Aw: ASUS GeForce GTX 980Ti STRIX Gaming
#3
Having had this card in my hands now, it's interesting to see that ASUS managed to increase the build quality of the cooler compared to the DirectCU II model. What I don't like is what the base plate of the cooler looks like. There are rather big gaps inbetween the heatpipes. Although ASUS claims that direct touch should offer better temperatures, since there are less heat transfers, I prefer coolers with a solid cooper base plate. Testing a R9 290X DirectCU II cards, I noticed that this cooler also showed big gaps. If there wasn't "a ton" of thermal compound, the chip overheated, because the cooler didn't contact the chip uniformly. Removing the cooler there actually was a lot of thermal compound, so ASUS is aware that this is necessary.