Video cards of the series Radeon HD 7850 at the moment, they are perhaps the most interesting proposal for assembling the optimal gaming configuration. Progressive architecture, high performance, very moderate power consumption and, as a result, the requirements for the power supply. And if we add to this list excellent scalability, amazing overclocking potential, as well as pleasant retail prices after the official price reduction, then this AMD GPU solution now looks like an offer that cannot be refused. In turn, video card manufacturers support the interest of potential owners by offering updated and improved modifications of proven solutions. ASUS HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2- this is the name given to the upgraded version of the adapter, which is now the flagship of the line of ASUS devices based on the Pitcairn Pro chip.

As expected for TOP-versions of video cards from ASUS, the model under consideration is notable for having a frequency formula changed by the manufacturer. In particular, the graphics processor is seriously accelerated, which operates at a symbolic 1000 MHz instead of 860 MHz, recommended for reference models. The memory frequency is also increased - from 4800 to 5000 MHz.

The adapter is based on a 28nm Pitcairn Pro chip that contains 1024 compute units. In the line of modern graphics solutions, the Radeon HD 7850 is the most affordable model that uses a high-speed 256-bit memory bus. Complete with high-frequency GDDR5 memory, the bandwidth of the highway between the GPU and RAM is 160 GB / s.

The video card is equipped with 2 GB of memory, and in those modes that can be tough for the Radeon HD 7850, this amount can definitely come in handy. Looking closely at an adapter costing $200+, with an eye to the fact that you will play with screen resolutions of 1920 × 1080 and higher, and the device is bought for more than one gaming season, it is logical to focus on modifications with 2 GB of RAM.

Design and layout

The second incarnation of the video card with the V2 index in the model name has a cooling system similar to that used in the adapters of the first revision. In this case, we are talking about one of the options DirectCU II.

The design is based on an aluminum radiator, which is connected with an additional stack of plates with the help of three heat pipes, which increases the heat dissipation area. According to the general principle of the DirectCU family of coolers, heat pipes directly contact the GPU die, thereby increasing the rate of heat transfer.

The design of the radiator is blown by two 80 mm fans, while the one located in the central part has nine larger blades, while the additional one has 11. At first glance, it may seem that the second fan does not work as efficiently as it could. However, the air flow generated by it blows well the radiator plates and heat pipes that are in contact with the graphics chip.

The top of the cooler is covered with a black plastic casing, which is decorated with conspicuous red stripes.

This is where the similarity with the previous adapter ends. The model of the second revision received the original printed circuit board instead of the reference one.

The ASUS HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2 power subsystem is made according to an eight-phase scheme (6+2). In this case, the circuit uses components Super Alloy Power, and a digital controller is used to control the VRM parameters digital+. The connector for additional power has moved from the rear edge to the top edge. The connector for connecting the CrossFire bridge is also traditionally located here. For a system with the video card in question, the manufacturer recommends using a PSU with a power of 550 W or more, which is capable of providing 38A via the 12V line.

To increase the strength of the design, the printed circuit board is connected to the interface panel with a metal bracket, on which the company logo is placed.

The length of the printed circuit board is 215 mm, however, the elements of the cooling system protrude noticeably beyond the PCB. Because the total length of the adapter is quite impressive 275 mm. Of course, these are far from record-breaking dimensions for video cards, but before buying, you should first make sure that the device will take its place in the case without any surprises.

The interface panel contains four connectors. A pair of DVI (DVI-I + DVI-D), as well as full-length DisplayPort and HDMI. This configuration is the most practical and often required when connecting multiple monitors. Recall that the models of video cards Radeon HD 7850, based on the reference PCB, also offer four digital video outputs, while two of them are made in the form of Mini-DisplayPort, as well as one HDMI and one DVI each.

Equipment

The delivery set is usual for devices of this class. Manual, CD with drivers, adapter from DVI to analog D-Sub, as well as a CrossFire bridge for connecting two video cards in one system.

In work

Massive cooling systems do not always live up to expectations, however, in the case of ASUS HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2, a large cooler demonstrates good efficiency. In rest mode, the GPU only warmed up to 27 degrees, the game load raised the temperature of the GPU to 62 degrees, and the synthetic FurMark warmed up the chip to 66.

