Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic OC Edition Review

Testing:

Featuring all-new game tests, this benchmark is for use with Vista based systems. "There are two all-new CPU tests that have been designed around a new 'Physics and Artificial Intelligence-related computation.' CPU test two offers support for physics related hardware." There are four preset levels that correspond to specific resolutions. 'Entry' is 1024x768 progressing to 'Extreme' at 1920x1200. Of course, each preset can be modified to arrange any number of user designed testing. For our testing, I will use the four presets at all default settings.

 Settings:

• Settings (each preset): Default
• Entry: 1024x768
• Performance: 1280x1024
• High: 1680x1050
• Extreme: 1920x1200

The HD 5850 Toxic edition delivers performance well above that of the reference card, as is to be expected due to the native higher clock speeds. Leaning on the Toxic, the clock speeds respond with performance that is decidedly faster than the HD 5870.