Over at ASUS PC DIY, they've put the new Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II on the bench to whirl Nvidia's new 2nd gen Maxwell through some benchmarks and overclocking.

Overclocking:

• GPU BOOST clock – 1300MHz
• Memory clock  – 7600MHz
• Power Target – 110%

 On temps:

"The reference card has operating temperatures under gaming load of approx 80c, The STRIX 970 featuring DirectCU II had operating temperatures under gaming load in the range of 65 to 68c! Keep in mind this is while being quieter as well."

And testing fan speeds:

"Under gaming we saw the fans ramp up to 41% in regards to their fan duty and this equates to approximately a little over 1000 RPM."

Read the full article over at ASUS PC DIY.

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 With the arrival of  Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II, you can have Nvidia's new, 2nd generation Maxwell architecture delivering high-end power with low temperatures and power, for all your games.

 I mean, we LOVE games, right. And in order to max out your favorite titles, you want to drop in a great video card into your precious new rig. Today we open one up with great anticipation.

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  We opened up the Strix box to find another box, obviously a decoy to build up suspense, with increased excitement we opened the box inside the box to find another box. No it was not the video card, this is now a treasure hunt.  Tucked away safely under that box and incased in protective foam was the prize.

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 We removed the anti-static bag, and voila! Here we have it, introducing the Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II!

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    Here is what's bundled in the box;  the Strix GTX 970, software disc and user's guide.

 Featured in the STRIX GTX 970 DirectCU II is the GM204 with new, 2nd generation Maxwell architecture. In the grand scheme of things it is Nvidia's 10th-generation GPU architecture, following Kepler.  So far it has really impressed in reviews, with twice the energy efficiency and better performance per shader than its predecessor, at the same time running very cool. The GTX 750 Ti, for example, the first GPU to use Maxwell (GM207).

     The new GM204 core in the Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II features new Nvidia technologies such as Multi-Frame sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA), Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI), GeForce Experience, Nvidia GameStream, Nvidia G-Sync, Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0, Nvidia Adaptive Vertical Sync, Nvidia Surround with up to Four Monitors, and Nvidia SLI Technology (Click here to find out more). 

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     From looking at the card, you can immediately see the quality in ASUS' DirectCU II customized cooling system, from the metal shroud, to the brushed-metal back-plate and the super-fat 10mm heat-pipe.  Even the fans have a dust-proof design to double-seal the hub assembly for reliability and performance.  

ASUS worked particularly hard to reduce the loud fan noise which is usually associated with high-end video cards, and the end result is a 0dB (fan stop) operating mode when doing some light gaming or work, and they only need to fire up to low speeds when the GPU warms up under heavy load. The clean and aggressive black and red aesthetics will compliment almost any system build, while the gorgeous brushed metal back-plate with the logo was made so you can show it off in your gaming rig as that is usually the visible side.

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This is a dual-slot card with a DisplayPort, a HDMI port, two DVI ports and an air-vent.

 This Strix GTX 970 uses the GM204-200-A1 variant of the 28nm GM204 GPU, with 4GB of 7GHz (effective) GDDR5 memory, 1664 shader units, 104 TMUs and 64 ROPs.  It is factory-overclocked, with an increased Base Clock (1,050MHz to 1,114MHz) and GPU Boost Clock (1,178MHz to 1,253MHz) compared to the reference design, and built so that there is plenty of headroom beyond the factory-overclocked settings.  It has support for OpenGL 4.5, OpenCL 1.2, Shader Model 5.0 and you will be ready for the exciting Direct X 12 titles coming up soon.

 If you unscrew the heatsink you can see it is 220% larger than the reference design, combined with the the dual fans and ultra-large heat-pipes to dissipate heat. You can clearly see all three heatpipes sit across the GPU core perfectly. 