The figures themselves are very worthy for devices of the Radeon HD 7850 line. However, in this situation, the impressiveness of the active cooling system is more surprising. The fan speed barely exceeded 1000 rpm even under heavy load. This is just the case when such “modesty” decorates and does not affect efficiency. The most remarkable thing about this situation is that the video card ends up being very quiet, regardless of the current mode. You can't say bad for good. In our opinion, such indicators fully justify the slightly increased dimensions of the used modification of the DirectCU II cooler.

Overclocking

As we have already mentioned, the frequency formula of the TOP version has been changed by the manufacturer. At the same time, the chip is initially accelerated by 16.3%, memory - by 4.2%. This is no longer a formality, necessary only to highlight the product, but quite significant values ​​that will provide a performance increase that goes far beyond the measurement error.

Of course, the potential of the video card does not end there. The Radeon HD 7850 is generally very malleable "material" for enthusiastic experiments. After a series of experiments, the operating clock frequencies of the chip/memory were noticeably increased. So, the GPU worked on 1170 MHz, and the memory remained stable for 5800 MHz.

Performance

According to the results of express testing, a factory overclocked ASUS video card turned out to be 10-15% faster than a device with reference frequencies. The capabilities of the video card scale well, sensitively responding to an increase in the operating clock frequencies of both the GPU and the memory.

Additional forcing increased the difference already up to 26-33%, allowing ASUS HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2 in most cases to significantly outperform the "high school" Radeon HD 7870. In some situations, the adapter even manages to catch up to the level of Radeon HD 7950, which is based on the Tahiti and belongs to another class of video cards.

The GeForce GTX 660 is a very difficult and uncomfortable opponent for the Radeon HD 7850. In stock form, the latter actually has little chance, but after overclocking, the Pitcairn Pro-based device is able to compete on equal terms with a more expensive opponent from the NVIDIA camp. Both options are very good choices for an optimal gaming system.

Video review ASUS HD7850 DirectCU II TOP (HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2)

Results

ASUS HD7850-DC2T-2GD5-V2- an exemplary representative of mid-range graphics adapters. Practical results confirm that the modernization was not in vain started by the manufacturer. Too expensive? Maybe, if you do not take into account how much such a video card cost a few months ago. It works out its price even without additional overclocking. An improved version with reference clock speeds is also on sale - HD7850-DC2-2GD5-V2 , which is made on an identical PCB and is equipped with a DirectCU II cooling system. Do the chips that are used for forced modifications go through an additional strict selection? This is more of a rhetorical question. If you want to try your luck, saving a little along the way, you can try to upgrade the stock version. If not, the TOP modification provides guaranteed 1000/5000 MHz out of the box and moral satisfaction from buying the fastest solution in its class.

As you know, the most massive and profitable for video card manufacturers is the so-called middle-end segment, which includes video cards worth $200-$300. The popularity of this price range is explained, first of all, by the fact that it is here that the best combination of such important parameters as price and performance is achieved. In addition, video cards presented in this market segment, as a rule, have good overclocking potential, so special attention should be paid to models equipped with a high-performance cooling system and a high-quality element base.

I would like to add that with such overclocking, it is often possible to come close to the performance of the lower representatives of the high-end segment, which makes the purchase of these video cards a good purchase.

It is with such a video card that combines all the above advantages that we will get acquainted today. This is with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, built on a fairly successful Pitcairn Pro GPU and labeled ASUS HD7850-DC2-2GD5.

In addition, the video card is equipped with a proprietary ASUS DirectCU II cooling system, which is based on the technology of direct contact of heat pipes with a graphics chip. In addition, the model under consideration is built on the element base, which is used in more expensive video cards manufactured by ASUS, which will only positively affect the stability of work during overclocking.

Before moving on to testing ASUS Radeon HD 7850 DirectCU II, I would like to say a few words about the latest changes in the middle-end segment of video cards. The fact is that after the release of a competitor from NVIDIA in the face of the GeForce GTX 660 Ti and the imminent announcement of the regular GeForce GTX 660, AMD decided to improve the attractiveness of its products by lowering prices for the Radeon HD 78xx/79xx video card lines. Thus, the price of the model being tested today has already decreased in Ukrainian retail to $230, making it a very interesting choice in the price range up to $250. To what extent this video card justifies its cost, we will try to find out in this article.

