Asus ROG Matrix GTX 980 ti Platinum Edition review – fearsome power from Asus’s flagship overclocking card
“Is it heavy?” asks Donald Gennaro to juvenile dino snack Timmy in one of Jurassic Park’s less quotable scenes. “Then it’s expensive – put it back.” This will also be your first thought when holding Asus’s enormous Republic of Gamers branded Matrix GTX 980 ti Platinum edition. Its weight and dimensions convey a level of power that verges on intimidating. Do you really need such a behemoth in your PC case? Do you deserve one? I’ll refrain from venturing an answer to the latter and instead focus on the performance, cooling, and overclocking potential of this impressive GPU.
Have your sights set slightly further down NVIDIA’s current product lineup? Check out our GTX 970 group test.
First things first: let’s establish exactly where NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 980 ti sits in the graphics giant’s current pecking order. At the very top sits the Titan X, a 12GB Maxwell card with an imposing £850+ price tag on UK shores. It isn’t really intended as a consumer solution for a gaming machine, but rather a bit of muscle-flexing on NVIDIA’s part. It’s a card that demonstrates the absolute apex of the company’s gaming graphics architecture tech, a weapon in their perpetual arms race with AMD. The important thing from a gamer’s perspective is that tech from the Titan X drips down into other, more affordable cards.
That’s where the 980 ti comes in. Architecturally it has more in common with the Titan X than its cheaper namesake, the GTX 980, built with 6GB GDDR5 memory,2816 CUDA cores (compared to the GTX 980’s2048) and 22 streaming multiprocessors. Line the three top-end NVIDIA cards up next to each other, and you’ll see the 980 ti’s specs come much closer to the Titan X than the 980.
What Asus’s own take on the reference card does is narrow that gap further still. The PCB has the same number of CUDA cores, SM units and the like as NVIDIA’s reference GTX 980 ti, but Asus have really gone to town adding extras that raise the ceiling for stable overlocked core and memory values.
So while it certainly occupies the nosebleed end of the graphics card at around £650, the ROG Matrix GTX 980 ti Platinum Edition does justify its pricing when you factor in how close it comes to Titan X performance levels.
At the heart of the ROG Matrix (let’s just call it that from this point, shall we?) is Asus’s own DirectCU II cooler design, which the company claims is 30% cooler and three times quieter than NVIDIA’s reference model. With DirectCU II, four 10mm copper heat pipes touch the GPU directly rather than via a copper base plate, transferring the heat towards a ‘wing blade’ fan design that generates 105% more air pressure than stock fans, generating a more powerful air flow.
What it means in real life: the ROG Matrix does indeed run cold and quiet, rarely topping 60 degrees celcius even at our highest stable overclocked settings under load, and idling at under 30 degrees. For a card with such a volume of heat-generating capacitors on its PCB, that’s very impressive.
The fan isn’t working particularly hard to achieve that, either – when left to MSI Afterburner’s auto setting, fan speed didn’t go far beyond 50% under load, and is barely audible from within a PC case even then.
However, in our test machine the card does suffer some coil whine under load. It’s hard to tell whether to place the blame on the Corsair AX1200 PSU – which is known to produce whine – or the card itself. The power supply doesn’t emit coil whine with older, less powerful GPUs installed, so it may be a power draw issue. Some users have reported similar issues with this card, but I’m hesitant to attribute the issue directly to the GPU rather than power supply. Depending on your exact hardware configuration, it’s something that may crop up.
Honestly though, I can deal with donning a headset to eliminate a little coil whine when the gaming performances are this good. The DirectCU II cooler has allowed Asus to boost the base and boost core clock values from the reference card’s default 1000/1075MHz to a mighty impressive 1291/1317MHz.
The memory too has been tweaked from 7000MHz (reference) to 7200MHz. Anyone who’s overclocked graphics cards will appreciate that the out-of-the-box overclocked values here are massive, particularly the core clock.
Those boosted clock values translate to a significant gaming performance increase. I’m talking significant. Before we get to our own benchmarks, it’s worth noting that in Asus’s own testing the ROG Matrix performed 21.6% faster than NVIDIA’s GTX 980 ti reference model running The Witcher 3 at high settings and 1080p, with an average frame rate of 82.7 compared to the reference’s (nontheless impressive) 68. It’s 18.4% faster running GTA V at 1080p and 2xMSAA, too. But let’s not take Asus’s word for it: onto our benchmarking.
