HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 8th Mar 2008, 08:31

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...turbox_512mb/1

HIS is a company that is renowned for its innovative take on ATI's graphics cards - the company has often taken an average card and made it into a good card. Today we have a look at its Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB to see if it can turn a great card into a must-buy.

WalleyM · 8th Mar 2008, 08:55

i dont like it ! nvidia fan !

KMS-oul · 8th Mar 2008, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalleyM

i dont like it ! nvidia fan !

Nice constructive criticism there

christopher3393 · 8th Mar 2008, 16:16

nice review. thanks. wondering about temp difference this cooler makes. really like how quiet it is and how excess heat is exhausted out of the back of the case. Looking at the EVGA 8800GT Akimbo and hoping that this new 2-slot cooler has a quiet fan. Early forum blogs by users that just bought the upgrade Akimbo cooler say very good things about temp reduction, but mixed reports on fan noise (better than stock, but not clear how much better---of course much depends on OC and how fast you have to run it, but I've read that it's quite audible over 60%)

Tim S · 8th Mar 2008, 17:21

I'll try and get some GPU temperatures in comparison to the Powercolor - I forgot about that when I was doing the review, apologies

seanap · 8th Mar 2008, 19:48

Great review! I totally agree with the "sea of grey" -- it makes it very difficult to find something that's more innovative than the next card. I'm glad I've decided to wait a few more months until I build my desktop, and by that time I'll have time to really use it too. Should be really interesting to see where things are then, given that almost every week is a completely new scene.

Amon · 8th Mar 2008, 20:57

HIS 3870 can overclock to 860MHz/2748MHz DDR.

Sparrowhawk · 9th Mar 2008, 05:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMS-oul

Quote:

Originally Posted by WalleyM

i dont like it ! nvidia fan !

Nice constructive criticism there

I think what he's meaning is that it's not a single slot solution? I don't know for sure, though. I remember some talk of the dual-slot cooler being called the "Black and Decker solution."

Matticus · 9th Mar 2008, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

I'll try and get some GPU temperatures in comparison to the Powercolor - I forgot about that when I was doing the review, apologies

Speaking of, when you reviewed the powercolor, did the fan actually change speed, mine is stuck at 100% and is the only thing in my case thats making a ton of noise, without it its silent bliss.

Rivatuner doesnt work to change it.

Beefcake · 9th Mar 2008, 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matticus

Speaking of, when you reviewed the powercolor, did the fan actually change speed, mine is stuck at 100% and is the only thing in my case thats making a ton of noise, without it its silent bliss.

Rivatuner doesnt work to change it.

Sorry Matticus the fan on the powercolor card is two pin only, so there's no way of controlling it with software.

I've only just bought mine and have yet to build the system around it, but I'm sorry to hear that they're noisy.

Other reviews that have posted temperatures suggest that the cooler isn't struggling to cool this chip. There should be some room to slow down the fan.

Your best bet is a simple hardware hack. You could modify one of the fan's wires with an inline variable resistor to drop the voltage, this will probably affect the LED too but that's hardly a big deal. You can then tweak the resistor to give yourself the desired balance between noise, cooling and tangerine glow.

Beefcake.

Tim S · 10th Mar 2008, 11:13

I've noticed that the fan isn't as quiet as it first seemed - I've updated the PowerColor review to reflect that fact.

Anyway, as for the temperatures - the following were taken in a 22°C ambient temperature with 15 minutes of Crysis used as the load:

HIS 735/1960:
idle - 34°C
load - 69°C

PowerColor 720/1800 (full fan):
idle - 27°C
load - 43°C

I reckon that even with the PowerColor running at around 60 percent fan, it should deliver good cooling performance and it'll take the edge off the noise. The problem for the HIS card though is that it's 30 percent more expensive than the PowerColor, yet doesn't deliver anywhere near 30 percent more performance. The reference cooler isn't that bad on the 3850 either - it's relatively quiet (definitely quieter than the PowerColor, but not as quiet as the HIS cooler), and performance isn't too bad on the standard clocked 256MB reference card I've got.

naokaji · 10th Mar 2008, 15:45

the biggest problem for the his 3850 turbo is that you can get a stock 3870 for less if you shop around....

