HIS Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card Review

Having looked at a couple Radeon HD 7770's already, we move our focus to the cheaper HD 7750.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: HIS
12 minutes & 39 seconds read time

Introduction and Package

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Launching next to the AMD Radeon HD 7770 which we've looked at from XFX and Sapphire is the new Radeon HD 7750 to round out the HD 7700 series; a series that we haven't been the biggest fans of at this stage of the game.

Today we're looking at the HIS HD 7750 which comes in at $109.99 putting it in that lower mid-range sector. As time has gone on, though, we've seen these cheaper cards offer us quite strong performance. We felt a little disappointed with how AMD launched the new series, though, and the HD 7770 on a whole due to the price point. We wonder if the cheaper HD 7750 can stand as it hits this lower price point.

Before we find out what kind of performance we're able to get out of the new model, the first thing we need to do is take a look at the package. From there we'll move into checking out the card and then we'll take a closer look at the specifications and see how the model compares to its big brother, the HD 7770.

Once we've done that we'll take a quick look at our testbed and the cards we've got today before we move into the performance side of things to just see how the HD 7750 lines up against a bunch of other cards. As always, though, the first thing we've got to do is check out that package.

Package

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Talk about a light package! But considering the price point of the card, it's not too much of a surprise. We see just a bit of information on installing the card alongside a DVI to VGA connector.

The Card and Specifications

The Card

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The fan design isn't anything new and looking around you see no extra power connector or CrossFire connector.

On the I/O side of things we've got a Dual-Link DVI connector alongside a HDMI and full size DisplayPort.

Specifications

Looking at the specification side of things Stream Processors have dropped from 640 on the HD 7770 to 512 on the HD 7750. Textures units are also down from 40 to 32 while ROPS remains the same at 16.

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On the core clock front we can see that's been reduced from 1000MHz (HD 7770) to 800MHz while the 1GB of GDDR5 sits on the same 128-bit memory bus and carries the same 4500MHz QDR memory clock.

Benchmarks - Test System Setup

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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASUS and Corsair.

Before we move onto the performance we can see our X79 testbed above while on the comparison front the main card we want to see how the new HD 7750 compares against is its big brother the new HD 7770. Along with that we've also got the HD 6870, HD 6950 and GTX 560 Ti in our graphs today.

Let's get started!

The FPS Numbers Explained

When we benchmark our video cards and look at the graphs, we aim to get to a certain level of FPS which we consider playable. While many may argue that the human eye can't see over 24 FPS or 30 FPS, any true gamer will tell you that as we climb higher in Frames Per Seconds (FPS), the overall gameplay feels smoother. There are three numbers we're looking out for when it comes to our benchmarks.

30 FPS - It's the minimum number we aim for when it comes to games. If you're not dropping below 30 FPS during games, you're going to have a nice and smooth gaming experience. The ideal situation is that even in a heavy fire fight, the minimum stays above 30 FPS making sure that you can continue to aim easily or turn the corner with no dramas.

60 FPS - It's the average we look for when we don't have a minimum coming at us. If we're getting an average of 60 FPS, we should have a minimum of 30 FPS or better and as mentioned above, it means we've got some smooth game play happening.

120 FPS - The new number that we've been hunting down over recent months. If you're the owner of a 120 Hz monitor, to get the most out of it you want to get around the 120 FPS mark. Moving from 60 FPS / 60 Hz to 120 FPS / 120 Hz brings with it a certain fluidity that can't really be explained, but instead has to be experienced. Of course, if you're buying a 120 Hz monitor to take advantage of 3D, an average of 120 FPS in our benchmark means that in 3D you will have an average of 60 FPS, which again means you should expect some smooth gameplay.

Benchmarks - 3DMark 11

3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/

Buy It Here

3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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Starting off under 3DMark 11 we can see the natural progression from the HD 7750 to HD 7770. Comparing the two models we can see the HD 7770 comes in about 50% faster than the HD 7750.

Benchmarks - Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Version and / or Patch Used: 2.5

Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com

Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//

New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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We can see under Heaven benchmark the difference between the two models. We'll get a better idea of what's going on with performance, though, when we get into some real-world benchmarks.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo

Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test

Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx

Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 is an arcade-style flight action game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft. The game is the sequel to Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., released in 2009.

The game begins with Colonel David Crenshaw participating in a routine patrol mission in the Middle East. After halting an insurgent attack, a volley of missiles is fired at the Air Force base that Crenshaw was stationed at, with one of the missiles disabling Crenshaw's aircraft, resulting Crenshaw being in enemy captivity. A joint strike force composed of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and a Ghost Recon squad executes an operation to rescue Crenshaw. In Scotland, Royal Navy Pilot Colin Munro encounters an unidentified passenger aircraft that explodes from an on-board bomb when undergoing training exercise. In Russia, an air force squadron led by Colonel Denisov and Captain Dmitri Sokov engages separatist aircraft but is ordered to retreat from the region after numerous Russian military installations have been attacked.

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Thanks to improvements in the HD 7000 series we can see that under H.A.W.X. 2 we've got some good performance at both resolutions for the HD 7750 which equate to some very playable numbers.

