14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS has launched a new pair of graphics cards, both of them versions of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 780. One of them has reference specifications, while the other is factory overclocked.
The press kit that ASUS posted for the GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II graphics cards is somewhat bemusing.
We say this because it claims the DirectCU II cooler keeps the boards 30% cooler and three times quieter, but the box art says 20% cooler instead. One of them is a typo, but we're not sure which one.
Anyway, the DirectCU II cooler has a direct-GPU contact 10mm copper heatpipe (40% better heat transfer), an “intricate” heatsink and two CoolTech fans.
It can supposedly run up to three times more quietly than the reference cooler, at heavy load.
Anyway, the card also has a custom-designed PCB (printed circuit board), with DIGI+ VRM digital power delivery, Super Alloy Power components (solid-state capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs).
Overall, the GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II boards have a lifespan 2.5 times longer, though you shouldn't expect any sort of godly warranty plans because of that.
Spec-wise, the boards have NVIDIA GK110-300 GPUs with 2,304 CUDA cores each, 3 GB GDDR5 (again, each), 384-bit memory interfaces, and, of course, GPU Boost 2.0 technology.
For those who want to know the exact specifications, the reference-clocked ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU operates at 863 MHz (Base GPU speed), 900 MHz (GPU Boost speed) and 6 GHz (GDDR5 memory speed).
As for the GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC, it drives the graphics processing unit at 889 MHz (GPU Base) and 941 MHz (GPU Boost). The memory is apparently left alone.
Sadly, prices were not revealed. That;s okay though. We can guess that they will be a bit above $650 / €488 – 650 for the “normal” board, and maybe closer to $700 / €525 – 700 for the OC version. Shipments will start in a few days, so the tags will be revealed by then too.