ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC Review
Category : AMD
Published by Christian Ney on 11.04.13
Like many other manufacturers ASUS released its very own version of the HD 7790 using a reference design PCB and a custom cooler. This last one is of course the now well known DirectCU II v2.0. Furthermore the card is shipped with a factory overclocking. The GPU runs at 1'075 MHz and the memory is clocked at 1'600 MHz, which are basically the same clocks as other overclocked cards on the market. So far we are not impressed, let's take a closer look anyway!
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On the following pages we will show you the strenghts and weaknesses of the ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC.
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Technical Data / Specifications
With the ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC you get a factory overclocked card with a reference PCB cooled by a DirectCU II v2.0 cooler. The ASIC quality measured on our sample was 73.2 % which is on the average.
About ASIC quality:
Looking at the clock speeds we see that the GPU runs at 1'075 MHz. That's the highest you can get out of the box for an HD 7790 and if you take a look at other cards on the market you see that most share the same GPU clock. Like HIS, Sapphire and XFX, ASUS ships its card with the 1'024 MB of GDDR5 memory overclocked at 1'600 MHz (6'400 MHz effective). For the record, AMD's recommended clocks are 1'000 MHz for the GPU and 1'500 MHz for the memory.
| nVidia GeForce | Radeon HD 7850 | ASUS Radeon HD 7790 | Radeon HD 7790 | Radeon HD 7770 |
| Chip | Pitcain Pro | Bonair | Bonair | Cape Verde |
| Process | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 2.80 Billion | 2.08 billion | 2.08 Billion | 1.50 Billion |
| GPU clock | 860 MHz | 1'075 MHz | 1'000 MHz | 1'000 MHz |
| Memory | 2'048 MB GDDR5 | 1'024 MB GDDR5 | 1'024 MB GDDR5 | 1'024 MB GDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 1'200 MHz (4'800 MHz) | 1'600 MHz (6'400 MHz) | 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz) | 1'125 MHz (4'500 MHz) |
| Memory interface | 256 Bit | 128 Bit | 128 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 153'600 MB/s | 102'400 MB/s | 96'000 MB/s | 72'000 MB/s |
| TMUs | 64 | 56 | 56 | 40 |
| Shader Cores | 1024 | 896 | 896 | 640 |
| ROPs | 32 ROPs | 16 ROPs | 16 ROPs | 16 ROPs |
| Maximum board power | 150 Watt | xx Watt | 85 Watt | 75 Watt |
| PCB Type | Reference Design | Reference Design | Reference Design | Reference Design |
| PCB size | long | short | PCIe16x | PCIe16x |
| Cooler | Reference Design | DirectCU II v2.0 | Reference Design | Reference Design |
| MSRP | $250 | $159 | $149 | $109 |
As said previously, this card from ASUS makes use of the reference PCB. Therefore you get an analogue power design with five phases, where the GPU gets four phases and the memory gets one phase.
The voltage regulation chip used for both GPU and memory is a NCP81022 from ON Semiconductor.
On the picture below you can see that unlike the Club3D card we reviewed not long ago the MOSFETs haven't been cooled via a little aluminium heatsink. Since this card belongs to the renown DirectCU 2 series we would have liked to see it but on the other hand the axial fan is blowing air on them directly so an heatsink isn't mandatory.
The cooler that equips the two HD 7790 from ASUS is the same and is a smaller version of the dual slot DirectCU 2 v2.0 cooler that we know from higher-range cards. This one has two 8mm nickel plated copper heatpipes in actual "direct touch" with the core, a few aluminium fins and two 75mm fans.
Although this cooler is a smaller version, it is bigger than the card's PCB by 4.5cm in lenght, which end up with a total card lenght of 21.59cm. Also because of the two heatpipes the cooler is larger by 1.85cm. So if you don't want to run into compatibility issues, make sure that your case is able to receive a graphics card that is 12.95+cm high.
The memory chips used are made by Hynix and carry the model number H5GQ2H24AFR-R0C. They are specified to run at 1'500 MHz (6'000 MHz effective).
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Preview
Delivery
Bundled with the graphics card there is a documentation, a driver CD that includes the overclocking tool too, a CrossFire Bridge and a DVI to VGA adapter. That's about all you need with such a card.
The card ships well bolstered in a foam mold.
