Low noise, high performance
I have to admit, even though I'm rocking a pair of very capable GeForce GTX 780 Ti graphics cards, some of the fancy GeForce GTX 980 Ti options have me thinking about upgrading. Specifically, EVGA earlier this week announced its dual-BIOS GeForce GTX 980 Ti Classified that's built for overclocking, and now Asus is flaunting its factory overclocked Strix GeForce GTX 980 Ti with DirectCU III technology.
DirectCU III is Asus' newest generation air cooling solution for graphics cards. According to Asus, it boasts a 220 percent bigger cooling surface area for better heat dissipation and runs 30 percent cooler when compared to reference. It's also supposed to be quiet courtesy of its wing-blade 0dB fan technology.
"The new and improved technology helps increase air pressure on the fans by 105 percent, ensuring that hot air is quickly and effectively moved through the fins of the heat sink," Asus explains. "Since the card is so effectively cooled, the fans on the card will not spin up unless the card reaches 65C or higher, allowing for absolute 0dB silence when it’s below that."
The Strix GTX 980 Ti sports a 12+2 power phase design (reference cards are built with 8+2 power phase designs) and high quality "Super Alloy Power II" components to reduce power power and buzzing under load.
Asus also includes what it calls a GPU fortifier and strengthened backplate to protect the GPU and keep the card from bending over time. And for what's it worth, the company brags about the manufacturing being fully automated.
"Strix GTX 980 Ti benefits from Asus' exclusive Auto-Extreme technology, the industry’s first 100 percent automated manufacturing process that removes human fallibility from the production line for consistent perfection — making it ultra-reliable in all scenarios, from general everyday use to hardcore gaming and overclocking.," Asus says. "Auto-Extreme technology eliminates flux to minimize dust buildup and oxidization, and makes the rear side of the graphics card’s printed-circuit board totally smooth, increasing comfort for system-builders and enhancing overclocking capability by freeing space to add POSCAP capacitors. This new manufacturing process is also environmentally friendly, eliminating harsh chemicals and reducing power consumption by 50 percent."
In OC mode, the Strix GTX 980 Ti runs a base clockspeed of 1,216MHz and boost clockspeed of 1,317MHz, up from 1,000MHz and 1,075MHz on reference. That's 216MHz faster for the base and 242MHz for boost. It's also faster than the aforementioned EVGA card, which runs at 1,190MHz (base) and 1,291MHz (boost).
Asus says the Strix GTX 980 Ti will be available sometime this month. No word yet on price.
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From maximumpc
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