ASUS GeForce GTX 560 DirectCU II TOP Video Card Review
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Retail Box and Bundle
The front of retail box for the ASUS GTX 560 DirectCU II Top has the normal nice graphics and the icon call outs for some of the key features of this video card. ASUS also highlights that this is not your normal GTX 560 with the red and silver “Overclocked” badge below the 925 MHz text. This in conjunction with the bold “TOP” at the bottom is to make sure you realize that the reason this version cost $50.00 – $60.00 more is because it is their TOP factory overclock.
The back of the box is your typical marketing in multiple languages highlighting a few more of the key features of the ASUS version of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560.
The highlight features are:
- DirectCUII utilizing dual fans and three 6mm flattened copper heat-pipes with direct GPU contact for 20% better cooling that standard GTX 560 cards
- ASUS Super Alloy Power that results in a 15% performance increase, 2.5 times longer product lifespan, and 35C cooler operation compared to traditional components
- Voltage Tweak technology that allows you to bust the GPU voltages via ASUS software up to 50% faster clock speeds.
Just be aware that if you do attempt to further overclock this card your results will vary based on your PC and you potentially will need a better cooling solution to hit that 50% improvement.
The packaging is very nice for this card as you would expect from the TOP version. There is a box inside of a box that contains yet other boxes. The left side has a slim box with a quick start manual, the driver and full manual CD. The right box contains the mini HDMI, extra molex to 6-Pin PCI-E power connectors, and the DVI to VGA converter.
Behind the left box is the actual GTX 560 DirectCUII Top card and is surrounded by thick foam.
Also notice that they placed blue plastic protectors on all the contacts to prevent them from harm. Very thoughtful touch and makes you feel like they took their time putting this package together.
The included CD has the drivers, ASUS SmartDoctor software, ASUS GamerOSD.
I actually went right to the ASUS web site and found a new BIOS for the card that significantly improved the fan speed modulation and more up to date divers since NVIDIA just happened to release the new 280.26 WHQL drivers a few days before I started this review. There were also updated version of the ASUS SmartDoctor application used for overclocking and the ASUS GamerOSD that provides FPS, screen shots and hot key access to overclocking profiles during game play.
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