We tried what we haven't yet: GTX 680 SLI, GTX 670
ASUS GTX 680 TOP (GTX680-DC2T-2GD5) buy cheap online
“ASUS GTX 680 DirectCU II: the coolest and quietest 28nm card” - with this slogan, the manufacturer announces its own GTX 680 family, which of course is equipped with DirectCU II coolers. We come with the strongest version, which boasts the largest factory tuning, which of course can once again boast the “TOP” distinctive sign. As we know, the reference GTX 680 has a 1006 MHz GPU base range and a 1058 MHz Boost Clock, while the 2GB GDDR5 is ticking at 6008 MHz. Well, the engineers didn’t change the RAM clock, but the GPU base clock was sent all the way up to 1137 MHz, which means the Boost Clock could reach the psychological limit of 1201 MHz.
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With this, the GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP is arguably one of the fastest GTX 680s (this is a very nice tuning, a pity that the RAMs haven’t gotten any extra yet). The card is based on a black, custom printed circuit board, in other words, ASUS 'own design. The card is 30 cm long, 13 cm wide and 5,8 cm high with cooling. So it’s not small, make sure we can install it in our housing (and the motherboard is properly laid out as well) and quality power is a basic requirement. NVIDIA discloses a minimum 550 watt power supply in the specification, the power of which can be fed into the GTX 6 DirectCU II TOP via one 8-pin and one 680-pin PCI Express connector, with a maximum power of 195 watts. If you already own the PCB, you have your own power supply.
In the case of the GTX 680 TOP, it consists of a 10-phase Digi + VRM system. This is the already traditional Super Alloy Power from ASUS, which according to the factory description is 15% higher than the reference (during overdrive, the Super Hybrid Engine as a smart controller, switches in real time between high and low intensity power profiles, and up to 15 percent performance increase), two and a half times longer life (Super Alloy capacitors increase card life to 150 hours - two and a half times more than conventional capacitors), and 35 degree lower operating temperatures (Super Alloy components are special reinforced with alloy at high temperatures and pressures to ensure stable, noise-free operation).
In the case of the GTX 680 TOP, it consists of a 10-phase Digi + VRM system. This is the already traditional Super Alloy Power from ASUS, which according to the factory description is 15% higher than the reference (during overdrive, the Super Hybrid Engine as a smart controller, switches in real time between high and low intensity power profiles, and up to 15 percent performance increase), two and a half times longer life (Super Alloy capacitors increase card life to 150 hours - two and a half times more than conventional capacitors), and 35 degree lower operating temperatures (Super Alloy components are special reinforced with alloy at high temperatures and pressures to ensure stable, noise-free operation).
Whether this is exactly the case for a percentage is not known, but it is certain that the Super Alloy Power VRM is made up of quality components, be it a capacitor, spaces or FET, not only for base clock operation, but good tuning potential. also promises, after all, the 3-year manufacturer's warranty cannot be accidental either. There is also a special power supply feature that is only available on a few cards, including the GTX 680 TOP. This is VGA Hotwire. Using the unique VGA Hotwire technology, wires can be soldered directly to the card's voltage regulators to accurately read and control Vcore, Vmem and PLL voltages at the hardware level.
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An additional condition is to have an ROG motherboard, to connect the soldered terminals to the corresponding pin terminals of the ROG board, and to connect the VGA Hotwire DVI terminal to the card, and the extra functions are already available. This is complemented by the OSD key, which allows the monitor to display in OSD the main parameters that the I / O chip can read during operation (voltage, temperatures, frequencies, etc.). The PCB looks pretty much like that, with the GK104 GPU at the top, and then the huge monster, the 2,5-slot DirectCU II variant, rests on it. DirectCU II coolers have been present and proven in the ASUS offer for years, the manufacturer has kept the basic concept throughout and made only minor modifications and repairs.
The essence of DirectCU is already well illustrated by its name, i.e. that the copper heat pipes, which usually weave through a huge aluminum rib, unite at the base and transport heat to the lamellae in direct contact with the surface of the GPU. In this case, this means 3 + 2 thick copper heat pipes. Two 92 mm, PWM-controlled, silent fans are placed on the rib system, and then the cover plate closes the DirectCU II. Or, in the case of the GTX 680 TOP, the thing continues even on the back, as the PCB has also been given a “backplate”, which on the one hand protects the PCB and on the other hand further increases the heat transfer. Of course, we get the dual SLI connectors on top of the PCB, and the PCI Express interface is obviously 3.0 standard.
A significant part of the clock front panel is lattice, ie it also provides airflow-improving functions, but we can't complain about the output range here either, as the native HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort and two DVIs satisfy all needs. The box includes a PCI Express power adapter and an extended SLI cable in addition to the installation disc and other software and manuals. Speaking of software. From what has been described, it has already become clear (if anyone had not guessed in advance) that the ASUS GTX 680 TOP is a bull-powered card in itself, where factory tuning is also significant and has a noticeable effect on performance compared to a reference card. However, many don’t get that much either, and they want to squeeze other points, FPSs out of the monster.
There’s nothing stopping it, plus ASUS’s own utility, ASUS GPU Tweak, helps with the operation, which is virtually an overdrive and monitoring application built into the GPU-Z. Not only does it allow you to optimize clocks, voltages, and fan speeds on up to four cards simultaneously, independently, but it also offers two modes of operation (normal and advanced) depending on your experience. For gamers, GPU Tweak also allows in-game video recording * max. With 720p resolution - making it even easier to share videos with others. We also used this for overdriving, but more on that later…
