ASUS debuts the liquid cooled Poseidon GTX 980

Posted on Tuesday, November 11 2014 @ 19:35 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
ASUS reveals the Poseidon GTX 980, a new GeForce GTX 980 graphics card with DirectCU H2O hybrid air and water cooling. The card has a 1279MHz Boost clockspeed and offers 4GB GDDR5 memory clocked at 7010MHz.
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Poseidon GTX 980 with DirectCU H2O, a new graphics card with an exclusive hybrid thermal solution that enables extremely efficient cooling by either air or water.

The new card is powered by the latest NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 980 graphics-processing unit (GPU). With DirectCU H2O on board offering users the unique ability to cool either by air or water, ROG Poseidon GTX 980 achieves running temperatures that are up to 27°C lower than reference designs — that’s up to 2X cooler for gaming performance that’s up to 10% faster in Watch Dogs™ and 7% faster in Battlefield 4™.

ROG Poseidon GTX 980 is also loaded with ROG technologies and innovations, including dual dust-proof fans for increased card longevity, die-cast thermal armor for improved cooling in the crucial MOSFET area, Digi+ voltage-regulation modules (VRMs) with black metallic capacitors for incredible stability and up to a 5X-longer lifespan than reference. ROG Poseidon GTX 980 comes equipped with three native DisplayPort connections that support NVIDIA G-SYNC™ surround to let gamers combine up to 3 G-SYNC monitors and create an incredibly immersive gaming environment. The new card also comes with GPU Tweak, an easy-to-use software utility that squeezes maximum performance from the GPUs — real-time graphics tuning and live streaming has never been this easy.

Exclusive DirectCU H2O technology for up to 2X cooler and 3X quieter performance
ROG Poseidon GTX 980 is fitted with exclusive DirectCU H2O technology, which employs a combined air and water channel to provide complete flexibility for the user — and ultra-efficient cooling for the graphics cards.

A custom vapor chamber is in direct contact with the card’s GPU for faster heat dispersal, while copper heat-pipes and extended cooling fins further transfer heat out and away from the card to keep it running cool. With water cooling, ROG Poseidon GTX 980 achieves up to 27°C-lower running temperatures than reference designs. With air cooling, ROG Poseidon GTX 980 achieves running temperatures that are up to 15X cooler than reference.

What’s more, with standard G¼-inch threaded fittings, ROG Poseidon GTX 980 easily accommodates existing cooling equipment, so users can get going with water cooling right away.

The new card features dust-proof fans that deliver cooler, quieter operation and extend lifespan — ROG Poseidon GTX 980’s increased resistance to dust and other particulates mean that the card will remain working for up to 25% longer than reference designs.

Thoughtful power design that’s built to last
ASUS engineers have designed ROG Poseidon GTX 980 to just keep on going. The card includes exclusive Digi+ VRM with Super Alloy Power technology. Black metallic solid-state capacitors,10-phase Super Alloy Power concrete-core chokes and hardened MOSFETs all withstand much greater stress and heat due to the application of specially-formulated materials — increasing reliability and overall card lifespan up to five times (5X). Digi+ VRM regulates voltage digitally, ensuring ample room for experimental performance tuning — to levels unmatched by other graphics cards.

ROG Poseidon GTX 980 also benefits from a tough back-plate that’s made from an aluminum alloy and a unique die-cast thermal armor with thermal pads — preventing bending and further improving cooling in the crucial MOSFET and memory areas.

Immense gaming power that bathes in an awesome glow
ROG Poseidon GTX 980 includes GPU Tweak, an exclusive tuning tool that allows quick, simple and safe control over video-memory clock speeds, cooling-fan speeds and power-consumption thresholds — allowing the card’s GPU to be pushed to its limits.

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.

On top of this ability to unleash incredible power, ROG Poseidon GTX 980 also looks amazing, with a gorgeous LED light that glows a glorious red and pulsates majestically when the cards are active — a stunning reminder of awesome power at work.
ASUS Poseidon GTX 980


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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