After DirectCU and Matrix series ASUS has a new GeForce GTX 750 Ti card in its portfolio which even features a new revision of their DirectCU II cooler with 0dB Fan technology named STRIX, there is also a non-reference PCB which features super alloy components. Everything put together sounds like a higly compelling offer.
The GeForce GTX 750 Ti has been around for quite a few months, but still, the first NVIDIA Maxwell based
graphics card is still an interesting
contender on the market. It allows a glimpse on the efficiency of the new NVIDIA
Maxwell GPU.
As this is a GeFoce GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition graphics card, there are some special
features and some special treatment for the graphics card. For example, it comes
with ASUS's Strix cooler, which is based on the DirectCU II design and capable of
completely deactivating fans in certain scenarios. Apart from the that, the
graphics card also features a custom design
as well as a factory overclock.
As you can see from the GPU-Z screenshot below, ASUS decided to use quite a high factory-overclock on the new GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition. Actually these settings make it one of the fastest GTX 750 Ti on the market. While the reference GTX 750 Ti GPU is set to work at 1'020 MHz for the base GPU and 1'085 MHz for the GPU Boost clock, the ASUS GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition works at 1'124 MHz for the base clock and
1'202 MHz for the Boost GPU clock.
Unfortunately, no factory overclocking was done on the 2GB of GDDR5 memory which remained at recommended 1'350MHz (5'400MHz effective).
While the typical Boost clock is set at 1'124 MHz, the maximum Boost of 1'202 MHz was achieved quite easily. When running 3DMark Fire Strike we noticed that the GPU was running even higher. In fact clock speeds in 3DMark Fire Strike are 1'254 MHz. These clocks can be achieved thanks to the capable custom cooler as well as a good TDP target (Nvidia's Boost technology being based on both temperature and power on this card, the
latter being predominant). While running Furmark we noticed the card is still running at 1'254 MHz and the voltage is set at 1.043V.
ASUS decided to equip the GeForce GTX 750 Ti Strix with a new version
of their famous DirectCU II cooler. In case of this graphics card you get two heatpipes,
both with six millimeter diameter. Soldered to the heatpipes is the fin stack which is being
provided with fresh air via two fans. The fans on the new STRIX series are
designed to spin only when GPU temprature reaches 65 degrees, which means that in
2D mode they are completeley off. Also, under low loads the fans do not start to
spin. Under high-load the noise level is near silent, subjectively
speaking.
The ASUS GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition graphics card, or to be precise our sample of
it, allowed a maximum stable overclock of 1'422 MHz
for the GPU and 1'650 MHz on the memory side. We used Furemark V1.11.0 Geeks3D
benchmark with 15 minutes duration. With these clocks we had to feed the GPU
with 1.21 Volts and the memory ran at stock voltages.
A closer look at the PCB shows that ASUS equipped this graphics card with
a 2+1
phase power design. The GPU gets its current from two phases and one
phase is taking care of the memory.
Checking the voltage regulation chip we find a uP1631P from uPI Semiconductor for the GPU an
EM5305 for PLL and an EM5106 controller chip for the memory.
The memory chips on the GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition come from Hynix and carry the
model number H5GC4H24MFR. They are specified to run at 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz
effective).
The new GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition graphics card ships well bolstered in a foam
made mold. The bundle is very basic as you only get a small manual, a
driver CD as well as the graphics card itself.
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
Temperature
Auto
50%
70%
100%
ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti STRIX OC Edition
38
33
30
28
ASUS
GeForce GTX 760 Striker Platinum
34
34
33
29
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC
30
29
28
28
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum
32
31
30
29
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 STRIX OC Edition
53
40
38
32
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum
37
37
36
34
ASUS
Radeon HD 7970 Platinum
28
28
28
27
ASUS
Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top
30
30
29
29
ASUS
Radeon R9 280X Platinum
30
30
29
29
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II
36
35
34
34
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X Platinum
37
36
35
34
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 750 Ti Black Edition
25
25
24
24
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition
29
27
26
26
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 OC V2
30
29
28
28
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780
30
29
29
27
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition
32
31
30
29
PowerColor Radeon R9 280X TurboDuo OC
32
32
31
30
PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS
29
NVIDIA Reference
32
30
29
29
More is better
Idle, temperature is
taken after 15 minutes @ lowest, 40 %, 50 %, 70 % and 100 % fan speed.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature under Furmark
Temperature
Auto
50%
70%
100%
ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti STRIX OC Edition
58
49
48
47
ASUS
GeForce GTX 760 Striker Platinum
73
73
73
72
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC
83
71
63
56
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum
77
77
72
68
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum
90
81
72
62
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 STRIX OC Edition
70
66
59
54
ASUS
Radeon HD 7970 Platinum
76
70
69
69
ASUS
Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top
90
71
64
63
ASUS
Radeon R9 280X Platinum
77
73
71
70
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II
89
90
85
81
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X Platinum
88
85
82
78
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 750 Ti Black Edition
52
49
47
44
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition
90
80
73
58
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 OC V2
90
83
75
63
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780
73
71
63
56
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition
80
77
72
69
PowerColor R9 290X LCS
46
PowerColor R9 280X TurboDuo OC
n/A
n/A
74
68
NVIDIA Reference
90
83
76
68
More is better
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
Auto
Temperature
PowerColor R9 290X LCS (watercooled)
39
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 750Ti Black Edition
40
ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti STRIX OC Edition
55
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition
60
ASUS
GeForce GTX 760 Striker Platinum
62
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 STRIX OC Edition
62
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum
66
ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Platinum
66
MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780
66
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition
67
ASUS Radeon R9 280X Platinum
68
ASUS
GeForceGTX 780 DirectCU II OC
69
ASUS
Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top
69
Gigabyte
GeForce GTX 780 OC V2
70
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum
71
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X Platinum
72
PowerColor R9 280X TurboDuo OC
73
ASUS
Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II
79
NVIDIA Reference
79
More is better
For BattleField 3, temperature and fan speed
values taken are the highest achieved after 1 hour gaming @ auto fan
speed.
