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To test this high end card today we have built a system with suitable matching components, based around a liquid cooled 12 core Intel i7 970 processor overclocked to 4.33ghz with 6GB of GKILL memory running at 1800mhz with tight timings. We will be mixing the resolutions, as we know that less than 1 percent of the audience have access to a 30 inch screen.
Processor: Core i7 970 @ 4.33ghz
Cooling: Coolit Vantage
Motherboard: MSI X58A-GD65 (MS-7522)
Chassis: Thermaltake Level 10
Power Supply: Corsair Ax1200
Memory: 6GB GSkill Performance Gaming ram @ 902.9 MHz (2:10) @ 7-8-7-24
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V+ 512GB Gen 2 SSD (Storage) / Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB (OS boot)
Monitors: Dell U2410 UltraSharp, LaCie 730, Iiyama Prolite E2472HDD x2
Other graphics cards for comparisons:
Nvidia GTX590
Nvidia GTX580
Nvidia GTX570
XFX HD5970 Black Edition 4GB (QuadFireX)
AMD HD6990
AMD HD6970
AMD HD6950
AMD HD6870
AMD HD6850
AMD HD5870
AMD HD5850
MSI N560GTX Ti Twin Frozr II
nVidia GTX570
nVidia GTX460 OC (715/900)
Software:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
Catalyst 11.4
Forceware 275.33 WHQL
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
ShaderToy
Stone Giant Benchmark
HQV 2.0 Software
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Games:
Mafia 2
Resident Evil 5
Far Cry 2
Alien V Predator
Lost Planet 2
Metro 2033
Dirt 3
STALKER: Clear Sky
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Dead Space 2
Total War: Shogun 2
All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.
Great look card, but it seems overpriced tbh.
Their reputation as one of the finest makers of video cards and motherboards is always strengthened when these reviews appear. The overall design is fantastic and it will be ideal for overclockers. I cant help but feel that those people will ditch the 3 slot cooler for phase however.
Impressive, but the price isn’t quite so appealing. ill stick to the mid/low end I think !
Another dream card I will never be able to afford.
WHile this card is certainly a good showpiece for Asus, its not really practical for the mainstream audience. who cares about soldering? I dont think even most overclockers do. its too high end for 99.9% of the audience. good reading however, thanks.
Great pictures, any chance you could send some of them to me for my desktop? email is in this posting.
Nice looking card indeed. not so sure about the three slot cooler however, is that ‘really’ needed?
Asus get lost with 3 slot cooling on a card which brings nothing new to the market. I could understand 3 slots on GTX590. Why not on such a monster card, but not on 580 (or 570 for that matter). Overpriced like hell.
MSI TwinFrozrIII Lighting GTX580 eats that Asus for breakfast.
Looks like the MSI Lightning 580 is still a better card, mine stays under 65 degrees at 900mhz core while the card is still only double slot.
chance you could send some of them to me for my desktop?