ASUS HD7790 Direct CU II OC Review

Today we are following up on our HD7790 launch article with a look at the latest overclocked model from ASUS. This card features a dual fan cooling system and out of the box clock enhancements. Is this a card you should be shortlisting for a cost effective gaming build in the coming months? Previous reviews of ASUS products have focused on their excellent cooling systems, often reducing reference temperatures by 15c-20c. AMD's HD7790 isn't a particularly hot running graphics card however so we would expect the ASUS modifed solution to run cool n' quiet. We will be interested today to find out how it compares against the excellent Sapphire HD7790 OC, which also features a custom dual fan cooling solution. The ASUS HD7790 Direct CU II OC is available from SCAN in the UK for £144.92 inc vat with a copy of the excellent Bioshock Infinite included. We know that ASUS tend to charge a premium for their enhanced cards, but this is £15 more expensive than the excellent Sapphire HD7790 which we reviewed on the 22nd of March. Luckily we found it for a tenner less at CCL which means it is closely priced to the Sapphire version (only £5 more). These HD7790 pricing issues are widespread online, with some models varying up to £15 in price, depending where you look. It is worth doing a thorough price search for any of these cards online to make sure you get the best deal. We did raise the point about general pricing concerns in our launch article, so we aren't going to regurgitate the topic again today. The graph above from an AMD presentation highlights how the HD7790 sits at the top of the AMD ‘budget’ gamers card pile. For comparison purposes today we will be testing the HD7790 OC against the Sapphire HD7790 OC, XFX HD7770, XFX HD7850 and Sparkle GTX650 Ti Dragon Series. As I said before, I don’t know any gamer who is interested in the HD7750 and I would rather focus on the HD7850, especially as the deals on this solution are extremely competitive today. Above, we can see an overview of the cards we are comparing against in this review today, all labelled and running the latest AMD and Nvidia beta drivers (Catalyst 13.3 and Forceware 314.21). The HD7850 is the only card on test utilising a 256 bit memory interface. That said, thankfully AMD have equipped the new HD7790 with 896 shaders, up from a measly 640 on the HD7770. As the GPUz screenshots show, the ASUS card is clocked at 1,075mhz core, an increase from the reference speed of 1,000mhz. The GDDR5 memory also receives a boost from 1,500mhz (6Gbps effective) to 1,600mhz (6.4Gbps effective). The Asus HD7790 Direct CU II OC ships in a colourful box, featuring an image of the cooler at the left. A list of key specifications are listed along the bottom of the box. The bundle includes a video adapter, a Crossfire connector, software disc and setup information. We do advise the user to get the latest drivers from the AMD website. The Asus HD7790 Direct CU II OC is a dual slot cooler design, with two semi transparent fans highlighted inside the black metal cooler. The PCB is black, always a favourite with the enthusiast audience. The cooler does over hang the PCB by about an inch and a half. The Asus HD7790 Direct CU II OC is Crossfire capable in a 2 way configuration. There is a six pin PCI e power connector at the edge of the card. The card has dual DVI connectors, as well as a full size HDMI and DisplayPort connector. The Direct CU II cooler is based around two direct touch copper heatpipes which extrude from the main plate into two separate racks of aluminum fins on either side. On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source. You can right click and ‘save as’ to your computer to view later. Today we are looking to find out how the ASUS HD7790 Direct slots into the budget sector, against the Sapphire HD7790 OC, The XFX HD7770 Core, XFX HD7850 Core and Sparkle GTX 650 Ti Dragon Series. Test System Processor: Core i7 3960 X Extreme Edition @ 4.4ghz Graphics Card: ASUS HD7790 Direct CU II OC (Catalyst 13.3 Beta) Cooler: Antec 920 H20 Memory: 16GB G.Skill 2,400mhz @ 10-11-10-30 Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme Power Supply: Enermax Platimax 1200W Optical Drive: Asus BluRay Drive Chassis: Lian Li PC-A77FR Aluminium Red Full Tower Case Boot Drive: Patriot WildFire 120GB Secondary Drive: 1TB Samsung Monitors: Dell U3011 and Dell U2410 x 3. Comparison cards: Sapphire HD7790 OC (Catalyst 13.3 beta) XFX HD7770 Core (Catalyst 13.3 beta) XFX HD7850 Core (Catalyst 13.3 beta) Sparkle GTX 650 Ti Dragon Series (Forceware 314.21) Software: Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit Unigine Heaven Benchmark Unigine Valley Benchmark 3DMark Vantage 3DMark 11 3DMark Fraps Professional Steam Client FurMark Games: Alien V Predator Sleeping Dogs Total War: Shogun 2 Dirt Showdown Max Payne 3 All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform generally under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests games across five closely matched runs and then average out the results to get an accurate median figure. If we use scripted benchmarks, they are mentioned on the relevant page. Unigine provides an interesting way to test hardware. It can be easily adapted to various projects due to its elaborated software design and flexible toolset. A lot of their customers claim that they have never seen such extremely-effective code, which is so easy to understand. Heaven Benchmark is a DirectX 11 GPU benchmark based on advanced Unigine engine from Unigine Corp. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. Interactive mode provides emerging experience of exploring the intricate world of steampunk. Efficient and well-architected framework makes Unigine highly scalable: Multiple API (DirectX 9 / DirectX 10 / DirectX 11 / OpenGL) render Cross-platform: MS Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7) / Linux Full support of 32bit and 64bit systems Multicore CPU support Little / big endian support (ready for game consoles) Powerful C++ API Comprehensive performance profiling system Flexible XML-based data structures We use the following settings: 1920×1080 resolution. Anti Aliasing off. Anisotrophy 4, Tessellation normal. Shaders High. Stereo 3D disabled. API: Direct X 11. The results, as we would expect are almost identical to the Sapphire HD7790 OC. The HD7850 takes top performance slot in this benchmark. Valley Benchmark is a new GPU stress-testing tool from the developers of the very popular and highly acclaimed Heaven Benchmark. The forest-covered valley surrounded by vast mountains amazes with its scale from a bird’s-eye view and is extremely detailed down to every leaf and flower petal. This non-synthetic benchmark powered by the state-of-the art UNIGINE Engine showcases a comprehensive set of cutting-edge graphics technologies with a dynamic environment and fully interactive modes available to the end user. Good performance results from the ASUS HD7790 OC, dropping to around 20 fps in the most intensive sections. Futuremark released 3DMark Vantage, on April 28, 2008. It is a benchmark based upon DirectX 10, and therefore will only run under Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 is stated as a requirement) and Windows 7. This is the first edition where the feature restricted, free of charge version could not be used any number of times. 1280×1024 resolution was used with performance settings. The HD7790's score around 2,500 points less than the HD7850. 3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista the benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads. If you want to learn more about this benchmark, or to buy it yourself, head over to this page. Both HD7790's score very closely, around 250 points behind the HD7850. The Sparkle GTX650ti scores around 1,000 points lower. Last place is taken by the HD7700. 3DMark is an essential tool used by millions of gamers, hundreds of hardware review sites and many of the world’s leading manufacturers to measure PC gaming performance. Futuremark say “Use it to test your PC’s limits and measure the impact of overclocking and tweaking your system. Search our massive results database and see how your PC compares or just admire the graphics and wonder why all PC games don’t look this good. To get more out of your PC, put 3DMark in your PC.” This is a very demanding benchmark and proves very taxing for the hardware on test today. The HD7790's score around 400 points behind the HD7850. Aliens V Predator has proved to be a big seller since the release and Sega have taken the franchise into new territory after taking it from Sierra. AVP is a Direct X 11 supported title and delivers not only advanced shadow rendering but high quality tessellation for the cards on test today. To test the cards we used a 1920×1080 resolution with DX11, Texture Quality Very High, MSAA Samples 1, 16 af, ambient occulsion on, shadow complexity high, motion blur on. We use this with most of our graphics card testing so cards are comparable throughout reviews. We can see the performance gains when moving from the HD7770 to the HD7790. The frame rate runs too low on the HD7770, dropping under the 25fps sweet spot. The HD7850 offers a minor performance increase over the HD7790 with this game. Shogun 2 is set in 16th-century feudal Japan, in the aftermath of the Ōnin War. The country is fractured into rival clans led by local warlords, each fighting for control. The player takes on the role of one of these warlords, with the goal of dominating other factions and claiming his rule over Japan. The standard edition of the game will feature a total of eight factions (plus a ninth faction for the tutorial), each with a unique starting position and different political and military strengths. We run the DX11 Graphics High 1080p benchmark, available for this game in STEAM. You can therefore directly compare against your own system. Frame rates are rounded up or down to the nearest digit. Real in game performance varies substantially across the environments and levels, but we include these results so you can compare directly with your own system. If the game delivers good frame rates with the 1080p benchmark, you can sure it will run well with high image quality settings in game too. The game actually plays very well on the ASUS HD7790 OC. We also played the game outside the automated scripted benchmark and performance was very good. The HD7850 is certainly quicker, but most times it would be difficult to tell. The HD7770 on the other hand can struggle with these settings. Dirt Showdown is the latest title in the franchise from Codemasters, based around the famous Colin McRae racing game series, although it no longer uses his name, since he passed away in 2007. We configured the game at the ULTRA preset with a 1080p resolution and 8x MSAA. Dirt Showdown is one of the most intensive racing games currently available on the PC. The HD7790 shows a noticeable performance improvement over the HD7770 in this test, although the HD7850 claims top spot. Sleeping Dogs started development as an original title, but was announced in 2009 as True Crime: Hong Kong, the third installment and a reboot of the True Crime series.As a result of the game’s high development budget and delays, it was canceled by Activision Blizzard in 2011. Six months later, it was announced that Square Enix had picked up the publishing rights to the game, but the game was renamed Sleeping Dogs in 2012 since Square Enix did not purchase the True Crime name rights. We are using the highest possible image quality settings at 1080p, including the high resolution texture pack. This is one of the most demanding games at these settings and ideally we would be looking at moving up to the HD7950 or GTX 660 Ti to get good performance. Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Max Payne 3 features a similar over-the-shoulder camera as its predecessors, with the addition of a cover mechanic, while also retaining much of the same run-and-gun style of gameplay. Max Payne 3 also marks the return of bullet-time in action sequences, for which the franchise is notable. In bullet-time it is possible to see every bullet strike an enemy in detail. New to the series is a “Last Stand” mechanic, which gives the player a grace period after losing all health during which time the player may kill the enemy that wounded them in order to continue playing, however this mechanic is only usable if the player has one or more bottles of painkillers in their possession. With only 1GB of GDDR5 these settings exceed the onboard memory, and the game engine highlights the problem in red at the bottom. Both HD7790's deliver borderline smooth frame rates at these settings, generally holding around 30 frames per second, but dropping a couple of times to 25 frames per second. The GTX650 Ti Dragon and HD7770 struggle to maintain smooth playback at these settings. The tests were performed in a controlled air conditioned room with temperatures maintained at a constant 24c – a comfortable environment for the majority of people reading this. Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 30 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by playing Crysis Warhead for 30 minutes and measuring the peak temperature. We also have included Furmark results, recording maximum temperatures throughout a 30 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic. The Asus HD7790 Direct CU II cooler is excellent, maintaining load temperatures under 60c when gaming. That said, the Sapphire cooler performs a little better, dropping temperatures by an additional 6c. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with almost completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635. KitGuru noise guide 10dBA - Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves 20-25dBA – Whisper 30dBA - High Quality Computer fan 40dBA - A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator 50dBA - Normal Conversation 60dBA - Laughter 70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer 80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal 90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower 100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output 110dBA - Orchestra 120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine 130dBA – Threshold of Pain 140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range) 160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum The Direct CU II cooler may not be delivering comparable temperatures as the cooler on the Sapphire HD7790, but it is the quietest cooler we have tested in the last year, measuring around 31.4 dBa. You will actually have a very hard time hearing this graphics card at all, even under gaming load. Technically, the fans are spinning around 1,800 rpm when gaming, compared to 2,150rpm on the Sapphire card. This would go some way to explain the thermal differences we recorded on the last page. To overclock today we are using the latest beta version of Sapphire’s TriXX tool , V4.6.2. An overview of the card in Sapphire's TriXX. There is quite a lot of overclocking headroom with this card. We managed to increase the core from 1,075mhz to 1,211mhz, translating to a 12.65% gain. The memory overclocked to 1,663mhz. The overclock translates into a 300 point score increase in the latest version of 3DMark - the Fire Strike test. Still a little behind the reference clocked HD7850, but quite close. The ASUS HD7790 Direct CU II OC has certainly left a lasting impression, being one of the quietest video cards we have tested in the last year. When loaded it barely creates a noise, and assuredly any fan noise will be masked behind a CPU cooler, or case fans. When compared against the excellent Sapphire HD7790 OC which we reviewed on launch day, the ASUS is equal. While the Sapphire HD7790 OC runs at around 6c less under load, the fans are a little louder, as they are spinning faster. Sapphire have opted for a slightly more aggressive fan profile, while ASUS are focused on lowering the noise level even further. In reality, both cards are quiet and the coolers perform exceptionally well. If you want the lowest possible noise, opt for the ASUS and if you are running in a warmer environment, the Sapphire board makes a little more sense. Both solutions overclock well, with the Bonaire core peaking in excess of 1,200mhz. As we said on launch day, the prices of the HD7790 still concern me. The ASUS HD7790 Direct CU II OC is priced around £135 inc vat (and up to £145 on other retailers) and is more expensive than a variety of HD7850's available online today for as little as £128 inc vat. To make matters worse, some high grade custom cooled HD7850's are available for £139.99 inc vat. This makes a buying decision difficult, because while the HD7790 is certainly a capable graphics card, the HD7850 has a 256 bit memory interface and enhanced shader power which can improve frame rates in the latest, demanding Direct X 11 titles. We would imagine HD7850 prices will not hold at a sub £140 price point for long, so if you are interested best snagging one while you can. Pros: exceptionally quiet overclocks well good looking board Cons: price point puts it up against some bargain HD7850 deals right now. Kitguru says: A great release from ASUS, but we really would like to see these cards hitting around £120 as HD7850's are available online for £130.