Asus DirectCU NVIDIA and AMD Graphics Round-Up
Asus HD 6970 DirectCU II Edition
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| Model EAH6970 DCII Core Clock 890 MHz Memory Clock / Size 1375 MHz / 2 GB Ports Four DisplayPort Two DVI Warranty 3 years Price $384 |
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Quick overview of the HD 6970
The HD 6970 is AMD's fastest single GPU card. It trails the GeForce GTX 580 in performance, but is competitive with the GTX 570. Nonetheless, it is definitely a potent card that can handle almost any game at maximum settings. Prices for the HD 6970 range from $339 to $389 for overlocked models.
How does the DirectCU II HD 6970 differ from the stock model?
Looking at the DCII HD 6970, we find several changes from reference design. First, the core clock speed is increased to 890 MHz from 880 MHz stock. Second, this card offers two DVI and four DisplayPorts. The reference design provides two DVI, two mini-DP, and one HDMI. And of course, the printed circuit board is redesigned with upgraded components, and has the DirectCU II cooling solution attached to it.
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The stock 6970 requires one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe power connector, while the DCII version raises the bar by demanding two 8-pin connections. Interestingly, Asus decided to omit the additional back plate found on the DCII GTX 580 and 570 models.
Installation
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In this view of the card, you can see the rear view of how the HD 6970 sits on the motherboard. Like the previous cards, the triple slot form factor does occupy a lot of room, and could possibly be an issue for users who utilize the majority of their expansion slots. Still, even with the HD 6970 installed, there's enough room left over for additional expansion cards like a sound card and PCIe-based storage drive.