Our test rig comprises an Intel Core i7 2600K @ 4.7GHz, 16GB RAM, Asus Sabertooth Z77 mobo and 1200W PSU, outputting to a 2560 x 1440 monitor. The ROG Matrix doesn’t even break stride at that resolution, as our results demonstrate:
Heaven 4.
0 benchmark – 2560 x 1440, max settings, extreme tessellation, 4xAA
Stock:
Average: 74.5
Min: 23.0
Max: 164.0
Overclocked:
Average: 75.4
Min: 24.6
Max: 171.8
Total War: Rome II – 2560 x 1440, max settings
Stock:
Average: 57.4
Min: 30.0
Max: 84
Overclocked:
Average: 56.8
Min: 39.0
Max: 85.0
Tomb Raider – 2560 x 1440, max settings, TressFX enabled
Stock:
Average: 96.0
Min: 72
Max: 122
Overclocked:
Average: 97.9
Min: 74.0
Max: 122.0
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor – 2560 x 1440, max settings
Stock:
Average: 81.04
Min: 50.56
Max: 111.59
Overclocked:
Average: 83.08
Min: 47.87
Max: 114.04
Ashes of the Singularity – 2560 x 1440, ‘crazy’ settings
Stock:
Average: 29.
1
Overclocked:
Average: 29.1
What the above results demonstrate is that the ROG Matrix is a future-proof – bullet-proof, even – solution to 1440p gaming. And, if you’re prepared to game at 30 rather than 60, even 4K gaming. What’s more, the performance you’re paying for over the 980 ti reference design is right there from the off; you don’t have to go hunting for it by overclocking or over-volting.
What I found disconcerting initially, though, was that despite the card’s many overclocking-focused features (more on that in a second), I wasn’t able to push the core clock or memory values much beyond what Asus has already managed. At first I loaded Asus’s GPU Tweak software and experimented with both the one-click and manual overclocking options, but found certain settings reset and the card was downclocked upon Windows startup – an issue others have also encountered.
However, by default I use MSI Afterburner to change values and Heaven 4.
0 for stress-testing, so I reverted to my old faithful. Sure enough, I was able to boost the power limit and core voltage significantly. In fact, the card has a ‘safe mode’ button tucked away on its PCB so you can reset all default values and voltages if you push it too hard, and that lends a lot of confidence when pushing the mV envelope.
MSI Afterburner boosted the core clock by 50MHz and the memory by 100MHz before artefacting and system hangs began to creep in. That might not seem like a huge boost, but it’s crucial to remember that the card’s been pushed way, way beyond reference card values already by Asus. Achieving a stable 1367 boosted core clock, and keeping the temp under 65 degrees while you’re at it, is nothing short of miraculous.
The ROG Matrix’s LED indicator lets you keep an eye on how hard it’s having to work at a given time, and when you’ve successfully activated safe mode. It’s a tasteful use of the Maxwell coloured LED functionality, and personally I much prefer this to any gaudy lighting implemented purely for aesthetic purposes.
It’s also equipped with a memory defroster for sub-zero overclocking. I’ll be completely honest here: I did not test this one out, because the very idea terrifies me, thankyouverymuch. A welcome addition, nontheless.
Verdict
Okay, so we’re not talking about a thrifty purchase here. No amount of overclocking capability or sky high frame rates are going to diminish that mighty £650 price tag. But as we as gamer are coming to demand higher standards of frame rate stability and buying into higher native resolutions, it’s becoming increasingly de rigueur to drop similar figures on a pair of GTX 970s, for example, which would set you back a similar figure.
What Asus offers with its fearsome take on NVIDIA’s reference card is a GPU that narrows the gap between GTX 980 ti and Titan X SKUs, bolstered by welcome extras and a level of construction quality that’s evident when you hold it in your hands. If you’re shopping around at this price range, the gains on NVIDIA’s reference card clock values really do justify the ROG Matrix’s positioning.
ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Review
Article Index:
- 1 – Gallery
- 2 – GPU Data
- 3 – Benchmarks
- 4 – Burn-in Test
- 5 – Conclusion
Today, a quick review about the GTX 980 Ti, the latest big GeForce GPU that has been released 10 days ago. I tested a sample from ASUS few hours yesterday afternoon.
ASUS GTX 980 Ti is based on the big Maxwell GPU, the GM200 like the GTX Titan X. But compared to the Titan X, the GTX 980 Ti has less CUDA cores (only 2816) and less texture units (176). The GTX 980 Ti has twice less VRAM: 6GB of GDDR5 graphics memory. But these limitations do not prevent this card to be one of the fastest graphics hardware on the market.
1 – Gallery
Let’s start with the unboxing and bundle:
The bundle is simple, no fantasy or geeky stuff, we are serious at ASUS. The bundle includes the graphics card, a HDMI 2 DVI converter, a power connector, a quick doc and a CDROM with drivers and utils (GPU Tweak).
ASUS GTX 980 Ti comes with NVIDIA’s reference VGA cooler. This VGA cooler has a LED GEFORCE GTX logo that can be controlled by various software as well as by programming (see this GLSL Hacker demo that synchronize the LED with music!):
The GTX 980 Ti has 3 x DisplayPort 1.2 ports, 1 x HDMI 2.0 (useful for 4K @ 60Hz) and 1 x DVI:
This GTX 980 Ti card does not have a backplate that brings both mechanical protection and heat dissipation. Too bad for this kind of high end gaming weapon:
The board requires two additional power connectors: 1 x 8-pin and 1 x 6-pin. The 8-pin power connector can supply up to 150W while the 6-pin is limited to 75W. Summed to the 75W of the PCI-Express slot, the board can draw up to 250W which is the TDP… I think and I hope that custom versions of the GTX 980 Ti will be available with two 8-pin connectors.
2 – GPU Info
Here is a quick recap of the main values reported by GPU Shark, GPU Caps Viewer and GPU-Z:
- Power target – min: 60.0 % TDP, max: 110.0 % TDP
- Core clock – base: 1000MHz, boost: 1075MHz
- Idle GPU temperature: 37°C
- CUDA Cores: 2816 (22 SMX units)
- Texture units: 176
- ROPs: 80
3 – Benchmarks
I benchmarked ASUS GTX 980 Ti with several GPU tests (FurMark, 3DMark, Unigine Valley, Catzilla, AvP and Resident Evil 6). See THIS PAGE for all results in 1920×1080 fullscreen mode. I also tested the GTX 980 Ti with MSI Kombustor 3.5 (Plasma + Julia4D OpenCL) and GPU Test 0.7.0 (Volplosion, Julia FP32/FP64)
In all benchmarks, the GTX 980 Ti is the fastest graphics card.
4 – Burn-in Test
I did a quick burn-in test with the latest FurMark. The GPU core clock is throttled down a bit.
I recently saw a video where NVIDIA’s Tom Petersen explained that the base clock is the minimal core clock speed and it won’t never go below this limit. The base clock for the GTX 980 Ti is 1000MHz. So why do we have 936MHz with FurMark? The throttling is not as sever as on the GiGABYTE BRIX GTX 760, but it’s there.
In idle, the total power consumption of the testbed was 50W and the GPU temperature was 37°C which is good for a big GPU.
When FurMark is running, the CPU pulls around 25W and the total power consumption was 335W (the GPU temperature reached 85°C after few minutes). The efficiency factor of the Corsair AX 860i is 0.92. An estimation of the power consumption of the GTX 980 Ti is:
P = (335-50-25) * 0.92
P = 240W
Here is an infra-red thermal image of the GTX 980 Ti at idle and under load with FurMark:
GTX 980 Ti – idle
GTX 980 Ti – stress test
Under load I measured a noise of 49dB at around 30cm of the graphics card.
It’s not a loud noise and it’s acceptable but we clearly hear it.
5 – Conclusion
No surprise here, this GTX 980 Ti is fast, really fast. This card is very quiet at idle and I appreciate it. Under heavy load the card produces some noise but it’s acceptable. In a closed case and in serious gaming, I’m sure we forget that noise.
This GTX 980 Ti comes with reference clock speeds and reference VGA cooler. Nothing particular here. ASUS is certainly working on a custom GTX 980 Ti so wait and see (Matrix…).
