• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

ASUS Announces the GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
4,784 (1.01/day)
Location
Still on the East Side
The ASUS GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP graphics card delivers a true flagship product for dedicated PC gamers and performance enthusiasts. The TOP-selected 28 nm NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 GPU has been overclocked by ASUS to 1201 MHz to boost frame rates in games, offering users 143 MHz over reference. Its ASUS-designed DirectCU II thermal design runs 20% cooler than stock, while the twin 100 mm fans keep noise at bay with 14 dB quieter operation.

ASUS has added 10-phase DIGI+ VRM digitally regulated power delivery with 30% noise reduction, working in tandem with durable Super Alloy Power components that last 2.5 longer than reference. Users can tap the greater overclocking and overvolting capabilities of the card through both the hardware-level VGA Hotwire and the software-level GPU Tweak utility. Also released is the ASUS GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II OC edition, with a 1019 MHz core capable of a 1084 MHz boost clock. This card uses the same DirectCU II cooler and PCB as the TOP version.





TOP-selected 1201 MHz core powers smoother gaming

ASUS TOP graphics cards utilize the best-performing GPUs available, chosen via a rigorous set of trials. The GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP arrives factory-overclocked to 1201 MHz on the core, boosting frame rates for smoother and more fluid gaming in even the most demanding of situations. Due to passing extensive heat tolerance tests, TOP GPUs can handle extra overclocking strain, and are matched by ASUS engineers with an upgraded PCB that can also withstand more heat and stress than reference parts.

DirectCU II creates the coolest and quietest GeForce GTX 680

Especially customized and fitted to match the power of factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 680 GPUs, the exclusive ASUS DirectCU II thermal design lowers temperatures to ensure faster, quieter, more stable, and longer lasting performance. Using five all-copper heatpipes and a 20% bigger dissipation area than reference, DirectCU II guarantees more expedient heat removal. It also features twin 100 mm sound-dampened fans for increased airflow, resulting in 20% cooler and 14 dB quieter operation on average compared to reference GeForce GTX 680s. This allows gamers to enjoy the utmost performance with minimized noise interference, a highly coveted and appealing proposition.

DIGI+ VRM with 10-phase Super Alloy Power

The GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II plays host to two exclusive ASUS power delivery technologies. DIGI+ VRM, based on a design used on bestselling ASUS motherboards since 2010, offers digital voltage regulators for a wider modulation range and therefore more flexible overclocking. The version of DIGI+ VRM used here applies 10-phase delivery and reduces power noise by as much as 30% compared to reference. Reduced power noise translates into more stable power supply and thus more consistent and reliable card performance. Combined with extra-durable and anti-corrosive Super Alloy Power components (solid state capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs), DIGI+ VRM contributes to a card that runs 15% more efficient than reference models while maintaining 2.5 times the product lifespan.

Overclocking duo: software and hardware tuning enabled

The GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP ships with extensive software overclocking by way of GPU Tweak, the exclusive ASUS card tuning suite. Using a highly intuitive interface, GPU Tweak helps users adjust clocks (including new boost clock settings), power consumption targets, voltages, and fan speeds, with multiple profiles available for different applications and needs. This is complemented by the addition of VGA Hotwire, a feature previously offered by ASUS ROG motherboards. For DIY-minded users, VGA Hotwire presents the benefit of more precise and complete hardware-level overvolting. Users can solder wires directly onto voltage regulators for more accurate Vcore, Vmem, and PLL readings and adjustments, opening up even more of the powerful card's potential.

Specifications



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Jan 2, 2012
Messages
1,079 (0.23/day)
Location
Indonesia
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
Motherboard ASUS STRIX X570-E
Cooling NOCTUA NH-U12A
Memory G.Skill FlareX 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX 4070 DUAL
Storage 1 TB WD Black SN850X | 2 TB WD Blue SN570 | 10 TB WD Purple Pro
Display(s) LG 32QP880N 32"
Case Fractal Design Define R5 Black
Power Supply Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
Mouse Pulsar X2
Keyboard KIRA EXS
FYI, this DCUII TOP use 6 and 8pin non-stacked power connectors.

