[TPU] ASUS 7970 DCu II coming

[jackstar7]

http://www.techpowerup.com/159003/ASUS-Radeon-HD-7970-DirectCu-II-Graphics-Card-Pictured.html

This will solve my little issue with needing 3+ DP connectors for 3x120Hz.

Now I just have to find out if 2Fire will be enough for that setup, or if I need to wait for the 7990 for 3Fire.

Now for sale at Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121499


Update 1/31:

Asus claims to have released this card... not sure where that puts it in terms of retail, but I'm still anxious to see the price on this monster. Directron puts formal release on 2/3.

http://www.asus.com/News/k0CG9DPYB7HJPmrq/

Part numbers (easier to search it out):

Normal clocks: HD7970-DC2-3GD5
OC'd: HD7970-DC2T-3GD5


$600 over at Directron for pre-order: http://www.directron.com/hd7970dc2t3gd5.html


Also encouraging is that the ASUS site lists the dimensions as: 11" x 5.1" x 2.1", so not longer than standard.

 

[notty22]

I like these segmented layer views

 

[Keysplayr]

I wonder why vapor chambers aren't being used. I thought they were the new "shiznizzle" in the world of cooling.
Maybe they're too costly, but on a card this expensive in the first place, it's minimal.

 

[Kenmitch]

I wonder why vapor chambers aren't being used. I thought they were the new "shiznizzle" in the world of cooling.
Maybe they're too costly, but on a card this expensive in the first place, it's minimal.

Isn't the cooler about the same as what's on the GTX580 DirectCU II? Looking at images at least it looks very similar in design.

The Asus DirectCU cards do have a nice look to them

 

[Kenmitch]

The voltage mod stuff looks interesting if you have a compatable Asus motherboard.

 

[RavenSEAL]

The voltage mod stuff looks interesting if you have a compatable Asus motherboard.

Sounds like someone will be crying on these forums very soon :hmm:

 

[Grooveriding]

Will be a beast-mode overclocker no doubt.

I don't like this model from Asus though, triple slot video cards are no good if you want to run multi-gpu.

Where is the 7970 Lightning ffs.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Will be a beast-mode overclocker no doubt.

I don't like this model from Asus though, triple slot video cards are no good if you want to run multi-gpu.

Where is the 7970 Lightning ffs.

+1

 

[digitalbuda]

While it does look awesome, it looks as though it is much larger than their last 6000 series. And their last gen series were already sagging quite a bit. These ones might just snap off after a while, they gonna have to have some kind of support to prevent too much sagging.

 

[MangoX]

Wonder how it cools... the heat sink looks too tiny for a triple slot card. The fans seem to occupy too much space.

 

[blackened23]

Will be a beast-mode overclocker no doubt.

I don't like this model from Asus though, triple slot video cards are no good if you want to run multi-gpu.

Where is the 7970 Lightning ffs.

I would be sold if it weren't triple slot. That is ridiculous, especially when MSI lightning does better as double slot.

 

[jackstar7]

The Lightning won't solve my issue of needing 3+ DP connectors (based on the 6970 version), so if this thing isn't priced absurdly, it'll probably get my money. That or I wait for the 7990... but I'd just rather not...

 

[jackstar7]

Read this rumored pricing info: "Asus’ HD 7970 DirectCU II Top is expected to arrive sometime during next month and in Sweden it will retail for 5,500 Kronor, which translates into about 500 EUR or $644 US after excluding VAT."

And if that's true, then forget this thing and I'll wait the extra month for the 7990 and an extra GPU core for another $200, since the rumor is $850.

 

[spinejam]

love the trip. slots -- great looking card!

 

[Despoiler]

Why in the heck do you need that massive cooler for a 75mhz overclock? Someone is smoking a lot of crack over at Asus.

 

[thilanliyan]

^Duh..so you can overclock even more!

 

[superjim]

While it does look awesome, it looks as though it is much larger than their last 6000 series. And their last gen series were already sagging quite a bit. These ones might just snap off after a while, they gonna have to have some kind of support to prevent too much sagging.