Final Verdict
| 8/10 |
PROS: – GM200 GPU (Maxwell) – 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM – fastest graphics card tested at Geeks3D’s lab – HDMI 2.0 for 4k @ 60 Hz – correct GPU temperature at idle state (37°C) – three DisplayPort connectors and one HDMI connector – quiet VGA cooler at idle CONS: |
This GTX 980 Ti is great card.
But to deserve 9/10 or better 10/10, we have to wait for custom versions by ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE or EVGA (which has already a GTX 980 Ti with a Hybrid VGA cooler) in order to sweep the few CONS I reported…
I’d like to thank the Internex‘s team for this sample.
Review and testing of the ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti video card GECID.com. Page 1
::>Video cards
>2016
> ASUS MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING
05-15-2016
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When choosing a top-end video card for a high-end gaming system or overclocking experiments, the price issue often fades into the background, as users are ready to spend a significant amount of money for excellent performance and do not want to make any compromises.
The ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti (MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING) video card is just such a solution that combines almost all the achievements of ASUS in the production of video cards for maximum effect.
At the time of writing this review, this model is one of the most expensive in the company’s lineup, with the exception of modifications of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X and two more versions of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which we will mention a little later as an alternative. What is the reason for such a cost, and whether the final product justifies it. Let’s figure it out.
ASUS MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING video card specification:
|
Model |
ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti (MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING) |
|
|
Graphics core |
NVIDIA GM200-310 (Maxwell) |
|
|
Number of CUDA cores |
2816 |
|
|
Rated / dynamic frequency of the graphics core, MHz |
«Gaming» |
1190 / 1291 |
|
«OC» |
1216 / 1317 |
|
|
Memory frequency (effective), MHz |
1800 (7200) |
|
|
Memory size, GB |
6 |
|
|
Memory type |
GDDR5 |
|
|
Memory bus width, bit |
384 |
|
|
Memory bandwidth, GB/s |
345. |
|
|
Tire type |
PCI Express 3.0 x16 |
|
|
Image output interfaces |
1 x DVI-I 1 x HDMI 2.0 3 x DisplayPort |
|
|
Minimum power supply unit, W |
600 |
|
|
Dimensions from the official website (according to measurements in our test laboratory), mm |
295.2 x 138.2 x 50.9 (308 x 150) |
|
|
Drivers |
Latest drivers can be downloaded from the ASUS website or the GPU manufacturer’s website |
|
|
Manufacturer website |
ASUS |
|
6 Packaging and contents
The video card comes in a large box corresponding to its flagship status, made of thick cardboard and decorated with laconic and stylish printing with the ASUS ROG line logo.
It features a flip-top lid and a handle for easy carrying.
On the reverse side of the hinged cover, under which there is a small viewing window, there is a description of the main features of the ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti:
- ASUS AUTO-EXTREME with Super Alloy Power II — This model is created on a fully automated line, which guarantees consistent high quality and eliminates harsh chemicals in the production process. In addition, it is based on a high-quality element base (Super Alloy Power II), which makes it possible to further increase the reliability of the novelty.
Example of LED backlighting on ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 9 video card80 Ti
- ROG Color Indicator — Modding enthusiasts should appreciate the ASUS ROG series logo on the side of the graphics card, which is equipped with an LED light that changes color depending on the load.
- Memory Defroster — allows you to warm up video memory chips to improve stability in the very low temperatures that occur when using systems based on liquid nitrogen.
- Safe Mode — allows you to correct the consequences of unsuccessful overclocking by returning to the original BIOS settings of the video card.
The reverse side mentions the technical specification, some advantages of ASUS MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING and a list of system requirements. Based on the recommendations, the power supply in the system must have a power of at least 600 W and deliver at least 42 A through the + 12V line. The tested model also requires two 8-pin PCIe cables.
Included with the graphics adapter, we found the standard documentation, an invite code for receiving gifts in the World of Warships game (the Diana cruiser and 15 days of premium access), a software disk and a couple of power adapters.
To display an image on the tested model, a reference set of interfaces is used:
- 1 x DVI-I;
- 1 x HDMI 2.