This thermal design is also up to 30% cooler (around 12 to 15 degrees cooler, depending on your ambient case temp).  Thanks to DirectCU II thermal design, the fans don't have to aggressively ramp the fans, making this 3 times quieter than reference. Additionally a VRM heatsink is added to the Super Alloy Power hardware to further ensure cool and stable operation, whether overclocked (out the box).. or overclocked even more. No memory heatsinks are required as all GDDR5 is rated to 85C and they receive cooling air through the fins from the fans above.

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  As you expect there's ASUS' DIGI+ VRM technology, improved quality power delivery components such as SAP 5K capacitors, SAP MOSFET, high performance drivers and SAP alloy chokes, which all translates to reliability, cooler and quieter operation even as you overclock it with precision.

     This card not only contends but beats the GTX 780 Ti  in some games, it only needs a single 8-pin power connector (the reference board uses two 6-pin connectors)! This is certainly the next generation of GPU.  How can you not be excited?  Now building a cool, compact powerhouse is possible without liquid-cooling and less ugly cables.

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ASUS Strix GTX 980 and the ROG R9 290X are currently dominating global 3DMark results, with World Records in 3DMark Fire Strike, 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme, 3DMark 11 Performance, 3DMark 11 Entry, 3DMark Sky Diver and 3DMark Vantage Performance. Here's the full listing:

The latest world records were broken using the new Strix GTX 980, by two Russian overclockers; Smoke and _12_.

3DMark Fire Strike 4X GPU: 39862 marks

World Record link

• GPU:  1,850MHz (+52.14%) / 2,093MHz (+18.99%)
• CPU:  5,502MHz (+83.40%)  Intel Core i7 5960X 'Haswell-E'
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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3DMark Fire Strike Extreme 4X GPU: 27242 marks

World Record Link

• GPU:  1,850MHz (+52.14%) / 2,093MHz (+18.99%)
• CPU:  5,502MHz (+83.40%)  Intel Core i7 5960X 'Haswell-E'
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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3DMark 11 Performance 4X GPU: 50569 marks

World Record Link

• GPU: 1,820MHz (+49.67%) / 2,093MHz (+18.99%)
• CPU:  5,547MHz (+84.90%) Intel Core i7 5960X 'Haswell-E'
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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3DMark Vantage Performance 4X GPU: 112312 marks

World Record Link

• GPU: 1,900MHz (+56.25%) / 2,093MHz (+18.99%)
• CPU:  5,547MHz (+84.90%) Intel Core i7 5960X 'Haswell-E'
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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These are in addition to existing world records, still held by the Matrix R9 290X:

3DMark 11 Entry 4X GPU: 44535 marks

World Record Link

• GPU: 1,050MHz (+5.00%) / 1,450MHz (+16.00%)
• CPU: 5,586.52MHz (+86.22%) Intel Core i7 5960X ‘Haswell-E’
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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3DMark Sky Diver 3X GPU: 74836 marks

World Record Link

• GPU: 1,156MHz (+15.60%) / 1,450MHz (+16.00%)
• CPU: 5,623MHz (+87.43%) Intel Core i7 5960X ‘Haswell-E’
• Motherboard: Rampage V Extreme

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Tech guru Linus has got his hands on the new Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II, and he shares his thoughts in the latest video:

Related articles:

1. Unboxing: Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II
2. Video: TastyPC Water Cools, Unboxes, Benches, In The ROG Poseidon Review
3. PR: ASUS Announces Strix DSP, Strix Claw, Strix Tactic Pro and Strix Glide Series

Since we've recently given away 50 Sniper Elite 3 game codes in our Mid-Month Mantle Madness, the Mantle upgrade is great news for those winner and recent AMD upgraders who can get Sniper Elite 3 free with the Never Settle program.

Read about the Mantle performance improvements and details behind the update over at the Rebellion developer blog.

The update will have rolled out already for Steam users, and to enable the Mantle all you need to do is select the “Use Mantle” tickbox in the game’s launcher, which is accessed via the Options button.

