Test: HIS HD4870 IceQ4

Konklusion

Så kom vi til vejs ende med testen af et af HIS's største kort. Kortet er karakteriseret ved at være meget kraftigt og ganske velkølet. Designet af køleren er meget gennemført - især da luften bliver flyttet ud af kabinettet. Det er ikke nyt, men Arctic Cooling har været væk fra dette design i noget tid, men har gudskelov fundet de gamle takter frem igen. Ydelsesmæssigt dominerer kortet ikke overraskende de andre større kort der er kørt ind i testbænken, men vi ser også at afstanden til HD4850 og 9800GT ikke er overvældende stor, undtagen når der virkeligt kommer knald på i Crysis. Strømforbruget er desværre også gået noget i vejret, men ydelsen er tilpas høj til at man kan retfærdiggøre det. Prisen er på knap 1700 kr. hvilket er en del i overkanten set i forhold til at et standard HD4870 koster omkring 1300 kr., dog kun 512MB versionen, hvor det testede har 1GB. For det første kommer der formentligt til at ske en del med priserne i forbindelse med indførslen af de nyere kort(HD4890 osv.). Som det er nu mener jeg at kortet er rigeligt dyrt, selvom at det er meget hurtigt og har en super god køler. 

Innovation/Teknologi - 3
Teknologisk set er der sket meget lidt med den nye serie fra AMD. Det væsentligste er ændringerne på ydelsesfronten. Antallet af transistorer er næsten fordoblet og antallet af shaders er gået fra 320 til 800. Dette har haft en rigtig god effekt på ydelsen, men strømforbruget er også gået i vejret. Derfor bliver det til en middelkarakter.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 4
HIS har lavet et fornuftigt bundle til dette kort der indeholder alt hvad man har brug for af kabler og stik, her i blandt den meget vigtige DVI -> HDMI-adaptor. Dog indeholder bundlet ikke noget ud over det sædvanlige og ingen spil så derfor bliver det til 4.

Design/Layout - 4
Som beskrevet igennem testen er jeg ganske tilfreds med den køler Arctic Cooling er kommet op med. Der er ingen tvivl om at det er noget af det bedste, der findes på markedet, især fordi varmen bliver fjernet fra kabinettet. Som nævnt er standard blæserhastigheden sat rigeligt højt, men dette kan dog justeres manuelt. Denne lille ting gør at det "kun" bliver til et 4-tal.

Software/BIOS - 3
Softwaren (std. driver) der blev leveret til dette kort virkede upåklageligt og derfor skal det have 3 point.

Ydelse - 4
Det er tydeligt at kortet generelt har det for nemt i testen. Det er kun Crysis, der virkeligt viser hvad man vinder med 1GB DDR5-ram, hvor kortet var over 100% hurtigere end de mindre kort. Dog er det også et relativt dyrt kort, så man skal have nogle ret specielle krav, fx. Full-HD gaming, for at det giver mening med denne type kort.

Pris - 2
Som nævnt i opsummeringen er kortet rigeligt dyrt iforhold til andre mærker af HD4870, selvom det har en af de bedste kølere på markedet. Man får et hurtigt kort for sine 1700, der endda har en super køler, men der findes en del alternativer.

Test: HIS HD4870 IceQ4

Innovation / Teknologi	3
Bundle - Tilbehør	4
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	3
Ydelse	4
Pris	2
Samlet	66%

UK summary

We're at the end of the road of this test of HIS' top card. The card is characterized by being very powerful and quite well cooled. The design of the cooler is very well conceived - especially since it removes the hot air from the chassis. This is not something new, but it's a design that Arctic Cooling has been moving away from - luckily they've refound their old manners. This card dominates the other cards in this test, the HD4850 and the 9800GT, but the distance isn't too high unless you're playing Crysis. The power consumption has risen a bit, but considering the performance justifies this. The price of around € 225 or nearly DKK 1700 seems a bit high since the standard (512MB) version will save you close to €55 or DKK 400, but the HIS HD4870 IceQ4 has a whole 1GB of DDR5 memory. As the HD4890 is being introduced, we will most likely see this price drop a bit. At the moment, the price seems a bit too high, even though it is very fast and has a superb cooling solution.

Innovation/Techology - 3
Not much has happened regarding the technologies used by AMD. The most significant changes are seen on the performance. The amount of transistors has been doubled and the amount of shaders has gone up from 320 to 800. This has had a very nice impact on the performance, but the power consumption has risen quite a bit aswell. That's why we're settling at only 3 points.

Bundle/Accessories - 4
HIS has made a bundle for this card that includes everything you need of cables and adaptors - among these, the very important DVI-to-HDMI adaptor. Yet, the bundle isn't including anything out of the ordinary and no games, so I'm settling at 4 points.
 

Design/Layout - 4
I'm quite happy with the performance of the cooler made by Arctic Cooling. There's no doubt that this is one of the best cooling solutions available, especially since the heat is being removed from the chassis. The stock fan-speed is set to 50%, which is a little too noisy for my ears, but luckily this can be adjusted manully. Still, this keeps the score from reaching our topgrade of 5 points. We're settling at 4 points again.

Software/BIOS - 3
The software (the standard driver) delivered along with this card has been working without a hitch, which is why we're awarding it 3 points.

Performance - 4
Clearly this card has been treated too kindly in this test, as it has only been compared to the HD4850 and the 9800GT. Yet, it is only shown in Crysis why you're winning with 1GB of DDR5 memory. In Crysis the card managed to score more than 100% above the minor cards. Yet it's a fairly expensive card, so you'll need to demand something a bit out of the ordinary, like FullHD-gaming in order to actually need a card like this.

Price - 2
As already mentioned, the card is a little pricey compared to other brands, even if it has the best cooler on the market. You're getting a very fast card for around €225 with a superb cooler, but there are alternatives.