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- Date:
- Sunday , June 20, 2010
- Author:
- Matthew Krysiak
- Google +1
HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X Video Card Review -EDITING
The HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X offers us a new cooling solution and higher frequencies but is that enough to outdo the tried and true reference Radeon HD 5870 and a GeForce GTX 480? We put it to the test in Splinter Cell Conviction, Metro 2033, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Aliens vs. Predators, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Furmark for our power and temperature testing.
Introduction
HIS (Hightech Information System) was established with a mission to produce the highest quality PC components. Founded in 1987 they gained much of their fame in the video card market in 2003 and onward with their introduction of the IceQ video card line. Today they are an ATI Authorized 1st Tier AIB Partner, Certified Partner, and Launching Partner. So it should be no surprise that most there products focus on the PC video card market.
Today we are going to be taking a look at HIS’s unique vision of the Radeon HD 5870: the HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X. As its name suggest this versions includes iCooler V, a special cooling solution offered by HIS. The reference GPU and memory frequencies have also been boosted, hence the Turbo X part of its name.
ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series
AMD has not disappointed of late with a myriad of video cards all based on the Radeon HD 5000 series, their next generation GPU technology. AMD’s most recent launch was the ATI Radeon HD 5830, however their first two launches of the series the Radeon HD 5870 and 5850 still represent the fastest single GPU video cards that AMD has to offer. The HD 5870 launched on September 22, 2009, it has full DX11 support based on the TeraScale 2 architecture, full Eyefinity support, and have impressive power management features.
But what is life without a little competition and NVIDIA finally decided to join the DX11 party just this past March with the GeForce GTX 470 and 480. The GeForce GTX 480, being the fastest video NVIDIA has to offer, is the competition of any Radeon HD 5870 so let’s spec them both out to see what we will be working with. Both video cards use the 40nm manufacturing process and GDDR5 memory. That is the end of the similarities though with Radeon HD 5870 having a GPU clocked at 850MHz (vs. 700MHz) and 1024MB (vs. 1536MB) of memory on a 256-Bit (vs. 384-Bit) bus at 1.2GHz (vs. 924MHz). The HD 5870 also has 32 (vs. 48) ROPs, 1600 (vs. 480) Stream Processors, a Pixel fill rate of 27.2GPixel/s (vs. 33.6GPixel/s), and a Texture fill rate of 68GTexel/s (vs. 42GTexel/s).
However take these specification differences with a large dose of salt as they are built on two entirely different architectures. The only real way to see who will really perform better in a game is to play the game. So after we take a quick look at the HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X we will pull out the games.
HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X
This is the first HIS video cards that we had on our test bench and with such an extreme name as HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X this video card must be impressive. First let’s explore the Turbo X part of the name and where better to start than the Turbo X description sticker HIS put on the box.
Benefit by a factory, pre-overclocked graphics card to the extreme with the balance of gaming experience and cooling effect
With its’ Turbo X program HIS has increased the GPU frequency to 900MHz or 50MHz above the reference requirements. That’s not as spectacular of a boost as we have seen in some of our more recent reviews but it is still decent. HIS has also chosen to increase the memory frequency to 4900MHz or 100MHz over that of reference specifications. This is a pleasant surprise since many manufactures neglect to boost the memory frequency at all.
The second part of the name that bares description is iCooler V. The image above was taken straight off of HIS’s website and goes over in detail each aspect of the this dual slot cooling solution. However the two most notable features for us is that it promises to provide a 5.5c drop in temperatures and that it will do so while being quieter. We will have to see if both ring true in our OC, power, and temperature testing later on in the review. The HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X can currently be had for $490. So let’s take a look at what you get for that kind of money.
We are disappointed with HIS’s marketing team; here we have two key features of this video card iCooler V and Turbo X and they are using premium space to sell a game that comes bundled with the video card!?! As if you would buy a $500 video card for a $50 game. We would have loved to instead see the iCooler V being marketed with big pictures of the cooling solution itself and specifications like those on the website. And even though Turbo X is actually mentioned on the front of the box (but nowhere else) the 1.75"x2" sticker hardly provides any valuable information, just the quote we showed above but no frequencies are given.
The front and the right side of the box gives the few minor specifications that we come to expect from all manufactures, PCI Express 2.1, 1GB GDDR5, 1080p full HD, and HDMI. The right side of the box also lists what’s in the box and goes over what a PCI Express, a PCI, and an AGP slot look like. This should help those less knowledgeable on the subject. The back of the box goes over the standard ATI Radeon marketing with an additional section trying to sell you the included game, again. The left side of the box lists the standard features and benefits along with the system requirements.
The HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X has the same problem as any video game themed video card does. Eventually you will move on to a new game and no longer think it is cool to have this game on your video card. If you do end up in that circumstance or maybe you never liked the game in the first place you’re in luck because as it turns out it is just a sticker. With a little care when pulling it off you will be left with a sleek black mirrored finish on the plastic shroud.
HIS is using a dual slot cooling solution with an aluminum heatsink. The heatsink has a thin piece of copper embedded in to it covering the GPU to improve heat transfer. Additionally we are excited to find that HIS has gone the extra mile and has directly cooled the memory with each memory module being covered by aluminum from the heatsink. It however should be noted though that there is a gap between the between the heatsink shroud and the rear exhaust vent and not all of the hot air is aimed to blown outside of your case. So good exhaust from your case is must, else the hot air will just cycle inside of your case.
The HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X is 10" long and takes up two PCI slots. It uses the standard PCI connector configuration with dual DVI ports stacked on top of each other then the HDMI and DiplayPort on the side. The HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X has both 6-pin auxiliary power connectors coming out the back. So while it is 1" shorter than a reference HD 5870 the power connectors coming out of the back of the card instead of the top almost surely nixes any advantage it would have.
The back of the HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo X was left uncovered and we can see the eleven bolts that hold down the heatsink It comes with a Quick Install Guide, a Driver and User Guide CD that also includes BumpTop on it, a DVI to D-Sub adapter, two 2 4-pin to 6-pin power adapter, and a Crossfire bridge. It also comes with a game coupon for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.