Note that you obviously need a Mantle compatible AMD GPU, AMD Catalyst 14.9 or later drivers  and Windows 7 or 8.1 (NOT Windows 8 - the 8.1 upgrade is free).

With four new world records already under Strix GTX 980's belt, the coming few weeks should get interesting as we keep an eye on all the new benchmark results recorded with this card.  Built on Nvidia's acclaimed 2nd-gen Maxwell architecture with customized ASUS components and DirectCU II cooling system, this video card is a GeForce to be reckoned with.  

Let's pop the bonnet to see what's roaring inside, and then compare the differences between the Strix GTX 980 and its predecessor - the ASUS GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II - and the widely-popular Matrix R9 290X Platinum.

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The anticipation of opening a brand-new high-end video card is never without a bit of suspense and a whole lot of OOOOHs and AAAAHHHs.   Strix GTX 980 is indeed no different.   

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When opening it up, keep the box and its contents in pristine condition, because it's simply too beautiful to be ravaged. 

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Inside the box you will find a well-protected Strix GTX 980 graphics card, user's guide, software CD, metal customization stickers, and a power cable.

ASUS' high-end graphics cards are perennially the popular choice among PC enthusiasts, when you take out the card out of the box you can already get a sense of why that is. This beast isn't just filled with quality components, the whole package certainly feels premium.  It is immediately obvious that the gargantuan DirectCU II heatsink is 220% larger than reference, with ultra-phat 10mm copper heatpipes all encased in a metal shroud (not plastic).

One of the key features of the Strix GTX 980 is the 0dB Fan Technology, which keeps the fans off unless the GPU temperature reaches ~65ºC.  Paired with the huge heatsink and the amazingly efficient new Maxwell chip GM204, that threshold won't be reached easily.  When you run a benchmark (as you normally would do every time you get new hardware) then the twin fans will kick in whenever needed, even then, you can hardly hear them!  DirectCU II technology makes the card 30% cooler and three times quieter, unless you're playing a game involving turbines, get the fan noise out of the game.  At the rear of the PCB is the gorgeous brushed-metal ASUS back-plate, featured there intentionally since that is usually the side showing.  There are five choices of outputs: DVI, HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.2 (four of which can be used concurrently).

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This card comes factory-overclocked to make you go faster than blazingly-fast. It is clocked at 1,279MHz (4.5% boost from 1,178MHz), with 4GB of GDDR5 RAM operating at 7,012MHz (effective) on the 256bit memory bus.  The 2048-core GPU is fed by the DIGI+ VRM with a 10-phase power design, high-quality super-alloy capacitors and chokes.  ASUS has not factory-overclocked aggressively, much thought has been put into a balanced design, focusing on minimizing under-load noise and heat, while also improving power efficiency, although if you choose to overclock some more (of course you do, and not just some), there is still plenty of headroom; enough to please the most extreme enthusiast - as proven by those 3DMark records.  In other words, ASUS didn't just slap on a chunky heatsink then push the clock speed up as high as possible.  The PCB is very similar to the Strix 970.

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This dual-slot card is 288.6mm x 134.4mm x 40.9mm in size. There is plenty of power overhead from the 6-pin and an 8-pin power connectors. 

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If you compare the Strix GTX980 (bottom) and the GTX 780 Ti (top), you can see they are almost identical in size. Both have brushed-metal backplates and metal shrouds, the heatsinks and heatpipes are kept in the same format since it works so well.  While the GTX 780 Ti used two 8-pin connectors, the Strix GTX 980 only requires a 6-pin and an 8-pin due to the efficiency of new technology. 

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The GTX 780 Ti has 2 DVI ports, 1 HDMI port and 1 DisplayPort, this time the GTX 980 has opted to go with 1 DVI port, 1 HDMI port and a trio of DisplayPorts, making it suitable for G-Sync surround if you wanted to use three PG278Q's together!

