ASUS Unveils Their New R9 280 DirectCU II Graphics Card

Today is a good day for ASUS as they reveal the latest edition to an already great range of AMD R9 graphics cards. The R9 280 DirectCU II graphics card is powered by the latest AMD Radeon R9 280 hardware GPU and to make things even better, it features the legendary Asus DirectCU II cooling technology. DirectCU II allows the card to run cooler, quieter and at a higher clock speed over the stock cooler, which is something we can all appreciate.

“With ASUS DirectCU II technology on board, R9 280 DirectCU II runs up to 20% cooler and up to three times (3X) quieter than reference designs — and that means faster, quieter and more stable gaming. The new card has a base clock speed of 874MHz, which climbs all the way up to 980MHz when boosted.” Said ASUS in a recent press release.

The new cooler allows the improved clock speeds, and combined with a DIGI+ voltage-regulation module (VRM), you can expect better stability and reduced noise from the card. If the factory overclocks and improved cooling aren’t enough for your rig, then the included GPU Tweak software allows for easy real-time adjustments to the cards performance, and an easy way to overclock for both beginners and advanced users alike. With 3GB of super-fast GDDR5 video memory and support for resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600, R9 280 DirectCU II is to be  agreat mid-high end gaming graphics card.

R9280-DC2T-3GD5 Specifications

• AMD Radeon R9 280
• PCI Express 3.0
• OpenGL 4.3
• 3072MB (3GB) GDDR5 memory
• 980MHz boost clock
• 874MHz base clock
• 5200MHz (1300MHz GDDR5) memory clock
• 1792 stream processors
• 1 x DVI-D
• 1 x DVD-I
• 1 x HDMI output
• 1 x DisplayPort

“DirectCU II is an innovative thermal technology that’s exclusive to ASUS. It puts highly-conductive 10mm copper cooling pipes in direct contact with a card’s GPU so heat is dissipated quickly and with extreme efficiency.

The new card also features a unique CoolTech fan: this consists of a hybrid blade and bearing design, with inner radial blower and outer flower-type blades that provide multi-directional airflow to accelerate heat removal and enable highly stable graphics performance.”

As well, the GPU Tweak Streaming tool lets users share on-screen action over the internet in real-time, so others can watch live as games are played. It’s even possible to add a title to the streaming window along with scrolling text, pictures and webcam images, making this an ideal weapon for those who loves to stream their gameplay online, create videos and more.

The new card will be available from March 10th from most major online retailers.

Thank you ASUS for providing us with this information.

Images courtesy of ASUS.