# ASUS Mars II 3 GB Dual GTX 580



## W1zzard (Aug 16, 2011)

The ASUS MARS II is a monster graphics card consisting of two GeForce GTX 580 GPUs on a single PCB using triple slot cooling. Unlike the NVIDIA GTX 590, the MARS II comes with full GTX 580 clock speeds which give the card an almost 20% performance advantage over the GTX 590, making the card the fastest graphics card in the world, but also the most expensive at $1500.

*Show full review*


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## Recus (Aug 18, 2011)

*BEAST* 

Seems Nvidia back to Top. Owns single and dual crowns. Game over. Waiting Kepler and Southern Islands.


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## Ghost (Aug 18, 2011)

Is this card Quad-GPU? Cuz max power consumption says so


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## DrunkenMafia (Aug 18, 2011)

700+ watts. holy crap that thing would cost a couple of bucks an hour to run....


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## qubit (Aug 18, 2011)

OMG I've only read the conclusion and it looks awesome. 

And it blows away the 6990 like I said it would, previously.


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2011)

DrunkenMafia said:


> 700+ watts. holy crap that thing would cost a couple of bucks an hour to run....



no point running furmark all day @ 700 W

regular gaming is much less


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## MetalRacer (Aug 18, 2011)

Great review on a awesome card, but the price is a real turn off.


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## Lionheart (Aug 18, 2011)

Nice review ^_^

I'm cutting out my heart too purchase this as we speak, nearly there..............................X_X


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## Bjorn_Of_Iceland (Aug 18, 2011)

By the gods! What monstrosity. A performance glimpse of the next single gpu solution coming next year only it has double the price. 



W1zzard said:


> no point running furmark all day @ 700 W
> 
> regular gaming is much less



and with vsync turned on, it would be definitely lesser.


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## LDNL (Aug 18, 2011)

Page 30. The chart in OC Temps is named "Fan noise" and the first word in the conclusion


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## zOaib (Aug 18, 2011)

been a while since i posted on these forums , but always reading .......... this card is for the INSANE gamer , meaning if u have the Dough and u want to show then u go MARS .

i am still using my single gtx 480 , had SLI sold one because i was OVERKILL on games and power usage .......... but none the less nice card MARS ........ i hope to see this power reduced into a single gpu soon =)


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## AsRock (Aug 18, 2011)

Recus said:


> *BEAST*
> 
> Seems Nvidia back to Top. Owns single and dual crowns. Game over. Waiting Kepler and Southern Islands.



How you work that out just because of the speed ?..  Hello ?, check the price differences out lol.  And i am betting the enthusiasts market is no were near as big when your talking these prices like OMG 1.5k for a v card.

And with that kinda performance i would get 2 6990's \590's before getting that.  So glad i am not a  enthusiast.


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## Animalpak (Aug 18, 2011)

excellent review as always !

This is a Masterpiece !  

The Bugatti Veyron of the graphics cards, but you also have to be an overclocker do not you just play games.


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## AnnCore (Aug 18, 2011)

MetalRacer said:


> Great review on a awesome card, but the price is a real turn off.



Agreed but luckily your avatar isn't a turn off.


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## entropy13 (Aug 18, 2011)

There's a typo W1zz: "*Thw* ASUS MARS II is really a monster graphics card."


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2011)

LDNL said:


> Page 30. The chart in OC Temps is named "Fan noise" and the first word in the conclusion



fixed both. thanks


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

How the hell does a card so heavy stay on the motherboard without bending or warping in some way?!


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## Melvis (Aug 18, 2011)

FAST!! 

Price is a joke 

More power usage then two of my computer's combined lol

Im surprised the fan noise is that load?  and i should know i run 2 4870X2's


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## Activeduke (Aug 18, 2011)

Can this run Crysis?


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## Zubasa (Aug 18, 2011)

qubit said:


> OMG I've only read the conclusion and it looks awesome.
> 
> And it blows away the 6990 like I said it would, previously.


I hardly call 10% faster @2560x1600 "blown away", TBH I expect more from 2XGTX580 cores and $1499.
The results are hardly impressive.


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## techtard (Aug 18, 2011)

The thing that makes you scratch your head though, is you can buy 2 gtx 590s or 2 radeon 6990s for the same price.

It's a nice statement by Asus that they can engineer such a robust card. A little on the expensive side for the performance it brings to the table.


