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For our overclocking tests today we are using the excellent Sapphire TRIXX software which works great on many of the AMD partner cards.
The card overclocked to 972mhz on the core, hard locking when pushed higher. Memory could be overclocked to 1,452mhz (5808mhz effective) which translates to a 10.45% and 5.6% clock increase respectively. Any higher than 1,452mhz from the memory and we noticed minor artifacting.
Our overclock managed to generate another 3 frames per second, which is a great increase. It begs the question however, why didn't HIS overclock the card, even by 20-30mhz over the reference speeds?
Nice card, but that cooler really is ugly as all sin.
His produce some good designs but i see no logical reason to include lucid on such a card. Its probably adding 15 to the price too……
Their iceq cards are really very good models but i dont think they have a good reputation in the uk at all. No one i know has even contmplated buying one of their products.
Id love to kmow their uk warranty system, have they a dedicated team handling rmas ?
I thought it would cost more due to the Lucid crap installed, but its not much more than a card with a standard cooler. seems pretty good all round, although I dont know why they didnt overclock it to something better
If the price was higher then it would deserve a lower score, but regardless of how sucky hydra is. its £25 more than a reference card (I saw a sapphier one on OCUK with dirt 3 for £300). If you feel the cooler is worth £25 then its a pretty good deal.
Don’t HIS always overclock their ICEQ cards however? bit weird on that front
The cooler is very good, ive read reviews of it on other cards and it seems about 10-20c lower than stock cooler, depending on the card.
bizarre idea, but it looks like HIS aren’t charging much for hydra. thank god, no one give a toss about it.
Id love to know who thought that was a smart move. would anyone have a GTX580 laying around, not being used? even a GTX570 or GTX560? cant get my head around it.
im looking at it from two ways. first, its a talking point. people are talking about it already. people in the know will immediately think ‘this wont work, it never does!’. and right enough it doesnt.
So it won’t be used, and the price is the deciding factor. I would guess the cooler is costing HIS £8 extra over a reference cooler (en masse). they can sell it for £15 more and still make a profit. £10 would pay Lucid for Hydra.
The consumer is getting hit a little with the extra chip. Its daft, but I still think its reasonably good value as an overall product.
That said, It would prove to me however that HIS really don’t have their finger on the pulse for this audience. Not like Sapphire or XFX.
I have a 5870 and would like an upgrade, but don’t feel like shelling out too much, and dont feel like buying an extra 5870, so I’m wondering how this card would be in crossfire with my 5870….