Review: HIS Radeon HD 2600 XTs

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In introducing two graphics cards with such similar pricing, HIS runs the risk of leaving one looking a little redundant.

And, indeed, with superior cooling, performance and overclocking, the HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT IceQ Turbo 256MB GDDR3 makes the choice of spending an extra £3 compared with the Zalman Fan model a total no-brainer.

There is no reason to choose the HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT Zalman Fan 256MB GDDR3 unless you really need a card equipped with a single-slot cooler.

Compared to the full range of currently-available Radeon HD 2600 XT cards, HIS's models sit above what you'd typically pay for a GDDR3-based HD 2600 XT.

But were it not for the IceQ Turbo, the extra price for even the Zalman Fan edition may be justifiable - although the reference cooler for the HD 2600 XT isn't particularly annoying.

The IceQ Turbo's higher clock speeds see it rising above the performance of other GDDR3 boards and reaching towards that of the more expensive GDDR4 models. This alone could make it worth the money for some people and, when combined with the lower noise levels, it becomes an even more compelling choice.

HIS's incredibly sparse bundle counts as a negative point, particularly the decision to exclude a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor for the Zalman model. This is particularly annoying given that it would be ideal for use in HTPC systems - it has a quiet cooler, HDCP content protection and high-definition hardware-decoding abilities.

That apart, though, the IceQ Turbo is a very strong contender in the HD 2600 XT space. But is it strong enough to compete with the GeForce 8600 GT?

AMD's driver work has helped improve the HD 2600 XT's performance in some areas and, with anti-aliasing disabled, it seems to be a match for the similarly-priced GeForce 8600GT. Turn on anti-aliasing, though, and the 8600GT will generally triumph.

Our testing was carried out using the CATALYST 7.7 drivers but, since that time, AMD has released CATALYST 7.8, but these don't contain any benchmark performance increases in the games we test, as far as we can ascertain.

However, the severity of the drop off across our full range of benchmarks when anti-aliasing enabled does suggest, however, that this may not be a simple driver issue.

If you are happy to play games without anti-aliasing - and it's worth remembering that the GeForce 8600GT was unable to record average frame-rates above 60fps at 1280x1024, 4x AA, 8x AF in either Far Cry or Splinter Cell - then the HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT IceQ Turbo is one of the best HD 2600 XT cards currently available.

HEXUS Awards and certification

The HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT IceQ Turbo 256MB GDDR3 offers reasonable performance, quiet operation and excellent high-definition movie capabilities. It's not an outright performance-leader but represents good value in its class.

For all these things, it receives a HEXUS Essentials Good Value award.

However, the HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT Zalman Fan 256MB GDDR3 is overshadowed, to the point of near redundancy, by its stable-mate.

But it did still successfully complete our testing and therefore receives HEXUS Labs Essentials certification.

HEXUS Where2Buy

Prices correct at the time of writing.

The HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT IceQ Turbo 256MB GDDR3 is available from CCL at £76.26 inc VAT.

The HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT Zalman Fan 256MB GDDR3 is available from CCL at £73.03 inc VAT.

HEXUS Right2Reply

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