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## HossHuge (Aug 18, 2011)

10% faster for twice as much money.  This must be the new math I'm always hearing about.


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## dj-electric (Aug 18, 2011)

its sort of a collector's edition card, nothing that will sell in masses. and yes, i do agree 10% difference from HD6990 in 2560X1600 dont make it THAT faster. considering the power consumption of that thing nothing here is a miracle


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## 63jax (Aug 18, 2011)

Woow, amazing performance!!! Let's play now some shitty console ports.
C'mon now people, it's a nice demonstration of power but let's be realistic...


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## techtard (Aug 18, 2011)

So are they going to drop an Ares II Dual 6970 monstrosity for 1500 that is 10% faster than this?


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## qubit (Aug 18, 2011)

techtard said:


> So are they going to drop an Ares II Dual 6970 monstrosity for 1500 that is 10% faster than this?



No, because it would damage this nvidia fanboy's ego.


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## HalfAHertz (Aug 18, 2011)

Dj-ElectriC said:


> its sort of a collector's edition card, nothing that will sell in masses. and yes, i do agree 10% difference from HD6990 in 2560X1600 dont make it THAT faster. considering the power consumption of that thing nothing here is a miracle



AHEM, it's actually 11% faster if you normalize it according to the 6990  . See, this 1% makes a whole lot more difference!


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## xBruce88x (Aug 18, 2011)

Activeduke said:


> Can this run Crysis?



... did you even look at the charts? in short, yes.


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## MRCL (Aug 18, 2011)

But the most important thing is the DVI to VGA adapter, don't forget that.


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## Maban (Aug 18, 2011)

Is there a quad-SLI review in the works?


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## btarunr (Aug 18, 2011)

Activeduke said:


> Can this run Crysis?



Can you read?


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## the54thvoid (Aug 18, 2011)

techtard said:


> So are they going to drop an Ares II Dual 6970 monstrosity for 1500 that is 10% faster than this?



Umm, it's called the 6990.

This card is what AMD successfully did (apart from noise) with the 6990.  It is two normal (slight OC) 580's.  The MARS II is a superb card but like the earlier Bugatti Veyron analogy it is just a rich (or rich tech fan) collectors card.

All the folk saying 'waste of time' etc are missing the point.  It's a prestige item, like a Bugatti, a Ferrari or a luxury yacht.  It has no real world practicality.  Folk really need to get a reality check on life.  A well engineered card by Asus is what it is.

The problems lie with Nvidia's actual design.  GF 110 is still a power hog.  The fact the 6990 comes within 10% average of this is testament to AMD's design technology and implementation.

Unless Nvidia sort out their design for their next series, I see AMD getting ludicrous perf per watt versus the green team.


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## mlee49 (Aug 18, 2011)

3 PCIE 8 pin power connectors, in 2 years graphics cards will come with their own power supplies.

Gawd, just to run one of these requires a solid 800W PSU. Glad Asus did it.


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## qubit (Aug 18, 2011)

Activeduke said:


> Can this run Crysis?



Nah, _nothing_ can run Crysis, it's far too demanding.


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## Widjaja (Aug 18, 2011)

Activeduke said:


> Can this run Crysis?


I believe this is still supposed to be funny.

The purpose of this card was simply to say nVidia is faster than anything AMD has.
Didn't really matter too much about by how much or what it will cost.


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2011)

Maban said:


> Is there a quad-SLI review in the works?



not at this time .. card is already packaged up to go to the next reviewer


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

Nice to know that whoever it is gets Wizzards sloppy seconds.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 18, 2011)

What an awesome card......and an "awesome" price to match.


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## douglatins (Aug 18, 2011)

How the hell does this a editors choice. Its louder, hotter, less overclockable, more expensive and only saves one PCI slot compaired to a dual MSI lightning or GB SOC.
Uncool wiz


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

douglatins said:


> How the hell does this a editors choice. Its louder, hotter, less overclockable, more expensive and only saves one PCI slot compaired to a dual MSI lightning or GB SOC.
> Uncool wiz



I also thought that, and have often wondered just how he calculates the end score. I guess this card makes up for all those down falls with shear power.


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## yogurt_21 (Aug 18, 2011)

still curious how it fares against 580 sli, especially being 500$ more expensive than 580 sli. 

I mean shoot 1500$ gets you dual 580's, full coverage water blocks, a whole new watercooling system, and a couple games.


