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Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx. $555 – [easyazon_link identifier=”B00O4S9NY8″ locale=”US” tag=”back2gaming-20″]Amazon[/easyazon_link] PH – Approx. Php32,000
[/signoff][section label=”Introduction”]
The Maxwell architecture is NVIDIA’s greatest achievement as of late given its efficiency compared to the last generation. While it doesn’t serve as a great leap in terms of performance, many people are still convinced by the excellent performance-per-watt ratio. Both the GTX 980 and GTX 970 have been largely in-demand primarily for the efficiency but the Maxwell-based GTX GPUs also introduced some new features including NVIDIA Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI), Multi-Frame sampled AA (MFAA), and Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR). Maxwell GPUs also support Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 12 API.
About the ASUS Strix GTX 980
The ASUS Strix GTX 980 is a high-end customized graphics card featuring the Strix DirectCUII silent cooler. The ASUS Strix GTX 980 is factory overclocked with a 1178Mhz base clock and boost clock of 1279Mhz. This is 63Mhz higher than the reference GTX 980. Full 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM is wired via a 7010Mhz 256bit wide bus. A 10-phase PWM gives this card plenty of juice and the beefy cooler keeps it cool under load while being dead quiet.
- 1279 MHz Boost clock for better performance and outstanding gaming experience.
- DirectCU II with 0dB fan technology lets you enjoy light games in complete silence, and hardcore gaming 30% cooler with 3X-quieter performance!
- DIGI+ VRM with 10-phase Super Alloy Power delivers precise digital power for superior efficiency, reliability, and performance.
- GPU Tweak helps you modify clock speeds, voltages, fan performance and more, all via an intuitive interface.
- GPU Tweak Streaming share on-screen action in real time – so others can watch live as games are played.
[section label=”Product Gallery”]
Product Gallery
Overclocking
Overclocking any graphics card is pretty straightforward nowadays provided you know what to do and given that most companies also have their own overclocking software, makes it so much more approachable. We use the latest GPU Tweak software for this test.
[one_half]
As we’ve seen from our other reviews, Maxwell GPUs overclock really, really well. And the ASUS Strix GTX 980 with its beefier cooler should have plenty of headroom for a bit more push unless ASUS’ factory OC leaves a little wiggle room. Pushing to 1350Mhz, we got our card to go game and benchmark stable. We pushed the memory to 8000Mhz, too artifacting quickly set in so we had to dial back just a bit to 7800Mhz. Still a nice bump from the stock clocks.
[section label=”Performance Testing 1080P”]PERFORMANCE
Test Setup Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard: MSI Z77 Mpower
Memory: Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3-2400 16GB
Storage: Kingston HyperX FURY 240GB
PSU: Seasonic P1000
Cooling: Custom loop (XSPC Raystorm block, XSPC D5 Dual Bayres, BlackIce Stealth GT 240 rad)
Monitor: LG 42UB820T UltraHD TV
VGA: ASUS STRIX GTX 980
We test our graphics card with a full-level playthrough of our selected game or the games’ built-in benchmark tool. We record the run with Fraps. Game settings are indicated in the charts. Resolutions are shown in the charts. Unlike our standard benchmarks. For this tests, we’ve changed a few things so some of games that we follow built-in options we’ve retained results from other results but for those other games that we’ve changed options, we’ve provided newer results and indicated settings also.
FullHD (1920×1080)
[tabs] [tab title=”Battlefield 4″]Battlefield 4 is one of the hottest titles of 2013 and continues to prove itself a worthy game. Based on DICE’s Frostbite Engine 3, this game’s lush details and visuals are just stunning but can really stress any modern GPU. Level tested is the escape from Baku with wide open space and collapsing building showing what the Frostbite 3 engine can do.
The most visually intense game to ever been made. Prophet is back to take on the Ceph and Cell after a long sleep and the world isn’t what it was when before he got frozen. CryEngine 3 is behind this beautiful beast that will put a lot of systems to their knees. The opening level shows off the particle and water rendering of the engine.
