ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini OC Review
Category : NVIDIA
Published by Christian Ney on 16.05.13
These day everybody wants to build a small form factor gaming rig. Since, the BitFenix Prodigy case came along we're all crazy about these setups. When you actually start hunting for components for such a setup you find miniITX boards, nice cooler, obviously nice cases but when it comes to a gaming VGA, they are all way too long and disproportionate for miniITX boards. With the GTX 670 DirectCU Mini ASUS squeezed a fully fledged GTX 670 onto a PCB which is as short as a miniITX board but still the card offers a great cooler and good performance.
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On the following pages we will show you the strenghts and weaknesses of the ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini OC.
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Technical Data / Specifications
With the ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini OC you get a factory overclocked card with a super short custom PCB cooled by ASUS' brand new DirectCU Mini cooler. The ASIC quality measured on our sample was 78.7 % which is very high considering an average of 73 % on the cards we had in our hands. Furthremore we noticed an ASIC quality of 74.3 % on ASUS fully fledged DirectCU II Top graphics card.
About ASIC quality:
Looking at the clock speeds we see that the GPU runs at 928 MHz with a typical boost of 1'006 MHz, 26 MHz higher than the reference model. There are actually quite a few cards available that offer higher clocks speeds. You can find all those models in our market overview. Like most other manufacturers, ASUS decided to do no factory overclocking on the GDDR5 memory, therefore the clocks remain at 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz effective) following nVidia's recommendations.
| nVidia GeForce |
ASUS GTX 670 DCU II Top |
ASUS GTX 670 DC Mini OC |
nVidia GF GTX 670 |
| Chip | GK104 | GK104 | GK104 |
| Process | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 3.54 Billion | 3.54 billion | 3.54 billion |
| GPU clock | 1'059 MHz | 928 MHz | 915 MHz |
| GPU Boost clock | 1'137 MHz | 1'006 MHz | 980 MHz |
| Memory | 2'048 MB GDDR5 | 2'048 MB GDDR5 | 2'048 MB GDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz) | 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz) | 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz) |
| Memory interface | 256 Bit | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 192'300 MB/s | 192'300 MB/s | 192'300 MB/s |
| TMUs | 112 | 112 | 112 |
| Shader Cores | 1'344 (7 SMX) | 1'344 (7 SMX) | 1'344 (7 SMX) |
| ROPs | 32 ROP | 32 ROP | 32 ROP |
| Maximum board power | XXX Watt | XXX Watt | 170 Watt |
| PCB Type | Custom Design | Custom Design | Reference Design |
| Lenght (PCB - Total) | 23.2 - 26.8 cm | 17.0 - 17.0 cm | 17.3 - 24.13 cm |
| Cooler | DirectCU II | DirectCU Mini | Reference Design |
| MSRP | $XXX | $XXX | $399 |
As mentioned previously, this card from ASUS makes use of an ultra short custom PCB. ASUS designed this card with miniITX gaming builds in mind. Since miniITX boards measure 17cm x 17cm, the target was to come up with a GTX 670 that measures the same lengthwise. Cramming all the components on the PCB is one part of the story, but the other is that the cooler had to be significantly smaller then usual. Therefore ASUS had to come up with cooler that is even more efficient in removing heat than their well known DirectCU II model. Most of the changes went into the fan design. ASUS created a combination of an axial and a radial fan which accounts for higher air pressure at equal noise level. In the end there is also more air moving over the fins, which means that it was possible for ASUS to achieve sufficient cooling for this 170 Watts TDP card.
Taking a closer look at the power design shows that there is a total of five phases, whereas ASUS makes use of a analog power design that features super alloy components. According to ASUS their so called "Direct Power" power design helps in reducing PCB temperature by 17 percent. The manufacturer decided to provide the GPU with four and the memory with one phase, which is basically enough for a GTX 670 if you don't want to break overclocking world records with this card. Last but not least there is another thing that is interesting about the power design of this card. ASUS provided the GTX 670 DirectCU Mini with one 8-Pin power connector instead of two 6-Pin plugs.
When checking the power regulation chips we find, that ASUS is using a
Richtek RT8802A regarding the GPU and an APW7165A from Anpec regarding the
memory.
The memory chips used are made by Hynix and carry the model number H5GQ2H24AFR-R0C. They are specified to run at 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz effective).
