ASUS 670 DirectCU II TOP or MSI 670 Power Edition OC

[Frost_Bites]

hello everyone

I have been looking for a new GTX 670, and the model I'm interested is between ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU II TOP or MSI GTX 670 Power Edition OC.

my question is, who is better? btw I don't care about backplate (Since many people are worrying about it), because what I want from a graphics card is a overall performance, not style.

Btw my specs are :

Intel Core i5 3570K
MSI Z77 MPower Mainboard
8 GB of RAM
Corsair HX650 80+Gold PSU
GPU : ?
etc

I hate to say this, but Forget about price.

I want to gaming on 1080p resolution, and overclocking.

Any Help would be much appreciated.

By the way, I am truly sorry for my Bad English, not too good in English

Thank you very much.

 

[blackened23]

MSI all the way IMO. From reviews i've seen it overclocks better on average, it has boost clocks that don't have a ton of variance (unlike the asus) and you can adjust GPU voltage with afterburner.

 

[Frost_Bites]

MSI all the way IMO. From reviews i've seen it overclocks better on average, it has boost clocks that don't have a ton of variance (unlike the asus) and you can adjust GPU voltage with afterburner.

Thanks for the response
From the review I've seen, the MSI card is louder than the ASUS model, (in Techpowerup), but in Guru3d MSI have probably have better temperature

and I heard the MSI GTX 670 PE is not have The Triple Overvoltage, from this one : http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=160679.0, is that true?

It makes me so confused, because many people says that the msi card have triple overvoltage means it can be overvoltage beyond 1.175volt, but the msi guy says not.

 

[blackened23]

Thanks for the response
From the review I've seen, the MSI card is louder than the ASUS model, (in Techpowerup), but in Guru3d MSI have probably have better temperature

and I heard the MSI GTX 670 PE is not have The Triple Overvoltage, from this one : http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=160679.0, is that true?

It makes me so confused, because many people says that the msi card have triple overvoltage means it can be overvoltage beyond 1.175volt, but the msi guy says not.

From what I understand, it is possible but you have to edit a profile within afterburner 2.2.4. Or you can use standard 2.2.3. MSI doesn't advertise triple over voltage any longer because nvidia doesn't like that - so if you ask a company rep they will say no - but it does work to my understanding. I can verify it absolutely works on the lightning card (which uses the same electronics). I've heard others state that it works on the 670PE as well - I think a few people here own the card, maybe they can chime in? I know i've seen users post results of them over volting.....i'm about 99% sure it works but if i'm wrong someone correct me..

 

[tviceman]

I can hit 1350mhz on the core and 7250mhz on the vram with my MSI 670 PE when I overvolt. It's a beast.

 

[RussianSensation]

MSI GTX670 PE for Overclocking
Asus DCUII for noise levels.

Pick which you care more about. Both are excellent cards.

 

[Frost_Bites]

From what I understand, it is possible but you have to edit a profile within afterburner 2.2.4. Or you can use standard 2.2.3. MSI doesn't advertise triple over voltage any longer because nvidia doesn't like that - so if you ask a company rep they will say no - but it does work to my understanding. I can verify it absolutely works on the lightning card (which uses the same electronics). I've heard others state that it works on the 670PE as well - I think a few people here own the card, maybe they can chime in? I know i've seen users post results of them over volting.....i'm about 99% sure it works but if i'm wrong someone correct me..

hmm, ok, now I understand why msi guy says that the PE card doesn't have triple overvoltage. I hate nvidia doing this. but I still have one question :

the msi user from here : http://www.overclock.net/t/1289575/msi-670-pe-does-not-have-a-voltage-increase/60

says it's not beyond 1.175v...because he was testing it on DMM. I need the clarification about this.

I can hit 1350mhz on the core and 7250mhz on the vram with my MSI 670 PE when I overvolt. It's a beast.

oh man, it's very beast, but what about the voltage? is beyond 1.175v?

MSI GTX670 PE for Overclocking
Asus DCUII for noise levels.

Pick which you care more about. Both are excellent cards.

I care more about overclocking and noise too, that's why I ask all of you in here to help me decide, who is the best of the best between those two.

 

[sze5003]

Is the DC2 TOP even still available? I have not seen it since May or so. Wondered what they did that it was no longer available. I would go with the MSI PE I like their coolers/parts they use. My last card was an MSI twin frozr and I barely heard it.