0; - 3 x DisplayPort.
The following resolutions are supported:
- digital — up to 5120 x 3200;
- analog — up to 2048 x 1536.
Appearance and element base
The ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti model is made on the original black printed circuit board with a reference layout principle. Externally, the board is very similar to the one used in ASUS STRIX-GTX980TI-DC3OC-6GD5-GAMING. Another proprietary modification NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, ASUS POSEIDON-GTX980TI-P-6GD5, is characterized by a much more compact size.
The component base used corresponds to the Super Alloy Power II proprietary concept and includes exclusively high-quality components: solid and tantalum-polymer capacitors, IOR 3555M microcircuits and ferrite core chokes. This improves the stability and reliability of the graphics adapter as a whole, and also extends its service life.
Such large dimensions of the printed circuit board are easily explained by a reinforced 12+2-phase circuit, where 12 phases are responsible for powering the graphics core, and 2 are for the video memory subsystem.
Recall that the power supply of the reference NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti is made according to the 6 + 2-phase scheme.
The core power subsystem is implemented on the DIGI + VRM ASP1212 digital PWM controller manufactured by International Rectifier, which has a number of protective technologies: OVP (overvoltage), UVP (undervoltage), OCP (overcurrent) and OTP (from elevated temperature). Since it provides support for a maximum of eight phases, the principle of doubling is used in this case.
The graphics adapter under test is powered by a PCI Express x16 slot and two 8-pin PCIe connectors located on the side of the board. In turn, the reference version manages only one reinforced 8-pin and one 6-pin connector.
Separately, we note the 4-pin auxiliary power connector, which is necessary for the correct operation of the mentioned Memory Defroster technology, as well as the “Safe Mode” activation button.
On the top side of the circuit board is the «LN2» mode switch, which is designed for extreme overclocking.
It removes all restrictions on increasing the parameters of the video adapter, which allows you to achieve better results at your own peril and risk.
NVIDIA SLI technology uses two connectors to connect the corresponding bridges, which allow you to combine up to three video accelerators for joint calculation of graphic effects.
The reverse side of the ASUS MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING, originally covered by the base plate, is notable for a number of electrical components, including the tantalum-polymer capacitors mentioned above.
The tested model is based on the NVIDIA GM200-310 (Maxwell) GPU manufactured using the 28nm process technology. It includes 2816 CUDA cores, 96 rasterization units and 176 texture units. By default, ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GTX 980 Ti (MATRIX-GTX980TI-P-6GD5-GAMING) is set to «OC» mode, in which the base frequency of the GPU is increased from the nominal 1000 to 1216 MHz, and the dynamic frequency from 1076 to 1317 MHz.
In the ASUS GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster utility, you can also enable the «Gaming» profile with speeds of 1190 and 1291 MHz, respectively.
6 GB total memory built using 12 SK hynix H5GQ4h34MFR-R2C chips, 4 GB each. According to the documentation, their effective frequency is 7000 MHz, but in this case it was increased to 7200 MHz. Communication between the GPU and memory is done over a 384-bit bus that is capable of 345.6 GB/s (reference is 336.6 GB/s).
Cooling system
The video accelerator with DirectCU II proprietary cooling system installed takes up two expansion slots and has a total length of 308 mm (according to measurements in our test lab).
The cooler consists of a fairly large radiator, which uses 53 longitudinal aluminum plates, two fans with an impeller diameter of 94 mm and a plastic casing that covers the entire structure from above.
The turntables themselves are manufactured by FirstDo and are marked «FD10015h22S».
Judging by the letter «S» in the name, they are built on plain bearings (Sleeve bearing). The nominal voltage of their operation is 12 V, and the current strength is 0.55 A, which results in a power of 6.6 watts.
Five copper heat pipes with a diameter of 6-8-8-10-6 mm are used to evenly distribute heat over the entire area of the radiator. By default, DirectCU II coolers use a scheme for direct contact with the surface of the GPU through a small layer of thermal paste.
To improve heat transfer efficiency, heat pipes are securely soldered to aluminum heatsink fins and copper base. In addition, they are not only covered with a layer of nickel to prevent oxidative processes, but also painted black for a more spectacular appearance.