ASUS Radeon HD 7850 DirectCU II Key Features

	ASUS Radeon HD 7850 DirectCU II (ASUS HD7850-DC2-2GD5)
GPU	AMD Radeon HD 7850 (Pitcairn Pro)
Supported APIs	Microsoft DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.2
Support for proprietary technologies	CrossFireX, AvivoHD, Eyefinity 2.0, AMD HD3D, AMD PowerPlay, Zero Core
Number of conveyors	1024 unified
Core frequency, MHz
Memory frequency (effective), MHz
Memory size, MB
Memory bus, bit
Memory type
Maximum Resolution	Up to 2560x1600 Dual-link DVI Up to 2048x1536 VGA (via adapter) Up to 4096x2160 HDMI (2560x1600 in 3D mode) Up to 4096x2160 DisplayPort
	1x DVI-I Dual-Link DVI 2x mini DisplayPort
Support HDCP and HD video decoding	Support for Unified Video Decoder 3.0 protocols, Video Codec Engine, Blu-ray 3D playback capability
Dimensions, mm
Drivers	The latest drivers can be downloaded from: From the GPU manufacturer's website From the support site.
Products webpage	http://www.asus.ua/

The video card is delivered in a package with coloring usual for ASUS products. The front side of the box shows the model of the video card, the amount of local video memory, as well as information that the video card can work simultaneously with 6 monitors and is equipped with a high-performance ASUS DirectCU II cooling system.

On the reverse side, the advantages of the proprietary cooling system are described in more detail, a diagram and the assignment of ports for displaying an image are given, and it is also reported that the video card is equipped with the original ASUS GPU Tweak overclocking utility.

On the side of the box is a list of recommended system requirements, as well as information about the required power supply capacity. At first glance, the recommended 450 W and 40 A for 12V lines may seem overpriced, but you must take into account the fact that the GPU Tweak utility allows you to programmatically increase the voltage on the graphics core, so that the power consumption after such actions will easily exceed the standard 150 W for conventional Radeon HD 7850.

The delivery set is also standard for video cards of this class and includes a manual with a description of the model and instructions for installing the video card, a disk with drivers and utilities, a CrossFireX bridge and a DVI-to-D-Sub adapter. For the possibility of using a video card with power supplies not equipped with a 6-pin connector, an appropriate adapter is provided.

Image output can be carried out using all modern video interfaces, such as digital mini-DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI, as well as D-Sub using an adapter. I would also like to remind you that the video card can work simultaneously with 6 monitors thanks to AMD Eyefinity 2.0 technology.

The video card is built on textolite, which is painted in the usual black for expensive ASUS solutions. The design of the printed circuit board is not unique, and is a "reference" solution for video cards of this type. All the power elements of the power supply circuits are soldered on the upper side of the board, which is explained by the need for their active airflow from the video card cooler.

The graphics chip is powered by a 4-phase circuit, which is controlled by the On Semiconductor NCP 5395T PWM controller. It should be noted that each phase uses 3 transistors with low channel resistance, which, on the one hand, guarantees high stability during strong overclocking, and, on the other hand, allows the manufacturer to abandon heatsinks on the video card power system without fear of overheating.

Another power phase is located at the back of the board and is responsible for voltage stability on the memory chips.

The video card itself is built on the basis of the Pitcairn Pro graphics core, produced according to the 28 nm process technology and having 1024 universal shader pipelines at its disposal. As you can see, the core turned out to be quite compact and has an area of ​​​​only 212 square meters. mm, which allows the manufacturer to reduce the cost of the video card in production.

The graphics card comes with one 6-pin power connector, which will be enough for the typical 150W power consumption that is typical for the Radeon HD 7850 series.

Since the video card cooler protrudes significantly beyond the printed circuit board, connecting the additional power connector is not very convenient.

The memory is equipped with 8 chips with a density of 2 Gbit manufactured by Hunix, marked H5GQ2H24MFR T2C and a nominal operating frequency of 6000 MHz, which allows us to hope for good overclocking relative to the factory 4840 MHz. The location of the chips corresponds to the memory bus width of 256 bits.

The reverse side of the board is dotted with a lot of SMD elements, and the power elements here are not soldered due to difficult cooling.

As already mentioned, the video card is equipped with an original cooling system called ASUS DirectCU II. According to the company itself, the technical solutions used in this system make it possible to make the video card quieter and 20 percent cooler compared to the "reference" counterparts. The concept of DirectCU II is based on the use of the so-called direct contact of heat pipes with a graphics chip. This solution makes it possible to reduce the overall thermal resistance of the cooler and thereby significantly increase the rate of heat transfer from the core to the heatsinks.

Structurally, the ASUS DirectCU II cooling system consists of 2 radiators, which are interconnected using 3 copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm. Both radiators are made of aluminium. Moreover, the main role in heat dissipation is played by the second radiator, which is a set of plates strung on heat pipes. This design not only increases the heat dissipation area, but also allows the passing air to effectively cool the power elements located on the printed circuit board.

On top of the radiator is covered with a plastic casing with 2 80 mm fans that support speed control using PWM modulation.

We will check the efficiency of the ASUS DirectCU II cooling system using the MSI Kombustor utility.

In idle mode, the video card seriously reduces the frequencies and voltage of the core within the Zero Core technology, while the heat dissipation of the video card drops to a few W, and the card itself becomes almost inaudible against the background of the operation of the rest of the system components.

The results obtained in the cooler auto control mode are shown in the following screenshot.

As you can see, at 100 percent load, the core temperature was only 63 degrees, while the fan impeller speed was only 39 percent of the maximum. It should be noted that the video card in this mode remained quite quiet and did not stand out against the general background of the computer.

By increasing the fan speed to the maximum, we managed to win back another 11 degrees, although at the cost of a significant increase in the noise level. The final core temperature is 52 degrees, which once again shows the excessive performance of the ASUS DirectCU II cooling system in the nominal mode of the video card, and this allows us to count on a good temperature regime during overclocking using a soft volt mod.

Testing

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, after the release of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti, AMD has reduced the price of the Radeon HD 7850 line to $210-230.

In the same price range, NVIDIA has no similar solutions based on the new Kepler architecture. Therefore, the main competitors of our video card today are still quite fast, but already obsolete models based on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti / GTX 570 graphics chips.

As the tests show, ASUS Radeon HD 7850 DirectCU II in terms of performance, it is approximately equal to competitors based on the GeForce GTX 560 Ti and slightly loses to the GeForce GTX 570, but at the same time it shows a significant gain in power consumption and has such a nice bonus as 2 GB of memory. The performance gap with solutions based on the Radeon HD 7950 and GeForce GTX 660 Ti is already 30-50 percent in favor of the latter.

Overclocking

As you know, the Pitcairn Pro core demonstrates good overclocking potential when the supply voltage is increased. From the nominal 870 MHz, the graphics processor was overclocked to 1241 MHz, while increasing the voltage on the GPU from the nominal 1.075 V to 1.165 V. The memory also pleased with overclocking, reaching a stable 6227 MHz.

Such an impressive overclocking allows us to hope for a good increase in performance. The relative performance gain after overclocking is shown in the table.

Test package		Standard Frequencies	Overclocked graphics card	Productivity increase, %
	performance score
	performance score
Crysis Warhead, DirectX 10, Maximum Quality, fps
Crysis Warhead, DirectX 10, Maximum Quality, AA4x/AF16x, fps
Far Cry 2, DirectX 10, Ultra Quality, NO AA/AF, fps
Far Cry 2, DirectX 10, Ultra Quality, fps
Aliens vs. Predator DX11 Benchmark, Maximum Quality, NO AA/AF, fps
Aliens vs. Predator DX11 Benchmark, Maximum Quality, AA4x/AF16x, fps
Colin McRae: DiRT 2, DirectX 11, Maximum Quality, NO AA/AF, fps
Colin McRae: DiRT 2, DirectX 10, Maximum Quality, AA4x/AF16x, fps
Metro 2033 Benchmark, DirectX 11, Maximum Quality, NO AA / AF4x, fps
Metro 2033 Benchmark, DirectX 11, Maximum Quality, AA4x/AF16x, fps

Even with such a serious overclocking, the video card cooling system coped with its work without problems.

