ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum Review

[siopao1984]

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ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum Review

Remember the ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum from Computex? That behemoth of a card has landed, and it's packed full of features targeted at hardcore overclockers. Join us as we journey into the MATRIX and push it to the limits...

Introduction and Specifications

ASUS' MATRIX brand has been around for quite some time now. Memorable models from yesteryear which have garnered many accolades include the 9800GT MATRIX, 9600GT MATRIX and MATRIX GTX 285.

The latest addition to the family, the MATRIX GTX 580, is apparently inspired by exotic sports cars and even Formula 1 racing cars. Aesthetics aside, ASUS has lined up a whole slew of features. These include a DirectCU II cooler, 19-phase Super Alloy Power, a specially-designed GPU Tweak utility, TweakIt buttons and ProBeIt voltage measurement points.



The MATRIX GTX 580's box is even larger than most motherboard boxes out there. This is really unnecessary in our opinion since there's so much empty space inside.

[siopao1984]

A Look into the MATRIX



The MATRIX GTX 580 uses the same heatsink as the GTX 580 DirectCU II, but with a redesigned shroud. ASUS has also added more auxiliary heatsinks to cool the power circuitry.



Four display outputs are available, but as always only two can be used (unless you're running SLI). The Safe Mode button resets all frequencies and voltages to default.



Just like any other GTX 580, the MATRIX requires two eight-pin PCIe power connectors.



The MATRIX logo on the side of the card lights up in five different colors, from green to red, based on the GPU loading.



The voltage measurement points can be accessed from either side of the graphics card. In addition to GPU, VRAM and PLL voltage, you can also measure the 12V and 3.3V lines here.



For hardcore overclockers, ASUS has added several modding points as well. One of these disables over-current protection, the two in the middle control FBVDDQ (Frame Buffer Voltage) and PEXVDD, while the last one controls PWM frequency.



Pushing the fan button sets both fans on the MATRIX to maximum speed instantly. The two plus/minus buttons next to it provide direct control of GPU voltage in approximately 0.013V increments. A row of LEDs next to the buttons indicates the current GPU voltage in ten steps.





A typical set of accessories is provided with the MATRIX GTX 580.

[siopao1984]

GPU Tweak and Test Setup

GPU Tweak

With the launch of the MATRIX GTX 580, ASUS has also released a new GPU overclocking tool.



GPU Tweak is a nifty utility which combines several function. It allows setting of clockspeeds and voltages as well as monitoring functions. On the GTX 580, the core voltage, PEX_VDD and memory voltage can be changed. GPU Tweak also allows modification of video memory timings.



Interestingly, GPU Tweak allows separate control of both fans on the MATRIX GTX 580.



GPU Tweak is decent enough in terms of user-friendliness. It even works on other (non-ASUS) graphics cards, though voltage controls may not be available. Our only gripe is that some of the text is not skinned properly, making it difficult to read. An example of this is in the memory timings dialog, shown above.

Fortunately, ASUS has promised future updates and improvements to GPU Tweak, such as 720p video recording. A live update function lets you check for the latest version.

Test Setup

Processor Intel Core i7-970 @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard

• Asus Rampage III Gene

RAM

• 3 x 2GB DDR3-1600 (8-8-8-24 1T)

Storage

• Western Digital Velociraptor 150GB

Power Supply

• Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W

Operating System

• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

Drivers

• NVIDIA GeForce: 270.61
• AMD Catalyst: 11.5

Graphics Cards

• ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum 1.5GB
• ASUS DirectCu II GTX 580 1.5GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 768MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5770/6770 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 6790 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB

We will be testing the ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum and ASUS DirectCu II GTX 580 at factory settings along with other graphics cards for comparison. The following benchmarks will be used:

1. 3DMark 11
2. 3DMark Vantage
3. Resident Evil 5
4. Lost Planet 2
5. Alien vs Predator
6. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat
7. DOW

Each benchmark was run three times and the average result was taken.

[siopao1984]

GPU Tweak and Test Setup

GPU Tweak

With the launch of the MATRIX GTX 580, ASUS has also released a new GPU overclocking tool.



GPU Tweak is a nifty utility which combines several function. It allows setting of clockspeeds and voltages as well as monitoring functions. On the GTX 580, the core voltage, PEX_VDD and memory voltage can be changed. GPU Tweak also allows modification of video memory timings.



Interestingly, GPU Tweak allows separate control of both fans on the MATRIX GTX 580.



GPU Tweak is decent enough in terms of user-friendliness. It even works on other (non-ASUS) graphics cards, though voltage controls may not be available. Our only gripe is that some of the text is not skinned properly, making it difficult to read. An example of this is in the memory timings dialog, shown above.

Fortunately, ASUS has promised future updates and improvements to GPU Tweak, such as 720p video recording. A live update function lets you check for the latest version.