For additional cooling of the elements of the power subsystem, a separate low-profile heatsink with a thermal interface on the back is used, but the memory chips, unfortunately, lack any additional cooling.
With automatic fan speed control, in the maximum load mode, the graphics core heated up to 65°C, and the cooler, judging by the monitoring readings, worked at 49% of its maximum power. The emitted noise was below average, and it was barely distinguishable against the background of other components of the system.
The result is very good for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti series models. For example, ASUS POSEIDON-GTX9 hybrid cooler80TI-P-6GD5 in a similar mode ensures the operation of a GPU overclocked to 1114 MHz at a temperature of 80 ° C, and the cooling system of the ASUS STRIX-GTX980TI-DC3OC-6GD5-GAMING video card with three 88 mm fans kept the temperature of the graphics core overclocked to 1216 MHz at around 79°C.
After forcibly increasing the fan speed to the maximum level, the GPU temperature dropped to 53°C. At the same time, the noise level also increased markedly, which exceeded the average and became not very comfortable for prolonged use.
The domestic competitors mentioned above could only reach 71°C in the same mode. Recall that the critical temperature for the NVIDIA GM200-310 GPU is 92°C.
When there is no load, the graphics core and memory frequencies are automatically reduced to reduce their power consumption and heat dissipation. In this mode, the temperature of the GPU did not exceed 29 ° C, and the video card worked absolutely silently.
As a result, DirectCU II’s proprietary cooling system proved to be the best, providing not only very comfortable temperatures, but also demonstrating low noise levels in everyday use.
Overview of video card ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum
The fastest single-chip video card is a good object for manufacturers to experiment with. NVIDIA allows companies to customize their GeForce GTX 980 Ti adapters at their discretion, and the graphics card market leaders do not miss this opportunity. We have already considered a thoroughly redesigned version by ASUS.
Quite recently, the Taiwanese company introduced another original model worthy of the attention of the most demanding users — ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum . Let’s see what the novelty is capable of.
ZMIST
- 1 Design, layout and TTX
- 2 Supply set
- 3 in work
- 4 Acceleration
- 6 Video review ASUS MATRIX 980 TI Platinum
- 7 provided by ASUS, www.asus.ua
Design, layout and TTX
Not so long ago we tested the ASUS STRIX GTX 9 graphics card80 Ti Platinum. Seriously boosted version with an exclusive cooler and enhanced element base. High factory overclocking gave very good results.
course
UI/UX Design
REGISTER!
To be honest, it was somewhat surprising to see absolutely identical frequency formula in ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum.
The base frequency of the GM200 GPU is 1216 MHz instead of the recommended 1000 MHz.
Nearly 22% growth is a very rare case. As a rule, manufacturers are content with much lower values in order to distinguish their products from the cohort of devices with standard frequencies. The average value of the chip acceleration is 1317 MHz. The video card is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is also accelerated by the manufacturer. Chips operate at an effective frequency of 7200 MHz, instead of 7000 MHz.
An original air cooler from the DirectCU II family is used to cool the video card. It includes a massive heatsink with an array of aluminum fins connected by five heat pipes. One of them has a diameter of 10 mm, two more — 8 mm and a pair of 6 mm. The three largest tubes are in direct contact with the processor’s silicon die. The 6mm ones do not work at full efficiency, but they definitely speed up the transfer of heat from the heating zone to the radiator block.
It would be naive to believe that the manufacturer did not provide an additional heat-spreading cover solely for selfish purposes to save money.
Direct contact technology has quite obvious advantages. In this case, there is no one more additional link with its own thermal conductivity parameters, which slow down the process of heat transfer. The disadvantages include not the maximum contact area of the crystal with the heat sink. There is still a groove between the tubes, although with good surface treatment they are minimal and filled with heat-conducting paste. In our case, there were no visual problems with contact. It will be possible to talk about efficiency based on the results of practical work.
The whole structure is blown by a pair of 100 mm axial fans with large blades made using Wing-blade technology.
Special flanges are provided on the edge of the impeller. According to the manufacturer, the profile modified in this way allows you to increase the strength of the air flow.
The top of the video card is covered with a protective plastic cover. The casing profile is recognizable from the previously reviewed models of the MATRIX family, with the only difference being that this time the panel is decorated with decorative elements not of the traditional red for ROG products, but of orange.
