| HIS Radeon HD 6870 IceQ Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | |
| Written by Steve Hearst | |
| Wednesday, 09 November 2011 | |
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Page 18 of 18
HIS HD6870 IceQ 1GB Final ThoughtsIn the benchmark tests the HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB was compared along side the faster HIS HD6870 IceQ X Turbo X reviewed earlier this year by us, which currently sells at the same price. In our review of the X Turbo X variant we noted that there were some issues with the GPU crashing due to a very relaxed fan profile. I am glad to say that these issues are not present with the HD6870 IceQ 1GB and the fan spins at the most optimal level possible, even under overclocking conditions. The PCB design of the two HIS HD6870's are identical with a few minor variances in IC's, as such the overclocks are the extremely close between the two. There is 20MHz between core speeds and 10MHz between memory speeds, this means that for those who aren't afraid to venture then the choice only comes down to looks as both perform the same as each other when overclocked.
HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB ConclusionImportant: In this section I am going to write a brief five point summary on the following categories; Performance, Appearance, Construction, Functionality and Value. These views are my own and help me to give the HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB a rating out of 10. A high or low score does not necessarily mean that it is better or worse than a similar video card that has been reviewed by another writer here at Benchmark Reviews, which may have received a higher or lower score. It is however a good indicator of whether the HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB is good or not. I would strongly urge you to read the entire review, if you have not already, so that you can make an educated decision for yourself. The graphics performance of the HIS Radeon HD6870 1GB is good but it's real potential is only realised when you overclock it. In some of our tests it was able to match or come very close to the performance of the stock GTX 560Ti and then more so when it was overclocked. This card comes with reference card clock speeds but pushing it further requires little effort and the gains are plenty. Overclocking is always uncertain territory so we should be thankful that there is any headroom at all. The HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB looks like something from the past. As soon as I saw it I remembered my old ATI X1950 XTX. Thankfully though, it's not all for looks this time round (the X1950 XTX was a proper cooker) and the IceQ cooler works really well. I have long since thrown my UV lights in the trash so I couldn't tell you if this modern day shroud is UV reactive like the ones of yesteryear but being white will have an effect in itself anyway (if UV is your thing). Construction is excellent as you would expect from a company with a good reputation like HIS, despite the use of plastic for the shroud the whole package feels quite solid. Taking the card to pieces and reconstructing it was a breeze and everything lined up perfectly, the IceQ heatsink is solid and really adds some weight and girth to the card which reassures you that it is no fragile piece of hardware. Functionality-wise the HIS HD6870 IceQ 1GB acts as you would expect. The fan speed follows temperature changes promptly and delivers good and quiet cooling performance. The other great thing is that this model clocks up nicely too; +100MHz GPU core and +200MHz Memory is a very good overclock and the HIS HD6870 IceQ 1GB produced an excellent 14% average increase in benchmark scores becausee of this. The HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB video card model H687Q1G2M will cost you $199.99 at NewEgg and Amazon retailers. At this price point it sits directly between the good old NVIDIA GTX460 and the GTX 560Ti and falls between them performance-wise too. On average the HIS HD6870 IceQ X Turbo X costs $5.69/FPS in our benchmark tests, and I believe this to be a reasonable price to pay for a performance card like this. I have no problems recommending this card to anyone who is in the market for a mid/high end card. For those that are worried about overclocking there is always the factory overclocked HIS HD6870 IceQ X Turbo X available at the same price. Pros:
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