ASUS today unveiled its latest range of graphics cards including the ASUS ROG MARS/2DI/4GD3, the ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX285/HTDI/1GD3, the Formula Series and the ASUS Bravo 9500.
ASUS ROG MARS
For those who seek massive overclocking potential, ASUS offers the Republic of Gamers (ROG) MARS. Armed with an two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 GPUs and 4GB of onboard 1024-bit memory, the ROG MARS unleashes the full potential of both GPUs.
The card also works with technologies from NVIDIA such as Quad SLI and PhysX. The ROG MARS yields a 23% improvement in terms of single card performance when compared to reference designed boards, setting 3DMark Vantage Extreme, High and Performance Preset scores of X25949, H34711 and P40824 respectively with Quad SLI, according to Asus.
The FPS (Frames Per Second) of the ASUS ROG MARS is 28 versus the 16 of a reference design board when running Crysis Warhead at 2560x1600 Very High Resolution.
The graphics card also features an improved thermal design that increases heatpipe coverage by 65%?as well as the heat dissipation rate by 20%.
The ROG MARS will only be available as a limited edition. Just 1,000 units will be produced, with each graphics card assigned a unique serial number.
ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX285
The ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX285 with the exclusive Super Hybrid Engine delivers performance through real-time hardware loading detection with 5-level LED indicators and automatic adjustment. It also features the upgraded iTracker2 utility that offers memory timing tuning and VBIOS burn-in and recovery functionality.
The Super Hybrid Engine for automatic hardware load monitoring and adjustments, delivering 15% lower GPU noise and increasing overclocking stability for up to a 14% increase in performance,Asus claims. A 5-level LED hardware indicator allows users to keep track of the loading of the GPU. One of the highlights of the ROG MATRIX GTX285 is the new iTracker2, which retains its predecessor's robust hardware monitoring capabilities and five scenario GUI modes, but now also features exclusive memory timing settings, VBIOS burning and a recovery application to provide gamers with even more control of their graphics card. With a simple click of the Safe Mode button, users can now boot their systems in safe mode even when the VBIOS has crashed, and iTracker2 will automatically recover the VBIOS. Keeping the ROG MATRIX GTX285 cool is the Extreme Cooler, which intelligently makes timely fan speed adjustments according to GPU loading, and comes with 46.5% more heatpipe coverage?increasing heat dissipation efficiency by 12%.
Inspired by Formula One racing cars, Formula Series graphics cards boast an aerodynamic design that leverages ASUS' proprietary micro surface technology and a special dust-proof fan to improve thermal efficiency by up to 33%.
On top of this cooling capacity, Formula Series cards are also up to 12.4dB quieter than cards with generically designed fansinks ? a 30% improvement.
Cards in the Formula Series include the ASUS EAH4890 FORMULA/HTDI/1GD5 and EAH4770 FORMULA/DI/512MD5.
ASUS Bravo 9500
The energy efficient ASUS Bravo 9500 prmises to make watching movies on the PC as good as watching them on a top-of-the-line consumer television. Featuring Splendid Plus technology, the Bravo 9500 features a light sensor that auto-adjusts image brightness to suit the surrounding light level for optimal clarity and comfort. Four default profiles are available?Theater Mode, Gaming Mode, Picture Mode, and Auto Mode?each easily selectable with a single click.
The Bravo 9500 is also energy efficient thanks to its improved power design. In 2D mode, the Bravo 9500's power efficiency is 92%, a 28% improvement over that of generic GeForce 9500GT cards. This results in less heat generated, and a significantly reduced probability of abnormal heat-induced events occurring.
The Bravo 9500 also comes with Bravo Media Center which allows users to access their media collections via a bundled remote control.
In addition, the Bravo 9500 is bundled with a trial version of MediaShow Espresso that enables NVIDIA CUDA -accelerated conversion of all videos for playback on the iPhone, PSP, Xbox, YouTube and more.