Final thoughts and rating
By leveraging a revamped architecture based on a cutting-edge 28nm process, AMD's Radeon HD 7000 series has raised the bar for performance while simultaneously delivering class-leading power draw and temperature characteristics.
These ingredients alone make the second-tier Radeon HD 7950 an appealing choice, and they allow for custom-cooled partner cards that are better than ever. Take an efficient 28nm GPU, apply a meaty heatsink and you get a high-end card that delivers excellent single-card performance combined with minimal noise and low operating temperatures.
We've seen XFX and Sapphire achieve similar results, and PowerColor has, in some ways, gone one better with its HD 7950 PCS+. This isn't the quickest non-reference card on the market, but it achieves some of the lowest temperatures we've seen from a Radeon HD 7950, and it's ultra-quiet in use, too. Factor in the competitive £370 retail price, and PowerColor's card almost manages to stand out from the crowd.
Bottom line: There's plenty of choice when it comes to custom-cooled and factory-overclocked Radeon HD 7950s, and the various partner cards are tough to separate, but we can think of no obvious reason not to consider the PowerColor HD 7950 PCS+.
The Good
Faster than a reference HD 7950
Tackles high-quality, full-HD gaming with ease
Loads of overclocking headroom
Keeps extremely quiet during use
Low operating temperature
The Bad
At £370, only die-hard PC gamers need apply
HEXUS Rating
PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+
HEXUS Awards
PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+
HEXUS Where2Buy
The PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 PCS+ graphics card is available to purchase from scan.co.uk* and aria.co.uk.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.