 
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
2,667 (0.43/day)
Location
Switzerland
Processor i9 9900KS ( 5 Ghz all the time )
Motherboard Asus Maximus XI Hero Z390
Cooling EK Velocity + EK D5 pump + Alphacool full copper silver 360mm radiator
Memory 16GB Corsair Dominator GT ROG Edition 3333 Mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti 12GB OC
Storage M.2 Samsung NVMe 970 Evo Plus 250 GB + 1TB 970 Evo Plus
Display(s) Asus PG279 IPS 1440p 165Hz G-sync
Case Cooler Master H500
Power Supply Asus ROG Thor 850W
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Rapoo
Software Win 10 64 Bit
beast is a beast
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2010
Messages
3,600 (0.67/day)
Location
Portugal
System Name LenovoⓇ ThinkPad™ T430
Processor IntelⓇ Core™ i5-3210M processor (2 cores, 2.50GHz, 3MB cache), Intel Turbo Boost™ 2.0 (3.10GHz), HT™
Motherboard Lenovo 2344 (Mobile Intel QM77 Express Chipset)
Cooling Single-pipe heatsink + Delta fan
Memory 2x 8GB KingstonⓇ HyperX™ Impact 2133MHz DDR3L SO-DIMM
Video Card(s) Intel HD Graphics™ 4000 (GPU clk: 1100MHz, vRAM clk: 1066MHz)
Storage SamsungⓇ 860 EVO mSATA (250GB) + 850 EVO (500GB) SATA
Display(s) 14.0" (355mm) HD (1366x768) color, anti-glare, LED backlight, 200 nits, 16:9 aspect ratio, 300:1 co
Case ThinkPad Roll Cage (one-piece magnesium frame)
Audio Device(s) HD Audio, RealtekⓇ ALC3202 codec, DolbyⓇ Advanced Audio™ v2 / stereo speakers, 1W x 2
Power Supply ThinkPad 65W AC Adapter + ThinkPad Battery 70++ (9-cell)
Mouse TrackPointⓇ pointing device + UltraNav™, wide touchpad below keyboard + ThinkLight™
Keyboard 6-row, 84-key, ThinkVantage button, spill-resistant, multimedia Fn keys, LED backlight (PT Layout)
Software MicrosoftⓇ WindowsⓇ 10 x86-64 (22H2)
:eek:
So big!
Along with some tower-type coolers, this should put some serious tension on the motherboards (probably causing it to bend).
 

sc

Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
85 (0.02/day)
Awesome! I hope someone will do waterblocks for it.
 

HammerON

The Watchful Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
8,400 (1.46/day)
Location
Up North
System Name Aki
Processor AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A
Cooling MSI MAG CoreLiquid E360
Memory Patriot Viper Elite 5 32GB 6200
Video Card(s) PNY RTX 4090 XLR8
Storage Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB + WD Black SN850 1TB
Display(s) Dell 32" Curved Gaming Monitor (S3220DGF)
Case Corsair 5000D Airflow
Audio Device(s) On-board
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5
Mouse Roccat Kone Pure
Keyboard ASUS ROG Strix Scope II Wireless
Software Win 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores Always changing~

MeanBruce

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
151 (0.03/day)
System Name Maximus Obsidious "Max"
Processor Intel 3770K 4.5GHz 1.205volts Delta T=2.5C at idle
Motherboard Asus Maximus V Extreme
Cooling H100i Sanyo-Denki SanAce Type 9S 120(x6) at 750rpm
Memory Corsair Dominator GT 2133Mhz 2X4GB w/extended heat sink fins red
Video Card(s) Asus 6870 DirectCU (Asus 9970 Direct CU2 Coming Soon)
Storage Intel 520 120GB(x2) RAID0 Array 1.1GB/s read/write
Display(s) Samsung 970D (Coming Soon)
Case CaseLabs Magnum M8 w/XL window front I/O USB 3.0(x4) Lamptron FC10 nixie tube fan controller stock f
Power Supply Corsair Platinum AX860 (Seasonic) w/Corsair GEN2 AXi cables red
Software Windows 8 Pro 64-bit $39.99 download :):)
FYI, this DCUII TOP use 6 and 8pin non-stacked power connectors.

http://i.imgur.com/oQq8m.jpg

It's so beautiful! So much better looking than the Asus7970DirectCU2, they changed the top plate, the housing design ever so slight, and even made the box look nicer. This AMD fan is jumping ship to NVidia! This card is ON the new hardware list!:D


More photos pleeeeeeeeeeeese!
 