Tim S · 10th Mar 2008, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by naokaji

the biggest problem for the his 3850 turbo is that you can get a stock 3870 for less if you shop around....

Yep... and if you're content with a 3850, there are much cheaper alternatives.

Matticus · 18th Mar 2008, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

PowerColor 720/1800 (full fan):
idle - 27°C
load - 43°C

Yesh. Mine is sitting at 49 c now. One of the screws broke aswell for no reason, so its being held on by 2 screws (3 was pulling it funny). I cant believe how hot mine is running, the contact must be terrible. And I have had 1 or 2 crashes.

But surely 2 screws will hold it on reasonably well, as many coolers have only 2 screws.

I have contacted powercolor, but they have never been good at getting back to me.

I contacted overclockers but I doubt they will allow my RMA because I had to modify the card to sort out the fact it was being pulled down in one corner, but only because the other screw had snapped.

8th Mar 2008, 08:31	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...turbox_512mb/1 HIS is a company that is renowned for its innovative take on ATI's graphics cards - the company has often taken an average card and made it into a good card. Today we have a look at its Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB to see if it can turn a great card into a must-buy. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

8th Mar 2008, 17:21	#5
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	I'll try and get some GPU temperatures in comparison to the Powercolor - I forgot about that when I was doing the review, apologies __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

8th Mar 2008, 20:57	#7
Amon inch-perfect Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: cannoning into the reds, Toronto, Canada Posts: 2,456	HIS 3870 can overclock to 860MHz/2748MHz DDR. __________________ Defunct Socket 939 San Diego 4000+::2GB PC3200::Radeon 9600 SE 128MB::200GB HDD::24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP x64/x86 dual boot Dell Vostro 1500 laptop::Socket P Merom T7100::2GB PC5400::Go 8600m GT 256MB::660GB HDD::15.4" WXGA+, 24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP::Fanatec 911 Wheel+Pedals Last edited by Amon; 9th Mar 2008 at 18:55. Reason: link adjusted to refer to page 6

10th Mar 2008, 11:13	#11
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	I've noticed that the fan isn't as quiet as it first seemed - I've updated the PowerColor review to reflect that fact. Anyway, as for the temperatures - the following were taken in a 22°C ambient temperature with 15 minutes of Crysis used as the load: HIS 735/1960: idle - 34°C load - 69°C PowerColor 720/1800 (full fan): idle - 27°C load - 43°C I reckon that even with the PowerColor running at around 60 percent fan, it should deliver good cooling performance and it'll take the edge off the noise. The problem for the HIS card though is that it's 30 percent more expensive than the PowerColor, yet doesn't deliver anywhere near 30 percent more performance. The reference cooler isn't that bad on the 3850 either - it's relatively quiet (definitely quieter than the PowerColor, but not as quiet as the HIS cooler), and performance isn't too bad on the standard clocked 256MB reference card I've got. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

8th Mar 2008, 08:55	#2
WalleyM Banned Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 10	i dont like it ! nvidia fan !

8th Mar 2008, 16:16	#4
christopher3393 What's a Dremel? Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 5	nice review. thanks. wondering about temp difference this cooler makes. really like how quiet it is and how excess heat is exhausted out of the back of the case. Looking at the EVGA 8800GT Akimbo and hoping that this new 2-slot cooler has a quiet fan. Early forum blogs by users that just bought the upgrade Akimbo cooler say very good things about temp reduction, but mixed reports on fan noise (better than stock, but not clear how much better---of course much depends on OC and how fast you have to run it, but I've read that it's quite audible over 60%)

8th Mar 2008, 19:48	#6
seanap Modder Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 59	Great review! I totally agree with the "sea of grey" -- it makes it very difficult to find something that's more innovative than the next card. I'm glad I've decided to wait a few more months until I build my desktop, and by that time I'll have time to really use it too. Should be really interesting to see where things are then, given that almost every week is a completely new scene.