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Hardware Asus Matrix GTX580 Platinum Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 5 Sep 2011.

  1. arcticstoat

    arcticstoat Minimodder

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  2. SpAceman

    SpAceman What's a Dremel?

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    Wow impressive temps. I want.
     
  3. Krikkit

    Krikkit All glory to the hypnotoad! Super Moderator

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    Indeed - great cooler, they should bring one out for multiple cards.
     
  4. Omnituens

    Omnituens What's a Dremel?

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    I was going to buy one of these last month since I saw it on novatech for a discounted price - but I my bank balance said no. roll on the 25th so I can order this bad boy.
     
  5. Sentinel-R1

    Sentinel-R1 Chaircrew

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    I can vouch for these cards. Absolutely amazing, especially in SLI.

    The only thing that's changed from the review samples that were sent out is the GPU Tweak software. The option to 'Burn' (as they put it) your new OC to the cards BIOS is now omitted for the time being, although not sure why.

    Not really a problem though as GPU Tweak remembers your last OC profile and can be set to load on startup.
     
    Last edited: 5 Sep 2011
  6. MaverickWill

    MaverickWill Dirty CPC Mackem

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    Is it just me that thinks triple-slot cards should be penalised a bit? I know the cooling performance is there, and they look good, but there's also the problem that they take up half your motherboard's slots (SR-2 owners, no need to brag - we know it's only a third for you guys). It also hampers SLI connectivity, as with cards like these, you'd want a slot free between the cards minimum, so unless you have a motherboard with that sort of spacing, you're somewhat out of luck.

    I know some may see this as me being picky, but a quick glance at Bit-Tech's Buyer's Guide gives me a recommended P67 and Z68 motherboard (the MSI P67A-GD53 and the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z), the former of which couldn't give any space between two of these cards, and the latter of which couldn't even fit two of these cards. So it is a problem for some top-notch motherboards.
     
  7. Omnituens

    Omnituens What's a Dremel?

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    Also, I saw this card running at i43, they had theirs clocked to ~950MHz - but this was the Asus stand so probably brought the best example.
     
  8. Autti

    Autti What's a Dremel?

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    Why bother buy it when the MSI Lightning XE comes with 3gb. For a premium premium product, it seems a huge mistake to not give it 3gb when people using this for gaming will be cranking the AA and run 2560 screens.

    It's substantially more expensive than an MSI lightning XE as well, which is already very expensive. Pretty stupid card to be honest.
     
  9. Snips

    Snips I can do dat, giz a job

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    For this card though Autti, its the super quiet, super cooling that's the huge difference. OK, only a slight overclock but you can push a little more out yourself.

    It will still play everything you throw at it today for most gamers and probably most of next year as well.
     
  10. Baz

    Baz I work for Corsair

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    Erm, the MSI Lightning XE is £499 where I can find it. A £400 one would indeed be tasty.
     
  11. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    Why no OC section???
     
  12. Blarte

    Blarte Moderate Modder

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    EVGA 580 standard cards are pretty impressive (add water cooling) 850 all day every day ..
     
  13. Blarte

    Blarte Moderate Modder

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    at a time i am looking to decrease case size and increase desk space ..
     
  14. kzinti1

    kzinti1 What's a Dremel?

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    It's too bad that your Value rating of this videocard belies your comments in the article.
    "As such, the Asus more than justifies its price as a fast card that will last for ages. It's too large to fit inside many cases, but so much performance at such a low noise level makes it a very desirable card." And then you give it only a Value Score of 23/30?
    Which is it? You can't have it both ways and still maintain your supposed journalistic neutrality and also the integrity of your review.
     
  15. Claave

    Claave You Rebel scum

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    The card justifies its price premium over a bog-standard GTX 580 card, but is it the best buy for everyone? Probably not.

    I think the conclusion and scores make it clear enough that if you're looking for a top-end, single-GPU card this card is excellent, but if you're just looking for a graphics card this should merely be on your short-list.
     
  16. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    Is it worth the £40 more than a standard 580 DirectCU2?
     
  17. Sentinel-R1

    Sentinel-R1 Chaircrew

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    I think so mate. Temps are lower, overclocks higher. GPUs are specially binned for the Matrix model.
     
  18. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    No fullcover water blocks for it though :(
     
  19. Sentinel-R1

    Sentinel-R1 Chaircrew

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    No point buying the Matrix to watercool though is there. Might as well buy the standard cards if that's the plan.
     
  20. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    for the extra voltage options...
     
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