Coolers
PowerColor HD6790 1GB GDDD5
The cooler has a massive rectangular heatsink, heatpipes and a plastic cover with a large fan. The card requires two expansion slots. The fan is slow and quiet. Memory chips are not cooled.
PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 1GB GDDR5
This cooler is passive, i.e. has no fan. Instead there are four heatsinks on both sides. The total height equals three expansion slots, but remember that half of the cooler is on the other side of the card. Make sure there's enough free space.
PowerColor PCS+ HD6950 2GB GDDR5
A huge rectangular heatsink with a lot of heatpipes and a cover with two quiet fans. Memory chips are not cooled.
Temperature monitoring results
We measured temperatures using the MSI Afterburner utility.
PowerColor HD6790 1GB GDDD5
PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 1GB GDDR5
PowerColor PCS+ HD6950 2GB GDDR5
As you can see, the factory-overclocked HD 6950 has the most efficient cooler of these cards. That of HD 6790 is also very nice. As for the passive cooler of HD 6850, it's obviously less efficient, but 88°C isn't too bad. Some less powerful passively cooled cards we had tested were as many as 98 degrees Celsius hot.
Package contents
A basic package should include a user manual, a software CD, and adapters where applicable. Now let's see what other accessories are bundled with each card.
PowerColor HD6790 1GB GDDD5
The basic package lacks a CrossFire bridge and an mDP adapter, but includes a DVI-to-VGA one.
PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 1GB GDDR5
A basic package with a DVI-to-VGA adapter.
PowerColor PCS+ HD6950 2GB GDDR5
Another basic package with a DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Boxes
PowerColor HD6790 1GB GDDD5
A traditional vertical box in a thick cardboard jacket. The card and accessories are securely fixed inside. Labels are easy to read.
PowerColor PCS+ HD6950 2GB GDDR5
A similar box.
PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 1GB GDDR5
A horizontal box in a different visual style. Given the large number of thin heatsink fins, the card is stowed into a polyurethane foam compartment.
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