HIS X850XT IceQII Turbo and Platinum Series VIVO 256MB AGP

Overclocking the HIS X850XT IceQII Turbo and Platinum Edition VIVO 256MB AGP Making The Fast Even Faster

In our final segment, we took each card to task with overclocking to see just how high we could go.  Granted, these are identical cards with a different BIOS, both capable of the same speeds.  But we gave each one its own time on the bench nonetheless.

We managed the best increase with the Platinum Edition X850XT, while the Turbo wasn't too far behind.  The Platinum Edition managed a peak core speed of 561MHz while the memory peaked at 1210MHz.  This resulted in an increase of 3.8% core and 2.5% memory.  The Turbo edition hit 555MHz core and 1200MHz memory, resulting in an increase of 6.73% and 11.11% respectively.  In the end, the Platinum Edition managed the best overclocked performance by a marginal 3 FPS compared to the Turbo edition.

As we gather our thoughts and try to conclude our experience with the HIS X850XT IceQII Turbo VIVO 256MB AGP and HIS X850XT Platinum Edition IceQII VIVO 256MB AGP, we end up questioning the value of the Platinum Edition vs the equally capable Turbo model.  Both models had the same retail package, and the Turbo was capable of running at the Platinum Edition speeds.  The main difference overall was the BIOS between the two cards.  To help discern the best value, we needed to contemplate the pricing for each model.  However, it seems that availability has once again become HIS' Achilles Heel. 

Currently, we've only been able to locate these cards at one on-line retailer.  The Platinum Edition was selling for $560 and the Turbo model was available for $460.  The Turbo model represents a $100 savings for what is essentially the same video card.  That's a huge plus in our book.

Based on the performance of the two cards, it doesn't make much sense to pick the Platinum Edition over the Turbo model.  At the default speeds, the Turbo was only a slight step behind the Platinum Edition in most tests, and the Turbo can be manually increased to run at the Platinum speeds using iTurbo anyway.  Factor in similar overclocking results and this further drives our point home.  Essentially, all you get with the Platinum Edition is the convenience of not having to use iTurbo to run the card at 540/1180.

We give the HIS X850XT IceQII Turbo VIVO 256MB AGP a Hot Hardware Heat Meter of 8.5

We give the HIS X850XT Platinum Edition IceQII VIVO 256MB AGP a Hot Hardware Heat Meter of 7.5.

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