The HIS X700 Pro IceQ Turbo VIVO 256MB PCIe Video Card

The HIS X700 Pro IceQ VIVO Turbo 256MB Up Close Closer Inspection

The HIS X700 Pro IceQ Turbo VIVO is an impressive looking video card.  Naturally, with such a large cooler installed, the X700 pro is a two slot solution, as one would expect.  The cooler has a finned design that includes a very quiet fan backed by a sizeable base of solid aluminum.  This aims to keep the 425MHz, 8 Pixel Pipeline X700 Pro VPU operating within normal limits, even while pushing the MHz higher via iTurbo.

The fan draws air from inside the case, moves it across the fins and exhausts it out of the rear of the case.  HIS made the fins as wide as possible to move the most air while keeping rotation noise to a minimum.  In our experience, this is the quietest oversized fan design we've seen on a video card.  Even with the card overclocked and the fan running at full speed, it was very, very quiet.  Adding to the aesthetics, HIS also added a blue LED to give the card a "cool" look.

Topping off the cooler, HIS mounted aluminum heatsinks on all surfaces of the card's 256MB of 860MHz GDDR3 memory.  This was done on both sides of the card, leaving no chip exposed.  More so, the entire fan and ramsink construction and implementation was solid.  The sinks appeared to be applied with epoxy and the fan assembly used a simple tension clip to hold it securely in place.

The back side of the unit sports the familiar VGA, DVI, VIVO ports we're used to seeing on this type of card.  Utilizing the included cables, the card can be used to output to a standard TV as well as an HDTV, while also accepting inputs for video capture.

Aside the from physical card having its own unique feel, HIS also includes their useful iTurbo overclocking utility. The card was designed to run at default 425/860 clock speeds, but can also be bumped up to 460/960 by simply clicking the iTurbo button.  This is the highest speed HIS is willing to endorse for this card, although the sliders can be adjusted to a maximum 475/1000, which we will test later.  The iTurbo software also allows for manual control of the fan speed, if desired.  Overall, we found the software worked quite well and did everything it was supposed to do. We also liked the clean, easy to follow interface.  Additionally, the application is configured to load with Windows, so your overclocking settings can be set to run at all times.  All of the programs features are quite configurable, giving us a feeling of total control over its behavior.