Doom 3 Performance

Doom 3 performance was a little less than I hoped for. It's not that it was unplayable or anything, and for a midrange card 1024x768 in a game that is quiet intense isn't all that bad. What disappointed me was that the X800GTO managed to perform slightly better, and when you compare prices, the X800GTO's are not all that much more than the HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo.

Doom 3 - Image Quality

Doom 3 is a game that I personally prefer to play on NVIDIA hardware when it comes to image quality. The reasoning is that ATI hardware gives a softer image, and is arguably the better for it, but since Doom 3 is a dark game, soft images are not really required. Still we are talking about the image quality of the HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo, and it is certainly a very nice image that is produced. The above image has 2x Anti-aliasing and 4x Anisotropic Filtering applied.

Half Life 2: Lost Coast - Performance

I think this graph should speak to the difference between the HIS X1600XT and our X800GTO; the HIS X1600XT wins by default, since it is capable of HDR rendering while the X800GTO is not. However, even at the relatively low resolution of 900x600, performance was quiet low. You will probably want to decrease the game settings to ensure high frame rates for actual play.

Half Life 2: Lost Coast - Image Quality

There is no doubt the HDR on the Lost Coast level does improve the image/immersion although I personally feel it's a little too subtle in execution. ATI cards and the HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo do a wonderful job rendering Half Life 2: Lost Coast, even at the relatively low resolution of 900x600.

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