HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ 2GB Graphics Card Review

When HIS sent us this and the IceQ X Turbo X models, we were keen to see some distinct differences between the cards, but instead saw very similar results in terms of performance which was quite surprising to say the least. The HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ X Turbo X card comes with faster GPU clock and memory speeds and should in theory, have pushed well ahead of this non-turbo mode. With that in mind, we can’t help but wonder how far this card can be pushed to get even faster results than any other 7870 we’ve ever seen to date.

In terms of cooling performance, we knew that the IceQ 7870 would give some extreme results as it always does, and this card was no exception. We had strong results across all tests with acoustics, temperatures and power consumption all being at extremely low levels.

For a card that comes with no overclock, HIS have a real opportunity to market this card well by offering a good price point. With similar 7870 cards currently available at around the $360 mark, we can’t see this topping over the $379 price bracket and if our calculations are correct, it will be one of the most extreme 7870’s on the market and will offer a lot more than what HIS’ competitors currently have available including factory overclock editions.

With the temperatures and acoustic values we received, it does show that their should be quite a large scope for overclocking this card while maintaining some strong results on both fronts. Who knows, this may be something we will look at in the near future and be pleasantly surprised by, especially if we can push the performance levels of this card passed that of a 7950. Taking a look at how things compared to the 7950, the performance on this card wasn’t a million miles away, and an increase in both GPU clock and memory speeds should allow for some large increases in framerates, whilst keeping temperatures and noise to a minimum due to the fantastic IceQ cooler that has been slapped on.

The good fortune of this card could see the HD 7870 IceQ X Turbo X resulting in bad press due to how similar the performance between the cards were. Yes the cooler is slightly different, and in our tests the IceQ model that we looked at today did offer better results, but the IceQ X Turbo X model does offer a boost set of clock speeds, though from our tests; not much of a difference was seen.

The Radeon 7870 is one of our favourite cards currently on the market due to the performance they offer for the price, and the IceQ model that we looked at today from HIS proves our point by showing us how extreme it really can be in all aspects and areas. Congratulations HIS, you have a real winner on your hands here.