Final Thoughts
When I first got word about this card I simply thought it was a normal HD 6950 branded “DiRT 3 Edition” because it came with a free copy of the game. I was wrong, Sapphire really surprised us by improving the cooler on the card. It now has 5 copper heatpipes, dual 80mm intake fans and the heatsink has a large surface area. This cooler not only cools better than the reference design, but also is much quieter. This makes for a more enjoyable experience.
I would have liked to this card overclocked even just a little to give it even more performance over normal HD 6950’s, but Sapphire decided to leave it stock. You can easily use their TriXX software to change voltages and overclock the card.
Sapphire uses their own custom designed PCB, which improves both power and efficiency. Also surprisingly there is a dual-BIOS switch, that will allow you to flash the card with custom firmware to possibly turn the card in to a HD 6970. This is definitely an added value if you are an enthusiast.
I think Sapphire has really put together a great bundle with this card. As I said you get a voucher for a free download of DiRT 3, but you also get a full-sized HDMI cable, something many graphics cards do not come with. When it comes to choosing an HD 6950 Sapphire makes it very hard to choose another card. I mean you are getting a $40 game and the card with an improved cooler. Overll ThinkComputers gives the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 Dirt 3 Edition 2GB Video Card a 10 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award.
Pros:
– Great cooling performance
– Quiet
– DiRT 3 download voucher included
– HDMI cable included
Cons:
– None that I found
