HIS 5770 IceQ 5 Turbo Review

Prior to this review I was convinced that the HD5850 was the best graphic card deal on the planet but I may well have been wrong.  While reviewing the HD 5770 IceQ 5 Turbo I have been extremely impressed.  I admit I was one of those people who always wanted the biggest, baddest, and fastest video card I could afford, often overlooking the much more modest priced cards on the market.

As a PC gamer there is nothing more frustrating then wanting to play that cool looking new game at home only to realize that old clunker of a graphics card does not have the power to play it properly.  The original Unreal Tournament release caused me to draw the line.  I had to have that game and be able to play it with all the bells and whistles offered at the time. From that day forward I have been locked into thinking I always needed more. I'm not even sure I knew what more really was, but I knew when it related to graphics I wanted it.

After several days with the HIS IceQ 5 5770 Turbo; playing many games, new and old, reality for me has been slightly altered. I usually game on a 6 core 3.5 GHz system with the HD 5850 as my graphics card of choice.  For this review I was totally focused on gaming with a budget priced system.  I decided to match the HIS 5770 Turbo with an inexpensive dual core AMD Athlon II processor. When I factored in that certain HD 5770 1 GB cards here in Canada were priced as low as $159 with free shipping it certainly opened my eyes.  It made me realize that for roughly $600 we can build a good AMD gaming machine without a monitor OR for roughly the same amount we could go buy a pair of 5850's on sale, an overclocked 5870 2 GB, or even a GTX 480 and dinner for 4 at McDonald's.

Here is a breakdown on what it would cost to assemble an adequate machine today. (ED: we often get complaints about lack of stateside info, so here you go!)

• AMD Athlon II 255 CPU $69
• Entry level AM3 MB $65
• WD 640 GB HD 32 MB cache $55
• HD 5770 1GB $160
• NZXT Vulcan $70
• 4 GB DDR III $100
• DVDRW $30
• OCZ StealthXStream 500 watt PSU  $45

Total cost $594

The HIS IceQ 5 5770 Turbo has changed my perspective of PC gaming with a strict budget.  The HIS IceQ 5 5770 Turbo may cost you $25 more then the least expensive 5770's , but you also get a coupon for Dirt 2, a factory overclocked card and improved cooling capabilities that wont cause tinnitus even at full speed.

KitGuru says: We feel that this card easily qualifies for our Must Have product award.

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