Wednesday, January 12th 2011

ASUS Readies Another Monster: GeForce GTX 580 DirectCu II

After showing off a monstrous DirectCu II cooled Radeon HD 6970 at CES, ASUS released pictures of another card which probably couldn't make it to Vegas. The GeForce GTX 580 DirectCu II from ASUS is just as beastly as its Radeon cousin. It uses a completely in-house design, with custom PCB that uses a strong VRM; and a triple-slot cooler which uses copper heatpipes that make direct contact with the GPU. The PCB uses an 8-phase GPU and 2-phase memory VRM. Whereas the reference design draws all memory power from the slot, the ASUS version has shifted one memory phase to external for improved overclocking. The VRM makes use of high-grade components, including an NEC-made proadlizer to condition power for the GPU.

The DirectCu II cooler uses a large aluminum fin array to which heat is conveyed by five heatpipes that make direct contact with the GPU. Two 100 mm fans are in charge of ventilation. The rear panel consists of two DVI, and one each of DisplayPort and HDMI. The card is bound to have factory overclocked speeds, with room for more overclocking. The cooler, though large and with two fans, is tested by the company to be quieter than NVIDIA's reference design cooler. The GeForce GTX 580 is NVIDIA's flagship DirectX 11 GPU. It packs 512 CUDA cores, and connects to 1536 MB of memory over a 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface.
Source: NordicHardware
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43 Comments on ASUS Readies Another Monster: GeForce GTX 580 DirectCu II

#26
Rule-R
Rado Dsorry but this is just ridiculous that you are discussing this in several posts.the card has 3 bracket holes to securely screw it to the case chasis.this card aint moving anywhere.forget about the gravity dude,it wont affect it by any significant amount.
I once had a big 1kg weighting CPU cooler. Beforehand i was warned not to move the pc case too rapidly to avoid damage to the socket.

With this vidcard i was merely pointing out that strain might be a reason not to go for this card. 3 bracket holes on the left side, sure firm enough. But on the right side only the pci-e slot to support it initially, hence moving the case too rapidly could cause damage.

Now i know that you know that for most users that will never happen, unless you transport the case often.
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#28
gvblake22
I can't believe people are freaking out about the three slot size of this. Aftermarket coolers that take up three slots have been around for years and nobody ever worries about those, why start now that it's already on there?

I say bring it on Asus! About time we start seeing triple slot cards. Most people have plenty of space to spare in regular, full size systems, so why not?! Better cooling, higher performance, and lower noise.
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#29
Andy77
If you take a good look, the third slot gives the fans room to breath... something that two-slot coolers will have to get by setting them 3 slots apart, anyway. So much fuss about nothing.

The issue is that grill... does it have a function? :confused: The sink blades all exhaust air at the top and bottom of the card not at its sides to actually matter if there's a grill or not.
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#30
chodaboy19
They should just start making these things external like a mini-pc. lol
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#31
Shihab
Andy77The issue is that grill... does it have a function? :confused: The sink blades all exhaust air at the top and bottom of the card not at its sides to actually matter if there's a grill or not.
Intake ?
Posted on Reply
#32
DonInKansas
LionheartYou just made my point.
Pretty sure people wanting SLI won't be looking at this card. You do know that there are some people out there that just want one high performing, low temp card, right?
Posted on Reply
#33
kevinwong0511
blu3flannelApart from the fact that it makes SLI/CFX hard, why is that?
In fact this reason is more than enough, mate! :)
Posted on Reply
#34
wolf
Performance Enthusiast
this is an insane looking card... with all that copper and fins and two 100mm fans... I bet it is considerably cooler than a stock card, perhaps even consuming less power becuase of it. like the 480 SOC.

I'd expect these to roll in stock around 850 core and oc to 950+ hopefully with those dedicated memory VRM's we start seeing 4400+ effective clocks too.
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#35
johnnyfiive
I bet its going to be close to 600 USD which is just insane for a single card, looks neat though.
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#36
Radi_SVK
Rule-RBut on the right side only the pci-e slot to support it initially, hence moving the case too rapidly could cause damage.
You have a point there allright..But its up to everybody that how they look after their £400+ gear...For instance,me,even if I know I'll be taking out the card from the MOBO in a minute,I'll always secure the bracket with the screws.so no danger of damage from rapid moving.
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#37
Rule-R
Rado DYou have a point there allright..But its up to everybody that how they look after their £400+ gear...For instance,me,even if I know I'll be taking out the card from the MOBO in a minute,I'll always secure the bracket with the screws.so no danger of damage from rapid moving.
You as well m8, and i will do that too .. always. No phun in damaged goods.

I guess the SLI arguement is more stakeholding than the strain arguement, but still an arguement.
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#38
..'Ant'..
I guess this card is perfect for single GPU users like me but not so for SLi users.
Posted on Reply
#39
Edito
LionheartI hate triple slot coolers.
I Hate it to...
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#40
runnin17
Meh, make a custom designed PCB and a custom designed waterblock and then maybe I would be interested. Triple slot coolers are fool-hardy.
Posted on Reply
#42
Widjaja
Hunt3rthis is big monster..
Someone will surely buy it just because of this reason.

Can't help but think about the amount of unsupported corner sag though.
My HD4850 already has it with the Twin Turbo fitted.

Probably have to setup the PCI-E power connector so it is supporting the weight of it.
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