Test Setup

Processor Intel Core i7-970 @ 4.0GHz
Motherboard

• Asus Rampage III Gene

RAM

• 3 x 2GB DDR3-1600 (8-8-8-24 1T)

Storage

• Western Digital Velociraptor 150GB

Power Supply

• Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W

Operating System

• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

Drivers

• NVIDIA GeForce: 270.61
• AMD Catalyst: 11.5

Graphics Cards

• ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum 1.5GB
• ASUS DirectCu II GTX 580 1.5GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 768MB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 1GB
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 5770/6770 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 6790 1GB
• AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB

We will be testing the ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum and ASUS DirectCu II GTX 580 at factory settings along with other graphics cards for comparison. The following benchmarks will be used:

1. 3DMark 11
2. 3DMark Vantage
3. Resident Evil 5
4. Lost Planet 2
5. Alien vs Predator
6. S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat
7. DOW

Each benchmark was run three times and the average result was taken.

[siopao1984]

Benchmarks

[siopao1984]

Overclocking

For our overclocking tests, we'll be using ASUS' GPU Tweak.

First, we attempted to find the maximum possible overclock while gradually increasing voltage. At 1.213V, the MATRIX was able to achieve 970MHz on the core and 2450MHz on the memory. This was slightly above the DirectCU II model at the same voltage. The TweakIt buttons allow you to increase GPU voltage all the way to 1.28V, but at that point thermals are preventing higher overclocks.

Next, we decreased voltage gradually to find the minimum voltage required to achieve 950MHz / 2400MHz. In this respect the MATRIX performs significantly better than the DirectCU II, requiring only 1.150V to achieve a stable overclock.



We then ran 3DMark 11, 3DMark Vantage, Lost Planet 2, Alien vs Predator and The Witcher 2 using the above settings.

Note: In the graphs below, MATRIX GTX 580 OC refers to 950MHz / 2400MHz and Max OC refers to 970MHz / 2450MHz.

[siopao1984]

Temperature and Power Consumption

Load measurements were taken while looping the Lost Planet 2 benchmark, while idle measurements were taken after 15 minutes of idling at desktop.



The MATRIX comes with slightly higher voltages and clockspeeds out of the box, making it no surprise that load temperatures are higher than those of the DirectCU II.

Note that the temperature figures for overclocked cards (MATRIX GTX 580 Max OC, MATRIX GTX 580 OC and DirectCU II GTX 580 Max OC) were recorded at 100% fan speed. The DirectCU II heatsink does a good job of keeping things cool. Even at the highest possible clockspeeds, the MATRIX GTX 580 is barely breaking a sweat at 70 degrees Celsius.



As we noted on the previous page, the MATRIX GTX 580 was able to achieve the same clockspeeds as the DirectCU II model with significantly lower voltages. This translates into nearly 50W of power savings at 950MHz / 2400MHz for the MATRIX.

[siopao1984]

Conclusion


The ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum is a card aimed squarely at hardcore overclockers, who will appreciate the convenience afforded by the many overclocker-friendly features. However, most of these are easily accessible only when the MATRIX GTX 580 is used in an open setup.

You're also going to need better cooling to unlock the MATRIX GTX 580's full potential. With the default heatsink, the MATRIX GTX 580 only manages to achieve a slightly better overclock than the DirectCU II version, which isn't surprising since both models use the same heatsink after all. In such a scenario, the MATRIX's main advantage is its ability to achieve the same clockspeeds with less voltage.

Unless you're an extreme overclocker who plans to use better cooling to exploit the MATRIX's full potential, we simply can't justify the hefty price premium of the MATRIX. For most users, the GTX 580 DirectCU II (or any other manufacturer's GTX 580, for that matter) should be more than sufficient. The ASUS MATRIX GTX 580 Platinum retails at S$809 in Singapore, compared to the ASUS GTX 580 DirectCU II's relatively modest S$729 price tag.



On a side note, we were quite pleased by ASUS' GPU Tweak utility. Adding more features like framerate and video recording, which MSI's Afterburner software already has, would make it the perfect complement to the MATRIX GTX 580. Of course, GPU Tweak isn't exclusive and anyone can obtain it from the MATRIX's download page. ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Graphics Cards- ASUS MATRIX GTX580 P/2DIS/1536MD5

Do also note that the triple-slot design will prevent SLI operation on certain motherboards (this is also true of the DirectCU II model).


Pros

• Capable of high clockspeeds
• Able to achieve the same clockspeed at a lower voltage
• Convenient voltage adjustment buttons & measurement points
• Powerful overclocking software

Cons

• Triple slot design
• High power consumption
• Needs better cooling to reach full potential
• Expensive

[eXpLoDe]

grabe ug power consumption 600watts full load.

[mr.nicejohn]

gamay rang yayay sa kuryenti!!! ....grabi sad kaau ka baga mo kaon man og 3 slots sa pci...