As enthusiasts, one of the things we can always count on is the never-ending progression of computer hardware. Year after year, video cards get faster, processors offer more cores and / or performance, and motherboards provide additional features. That top of the line, $500 GPU you bought a few years ago can't touch the performance of a $200 graphics card available today. Yes, it's tough to keep up with the rapid pace of technology. But by shopping smarter, you minimize the chance of feeling buyer's remorse a few months down the road.
These factory overclocked Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards from PowerColor and HIS have made their way into our testing lab, and it's time once again for another round up…
AMD Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 Overclocked Round-Up

Marco Chiappetta
Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com