I don't understand "sagging" for add-in cards. Do people not screw their cards in? This thing has THREE screws to secure it to your case. Tightened those d@mn things and you should have 0 problems. If you're really worried about it, just get a different case.

In other news, some of us don't want to touch multi-GPU setups with a 10 foot pole and use no other cards, I have 5 slots to spare.

Edit - spelling

 

[railven]

I don't understand "sagging" for add-in cards. Do people not screw their cards in? This think has THREE screws to secure it to your case. Tightened those d@mn things and you should have 0 problems. If you're really worried about it, just get a different case.

In other news, some of us don't want to touch mult-GPU setups with a 10 foot pole and use no other cards, I have 5 slots to spare.

Amen broddah! That, and I have to drive 5 displays and I refuse to deal with switches and the disconnect/connect suggestions!

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Why in the heck do you need that massive cooler for a 75mhz overclock? Someone is smoking a lot of crack over at Asus.

because that's not really an overclock, its just ASUS's own stock clock that they support with warranty from what nVidia set as the baseline, a real overclock is whatever the user adds to the card

you can't come remotely close to the cooling performance of a triple slot cooler with just a double slot design, its at least a 10C advantage.

lower temps, lower noise, higher real overclock, and no real compromising on any of those three. In order to hit the same overclock with a dual slot design, you're going to be sacrificing on either temps or noise, and will likely still end up worse overall in all 3

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Anyone who has owned a DCII loves these things. I had a gtx 580 DCII and it was the best card I have ever owned.
The 7970 is already a beast overclocker. Imagine the 7970 with asus' custom pcb and beefed up vrm's. Card will be amazing.

 

[aandea]

The Lightning won't solve my issue of needing 3+ DP connectors (based on the 6970 version), so if this thing isn't priced absurdly, it'll probably get my money. That or I wait for the 7990... but I'd just rather not...

+1

 

[blackened23]

Anyone who has owned a DCII loves these things. I had a gtx 580 DCII and it was the best card I have ever owned.
The 7970 is already a beast overclocker. Imagine the 7970 with asus' custom pcb and beefed up vrm's. Card will be amazing.

Don't get me wrong I love asus, but I would be sold on DC2 if it weren't triple slot. I just don't get it. That makes it very difficult to SLI.

I really wish they'd make it into a double slot card. I don't need the extra fancy stuff or extra connectors. For now I think MSI lightning / TF3 is king.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Don't get me wrong I love asus, but I would be sold on DC2 if it weren't triple slot. I just don't get it. That makes it very difficult to SLI.

I really wish they'd make it into a double slot card. I don't need the extra fancy stuff or extra connectors. For now I think MSI lightning / TF3 is king.

You mean Crossfire, but yes they do make duel slot, eventually. My cousin has two of the 6950s duel slot models in crossfire.

 

[chimaxi83]

because that's not really an overclock, its just ASUS's own stock clock that they support with warranty from what nVidia set as the baseline, a real overclock is whatever the user adds to the card

you can't come remotely close to the cooling performance of a triple slot cooler with just a double slot design, its at least a 10C advantage.

lower temps, lower noise, higher real overclock, and no real compromising on any of those three. In order to hit the same overclock with a dual slot design, you're going to be sacrificing on either temps or noise, and will likely still end up worse overall in all 3

That's not true at all. Well, maybe for reference type double slot designs. Here is an example of the DCII cooling capability, this is on a 6950 so I can reference it to my own. The DCII has an overclock on the core of 950MHz at stock voltage, and its hitting 65 Celsius.

My double slot TFIII cooled 6950, overclocked to 1005MHz at 1.25V, maxes out at 68 Celsius in any game, and is barely audible with a custom fan profile. Hell, even the TFII in linked chart is beating DCII by 6 degrees.

In my own opinion, triple slot is a bit much when you have coolers like Twin Frozr that are within a few degrees of it. Even more of a space hog when you want to run more than one card and are going to stick with air cooling.

 

[3DVagabond]

Here's a little PREVIEW of the DCII. Seems like a definite improvement over the reference design. :thumbsup: