When a new GPU launches, most manufacturers ship videocards that look disturbingly similar. That’s because they’re either based on the GPU manufacturer’s reference design or, in the case of the initial Nvidia 480 GTX release, are actually built by the GPU manufacturer.As time goes by, board makers become more comfortable with the GPU’s strengths and weaknesses and gain a better understanding of such issues as how memory clocks match to GPU clocks, which voltages work best for performance and/or product longevity, and so on. While all this is going on, the GPU maker either respins the chip or nails down the manufacturing process. And after a few months, we typically see a spate of custom card designs, often factory overclocked, as vendors seek to distinguish their product from the competition.So it is with the HIS iCooler V Turbo Radeon HD 5870. That big mouthful of product name (let’s just call it the iCooler HD 5870) is built with a non-reference cooling system on top of a blue printed circuit board. Like the stock Radeon HD 5870, HIS’s card offers two DVI ports, one DisplayPort connector, and HDMI.The cowling over the heatsink and fan is emblazoned with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 logo, and you’ll find a key for downloading a free copy of that game from Steam inside the box, along with a CrossFire X connector, power adapters, and a VGA-to-DVI adapter.We compared the iCooler Turbo V’s performance to two other cards: the factory-overclocked XFX Radeon HD 5870 XXX Edition and a conventional Radeon HD 5870.