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HIS Radeon HD3650 IceQ (H365Q512GNP)


Date
: 04/25/08 – 06:08:35 PM

Author
:

Category
: Video Cards

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer
: HIS Digital

We have yet another HIS product for your eyes today. HIS has been producing ATI-based video cards for a long time, sometimes even putting their own twist on things.

Last time we looked at a low-end passively cooled HD 3450 from HIS. This time, we will be looking at a more beastly card, the
Radeon HD 3650
equipped with
IceQ 3
cooler.

Page 2 : Package

The HD 3650 comes in a relatively large package. The box is black and features a clear window that shows off the cooler on the card. Surrounding this are marketing phrases. HIS's logo can be found on the top left. The bottom shows the card's name and an IceQ logo. Features are also listed off.

On the right we have a sticker that says ‘Turbo’ and flaunts the card's core and memory speeds. The core is clocked at 790 MHz while the 512 MB of 1.0ns GDDR3 runs at 1.78 GHz. The PCI-Express based HD 3650 also supports ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU technology, HDMI output with 1080p ‘full HD’ capability. A DVI-to-HDMI adapter is pictured.

The sides reiterate the same information we saw on the front in addition to a list of package contents.

Turning to the back, we have a ton of information. Everything from features to specifications can be found here.

Here are a couple of larger images for your viewing pleasure.

Let us now take a closer look at these features and specifications before moving on to the fun stuff.

Page 3 : Features & Specifications

HIS has a lot of information about the HD 3650 on this page from which I got most of this information.

Here is their description:

All the features:

The features of the ATI RV635 chipset:

Bundled with the HD 3650, you will find a driver CD, instructions on how to get free games on Steam, a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, a DVI-to-VGA adapter, and a CrossFireX bridge.

More features and specifications:

Unlike the HD 3450 we reviewed last time, the HD 3650 is a mid-range card and based on its specifications, it should be able to tackle all but the most demanding of games.

Page 4 : Package & Contents

Opening the package reveals the HD 3650 in all its glory albeit enclosed in a plastic shell. Surrounding it, we have the two adapters, a HIS sticker, and the CrossFireX bridge interconnect,

Beneath it, we have the driver CD, a manual, the free games on Steam offer, as well as a small note instructing the user on how to select the proper TV format.

The first thing you notice about the card itself is its large size, courtesy of the large IceQ cooler which takes up a PCI slot of its own! HIS's logo can be found on the cooler amidst blue graphics which further extend the ‘ice’ metaphor. The radial fan on the cooler blows air through the internal fins and funnels it out of the back.

Looking toward the top of the card, we can see that the cooler pretty much covers all of the card save for a few parts along the edge. You almost don't even notice the PCB's blue color! Also, of note here, the card has two CrossFire interfaces to allow for connection to
two other cards
.

The HD 3650's outputs consist of two dual-link DVI ports and a video-out port. The ports are gold-plated – what practical purpose this serves is beyond me.

Turning the card over, we find four of the eight memory chips.

Samsung is the manufacturer of these GDDR3 chips with serial number K4J52324QE-BJ1A. According to the specifications PDF, these chips are capable of operating at up to 2.0 GHz (1000 MHz * 2). If you recall from the specifications, HIS has clocked these at 1.78 GHz so it leaves us a bit of room to work with.

Returning to the front and removing the cooler reveals the core and the four other memory chips. Note that the IceQ 3 cooler is nothing more than an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer.

Unlike most other video cards I have come across, actual thermal compound is used as opposed to pink gunk.

Cleaning off the thermal compound reveals the star of the show: the RV635 core, built using a 55nm process.

Now let's see how it performs.

Page 5 : Installation & Overclocking

Though the HIS HD 3650 takes up two slots, installation was simple. The card is not excessively long and should not pose any problems.

ATI Catalyst Control Center measured the core temperature to be around 47°C at idle and around 60°C at load such as while running a game. I guess the IceQ 3 cooler does a decent job.

Catalyst Control Center was used to overclock the card as ATI Tool refused to run properly. A maximum overclock of 850 MHz for the core and 1000 MHz for the memory was reached, a great increase from the stock speeds of 790 and 890 respectively. Note that since the memory is GDDR3, the effective memory speeds equate to twice that. Also note that Catalyst Control Center won't let me go past 850 and 1000 but I am guessing the card can probably go a little bit more past that. If only ATI Tool worked…

GPU-Z reported the overclocked core speed to be 837 MHz even though Catalyst Control Center said 850 MHz. The memory is at 999 MHz; if you recall from the previous section, Samsung's specifications for these particular chips state a speed of 1000 MHz – perfect!

Page 6 : Test Setup

Since I tested the HD 3650 and the HD 3450 simultaneously, I will be quoting myself a lot from the HD 3450 review for the sake of efficiency.

I will be putting the cards through a rigorous benchmarking session involving both synthetic and gaming benchmarks.