Benchmarks - Mafia II

Mafia II

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.2kczech.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.mafia2game.com/

Buy It Here

Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games. The game is set from 1943 to 1951 in Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State"), a fictional city based on San Francisco and New York City, with influences from Chicago and Detroit. The game features a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles. No restrictions are included from the start of the game. There are around 50 vehicles in the game, as well as licensed music from the era.

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Moving to Mafia II we can see we're below that 60 FPS average we like at both resolutions. While getting to 60 FPS at 1920 x 1200 would be a struggle, a slight detail drop will bring our FPS up to a playable number at 1680 x 1050.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/

Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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Moving to the intensive Lost Planet 2 it comes as no surprise like all the other cards here the HD 7750 struggles to hits the 60 FPS mark. Unfortunately we're so far away from the 60 FPS mark that you're going to need to drop both resolution and detail.

Benchmarks - Aliens vs. Predator

Aliens vs. Predator

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.sega.com/games/aliens-vs-predator/

Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.

Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.

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Aliens vs. Predator shows the same thing as we saw under Lost Planet 2 with some really low averages.

Benchmarks - Just Cause 2

Just Cause 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.0.2

Timedemo or Level Used: Dark Tower

Developer Homepage: http://www.eidos.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.justcause.com/

Just Cause 2 employs the Avalanche Engine 2.0, an updated version of the engine used in Just Cause. The game is set on the other side of the world from the original Just Cause, on the fictional island of Panau in Southeast Asia. Panau has varied terrain, from desert to alpine to rainforest. Rico Rodriguez returns as the protagonist, aiming to overthrow the evil dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay and confront his former mentor, Tom Sheldon.

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With the HD 7770 just scraping in the 60 FPS average we aim for at 1680 x 1050, it's no surprise that the HD 7750 falls short of it. Unfortunately you're going to need quite the detail drop again to get the FPS up to a point we would consider smoothly playable.

Benchmarks - Metro 2033

Metro 2033

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.4a-games.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.thqnordic.com/

Metro 2033 is an action-oriented video game with a combination of survival horror and first-person shooter elements. The game is based on the novel Metro 2033 by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky. It was developed by 4A Games in Ukraine and released in March 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360.[3] In March 2006, 4A Games announced a partnership with Glukhovsky to collaborate on the game.[4] The game was announced at the 2009 Games Convention in Leipzig;[5] a first trailer came along with the announcement.[6] A sequel was announced, currently titled Metro: Last Light.

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A lot like Lost Planet 2 and Aliens vs. Predator we see a strong hit in FPS with our averages sitting around the 30 mark.

Benchmarks - Dirt 3

Dirt 3

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.dirt3game.com/

DiRT 3 boasts more cars, more locations, more routes and more events than any other game in the series, including over 50 rally cars representing the very best from five decades of the sport. With more than double the track content of 2009's hit, DiRT 3 will see players start at the top as a professional driver, with a top-flight career in competitive off-road racing complimented by the opportunity to express themselves in Gymkhana-style showpiece driving events.

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Dirt 3 also sees FPS sit around the 30 mark making getting to that 60 FPS mark a struggle again.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01

Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long

Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/

Buy It Here

The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Moving to something a little older we can again see the HD 7750 offers us some playable FPS with that 30 FPS minimum being reached and 60+ FPS average.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF

High Quality AA and AF

Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.

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No surprise that you turn on AA and AF and you see the card struggle with those playable FPS numbers again. AA and AF just isn't really an option on these cheaper cards.

Temperature Test

The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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Considering the HD 7750 is the lowest end card we've tested here it comes as no surprise that it's also the coolest.

Sound Test

Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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Noise levels as you'd expect are also strong which is what you'd expect out of a cheaper card.

Power Consumption Test

Using our new PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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On the power draw front we see that a lot of the HD 7000 series video cards sit around a similar mark.

Final Thoughts

Like the HD 7770, the HD 7750 sees the same problem with its biggest threat being from AMD themselves. While $109.99 is a nice price point, the issue is if you head on over to Newegg, you're going to see HD 6850 video cards can be had for $129.99 after rebate. The HD 7700 series is going to fall into its own when we see the HD 6800 series run out, but the issue continues to be that not only is there stock of the HD 6800 series, there's plenty of it at aggressive price points, thanks to the rebates currently on offer.

Like the Sapphire and XFX HD 7770 cards we've looked at, HIS have got a nice version of a card here that's quiet and offers some good connectivity. The issue is that the HD 7750 just doesn't sit in the best place at the moment making it hard for the model to stand out.

AMD have done a good job over recent video card launches, but it really feels like they've fallen short this time with the HD 7700 series. By not clearing the market of their own cards, they've made the biggest competition to their new model an older model from them. The HD 7700 series continues to leave us feeling a little flat at the moment. Unfortunately the execution of this model isn't up to the same standard of other recent AMD video card launches.

In the end you're better off buying a HD 6800 series card over a HD 7700 series card. With current stock levels and the fact that it's still an AMD card, it's probably not the biggest issue for AMD as they continue to sell cards. The problem is when the HD 6800 series begins to run out of stock is can the HD 7700 series get past the initial stigma that has been set?

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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