The PCB layout is very similar to that of the GTX 980 Ti version of STRIX, but there are also quite a few differences in the details. The original PCB has a noticeably increased width. The power subsystem is also built according to a 14-channel scheme. At the same time, 12 phases are responsible for stabilizing the power of the GPU, two more are allocated for memory.
The VRM element base corresponds to the Super Alloy Power II concept. DrMOS power assemblies are additionally cooled with a separate heatsink. An LN2 jumper is located at the top edge of the board, allowing you to use the optimal mode when the video card is cooled with liquid nitrogen.
For lovers of extreme overclocking, the Memory Defroster technology is implemented, which allows to avoid problems with the operation of memory chips at low temperatures. In this case, the area where the memory chips are located is additionally warmed up. For this mechanism to work, you need to connect an additional 4-pin Molex connector to the corresponding connector at the edge of the video card, and also move the switch slider.
For enthusiasts ready for serious experiments, the Safe Boot key, which allows you to return to the factory settings of frequencies and voltages, will not be superfluous.
As you can see, in the case of MATRIX, additional emphasis is placed on auxiliary overclocking devices that facilitate the process of extreme overclocking. Given that the STRIX GTX 980 Ti version has already been used to set world records in a number of disciplines, then MATRIX will certainly be even more successful in this field.
All memory chips are placed on the front surface of the board. 12 SKhynix H5GQ4h34MFR-R2C chips are arranged in a U-shape around the GPU. Additional cooling for chips is not provided. The chips are blown by the air stream emanating from the fans.
At the top edge of the video card there are two connectors for connecting SLI bridges, which implies the possibility of a bundle of 3 or 4 adapters, but definitely not with standard cooling.
To connect additional power to the PCB, there are two 8-pin connectors.
Traditionally, the power connectors are equipped with an additional indication system. Next to the connectors there are LED pairs. White lights up if the 12 V power line is connected, and red lights up if you have not yet connected the power cable.
As for the requirements for the power supply, there are no special nuances here. The manufacturer recommends using a PSU with a power of 600 W or more, which can deliver up to 42 A via a 12 V line.
A metal bracket is provided for the video card, connecting the printed circuit board and the interface panel. An additional strut increases the overall rigidity of the structure. With the considerable dimensions of the video card, such an amplifier will not be superfluous.
A perforated metal plate is fixed on the back of the video card, which also increases strength and protects against mechanical damage.
Of the additional decorative elements, we note the presence of an indicator that displays the degree of load of the graphics processor.
On the upper end of the video card, the illuminated logo and the name of the game series change their color in different operating modes.
Turquoise indicator lights up in idle mode, glows orange in moderate load, and lights up in red when the GPU is busy with serious calculations. The green indicator color is provided for cases when Safe Mode is activated.
The interface panel of the video card provides five digital video outputs — DVI-I, HDMI 2.0 and three full-length DisplayPort 1.2. Part of the panel is occupied by an air outlet grille.
ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum is quite large. The length of the video card is almost 300 mm, so before buying it will not be superfluous to make sure that your case is spacious.
Attention should also be paid to the fact that the video card is 2.5-slot and in fact occupies all three expansion slots.
The manufacturer has significantly increased the thickness of the radiator block, increasing the efficiency of the cooler, but such a process has a downside.
Package Contents
The video card is supplied in a large box with a typical Republic Of Gamers packaging design. Behind the hinged cover you can see the adapter.
The video card comes with two adapters from a pair of 6-pin connectors to one 8-pin connector, a quick guide, a CD with drivers and software, as well as an instruction with the sequence of obtaining the necessary «buns» in the World Of Warships game.
In progress
Offering ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum, the manufacturer moved away from the now popular concept of a hybrid cooling system, according to which the fans stop when there is no load. In this case, the fans work even in idle mode.
The minimum rotation speed is about 1050 rpm. In such conditions, on an open bench, the graphics processor almost experienced hypothermia — only 27C at 23C indoors.
When using a hybrid CO, the chip often warms up to 45-50 degrees in idle time. The temperature contrast is clearly visible. Surely there will be fans of one and the other way of cooling video cards. The passive mode is certainly good because the adapter is absolutely silent, the active one provides noticeably less heat.
