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3D Image Quality
ATI has always been known for their excellent 3D image quality so I was expecting to see good results here. The Far Cry demo was used to take the screenshots. Shown in the picture is the result of me driving off the edge of a mountain in one of the trucks. (Oops) It does however provide for a good image quality test, showing a fairly extensive background of greenery, and most noticeable is the dirt ground. The HIS 9600 won this test as expected. Especially with AA/AF turned on, the sharpness of the image as compared to the FX5600 is better. Testing was run at 0AA/0AF, and the max AA/AF setting for both cards (6AA/16AF for the HIS 9600, and 8AA8F for the FX5600)
2D Image Quality
A 1600x1200 bitmap image was loaded up to compare the two cards. Also used was the Viperlair text block. The text block shows four blocks of test, the first two being black text on a white background at various sizes and the second is the same text in white on a black background. Resolution for each test was 1152x864@75Hz on my Samsung 750S.
Scores are of course subjective, but I stare at a computer screen enough that I should be able to tell if one looks better than another. Scores are out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best.
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HIS Excalibur 9600 Dual DVI
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Albatron FX5600 Turbo
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| Black Text (12Pt) |
9
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8
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| Black Text (6Pt) |
8
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6
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| White Text (12Pt) |
9
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7
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| White Text (6Pt) |
8
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5
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| BMP Quality |
9
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8
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The HIS 9600 defiantly has excellent 2D image quality. All text was crisp and easily read. The smaller sized text was slightly blurrier than the larger text, but was much better than the FX5600. On the Albatron FX5600 the 6pt White text was very blurry, especially the italics parts. BMP quality was excellent on the 9600, with the image being crisp and clear.
Overclocking
Always a much anticipated section for me is the over clocking. I loaded up Powerstrip and tried to push the card as much as possible, which was not too hard as the card either locked up or reset back to default setting at whatever speed I set it too. It got to the point where Windows would lock up on startup because Powerstrip defaults running the ram 2 MHz faster than stock. I even tried loading Riva Tuner, to see if the card was just not compatible with Powerstrip just to meet the same results. I did a little bit of searching for other reviews on the card and this seems to be a common case. HIS utilizes 256MB of Elixir 400Mhz ram on the card, and it seems that it will not run any faster. Core frequency seemed to want to stay at 325 MHz as well, so over clocking wise, don't expect performance gain from this card, because stock is all you are getting.
Final Words
HIS packs a standard bundle with the card. The manual was a little short for my liking, and it appeared as if it was for just the standard 9600 not the Dual DVI model. Software package could have been better, but it appears as if HIS wanted to keep costs down which is always a good thing, although a Half Life 2 voucher would have been nice.
The HIS Excalibur 9600 was no slouch when it came to game benchmarking. The 9600 basically tied the FX5600 Turbo, winning two benchmarks, losing two and tying one. AA/AF performance was much better on the 9600 than the FX5600. The performance drop was a lot less noticeable, and game play was still playable at 1024x768 with AA/AF turned on in most games tested.
Image quality on a whole was excellent on the HIS Excalibur 9600 Dual DVI. All 3D games and tests run had crisp and clear graphics. Image quality seemed to get even better when the AA/AF levels rose bringing it to an even higher level. 2D image quality was also top notch. Especially in the text block test, all text was easily readable, even the small white text.
Overclocking is the only main downfall of the card. I would have at least liked to see some kind of over clocking potential, but I was unable to achieve any. HIS could possibly look at a better cooling solution for the VPU as well as some higher clocking memory.
HIS seems to have made a fairly solid 9600. The main selling point of this card is the fact that it has Dual DVI and excellent image quality. This leads me to believe that although game wise it may not have been the best all the time, it may not be the main focus for this card. I can see the HIS 9600 Dual DVI being looked at more by higher end graphic designers and CAD artists where IQ is more important that gaming performance.
Pros: Excellent IQ, good gaming performance, Dual DVI option
Cons: No over clocking, only one DVI-CRT adapter (although a dual DVI card)
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a blazing fast video gaming card you may need to look at a higher model card. But if you're looking for a card with good (not great) gaming performance, excellent IQ and Dual DVI take a look at this card.
Questions or Comments, hit me up in the Forums.
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