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Physically the ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum R9 290X measures 290.718 X 152.4 X 40.6 mm, the GTX 980 is 288.6mm x 134.4mm x 40.9mm in size, so the ROG R9 290X is slightly longer and taller.

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The ROG theme sets the Matrix Platinum apart visually from the Strix, along with its ROG colour-coded load indicator, actively displaying how much load the GPU has.  This is unique to the ROG hardware.

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All three cards are similar in size; they all utilize the DirectCU II cooling system for superior cooling, and they are all quality high-end cards with killer-looks.

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Here's ASUS GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II, Strix GTX 980 DirectCU II and ROG Matrix R9 290X Platinum side by side so you can see how they compare.

TastyPC has an interesting new video out, building a semi-passive build with Strix and ROG hardware using AI Suite III software with Fan Xpert control to zero the fans until they reach a certain temperature. As shown in the video, this means that with some big heatsinks you’ll have an absolutely silent PC until you push it with some hard work. Lauren guides through the component choice and setup process, then shows some sped-up footage to prove it really works.

Related articles:

1. Video: How To Build A Gaming PC Using ROG Z97 Hardware
2. Video: Extreme Gaming PC: Rampage IV Black Edition And MARS 760 Quad SLI Build
3. Video: STRIX Graphics And Strix Pro Review By Hardware Arena [Turkey]

ASUS ROG UK and Lauren at TastyPC have got together to launch a Facebook competition available to all to win a Strix GTX 980 OC. If you want a chance at winning this awesome graphics card, click here to enter. 

It's Mid-Month Mantle Madness time again, and we're running a Facebook quiz where the top prize is a Strix R9 285 graphics and 40 runners up can get AMD Never Settle Gold game codes!

Competition closes on 24th November 2014.

Click here to enter on the ROG Facebook page

Nvidia's GTX 900-series 'Maxwell' GPU's gets its first ROG treatment, with the new Poseidon GTX 980!

Featuring the DirectCU H2O, ROG's custom-designed hybrid cooler that works both air cooled or water cooled, allowing you to upgrade from air to water later to increase overclocking performance or just loop it into your existing setup with G1/4" barbs. Perfect for matching with a Maximus VII Formula's CrossChill cooler.

Underneath the DirectCU H2O there's ROG's Digi+ VRM and Super Alloy Power hardware, which can be controlled with GPU Tweak software to overclock.

Spec:

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPU
• PCI Express 3.0 interface
• 4GB GDDR5 memory
• 1279  MHz boost clock
• 2048 CUDA cores
• 7010 MHz memory clock (effective)
• 256-bit memory interface
• 1 x Native Dual-link DVI-I output
• 1 x HDMI 2.0 output
• 3 x Native DisplayPort 1.2 output

Click here to see the full picture gallery, and hit the PR button below to read the full details.

Here's all the angles of the ROG Poseidon GTX 980. To learn more about its DirectCU H20 hybrid cooler, DIGI+ VRM and Super Alloy Power hardware, click here to read the press release.

It's Modding Monday (catch the weekly updates on our Facebook page!), and here's a reminder just in case you missed any of the recent Strix mods! Pick your favorite and let us know in the ROG modding forum.

1. Strix Rider, by Little Hand
2. Keeper of the Strix, by Bob Stewart
3. Strix Soar Sky, by Autobot Chao
4. Strix Menace, by Reapervon
5. Night Strix, by Boddaker

Rocking off the back of the Gold Award in the Rampage V Extreme review, ASUS is excited to receive another from HardOCP for its Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II! 

You can see their overclocking results on the right, and we greatly encourage grabbing a cup of coffee and reading the entire review to see the complete testing and fuller discussions, but here's a few key quotes on how it compares:

Fan Noise

The fact that the ASUS GTX 970 STRIX DC II OC's fans don't turn on unless the GPU reaches 65c is a very nice feature. This helps to save energy and reduces ambient sound in the room. The fans are also well crafted to move air while remaining extremely quiet...