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Preview
Delivery
The card ships well bolstered in a foam made mold. Bundled with the graphics card there is an user guide, some other documentation, a driver CD that includes the overclocking tool too and a power adaptor (2x PCIe-6pin to 1x PCIe-8pin). Apart from that there is nothing else but the card in the box. Overall we would have loved to see like one game in the bundle or at least DVI to VGA adapters. Like it's lying here on the table the bundle is really basic and there is just absolutely nothing special about it.
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Test Setup
Hardware
| Mainboard |
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| CPUs |
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| Memory |
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| Graphic Cards (Driver) |
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| Drivers |
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| Games and OS |
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| HDD |
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| PSU |
|
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
3DMark 11 Performance
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 13'988 | 16'333 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 10'011 | 10'698 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 9'939 | 10'142 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 9'874 | 10'062 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 9'836 | 10'020 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 8'946 | 8'928 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 8'839 | 8'811 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 8'418 | 8'347 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 7'604 | 7'210 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 6'854 | 6'624 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 6'276 | 5'776 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 5'831 | 5'523 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 5'818 | 5'360 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 5'797 | 5'341 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 4'802 | 4'492 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 4'888 | 4'435 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 4'723 | 4'307 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 4'521 | 4'107 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 3'995 | 3'592 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 3'767 | 3'368 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 3'646 | 3'265 |
| More is better | ||
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike Performance
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 8'393 | 10'432 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 6'176 | 7'187 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 6'423 | 7'159 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 6'400 | 7'096 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 5'848 | 6'421 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 5'794 | 6'346 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 4'619 | 5'676 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 5'139 | 5'583 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 4'991 | 5'389 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 4'408 | 4'695 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 4'168 | 4'439 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 3'699 | 4'071 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 3'805 | 4'007 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 3'606 | 3'882 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 3'266 | 3'336 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 3'015 | 3'120 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 2'923 | 3'056 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 2'474 | 2'828 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 2'734 | 2'775 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 2'475 | 2'559 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 2'278 | 2'417 |
| More is better | ||
3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 4'341 | 4'762 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 3'178 | 3'304 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 3'173 | 3'281 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 2'895 | 2'980 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 2'830 | 2'973 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 2'867 | 2'947 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 2'535 | 2'601 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 2'441 | 2'500 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 2'166 | 2'185 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 2'038 | 2'056 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 1'863 | 1'868 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 1'360 | 1'506 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 1'411 | 1'495 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 1'199 | 1'127 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 1'071 | 1'055 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 1'067 | 1'027 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 846 | 910 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 925 | 874 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 698 | 631 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 878 | 815 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 550 | 488 |
| More is better | ||
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Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
| Graphics Cards | Graphics Score | FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 1'765 | 70.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 1'310 | 54.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 1'184 | 47.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 1'175 | 46.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 1'127 | 44.7 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 1'085 | 43.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 1'074 | 42.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 927 | 36.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 872 | 34.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 826 | 32.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 794 | 31.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 707 | 28.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 683 | 27.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 627 | 24.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 567 | 22.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 527 | 20.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 505 | 20.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 500 | 19.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 468 | 18.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 421 | 16.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 394 | 15.6 |
| More is better | ||
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BattleField 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 4xMSAA, Ultra, SSAO | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 100.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 87.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 73.6 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 74.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 73.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 70.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 69.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 59.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 55.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 52.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 45.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 44.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 40.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 36.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 33.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 32.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 31.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 30.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 27.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 27.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 24.6 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High, SSAO | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 89.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 80.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 74.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 65.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 64.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 47.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 46.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 44.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 43.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 39.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 37.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 36.8 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Borderlands 2
| High Preset, 1980x1080, FXAA, no PhsyX, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 135.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 132.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 115.6 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 115.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 113.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 110.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 107.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 100.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 88.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 79.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 74.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 66.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 66.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 59.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 57.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 55.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 54.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 51.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 47.6 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Bioshock Infinite
| Graphics Cards | FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 129.47 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 101.17 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 96.21 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 98.45 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 97.48 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GE | 95.26 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 89.74 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 89.39 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 87.64 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 83.40 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 66.85 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 64.96 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 60.45 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 57.89 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 53.35 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 53.17 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 50.34 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 48.82 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 46.96 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 44.78 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 44.40 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 41.23 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 41.17 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 40.01 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 34.91 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 33.56 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 465 | 32.97 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti | 27.18 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Crysis 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 33.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 26.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 23.8 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 24.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 22.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 22.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 18.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 16.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 14.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 13.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 12.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 11.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 10.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 10.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 9.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 9.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 7.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 7.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 7.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 6.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 5.8 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, Medium | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 61.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 54.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 52.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 49.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 48.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 45.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 39.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 37.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 36.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 33.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 33.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 31.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 30.0 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 168.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 123.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 111.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 110.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 102.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 101.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 89.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 88.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 73.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 67.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 65.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 63.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 63.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 57.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 54.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 53.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 49.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 47.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 45.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 41.0 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
