ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum (air) Review
Category : NVIDIA
Published by Christian Ney on 08.01.14
With the new GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum, ASUS introduced a very interesting and unique product into market. A graphics card that can be chilled with air, water or both at the same time thanks to ASUS' brand new innovative hybrid DirectCU H2O cooler. Very promising on the paper we are going to have a first look at it.
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Presentation
ASUS ROG is at it again, after a unique dual GPU MARS 760 graphics card, the enthusiast branch of ASUS introduces a new graphics card featuring an exclusive DirectCU H2O hybrid - air and water - cooling solution. Other than a rather special cooler, the new ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum graphics card features a PCB with custom design and improved VRM area as well as a decent factory overclocking. Cooling solution aside, the new GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum shares a lot of similarities with the GTX 780 DirectCU II series.
As you can see from the above picture, the Poseidon Platinum uses the new B1 revision of the GK110 chip. Therefore it was a simple decision to go for higher factory overclocking than on the DirectCU II OC model but the manufacturer didn't push things too far and decided to go for an average factory-overclocking on the new Poseidon Platinum. While the reference GeForce GTX 780 GPU is set to work at 863MHz for the base clock and 900MHz for the Boost clock, the new ASUS GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum works at 954 MHz for the base clock and 1'006 MHz for the Boost clock.
Unfortunately, no factory overclocking was done on the 3GB of GDDR5 memory that remains at recommended 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz effective).
While the typical Boost clock is set at 1'006 MHz, the maximum Boost of 1'084 (1.127v) MHz was achieved quite easily and the GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum held that clock most of the load time due to good custom cooler as well as good TDP target (Nvidia's Boost technology being based on both temperature and power on this card, the latter being predominant). The GPU Max. Boost clock only dropped in Furmark down to 927 MHz at 0.965v because of the power target and even the temperature went past 80°C. We did not experience any throttling in the games tested games, the GPU was always running at 1'084 MHz, almost 80 MHz above the advertised Boost clock.
Specifications
| Gigabyte 780 GHz | ASUS 780 Poseidon P | Gigabyte 780 OC V2 | GeForce GTX 780 | |
| Chip | GK110-300-B1 | GK110-300-B1 | GK110-300-A1 | GK110-300-A1 |
| Process | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 7.10 billion | 7.10 billion | 7.10 billion | 7.10 billion |
| GPU clock | 1'020 MHz | 954 MHz | 954 MHz | 863 MHz |
| GPU Boost clock | 1'072 MHz | 1'006 MHz | 1'006 MHz | 900 MHz |
| Memory GDDR5 | 3'072 MB | 3'072 MB | 3'072 MB | 3'072 MB |
| Memory clock | 1'502 (6'008) MHz | 1'502 (6'008) MHz | 1'502 (6'008) MHz | 1'502 (6'008) MHz |
| Memory interface | 384 Bit | 384 Bit | 384 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 288'400 MB/s | 288'400 MB/s | 288'400 MB/s | 288'400 MB/s |
| Shader Cores | 2'304 (12 SMX) | 2'304 (12 SMX) | 2'304 (12 SMX) | 2'304 (12 SMX) |
| TMUs | 192 | 192 | 192 | 192 |
| ROPs | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| TDP | xxx Watt | xxx Watt | >250 Watt | 250 Watt |
| PCB Type | Custom Design | Custom Design | Custom Design | Reference Design |
| Lenght (PCB - Total) | 26.9 - 28.8 cm | 26.9 - 28.1 cm | 26.9 - 28.8 cm | 27.0 - 27.0 cm |
| Height (PCB - Total) | 11.0 - 12.9 cm | 12.0 - 13.6 cm | 11.0 - 12.9 cm | 11.0 - 11.0 cm |
| Slots | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cooler | WindForce 3X 450W | DirectCU H2O | WindForce 3X 450W | NVIDIA Reference |
| Launch Price | $XXX | $XXX | $XXX | $649 |
The card
The DirectCU H2O cooler that comes with the Poseidon Platinum is an entirely new designed hybrid cooler, the first of its kind. The DirectCU H2O allows users to choose whether they want to chill their graphics card using air, water or even both at the same time. The cooler is made of three different parts, there is a vapor chamber, the fin stack and the face-plate with two fans. The vapor chamber is milled from copper and it's surrounded by an aluminium part that chills all the memory chips, the MOSFETs from the main power design and the core and memory voltage regulation chips via thermal pads. On top of that there are three nickel plated copper heatpipes - two with 6mm and one with 8mm diameter - that are connected to the vapor chamber and the aluminium fin stack. The fin stack which is being provided with fresh air via two 90mm fans. The fans carry the model number FDC10H12S9-C. The water channel that features standard G1/4" threaded fittings goes through the vapor chamber forming a U.
Overall the cooler is very well made. With the face-plate, it would have been a good idea if ASUS had put another screw roughly where the PCI-Express power plugs go because on our sample the face-plate was a bit loose (can be moved up and down). Comparing this face-plate with the one on the MARS 760 there is quite a difference in quality. We would have appreciated if ASUS was to use the same kind of material as on the MARS 760.
The thermal paste used is of pre-applied type.
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Like most of ASUS' recent high-end cards the PCB has been completely reworked and the power design beefed-up. A closer look at it shows a 10 phase power implementation for the main power design where the GPU gets eight (there are five on the reference card) and the memory two phases. The PCB design is looking very much alike the one you get with the GTX 780 and GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II. The card also features a full backplate to prevent bending and protect the card at the same time.
Component wise ASUS makes use of high quality, so called Super Alloy Power, parts. Last but not least, located at the rear of the PCB there are several voltage reading and modification points but unfortunately they are not labelled.
Checking the voltage regulation chip we find a digital multi-phase controller labelled Digi+ ASP1212 for the GPU, probably a rebranded CHiL 8228 or 8318, and one unidentified Richtek 2-phase controller labelled 02=FE A1B for the memory.
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The memory chips used are made by Elpida and carry the model number W2032BBBG-60-F. They are specified to run at 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz effective).
Photo Gallery
Delivery
The card ships well bolstered in a foam made mold. Bundled with the graphics card there is a user guide, a driver CD that includes the overclocking tool GPU Tweak too, a power converter (2x6-Pin-PCIe to 1x8-Pin-PCIe) and a case sticker. Unfortunately there is no SLI bridge. For such a card the bundle is quite poor, we would have liked the manufacturer to include something more like some barbs for example.
Test Setup
| Mainboard |
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| CPUs |
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| Memory |
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| Graphic Cards |
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| Drivers |
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| Games and OS |
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| HDD |
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| PSU |
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Weighted average
Temperatures / Noise levels
Fan Speed
Noise Level
For the noise level results, we measured the noise level using a decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) located at 1 meter away from the graphics card.
Idle Temperature
Idle, temperature is taken after 15 minutes @ lowest, 40 %, 50 %, 70 % and 100 % fan speed.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature under Furmark
For FurMark, temperature is taken after 15 minutes of GPU Burn test at lowest, 40 %, 50 %, 70 % and 100 % fan speed.
We stopped the test when the GPU temperature hit 90°C.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature and fan speed under BattleField 3
For BattleField 3, temperature and fan speed values taken are the highest achieved after 1 hour gaming @ auto fan speed.
Performance/Watt
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Power C. (Watts)* | Performance/Watt*10 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 53.55 | 178 | 3.01 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN (Ref) | 85.05 | 306 | 2.78 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 (ASUS DC2OC) | 70.92 | 257 | 2.76 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 (ASUS DC2T) | 62.00 | 227 | 2.73 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti (GBT GHz) | 90.53 | 333 | 2.72 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 (ASUS DC2OC) | 81.66 | 302 | 2.70 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (ASUS DC2T) | 47.37 | 177 | 2.68 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 (Ref) | 68.36 | 258 | 2.65 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 (ASUS DC2OC) | 56.63 | 218 | 2.60 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 (ASUS DC2OC) | 49.98 | 194 | 2.58 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 89.96 | 350 | 2.57 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 89.69 | 360 | 2.49 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 92.84 | 374 | 2.48 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (Ref) | 40.87 | 169 | 2.42 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T) | 53.39 | 223 | 2.39 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2) | 50.03 | 220 | 2.27 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (ASUS DC2T) | 42.04 | 195 | 2.16 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB) | 32.75 | 152 | 2.15 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T) | 68.40 | 320 | 2.14 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 30.8 | 151 | 2.04 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 (Ref) | 50.49 | 254 | 1.99 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB) | 63.41 | 323 | 1.96 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.) | 69.99 | 360 | 1.94 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 (Ref) | 36.83 | 208 | 1.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref) | 41.32 | 244 | 1.69 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 (Ref) | 31.88 | 200 | 1.59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 (Ref) | 30.05 | 193 | 1.56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 (Ref) | 35.98 | 232 | 1.55 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref) | 73.96 | 481 | 1.54 |
| *Entire system | More is better | Less is better | More is better |
The "Performance Index" value is calculated as the sum of all benchmarks results divided by the amount of games (3DMark and Unigine are not included into the calculation).
