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The Sapphire HD6850 Toxic Edition is a stunning mid range board and it shows similar levels of overclocking ability when compared to the XFX HD6850 Black Edition we reviewed weeks ago.
While on paper the identical clocks of the XFX Black Edition and Sapphire Toxic Edition would point to an ‘identical experience‘, this is not the case. XFX have clearly opted for higher automatic speeds as their fan spins around 30% faster at both idle and when under load. This means that while the XFX card runs cooler it also generates significantly more noise. While the automatic settings can obviously be adjusted manually, this actually gives the end user two very good, yet different ‘out of the box' options when shopping online.
We have had many HD6850 samples in our labs and only Sapphire and XFX have managed to break past the magic 1ghz figure, no coincidence as both are being sold as ‘elite' products from AMD's leading partners.
Personally I prefer the Sapphire Toxic Edition to the XFX Black Edition, specifically for the reduced noise levels and for the enhanced connectivity. When gaming it is difficult to hear the Sapphire board above the ambient noise of a system, while the XFX Black Edition can be heard.
The Sapphire HD6850 Toxic Edition is a gold award product due to the outstanding performance, massive overclocking headroom and quiet all round performance. Sapphire have balanced the core temperatures to peak around 70c when gaming while generating as low a noise level as possible. We like that thinking.
Pricing has yet to be confirmed but we would assume it will be around £20 more than the reference model.
Kitguru says: One of the finest HD6850's on the market.
excellent, another good HD6850 ! spoilt for choice in this sector lately. Still not sure whether to get a GTX460 or one of these around 170 quid.
I agree, that manually these can be adjusted easy enough, but I like sapphires take on this, to keep the noise down and fan lower than others. while relying on the cooler to keep the temps around 70c. interesting to see the picture of the fan only at 36% when furmark loaded. around 50-60% that would drop 10c. two different ideas from XFX and Sapphire, both work.
Sapphire and XFX really are in a head to head right now. I think the XFX looks nicer and I like their fan also. Either would do me, but ill probably get a HIS HD5870 Turbo.
Interesting to see they have opted for the full sized cooler to expell air out the back of the case. sometimes i dislike thes models as they dont do that,. I dont want hot air in my case.
Been waiting on this a while, will be curious to see if the price meets your expectations howver as I think it will be more than 20 more.
love these mid range boards. still not sure they are better than some of the GTX460’s you review here. like the evga GTX460 FTW or the MSI talon attack. but good regardless.
Excellent overclocking capabilities on these boards. I need a new monitor however. thankfully 1080p models are cheaper now.
Ideal really for 1080p gaming. if the price is right.
when is it for sale? any ideas?
urghhh not another product not listed anywhere for sale 🙁
I like Sapphire products, always built well and they have good cover for support which is important. always why I never buy powercolor or one of the far eastern makes,
Dont like this as much as the XFX board, the styling isnt as good. XFX board looks sexy.
My brother wants to buy two 6850s for the new year. wonder how much moer expensive these will be compared to reference design.
Great finding this site today, what a wealth of fantastic reviews! im a GTX460 man however, as I hate AMD drivers and support. nice product tho.
@Larry you can pick them up from RebelGadgets as they have them available on their site 😉