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Test Setup
Hardware
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3DMark 11 Performance
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 9'836 | 10'020 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 8'673 | 8'663 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 7'604 | 7'210 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 6'854 | 6'624 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 6'276 | 5'776 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 6'059 | 5'612 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 5'902 | 5'443 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 5'831 | 5'523 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 5'818 | 5'360 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 5'797 | 5'341 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 4'802 | 4'492 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 4'888 | 4'435 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 4'723 | 4'307 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 4'521 | 4'107 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 3'995 | 3'592 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 3'767 | 3'368 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 3'646 | 3'265 |
| More is better | ||
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3DMark - Fire Strike Performance
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 4'619 | 5'676 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 5'139 | 5'583 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 4'991 | 5'389 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 4'408 | 4'695 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 4'168 | 4'439 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 3'805 | 4'407 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 3'699 | 4'071 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 3'749 | 4'049 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 3'658 | 3'942 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 3'606 | 3'882 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 3'266 | 3'336 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 3'015 | 3'120 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 2'923 | 3'056 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 2'474 | 2'828 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 2'734 | 2'775 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 2'475 | 2'559 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 2'278 | 2'417 |
| More is better | ||
3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 2'535 | 2'601 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 2'441 | 2'500 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 2'166 | 2'185 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 2'038 | 2'056 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 1'863 | 1'868 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 1'414 | 1'512 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 1'360 | 1'506 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 1'418 | 1'503 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 1'411 | 1'495 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 1'199 | 1'127 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 1'071 | 1'055 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 1'067 | 1'027 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 846 | 910 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 925 | 874 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 698 | 631 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 878 | 815 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 550 | 488 |
| More is better | ||
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Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
| Graphics Cards | Graphics Score | FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 1'127 | 44.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 1'006 | 39.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 872 | 34.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 826 | 32.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 794 | 31.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 707 | 28.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 683 | 27.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 627 | 24.9 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 592 | 23.5 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 576 | 22.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 567 | 22.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 527 | 20.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 505 | 20.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 500 | 19.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 468 | 18.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 421 | 16.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 394 | 15.6 |
| More is better | ||
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BattleField 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 4xMSAA, Ultra, SSAO | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 73.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 59.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 55.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 52.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 45.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 44.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 40.2 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 38.4 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 36.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 36.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 33.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 32.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 31.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 30.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 27.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 27.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 24.6 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High, SSAO | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 89.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 80.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 74.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 65.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 64.2 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 57.8 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 56.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 47.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 46.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 44.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 43.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 39.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 37.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 36.8 |
| More is better |
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Borderlands 2
| High Preset, 1980x1080, FXAA, no PhsyX, High | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 107.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 100.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 88.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 79.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 74.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 66.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 66.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 59.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 57.8 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 57.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 55.2 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 55.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 54.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 51.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 47.6 |
| More is better |
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Bioshock Infinite
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Crysis 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 18.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 16.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 14.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 13.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 12.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 11.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 10.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 10.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 9.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 9.0 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 8.0 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 7.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 7.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 7.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 7.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 6.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 5.8 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, Medium | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 61.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 54.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 52.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 49.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 48.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 45.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 39.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 37.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 36.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.6 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 34.6 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 34.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 33.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 33.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 31.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 30.0 |
| More is better |
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Call of Duty Black Ops 2
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 89.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 88.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 73.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 67.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 65.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 63.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 63.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 57.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 54.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 53.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 49.0 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 48.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 47.2 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 46.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 45.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 41.0 |
| More is better |
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DIRT Showdown - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 83.84 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 63.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 55.23 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 50.74 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 47.50 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 46.67 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 45.71 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 44.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 41.28 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 37.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.56 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.03 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 30.21 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 28.88 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 24.73 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 24.25 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 137.02 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 131.89 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 131.25 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 125.23 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 124.13 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 124.09 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 118.18 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 115.50 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 112.58 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 111.18 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 104.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 98.80 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 95.85 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 94.15 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 85.29 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 83.32 |
| More is better |
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Far Cry 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 28.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 24.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 23.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 21.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 21.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 20.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 19.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 16.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 16.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 16.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 15.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 14.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 12.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 11.6 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 9.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 8.6 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 8.4 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 79.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 65.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 64.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 58.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 54.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 53.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 50.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 47.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 46.0 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 43.8 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 42.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 41.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 41.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 40.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 37.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 34.8 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Max Payne 3
