HIS HD 6970 IceQ Turbo & HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo X Review Comment Thread

[SKYMTL]

With the wait time between the present and upcoming graphics card generations becoming longer and longer, pre-overclocked graphics cards are seen by many board partners as a way to keep the buying public interested in their products. HIS has recently introduced a pair of unique AMD cards: the HD 6970 IceQ Turbo andHD 6950 IceQ X Turbo X. These are ...

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[BootlegUsher]

Great review, nice to see some variation in which companies get reviews. One thing I noticed is that the temperature graph seems to say that the 6970 is very cool and quiet, while the written body states the 6950 is doing better.

[Teal3800]

I think you miss labeled your oc chart as the 6970 lost alot of performance when oc'd and the 6950 becomes a powerhouse.

[copperbottoms]

I think your acoustics chart may be mislabeled; the IceQ 6970 is shown as the quietest card.

On another note, I recently purchased an IceQ 6970 and I love the thing... Went through a bad experience with a reference XFX 6970 that shorted out when I plugged in the HDMI. The difference in subjective noise levels is CRAZY, and the thermals are about what you guys found.

Also I find the thing quite stylish , especially when illuminated by a blacklight.

Didn't read the whole review, as I'm about reviewed-out on this card already, but someone should mention that the humongous cooler intrudes upon the 3rd slot, so close-proximity CrossfireX is a no go.

I'm selling the thing now, as I want crossfire upgrade-ability for the future... After this whole damned fiasco I might just move to the green team. I've been gazing longingly at all the TWIMTBP love that those guys get while I'm stuck in Crossfire driver hell

[copperbottoms]

Aha, read the detailed description on the IceQ 6970, no mention is made as to the cooler intruding on the 3rd expansion slot. Please stick this in the review proper! It wasn't clear on any other review and HIS themselves call it a dual slot cooler on their spec sheet. This has led me to have to RMA or sell an otherwise great product :(

[SKYMTL]

Sorry guys. Some of the charts are indeed mislabeled. I'll get on this ASAP but I am on the road for the morning.

I've added a note on those two sections which is as much as this old Blackberry will allow me to do.

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by copperbottoms

I think your acoustics chart may be mislabeled; the IceQ 6970 is shown as the quietest card.

On another note, I recently purchased an IceQ 6970 and I love the thing... Went through a bad experience with a reference XFX 6970 that shorted out when I plugged in the HDMI. The difference in subjective noise levels is CRAZY, and the thermals are about what you guys found.

Also I find the thing quite stylish , especially when illuminated by a blacklight.

Didn't read the whole review, as I'm about reviewed-out on this card already, but someone should mention that the humongous cooler intrudes upon the 3rd slot, so close-proximity CrossfireX is a no go.

I'm selling the thing now, as I want crossfire upgrade-ability for the future... After this whole damned fiasco I might just move to the green team. I've been gazing longingly at all the TWIMTBP love that those guys get while I'm stuck in Crossfire driver hell

Originally Posted by copperbottoms

Aha, read the detailed description on the IceQ 6970, no mention is made as to the cooler intruding on the 3rd expansion slot. Please stick this in the review proper! It wasn't clear on any other review and HIS themselves call it a dual slot cooler on their spec sheet. This has led me to have to RMA or sell an otherwise great product :(

I'll add a note once I reinstall it and see what part intrudes. Going by memory, I seem to remember the fan shroud being flush with the backplate.

[copperbottoms]

Maybe I'm just overreacting - I don't have another long card to try it out...


When it's not sagging, it eats up the top part of the PCI-e slot (though not the slot itself *edit: the left part of the PCI-e slot in the picture is as far down as the whole thing sits when it's level*). I can't imagine a shorter card would fit there without rubbing its contacts all over the cooler shroud, and it appears that any longer 69xx card would run into the fan shroud, which protrudes even more.

[_dangtx_]

jumped up to the acoustics section,and man that was a treat

but whats up with the difference between the two? :)

8 db is quite the gap

[ern88]

man I love my 5850. The only way I will move to the 7000 series is if it has something to offer a lot more then what i have now.