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## Jegergrim (Aug 18, 2011)

I wonder if Nvidia expects this to be sold in large quantities O.O


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## Batou1986 (Aug 18, 2011)

This thing really makes no sense, even from Asus's point of view.
At $1400 I really doubt they will sell enough to turn a profit on the cost of design.
For that amount of money I could buy a 6990 and I7 setup to match.


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## douglatins (Aug 18, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> I also thought that, and have often wondered just how he calculates the end score. I guess this card makes up for all those down falls with shear power.



I would give it a 8ish for innovation 7 if price had a bigger importance.
Dont get me wrong the ASUS matrix are great, even though 3slot coolers aren't my thing. But it costs 30usd more i dunno


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 18, 2011)

I think you guy are missing the point of this card. This is a niche product. This is a GPU for the guy who doesn't care about costs and wants only the best. Its not about bang for the buck. You don't buy a Shelby "Super Snake" and brag about MPG. Savvy? I mean honestly I bet there will only be a few thousand made IF that. W1zz rated it for what it is and I agree. This card is not designed for mortals like us.


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## mtosev (Aug 18, 2011)

thx w1z
the card fails at the most important factor (price - 1500USD LULWUT?)


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## claylomax (Aug 18, 2011)

Hi W1z, which is the default load voltage on this card? On the voltage tuning section you say: "We could only raise the GPU voltage from 1.050 V to 1.075 V" I assume the voltage is 1.050v; but then on the clock profiles it says 1.08v (which is 1.075v). Because that's where the overclocking headroom comes as the GTX 590's default load voltage is 0.97v.


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## etayorius (Aug 18, 2011)

"Prestige"... haha, i love it when people are willing to pay humongous amounts of money for shit they dont need or they could get cheaper (in this case performance of a SLI/Crossfirex setup) just to prove social status haha.


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I think you guy are missing the point of this card. This is a niche product. This is a GPU for the guy who doesn't care about costs and wants only the best. Its not about bang for the buck. You don't buy a Shelby "Super Snake" and brag about MPG. Savvy? I mean honestly I bet there will only be a few thousand made IF that. W1zz rated it for what it is and I agree. This card is not designed for mortals like us.



I am aware of that. I still wonder how he calculates the final score, and what score is deemed good enough to be awarded the choice awards.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 18, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> I am aware of that. I still wonder how he calculates the final score, and what score is deemed good enough to be awarded the choice awards.



I think its in his "IMO" realm. Honestly I have bought two cards based off of W1zzards "IMO" reviews and the man has yet to let me down.


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2011)

claylomax said:


> Hi W1z, which is the default load voltage on this card? On the voltage tuning section you say: "We could only raise the GPU voltage from 1.050 V to 1.075 V" I assume the voltage is 1.050v; but then on the clock profiles it says 1.08v (which is 1.075v). Because that's where the overclocking headroom comes as the GTX 590's default load voltage is 0.97v.



the voltage listed in the table is what i measure on the card via multimeter.

the 1.050V is what is displayed by the driver


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## W1zzard (Aug 18, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> how he calculates the final score, and what score is deemed good enough to be awarded the choice awards.



the score is a general feel of the card, it is not calculated.

there is no score requirement for awards.

look at the score in the first 5 seconds after loading the last page (you probably skipped there anyway). based on the score decide if reading the conclusion is worth your time, if yes, read conclusion, consider it as input for your own conclusion, then decide if you want to read the rest of the review, then decide if you want to buy the product


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

TheMailMan78 said:


> I think its in his "IMO" realm. Honestly I have bought two cards based off of W1zzards "IMO" reviews and the man has yet to let me down.



I do all my product searches on the guys reviews. In the market now for a new GPU and by Christ is he making it hard for me to decide. Damn reviews are too bloody good.




W1zzard said:


> the score is a general feel of the card, it is not calculated.
> 
> there is no score requirement for awards.
> 
> look at the score in the first 5 seconds after loading the last page (you probably skipped there anyway). based on the score decide if reading the conclusion is worth your time, if yes, read conclusion, consider it as input for your own conclusion, then decide if you want to read the rest of the review, then decide if you want to buy the product




Fair enough


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 18, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> I do all my product searches on the guys reviews. In the market now for a new GPU and by Christ is he making it hard for me to decide. Damn reviews are too bloody good.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Whats your budget. Because from what I can see there are only two real routes for gaming right now within reason. 6950 or two 560's Ti in SLI. Anything above that RIGHT NOW is over kill IMO......but nice to have for "longevity". Personally I am waiting for the 7xxx series from ATI and the 6xx series from Nvidia. They are only a few months away now and since I have been rocking a 5850 this long I see no reason not to wait a lil longer.


