PowerColor 7850 SCS3 Passive Review

Measuring temperatures is all about being consistent therefore we keep a steady eye on monitoring the ambient room temperature to make sure that it stays the same. While this is constantly being monitored, we measure the idle temperature of the card using HWMonitor over a 15 minute period. Once this has been recorded, we set FurMark into motion for 15 minutes and record the results again.

Whilst making a passive card, there is one critical factor that denotes why we do not see passive versions of say a 7970 or even the upcoming 7990 and this is heat, as the amount of graphical power increases, so does the heat. This is the full reason why top end cards are not found in passive versions. PowerColor’s card, as tested in a chassis, does run very warm in relation to a standard 7850, but when taken out of the case and run on one of our open air test benches, the temperatures are even higher, where at one point a core temperature of near 105 decrees Celsius was recorded.

The lower temperatures as recorded in a chassis environment, all come back to one major factor – airflow. Whilst the graphics card is cooled passively, the heat needs to go somewhere, meaning that without airflow around the card, the heat sink temperature will just continue to rise and rise until the core’s maximum temperature is reached and the card’s thermal cut out kicks in. Credit where its due though to PowerColor, they’ve had a good bash at keeping the Pitcairn core cool.