 

[tviceman]

hmm, ok, now I understand why msi guy says that the PE card doesn't have triple overvoltage. I hate nvidia doing this. but I still have one question :

the msi user from here : http://www.overclock.net/t/1289575/msi-670-pe-does-not-have-a-voltage-increase/60

says it's not beyond 1.175v...because he was testing it on DMM. I need the clarification about this.



oh man, it's very beast, but what about the voltage? is beyond 1.175v?



I care more about overclocking and noise too, that's why I ask all of you in here to help me decide, who is the best of the best between those two.

Yeah volts are around +75 on the slider (which would be .075 additional, I do believe) when I hit those speeds. The ASUS can't adjust voltage.

 

[Frost_Bites]

Is the DC2 TOP even still available? I have not seen it since May or so. Wondered what they did that it was no longer available. I would go with the MSI PE I like their coolers/parts they use. My last card was an MSI twin frozr and I barely heard it.

but if ASUS DC2 is in stock, which one you choose? because in my country, ASUS TOP version, is still available.

Yeah volts are around +65 when I hit those speeds.

oh thanks man, but what about the voltage? is showing up beyond 1.175v on the multimeter?

 

[RussianSensation]

Frost_Bites, if you are going to overclock, it doesn't matter if the Asus DCUII is the TOP or non-TOP since Kepler is GPU voltage limited. In that case, for the highest overclock, you want to for the GTX670 Power Edition.

Noise level wise, nothing touches Asus DCUII series on Kepler side this round. The card is practically silent even at 100% fan speed:
http://www.frequency.com/video/toms-hardware-g/52752942

What are the prices in your country between:

1) Asus DCUII 670
2) Asus DCUII Top 670
3) MSI Power Edition 670

The cheapest after-market cooled 680 such as Gigabyte Windforce 3x?

My advice, get the cheapest of those 3, take the savings and buy a $30 after-market cooler such as Cooler Master 212+ and overclock your processor to 4.5ghz. That'll help you a lot more than the 75mhz difference in overclocks.

 

[Frost_Bites]

Frost_Bites, if you are going to overclock, it doesn't matter if the Asus DCUII is the TOP or non-TOP since Kepler is GPU voltage limited. In that case, for the highest overclock, you want to for the GTX670 Power Edition.

Noise level wise, nothing touches Asus DCUII series on Kepler side this round. The card is practically silent even at 100% fan speed:
http://www.frequency.com/video/toms-hardware-g/52752942

What are the prices in your country between:

1) Asus DCUII 670
2) Asus DCUII Top 670
3) MSI Power Edition 670

The cheapest after-market cooled 680 such as Gigabyte Windforce 3x?

My advice, get the cheapest of those 3, take the savings and buy a $30 after-market cooler such as Cooler Master 212+ and overclock your processor to 4.5ghz. That'll help you a lot more than the 75mhz difference in overclocks.

Thanks for the response

In my country, the 4 card you mentioned is about :

ASUS TOP 670 : $533

ASUS DCUII (non top) : $500

MSI PE : $465

Gigabyte Windforce : $498

yeah I was watching the video that you've linked, and true I cant hear the fan, even when I put down my ear into my speaker on my laptop. Perfectly Silent, but Overclocking ability is my priority, maybe I can choose 670 PE although that card is louder than ASUS model? and how about the performance on gaming between those 2 card? I see that the ASUS card is slightly better than MSI has?

 

[blackened23]

Its really not loud, it just has an aggressive auto fan profile - the fans can spin up to nearly 4k rpm. Obviously there is no fan quiet at 4k rpm, but that's the thing about TF4 - it scales with cold, thats why I love it. The TF4 has an aggressive auto fan profile, but if you modify the profile yourself it will stay cool and quiet. Although if you want to overclock, that always offsets noise no matter *what* card you use. If you overclock the asus, you will have to use manual fan. Same for the MSI. If you're overclocking, you'll have to accept noise, although I run my lightnings at 60% fan and its not loud at all and they stay very cool.

I think you'll be pleased with it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks for the response

In my country, the 4 card you mentioned is about :

ASUS TOP 670 : $533

ASUS DCUII (non top) : $500

MSI PE : $465

Gigabyte Windforce : $498

yeah I was watching the video that you've linked, and true I cant hear the fan, even when I put down my ear into my speaker on my laptop. Perfectly Silent, but Overclocking ability is my priority, maybe I can choose 670 PE although that card is louder than ASUS model? and how about the performance on gaming between those 2 card? I see that the ASUS card is slightly better than MSI has?