NHKS

New Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
596 (0.12/day)
the hefty cooler is justified with the +143MHz OC..



Here's a review for the card .. they managed to Overclock further to 1328MHz, no voltage adjustments @ 47 C
the TDP cap on this board can be raised to a whopping 159% (a more generous 280W effectively from 175W)



 
Last edited:

Quantos

New Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
50 (0.01/day)
Location
Montreal, QC, CA
Processor AMD Phenom II 955
Motherboard MSI 790FX-GD70
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory GSkill 2x2GB 1333
Video Card(s) ASUS EAH5850 DirectCU
Storage 1TB WD Black
Display(s) 2x ASUS VH242H
Case Lancool PC-K7
Audio Device(s) ASUS Xonar DS
Power Supply Corsair 750W (Orange)
Software Notepad O/S is the only software I run
I hope this won't fail as much as the 7970 DCII. There's really something amiss about that one...
 

MeanBruce

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
151 (0.03/day)
System Name Maximus Obsidious "Max"
Processor Intel 3770K 4.5GHz 1.205volts Delta T=2.5C at idle
Motherboard Asus Maximus V Extreme
Cooling H100i Sanyo-Denki SanAce Type 9S 120(x6) at 750rpm
Memory Corsair Dominator GT 2133Mhz 2X4GB w/extended heat sink fins red
Video Card(s) Asus 6870 DirectCU (Asus 9970 Direct CU2 Coming Soon)
Storage Intel 520 120GB(x2) RAID0 Array 1.1GB/s read/write
Display(s) Samsung 970D (Coming Soon)
Case CaseLabs Magnum M8 w/XL window front I/O USB 3.0(x4) Lamptron FC10 nixie tube fan controller stock f
Power Supply Corsair Platinum AX860 (Seasonic) w/Corsair GEN2 AXi cables red
Software Windows 8 Pro 64-bit $39.99 download :):)
Wondering how fast the fans spin up in Auto mode at idle and office apps? Is it $500 or $600? Does NVidia have Catalyst Control Center like software? Will an AX850 provide enough stable juice for this monster? This gorgeous kit got me out of bed at 4am, can’t find enough information on it, no listing at the Asus site yet, going bonkers. Does it come with a t-shirt?



Love at first sight!:D
 
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
233 (0.04/day)
Location
Australia, SA
System Name Computer MkVIII
Processor 2500K @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS Sabertooth P67
Cooling CPU: 212+ EVO GPU: Stock
Memory 16gb G.Skill Ares @2133mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 980 SC
Storage 1x Samsung 840 EVO 1TB
Display(s) 24" Asus VE248
Case Corsair Carbide 300R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair HX-650
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

I do like the other DirectCU designs, but this one is a bit silly, the core is probably only going to hit 3 of those heatpipes, and instead of the DirectCU on the 7970 which has the heatpipes right next to each other this has them separated, that's a little silly :( Could've easily squished them together.
 

zocksi

New Member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
Nice, Really looking foward to the review! I also wonder if sometime later a 4gb version will show up... on the other hand, not really sure if the 4gb are needed or worth the "trouble".
 

zocksi

New Member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
I am reading the review right now, its really nice, but am I missing the Temperature Comparision somewhere?
 
Joined
Oct 29, 2009
Messages
2,670 (0.49/day)
System Name Old Gateway
Processor i5 4440 3.1ghz
Motherboard Gateway
Cooling Eh it doesn't thermal throttle
Memory 2x 8GB JEDEC 1600mhz DDR3
Video Card(s) RX 560D 4GB
Storage 240gb 2.5 SSD
Display(s) Dell @ 1280*1024 75hz
Case Gateway
Audio Device(s) Gateway Diamond Audio EMC2.0-USB 5375U ($15 a long ass time ago)
Power Supply 380w oem
Mouse Purple Walmart special, 1600dpi. Black desk mat
Keyboard SteelSeries Apex 100
VR HMD Lmao
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores It can run Crysis (Original), Doom 2016, and Halo MCC
wow those are about the same temps my 8800GT gets :cool: thats pretty good when you consider the 680 uses close to twice the power of my 8800GT (and therefore that much more heat)

as always, great review W1zzard


I do like the other DirectCU designs, but this one is a bit silly, the core is probably only going to hit 3 of those heatpipes, and instead of the DirectCU on the 7970 which has the heatpipes right next to each other this has them separated, that's a little silly :( Could've easily squished them together.

or they could have placed a thin copper plate over them... still it seems pretty effective.
 
