Asus Matrix HD 7970 Platinum 3GB Graphics Card Review

We’re big fans of ROG based products and this card is no different and I’m sure if you’ve read the review, you’ll know why as it simply ticks every box and is designed for those wanting the very most out of a graphics card and even gives you further options if the stock performance isn’t enough for you, but we’re sure that for the most part, you won’t be disappointed.

We’ve taken a look at specialist cards like this before including the Lightning series from MSI and Vapor-X from Sapphire and Asus pride themselves on their ROG range and that is what makes this card so special. The added features won’t be used by half the people buying this card and the majority of them will be buying it because they can and not because they need it. A lot of the features are complete overkill but that’s what this is all about as it opens up a broad spectrum or customers including the enthusiasts and extreme overclockers who will be running this baby on LN2 trying to break world records. We’ve seen it done with ROG products before and we know we’ll see it with this one too.

In terms of the boost seen in performance over a reference 7970, we saw some really strong performance increases and overclockability was simple gobsmacking and we’re still amazed as to how far this card wanted to be pushed. Even when overclocked to extreme levels without the use of third-party cooling, we didn’t see the temperatures go over 70 degrees which for an AMD 7970 Tahiti core is pretty damn impressive and that’s all down to the DirectCU II cooler which frankly is HUGE. It takes up three slots in your chassis and includes two large fans to keep things in check.

The card also includes some pretty cool features including the lighting show on top, which shines through the cut-out wording to show you when the card is under extreme pressure and serious load and this is a lovely touch inside a chassis and will pretty much match up with any colour scheme though the red and black colouring of the cooler obviously goes well with one type of motherboard; an Asus ROG board of course. That’s why you will also find bundled accessories like the Hotwire cables which allows you to connect the card to your board and control its voltages through your ROG motherboards BIOS which simply in my opinion is epic.

It’s little things like this that really make this card shine and that all adds to the value factor and coming in around the £400 mark, it’s not exactly cheap, but you just have to remember about all of the benefits you get from a product like this. It’s the Ferrari of the car world and that makes you one very rich individual and the envy of many many people.

Asus have done a simply amazing job with this card and it’s down to every last detail, much like a Ferrari with the addition of the DirectCUII cooler, the plentiful overclock, the added features for voltage control and even the bundled MOSFET heatsink for those wanting to push it under LN2. We’ve looked at cards like this before on the GTX 680 level, but never had a chance to really see a 7970 that can take on the world until now.

The Asus Matrix HD 7970 Platinum really is the fastest single core graphics card on the planet and it certainly packs a punch while still being quiet, efficient and cool and though its the size of a small house, it still looks beautiful no matter how you look at it and no matter who you are, you know you want one.