NVIDIA, ASUS GTX 560 Ti Review

Specifications:

NVIDIA Reference Card:

ASUS GTX560 Ti DirectCUII TOP:

Features:

NVIDIA Features:

• Microsoft® DirectX® 11 Support:  DirectX 11 GPU with Shader Model 5.0 support designed for ultra high performance in the new API’s key graphics feature, GPU-accelerated tessellation.
•  NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Surround Ready*: Expand your games across three displays in full stereoscopic 3D for the ultimate “inside the game” experience with the power of NVIDIA 3D Vision and SLI technologies. NVIDIA® Surround™ also supports triple screen gaming with non-stereo displays.
•  Interactive Ray Tracing: By tracing the path of light through a 3D scene, ray tracing uses the power of the GPU to create spectacular, photo-realistic visuals. Get a glimpse into the future of gaming with ray tracing.
• 3-way NVIDIA SLI® Technology*: Industry leading 3-way NVIDIA SLI technology offers amazing performance scaling by implementing 3-way AFR (Alternate Frame Rendering) for the world’s premier gaming solution under Windows 7 with solid, state-of-the-art drivers.
• NVIDIA PhysX® Technology: Full support for NVIDIA PhysX technology, enabling a totally new class of physical gaming interaction for a more dynamic and realistic experience with GeForce.
• NVIDIA CUDA™ Technology: CUDA technology unlocks the power of the GPU’s processor cores to accelerate the most demanding tasks such as video transcoding, physics simulation, ray tracing, and more, delivering incredible performance improvements over traditional CPUs.
• 32x Anti-aliasing Technology: Lightning fast, high-quality anti-aliasing at up to 32x sample rates obliterates jagged edges.
• NVIDIA® PureVideo® HD Technology: The combination of high-definition video decode acceleration and post-processing that delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video, accurate color, and precise image scaling for movies and video.
• PCI Express 2.0 Support: Designed for the new PCI Express 2.0 bus architecture offering the highest data transfer speeds for the most bandwidth-hungry games and 3D applications, while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing

ASUS Features

• GPU Guard: Unique reinforcement technique to improve shockproof performance and prevent cracks
• Double over current protection: Doubled protection prevents overcurrent-related loss of performance and eliminate dangerous temperature rises
• EMI Shield: Effectively blocks 66% of radiation emitted to protect user's health and improve graphics clarity
• Xtreme Design
  
• Direct CU II Cooling solution: DirectCU flattened copper heat pipes directly contact the GPU core to speed up heat dissipation for up to a 20%* improvement in cooler performance compared to reference designs. Keeping the card temperatures low also results in quieter operations thanks to reduced fan speeds!
• SAP: Super Alloy Power, Super Alloy Power technology is based on a special blend of elements internally developed by ASUS.  Outside of pushing the design envelope and improving performance this significant accomplishment overcame the challenging production process under extreme pressure and temperatures. Further reinforcing the not only quality components but class leading implementation and testing was used in the design process.  Super Alloy Power utilizes metals that are highly-magnetic, heat-resistant and anti-corrosive to reduce power loss, enhance durability and achieve cooler operation.  This fine alloy has been implemented in key components like chokes, capacitors and MOSFETs, enabling an overall increase in the performance of each component.