ASUS Readies ROG ARES 2 Graphics Card with Dual-HD 7870 GPUs

[Don Karnage]

ASUS is working on its second Republic of Gamers (ROG) ARES graphics card, the ARES 2 dual-HD 7870. Its first ARES was dual-HD 5870. ASUS' decision to go with a pair of Radeon HD 7870 GPUs, instead of the premium HD 7970, certainly comes as a surprise. With it, one could deduce the target market-segment ASUS is aiming at: US $650-750, providing a solution that outperforms even the fastest HD 7970 GHz Edition and GTX 680 graphics cards, while being cheaper than Radeon HD 7990 (which is MIA), dual-HD 7970 X2, and of course, the GTX 690.

ASUS ARES 2 will back two 28 nm "Pitcairn" GPUs with all components unlocked; likely factory-overclocked speeds beyond those of the HD 7870 GHz Edition; and a total of 4 GB of GDDR5 memory (2 GB per GPU system). The card will draw power from two 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and will have a TDP of around 300W. It will take advantage of AMD ZeroCore CrossFire, with which it powers down the second GPU when not gaming, or with light 3D loads that the first GPU can munch on. With the monitor idling for a set amount of time, both GPUs power down. It's likely that ASUS will use a triple-slot cooling solution, despite the fact that the HD 7870 is a generally cool GPU. Pictured below is the first-generation ROG ARES (dual-HD 5870).

Source

http://www.techpowerup.com/168180/ASUS-Readies-ROG-ARES-2-Graphics-Card-with-Dual-HD-7870-GPUs.html

 

[borisvodofsky]

.. after seeing the 690, I just can't get excited about this.

It's like after years of Internet pr0n,

now you're back to playboy mags,

no go.

 

[joshhedge]

I bet it would OC like a god as well, I take it you'll get one Don, as you love the 78xx series so much?

 

[Don Karnage]

I bet it would OC like a god as well, I take it you'll get one Don, as you love the 78xx series so much?

I have no reason to downgrade. My next card is GK110

 

[lopri]

You've got to hand it to asus' engineering prowess. Now only if they hired someone better at designing the outfit..

 

[ViRGE]

One of the comments at TPU sums things up well, unfortunately

Meh, honestly if you are going to buy a dual GPU card just buy the one that has the highest single performing GPUs on it, it makes no sense to get into SLI/CFX without having the top chips, the multi GPU issues I've had are enough for me to say get the top single GPU and if it isn't enough then get a pair of em.

All of the problems of multi-GPU, including the fact that it will revert to 7870 performance if you can't use CF. It's a shame too as I bet on the engineering side it's a marvel (those ARES cards are always so nice).

 

[Don Karnage]

One of the comments at TPU sums things up well, unfortunately



All of the problems of multi-GPU, including the fact that it will revert to 7870 performance if you can't use CF. It's a shame too as I bet on the engineering side it's a marvel (those ARES cards are always so nice).

If they clock it at 1Ghz and price it around 699.99 it should perform very well

 

[ViRGE]

If they clock it at 1Ghz and price it around 699.99 it should perform very well

If they clock it at less than 1GHz it wouldn't even meet the qualifications for a 7870. So 1GHz (or higher) would be a foregone conclusion.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Read bottom of linked page .

 

[skipsneeky2]

Why pair two of the most overpriced cards and then conjure up a higher msrp then buying two of these by themselves.....the smart people are buying the 7850 right now,not the 7870.

Card should be no more then $600 and even that is asking a bit much.....considering the pricing of the 7870 as is right now.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Wonder if asus will even give this card a proper vrm/memory cooling solution unlike the dcii cards?