The Bottom Line

The ASUS GTX 970 STRIX DirectCU II OC is nice and shiny with its new layout. Not only does it look nice, it performs well. It performs on par, or above the competition while drawing significantly less power, staying cooler, and remaining much quieter. This video card is here to stay, and will be major competition for AMD and its video cards for a while to come. The standard pricing on GeForce GTX 970 video cards is only $329. Between the three video cards we looked at here today, the ASUS GTX 970 STRIX DirectCU II OC stood out the most. It delivered exceptional gameplay, overclocking, temperature management, and overall reliability...

Working closely with ASUS' graphics card engineering team, EK has yet another water block for ASUS cards: the Strix GTX 980 Full Cover Waterblock. Dubbed the EK-FC980-GTX, the high-performance, full-cover water block cools all the critical components including GPU core, GDDR5 memory and VRMs (voltage regulation modules). 

EK stresses its EK-FC980 GTX Strix water block features a unique central inlet split-flow cooling engine design for best possible cooling performance, with the water able to flow in either direction without adversely affecting the cooling performance. The base is made of nickel-plated electrolytic copper while the top is made of quality POM Acetal or acrylic, depending on what you spec at the shop. EK states they are available now, with compatible backplates available from early December from the EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network. 

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Here is what you've been waiting for; boxed in ROG colors is the new Poseidon Platinum GTX 980!

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We know you won't be patient enough to wait until you get home to peek inside, so the Poseidon is made visible from the outside.

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Tucked away safely underneath the protective foam and sheet of clear plastic, inside of a box in another box, you will find the Poseidon GTX 980. In with it is the User Guide, software disc, power cable, DVI to D-Sub adapter (if you need this adapter then please take a look at the PG278Q - you need an upgrade!) and a beautifully-crafted metal ROG sticker.

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When you take the card out, this weighty beast oozes quality and toughness.  On the exterior, you have the ROG red and matte black combination, with unique heptagonal cutouts in the shroud. Naturally, it looks like it's a component pulled from a top-secret stealth fighter jet. At the core, it is powered by Nvidia's acclaimed 2nd-gen Maxwell architecture (GM204); their most powerful and efficient to date.

The Poseidon incorporates DirectCU H2O to bring you the flexibility of using air-cooling out the box or upgrade to liquid-cooling if you wish to do so.  This is the ultimate in GPU cooling (unless you have an endless supply of LN2), there little need to wait for and buy a water block suitable for the Poseidon.

 In case you don't intend on utilizing liquid-cooling initially, Poseidon is still 15% cooler than a reference board using just its DirectCU air-cooled heatsink and fans, so it is still very overclockable even without the liquid-cooling upgrade! That makes you think about what would happen if you did use liquid-cooling; the answer is yes, DirectCU H2O gives you extreme heat dissipation; with up to half the temperature in fact (in certain tests/environments)! 

It is quiet - up to three times quieter than reference - as well as being 3.7% faster than reference in 3DMark 11 Extreme, 7% faster in Battlefield 4, and 10% faster in Watch Dogs if you're still working through that one.

Even though it is fast enough already, ROG loves overkill so it comes factory-overclocked at 1,279MHz (4.5% boost from 1,178MHz), with 4GB of GDDR5 operating at 7,012MHz (effective) on its 256bit memory bus. The 2048-core GPU is fed by the DIGI+ VRM with a 10-phase power design, high-quality Super Alloy chokes and MOSFETs, also Japanese-made 10K black metallic capacitors which have 20% better temperature endurance and five times the lifespan of standard solid caps, meanwhile POSCAPs  positioned at the back of the GPU help maximize overclocking headroom.

ASUS has not factory-overclocked too aggressively, so there is still plenty of headroom left for you to play yourself; grab GPU Tweak and there's enough to satisfy even the most extreme enthusiast.

There are five choices of outputs: DVI, HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.2 (four of which can be used concurrently).  

