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HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 512MB Turbo Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Wednesday, 19 July 2006 |
Hardware Zone shows us an extensive review on the HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 512MB Turbo graphics card. As the official benchmarks for Intel's new Core 2 Duo processors hit the web, the buzz in recent weeks among hardware enthusiasts has been about the chip giant's return to form. This brings us to today's topic, where we will be showing you a high-end graphics card to complement that shiny new CPU. This is the Radeon X1900 XTX from HIS, featuring an updated version of its well known IceQ cooler. NVIDIA's more potent dual-GPU based GeForce 7950 GX2 has overshadowed ATI's high-end flagship in recent times but HIS has not only claimed to have improved its cooler.
 HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 512MB Turbo Review
The HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 Turbo we received from them also has its trademark iTurbo overclocking tool. With this software application, the HIS card can be overclocked simply and the best thing is it's all covered under the warranty when used appropriately. HIS lists quite clearly on its product packaging and on its website, the advantages found on the latest IceQ cooler over a typical reference cooler, such as being cooler and quieter. As some may know, the original IceQ cooler was based on the Arctic Cooling's series of coolers and indeed scored well in both the noise and temperature departments.
At its default fan settings without iTurbo activated, the IceQ 3 cooler makes a lot less of a din than the standard cooler found on a reference Radeon X1900 XTX. Things naturally got worse once we hit the iTurbo button and the fan ramped up to its maximum speed. The clock speeds too increased to 700MHz for the core and 1700MHz for the memory, a significant improvement over the standard 650/1550MHz. With the fan operating at its peak, the noise was audible to us seated next to it, though a decent casing would probably dampen most of it. It was overall still less noisy than the peak fan speed on the standard ATI cooler.
The lull in the graphics card scene now belies the fact that both players are probably furiously trying to get their next generation chips ready for production, as both ATI's R600 and NVIDIA's G80 are expected to debut in the last quarter of 2006. While ATI fans may disagree vehemently, the general consensus seems to be that NVIDIA has the upper hand for the present round of discrete graphics cards in terms of performance and value, aided by a cost efficient, streamlined architecture. DirectX 10 support will be expected for these upcoming chips and ATI promises a unified shader architecture that may put them back on top.
Don't expect a smaller or cooler chip though, as all signs point to another massive architecture and maybe another transistor count record. As of now, ATI's flagship product has to be its Radeon X1900 XTX. HIS has gone for the overclock option, though the hardware itself comes clocked at the standard frequencies and one has to enable the iTurbo manually after installation. Most consumers would probably run it in iTurbo Mode since HIS will replace the card if there are any damages from the guaranteed overclock. The fan becomes more noticeable after the iTurbo is enabled, though probably still quieter than the reference cooler.
The IceQ3 cooler did reduce operating noise by a fair bit if you're not using iTurbo as the card was almost silent then. The temperatures too were also much lower than the typical Radeon X1900 XTX, so the main reasons for getting the HIS all revolve around its IceQ 3 cooler and its fine performance for both noise and temperature. Predictably, the HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 will cost you much more than the standard card. With prices falling with the competition posed by NVIDIA and its GeForce 7950 GX2 and 7900 GTX, the typical Radeon X1900 XTX can be acquired at around $500.
The HIS however, is expected to set you back by $650, which is a rather high premium by any standard for the IceQ 3 cooler and its iTurbo overclocking mode. Then there is the sobering presence of the $599 GeForce 7950 GX2 and its unchallenged performance superiority compared to the HIS which. Of course, it may not be that fair pitting a single GPU against the two on the GeForce 7950 GX2. But besides higher power consumption and noise levels, are there that many people who will care if their graphics card has one GPU or two? Not to mention the HDCP readiness of the GeForce 7950 GX2.
If it's any consolation, with its elevated clock speeds, the HIS Radeon X1900 XTX IceQ 3 512MB Turbo is probably one of the fastest single GPU cards in the market and thanks to its cooler, one of the quieter ones. Whether that is enough to persuade you to shell out the money is another story, but HIS did an excellent job at putting together a top-end Radeon X1900 XTX. If you are a fan of ATI, cross your fingers and hope that they would revise the suggested retail price.
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