The reboot of the gaming phenomenon Tomb Raider puts players in Lara Croft’s hiking boots as she explores the ruin of Yamatai in this origins game. Powered by a modified Crystal Engine, the game features TressFX which creates beautifully rendered hair animation.
The most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports; DOTA 2 is powered by the Source engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out with heavy action on screen especially during clashes can really stress some systsems.
We use the built-in timedemo and benchmarking tool. DOTA2 only shows average FPS so we will be reflecting that in this test. Our timedemo features a heavy clash in the bottom lane for the maximum real-world system load the game can generate. With the recent visual update, DOTA2 has received some graphic makeover that adds a bit of hit for the system and all our date are updated to reflect this.
Batman: Arkham Origins is the prequel to the highly successful Arkham series of Batman games from RockSteady. Rocking Unreal Engine 3, the game has superb detail and puts a decent load on modern systems.
Ubisoft’s hacker action puts you in the shoes of Aiden Pearce as you piece together a crime that has been haunting you since its occurrence. Rage through Chicago as presented by Ubisoft with its Disrupt engine utilizing vast video memory for high-resolution textures for visually stunning graphics.
2560×1440
[tabs] [tab title=”Battlefield 4″]Battlefield 4 is one of the hottest titles of 2013 and continues to prove itself a worthy game. Based on DICE’s Frostbite Engine 3, this game’s lush details and visuals are just stunning but can really stress any modern GPU. Level tested is the escape from Baku with wide open space and collapsing building showing what the Frostbite 3 engine can do.
The most visually intense game to ever been made. Prophet is back to take on the Ceph and Cell after a long sleep and the world isn’t what it was when before he got frozen. CryEngine 3 is behind this beautiful beast that will put a lot of systems to their knees. The opening level shows off the particle and water rendering of the engine.
The reboot of the gaming phenomenon Tomb Raider puts players in Lara Croft’s hiking boots as she explores the ruin of Yamatai in this origins game. Powered by a modified Crystal Engine, the game features TressFX which creates beautifully rendered hair animation.
The most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports; DOTA 2 is powered by the Source engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out with heavy action on screen especially during clashes can really stress some systsems.
We use the built-in timedemo and benchmarking tool. DOTA2 only shows average FPS so we will be reflecting that in this test. Our timedemo features a heavy clash in the bottom lane for the maximum real-world system load the game can generate.
Batman: Arkham Origins is the prequel to the highly successful Arkham series of Batman games from RockSteady. Rocking Unreal Engine 3, the game has superb detail and puts a decent load on modern systems.
Ubisoft’s hacker action puts you in the shoes of Aiden Pearce as you piece together a crime that has been haunting you since its occurrence. Rage through Chicago as presented by Ubisoft with its Disrupt engine utilizing vast video memory for high-resolution textures for visually stunning graphics.
4K UltraHD – GTX 980 vs Titan X
[tabs] [tab title=”Battlefield 4″]Battlefield 4 is one of the hottest titles of 2013 and continues to prove itself a worthy game. Based on DICE’s Frostbite Engine 3, this game’s lush details and visuals are just stunning but can really stress any modern GPU. Level tested is the escape from Baku with wide open space and collapsing building showing what the Frostbite 3 engine can do.
The most visually intense game to ever been made. Prophet is back to take on the Ceph and Cell after a long sleep and the world isn’t what it was when before he got frozen. CryEngine 3 is behind this beautiful beast that will put a lot of systems to their knees. The opening level shows off the particle and water rendering of the engine.
The reboot of the gaming phenomenon Tomb Raider puts players in Lara Croft’s hiking boots as she explores the ruin of Yamatai in this origins game. Powered by a modified Crystal Engine, the game features TressFX which creates beautifully rendered hair animation.
The most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports; DOTA 2 is powered by the Source engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out with heavy action on screen especially during clashes can really stress some systsems.
