Conclusion

Looking first at the build quality and design of the HIS 7950 we have a card which initially looks quite a lot like the reference card thanks to the large black and red shroud used on this model and the reference design. Looking a little closer we find a smaller (by 0.5cm) blue PCB and that the cooler used is also significantly smaller underneath that cover. The size of the cooler isn't a huge issue though we would have liked to see it fully cover the card's memory.

Elsewhere we get all of the normal features for a 7950 with dual CrossFire connectors, four display outputs and dual BIOS. That last item is worthy of note because not all 7950's are following AMD's lead and including this feature.

For performance we have a card which meets the AMD reference specifications and overall this means it hits a level which is similar to the GTX 580 in a couple of games but often finishes ahead of the NVIDIA card, something which is enhanced by combining two in CrossFire where AMD have the scaling working well... except Skyrim. Power and thermal performance of the HIS card is also very good, offering significant reductions over the GTX 580 and 7970 in both areas. The use of a more compact cooler and single fan does mean that noise levels are not as low as they could be on the HIS model though and we did note that when coming out of power saving mode in CrossFire the HIS card does spin up higher than normal creating a little more noise for a few seconds.

So that brings us to value and initial signs are good for this particular model as it is listed for £355/$540 which sits right in GTX 580 territory. Given that the card has plenty of overclocking potential this seems like an ideal price point and a no-brainer purchase for anyone on that sort of budget.

Summary
We look forward to seeing what HIS can do with overclocked 7950's with enhanced cooling but for now the standard edition is a worthwhile purchase.

Overclockers - £359.99

NewEgg - $479.99