HIS 4670 IceQ

By tanka12345
20:22 Feb 26, 2009

Performs reasonably well
IceQ Cooler keeps it icy
'Turbo' overclocked out of the box
UV Reactive
Doesn't require PCI-E power connectors

Priced a little above competitors offerings
Fan is sometimes whiny
It could have been designed better

Hightech Information System Limited has existed for a long time, in fact since 1987. HIS are well known for their non-reference IceQ coolers for exclusively ATI graphics solutions. HIS have applied this famous cooler to one of ATIs mainstream cards – The 4670. Will the 4670 hold its ground again the stiff (green) competition?

The Radeon 4670 is built on solid foundations. This foundation is the RV730 XT core derived from the RV770 used in many of ATIs enthusiast offerings such as the 4870. The 4670 is designed to fit the job of ‘mainstream performance king’ in the AMD/ATI arsenal and has received difficult to beat competitors such as the
nVidia 9600 GSO which I reviewed earlier.

The HIS HD 4670 IceQ Turbo video card leads us to two main features. One being the non-reference IceQ cooling solution, and two being the factory overclock under the Turbo branding. The Turbo boost added by HIS brings the core speed up to 780 MHz from 750. The DDR3 memory on this card is not overclocked but is still rated at a satisfying 2000 MHz. The 4670 operates through a 128 bit memory bus and includes 320 stream processors.

The IceQ cooler which is mounted on the PCB is surprisingly very large for a card of this size. When compared to other monster cards, the 4670 is relatively small. The IceQ heatsink allows this card to occupy two slots. The cooler itself is (dare I say this) generic in terms of the IceQ branding. The HIS and IceQ logos are printed onto a sticker with basic patterns and swirls of various shades of blue and white. This sticker is attached to a translucent plastic cover. This design is supposed to force warm air out of the case to solve the problem of undirected heat lingering around your case. A small translucent blue fan with seven fins draws in heat to icily cool your GPU core (which is covered by copper) and memory. Oddly HIS have opted not to cover the memory ships in any way which I personally believe is not acceptable. Why market an ‘Ice’ cooler if the internals are not planned extensively enough? HIS have dubbed this card UV reactive which is a nice touch if you already have some lighting arrangements already set up. The card includes Dual-DVI ports which are standard with some air vents placed above these ports. It would have been excellent if HIS added some (gold) colour to them as they have in their higher end IceQ offerings.

Now let’s get onto the performance. In low resolutions this card performed exceptionally well, but again it was still annihilated by the 9600 GSO. In most games this card played acceptably but don’t expect any surprises. Turning AA or AF on hit this cards performance massively depending on the title, so I do not recommend upping any of the pretty stuff. In Call of Duty 4 this card was playable at 1280x800 and below and Crysis was barely playable (although people willing to turn a blind eye may find Crysis enjoyable on this card). The fan was whiny when the card was under load, but this would be an expectation of this small fan. The IceQ cooler kept the 4670 well under reference temps while in use, but the lack of memory heatsink coverage will hamper its overclocking headroom somewhat. This card also had a small performance boost over the reference 4670 due to its small factory overclock. One main advantage of this card over the nVidia 9600 GSO is the fact that the HIS 4670 does not require any PCI-E power connectors making it perfect for bringing new life to an old rig. Take note that a 400 watt or higher power supply is recommended, but I think a well made power supply under this wattage may be enough (don’t come running to me if it doesn’t work :P).

I don’t think I’ve seen an HIS card with a game included, and this card is no different. You will quickly find that the bundle is somewhat basic after removing the contents from the trademark HIS ‘Black Box’. The box includes a cut-out window displaying the card in all its glory. Package contents include a driver CD, VGA to DVI converter,
a DVI to HDMI converter, a few manuals, and HIS case sticker, and a Crossfire bridge. The Crossfire Bridge is a welcome addition as it seems many manufacturers are leaving them out these days. A humble CF bridge has many potential uses as most recent ATI cards can use one to improve your performance, even if it is just by a small margin. This card costs just a bit more than a 9600 GSO.

The HIS 4670 IceQ Turbo is for a basic gaming PC or a moderate Home Theatre PC. Its performance was not the best, but it was respectable considering the 4670 uses less power than the beastly 9600 GSO. The IceQ cooler was doing its job well, although a few tweaks to the design could’ve made it epic! The bundle was reasonably well appointed and the factory OC gave it a little more power. The price was decent for a mainstream card, although the 9600 GSO can be found for less. If you’re in the market for a 4670 you can’t go wrong with the HIS 4670 IceQ turbo.

The HIS 4670 IceQ Retails for approximately NZ$180 or AU$140

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