Note that if you do wish to take the DirectCU H2O cooling unit off, you will need to unscrew the six screws next to these output ports as well as the screws on the backplate.  The PCB is sandwiched between the brushed-metal backplate, the custom vapor chamber for liquid-cooling, extended cooling fins with three large heat-pipes, and dual dust-proof fans.

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At the rear of the PCB is the brushed-metal ASUS Poseidon branded back-plate, which doesn't only look good but helps spread and dissipate the heat.  On the outside edge you can see two G¼-inch threaded fittings so you have the freedom to choose the barb size you need to match your water cooling.

There is an exclusive real-time GPU load indicator ROG logo that pulsates in ROG red when the card is in use (it is an indicator, please do not mistake it as a warning light; nothing is going to explode!).  This is unique to ROG graphics hardware. 

The dual-slot card measures 11.3 X 5.4 X 1.6 inches in size and there is plenty of power overhead from the 6-pin and an 8-pin power connectors, which have LED indicators on each to signify if each power cable is installed correctly.

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In case you were curious but still wanted to keep your warranty, here we pull the card apart for you to reveal the components inside: everything that needs cooling gets the DirectCU H2O treatment.

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Full reviews of the new Matrix GTX 980 from your favorite websites are due next week, but before we dig into the meaty details, here's an overview of the specs and a couple of pictures to tease!

Matrix GTX 980 Spec Overview

• Nvidia GTX 980 GPU with 1342 MHz GPU Boost Clock
• 4GB, 7010 MHz (effective) GDDR5
• 3 x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, 1x dual-link DVI-I display outputs
• ROG color-coded load Indicator
• ROG Edition GPU Tweak
• DirectCU II cooler with CoolTech fan, 10mm matt-black heatpipes
• Extreme OC Features: Memory Defroster, Safe Mode,
• DIGI+ VRM power control with 14-phase Super Alloy Power and Black Metallic capacitors.

Matching a high-performance graphics card to a tiny mini-ITX build can be a difficult endeavor, which is where DC Mini line fits in. Building on the foundations set by the GTX 670 and 760 DC Mini's, the GTX 970 DC Mini sets a whole new level of performance in just 17cm.

The dual-slot DirectCU Mini cooler integrates a vapor chamber and efficient ASUS-exclusive CoolTech fan, allowing the core to run at 1.2GHz out the box, with Super Alloy Power hardware and GPU Tweak for additional OC overhead if required.

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The GTX 970 DC Mini will be in stores soon, and for more info hit the product page link below.

Canadian reviewers, Hardware Canucks, have put the Strix GTX 980 OC through its paces in games and overclocking, with the conclusion that it's a 'Dam Good' card!

"The ASUS GTX 980 STRIX OC is the picture of clock speed stability, it boasts some incredible acoustic results and feels like a highly crafted product. It also happens to be only a few bucks more than a reference card. If you’re looking for a GTX 980, this is the one you should focus on."

Be sure to read the full review at Hardware Canucks.

We teased you last week and here it is - the new Matrix GTX 980! It has already dropped a new 3DMark 11 Performance result of 28,557, setting its status as one of the world's top-performing graphics cards, and we expect there's still much more benching to come once the world's overclockers get a-hold of theirs as well!

Matrix special features include a DirectCU II cooler with CoolTech fan, unique matt-black heatpipes and real-time load reactive ROG LED you can see through your case window. Underneath, the PCB packs a memory defroster for extreme overclockers (that's what the 4-pin Molex on the end is for), and a Safe Mode button that resets everything is things go too far.

There's the usual ASUS DIGI+ VRM hardware that now powered 14 phases, with upgraded Super Alloy Power bits and 10k black-metallic capacitors that work well even when sub-zero. Extreme overclockers who hardware unlock the card have plenty of power overhead to dive into.

