Asus Geforce GTX670 Direct CU II TOP Review (OC)

The Asus Geforce GTX670 Direct CU II TOP is one of the greatest video cards we have ever tested. At the ‘out of the box' settings it is faster than the reference clocked GTX680, which we already know, is no slouch.

The GTX680 is a phenomenal performer so I was surprised to see that the overclocked ASUS GTX670 managed to beat it in all our benchmarks by a minor, but noticeable level.

The card is built around a custom PCB design and power efficiency and stability is first class. We pushed this card hard during our benchmarking phase and it delivered some incredible frame rates.

Performance is not the only area that needs a mention. The Direct CU II cooler maintains a 66c threshold when gaming, even more remarkable when we factor in that the fans are producing very little in the way of noise emissions.

The out of the box overclock speeds help enhance performance and we managed to squeeze 5 percent extra from the core, before instability would occur. Asus have configured this close to the limit, but left enough tolerance for minor core variances from card to card.

The GDDR5 memory could be pushed much higher on our sample, from 1,500mhz to over 1,800mhz. We aren't quite sure why ASUS didn't overclock to around 1,650mhz, offering enhanced performance but leaving plenty of headroom for stability.

There are two versions of the Asus GTX670 Direct CU II. One is supplied at standard clocks for £369.95 inc vat. The TOP version we reviewed has a £30 price premium, retailing for £399.95 inc vat. Both are fantastic options for a hardcore gamer.

How does this compare to the GTX680? Well the reference GTX680 is slower than the Asus Geforce GTX670 Direct CU II TOP, retailing for around £480 inc vat. So, for £80 less, you actually end up with a quieter, faster card.

It seems like a no brainer to us.

Pros:

• faster than GTX680
• cheaper than GTX680
• quieter than GTX680
• memory overclocks like crazy.
• multiple screen support

Cons:

• memory isn't overclocked.

Kitguru says: The best video card on the market under £400. If you can afford it just buy it now.

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