At 100 percent load, the core running at 1240 MHz could only warm up to 66 degrees when the fan speed was increased to the maximum. Thus, the DirectCU II cooling system demonstrates a good performance margin even in the maximum overclocking mode.

conclusions

The tests carried out show that today the video card ASUS Radeon HD 7850 DirectCU II is a very good choice in the $200-$250 price range for both casual users and experienced overclockers. Low noise, excellent cooling system, low power consumption make this video card a preferable purchase compared to the obsolete GeForce GTX 560 Ti / GTX 570. And the presence of 2 GB of memory and excellent overclocking, bringing the performance of the video card closer to the representatives of the "top" segment, allow ASUS Radeon The HD 7850 DirectCU II is a good choice not only for playing modern games, but also to provide some headroom for the future.

Advantages:

High performance in modern games;

Quiet and efficient cooling system;

Excellent overclocking potential;

The new line of AMD graphics cards in the middle segment is still in the lead, compared to the old graphic solutions of the green camp. Why isn't Nvidia releasing new graphics cards in the mid-range? This is very strange, maybe they are selling their stock of past generation graphics cards. It is not known what this is connected with, but we will not go far from the topic. Before that, I already tested the video card Radeon HD 7850, but from the manufacturer Gigabyte. It turned out to be very successful in terms of price / performance. Today I will consider the same model, but from ASUS with a cooling system DirectCU II.

How will this model perform in tests at stock frequencies and in overclocking? We will see this later, but now I will tell you more about its characteristics and about itself.

Specifications:

Graphics core: Pitcairn PRO
Interface: PCI Express x16 3.0
Process technology: 28nm
GPU frequency: 870MHz
Memory frequency (physical (effective)): (1210(4840))MHz
Video memory bus width: 256bit
Amount of video memory: 2048MB
Video memory type: GDDR5
Number of universal processors: 1024
Number of texture units: 64
Number of rasterization blocks: 32
The need for additional power: 6-pin
Interfaces: DVI, HDMI, mini Display Port x2
Recommended power supply capacity: 500W
Video card length: 257mm

The video card is not factory overclocked. But do not worry those who do not know how to overclock. At ASUS is there some more TOP version with good factory overclocking. It will not be difficult for me to disperse it a little and test it.

Packaging and equipment

Package ASUS standard for their video cards, they changed the design only for the new line of the green camp, it is strange that the red camp was not touched. On the front side, a warrior in armor on a horse is still depicted, and the red background matches the color of the cards. Radeon.


On the reverse side we see a description of the cooling system, a proprietary utility for monitoring and overclocking a video card GPU Tweak, as well as what interfaces are present on this video adapter. I note that for a small video card, which has a board length of only 210mm, the box is not small. Even comparing with a box from Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670, which I tested in the last review, it is the same size with it. ASUS does not save on such things.


The package bundle of the video card is quite standard:
CD with drivers and utilities
Installation and operation instructions
Bridge CrossFire
DVI to VGA adapter
The only thing missing is an adapter for additional power, since people buying this video card may not change the power supply due to the low power consumption of the card, namely 150W, and this adapter would be useful to some.

Appearance, design

The video card has a proprietary cooling system DirectCU II from ASUS. There is nothing special and new, except that the length of the CO is almost 50 mm longer than the printed circuit board itself, which is not very successful. The cooling system has three heatpipes with the technology of direct contact of the tubes with the GPU. Everything is done with high quality and there can be no complaints.



The printed circuit board is made in black, which is customary for ASUS. The arrangement of all elements is repeated, as in the case with , so I will not repeat myself. Also soldered 8 memory chips from Hynix at a frequency of 1200 MHz, 256 MB each. The power supply system remained the same, namely according to the 4 + 1 phase scheme.



The video card needs additional power in the form of one six-pin connector from the power supply. The connector itself is located a little out of the standard place. Due to the longer length of the cooling system, it is problematic to connect the connector to this connector, so ASUS engineers took care of a kind of extension cord that allows you to connect the connector without any problems. Again, the TDP is only 150W, and AMD Zero Core technology can reduce power consumption to a measly few watts in idle mode.



The presence of a connector for connecting a CrossFire bridge allows you to connect up to two video cards. Also on boards of the latest generations of ASUS graphics solutions there is a stiffening rib to protect the video card from all sorts of kinks.

To display the image on the screen, the video card has the following interfaces:
DVI
HDMI
Mini Display Port x2
All interfaces are located on one slot, while on the other there is a hole for hot air to escape from the case.

