little conservative here, or perhaps that's the point. The 6850 will perform better than or at least the same as a more expensive GTX 460 1GB.

AMD have added to and refined features from the 5xxx series, and it makes the a great all round card. Honestly, it's a little bit of overkill for HTPC duty, but if you like to game on the big screen and are willing to spend that much on such a card, you certainly won't be disappointed. As a gamers card, the 6850 has a lot going for it, and improved visual quality too thanks to new filtering as well.

Since the is one of the cheapest 6850's right now, and performs so well, it's an easy card to recommend.

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