Can't find a reference ATI 6850 - do they exist[?]

[GaryJ]

After a bit of research, I think the reference ATI/AMD 6850 is the card I want to put in a developing build in a mITX Lian Li PC-Q11. That case is very small and graphics cards are limited to 240mm. Additionally, I'm going to need that card to exhaust as much hot out the back of the case as I can do quietly. Looking at SPCR's review of the reference 6850 with a stock cooler, the card is very quiet at idle.

Do these referrence cards actually exist anywhere?

[MikeC]

You mean like one of these?

[GaryJ]

Thanks for the reply. Reading my original post, I can see now how poorly written it was. Specifically what I'm looking for is the reference card with the blower that exhausts all/most hot air out the back of the case (similiar to the one SPCR reviewed http://www.silentpcreview.com/Asus_AH68 ... U_VGA_Card).

I'm researching what kind of quiet performance I could create for a moderate gamer/daily computer in a very small m-ITX case (Lian-Li PC-Q11). I'd like it to be very, very quiet when used for desktop applications. Less important are sound levels when gaming. Looking at the case layout, I'm thinking it'll be important for the GPU to exhaust the hot it creates under load. Thus, my interest in the stock blower.

Here's a decent picture of the inside of the PC-Q11 w/ components.

One question I still am researching is whether the blower would be that much more beneficial to cooling than a card with a better cooler that keeps more of the hot air in the case.

GaryJ

[Modo]

Wow, they really are rare. Found one almost like it by Sapphire, but even that looks like the shroud was changed. There are many reference 6870s out there, so maybe that would be an option for you.

[MikeC]

The encased 1-fan cooler that blows the air out the back in a 2-slot design is only good for up to about maybe 100W GPUs. Around that power point is where those single-fan designs simply cannot blow enough air out through the enclosed cooler without ramping up to extremely high speed -- and noise. We measured HD6850 DC power to be 90~100W; AMD says TDP is 127W, however, and I'd use that as the more accurate figure.

Consider the reference HD 6850 vs the Asus 6850 in our review -- the two were equally quiet at idle, but at load, in a low-airflow optimized case, the latter ran only 3 dBA louder while the stock card ran 10 dBA louder.

In other words, I think you're better off with a non-reference cooler version HD 6850.