HIS 7970 X Turbo 3GB IceQ X2 Graphics Card Review

This is the first HIS graphics card box that has appealed to me. The simple, dark colour scheme looks dramatic set against the product name.

The bundle is extensive, including video adapters, a Crossfire connector, software disc and literature on the product. HIS also include the ‘weight lifter' – a plastic support bridge which negates weight applied to the PCI e slot. This bundle also includes a download code for Dirt Showdown from Codemasters – a worthy addition.

The HIS 7970 X Turbo 3GB IceQ X2 is built around a blue PCB. The large cooler overhangs the PCB a little on one side.

This card is Crossfire capable in 2, 3 and 4 way configurations.

It requires power from two 8 pin PCI E power cables. In theory this card could demand up to 375W of power.

The I/O backplate is a custom design with a button positioned top left. There is a single DVI port, a single full sized HDMI connector and four mini DisplayPorts.

The rear I/O panel button switches between output configurations as shown above. This is not a ‘Turbo' button to enhance clock speeds.

The cooler is a substantial design with a copper base connected to four thick heatpipes which lead into two separate racks of aluminum fins on either side. The two large fans cover the complete length of the cooler ensuring air flow to the components underneath is maximised. HIS are using a separate black heatsink plate to cool the memory and VRM's.

An overview of the HIS 7970 X Turbo 3GB IceQ X2, built around the 28nm Tahiti core. 1,180mhz core and 1,500mhz memory (6Gbps effective) speeds. The card has dual geometry engines, eight render back ends, 2048 unified shaders, 32 color ROPs per clock and 128 Z/stencil ROPs per clock.

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