The ASUS EAH5850 DirectCU TOP is an excellent graphics card. Some could say that the HD5850 is a crippled version of the high end HD5870 and that the former should not be considered in the same league. But our results today show that the difference between the ASUS HD5850 and the stock HD5870 was mostly 10% or less, although reaching up to 12% in some instances. Of course, we have to remember that this particular card is the TOP edition and as such comes pre-overclocked at 765/4500MHz as opposed to 725/4000MHz but there\'s no doubting that other reference designs can easily reach the same clocks. As a separate SKU, it makes perfect sense, retaining most of the features of the full Cypress core but at $100/£100 cheaper.

Most potential buyers or enthusiasts would be interested in how the 160 stream processors and 8 texture unit deficit impacts the performance so in the review, I looked at clock for clock comparison. The result is a mere 3% difference on average, not much considering the 10% decrease in shader operations and texture fill rate. Based on that, the ATI HD5850 is a bargain. More importantly, the ASUS card can achieve these clocks without any tweaking on the core, showcasing its excellent power circuitry and overclocking headroom. On that note, we can also conclude that ASUS\'s offering is very attractive compared to other manufacturers. Coupled with an excellent cooler and voltage tweak ability, it can be overclocked to an impressive 950/4800MHz clock speed, at which point it edges in front of the HD5870. The ASUS card is also very power efficient but is this the icing on the cake?



It would have been, had the cake not been marred by its shortcomings. Looking at the street pricing, I found the cheapest DirectCU TOP card at £242.21 and £269.99 at more reputable sites. This wouldn\'t have been too bad, were it not for the declining prices of the reference HD5870 which can be bought for around £274.99 at its cheapest. For a small extra, buyers can have the full 1600 shader processors and 80 texture units. For a card that was meant to be challenging its bigger brother for a fraction of the price, the DirectCU TOP card fails to deliver on the last aspect. My personal recommendation would be too opt for the non-TOP card that features all the same characteristics but without the pre-overclock and a more acceptable price tag of £220.

Pros
+ Very cool and quiet operation
+ Stable and high overclocking headroom
+ Excellent performance
+ Aesthetically pleasing
+ Voltage tweak capability
+ Low power consumption
+ Eyefinity support

Cons
- Price
- Lack of memory heat spreader

ASUS have done a tremendous job with their EAH5850 DirectCU TOP and earn themselves the Vortez Hardware Gold Award.