Get the MSI PE then. It's the cheapest and the best overclocker among those. Take the savings as I said and get an after-market cooler and crank that 3570K to 4.4-4.5ghz. :thumbsup:

These prices are expensive. How much are GTX680/HD7970 GE cards going for?

 

[Frost_Bites]

Get the MSI PE then. It's the cheapest and the best overclocker among those. Take the savings as I said and get an after-market cooler and crank that 3570K to 4.4-4.5ghz. :thumbsup:

These prices are expensive. How much are GTX680/HD7970 GE cards going for?

oh ok, now I know what I must buy. Thanks Russian.

680 Lightning is about $700 ($720 with shipping), ASUS TOP 680 is about : $680. Unfortunately, The Ghz edition is not listed in my computer store.

Its really not loud, it just has an aggressive auto fan profile - the fans can spin up to nearly 4k rpm. Obviously there is no fan quiet at 4k rpm, but that's the thing about TF4 - it scales with cold, thats why I love it. The TF4 has an aggressive auto fan profile, but if you modify the profile yourself it will stay cool and quiet. Although if you want to overclock, that always offsets noise no matter *what* card you use. If you overclock the asus, you will have to use manual fan. Same for the MSI. If you're overclocking, you'll have to accept noise, although I run my lightnings at 60% fan and its not loud at all and they stay very cool.

I think you'll be pleased with it.

Thanks for the response

I think the fan blade on the Lightning card, is more deeper than 670 PE card, maybe that's why although running 60% is not loud, and of course very cool.

from the comment you have sent, means that the PE card is overall slightly better than ASUS TOP?

 

[realjetavenger]

Yeah volts are around +75 on the slider (which would be .075 additional, I do believe) when I hit those speeds. The ASUS can't adjust voltage.

Yes they can. If you don't mind flashing your bios...

http://www.overclock.net/t/1289489/gtx-680-670-unlocked-voltage-bios

DC2 TOP or NON top
http://ultrashare.net/hosting/fl/15fbf991ce/DCT670_VMOD_BP-200-225

To the OP;
+1 (or is it 2 or 3?) on msi PE. At that price it's the right way to go (this coming from someone with a DCII top and loves this card).

 

[blackened23]

edit: dp

 

[blackened23]

When you say "adjust voltage" that is clearly incorrect. Only MSI lightnings/PEs can do this, other cards *might* be able to get 1.21V (even reference cards can do this, most users don't realize that) that doesn't mean you can *adjust* voltage. 99% of users never use a DMM to test their voltage. The bottom line is that the asus card can't adjust voltage like the MSI can, and if you modify your BIOS you can maybe get 1.21V and that's it - many 680s do this out of the box - but again, software doesn't report it.

With the lightning you can "adjust" to 1.4V. I think the commonly accepted definition of "adjust" in this case would mean a card allowing voltage above and beyond reference specs, and the asus may get 1.21V but it doesn't allow you to "adjust" the voltage. By contrast, the MSI cards can. That is why, given all the variables in this purchase decision that the MSI is the best choice IMO - it is actually cheaper for the OP as well.

 

[tviceman]

oh thanks man, but what about the voltage? is showing up beyond 1.175v on the multimeter?

Afterburner does not report the voltage correctly beyond 1.175, so I can't tell you exactly what the voltage bump is translating to. It's working though, as the card runs at higher speeds and higher temps.

 

[Frost_Bites]

To the OP;
+1 (or is it 2 or 3?) on msi PE. At that price it's the right way to go (this coming from someone with a DCII top and loves this card).

but if ASUS TOP card have the same prices as MSI model, which one you choose?

When you say "adjust voltage" that is clearly incorrect. Only MSI lightnings/PEs can do this, other cards *might* be able to get 1.21V (even reference cards can do this, most users don't realize that) that doesn't mean you can *adjust* voltage. 99% of users never use a DMM to test their voltage. The bottom line is that the asus card can't adjust voltage like the MSI can, and if you modify your BIOS you can maybe get 1.21V and that's it - many 680s do this out of the box - but again, software doesn't report it.

With the lightning you can "adjust" to 1.4V. I think the commonly accepted definition of "adjust" in this case would mean a card allowing voltage above and beyond reference specs, and the asus may get 1.21V but it doesn't allow you to "adjust" the voltage. By contrast, the MSI cards can. That is why, given all the variables in this purchase decision that the MSI is the best choice IMO - it is actually cheaper for the OP as well.

Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I understand, other 670 card (including ASUS) can still adjust the voltage, but only the GPU (using Afterburner 2.2.3), which PE card can adjust the GPU Voltage, Memory Voltage, and Aux Voltage (3 features instead 1)...IMO.

if you're talking about Lightning card, no doubt it's the strongest GTX 680 on the planet, because the card can go up to 2volt, if you are using the mighty LN2 and Afterburner Extreme Edition (which overclocker may have that software).

Afterburner does not report the voltage correctly beyond 1.175, so I can't tell you exactly what the voltage bump is translating to. It's working though, as the card runs at higher speeds and higher temps.

oh ok, thanks man...

 

[blackened23]

Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I understand, other 670 card (including ASUS) can still adjust the voltage, but only the GPU (using Afterburner 2.2.3), which PE card can adjust the GPU Voltage, Memory Voltage, and Aux Voltage (3 features instead 1)...IMO.

if you're talking about Lightning card, no doubt it's the strongest GTX 680 on the planet, because the card can go up to 2volt, if you are using the mighty LN2 and Afterburner Extreme Edition (which overclocker may have that software).

Basically, what you can do on all other Kepler products is adjust vDroop. GPUs are much like CPUs these days in that the voltage supplied varies according to the workload - so if you're idling on the desktop the Kepler will use the lowest voltage possible. So with other 670 products (including asus) you can only adjust the vDroop. You cannot adjust the maximum.

In contrast, the lightning and PE MSI cards allow you to adjust the maximum voltage - no other cards can do that without a hardware mod, and I believe perhaps the Galaxy 680 SOC can as well. Now you can get a modded BIOS that allows for 1.21V on many cards, but this still doesn't allow you to adjust maximum voltage as MSI can on their aftermarket boards.

So to summarize:

Asus: can adjust vDroop, cannot adjust maximum voltage
MSI PE/Lightning: can adjust vDroop and maximum voltage

edit: I am forgetting something. If you have an asus maximus motherboard, you can hardware mod DC2 cards with a VGA wire that allows you to adjust voltage. You have to solder some points on your motherboard and GPU, though. MSI is the only solution that allows adjustment of maximum via software to my knowledge.

 

[Frost_Bites]

Basically, what you can do on all other Kepler products is adjust vDroop. GPUs are much like CPUs these days in that the voltage supplied varies according to the workload - so if you're idling on the desktop the Kepler will use the lowest voltage possible. So with other 670 products (including asus) you can only adjust the vDroop. You cannot adjust the maximum.

In contrast, the lightning and PE MSI cards allow you to adjust the maximum voltage - no other cards can do that without a hardware mod, and I believe perhaps the Galaxy 680 SOC can as well. Now you can get a modded BIOS that allows for 1.21V on many cards, but this still doesn't allow you to adjust maximum voltage as MSI can on their aftermarket boards.

So to summarize:

Asus: can adjust vDroop, cannot adjust maximum voltage
MSI PE/Lightning: can adjust vDroop and maximum voltage

edit: I am forgetting something. If you have an asus maximus motherboard, you can hardware mod DC2 cards with a VGA wire that allows you to adjust voltage. You have to solder some points on your motherboard and GPU, though. MSI is the only solution that allows adjustment of maximum via software to my knowledge.

Ahh thanks, for give me more information, because I need a clear answer for this problems (since I searching on the internet from 1 months ago, I still not found the clear answer)

now maybe I get that answer, but wait for the others, for the best answer I expected.:thumbsup:

edit : Look at my first post, I don't have an asus maximus motherboard, since the price is too expensive (for me) at least.

edit 1 : After I re-search some more information about PE card, I found something new, that if the card is overvolt beyond +50mV (using afterburner 2.2.3), and the power limit was set into 114%, it will always get throttle (@105-107% at least), in fact that the temperature is not beyond 65C. Looks weird to me, at least.

I heard it, from this statement :

"Good this is the perfect thread for my question. I have a MSI 670 PE and when overclocking, I discovered that even with the power limit set to 114% (the max allowed in afterburner for this card), its still starts to throttle at 105-107%. Temperatures were not breaking 65c. Any ideas why?"

The Link : http://www.overclock.net/t/1286239/the-gtx-680-670-unlocked-voltage-discussion-thread/30

If that's true, I might be able to get the conclusion, that the MSI model is same as ASUS model which can't maximize the voltage in afterburner (+100mV), am I wrong?

any suggestion black?