The HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB is an interesting card that improves on the ATI reference design in many areas. In particular, the clock speed increase is an impressive one that takes the card’s performance characteristics up to a level where it’s not too far behind the Radeon HD 3870 reference card in many cases. We also like the cooling solution and for those that are fans of the Arctic Cooling Silencer coolers, you won’t have to spend extra on one if that’s what you’re looking for.

However, the problem with all of this is that it has driven the price up to a level where it’s just too expensive to represent great value for money for everyone. That’s not to say that the card is poor value for money – it’s only going to be attractive to those that see benefits in the cooling solution at over £135. Given that PowerColor’s Radeon HD 3850 Xtreme PCS 512MB (which also features a custom cooling solution and a similar factory overclock) is available for £101.64, it’s hard to recommend the HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX 512MB.



Link: Bit Tech