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## WhiteLotus (Aug 18, 2011)

That's why he is making it hard. I want good, but then I want silence. It's a constant trade off between the two, though at the moment the 560Ti twin frozr from MSI is winning.

Anyway, onwards with the discussion of this product/review.


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## ..'Ant'.. (Aug 18, 2011)

That's one hell of a card!!!


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## Casecutter (Aug 18, 2011)

Recus said:


> *BEAST*
> 
> Seems Nvidia back to Top. Owns single and dual crowns. Game over. Waiting Kepler and Southern Islands.



Well Asus is the one who engineered and built it, even after Nvidia chickened-out not finding the guts to try it!
What do they say?...Oh yea! *No Guts... NO Glory!* 

I give credit where credit is due.  It is an amazing feat of packaging to get all that on one PCB and bricked into that size. Then control the BTU's of a small floor heater. It is an achievement of Engineering... Bravo Asus!


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 18, 2011)

Price seems excessive IMO, but the performance is pretty damn impressive, and it even overclocks well!


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Aug 18, 2011)

HossHuge said:


> 10% faster for twice as much money.  This must be the new math I'm always hearing about.
> 
> 
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/110818/perfrel_2560.gif



That and it has less memory, and the gap gets even smaller when you flip that oc switch on the 6990. Seriously if they're going for $1500 they could have easily just made it a 2x3 GB card like the top end 580s are now. If this is supposed to be the ultimate card they aren't doing it right.


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 18, 2011)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> That and it has less memory, and the gap gets even smaller when you flip that oc switch on the 6990. Seriously if they're going for $1500 they could have easily just made it a 2x3 GB card like the top end 580s are now. If this is supposed to be the ultimate card they aren't doing it right.



You can't compare single car solutions with 1 card solutions, that's just not fair, when you cram more components on 1 P{CB you have more heat in a smaller space, this is a pretty amazing fete that they have pulled off IMO, also unlike the 6990 the drivers for this card work properly.


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## yogurt_21 (Aug 18, 2011)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> That and it has less memory, and the gap gets even smaller when you flip that oc switch on the 6990. Seriously if they're going for $1500 they could have easily just made it a 2x3 GB card like the top end 580s are now. If this is supposed to be the ultimate card they aren't doing it right.



and they're supposed to put that memory where exactly? look at the card it's already jam packed. They'd have to make it a 6GB card to get 3GB per core and the current memory is already front and back. there isn't any more room for it.


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## alexsubri (Aug 18, 2011)

Well! If I'd pay around $1500 , it BETTER be faster than 6990 and 590 combined!

Also, where is the Crossfire 6990 vs Dual GTX 580 benchmarks?


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## Bow (Aug 19, 2011)




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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 19, 2011)

alexsubri said:


> Well! If I'd pay around $1500 , it BETTER be faster than 6990 and 590 combined!
> 
> Also, where is the Crossfire 6990 vs Dual GTX 580 benchmarks?



Why would you compare quadfire versus a dual gpu . . . that is neither fair nor needed and completely pointless.


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## jamsbong (Aug 19, 2011)

This is what the 590 should have been. It is impressive to see Asus manage to tame this monster.

Personally, I would have build a water cooled system with a big-ass radiator and reservoir. It would be a lot more quiet and lower temp as well. The card I would use will not be this one, as it is just too expensive.


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## RagingCain (Aug 19, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> the score is a general feel of the card, it is not calculated.
> 
> there is no score requirement for awards.
> 
> look at the score in the first 5 seconds after loading the last page (you probably skipped there anyway). based on the score decide if reading the conclusion is worth your time, if yes, read conclusion, consider it as input for your own conclusion, then decide if you want to read the rest of the review, then decide if you want to buy the product



Was the 590 lower because you blew one up?

Perhaps time to revisit the 590 with safer voltage and these drivers, 280.19.


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## Zubasa (Aug 19, 2011)

RagingCain said:


> Was the 590 lower because you blew one up?
> 
> Perhaps time to revisit the 590 with safer voltage and these drivers, 280.19.


