HIS Radeon X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo

Manufacturer: Hightech Information System
Supplied by: Hightech Information System
Street Price: $260.00

by Dean Barker  (11/12/2006)

Introduction

Time and time again we have said that the real action in the video card arena is at the $250 price point.  This is where the majority of people shop and are able to justify purchases to their better halves.  ATi's new Radeon X1950 Pro has just taken a more solid standing here with a simple step.  That step was the logical dumping of the 'Master' card setup for Crossfire.  In the past, to run ATi's dual video card setup, you needed two Crossfire ready cards with one of these being a 'Master' card that would enable the dual setup in the first place.  This is all behind us now.  Crossfire support is now native to the latest generation of ATi's cards making the reach to top tier performance a simple double tap upgrade away.  Enter HIS into this equation with their well known IceQ3 cooling technology and a factory overclock and you get something with a lot of promise.  Today, thanks to the good people at Hightech Information System, we have their Radeon X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo Edition card up on the bench for a good once over.

Specifications

• Graphics Engine: ATi Radeon X1950 Pro (RV570)

• Interface: PCI-Express

• Engine Clock: 620MHz

• Memory Clock: 1480MHz

• Memory Type/Size: GDDR3/256MB

• Memory Bus: 512-bit Ring Bus Controller

• Memory Interface: 256-bit

• Pixel Shaders: 36

• Vertex Shades: 8

• Max Resolution: 2560x1600

• VGA Output: Yes with adapter

• TV-Out: HDTV/S-Video/Composite Out

• VIVO: Yes (Advanced Video In Video Out)

• DVI: two ports

• Native Crossfire support

What you get

Let's start it off easy with what you get.  Aside from the card itself, HIS has included a more than adequate bundle for your upgrade dollar.  A software selection is included to count full copies of PowerDVD v7, PowerDirector 5 SE Plus, Power2Go 5, Media @ Show 3, a full copy of the game Flat Out and a full copy of Dungeon Siege.  There are plenty of trial copies and demos also included with the HIS Radeon X1950 Pro that are Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Half-Life 2, Act of War: Direct Action, Tribes: Vengeance, Axis and Allies, PowerDVD Copy, PowerBackup, LabelPrint and a trial copy of the Jukebox program in addition to the expected drivers and utilities.  Hardware wise we find two VGA to DVI adapters, VIVO cable, HDTV output cable, S-Video Cable, Crossfire bridge cable and expansion slot finger guard for IceQ3 exhaust.

NEXT

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - The Card
Page 3 - Performance Benchmarks
Page 4 - Performance Benchmarks
Page 5 - Image Quality / Conclusion