DIRT Showdown - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 89.27 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 83.84 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 64.43 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 64.34 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 63.79 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 63.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 58.38 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 58.03 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 55.23 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 50.74 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 45.71 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 44.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 41.28 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 37.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.56 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.03 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 30.21 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 28.88 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 24.73 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 24.25 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 137.02 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 131.89 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 131.25 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 125.23 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 124.13 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 124.09 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 112.58 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 111.18 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 104.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 98.80 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 95.85 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 94.15 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 85.29 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 83.32 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Far Cry 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 54.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 41.8 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 35.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 35.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 32.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 32.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 28.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 24.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 23.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 21.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 21.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 20.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 19.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 16.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 16.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 16.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 15.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 14.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 12.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 11.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 8.6 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 79.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 65.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 64.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 58.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 54.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 53.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 50.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 47.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 46.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 41.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 41.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 40.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 37.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 34.8 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Max Payne 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 55.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 44.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 36.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 36.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 34.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 33.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 29.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 29.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 27.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 26.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 25.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 24.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 22.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 22.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 22.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 20.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 18.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 17.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 16.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 16.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 15.4 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 94.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 92.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 84.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 82.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 79.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 72.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 67.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 63.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 63.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 63.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 53.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 53.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 49.4 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1980x1080, Extreme, High-Res Textures | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 70.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 48.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 44.9 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 44.3 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 39.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 39.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 37.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 33.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 29.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 27.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 27.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 25.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 24.3 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 23.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 22.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 22.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 19.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 18.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 18.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 15.1 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 84.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 67.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 61.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 60.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 57.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 56.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 51.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 49.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 47.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 47.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 43.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 40.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 37.7 |
| More is better |
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 126.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 122.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 111.8 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 111.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 108.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 104.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 103.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 87.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 86.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 75.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 70.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 71.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 66.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 58.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 57.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 56.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 52.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 48.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 48.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 45.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 44.0 |
| More is better |
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The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
| High Preset, 1980x1080, Ultra | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 48.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 33.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 31.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 31.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 30.8 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 28.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 28.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 26.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 25.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 22.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 22.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 21.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 20.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 19.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 18.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 18.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 17.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 17.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 15.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 13.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 13.0 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 88.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 86.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 79.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 70.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 69.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 60.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 60.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 59.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 57.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 56.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 46.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 46.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 44.0 |
| More is better |
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Power Consumption
| Power Consumption Idle* | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI (non ref design) | 79 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 70 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 68 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 61 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 60 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 59 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 57 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 56 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 55 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI (ref + non ref design) | 54 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 54 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 53 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 52 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 51 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 50 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 50 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Power Consumption Load (FurMark)* | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI (non ref design) | 363 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI (ref + non ref design) | 286 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 250 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 247 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 230 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 215 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 214 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 199 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 195 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 193 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 184 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 178 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 175 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 173 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 172 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 170 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 166 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 161 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 130 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 103 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Difference Idle/LoadDifférence Idle/Charge | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI (non ref design) | 284 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI (ref + non ref design) | 232 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 180 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 179 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 178 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 160 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 157 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 145 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 136 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 134 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 133 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 125 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 121 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 117 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 116 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 115 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 109 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 102 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 80 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 52 |
| More is better |
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Fan Speed / Noise Level
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.
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Idle / FurMark / BF3
Idle Temperature
Idle, temperature is taken after 15 minutes @ 30 %, 50 % and 100 % fan speed.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature under Furmark
For FurMark, temperature is taken after 15 minutes of GPU Burn test @ 30 %, 50 % 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.
