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- Date:
- Monday , October 21, 2013
- Author:
- David Schroth
- Editor:
- Brent Justice
- Share:
ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC Video Card Review
If you are in the market for a new video card with a budget around $250 you have two deals to chose between. The ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC, or the Radeon HD 7950 Boost. Which one will really give you the best gameplay experience for that $250, we pit the two together, overclocking comparisons from both included.
Introduction
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is one of the largest and most successful computer hardware manufacturers in the world. A Taiwan-based company, it manufactures a wide variety of computer hardware, including motherboards, video cards, optical drives, notebooks, networking equipment, barebones desktop, and server systems, among many others.
On our test bench today is the ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC video card.
GeForce GTX 760
The GeForce GTX 760 consists of 6 SMX units and 1,152 CUDA cores. Compared to GeForce GTX 660 Ti the 660 Ti has 1,344 CUDA cores, therefore the GTX 760 has 192 less than the GTX 660 Ti. The GeForce GTX 760 also has 96 texture units and 32 ROPs. The GTX 760 shares the same number of ROPs as the GTX 670 and GTX 680. Compared to a GTX 660 non-Ti the GTX 760 has 16 more texture units and again 8 more ROPs.
The base clock of the GeForce GTX 760 is set to 980MHz with a boost clock of 1033MHz. Of course, we all know these video cards can, and do often run higher than the boost clock in games. There is 2GB of GDDR5 on board (4GB optional) on a 256-bit memory bus! The memory runs at 6GHz giving us 192GB/sec of memory bandwidth. GPU Boost 2.0 is also enabled to dynamically scale the GPU clock speed up based on its temperature and power usage.
Total board power is 170W and requires one 8-pin power connector. In addition, this video card will still support the same 4-display setup that the GTX 660 Ti, GTX 670, and GTX 680 support. You will find 2x DL-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 on board as well as PCI Express 3.0. The GPU is capable of a three way SLI experience.
ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC
The ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC comes equipped with a factory base clock of 1006MHz, a 26MHz increase over stock and a boost clock of 1072MHz, a 39MHz increase over the stock boost clock and features ASUS’s DirectCU II cooling system. It is configured with 2GB GDR5 memory running at a 6.0GHz effective rate. The cooling system is comprised of four heat pipes that carry heat away from the GPU to an array of aluminum fins that are cooled by a pair of fans. ASUS has implemented its Super Alloy Power solution that utilizes choke concrete cores that claims to reduce power noise by 30% and increase durability by 2.5x.
It is worthwhile to point out that there are variations across ASUS’s product lines as to which DirectCU II cooler will be attached to a particular card. In the case of the ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC, it is a 2 slot cooling solution that is smaller and not comparable to the solution found on the Direct CU II flavors of ASUS’s Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition, GeForce GTX 660, 660Ti and 670. Still, there is a larger and more impressive version of the DirectCU II is found on ASUS’s Radeon HD 7970 and GeForce GTX 680 series cards.
The ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC comes with a 3 year factory warranty and is currently available on Amazon for $259.99 before a $10 mail in rebate. Batman Arkham Origins is also included with the purchase of the card.
ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC Images
The ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC is packaged in a black box that has been clawed by a seemingly impressive animal (or dinosaur) with three claws. The front of the box highlights some of the features of the card including the 2GB of RAM, the DirectCU II cooling solution, Super Alloy Power and GPU Tweak. Inside the box, ASUS included a quick start guide, driver CD and a dual 6 pin PCI-e to 8 pin PCI-e adapter.
The front of the ASUS GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC features a textured matte black plastic cover that serves to house the fan and cover the heatsink. The cooling solution utilizes four heat pipes to pull heat way from the GPU to where it can be cooled by the dual fans. The cooling solution extends about an inch beyond the back of the PCB.
You will see the "Direct Power" module on the back of this video card. This is a new technology from ASUS that "ensures stable performance with 56% less impedance and a 17% cooler PCB."
On the I/O panel there are four ports. These include one DP port, one DVI-D port, one DVI-I connector, and one HDMI connector. The power connector is on top of the video card and requires a single 8-pin PCI-e connection. This is uncommon, and the first time we've seen a single 8-pin connector, rather than two 6-pins. The video card’s measurements are 8.5 inches in Length, 1.5 inches Wide, and 5 inches in height.
