Review Gigabyte GV-R685D5-1GD: A Cooler Alternative to the Standard HD 6850
The Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 are two of AMD’s latest offerings. Intended for the mainstream market, each of these cards comes with a friendlier price tag compared to higher-end products. Radeon HD 6870 currently sells for around US$ 239, while its little brother, HD 6850, is being offered for around US$ 179.
Budget conscious buyers might be more interested in the lower -priced HD 6850. To increase overall value, some manufacturers have come up with customized HD 6850 cards, including Gigabyte with the GV-R685D5-1GD right here. The card is outfitted with Gigabyte’s unique, Windforce 2X HSF. Aside from that, they also use a non-reference PCB design as well.
Specification
AMD Radeon HD 6870 | AMD Radeon HD 6850 | Gigabyte GV-R685D5-1GD | |
Codename | Barts XT | Barts Pro | Barts Pro |
Fabrication Process | 40 nm | 40 nm | 40 nm |
Transistors | 1.7 Billion | 1.7 Billion | 1.7 Billion |
Die Size | 225 mm2 | 225 mm2 | 225 mm2 |
Core Clock | 900 MHz | 775 MHz | 775 MHz |
Stream Processors | 1120 | 960 | 960 |
Texture Units | 56 | 48 | 48 |
ROPs | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
Memory Size | 1024 MB | 1024 MB | 1024 MB |
Memory Clock (effective) | 4200 MHz | 4000 MHz | 4000 MHz |
Memory Interface | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
DirectX Version | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Shader Model | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | 6-pin | 6-pin |
Min Recommended Power Supply | 500 Watt | 500 Watt | 500 Watt |
Bus Support | PCIe 2.1 x16 | PCIe 2.1 x16 | PCIe 2.1 x16 |
Seen from the above table, it appears that there is no notable difference between the GV-R685D5-1GD and the standard HD 6850. Too bad Gigabyte did not apply any factory overclock, but at least this card should be able to perform as good as a standard HD 6850. Don’t lose your appetite just yet, the added value of this card lies not in its technical specification, but rather in its non-reference cooler.