Perhaps nVidia should use beefier components like Asus did here


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## RagingCain (Aug 19, 2011)

Zubasa said:


> Perhaps nVidia should use beefier components like Asus did here



For what reason?






http://imageshack.us/f/269/875nice.png/

To go beyond 875 MHz?

I suppose that would be nice.


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## Nirutbs (Aug 19, 2011)

too high price.........for me 555+


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## GSquadron (Aug 19, 2011)

The power consumption is horrible and the cost too.
Meant only for money spenders


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## the54thvoid (Aug 19, 2011)

Mixed results on heat and sound around the web.

Tweaktown has it quieter than the 590, far quieter than the 6990.  Lower temps too.

Hexus has it quieter in game, versus the 6990.  Though 100% fan speed puts it 50 dB (56dB for 6990)

VR-Zone has it running very hot indeed.

It'll be nice to see a cross section of reviews.  Not that I'd buy one.  Ever.  Steal one, maybe.


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## Bjorn_Of_Iceland (Aug 19, 2011)

Activeduke said:


> Can this run Crysis?


Choo choo, here comes the infraction train


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## SaiZo (Aug 19, 2011)

Nice card. Do I want one? Yes!
Do I need one? No..


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## 2DividedbyZero (Aug 19, 2011)

SaiZo said:


> Nice card. Do I want one? Yes!
> Do I need one? No..



... will i get one... *NO!*


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## Hayder_Master (Aug 19, 2011)

Wooooooooow, this card crazy and don't expect this much of overclocking.
And as you said W1Z one thing missed more ram, 3Gb each GPU will be perfect card.


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## alexsubri (Aug 19, 2011)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> Why would you compare quadfire versus a dual gpu . . . that is neither fair nor needed and completely pointless.



nvm :shadedshu , i forgot that the 6990 is 4gb ..but still for $1500 is should be better than any other graphic card on the market , no doubt about it.


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 19, 2011)

alexsubri said:


> nvm :shadedshu , i forgot that the 6990 is 4gb ..but still for $1500 is should be better than any other graphic card on the market , no doubt about it.



right .. . but you still didn't say why you would want 4 GPU's compared to 2 GPU's . .  I am puzzeled.


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## fullinfusion (Aug 20, 2011)

Just tossing this out there; Why use an old 11.4 Ati driver when the later drivers *11.7,11.8 prove to be much better and faster? Nvidia an old driver too? I know its a reference point but really? 

Nice review though! But im taking this review with a grain of salt..

Oh and the price!!! Smoke another rock asus!   What a joke!


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## W1zzard (Aug 20, 2011)

fullinfusion said:


> Why use an old 11.4 Ati driver



has been discussed in many reviews before. i cant rebench all those cards every time a new driver comes out. count how many individual results are in this review then estimate how much work this would be. a full rebench is coming soon, though


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## fullinfusion (Aug 20, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> has been discussed in many reviews before. i cant rebench all those cards every time a new driver comes out. count how many individual results are in this review then estimate how much work this would be. a full rebench is coming soon, though


I musta missed it. I was thinking a driver that shows a good improvement is a worthy replacement over a 4 month old driver. But Wizzard thats why you get paid the big bucks for all the hard work


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 20, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> has been discussed in many reviews before. i cant rebench all those cards every time a new driver comes out. count how many individual results are in this review then estimate how much work this would be. a full rebench is coming soon, though



that's a ton of work!


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## Steevo (Aug 20, 2011)

I have always appreciated your reviews W1zz, but on this one I have to ask really why a 9.4? The power consumption, the price, the noise, and the minor performance increase.

If the value you assign arbitrary? Or do you use some sort of scale or scope of with extra points for features?

The only reason I ask is that many users have hit the nail on the head, 10-12% more performance than a 6990 for twice the price? And not to mention the need for a new power supply, a new....well everything to go with it. 


I can count on my two hands the number of people who will actually use this card to its full (well perhaps my hands and feet) but still 9.4? 




Amazing tech nonetheless, it looks awkward naked, with all the power components exposed.


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 20, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> has been discussed in many reviews before. i cant rebench all those cards every time a new driver comes out. count how many individual results are in this review then estimate how much work this would be. a full rebench is coming soon, though



Do the new drivers off that much of a benefit to warrant a re-bench? Or is it just about that time?


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## Fourstaff (Aug 20, 2011)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Do the new drivers off that much of a benefit to warrant a re-bench? Or is it just about that time?



