HIS HD 4870 IceQ 4+ Turbo 1GB

CONCLUSION

So, what is the verdict when it comes to 1 GB versus 512 MB on a video card? As long as the video card is a fast card, like the HD4870, it clearly is very beneficial to the performance of some games and less benificial in others.

The HIS HD 4870 IceQ 4+ Turbo 1GB costs around $275, while a similar clocked HIS HD4870 512 MB costs around $240, and a slower HIS HD4870 512 MB, like the one we used in this review, costs around $200 (all Newegg prices). This makes the HIS HD4870 1 GB quite pricy. We still feel that the performance boost combined with the excellent cooling more than makes up for the price difference.

We are trying out a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn't an aggregate average of the new rating system.

• Performance 8
• Value 7
• Quality 9
• Features 10
• Innovation 9

Pros

• Fast
• Runs very cool
• Quiet
• Lots of cool features like DX10.1-support, Stream computing, hardware video acceleration of HD-content

Cons

• No bundle to speak of
• A bit pricey compared to the 512 MB version

We give the HIS HD 4870 IceQ 4+ Turbo 1GB a rating of 8.5 paws out of 10 and a Bjorn3d Seal of Approval.