We haven’t seen an Asus graphics card for a
while, but it is always pretty exciting to get one out of the box and plug it
into the review rig. Asus manage to, fairly consistently, produce graphics
cards that impress- and this HD7970 is no different.
HD7970
Armed with a powerful Radeon chipset, this
card certainly has power where it counts. This is supported by a generous 3GB
of GDDR5 RAM, which gives the card plenty of breathing room while sorting
through all of those complex graphics processes. The combination of the two
results in a rather sweet performance from this higher end card - as one would
well expect from both the brand and the chip manufacturer.
Being a Radeon card, the HD7970 brings with
it certain features that are expected; these include Eyefinity technology, with
support for up to six screens (although you will need DP 1.2 compatible
monitors to do so) and CrossfireX compatibility.
The card itself is impressive to look at
(another aspect we expect from Asus). All the important components are enclosed
in a sturdy and stylish housing, finished in black and red. A prominent turbine
style fan aids in cooling the card, in conjunction with a decent cooling system
that keeps the HD7970 ticking over smoothly under all kinds of strain.
The card offers four outputs - one DVI, one
HDMI and two DisplayPort - for monitor connection. Once again, using six
monitors with this card will require the right kind of monitors. Still, even if
you don’t have access to those kinds of monitors, using more than one with this
card is simple, although an extra DVI port would not have gone amiss here. That
would simply have tied into standards for monitors, really, keeping things
easier for the end user.
Then again, this card isn’t really aimed at
the run-of-the-mill PC user. Rather, it is aimed at enthusiasts in general and
overclockers in particular. See, like most Asus graphics cards, the HD7970 is
made for overclocking. Robust design on the part of Asus ensures that the card
can handle quite a fair amount more juice than its default settings allow for.
And to help with the overclocking, Asus’ GPU Tweak utility offers a
user-friendly and safe way to squeeze extra power out of the device.
In the end, this isn’t necessarily a card
that everyone is going to want to get hold of. With a price point that is a bit
higher than expected, and a strong bent towards overclocking and extreme usage,
the HD7970 will likely be more at home in an enthusiast’s arsenal than just
another desk-top PC. If you are willing to put in the extra expense and effort
to use this card the way it was meant to be used, you won’t be disappointed.
HD7970
At a glance
Summary: A
very nice card, but probably better for enthusiasts than just every-day user
types...
Tech Specs: Radeon 7900 chipset, 3GB GDDR5, 2 DisplayPorts, 1 HDMI port, 1 DV1 port
Manufacturer: Asus
Distributer: Asus
Website: www.asus.com
Pros: Great
performer, Well put together, Easy overdocking
Cons: More
of an enthusiast's card
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