I know that there is sometimes a significant difference between cards just launched and the same card 1 year later with driver improvements, but since that the GTX580 is out for some time now I think the difference will be minimal.


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## W1zzard (Aug 20, 2011)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Do the new drivers off that much of a benefit to warrant a re-bench? Or is it just about that time?



most certainly the differences will be minimal, but to avoid endless "omgz old drivrs" comments i just rebench from time to time .. also lets me add new benchmarks or update the benchmarks to the latest version


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 20, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> most certainly the differences will be minimal, but to avoid endless "omgz old drivrs" comments i just rebench from time to time .. also lets me add new benchmarks or update the benchmarks to the latest version



I figured as much. I was just curious. All these cards are long in the tooth now and there is only so much milk you can get from a cow.


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Aug 20, 2011)

W1zzard said:


> most certainly the differences will be minimal, but to avoid endless "omgz old drivrs" comments i just rebench from time to time .. also lets me add new benchmarks or update the benchmarks to the latest version



That's a lot of work to silence the meme's.


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## the54thvoid (Aug 22, 2011)

I've read a few reviews across the web for the card and each reviewer has had the same issues.  It's been a flying visit before they've had it pass it on.  Some sites didn't even get to test it against more than a couple of cards.

Hats off to W1z for getting so many titles in.  It's a fucking £1000+ card, it's not going to be sitting in someones test bench for days on end waiting for every update.

I like what Kit Guru said about it:


> Looking at this product from the point of view as a ‘value for money’ proposition is pointless.





> I am giving this the MUST HAVE award. Obviously not for the general audience reading this, but for the collectors and enthusiast users with high levels of disposable income. I would think all 999 in this limited run will sell out quickly.



Like the prior analogies, a Bugatti Veyron is a pretty pointless car in practical terms but it's a technical marvel.  And people will buy them.


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## douglatins (Aug 22, 2011)

I would like to see if nvidia released a card like this, people would be promoting they as demigod, just like people are doing to asus. No matter how you look it, 1500USD is offensive. People complained a lot to amd for a 700usd card.
It doesnt matter how many vrms, backplates, pci power plugs you cram it in a card.
This card fails as a product.
Its just like apple releasing a goldplated ipad. At least gold will remain valuable. This card will be irrelevant in less than a year.
What they should sell is a subscription service for those that can afford this, so they get every new card that comes in the mail, and charge 10k for it, cause who cares right?

Also comparing limited edition to "tech" products to say mechanical marvels is sort of an offense. You tell me how much a veyron will cost in a decade and how much a mars is going to worth. One will be still one of the fastest cars in the world, the other a pretty pointless paperweight.


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## buttah42 (Aug 22, 2011)

Hmm so I guess I'll be the first to ask this question. When is this card going to be released and where would it be available?


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## Ev1LrYu (Aug 23, 2011)

[H]@RD5TUFF said:


> right .. . but you still didn't say why you would want 4 GPU's compared to 2 GPU's . .  I am puzzeled.



I am guessing its purely because it is 2x the price of the 6990.


Amazing card, now if only I could shit(gold)brix.



....


On second thought not worth the pain in the ass


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## AlphaStormX (Aug 23, 2011)

Asus makes the best motherboards, graphics cards and best cooling for them. Asus have made a card that thrashed the GTX 590 and Radeon 6990. Shame I can't afford it .


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## AlphaStormX (Aug 23, 2011)

*Gtx 695?*



douglatins said:


> I would like to see if nvidia released a card like this, people would be promoting they as demigod, just like people are doing to asus.




Well Nvidia might release a £1000 card which is TRI CORE. Gtx 695, anyone?


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## TheMailMan78 (Aug 23, 2011)

AlphaStormX said:


> Asus makes the best motherboards, graphics cards and best cooling for them. Asus have made a card that thrashed the GTX 590 and Radeon 6990. Shame I can't afford it .



Mobo's sure. I don't agree on the GPU's or cooling.


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## ensabrenoir (Aug 24, 2011)

Yes a masterpiece in unnecessary excessiveness for the bored exclusive.  Yes, every man should own one... and use it to play solitaire  on 12 30 inch 3d screens.


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## wolf (Aug 25, 2011)

Seriously fast card, but given its stature I did expect a little more to be honest...

I'd have liked to see 3gb per GPU, the thing costs $1500 man, slap on some more memory and make it as over the top as it appears to be...

