Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx.: $201 – ASUS Strix GTX960 OC on Amazon / Amazon.ca
PH – Approx.: Php10950 – ASUS Strix GTX960 OC on Lazada
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 GeForce GTX 960
The GTX 960 is, to be very concise, a GTX 980 split in half as the table below indicates. Whatever made the GTX 980 a great card has been cut in half, castrated and reduced to make the GTX 960. That means its still the same 28nm Maxwell GPU featuring the same number of transistors but bears the GM206 name whereas the GTX980 and GTX970 bear the GM204 GPU.
Model | GeForce GTX 980 | GeForce GTX 970 | GeForce GTX 960 |
GPU | GM204 | GM204 | GM206 |
CUDA cores | 2048 | 1664 | 1024 |
Texture Units | 128 | 104 | 64 |
ROP | 64 | 64 | 32 |
Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit | 128-bit |
Memory Size | 4 GB GDDR5 | 4 GB GDDR5 | 2 GB GDDR5 |
Memory Bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 224 GB/s | 112 GB/s |
As indicated, the GTX 960 will feature 1024 CUDA cores running with a reference base clock of 1126Mhz and a Boost clock of 1178Mhz. At launch, only a 2GB GTX 960 is available and no word on any other memory capacity model yet. The memory runs at a reference 1753Mhz wired to a 128-bit bus. That last part may sound a bit underwhelming but thanks to delta color compression which enables the GM206 to better utilize its available memory bandwidth (148.8GB/sec effective in GTX 960 vs 144.2GB/sec in GTX 660).
The GTX 960 is aimed squarely at 1080p gamers and the launch price places the GTX 960 at the sweet spot at which most mainstream gamers currently sit with a SRP of $199. AIB partners and their custom boards are expected to hover just below $230 but still, this is lower than the GTX 760’s launch price of $250.
Features
The new Maxwell graphics cards introduces some new features to NVIDIA cards as mentioned earlier with the main highlights being VXGI and DSR amongst other things.
VXGI or Voxel Global Illumination improves 3D scenes by introducing more realistic lighting to 3D scenes by introducing voxels or volume pixels which makes light interaction of 3D objects have a more dynamic and photo-realistic feel.
DSR or Dynamic Super Resolution is another new featured, integrated via the GeForce Experience application, which add downsampling capabilities to the GTX 900 series graphics cards which lets users of other monitor sizes experience larger resolutions in their monitors without needing say a 4K UltraHD screen or a 1440p monitor. Dynamic Super Resolution works by rendering in the desired resolution and then downscaling the image and applying a filter to the native monitor resolution for an improved image quality of the scene being rendered.
In contrast to DSR, NVIDIA also introduces MFAA or Multi-Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing. This AA technique basically is a faster implementation of MSAA which should see 4xMSAA quality at the performance hit of only 2xMSAA. Implementation is in its early stages but is promising nonetheless. MFAA can be set via the GeForce Experience app.
As expected given the earlier announcements, DirectX12 is in the works and the new GTX 900 series graphics cards fully support the DX12 API alongside its many new feature offerings including better CPU utilization and overhead reduction, improved multi-core utilization and efficiency, and plenty more features for developers to use.
All of these features complement the already existing feature set that NVIDIA offers including GeForce Experience and ShadowPlay, etc.
About the ASUS STRIX GTX 960
ASUS latest product line is the Strix focusing on silent computing, the Strix line has served as a middle ground between the mainstream product line (DirectCUII) and the high-end Republic of Gamers (ROG) series from ASUS. The Strix however remains mainly rooted in the DirectCUII series bearing a cooler design that focuses on silence and semi-passive cooling giving the Strix series a silent computing focus. This is quite complementary to the new 2nd generation Maxwell GPUs from NVIDIA as they feature really good temperatures and power draw allowing the new Strix design to shine with a really high tipping point before the fans start spinning.
The ASUS Strix GTX 960 features the Strix shroud clad in a familiar black/red shroud with distinct markings unique to the Strix series. This cooler tames the factory overclocked card which comes out of the box with a 1253Mhz core clock which can boost to 1317Mhz. Memory also comes overclocked at 1800Mhz. Its worth pointing out that the Strix, like the MSI GTX 960 GAMING 2G, also has a Gaming profile which runs at the lower stock clock speed of 1228Mhz.
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 MSI Afterburner software for this test.
One of the main promises of the Maxwell GPUs is greater overclocking. As the stock clocks already demonstrate, we have pretty high frequencies in stock already and we’re able to flex that around more using an overclocking tool like MSI Afterburner. All of our units are retail samples off the shelves and aren’t cherry picked so our OC’s should be more comparable to what’s achievable in most cases.
