Introduction

While AMD has not officially released any dual-GPU HD 7970 card, we have seen two implementations in recent months: the PowerColor HD 7990 Devil 13 and HIS HD 7970 X2.

Today, ASUS launches their ASUS ARES II dual-GPU HD 7970, which was first announced at CES earlier this year.



The ASUS ARES II is one of the rare cards to come with watercooling out of the box. At its heart are two full HD 7970 graphics processors that each run higher clock speeds than AMD's HD 7970 GHz Edition. In addition to the watercooling (for the GPUs), a fan has been installed to keep memory chips and voltage regulation circuitry cool.

Everything about the ARES II screams "premium". Starting with the thick metal unibody cooler construction, the two included fans, the nice presentation in a suitcase, and the fact that this card is a limited edition with only 1000 pieces produced.

The card also employs the latest PCI-Express Gen 3 bridge from PLX, which ensures maximum performance, even with two ARES II cards in CrossFire.

Price-wise, ASUS has told us that the card will retail at $1599 - quite hefty.

Packaging

The ARES II will arrive at your doorstep in a huge cardboard box that has a stylish suitcase in it.


Inside, you will find the graphics card with its attached, pre-filled watercooling solution, an additional fan, and the limited edition badge.


Each ARES II comes with its own badge that includes the serial number.

Contents

You will receive:

• Graphics card
• Driver CD + Documentation
• Long CrossFire bridge
• 2x PCIe power cable
• Extra 120 mm fan + mounting kit
• ASUS ROG case badge
• ARES II limited edition badge

The Card

The watercooling solution with its integrated pump is permanently connected to the card. It comes pre-filled and is maintenance free. The hoses are made out of thick rubber and feel quite sturdy.


If you look closely at the slot cover, you can see that the top plate increases the height of the card beyond two slots. I'm not sure if that was intendentional, but it adds enough height to make installing two of these cards on a motherboard with two slot PCIe spacing impossible. You can, however, simply remove the top plate to make the second card fit such a motherboard (I tried).


Display connectivity options include two DVI ports and four full-size DisplayPorts. By default, both DVI ports are single link, and all DP outputs are enabled. You can enable dual-link DVI by switching the BIOS switch into the second position.

The GPU also includes an HDMI sound device. It is HDMI 1.4a compatible, which includes HD audio and Blu-ray 3D movies support.


A single CrossFire connector is available, so you may combine this card with another ARES II for even higher performance.


Pictured above are the front and back, showing the disassembled board. High-res versions are also available (front, back). If you choose to use these images for voltmods, etc., please include a link back to this site, or let us post your article.