AFOX Radeon HD 6850 Low Profile Review – World exclusive review 11 years ago | Retro

1 - Intro, Overview and Specs 2 - Teardown and Details 3 - Optimizing the cooler: new fans 4 - Noise and Temperatures before and after 5 - Power Consumption 6 - Benchmarks and Conclusion

Power consumption

We measured the card’s power consumption as usual and had to determine a somewhat higher value compared to the single-slot solution, especially under load, which was certainly also caused by the rather inefficient voltage converters.

Attention! Exceeding the norm!

We already mentioned that Afox once again forgoes a 6-pin PCIe power connector and only feeds the card from the slot, which can actually only provide a total of 75 watts according to the specification. We tapped the voltages for fun and tested them under various load and load change scenarios. In any case, it was interesting to note that there were no voltage drops or major fluctuations. A temperature measurement at the slot contacts after one hour of Furmark also did not reveal any really alarming readings in the test system.

We tested the card on several other boards afterwards. A mini-ITX board warmed up to over 60°C inside the slot and the board’s surroundings after 30 minutes under Furmark. So you have to be aware of what you are installing and, if in doubt, test it carefully or leave it alone.

Due to some concerns expressed in the forum, we tested the card again this morning in different environments. Boards that only have a 20-pin power connector are definitely unsuitable for this card, as the connector may heat up. Many boards that are only equipped with PCIe 1.0 are also unsuitable. Boards that have two full PCIe x16 slots (size, not electrical connection), on the other hand, should be able to easily handle this card, since the power supply is then designed for 150 watts and more (in total). That leaves the contact problem of the slots. Since the card is very light, there should be no sagging and the contact load should also be even. When the card is installed upright in HTPCs, we are inherently more relaxed about the contact issue, but we are not entirely comfortable with it.

Interim summary

The omission of the additional plug obviously already works like in the single-slot solution, although we do not approve of this saving across the board due to the above-mentioned reasons and because too many questions remain open in the end. A good board with OC potential should be able to easily handle the supply, which stays below 100 watts on average during gaming. However, we caution against using it on Mini-ITX and older or extremely cheap Micro-ATX boards with only one PCIe x16 slot and on boards with a weaker 20-pin power supply. It can cause problems even on obviously suitable boards, but it doesn’t have to.