HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ Turbo 2GB

Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst

Monday, 26 March 2012

Table of Contents: Page Index
HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ Turbo 2GB
Closer Look: HIS Radeon HD7870
HIS IceQ Turbo Detailed Features
Features and Specifications
VGA Testing Methodology
DX10: 3DMark Vantage
DX10: Street Fighter IV
DX11: Aliens vs Predator
DX11: Battlefield Bad Company 2
DX11: BattleField 3
DX11: Lost Planet 2
DX11: Tom Clancy's HAWX 2
DX11: Metro 2033
DX11: Unigine Heaven 2.1
HIS HD7870 IceQ Turbo Temperatures
VGA Power Consumption
HIS HD7870 IceQ Turbo Overclocking
Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Page 6 of 18

DX10: 3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage is a PC benchmark suite designed to test the DirectX10 graphics card performance. FutureMark 3DMark Vantage is the latest addition the 3DMark benchmark series built by FutureMark corporation. Although 3DMark Vantage requires NVIDIA PhysX to be installed for program operation, only the CPU/Physics test relies on this technology.

3DMark Vantage offers benchmark tests focusing on GPU, CPU, and Physics performance. Benchmark Reviews uses the two GPU-specific tests for grading video card performance: Jane Nash and New Calico. These tests isolate graphical performance, and remove processor dependence from the benchmark results.

3DMark Vantage GPU Test: Jane Nash

Of the two GPU tests 3DMark Vantage offers, the Jane Nash performance benchmark is slightly less demanding. In a short video scene the special agent escapes a secret lair by water, nearly losing her shirt in the process. Benchmark Reviews tests this DirectX-10 scene at 1680x1050 and 1920x1080 resolutions, and uses Extreme quality settings with 8x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering. The 1:2 scale is utilized, and is the highest this test allows. By maximizing the processing levels of this test, the scene creates the highest level of graphical demand possible and sorts the strong from the weak.

Cost Analysis: Jane Nash (1680x1050)

$379.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD7870 IceQ Turbo costs $6.98 per FPS

$139.99 NVIDIA GeForce Gigabyte GTX 460 OC costs $5.19 per FPS

$199.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD6870 X Turbo X costs $6.08 per FPS

$249.99 AMD Radeon HD6950 costs $6.63 per FPS

$249.99 NVIDIA GeForce MSI GTX 560Ti Hawk costs $6.30 per FPS

$289.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD6950 X Turbo X costs $7.06 per FPS

3DMark Vantage GPU Test: New Calico

New Calico is the second GPU test in the 3DMark Vantage test suite. Of the two GPU tests, New Calico is the most demanding. In a short video scene featuring a galactic battleground, there is a massive display of busy objects across the screen. Benchmark Reviews tests this DirectX-10 scene at 1680x1050 and 1920x1080 resolutions, and uses Extreme quality settings with 8x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic filtering. The 1:2 scale is utilized, and is the highest this test allows. Using the highest graphics processing level available allows our test products to separate themselves and stand out (if possible).

Cost Analysis: New Calico (1680x1050)

$379.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD7870 IceQ Turbo costs $10.41 per FPS

$139.99 NVIDIA GeForce Gigabyte GTX 460 OC costs $5.99 per FPS

$199.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD6870 X Turbo X costs $8.20 per FPS

$249.99 AMD Radeon HD6950 costs $9.09 per FPS

$249.99 NVIDIA GeForce MSI GTX 560Ti Hawk costs $7.27 per FPS

$289.99 AMD Radeon HIS HD6950 X Turbo X costs $9.63 per FPS

Video Card Test Products

Graphics Card	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 OC	HIS Radeon HD6870 X Turbo X	Radeon HD6950	MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti Hawk	HIS Radeon HD6950 X Turbo X	HIS Radeon HD7870 IceQ Turbo
GPU Cores	336	1120	1408	384	1408	1280
Core Clock (MHz)	715	975	800	950	880	1100
Shader Clock (MHz)	1430	N/A	N/A	1900	N/A	N/A
Memory Clock (MHz)	900	1150	1250	1050	1300	1200
Memory Amount	1024MB GDDR5	1024MB GDDR5	2048MB GDDR5	1024MB GDDR5	2048MB GDDR5	2048MB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit	256-bit

<< Previous Page - Next Page >>

Comments

# RE: HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ Turbo 2GB — Chris 2012-03-26 21:43

It seems that now is a good time to wait.

Right now, the price to performance ratio of the latest 7000s is just ... uncompetitive, even when you stack them up against the 560Tis, 6870s, and other mid-range chips of the last generation.

The 7970 appears to have been released with dethroning the 580GTX 3gb in mind - similar price point, but somewhat better performance.

With the 680 GTX now out and the expected lower end models, it seems that waiting is the way to go. AMD and their partners will inevitably be making some price cuts. Plus, sooner or later, the custom AIB boards will come out for Nvidia in this generation.

Reply | Report Comment