The synthetic benchmarks will consist of Futuremark 3DMark03, 3DMark05, and 3DMark06. 3DMark2001 was left out as it seems a bit counterproductive to test a DirectX 10 video card using a DirectX 8 benchmark.

The gaming benchmarks will consist of Need for Speed: ProStreet, BioShock, Call of Duty 4, and Crysis. Tests will be run at various resolutions, combinations of anti-aliasing (AA), anisotropic filtering (AF) and some tests will highlight the performance difference between the overclocked and stock speeds.

Each benchmark result is the average of three runs.

Note that the benchmarks are meant to be indicative as to the relative performance of the video cards and are by no means absolute scores to be used for comparison with your system as performance depends on several factors.

Page 7 : Synthetic Benchmarks

The 3DMark series from Futuremark has been the gold standard for benchmarkers worldwide. 3DMark scores are often used among enthusiasts as a standard of comparison.

The HD 3650 performs extremely well in comparison with the 7600GT and HD 3450. The 7600GT comes somewhat close in 3DMark03 but not really.

A closer look at the 3DMark06 scores reveals certain nuances. For one, the CPU scores match up well meaning the benchmark was not biased towards any cards. For everything else, the trend is similar to the first chart with the HD 3650 taking the lead, then the 7600 GT, and the HD 3450 bringing up the rear.

Page 8 : Need for Speed: ProStreet

Need for Speed: ProStreet is the latest installment in the highly popular Need for Speed franchise. It takes a step back from the excitement of illegal street racing of previous titles to track racing. This minor disappointment is mitigated by the amazing graphics.

In this benchmark, I used Fraps to record the average frames per second (FPS) during a circuit race of 3 laps; once again, each run was done 3 times and the results averaged to yield a good result. Three different resolutions were used combined with either trilinear filtering (TF) and no anti-aliasing (0xAA) or anisotropic filtering (AF) and either 2xAA or 4xAA. For some reason, I was only able to set the HD 3450 to a maximum of 2xAA while the other cards could go up to 4xAA.

The HD 3650 once again obliterates the competition. With AA and TF turned off, the game is extremely smooth even at 1280×1024 at a frame rate of about 29 fps.

Page 9 : BioShock

BioShock is one of the most critically acclaimed titles of recent times. Set in an underwater utopia gone wrong, the chilling and eerie mood makes for an awesome gaming experience, especially with DirectX 10.

Once again I used Fraps to record the average FPS while playing the first level from the beginning to the point where the player receives a plasmid and has to open the door that says ‘Welcome to Rapture.’ Performance was evaluated at three different resolutions at stock and overclocked speeds. All other settings were left at highest quality.

Overclocking the cards increases performance very slightly. At 1024×768 however, the overclocked HD 3650 performed unusually well for some reason. It might have been due to the fact that I did not use a timedemo and had to manually play the level which lends itself to unavoidable variations.

Page 10 : Call of Duty 4

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the latest in the popular Call of Duty series. It distinguishes itself from previous titles in that it is set in modern times as opposed to World War II. Receiving great reviews, the game is also known for its highly optimized proprietary rendering engine.

Fraps was used again to record the average FPS while playing the epilogue level of the game in which the player must rescue a hostage aboard a plane. Three resolutions were employed and combined with either full AF and 4xAA or no filtering (NF) and no AA. All other settings were set to their highest values.

The HD 3450 performs very poorly and this time around, the HD 3650 does not have much of a lead on the 7600GT. Even so, the game is fluid at 1280×1024 even with AA and AF enabled.

Page 11 : Crysis

Known for its breathtaking visuals and for the fact that it has the ability to tax even the most powerful systems, Crysis has become another popular first person shooter this year. DirectX 10 is supported and will enable the highest quality graphics.

Testing was done by measuring the frames per second while playing part of the first level where the player has to find Aztec. The effect of enabling AA was tested at different resolutions. All settings were at ‘medium’. Note that the 7600GT does not support DirectX 10.

Crysis separated the boys from the men, so to speak, leaving the HD 3650 as the victor. It was the only card that was able to provide a decent experience at 1280×1024 but this was with the settings at medium and no anti-aliasing!

Page 12 : Conclusion

Throughout the tests, the HIS Radeon HD 3650 performed well. It is not a top-of-the-line card but its performance should be satisfactory for all but the most extreme of gamers. If you don't care for too much eye candy or extremely high resolutions, this mid-range card should fit the bill in terms of value. For its price, it is a great buy. Also, it supports CrossFireX so you can upgrade later if desired.

All in all, the HIS Radeon HD 3650 IceQ 3 is a solid card and I would highly recommend it… even though I'm an NVIDIA fan.

Advantages:

• Good performance

• Lots of features including HDMI output, HD support
• Very good value

Disadvantages:

• IceQ cooler is a bit large – takes up two slots

Overclockers Online would like to thank HIS for making this review possible.