INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Nowadays most people use standalone hardware media players to watch movies and/or surf the web from the comfort of their living rooms but there are always those who prefer the countless applications a complete HTPC system can be used for, gaming included. However if you decide to build a very small HTPC system you need to take into account the special sized hardware parts you will require for such a project. True most components are not really hard to find (drives, CPU coolers, memory modules) and will fit in pretty much any PC case especially since most of the small HTPC cases feature their own power supplies however perhaps the most crucial and hard to find component can of course be the graphics card and compared to normal full sized ones there aren't really that many low-profile ones in the market suitable for such use. Well HIS digital just might have the solution to that with their latest AMD Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile graphics card which has been on our test bench for the past weeks.

 

     HIS - Hightech Information System Limited is an internationally acclaimed graphics cards company. Time and time again, HIS were compared and tested by hundreds of worldly renowned critics. The results are phenomena, HIS have proven to offer far superior, cooler, quieter, and faster graphic cards than any other leading rivals. Up to the fourth quarter of 2008, HIS has won over 1000 awards with AMD graphic solution from major media worldwide. HIS is being recognized by providing performance leading and award-wining products. HIS was established in 1987 with the mission to produce the highest quality PC products in the industry. Besides strong devotion to excellent products and services, HIS has been conducting business with the aim to "Glorifying God". Honesty and integrity are the two key principals of how HIS are conducted. Ethical business practice has been an everyday commitment to our clients, vendors, and investors. Headquartered in Hong Kong, and with sales offices and distribution networks in Europe, Middle East, North and South America, Asia Pacific Regions our worldwide customers benefits from efficient and localized services. ISO Certified, HIS's manufacturing facility in China is managed by a team of professionals with expertise in quality control and production planning. Working with world-class clients, HIS has been consistently meeting high quality standards and fulfilled volume order in short lead-time.

 

   Just like the Radeon HD 7770 the 7750 is also based on the same Cape Verde GPU (28nm fab process) which is basically a cut-down (and thus cheaper) version of the larger Tahiti GPU found in the 7900 line. More specifically the Cape Verde GPU used in the 7750 line features a total of 512 stream processors, 32 TMUs (texture mapping units), 16 ROPs (raster operators) and finally an 128-bit memory interface based on the brand new GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture by AMD. The HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler also comes fitted with 1GB GDDR5 and thanks to Eyefinity it allows you to connect up to 6 screens (although for such an low-level graphics card i see little use for that). So just by looking at the specs (and the product name) it's very easy to understand that the Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile graphics card is not for enthusiasts and gamers but rather the ideal solution for HTPC owners. Just how ideal, well that's what we are going to find out today.

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The card is placed inside a small yet tall box with the iTurbo logo on the front, the main features, the HIS logo and a large sword in the background. 

 

 

Over at the left side HIS points out the difference in size between PCIex slots and the previous generation AGP slots. 

 

 

A list with the contents of the box is present on the right side. 

 

 

Moving to the back of the box we find in-depth explanations surrounding all of the units features. 

 

 

The box contains a secondary clamshell clear plastic box. 

 

 

Inside the box you will find the card, two low-profile PCI brackets, HIS case badge, user's guide and two software CDs.

 

 

 

THE RADEON HD 7750 ICOOLER 1GB LOW PROFILE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike the usual light blue color theme we've seen with HIS cards up until this day the cooler of the Radeon HD 7750 iCooler features a black metal cover. 

 

 

This time over the Radeon HD 7750 iCooler comes with two 40mm fans (something we don't see a lot with this particular AMD GPU). 

 

 

The custom cooler is nothing exciting (far better however than the stock one) and it's based around a large heatsink. 

 

 

As usual the PCB features the same light blue color HIS has been using for many years now. 

 

 

Moving at the front we see a single DVI-I port, one HDMI 1.4a port and a VGA port. 

 

 

Much like most cards by HIS bundled with the Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile graphics card is their latest iTurbo overclocking utility which just might be the easiest way for you to not only push the card to its limit but also to check its temperatures and control the speed of the fan.

 

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

 

     Just like in the past launch reviews is not something i prefer to do for a variety of reasons and i don't think that will change, not anytime soon. Also i always try to perform all tests with the latest possible drivers (even beta ones), however due to time issues and also because some older models are no longer in our hands this is not possible so once again both the card and the driver used to benchmark it (when it was available) will be noted in this section. Also take into consideration that all tests were done with the default driver settings in both the Catalyst Control Panel and the NVIDIA Control Panel (power management modes are set to maximum performance) to make things fair and square.
 

HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB – Catalyst 12.8
Gainward GeForce GTX 670 Phantom 2GB - GeForce 304.48 Beta
HIS Radeon HD 7850 iCooler 2GB - Catalyst 12.3
HIS Radeon HD 7770 iCooler 1GB - Catalyst 12.3
Gainward GeForce GTX 590 3GB - GeForce 301.24 Beta
 

     Once again the screen used for all the benchmarks is our primary NEC 30" 3090WQXi LCD with a maximum resolution of 2560x1600. Unlike in the past and since quite a few of you asked instead of having multiple different settings and just 2 resolutions we decided to have a total of 3 resolutions (2560X1600, 1920X1200, 1680X105) and a single quality setting (4xAnti Aliasing) to make it easier to pinpoint the differences between cards (more FPS, easier to see). We also changed our game lineup and so this time over we will be using Aliens VS Predator, Crysis 2, Battlefield 3, Alan Wake, Hard Reset and The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim. For these benchmarks we maxed out the graphics settings of each game and also updated them to their latest versions. All tests were repeated 3 times and in a fresh Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 64Bit installation on an OCZ RevoDrive 3 240GB SSD. As usual all tests took place in a room with a controlled ambient temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, the temperatures of the cards were recorded using AIDA64 (former Everest Ultimate by Lavalys) and GPU-Z while the noise levels were recorded using our ExTech HD600 dBA meter from a distance of no more than 5-10cm away.

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - ALIENS VERSUS PREDATOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - CRYSIS 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - BATTLEFIELD 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - ALAN WAKE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HARD RESET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - THE ELDER SCROLLS V SKYRIM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - TEMPERATURES / NOISE LEVELS / POWER CONSUMPTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCKING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The default core clock of the "stock" AMD Radeon HD 7750 is set at 900MHz but for this low profile version HIS decided to take it down to 800MHz. Well through mild overclocking we managed to get the cards core clock up to 895MHz (+11%) and the memory modules up to 1395MHz (+24%).

 

 

This gave a boost in performance of almost 8% overall in both games we benchmarked it with at the cost of two degrees celsius.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

   AMD aims the 77XX line towards casual users, gamers who play in low resolutions with low/mid settings and generally people who are looking for a low-cost graphics card capable of reproducing even the heaviest FullHD content (HTPC use). Well since the Radeon HD 7750 is currently the lowest model in the entire 7XXX line of graphics cards by AMD i doubt there's anyone out there who was expecting something more in terms of performance than what was shown in our charts. Quite the opposite actually since the HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile performed even better than i had hoped for (especially due to the reduced core clock). Now i really would like to see a wider headroom for OC on the core from the one that we managed to hit (anything above 900MHz would freeze the system) one perhaps equal to the one we achieved with the memory modules but i guess we just can't have it all. Finally the cooling system may not be state of the art but it's almost inaudible and it keeps the card cool even under heavy stress so thumbs up to HIS for that.

 

   Graphics cards with custom 3rd party/aftermarket coolers naturally cost more than stock versions mainly because they offer lower noise levels and better cooling efficiency in a better looking package. Because of that the HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile graphics card currently retails for USD119.99 inside the USA (Newegg) and for 110EUros inside the EU (Overclockers.co.uk) a price tag which lands it right next to several other Radeon HD 7750 models with custom cooling solutions. So if you don't have height issues with your PC case then with the same amount of cash you can find faster custom Radeon HD 7750 cards (faster clocks) which may also have larger headroom for OC. Bottom line if you really enjoy playing games at high resolutions then the entire 77XX line was simply not designed for you but if you're looking for low-cost graphics card and you have clearance issues (height) then you can't go wrong with the Radeon HD 7750 iCooler 1GB Low Profile graphics card by HIS Digital and that's why we are awarding it with our Golden Award.

 

PROS

- Build Quality
- Overall Performance
- Almost Inaudible
- Low Power Consumption
- Eyefinity Support
- PCIex 3.0 & DX 11.1 Compatible
- Low Profile Solution
- 2 Extra Brackets

 

 

CONS

- Did Expect More Room for Overclocking
- Price (Compared To Higher Clocked Radeon HD 7750 Models)