HIS 7850 iPower IceQ Turbo 4GB and CrossFire
Overview
Hardware: Video CardsWHAT WE LIKED:
Great CrossFire performance; Excellent temperatures; Low noise; Great valueWHAT WE DISLIKED:
Very big card; Fan bulge creates issues for adjacent PCI-Express slotsDiscuss in the Forum
Introduction
We’ve seen many Radeon 7000 series graphics cards over the better part of this year, from flagship 7970 to entry 7750 models, and for the most part we’ve been impressed. The commonality amongst these reviews has been they’re all single card setups, with a few exceptions, and we often field questions about whether a CrossFire setup makes sense for a particular card. Adding a second card to boost gaming performance certainly has its positives, but a few potential downsides can exist.
But the real question is whether the added expenditure actually makes sense in terms of performance vs value. For example, does it make sense to sell that Radeon 7850 and upgrade to a 7970, or should you add a second 7850 instead?
Today we’re looking at just such a situation, as we put two HIS 7850 iPower IceQ Turbo cards in CrossFire, along with a single card setup, to see what exactly to expect. We hope to answer that question, and see if two of these cards make better sense (or not) than going up to a single 7970. There are other considerations, such as driver optimizations, game profiles, heat output, and so forth, but many of those variables are dependent upon what your gaming and computer preferences. We’ll also focus on the raw horsepower and value for your hard earned money.
Let’s take a closer look at these HIS 7850 iPower IceQ Turbo cards and see what happens. You may be a bit surprised with what you see.
I wish I could of got mine for $210.00