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Performance/Watt
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Power C. (Watts)* | Performance/Watt*10 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 59.95 | 172 | 3.49 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 64.76 | 214 | 3.03 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 31.04 | 103 | 3.01 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 64.15 | 215 | 2.98 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 54.68 | 195 | 2.80 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 48.53 | 178 | 2.73 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 60.46 | 230 | 2.63 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 44.81 | 173 | 2.59 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI (ref + non ref design) | 72.35 | 286 | 2.53 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 40.62 | 166 | 2.45 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI (non ref design) | 88.26 | 363 | 2.43 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 28.23 | 130 | 2.17 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 39.16 | 184 | 2.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.40 | 193 | 1.83 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.34 | 175 | 1.79 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.35 | 170 | 1.73 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 26.06 | 161 | 1.62 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 40.08 | 250 | 1.60 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.48 | 247 | 1.32 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 25.70 | 199 | 1.29 |
| *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 Ungine not included into the calculation).
Performance/Price
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Price (€) | Performance/€*10 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.34 | 99 | 3.17 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 48.53 | 169 | 2.87 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 44.81 | 159 | 2.82 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB | 39.16 | 140 | 2.80 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 26.06 | 94 | 2.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 31.04 | 112 | 2.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB | 40.62 | 151 | 2.69 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 59.95 | 224 | 2.68 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI | 72.35 | 280 | 2.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB | 28.23 | 120 | 2.35 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 52.95 | 233 | 2.27 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.40 | 162 | 2.19 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.35 | 142 | 2.07 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 25.70 | 133 | 1.93 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 59.96 | 312 | 1.92 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti SLI | 88.26 | 466 | 1.89 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 64.15 | 380 | 1.69 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC2 Top | 64.76 | 394 | 1.64 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.48 | 199 | 1.63 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 670 DC Mini OC | 60.46 | 391 | 1.55 |
| More is better | Less is better | More is better |
For the price we took the lowest price available on geizhals.eu, on the day the review has been published.
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Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| ASUS has created quite an interesting little piece
of hardware with this DirectCU Mini graphics card. MiniITX are quite
famous these days and more and more build logs of compact gaming PC's
are emerging these days in hardware forums all around a globe. Therefore
it make perfect sense that ASUS makes sure to deliver appropriate
hardware for this niche. It's a fact, that graphics cards are the main
reason why miniITX gaming PC's can't get anymore compact these days. Overall ASUS did a great job with their ultra compact GTX 670 DirectCU Mini. The small cooler is able to cope with the heat generated by the GK104 GPU but to be realistic we have to say, that it is a bit noisier than what we're used to from ASUS' DirectCU coolers. What we really think should be improved this card is being shipped with. ASUS could at least inclued one game code or maybe some cool, fancy accessories, like for example the door hangers you get with ROG boards these days. |
- Design | - Bundle
- Price |
|
| Cooling / Noise Level | + | - | |
| GPU Temperatures were good with a maximum of 83°C under heavy FurMark load with the fans locked at 30 % fan speed. The noise levels are good too at 30 % (almost noiseless) and 50 % (Silent but audible) fan speed but at full speed the DirectCU Mini cooler is quite loud. Anyway unless you have tropical ambient temperature the fans won't go that high. After one hour gaming BattleField 3 the maximum fan speed measured was 49 % and GPU temperature 74°C. So in the end the DirectCU Mini cooler does a really good job for its size although it's obviously behind than ASUS' fully fledged DirectCU II. | |||
| Performance | + | - | |
| Despite the fact, that this card comes with a
factory overclocking, it's not faster than our reference GTX 670. This
is the case because our reference GTX 670 has a typical boost clock of
1'084 MHz which is only a tiny bit less then what the GTX 670 DirectCU
Mini OC from ASUS offers (1'110 MHz). That's why there is almost no
measurable difference between these two cards. While taking a closer look at power consumption we noticed, that idle power consumption is very good compared to the reference card. The DirectCU Mini needs five Watt less than the reference model. To our surprise power consumption unter load was just the opposite. This little card was burning 16 Watt more than the fully grown DirectCU II Top card from ASUS! |
- Power Consumption in idle
|
- Power Consumption under load | |
| Recommendation | + | - | |
| If you should be looking for a graphics card for an ultra compact gaming PC, then this card is perfectly suitable and is also the only one of its kind. On the other hand, checking the price reveals that this GTX 670 DirectCU Mini OC is listed for no less than 391 Euro on Geizhals.eu. Considering that the cheapest GTX 670 costs about 312 Euros these days, you have to pay quite a few buck extra to get a smaller PCB. | - MiniITX gaming setup | ||
| We gave the ASUS GTX 670 DirectCU Mini a solid 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
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Author: Christian Ney c.ney@ocaholic.ch