Performance/Price
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Price (€)* | Performance/€*10 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 32.75 | 91 | 3.60 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 50.03 | 143 | 3.50 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 49.98 | 144 | 3.47 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 40.87 | 121 | 3.38 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 53.39 | 159 | 3.36 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 47.37 | 144 | 3.29 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 40.04 | 124 | 3.23 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 30.80 | 100 | 3.08 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 53.55 | 193 | 2.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 63.41 | 232 | 2.73 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 62.00 | 228 | 2.72 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 56.63 | 199 | 2.85 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 68.40 | 241 | 2.84 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 69.99 | 260 | 2.69 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 70.92 | 266 | 2.67 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 50.49 | 190 | 2.66 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.88 | 126 | 2.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 68.36 | 291 | 2.35 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 89.69 | 429 | 2.09 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 92.84 | 456 | 2.04 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 81.66 | 415 | 1.97 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 36.83 | 205 | 1.80 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 89.96 | 552 | 1.63 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 90.53 | 582 | 1.56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 41.32 | 310 | 1.33 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 30.05 | 260 | 1.16 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.98 | 335 | 1.07 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 73.96 | 708 | 1.04 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 85.05 | 832 | 1.02 |
| * 06/01/2014 | More is better | Less is better | More is better |
For the price we took the lowest price available on geizhals.eu.
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| With the GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum, ASUS
comes with a very interesting and unique product. We really like the
idea of hybrid cooling introduced with the DirectCU H2O that allows
users to choose how they want to chill their card. It also allows
watercooling the card out of the box without voiding the warranty. 3D
performance as well as cooling performance are good and we also like the fact that
the card is equiped with a full backplate. As always we would have liked to see the memory factory overclocked and the overclocking on the core pushed further. Further improvements could have been made to noise levels, idle power consumption and to the cooler. Something else we noticed concerns the delivery as we were quite surprised not to find a SLI bridge. We would also have liked the manufacturer to include some barbs. |
- Performance
- Cooling performance - Design - Hybrid cooler - Backplate |
- Memory Clock
- Noise levels - Price - Bundle - Face-plate |
|
| Cooling / Noise Level | + | - | |
| In terms of raw cooling performance, the DirectCU
H2O offers good air cooling performance. Especially when you consider
the design of this cooler compared to a DirectCU II for example, then
the air cooling performance is very good. The noise levels are correct but not as low as we would like them to be. In idle the card is inaudible and under load we consider the card silent but audible (38.3 dBA). More heatpipes above the core would have maybe helped increase cooling efficiency and reduce noise levels. We are going to test the water cooling performance in an upcoming article. |
- Cooling performance | - Noise levels | |
| Performance | + | - | |
| Overall the 3D performance is good but as said
previously, performance could have easily been improved with higher
factory clocks. Especially when you concider this card is based on the
new, more efficient, revision of the GK110 chip and it will most likely
be watercooled. ASUS could have - for example - added a BIOS switch on
its card with one BIOS featuring much higher clocks. A closer look at power consumption reveals that the Poseidon Platinum draws a bit more in idle than the two Gigabyte cards with 7 Watts difference on the wall and is more efficient under load with a better performance/watt ratio. |
- Performance
- Power consumption under load |
- idle power consumption
- Performance/Price |
|
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The ASUS ROG GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum is a premium product so it comes with a price, we are talking about 550 Euros. That's right, that is 110 Euros more than the DirectCU II version and 100 Euros more than Gigabyte's GHz Edition. On one side we think 110 Euros is quite a lot for a higher factory overclock, a vapor chamber with water channel and a cutdown air cooler. On the other side 550 Euros is roughtly the price of a GTX 780 + full waterblock and the ASUS card has the advantage of being hybrid, maybe better cooled overall and you don't have to worry about warranty. |
- Gaming
- Modding - WC |
- Price | |
| We gave the GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum from ASUS 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
