Introduction

ASUS is a world leader in motherboard and video card design and has expanded aggressively and with much success in recent years to provide laptops, displays and mobile products. With all their plans for expansion, ASUS has not lost sight in developing top of the line video card design, both under their Republic of Gamers enthusiast line and trickling down to their more mainstream lineup. Using the same approach in designing award winning motherboards, ASUS’ video cards are equipped with high quality components and unique cooling solutions that some manufacturers would consider enthusiast and would price at a premium.

The ASUS DirectCU video card line, however, is an exercise in consumer conscious pricing, as it is an exercise in excellent design. Aftermarket cooling solutions for high-end NVIDIA Fermi cards cost $70 to $120 more on top of the original cost of a reference based board. Once the reference heatsink has been replaced, the warranty has also been voided. In comparison, video cards equipped with ASUS’ DirectCU cooling solutions often do not cost nearly as much as the premium offering from the competition and are not too far off from the reference price point. Case in point: the ASUS GTX580 Direct CU II, which only costs $5 more than a reference GTX 580 board.

The ASUS GTX580 DirectCU II is equipped with a large three-slot heatsink designed for quieter and cooler performance. The ASUS GTX580 DirectCU II’s direct copper contact and dual-fan cooling solution produces up to 600% more airflow compared to the reference NVIDIA design. With two fans operating at lower fan speeds, the ASUS GTX580 DirectCU II can cool the GPU much more efficiently and with much less noise than with a single blower style fan. Mixed with ASUS’ Super Alloy Power Technology and a 10-phase VRM power design, the ASUS GTX580 DirectCU II has plenty of room for overclocking and can achieve high levels while keeping temperatures within a reasonable range.