| HIS Radeon HD 7770 iCooler Video Card |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | |
| Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst | |
| Friday, 04 May 2012 | |
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Page 18 of 18
HIS iCooler Final ThoughtsWhen I looked at the HIS HD 7770 iCooler video card for the first time after taking it out of its box I really didn't hold out much hope for it, and since I hadn't seen any marketing material before I had received it I really didn't know what to expect. After completing all of the tests I was pleasantly surprised that such a little video card could perform as well as it did, but the performance of this card means nothing until you put it into perspective. When you consider the fact that it doesn't really require any additional power as the actual power draw is so low, coupled with the really low operating temperature we are starting to really see what this generation of graphics technology has in store for us. The HIS HD 7770 iCooler consumes 10 watts at idle and 78 watts when running full load, temperatures are 32°C idle and 56°C load. Putting the fan on manual and cranking it up to 100% saw the temperature drop to 47°C, if those vital stats don't impress you then I don't know what will. This video card overclocked really well considering that there wasn't any voltage adjustment headroom on the GPU core or memory, and gave an average 22.35% increase in scores across the range of benchmark tests. With some control over voltage adjustments I'm sure this card will do more, the cooler can definitely handle it. HIS Radeon HD 7770 ConclusionImportant: In this section I am going to write a brief five point summary on the following categories; Performance, Appearance, Construction, Functionality and Value. These views are my own and help me to give the HIS HD 7770 iCooler Video Card a rating out of 10. A high or low score does not necessarily mean that it is better or worse than a similar video card that has been reviewed by another writer here at Benchmark Reviews, which may have got a higher or lower score. It is however a good indicator of whether the HIS HD 7770 iCooler video card is good or not. I would strongly urge you to read the entire review, if you have not already, so that you can make an educated decision for yourself.
The graphics performance of the HIS HD 7770 iCooler is good enough for playing most games at 1920x1080 resolution with lower settings but there are obviously some games that will struggle, then again this card isn't aimed at the high end price bracket. It does however deliver fair price to performance out of the box, and then some more when you overclock it. The HIS HD 7770 iCooler sits nicely between the GTX 550-Ti and HD6850 and does so at a lower temperature and requiring much less power. The appearance rating of the HIS HD 7770 iCooler is up for debate. There is not a lot I can say about a discrete graphics card that will get installed and then be out of sight, other than that it is quite plain. When we consider looking up close at the PCB cleanliness and the soldering quality then it does deserve a high rating. There are some that will surely disagree but thanks to the graphic nature of this review you can easily make your mind up for yourself. Construction is excellent as you would expect from a company with a good reputation like HIS, despite the use of plastic for the fan shroud the whole package feels quite solid. Taking the card to pieces and reconstructing it was a breeze and everything lined up perfectly, the iCooler HSF assembly is solid and is well made which reassures you that it is no fragile piece of hardware. Functionality is very good, I can't help but keep singing praise for the HIS iCooler HSF, it really is so good. To maintain a load temperature of 56C with a automatic fan speed of 24% is no easy feat, and to do it while remaining virtually silent is something that all AIB partners need to aspire to. There was some overclocking headroom but the lack of voltage control has me thinking that we haven't fully seen the true potential of this little video card. The HIS Radeon HD 7770 iCooler 1GB video card model H777F1G2M will cost you $129.99 (Amazon / NewEgg). On average the HIS Radeon HD 7770 iCooler costs $4.13/FPS in our benchmark tests based on the current price above, and I believe this to be very reasonable for a video card like this. For single-card needs, I have no problems recommending this card to anyone who is in the market for a card that can deliver really low power consumption, low heat and low noise while still performing very well. Pros:
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