Final thoughts and rating
We've had three attempts, but we've yet to find a custom Radeon HD 7870 that's fundamentally better than AMD's reference design.
A lot of credit has to go to AMD's standard cooler - it finds a sweet spot between minimal noise and low temperatures, and the reference frequencies help deliver strong 1080p performance with best-in-class power consumption.
Beating that initial formula is proving to be tricky. The Gigabyte 7870 OC and PowerColor 7870 PCS+ didn't quite manage to do it, and XFX falls short, too. Sure, the card's quicker than reference as a result of the modest out-the-box overclock, and it's fractionally quieter, too, but on the flip side power consumption and temperature go up by 20 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.
Factor in the £300 price tag - £35 more than a reference design - and the picture gets cloudier still. The R7870 Black Edition is a good card, and one that delivers an excellent full-HD gaming experience, but at this price it's tough to recommend over a cheaper reference board.
The Good
Quicker than reference
Extremely quiet in use
Good looking design
The Bad
Pricey for a Radeon HD 7870
Temps higher than anticipated
Increased power consumption
HEXUS Rating
XFX R7870 Black Edition Overclocked
HEXUS Awards
XFX R7870 Black Edition Overclocked
HEXUS Where2Buy
The XFX R7870 Black Edition Overclocked graphics card is available to purchase from scan.co.uk*.
HEXUS Right2Reply
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