Testing

Testing was carried out on the following configuration:
Processor based computer Intel Core i5-2500K
CPU Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.5GHz (1.256V) + Cooler IceHammer IH-4500 (Thermalright TY-140)
Mat. Pay ASRock Extreme3 ​​Gen3
RAM Kingston HyperX Red Limited Edition 1333MHz (8-8-8-21)
HDD x2 Seagate ST3250310AS (250GB, 7200RPM, SATA-II) in Raid 0
power unit Chieftec CFT-700-14CS
Frame Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced(Replaced stock fans with Thermalright X-Silent connected to Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus)
Monitor ASUS VE247H 1920x1080 (23.6')
operating system Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit DirectX 11
Drivers AMD Catalyst 12.4, NVIDIA 301.42 WHQL, VSync off.

Programs and games that were used when testing video cards:

3D Mark 11
3D Mark Vantage– Performance, Extreme settings.
Dirt2– Ultra high settings.
Dirt3– Ultra high settings.
Metro 2033– Super High settings.
Battlefield 3– Ultra settings.
Grand Theft Auto 4– High-Ultra settings, draw distance 100%.
FurMark 1.9.0- to warm up the video card.
Fraps 3.4.5- to measure FPS in games.

Overclocking

Acceleration was carried out without raising the voltage. The frequencies of the graphics core and video memory were raised. The total was raised by +180/240MHz by core and memory, respectively. At the same time, the video card worked stably and there were no problems. At the same time, the temperature regime did not increase much, you will learn about it below during the testing itself.

Test results

As usual, at the beginning I will provide you with comparative graphs of synthetic tests.





In a slight overclocking, this video card becomes at the level of the Radeon HD 7870, which costs about 2.5-3.5 thousand more. Very good for the middle segment. Let's see how this card will behave in gaming applications.






In gaming applications, the situation is even better. In overclocking, the video card slightly outperforms its older brother from the 7800 series. Well, I think that this is a decent result with a little overclocking. Now let's see how the temperature regime has changed during overclocking, compared with the standard frequencies.


In Auto speed mode, the fans accelerated to 2500 rpm, which is 45%, while not emitting unnecessary noise at the level of the system unit. And in 100% mode, the fan speed reached 4200 rpm, but at this speed, the average level noise was noticeable against the background of the entire system unit. The cooling system in action also shows excellent results.

Conclusion

This product is a very profitable purchase for gamers who have a small amount of money for a video card, and at the same time want to play at maximum settings in games. The video card shows excellent results for the middle segment, while overtaking rivals from the green camp of the previous generation. But overclockers may also be interested in this video adapter, as a lot can be squeezed out of this model. With my little overclocking, I got a level video card Radeon HD 7870 that I consider a very good result. With more acceleration, it is possible to achieve a level Radeon HD 7950, or just catch up with her. I advise taking this product to those people who want not to spend much, but at the same time get good performance in modern games.
Pros:
Efficient cooling system
Good performance
High overclocking potential
Minuses:
They simply don't exist.

The review was made by Alexander "honnete" Yemets.

ASUS graphics accelerators have always occupied a special position in the rating of buyers. Some like the brand itself, others expect to get excellent quality. In fact, the price of the company's video cards includes the cost of not only the brand itself, but also long-term warranty obligations, and much more.

For example, unlike the second-tier manufacturers, the first class implies not only an exclusive cooling system, but also its own PCB design, as well as software for overclocking and monitoring the card's status. The differences, as you understand, are significant, the only question is whether it is worth the overpayment. The answer to it will be given only by the summary testing of HD 7850 video cards provided for testing by our partner, the Regard company.

Packing and scope of delivery

ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5 is the junior model in the HD 7850 series manufactured by ASUS. Only 1 GB of memory, no overclocking. In the first case, nothing can be fixed, but overclocking yourself is easy.

Inside the box is:

• Video card ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5;
• CD with drivers and software;
• Instructions for the video card;
• Adapter DVI -> VGA;
• Bridge CrossFireX.

