Unboxing: Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II

 With the arrival of  Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II, you can have Nvidia's new, 2nd generation Maxwell architecture delivering high-end power with low temperatures and power, for all your games.

 I mean, we LOVE games, right?  And in order to max out your favorite titles, you want to drop in a great video card into your precious new rig. Today we open one up with great anticipation.

 

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  We opened up the Strix box to find another box, obviously a decoy to build up suspense, with increased excitement we opened the box inside the box to find another box. No it was not the video card, this is now a treasure hunt.  Tucked away safely under that box and incased in protective foam was the prize.

 

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 We removed the anti-static bag, and voila! Here we have it, introducing the Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II!

 

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    Here is what's bundled in the box;  the Strix GTX 970, software disc and user's guide.

 Featured in the STRIX GTX 970 DirectCU II is the GM204 with new, 2nd generation Maxwell architecture. In the grand scheme of things it is Nvidia's 10th-generation GPU architecture, following Kepler.  So far it has really impressed in reviews, with twice the energy efficiency and better performance per shader than its predecessor, at the same time running very cool. The GTX 750 Ti, for example, the first GPU to use Maxwell (GM207).

     The new GM204 core in the Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II features new Nvidia technologies such as Multi-Frame sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA), Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI), GeForce Experience, Nvidia GameStream, Nvidia G-Sync, Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0, Nvidia Adaptive Vertical Sync, Nvidia Surround with up to Four Monitors, and Nvidia SLI Technology (Click here to find out more). 

 

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     From looking at the card, you can immediately see the quality in ASUS' DirectCU II customized cooling system, from the metal shroud, to the brushed-metal back-plate and the super-fat 10mm heat-pipe.  Even the fans have a dust-proof design to double-seal the hub assembly for reliability and performance.  

ASUS worked particularly hard to reduce the loud fan noise which is usually associated with high-end video cards, and the end result is a 0dB (fan stop) operating mode when doing some light gaming or work, and they only need to fire up to low speeds when the GPU warms up under heavy load. The clean and aggressive black and red aesthetics will compliment almost any system build, while the gorgeous brushed metal back-plate with the logo was made so you can show it off in your gaming rig as that is usually the visible side.

 

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This is a dual-slot card with a DisplayPort, a HDMI port, two DVI ports and an air-vent.

 This Strix GTX 970 uses the GM204-200-A1 variant of the 28nm GM204 GPU, with 4GB of 7GHz (effective) GDDR5 memory, 1664 shader units, 104 TMUs and 64 ROPs.  It is factory-overclocked, with an increased Base Clock (1,050MHz to 1,114MHz) and GPU Boost Clock (1,178MHz to 1,253MHz) compared to the reference design, and built so that there is plenty of headroom beyond the factory-overclocked settings.  It has support for OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL 1.2, Shader Model 5.0 and you will be ready for the exciting Direct X 12 titles coming up soon.

 If you unscrew the heatsink you can see it is 220% larger than the reference design, combined with the the dual fans and ultra-large heat-pipes to dissipate heat. You can clearly see all three heatpipes sit across the GPU core perfectly. 

This thermal design is also up to 30% cooler (around 12 to 15 degrees cooler, depending on your ambient case temp).  Thanks to DirectCU II thermal design, the fans don't have to aggressively ramp the fans, making this 3 times quieter than reference. Additionally a VRM heatsink is added to the Super Alloy Power hardware to further ensure cool and stable operation, whether overclocked (out the box).. or overclocked even more. No memory heatsinks are required as all GDDR5 is rated to 85C and they receive cooling air through the fins from the fans above.

 

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  As you expect there's ASUS' DIGI+ VRM technology, improved quality power delivery components such as SAP 5K capacitors, SAP MOSFET, high performance drivers and SAP alloy chokes, which all translates to reliability, cooler and quieter operation even as you overclock it with precision.

     This card not only contends but beats the GTX 780 Ti  in some games, it only needs a single 8-pin power connector (the reference board uses two 6-pin connectors)! This is certainly the next generation of GPU.  How can you not be excited?  Now building a cool, compact powerhouse is possible without liquid-cooling and less ugly cables.

 

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