Asus Matrix GTX580 Platinum Review

Performance Analysis

The GTX 580 1.5GB is already a very powerful GPU, and with the factory overclock of the Matrix, it was even quicker. In Dirt 2, the card managed a minimum frame rate of 78fps, even at 2,560 x 1,600 with 4x AA. Black Ops was similarly mastered, with a minimum frame rate of 78fps at 2,560 x 1,600 with 4x AA - a 5 per cent increase over a stock GTX 580 1.5GB.

Arma II proved a sterner challenge, with the Matrix producing a minimum frame rate of 27fps at 2,560 x 1,600 with 4x AA. This is a 4 per cent improvement over a stock GTX 580 1.5GB, although a GTX 590 3GB offers a 38 per cent increase in performance. Meanwhile, in Bad Company 2, the Matrix offered 6 per cent more performance than a standard GTX 580 1.5GB card, with a minimum frame rate of 55fps at 1,920 x 1,080 with 4x AA.


Asus’ DirectCU II cooler also performed superbly. An idle delta T of just 10˚C made the Matrix one of the coolest cards we’ve tested; even under full load, the delta T peaked at just 34˚C. The card’s two 90mm fans were very quiet throughout too, and didn't audibly spin up, even with the GPU under extended heavy load. The card’s load power consumption of 347W was slightly higher than a stock GTX 580 1.5GB, but this is to be expected considering the factory overclock.

Asus has also ditched its dire SmartDoctor overclocking software in favour of a new GPU Tweak utility. This enables you to adjust frequencies, fan speeds, GPU and memory voltages, and even alter the memory timings.

We soon had the GPU running at a frequency of 920MHz, with a memory frequency of 1,15MHz (4.6GHz effective) thanks to a GPU voltage of 1,150mV. However, while this is a 19 per cent increase in GPU frequency compared with a standard GTX 580 1.5GB, it isn’t much more than we’d expect from a standard GTX 580 1.5GB, which is a little disappointing.


With our overclock applied, we saw the minimum frame rate in Arma II at 1,920 x 1,080 with 4x AA rise by 13 per cent to 53fps. Meanwhile, we saw a greater increase in Bad Company 2, with a minimum frame rate of 64fps.

Conclusion

With Nvidia’s next family of GPUs at least five months away, a GTX 580 1.5GB is still a solid option. A basic GTX 580 1.5GB card costs around £350, so you’re only paying £39 more for the quiet triple-slot cooler, the lightshow and all the power circuitry on the Matrix.

As such, the Asus more than justifies its price as a fast card that will last for ages. It's too large to fit inside many cases, but so much performance at such a low noise level makes it a very desirable card.