We use the built-in timedemo and benchmarking tool. DOTA2 only shows average FPS so we will be reflecting that in this test. Our timedemo features a heavy clash in the bottom lane for the maximum real-world system load the game can generate.
Batman: Arkham Origins is the prequel to the highly successful Arkham series of Batman games from RockSteady. Rocking Unreal Engine 3, the game has superb detail and puts a decent load on modern systems.
Ubisoft’s hacker action puts you in the shoes of Aiden Pearce as you piece together a crime that has been haunting you since its occurrence. Rage through Chicago as presented by Ubisoft with its Disrupt engine utilizing vast video memory for high-resolution textures for visually stunning graphics.
TEMPERATURE & POWER CONSUMPTION
To measure both power consumption and heat, we stress the video card and record the peak values for heat and wattage. We use default values on the cards and stress test them using a mix of Kombustor Dx11 Burn-In Test with Post-FX.
[one_half]
As with our recent reviews for NVIDIA cards, two things stand out here: first off, the Maxwell cards are very power efficient and have really good consumption numbers. That in turn gives us very cool temps and in this instance, the ASUS Strix cooler does a good job keeping the card at sub-80*C making sure GPU Boost kicks most of the time shooting us far beyond the Boost clock when possible for more power.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
CONCLUSION
Let’s break down the card further:
Performance. There is only one relevant competition for this card from the AMD camp and that’s the R9 290X and this card totally blows past that card in most scenarios. For the most part, the performance is the best you’ll see in any consumer-class graphics card right now and 4K becomes easily manageable should SLI be in order. ASUS sweetens up the card by slapping its silent-but-powerful cooler to give us plenty more OC headroom which equates to plenty more FPS in the right conditions.
Build Quality. There’s simply no going around the fact that ASUS has built its name around the word “quality” and the ASUS STRIX GTX 980 is no exception. The PCB is clean and the overall build is solid. There’s just no complaining about this card’s build quality aside maybe if you’re nitpicking and not really feel the whole owl motiff. Other than that, it’s 100% premium and worth it’s price from the build alone.
Functionality. The GTX 980 is one step forward to 4K gaming and while it doesn’t boast numbers like the TITAN X, its performance levels given a few tweaking would be good enough for some games and SLI could easily buff that to a smoother experience.
Bundle. I’m starting to get tired of these non-game bundled GPUs. So heart-breaking.
Value. At around Php32,000 from local e-tailers, the ASUS STRIX GTX 980 is one of the most expensive SKUs out right now for a GTX 980 only topped by its cherry-picked brother, the ROG Matrix GTX 980. ASUS doesn’t really flinch much from complaints about its pricing and they’re warranty support is a bragging right the company has waved around much and they should. ASUS backs their GPU with a 3-year warranty which for some consumers concerned about quality, is a big source of peace of mind.
The Maxwell-based GTX 980 is an excellent GPU and coupled with excellent cooling along with quality components, can be pushed further. The ASUS STRIX GTX 980 demonstrates this quite well and for those that want to squeeze out more from their GPU, allows some wiggle room to do so because of the cooler operating temperatures.
Its really hard to find any fault and the ASUS STRIX GTX 980 and to say that the price and motiff isn’t up to our taste is just plain nitpicking. All in all, ASUS has another solid piece of equipment in their arsenal with the STRIX GTX 980 and if you want the utmost in quality along with superb performance straight out the box, the ASUS STRIX GTX 980 is your top choice.
ASUS backs the STRIX GTX 980 with a 3-year warranty. We award it our B2G Performance Award and B2G Silver Award!
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Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx. $555 – [easyazon_link identifier=”B00O4S9NY8″ locale=”US” tag=”back2gaming-20″]Amazon[/easyazon_link] PH – Approx. Php32,000
[/signoff][section label=”Award”]
1 Comment
Patricia digs this cooler though..dba be?