Date: February 7th, 2005
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner, Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product Submitted by: HIS
<--SHOP FOR A HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTER VIDEOCARD HERE

CORPORATE PROFILE

HIS strives to provide our customers the best value and service on accordance to our founding principles. Today, HIS is one of the largest graphics companies in Hong Kong and rank premier in the world of multimedia graphics. In this fast changing world and very especially in the field of PC, a flexible attribute is competitive advantage. Over the years, HIS earned its reputation worldwide as offering a flexibility that other just cannot match. HIS moves fast. HIS reacts fast.

Commitment to excellence is the bedrock of our company direction. We expand by providing our customers worldwide with the best quality and service to achieve the fundamental objective the Total Customer Satisfaction. As such our worldwide customers are very loyal to us.

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

When choosing you next ATI PCI Express based videocard, at first you had three options. The budget sector was covered by the X300, the mainstream covered by the X600 series and the enthusiast sector had you choosing between the X800 and the new X850 chipsets.

The one thing that was missing was an option for the performance mainstream. Do get me wrong, the X600 does perform perfectly for the casual ever-so-often gamer, but it lacked the performance punch needed for some of today's latest games. All you were left with was shelling out the extra dough for a X800 which can lead to US$200 or more flying out of your wallet to get the acceptable framerates you need and require.

To full this void, ATI released their X700 line of chipsets that would allow manufacturers to produce an affordable alternative to the expensive X800 line which would fill the large performance gap and give cash conscience consumers a viable alternative for today's PCI Express based motherboards and computer systems.

Now with that base being set, HIS decided to launch another IceQ version of their sought after videocards to take advantage of this market gap. As I have said earlier while reviewing HIS's past IceQ videocards, they are amongst the best on the market today with more features and the best stock cooling solution on the market.

Let's see what this new videocard has to offer.

ATI X600 CORE ARCHITECTURE FEATURES (From ATI)

ATI’s RADEON® X700 brings a richer visual experience to all your favorite PC activities – 3D gaming, watching movies and streaming video, Internet browsing, viewing and processing digital photos, or home office applications such as preparing multimedia presentations and spreadsheets. Whether upgrading or buying a new PC, the RADEON® X700 will easily handle today’s visual entertainment and workload with plenty of power in reserve for tomorrow’s possibilities.

Full-throttle Gaming

Boost your game play performance with the visual power and instant response you need to get the most from any DirectX® 9 and OpenGL® title. RADEON® X700 delivers beautifully rendered 3D animation for intense, interactive game play. Experience richer, more movie-quality visual effects than ever before with SMARTSHADER™ HD, the world’s most advanced pixel shader engine. Experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the effect with a real-time 3D rendered preview. With up to 8 parallel pixel pipelines and 256 MB or 128 MB of high performance GDDR3 memory, the RADEON® X700 has the muscle to meet the demands of today’s fast-and-furious gaming, and tomorrow’s new applications and operating systems.

Full-thrill Video

Enjoy the full visual impact of DVD movies with smoother, clearer, and more detailed video playback . ATI’s VIDEOSHADER™ HD accelerates video processing and imaging with programmable pixel shaders for improved DVD playback and better multitasking while watching DVD video. FULLSTREAM™ sharpens image quality by removing blocky artifacts from streaming internet video. The RADEON® X700 connects to your television using S-video and composite video outputs, and supports both High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) modes for every type of available display.

Full-featured Software

ATI’s award-winning CATALYST™ suite of software optimizes the graphics processor of the RADEON® X700 while ensuring maximum stability and user control. CATALYST™ automatically sets optimal settings for your system and enables safe VPU (Visual Processing Unit) overclocking, and in the unlikely event of a graphics hang, ATI’s VPU RECOVER automatically resets the graphics processor so you can continue without interruption or data loss. Featuring frequent updates, reliable customer service, and an interactive user feedback program, ATI’s CATALYST™ software suite is backed by ATI’s technical confidence, industry-leading capability, and uncompromising commitment to creating your ultimate visual experience.