Last edited:

NHKS

New Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
596 (0.12/day)

MeanBruce

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
151 (0.03/day)
System Name Maximus Obsidious "Max"
Processor Intel 3770K 4.5GHz 1.205volts Delta T=2.5C at idle
Motherboard Asus Maximus V Extreme
Cooling H100i Sanyo-Denki SanAce Type 9S 120(x6) at 750rpm
Memory Corsair Dominator GT 2133Mhz 2X4GB w/extended heat sink fins red
Video Card(s) Asus 6870 DirectCU (Asus 9970 Direct CU2 Coming Soon)
Storage Intel 520 120GB(x2) RAID0 Array 1.1GB/s read/write
Display(s) Samsung 970D (Coming Soon)
Case CaseLabs Magnum M8 w/XL window front I/O USB 3.0(x4) Lamptron FC10 nixie tube fan controller stock f
Power Supply Corsair Platinum AX860 (Seasonic) w/Corsair GEN2 AXi cables red
Software Windows 8 Pro 64-bit $39.99 download :):)
Amazing review, the $20 increase over the reference card is easily justified. Thanks TPU!:D
 

No_Asylum

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
83 (0.02/day)
:eek:
So big!
Along with some tower-type coolers, this should put some serious tension on the motherboards (probably causing it to bend).

Some cases (Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced) have retention brackets for that. Tho I'm not quite sure if it would fit on this card, being triple depth.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
6,721 (1.39/day)
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling Noctua NH-D15
Memory 32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s) ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage 2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply Corsair 850W
Mouse Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores 30FPS in NFS:Rivals
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
14 (0.00/day)
Seriously, I thought it was going to be mine.

But the Tri-Slot cooler disapoints me.

I have a P8P67 WS Revolution, where sure I have plenty of PCi-Express slots, but this is what makes the strenght of this mainboard for future expension.

With a tri-slot design, this cuts me the access of a PCi-Express x16 slot :/

Very disapointed...

Maybe I'm going to wait for MSI Lightning which usually has a 2-slot cooler
 
Last edited:

sc

Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
85 (0.02/day)
I see a problem with that bracket on top of the SLI fingers...
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
27,823 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
944 (0.20/day)
Location
Slovenia
System Name PC.
Processor i7 2600K 5.0Gh,i7 3770K 5.00Gh. EK, Liqed Coooleng
Motherboard P67A-UD7-B3 Gigabyte T.,ASUS,P8Z77-V PREMIUM,MAXIMUS V EXTRIME..
Cooling Liqed Cooleng ,EK Suprime LTX Nickel,EK for Motherboard,Aqua computer (WGA), Thermaltake .... 0i,
Memory G.SKILL F3-17600CL7-2GBPISG. 16GBSkill Sniper F3-17000CL94GBSR on 2400Hz 10-12-11-29 1
Video Card(s) GTX590 ,SLI ,POV TGT best 691Hz ,LiqedCoold,GTX480.....GTX1080MSI SeaHawkEK SLI
Storage OCZ-REVODRIVE 3-240GB,2xCrucialMX100.512.R-0,1x LMT-32L3m,3x 1TB-WD,1x;1x2TbSEAGATE1x2Tb Seagate
Display(s) DELL-U2412Mb,Samsung Synkmaster245B,HP ENVY 34c
Case Thermaltake, NZXT SWITCH 810SE
Audio Device(s) CREATIVE BLASTER X-Fi Titanium HD , AUNE T1MK2 TUBE USB
Power Supply ENERMAX Platimax 1500W,Thermaltake 1500W
Mouse VIPER V560,FUNC MS-3, Prestigio, R.A.T.E.7 and 5,LogitechG502,RAZER,Inperator.,dead...a.s.o.
Keyboard Trust ....LogotechG410
Software Windows7 64....
Benchmark Scores 3DMark Fire Strike 21.385 (37.234,11.828,7.176)
O mama i need a track for my fat girl,s (ASUS GeForce GTX 680 DirectCU II TOP)and hotel(12 slot motherboard):pimp:
 
Top