Appearance and dimensions

Model	A, mm	b, mm	c, mm	D, mm	A1, mm	b1, mm	C1, mm
AMD HD 7850 v1	240	98	34	63	248	98	38
AMD HD 7850v2	198	98	34	67	198	98	38
Sapphire HD 7850OC	198	98	35	74	210	102	41
HIS 7850 IceQ X Turbo X	198	98	34	86	219	113	39
Gigabyte GV-R785OC-1GD	198	98	34	96	225	109	38
XFX R7850 Core Edition	198	98	34	67	198	98	38
PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DHV2	198	98	34	88	202	105	41
ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5	215	98	35	76	251	109	40

A- the length of the printed circuit board, excluding the cooling system and the bracket for video output ports.
IN- PCB width, excluding PCI-E pins and cooling system.
WITH- height from the horizontal plane of the printed circuit board to the level of the upper surface of the cooling system.
D- diameter of the fan/s along the outer radius.

A1- the length of the printed circuit board, taking into account the cooling system (if it extends beyond the printed circuit board) to the bracket for the video output ports.
IN 1- width of the printed circuit board, excluding PCI-E pins, but with measurement of the cooling system (if it goes beyond the printed circuit board).
C1- height, taking into account the back plate (if any) / radiator mounting screws to the level of the upper surface of the cooling system. If it is lower than the height of the back plate of the video output ports, then the height is measured to the top point of the bar.

The design of the ASUS model does not belong to either the first or the second reference revisions, but is entirely the brainchild of the company's engineers. The long casing hides a simple-configured cooling system with one small fan. The dimensions of the card are such that they easily overlap any other analogues.

Although there is one detail left by inheritance - this is the rear panel of video outputs: DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA, DVI-I. It's strange that the designers didn't improve the cost of their own BIOS version and design, and when the monitor is turned off, the fan continues to work. Of the pleasant things, we can note the reinforcing plate, although the weight of the video card is small.

Printed circuit board

There are two types of non-reference video cards. The first one is the improvement of the reference product, it is inherent in such manufacturers as ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Sapphire. But just don't fall for this trap. The importance of the brand does not always indicate an improvement in the physical properties of the card, and vice versa. Therefore, without a complete disassembly, it is impossible to say whether the card is an improved version, or, conversely, saved somewhere.

The second type is with simplified circuitry, when coils and power elements are either replaced with cheaper counterparts, or the number of phases is reduced. Such options are also found among the models of industry leaders, but more often this method is used by second-class brands. In the case of ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5, the company did not save money, but went by adapting card elements to partner components.

On the right side of the video card there are two power systems - PLL and memory. Both of them are endowed with simple PWM controllers.

APW 7165A PWM controllers are elementary, they do not support the I2C protocol and do not support any voltage control levers.

On the left side, six GPU power phases are vertically lined up. Compared to the reference design versions, all components have been replaced, including coils, capacitors, and power transistors. Each pair of phases works with a uP driver.

According to ASUS standards, only the ASP product could become a PWM control controller. The company has been using chips from this company for a long time, not only in video cards, but also on motherboards.

And as always, the cover bears its own name, which directly refers to the ASUS label - "VRM Digi +". The ASP1215A PWM controller supports the I2C protocol, which automatically provides the user with the ability to programmatically adjust the voltage.

Ultimately, the user wins after the complete replacement of all parts of the power system. Excessive heating of the PWM controller will not bother you anymore, the maximum temperature barely reaches 90°C.

Another unspoken problem lies in compatible overclocking programs. Due to the low prevalence of the controller, it is possible to make a voltmod only using the ASUS utility. At the same time, the maximum frequency of the graphics core in it is limited to 1050 MHz, which is clearly not enough for convincing overclocking. And if you remember the history of achievements, then the choice of the company's programmers looks strange - “only 1050 MHz ???”

But, despite the fact that the choice is small, there is a way out of a slippery situation. To change the voltage, we use the ASUS proprietary utility, and then turn on a third-party program and change the frequency in it. As a result, we change both the voltage and the frequency, but this is inconvenient to do.

The Pitcairn processor with an area of ​​~212 mm2 was placed on a textolite substrate on the 26th week of 2012. It contains 2800 million transistors and is made using the 28 nm process technology. Its silicon crystal is protected by a metal frame only around the perimeter.

Eight memory chips manufactured by Hynix are soldered on the front and marked as H5GQ1H24BFR. They are designed for frequencies up to 1250 MHz (effective frequency 5000 MHz), the bus width is 256 bits.