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
ASUS Radeon R9
290X Platinum
n/A
n/A
n/A
ASUS GeForce GTX
780 Ti Matrix Platinum
n/A
n/A
n/A
AMD Radeon HD 7790
33.44
91
3.67
AMD Radeon HD 7870
50.53
143
3.53
AMD Radeon R9 270
50.00
144
3.47
AMD Radeon HD 7850
42.39
124
3.42
AMD Radeon R9 270X
53.85
159
3.39
nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost
40.87
121
3.38
nVidia GeForce GTX 660
47.37
144
3.29
nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti
30.80
100
3.08
AMD Radeon R9 280X
68.85
241
2.86
nVidia GeForce GTX 760
56.63
199
2.85
nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti
53.55
193
2.77
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750
Ti Black Edition
38.37
140
2.74
AMD Radeon HD 7970
64.27
232
2.77
nVidia GeForce GTX 670
62.00
228
2.72
AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition
70.75
260
2.72
nVidia GeForce GTX 770
70.92
266
2.67
nVidia GeForce GTX 580
50.49
190
2.66
ASUS GeForce GTX 750 Ti STRIX OC Edition
37.48
148
2.53
AMD Radeon HD 6870
31.88
126
2.53
nVidia GeForce GTX 680
68.36
291
2.35
ASUS
GeForce GTX 760 Striker Platinum
59.92
288
2.08
nVidia GeForce GTX 780
81.66
415
1.97
AMD Radeon HD 6950
36.83
205
1.80
PowerColor Radeon
R9 290X LCS
91.19
577
1.58
ASUS
GeForce GTX 780 STRIX OC Edition
84.22
532
1.58
nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti
90.53
582
1.56
AMD Radeon HD 6970
41.19
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
73.44
708
1.04
nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN
85.05
832
1.02
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz
104.63
613
N/A
* 06/01/2014
More is better
Less is better
More is better
For the price we took the lowest price available on geizhals.eu.
The ASUS GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition did well in our tests, since it comes with a rather decent factory
overclock and features an appropriately dimensioned DirectCU II (Strix)
dual fan
cooler. In combination with the cooler, the noise levels produced are on a very
reasonable level. The manufacturing quality is also convincing but since
this is a competitively priced graphics card, it lacks some extra
features and does not feature a backplate.
When it comes to clock speeds this is definitely one of the fastest GTX
750 Ti out there since the GPU Boost clock can go all the way up to
1'254 MHz while running 3DMark Fire Strike.
As noted earlier, the DirectCU II (Strix) dual fan is
a good cooler and it has been appropriately sized in order to keep this
card at reasonable temperatures. It does a great job in keeping the graphics card cool
and way
above its
advertised Boost clock so there is not much more you could ask
from it. On top of all that, the fans do not spin up when the GPU
temperature is below 65°C. In reality the graphics card is inaudible in idle,
since the fan is off most of the time. Even under full load the card
remains very silent with the fan set to auto mode.
- Inaudible in 2D
- Silent in 3D
Performance
+
-
If we compare the specs of this card to the
reference model, we see that the maximum Boost clock is
almost 16% higher than the Boost clock. Comparing this card to other cards we see the ASUS GTX 750 Ti
Strix OC Edition is almost as quick as a reference GTX 660 and that card
definitely plays in an another league.
Power consumption wise, this graphics card definitely excels. The ASUS GTX 750 Ti
Strix OC Edition is very
good in idle with power consumption of the entire setup at 41 W. Under
load, the new GTX 750 Ti Strix OC Edition pulls just a mere 132 Watts.
Comparing this to the aforementioned GTX 660, which pulls 177 Watts, gives an impression on how energy efficient this card
actually is.
- Performance
- Power consumption
Recommendation / Price
+
-
Checking prices on Geizhals.at we found that this
card will set you back at least 146 Euro. The cheapest GTX 750 Ti
graphics cards are available these days goes for 110 Euro. In other words, this means that ASUS is charging 36 Euro more for the custom PCB, custom
cooler and factory overclock. Considering these improvements, charging an
additional 36 Euro is fair, but at the same time justifying a price tag
which has been increased by almost 31 percent is really hard.
Should you be looking for a highly energy efficient graphics card for an
entry level gaming PC, that is inaudible most of the time, then you should
definitely consider the ASUS GTX 750 Ti
Strix OC Edition.
- Gaming
- Silent PC
The GeForce GTX 750
Ti Strix OC Edition receives very good 4.5 out of 5 stars.