And a higher overclock, somethin that really sets it apart and gives it a noticeable lead over GTX580 SLi even... something like ~850 core and ~1050mhz memory.

anyone with enough money to burn on this could likely consider two MSI Lightning XE editions (the 3gb ones) and overclock them. at the cost of only one more slot you'd have a faster and longer lasting setup alright, for hundreds cheaper, and it's still waaay over the top.


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## Boilerhog (Aug 26, 2011)

Massive piece of kit! I want 2 now,DROOL.

I still have my 999.00 us,  512, 6800 ultra x 2 BFG, that was 1299.00 canadian at the time and tax was just over 2800.00.
also have pairs of 7950 GX2 and 9800 GX2.
 of course, i can only do this during shutdown season, money is good an i'm "StUpId"!
 HELLLLL YEESSSS! i do it again in a second. 
if there was stock available when i had money like that ,timing is everything, with this kind of hardware,had the 6800's for 4 days before 7800 went on shelves .took a month to get them ,lol,
Great Review, Wiz.


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## hugz (Aug 27, 2011)

ASUS Mars II, the most idiotic purchase ever, twice as much as GTX590.


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## Helltech (Aug 27, 2011)

Jegergrim said:


> I wonder if Nvidia expects this to be sold in large quantities O.O



AFAIK they are only making 999 of these, judging by the certification you get with the card. With that known "large quantities" is all just opinion. Can you consider even 100 percent of them being "sold" large quantities?

Also I'm not sure if Nvidia themselves cares if ASUS sells a lot of these. Wasn't there a big fiasco between ASUS and Nvidia a while ago with dual-GPU cards where Nvidia was upset because ASUS "one-upped" them in an unveiling. I don't even remember what that was about, but I recall it happening.



WhiteLotus said:


> How the hell does a card so heavy stay on the motherboard without bending or warping in some way?!



The card comes with a PCI-e "support" bracket that goes on the second PCI-e slot under where the card is plugged into, the card can't bend because it hits that "support" bracket.

Think of it as a door-stopper for PCI-e slots. Actually, I kind of hope/wish ASUS starts selling these, they are a pretty good idea for any card.


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## techtard (Aug 28, 2011)

the54thvoid said:


> Umm, it's called the 6990.
> 
> This card is what AMD successfully did (apart from noise) with the 6990.  It is two normal (slight OC) 580's.  The MARS II is a superb card but like the earlier Bugatti Veyron analogy it is just a rich (or rich tech fan) collectors card.
> 
> ...




Not really, this card is a super engineered monster. The original Ares was Asus' own monster 5870 based dual card, like the original Mars was a dual nVidia card.

If Asus deploys an Ares II that is as over engineered as this, it will most likely eat the Mars IIs lunch.

Hell, you can hit the factory overclock setting on a 6990 and you are practically neck and neck with this thing.

This card is a nice feat of engineering to prove what can be done when you have a Jurassic Park style 'Spare no expense' attitude.

If someone wants to waste their money on this then they can go right ahead. The will be kicking themselves in 6 months when the next gen cards come out and smash this for one third of the price.

Though AMD has been enjoying a performance per watt advantage over nVidia since the ATI 4xxx series,it might not happen again next gen as AMD is shifting over to a more GP-GPU solution like nVidia.


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## fullinfusion (Aug 29, 2011)

$1500 dollars lol... Look at NCIX and what they have it listed at... LOOK HERE


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## btarunr (Aug 29, 2011)

fullinfusion said:


> $1500 dollars lol... Look at NCIX and what they have it listed at... LOOK HERE



That's for an entire desktop based on Mars II.


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## fullinfusion (Aug 29, 2011)

btarunr said:


> That's for an entire desktop based on Mars II.


Yeah I see its under desk top but whats the other hardware consist of? I didn't see any thing.


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## btarunr (Aug 29, 2011)

fullinfusion said:


> Yeah I see its under desk top but whats the other hardware consist of? I didn't see any thing.



First, the title of that sale page is "NCIXPC Vesta Mars 2 Edition" and not "ASUS ROG MARS II". Second, the item is, like you said, filed under consumer desktops, not video cards.

NCIX Vesta is the name of an NCIX-branded consumer desktop. Vesta looks to be a new model name, because there's no base model that I can find on that site. "Mars 2 Edition" could mean that on top of its default configuration, it uses a MARS II graphics card.


