Asus Claims “Fastest GTX 980” With 20th Anniversary Graphics Card

by Rey M.L.

For its 20th anniversary of making graphics cards, Asus have prepared something special: a GeForce GTX 980 with severely boosted frequencies. At 1317 base and 1431Mhz boost (compared to 1126/1216Mhz stock), the two-fan Gold Edition is actually clocked higher than a certain GTX 980 variant with four fans.

And yes, the card has a gold-and-black color scheme, as the moniker might indicate.

Outputs include DVI, triple DisplayPort, HDMI, and hot air

Also unlike that Inno3D, Asus' card claims just two expansion slots, and while the GDDR5 is clocked lower, a memory defroster purports to "ensure sustained stability" if you decide to OC with liquid nitrogen. To that end also are 14-phase power and a "Safe Mode" switch that insta-resets card settings.

But by no means is the stock cooler disposable. The DirectCU II cooler apparently keeps things 15% cooler and three times quieter than Nvidia's reference setup; incorporates five black-tinted heatpipes, and turns its fans off completely when temperatures are "below a set level".

An LED indicator on the edge of the shroud changes colors depending on load

All of this should contribute to a healthy premium compared to most other GTX 980 offerings, which shouldn't be a surprise. No word on an MSRP or availability date as of yet, though.

May 8th Postscript: Well, Asus' GTX 980 20th Anniversary Gold Edition cards are beginning to hit retailers, and you'll pay around $700 for one. Are you surprised?

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