A Closer Look

The ASUS thermal solution seems to be a cost-effective design, using two heatpipes that make direct contact with the GPU's surface.


A second heatsink is revealed once the main heatsink has been removed; it provides cooling for the VRM circuitry. Near the top end of the card is a metal bar that's supposed to prevent sagging of the GPU - a non-issue in my opinion since this is a very compact board.


Near the back of the card is a fan connector that is in sync with the GPU fans. You could hook up a case fan that will stop completely outside of games. The main source of heat nowadays being the graphics card, attached case fans will run at the same speed as the GPU's fans that base their speed on how hot the card runs, which is a great idea!


Just like on the reference design, ASUS is using a 6-pin power input. This power configuration is specified for up to 150 W of power draw.


ASUS has rebranded their voltage controller, and I have no idea what the original model is.


The GDDR5 memory chips are made by Hynix and carry the model number H5GC4H24AJR-R0C. They are specified to run at 1750 MHz (7000 MHz GDDR5 effective).


AMD's Ellesmere graphics processor introduces the company's Polaris architecture. It is produced on a 14 nm process at Globalfoundries, USA, with a transistor count of 5.7 billlion and a die size of 232 mm².