| HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | |
| Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst | |
| Wednesday, 16 May 2012 | |
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Page 18 of 18
Radeon HD 7850 Final ThoughtsWhen I looked at the HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB video card for the first time after taking it out of its box I was really impressed by the look and feel of it. After completing all of the tests I was pleasantly surprised that such a little video card could perform as well as it did, but the performance of this card means nothing until you put it into perspective. When you consider the fact that the power draw is so low, coupled with the really low operating temperature we are starting to really see what this generation of graphics technology has in store for us. The HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X consumes 17 watts at idle and 137 watts when running full load, temperatures are 28°C idle and 61°C load. Putting the fan on manual and cranking it up to 100% saw the temperature drop to 57°C, if those vital stats don't impress you then I don't know what will. This video card overclocked really well considering that there wasn't any voltage adjustment headroom on the GPU core or memory, and gave an average 10.09% increase in scores across the range of benchmark tests. With some control over voltage adjustments I'm sure this card will do more, the cooler can definitely handle it. HIS IceQ X Turbo X 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 HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB Video Card 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 got a higher or lower score. It is however a good indicator of whether the HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB video card 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 HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB is good enough for playing most games at 1920x1080 with high settings. There are obviously some games that will test it even if you don't put everything on maximum. Its performance out of the box was good which I expected, for me the HD7000 series represents what the HD6000 series could and should have been - a proper upgrade. The HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X has a high factory overclock and this is what makes it perform so well, but that performance comes at a much higher cost. The appearance rating of the HIS HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X is up for debate. There is not a lot I can say about a discrete graphics card that will get installed and then be out of sight. When we consider looking up close at the PCB cleanliness and the soldering quality then it does deserve a high rating. There are some that will surely disagree but thanks to the graphic nature of this review you can easily make your mind up for yourself. Construction is excellent as you would expect from a company with a good reputation like HIS, despite the use of plastic for the fan shroud the whole package feels really solid. Taking the card to pieces and reconstructing it was a breeze and everything lined up perfectly, the IceQ X HSF assembly is solid and is well made which reassures you that it is no fragile piece of hardware. It is not really heavy but thanks to the weight lifter it can be supported from below to prevent any warping of the PCB or socket that might occur. Functionality is very good, I can't help but keep singing praise for the HIS IceQ X HSF, it really is so good. To deliver a load temperature of 61°C is very respectable, and to do it while remaining virtually silent is something that all AIB partners need to aspire to. There was some overclocking headroom to be had despite being factory overclocked, but there wasn't any voltage adjustment to play with to push this great mid range GPU to its limits. The HIS Radeon HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB video card model H785QNX2G2M will cost you $299.99 at the current MSRP, but with the lack of fresh new competing mid-range video cards from the green team AMD and its AIB's are practically free to name their own prices. On average the HIS Radeon HD7850 IceQ X Turbo X 2GB costs $6.14/FPS in our benchmark tests (1920x1080) based on the current MSRP above, which is much more of a reasonable price when compared to the more powerful and expensive HD79XX range. Pros:
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