In the case of the ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum, one could safely reduce the rotation speed to 700-800 rpm without much loss of efficiency. At 1070 rpm, the noise emitted is unlikely to be heard from a closed case, but on an open stand it is quite perceptible.
A huge radiator unit with a large dissipation area is bearing fruit. Under gaming load, the GPU warmed up to only 63 degrees. At the same time, the fan speed increased to only 1250 rpm. Excellent overall result. In general, a slight increase in the noise level is felt, but the increment is very moderate.
We want to pay attention to the peak operating frequency of the GPU. The processor is automatically accelerated to 1417 MHz.
And this, for a moment, is an out-of-the-box solution. An excellent indicator. With an identical frequency formula for ASUS STRIX GTX 980 Ti, the graphics processor accelerated up to 1392 MHz under the same conditions. That is, the mechanism of dynamic overclocking GPU Boost 2.0 on MATRIX works even more aggressively. Higher frequencies will bring a little more performance, although the difference will not be significant.
Throttle chants are a very common phenomenon for top-end video cards. Although the tested copy of ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum is not prone to vociferous trills, in some cases under load it was possible to distinguish the characteristic overtone of tensing coils. A good case will certainly stop the undeveloped «variety» talent of the graphics adapter.
Overclocking
Overclocking an overclocked video card from the start is a thankless task, especially under conventional air cooling conditions. However, trying is not torture.
For experiments, we used the proprietary application GPU Tweak II.
In the case of ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum, the utility allows you to increase the supply voltage on the chip to 1.213 V, as well as increase the supply voltage on memory chips from 1.6 V to 1.65 V. In addition, from the standard 1.06 V to 1 .1 V can change the voltage on the bus. And even the clock generator VRM Clock is regulated within 600-1000 kHz at standard 700 kHz.
You can also select multiple work profiles for Express Setup. Gaming Mode assumes frequency formula for chip 1190/1291 MHz, while the memory frequency is also minimally reduced — up to 7152 MHz. The Silent Mode provides for the operation of the GPU with a frequency formula of 1164/1265 MHz and 7100 MHz for memory. Well, this is for those who want to slow down. We wanted to get the opposite results, so we first increased the Power Target to the limit of 110%, and also increased the supply voltage on the chip to the maximum (1.213 V). After that, the base frequency of the GPU was increased to 1265 MHz.
This is slightly less than what we managed to get on STRIX, but due to a more aggressive acceleration algorithm, the graphics chip was boosted to 1480 MHz at the peak.
Whereas the «owl» edition of the video card was limited to 1465 MHz.
The final actual result is still more important, especially considering that 1480 MHz is the frequency at which the chip operates for a long time, and does not periodically reach. It’s nice that after overclocking, the GPU warmed up to only 65 degrees, although the fan speed grew to 1350 rpm.
Memory chips overclocked very well. After increasing the supply voltage to 1.65 V, the operating frequency of the chips was raised to 8300 MHz (+15.3%). In this case, the throughput of the subsystem increased to almost 400 GB / s.
Performance
The capabilities of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti are already familiar to us. The top model of the NVIDIA gaming line is good by default, and after a very serious factory overclocking it becomes even more beautiful. You can’t keep up with the green bars of the tuned model from ASUS.
The performance characteristic of the reference GTX 980 Ti could not be obtained — the video card does not allow regular means to reduce the GPU clock frequency so much.
As a first approximation, ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum will be about 15-20% faster than video cards with the recommended frequency formula. Such an increase is akin to moving to the next level, but the GTX 980 Ti is already in the top, so you can compete with yourself.
GeForce GTX TITAN X offers an average of + 5-7% to the results of the reference GTX 980 Ti, so even hypothetically it has no chance against a forced forced video card.
The charts show the results for the GeForce GTX 780. This model topped NVIDIA’s graphics series just 2.5 years ago. As you can see, the boosted GeForce GTX 980 Ti has almost a twofold advantage over the video card that was introduced not so long ago, had an identical starting price of $649 and a TDP of 250W. This is about the modest progress of discrete graphics.
Video review ASUS MATRIX GTX 980 Ti Platinum
Results
The GeForce GTX 980 Ti is pretty good overall.