For the ASUS Strix GTX 960 OC, we’re getting slightly lower OC than our GALAX GTX 960 EXOC, but that’s just for base clocks. That memory clock is a bit higher-performing here at 2025Mhz. Still, at a boost frequency of over 1400Mhz there’s plenty of performance out of this OC we’ll get even without touching the Power limit on the ASUS GPU Tweak OC tool.
Again we’ll save the OC results for another article.
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 960 OC 2GB
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, we’ll save OC results for another article or update as needed as we still collect data.
FullHD (1920×1080)
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 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.
2560×1440
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 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.
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.
NVIDIA’s Maxwell GPUs are the pinnacle of efficiency when it comes to existing GPUs in the market right now and the 2nd-gen Maxwells baked into the GTX900 series are certainly the most impressive we’ve seen to date. The GTX 960 continues the great trend in power efficiency, bringing with it better temps and power draw.
The ASUS STRIX GTX 960 OC shows its got some good idle power temps dropping to some cool temps. Peaking at only below 70*C (66*C in our case) there’s still headroom here for some good OC and while we saw some higher clocks on other cards, we really didn’t touch anything else in our sliders so we’re pretty sure we can go further with a bit more tweaking.
CONCLUSION
ASUS’ Strix line doesn’t bring anything new to the table but its certainly shaping up to be one of the company’s focus lineup with many of the new Maxwell cards getting the Strix treatment straight out the gates instead of a reference model from ASUS. Let’s break down the card further:
Performance. NVIDIA tags the GTX 960 for a sweet spot position namely the 1080p market with its 1080p@60FPS campaign. We try and fit our benchmarks to the most active games that set a benchmark for today so Battlefield 4 and DOTA2 are up in there with performance definitely well in the playable range. BF4 does hover below 60FPS with in-game settings set to Ultra with 4xMSAA enabled. A few touches down AA should improve performance overall though.
Build Quality. Quite literally the main reason why everyone who has had an ASUS card will always tell you why they will stick to ASUS is the quality of the product. While the Strix cooler isn’t really what I’d called fancy, it serves its purpose well and is well-built. The overall card construction is what you’d expect from asus with a clean board layout and the backplate seals everything in for a uniform, premium look.
Functionality. The GTX 960 is a good mid-range card with power draw perfect for an everyday gaming PC and also an HTPC. That said, the ASUS STRIX GTX 960 OC is mid-sized but packs plenty of power for its weight class.
Bundle. No game bundle, no door signs, no sticker. Tsk tsk ASUS, you too? Tsk tsk NVIDIA? Average score for you.
Value. At $210, the ASUS STRIX GTX 960 is one of those rare chances that ASUS competes in the price market well enough that it sits in a spot that makes it go head to head with its main rivals MSI and EVGA in the GPU space.
The GTX 960 promises good 1080p gaming and while we didn’t see consistent numbers even in NVIDIA-optimize titles like Batman: Arkham Origins, pumping up the screen to 1440p still sees lower drops vs. those we see in AMD cards in these titles so a few tweaks with GeForce Experience or the in-game details could get the card really flowing in the the 1080@60FPS range for many titles.
The power draw is really where its at and if you are really mostly gaming in the 1080p resolution or heavily focused on MOBAs with a touch of AAA games here and then, the GTX 960 is surely a top choice for you.
The ASUS STRIX GTX 960 2GB showcases what NVIDIA’s midrange 2nd-gen Maxwell GPU can do and ASUS’ pulls maximizes what the GPU is good and that’s silent operation. With the coolest operating temps we’ve seen on any of the GTX 960s we’ve had, the ASUS STRIX GTX 960 is an excellent choice if you want to really extend the life of your graphics card for mainstream gaming. If you’re in the market for a GTX 960 and want utmost silence but don’t want to compromise cooling, then the ASUS Strix GTX 960 OC 2GB is your top choice unless you want to go with a fanless model.
Price / Where to Buy:
US – Approx.: $201 – ASUS Strix GTX960 OC on Amazon / Amazon.ca
PH – Approx.: Php9999
ASUS backs the STRIX GTX 960 OC with a 3-year warranty. We give it our B2G Silver Award and B2G Recommend Award.
2 Comments
this card is awesome
I have this ASUS graphics card! It can play AAA games at high settings on 1080p! I can even overclock it further for additional frames if I wanna have some ultra settings on my game! Two thumbs up for this product! At around Php10,000.00, this one is a steal!!! May free Witcher 3 game pa!