HIS RX 480 IceQ X2 Roaring Turbo 8GB Video Card Review

Videocards/VGA Reviews by stefan @ 2016-09-08

By using a considerably more efficient dual-fan cooling system and an improved power delivery, HIS is offering the end-user a highly-overlocked video card (core clock of 1338MHz) which is able to beat the R9 390X at Full HD and 2560x1440 resolutions. The overall aspect of the card has also been reworked, with a new logo and metallic backplate which covers the full PCB, while the HIS logo is LED lighted for a nice effect inside the case.

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A Closer Look Part II

On the top we have the bundle compartment which does include an 8-pin to dual 6-pin adapter, along with an envelope, which does house documentation, along with the disk with drivers:

 

 

 

 

The card is surrounded by cardboard material for additional protection during transit, but it is also wrapped inside an anti-static bag:

 

 

 

RX 480 Roaring Turbo card from HIS does feature an updated design versus their 300 series and we really enjoy the fact that the stickers on the shroud are not present anymore (these were starting to peel off because of the used adhesive so HIS went for another solution); in order to accommodate the new Lion logo, the shape of the top shroud has been modified a bit and the 90mm dual-fan solution is meant to keep the large heatsink cool during intensive gaming sessions:

 

 

 

As we have seen with the EVGA 1070 SC, the RX 480 from HIS does employ the 0dB Smart Fan feature, meaning that the fans will start to spin only after the GPU temperature has reached about 60 degrees Celsius and if the card is not used for a longer time in a 3D environment, the fans will stop again if the temperature does drop under 50 degrees Celsius. This feature is mostly useful when we do also install the card in a well-ventilated case, so there will be ideal conditions for the card to drop under 50 degrees Celsius:

 

 

 

The views from the sides do show that the card has a PCB longer than the stock Radeon design from AMD, but this is understandable considering that we are dealing with a custom model:

 

 

 

 

As most modern boards, HIS saw fit to also include a LED-lit company logo, a novelty which comes with their designs:

 

 

 

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