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## modmadness (Sep 3, 2011)

It is a really cool piece of technology. That aircooler on there really has me convinced that it works good and I know nf200 chips from the nvidia 780sli motherboard,and gtx295 graphic cards. Alright price ain't that bad considering gtx590 are hard to find ebay lettin um go at 1,000 to 1,100 no returns excepted; then the waterblock extra 167-180 after shipping if I'm lucky. 
  My question is simple can I sli this asus with my evga? that's thee only thing standing in my way it's worth the money but not worth the risk of getting something I can't use with the gtx590 I already have.  just want to know if it works not if I would need to downclock the asus card. That where the aircooler on it comes into play I may not have to use a waterblock on  that thing! Yes I want a Asus mars2 card so I can downclock it to my evga 590 speed,because it comes with a paperwork unlike ebay!;and a good sized aircooler.  
  I know my gtx590 has the 16chip not the nf200 so with that in mind I don't know if it would work with my 590(to good to be true);and yes I have 2 nf200's on my Gigabyte UD9 unlike the single one on a asus rampage 3. If anyone out there could answer the question: Does Asus mars 2 gtx590 work with other gtx590's? Then I would be thankful! If not it don't matter anyway not everyone needs three nf200 chips or four on their mainboard; Nvidia 16chip is the new tech that's the bottom line.


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## modmadness (Sep 3, 2011)

four 20 years I have been into computer's always watching out for asus. I want something that can play a little bit more than dead space 2.  I don't know!!!!!!!!!!!


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## modmadness (Sep 3, 2011)

And here's some food for thought I know for a fact with the nvidia cards I have tested and the results that I have gotton with my UD9 Gigabyte mainboard that with two nvidia graphics cards positioned in line with the two nf200 chips on my mainboard that I got better results than any other pci-x16 slot on my board So! that tells me just because you can run sli with one nf200 chip does not make it fast,and even tho Asus has a expander card for the rampage 3 extreme with nf200 chips would probably have to get an expander just to run two cards in sli at a high rate of speed and with the asus mars two that brings the total to 5 nf200 chips on a system. Having two nf200 chips matters even when all you have is two cards in sli. Like I said if the asus mars works with what I got I'll get it. I ain't afraid of threes chips on my mainboard. Shoot this is my third comment in a row! but don't make me believe that it is the way regular computer engineering is suppose to work. In fact logic like that builds and build without anyone noticing  and then one day boom! everything is messed up and redundant in the wrong sort of way.


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## GSquadron (Sep 3, 2011)

modmadness said:


> four 20 years I have been into computer's always watching out for asus. I want something that can play a little bit more than dead space 2.  I don't know!!!!!!!!!!!



I have completed dead space 2 with my settings all maxed out.
Something more than my card 9500GT is a 9600GS


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## micropage7 (Sep 3, 2011)

but i love the looks and the size
it must be rock if you put in mid tower case  but you need to cut your case first so it can plug in right


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## LordJummy (Sep 4, 2011)

It seems like a lot of people are still totally misunderstanding this card. There's no point in blathering on about how it's so expensive. This is not for the standard gamer/user. This is strictly a proof-of-concept for people who don't care about price. That is it, flat out. This is not meant to compete in any price : performance segment. It is only meant to show that Asus can make engineering masterpieces. Can 580 SLI beat it? Yes, but it's not the point.

The point is it's f*cking awesome, crazy, huge, hot, loud, and expensive. While it might not maintain a performance value a year or two down the road, it will maintain its value as a unique collectors item.


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## LiveOrDie (Sep 22, 2011)

I guess you cant run crysis 2 in DX11 with the HD pack with out losing the benches from the other cards.


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## Chappy (Oct 3, 2011)

I'll just wait for kepler or maxell than buying this over priced sli'd gtx 580... LoL!


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## Boilerhog (Oct 3, 2011)

LordJummy said:


> The point is it's f*cking awesome, crazy, huge, hot, loud, and expensive. While it might not maintain a performance value a year or two down the road, it will maintain its value as a unique collectors item.



This shoulda come with a Tee Shirt,


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## Sir B. Fannybottom (Oct 4, 2011)

... for that price you would be better going with 2 590s...


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## Chappy (Oct 5, 2011)

Kevinheraiz said:


> ... for that price you would be better going with 2 590s...



That will probably perform better...

GTX 590 SLI Review


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