Asus HD6970 Direct CU II Review – the ultimate 6970 ?

The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this.

Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.

The Asus Direct CU II cooler is fantastic. When gaming the card peaks at 70c which is around 15c lower than the reference card at similar clock speeds.

As we noted when we last looked at this cooler, the dual fan system spins at very low rpm. 27 percent relates to around 1,400 rpm. Under full load this only rises to 35 percent which equates to around 1,750 rpm. The thermal profile is well optimised with steady fan speeds reported when both idle and under load. No annoying fluctuation which can become distracting.

Return to ambient is a feature we have recently added to our reviews … we measure the time it takes for a solution to return to idle temperatures, immediately after full load. The faster the time, the better the cooler – for example a Noctua NH D14 cooler will return an Intel processor to idle temperatures much faster than a reference cooler. This is a good indication of how quickly a heatsink can dissipate heat.

This cooler is significantly better than the reference design, taking only 18 seconds to return the core to idle temperatures. The reference card can take over 30 seconds to do the same task, while making a lot more noise.

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