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It seems obvious, but we have to say it – The Asus Republic Of Gamers MARS II is a product designed specifically for a small, hardcore audience comprised of overclockers, modders and wealthy enthusiast users.
At £1,149 inc vat, 98% of the people reading this review will not be able to afford it. The other 2% will already be online trying to secure a pre-order for one or even two of these cards for their next high end system build. When you get into this specific sector, the price really does become irrelevant.
Asus have an rich heritage of creating some of the most desirable graphics solutions on the market and deservedly so. Their Republic Of Gamers limited edition cards are spectacular showcases of engineering and design prowess, falling well outside Nvidia or AMD's reference specifications. You might think it can't be done, but ASUS will normally find a way.
Nvidia's GTX580 is, in my opinion, the finest video card that they have ever produced. They have taken the excellent reference design and pimped it out in every possible way. The PCB is an immensely tricky custom design which highlights the resourcefulness and intelligence of the ASUS engineering team.
A few months ago I would have questioned the long term risks associated with placing two GTX580's on a single PCB at these speeds, but thanks to a proprietary 21 phase power design, hardcore heatpipe copper coolers and twin 120mm fans, the temperatures never exceeded 85c when gaming. Power delivery has been very stable and performance is much as we would expect from a dual GTX580 solution.
Awarding a score to this product is difficult, because while most of us will look at the price in horror, this card is not targeted at the mainstream high end audience. After all, for £1,149, you could pick up two HD6990's or even three GTX580's, with change left for a new kit of high performance gaming memory. You could even buy a complete new gaming system with monitor for the same price. We could score this card as a ‘5 out of 10' based just on the cost, but this is missing the point completely.
Looking at this product from the point of view as a ‘value for money' proposition is pointless. This is not why it is made, and we can't help but admire ASUS for having the balls to try such radical designs. As a lover of high end hardware, these cards always hit the spot for me, and while I would never buy one myself I can understand why people do. This is a showpiece video card, a testament to what can be achieved if you think outside the limitations of the reference designs.
The Mars II is a stunning piece of engineering and perhaps even a long term investment. A decade down the line, this will be a collectors item and potentially worth a lot more money that it costs today. It might sound like a stretch right now, but we have seen mint condition 3DFX Voodoo cards being sold on Ebay for thousands of pounds.
I am giving this the MUST HAVE award. Obviously not for the general audience reading this, but for the collectors and enthusiast users with high levels of disposable income. I would think all 999 in this limited run will sell out quickly.
Pros:
- Technically, an immensely impressive showcase of ASUS engineering.
- Performance is exceptional.
- Cooler works very well.
- Overclocks well with the supplied software.
- Collectors item, only 999 will be made.
Cons:
- The price.
- It isn't the quietest card you could buy.
- Did we say the price?
Kitguru says: Its fast, its furious and yes, it is also a lot of cash. It isn't as fast as two AMD HD6990's in CrossfireX and costs more, but if you want a rare collectors item and are an Nvidia fanboy, this is is a heck of a card to hang onto.
I do wonder why it’s called a GTX 580×2, because that’s what a 590 is, looks like a massively overclocked 590 with an advanced cooler, also I’m assuming 3 GB total, not per GPU?
Thats a hell of a design from ASUS. scary prce,but I would assume the design, R&D etc alone means they make a loss on this card. Its just a product to show how awesome they are.
Fascinating design
Wow, £1149. thats more than I paid for my full system. Lucky gits who can afford this.
I take it people are put on a waiting list for one of these if they are only makinmg 999 ?
I love reading about these cards. Its the same reason people like top gear. You get to see things you cwn never afford!
My friend is actually considering buying one!
Anyone who spends over a grand on one of these needs their head checked out. Lovely idea but id take two 6990s any day
Anyone who spends over a grand on one of these needs their head checked out. Lovely idea but id take two 6990s any day
Wow everyone seems jealous they cant afford it!
I love the 580 this is such a cool work of art from asus. Shows why they are no1 in the world.
Whats the fuss over? Its nice, and I love reading about it. but no one will buy these. well I mean 999 people probably will, but thats it.
The price is so high because im sure ASUS are making a huge loss. People forget the team has to be paid to design it. This isn’t an nvidia design, so its built from nothing. costs serious cash
I love these cards. Would never buy one (and I probably could if I didnt spend so much on other things).
Excellent work from ASUS. keep doing em !
Well if that doesnt get you hard, I dont know what will.
Really liked the review. the conclusion summed it all up well. people wont buy it, but those who will wont care if it costs more than anything else. they want it cause its rare, exclusive and a custom design. like some cars. plonk a turbo kit on, it might go a bit faster, but its not really needed. doesnt matter, people will buy them.
Asus has had other mars II graphics, in 2009 was mars II 480. Unlikely any mars II will be sold to public. articles refer people to gfx580 matrix, which is single gpu card. seems 10may’11 announcement of mars II was just more fluff, as recent retail announcement to sell mars or matrix game cards, not mars II.
mars II is fastest in world, yet more likely transition card to pci-e3. more developemental, than actual long term product. with 244 watss, should be water cooled.
drashek md
mars II is AN unique work of art… ????? excuse me!! if i pay 1500 $ for a collectors edition graphics card i don’t want it’s silver plate to have grammar error on it !!!