The final power phase formula is: 6+1+1 (GPU/MEM/PLL).

Under the power connector, there are diagnostic diodes that signal the correctness and presence of voltage.

When there is no power, the red diode lights up, when it is connected, it turns green.

The nominal frequencies of ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5 are 860 MHz for the graphics core and 4800 MHz for the memory.

Cooling system

The design of the ASUS CO product includes four parts: a heatsink with a fan, a shroud, a reinforcing side plate, and a power system heatsink. The heatsink with the shroud is shifted to the end of the card, which adds extra centimeters to its length. Above the heat dissipator of the power system, the shape of the casing narrows, thereby directing air through its fins.

After removing the main part, the power radiator and the amplifier plate become visible. However, specifically for this model, the latter is more of a tribute to fashion than a necessary tool. But the first part is very important. Six rows of transistors noticeably heat up and to say that they do not need a radiator is the same as saying nothing. It is worth noting that such a solution is not widely used among HD 7850 video cards, usually manufacturers do not put a separate element on the power supply. Apparently, ASUS tested, checked and delivered.

One of four cooling design approaches for graphics accelerators is commonly used.

• The first is a single fan located not above the power system, or partially above it. There is no power supply heatsink. In this form, the heating is quite high, especially if the fan has a large diameter and low speed, and the main radiator is strewn with many closely spaced fins.
• The second one is a single fan, installed in the same way as in the first case, but the power system is equipped with a heatsink. It is this approach that was used in the case of the ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5 video card.
• The third - two fans, a power system without a radiator.
• The last one, the fourth one, is never found on HD 7850 video cards at all. A pair of fans and a heatsink on the power circuits.

Let's see what is hidden under the casing.

A small heatsink, at the base of which lies an aluminum insert, and two heat pipes emanating from the middle. A scheme of direct contact between the tube and the heat source is used, and the tubes are flattened to increase the area.

test bench

ASUS HD 7850-DC-1GD5 was tested with the following configuration:

• Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65 (Intel Z77, LGA 1155);
• Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K 4700 MHz (100 MHz x 47, 1.35 V) or 1600 MHz during cooling system noise measurement;
• Cooling system: water cooling system;
• Thermal interface: Arctic Cooling МХ-2;
• RAM: Corsair DDR3 1600MHz, 4 x 4GB, (7-8-7-20-1T, 1.65V);
• Hard drive: Crucial M4 (CT128M4SSD2), 128 GB;
• Power supply: Enermax REVOMAX 1250 W;
• Audio card: ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3;
• Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 x64 SP1;
• AMD Driver Version: Catalyst 12.11 plus latest CAP.

List of used instrumentation and tools

• Sound level meter: Center 320;
• Multimeter: Fluke 289;
• Electricity tariff: E305EMG;
• Microphone: Philips SBC ME570.

Testing tools and methodology

The following conditions were used to correctly measure temperature and noise. The room inside which the system of automatic support of climatic conditions is located. In this case, the temperature level was set at 24°C +/-1°C. The accuracy of compliance with the set parameters was monitored by four sensors, one of which was located 5 cm from the fan of the video card cooling system and was the leader. According to it, the main correction of the temperature in the room took place.

Noise was measured at a distance of 50 cm from the video card. The background level was Sound and video recording of the cooling system was made at a distance of ~10 cm from the fan. The first 5-10 seconds without load in idle mode, then 100% load was turned on using the Furmark program. The highest level of noise is reached at the end of the audio recording. The temperature regime and noise were determined in advance, so that during the recording of the audio track you could hear exactly the maximum noise. In the process of watching videos, you can highlight the timbre and nature of the sounds emitted by the cooling system. I warn you that the sound on them is heavily embellished, that is, it feels stronger than it actually is.

The level of electricity consumption in idle time was estimated according to the readings of the E305EMG tariff immediately after loading the operating system. The values ​​displayed on the graph correspond to the minimum achieved figures from the device. Under load, the video cards were tested by the Furmark program. After 10-15 minutes, the temperature and fan speed reached their theoretical maximum, after which the data were entered into a table.

The temperature of the power circuits was measured by installing a temperature sensor in the space between the radiator and the thermal pad in the most loaded place.

I will try to explain in detail the nuances that arose during the testing process as they arise.