Today we are looking at two mid ranged cards from HIS tech, both of which are based on the well established X800 core. The first of these is the X800 GT. This isn’t the first time we have seen one video card manufacturer poach another’s naming convention – NVIDIA did the same to ATi when it released its XT range of 5700 cards in the previous product cycle. The X800 GT is a variation of the R480 core, with 8 pixel pipelines and a default core clock speed of 470 MHz, and a memory clock of 480MHz. It is equipped with HIS’s now well-established IceQ II cooling system, which means not only improved cooling performance, but also near-silent operation.
The second of the cards on test today was released shortly after the X800GT, and again is based on an R480 core. It is called the X800 GTO, and has an extra quad, bringing the total number of pipelines up to 12. It is clocked slower than the X800 GT (at 400MHz core, 490MHz memory), but in effect can be though of as a slightly underclocked X850 Pro. It also has the IceQ II cooling system fitted as standard.
Both of the cards on show today are the iTurbo models, which means that you have manufacturer-supported overclocking via HIS’s iTurbo overclocking utility. Many people are unsure about overclocking, since you can invalidate the warranty or cause damage. The nice thing about the HIS iTurbo models is that the cards are garunteed to hit the advertised overclock with no stability issues – or you can return it for a replacement. That’s something few other ATI launch partners can boast!
