14 DAY TRIAL // The GeForce GTX 970 graphics card from NVIDIA is a high-end video adapter model, so it's not meant to have all its resources crammed into a short PCB. ASUS decided to do it anyway though.
While once upon a time all high-end PCs had mid-tower or larger cases, there are many people nowadays who like their PCs small but still powerful.
That's why there are low profile and short-PCB versions of products that would otherwise be long enough to pose issues to most cases lacking in removable drive cages.
ASUS has just released a short-PCB version of the GeForce GTX 970 video board, one that is also tweaked to run a bit faster than normal despite that.
The ASUS GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini
Bearing the model number GTX970-DCMOC-4GD5, the GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini has the GM204-200 graphics processing unit clocked at 1,088 MHz, with the ability to jump to 1,228 MHz in a pinch.
The regular GTX 970 from NVIDIA operates at 1,050 MHz and 1,178 MHz, respectively, so that's quite a jump, especially for the latter.
Of course, this would not have been possible without the DirectCU Mini cooler, which reduces heat by around 20% compared to reference boards, and does it quietly to boot.
Moreover, power delivery components made from better alloys than normal permit for 15% faster performance and 2.5 times longer lifespan. A solid matte back-plate completes the picture.
Back to the GPU, it has all the internal parts accounted for (1,664 CUDA cores, 104 TMUs, 64 ROPs) and uses an interface of 256 bits to control 4 GB of GDDR5 whose own clock is of 7,010 MHz.
Everything gets power through a single 8-pin PCI Express connector, since the TDP is of 165W, much lower than the 250W of Kapler-based adapters.
Availability and pricing
The ASUS GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU Mini, with its HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, as well as two dual-link DVI ports, should be up for sale soon, but we can't be totally sure.
While ASUS did post a product page on its website, with all the technical information, it didn't hand out any availability or pricing details.
We can only presume that the tag will be a bit higher than the $329 / €329 required by the reference stock. Despite the smaller PCB, the new ASUS model is certainly superior in every way, so the printed circuit board is actually an advantage warranting a price premium, not a cut.