The Matrix GTX 980 by the numbers:

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPU
• Video memory: 4GB GDDR5
• GPU boost clock: 1342MHz
• GPU base clock: 1241MHz
• GDDR5 Memory clock: 7010MHz (effective)
• Memory interface: 256-bit
• DVI output: 1 x Native Dual-link DVI-I
• HDMI output: 1 x Native HDMI 2.0
• DisplayPort: 3 x Native DisplayPort
• Adapters/cables bundled: 1 x Power Cable, 1 x ROG Metal Sticker
• Software bundled: ASUS utilities and driver
• ROG Edition GPU Tweak
• Dimensions: 11.7 x 6 x 1.6in

For the full details hit the PR button below the pics.

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To build a mini-ITX rig for serious gaming requires you to overcome many obstacles; the toughest is probably being able to obtain enough cooling and graphics power in a small amount of space. This is where the GTX 970 DC Mini is a pocket rocket that delivers.  Do not be deceived by the little box, what lies inside contains enough power to put to shame top-of-the-line graphics cards from just a few years back; not only is it more powerful but also much cooler and half the size!  

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Imagine going back in time and rocking up to a party with this, then watching people's faces turn as you show them your mind-blowing benchmark score.  Fast forward to the present day, it is STILL mind-boggling how a card almost half the size can still be faster than a reference GTX 970!

In the grand scheme of things it is Nvidia’s 10th-generation GPU architecture, following Kepler.  Praised in raving reviews, this architecture possesses twice the energy efficiency and better performance per shader than its predecessor, at the same time running remarkably cool. The ASUS GTX 970 DC Mini uses a 28nm GM204 GPU, packing 1664 shader units, 104 TMUs and 64 ROPs connected to 4GB of 7GHz (effective) GDDR5 memory. It is factory-overclocked, with an increased GPU Base Clock (1,050MHz to 1,088MHz) and Boost Clock (1,178MHz to 1,228MHz) compared to the reference design.

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Even in DirectCU Mini form, this proprietary design allows the design to be 20% cooler AND much quieter than reference.  You can check out the video below to see how efficient and quiet the custom vapor chamber technology is; which incorporates the new advanced 360-degree CoolTech axial fan.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=totFkHQftaI[/video]

The clean and aggressive black aesthetics will compliment almost any system build.  While the gorgeous brushed metal back-plate with the logo was made to dissipate heat from the back of the PCB and so you can show it off in your gaming rig if the card is visible from the outside.

The new GM204 core in the ASUS GTX 970 DC Mini features new Nvidia technologies such as Multi-Frame sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA), Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI), GeForce Experience, Nvidia GameStream, Nvidia G-Sync, Nvidia GPU Boost 2.0, Nvidia Adaptive Vertical Sync, Nvidia Surround with up to Four Monitors, and Nvidia SLI Technology (Click here to find out more).    

This is a dual-slot card with a DisplayPort, a HDMI port, two DVI ports and an air-vent.  Note that to remove the cooling unit, the six screws next to the display ports need to also be removed along with the ones on the backplate. A single 8-pin connector is needed to power the card.

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The DC Mini is so compact and powerful, yet it can still run exceptional cool, it's built so that there is still headroom beyond the factory-overclocked settings.  So you can overclock it even more with GPU Tweak.  It provides real-time intuitive graphics tuning and includes streaming, it can also check and update your driver and BIOS.

Inside, exclusively-formulated alloy components boost performance by reducing power loss, enhancing durability, and achieving cooler operation. SAP chokes work to eliminate noise under full load while capacitors assure a 50,000-hour lifespan (2.5 times longer than traditional capacitors).

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DirectCU Mini measures just 17cm in length – making it the perfect choice for compact gaming PCs and super HTPCs.  Compared to the ROG Matrix at 29.72cm long, it is almost half the length!  When you can't squeeze a Matrix in your mini-ITX rig, the ASUS GTX 970 DC Mini is exactly what you need.

Both of these cards are dual-slot and unbeatable in their class.  One for bedroom and one for the living room then?