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 29.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 29.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 27.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 26.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 25.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 24.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 22.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 22.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 22.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 20.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 18.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 17.2 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 16.8 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 16.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 16.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 16.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 15.4 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, 2xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 94.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 92.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 84.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 82.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 79.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 72.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 67.6 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 66.2 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 64.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 63.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 63.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 63.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 53.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 53.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 49.4 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1980x1080, Extreme, High-Res Textures | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 44.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 37.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 33.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 29.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 27.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 27.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 25.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 24.3 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 23.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 23.0 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 22.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 22.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 22.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 19.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 18.5 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 18.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 15.1 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 84.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 76.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 67.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 61.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 60.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 57.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 56.8 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 54.1 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 52.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 51.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 49.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 47.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 47.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 43.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 40.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 37.7 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| High Preset, 1980x1080, 8xAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 111.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 87.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 86.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 75.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 70.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 71.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 66.0 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 59.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 58.8 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 57.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 57.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 56.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 52.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 48.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 48.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 45.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 44.0 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
| High Preset, 1980x1080, Ultra | Average FPS |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 31.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 26.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 25.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 22.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 22.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 21.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 20.2 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 19.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 19.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 18.2 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 18.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 18.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 17.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 17.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 15.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 13.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 13.0 |
| More is better |
| Medium Preset, 1680x1050, High | Average FPS |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 88.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 86.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 79.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 70.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 69.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 60.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 60.2 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 59.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 59.6 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 59.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 57.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 56.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 46.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 46.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 44.0 |
| More is better |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Power Consumption
| Power Consumption Idle* | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 70 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 68 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 61 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 60 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 59 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 59 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 56 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 54 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 53 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 52 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 51 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 51 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 50 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 50 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Power Consumption Load (FurMark)* | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 250 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 247 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 199 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 195 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 193 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 184 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 178 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 175 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 173 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 172 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 170 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 166 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 161 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 130 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 112 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 105 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 103 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Difference Idle/Load | Watts |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 180 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 179 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 145 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 136 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 134 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 133 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 125 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 121 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 117 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 116 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 115 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 109 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 102 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 80 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 60 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 54 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 52 |
| More is better |
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Fan Speed / Noise Level
Fan Speed
Noise Level
For the noise level results, we measured the noise level using a decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) located at 1 meter away from the graphics card.
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Idle / FurMark / BF3
Idle Temperature
Idle, temperature is taken after 15 minutes @ 30 %, 50 % and 100 % fan speed.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature under Furmark
For FurMark, temperature is taken after 15 minutes of GPU Burn test @ 30 %, 50 % and 100 % fan speed.
We stopped the test when the GPU temperature hit 90°C.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature and fan speed under BattleField 3
For BattleField 3, temperature and fan speed values taken, are the highest achieved after 1 hour gaming @ auto fan speed.
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Performance/Watt
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Power C. (Watts)* | Performance/Watt*10 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 59.95 | 172 | 3.49 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 31.04 | 103 | 3.01 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 31.55 | 105 | 3.00 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 32.81 | 112 | 2.93 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (non ref design) | 48.53 | 178 | 2.73 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (non ref design) | 52.95 | 195 | 2.72 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (non ref design) | 44.81 | 173 | 2.59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (non ref design) | 40.62 | 166 | 2.45 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (non ref design) | 28.23 | 130 | 2.17 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 39.16 | 184 | 2.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.40 | 193 | 1.83 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.34 | 175 | 1.79 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.35 | 170 | 1.73 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 (non ref design) | 26.06 | 161 | 1.62 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C (non ref design) | 40.08 | 250 | 1.60 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.48 | 247 | 1.32 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 (non ref design) | 25.70 | 199 | 1.29 |
| *Entire system | More is better | Less is better | More is better |
The "Performance Index" value is calculated as the sum of all benchmarks results divided by the amount of games (3DMark and Ungine not included into the calculation).
Performance/Price
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Price (€) | Performance/€*10 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 48.53 | 156.66 | 3.10 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 44.81 | 159.00 | 2.82 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448C | 40.08 | 142.49 | 2.81 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 26.06 | 93.43 | 2.79 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.34 | 112.33 | 2.79 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 28.23 | 103.38 | 2.73 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB | 40.62 | 151.91 | 2.67 |
| Club3D Radeon HD 7790 '13 Series | 31.55 | 120.00 | 2.63 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 31.04 | 120.00 | 2.63 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB | 39.16 | 149.00 | 2.63 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DCU2 OC | 32.81 | 129.91 | 2.52 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire | 59.95 | 240.00 | 2.50 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 52.95 | 234.30 | 2.26 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.40 | 161.03 | 2.20 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.35 | 141.68 | 2.07 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 460 | 25.70 | 106.66 | 2.41 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 470 | 32.48 | 198.28 | 1.64 |
| More is better | Less is better | More is better |
For the price we took the lowest price available on geizhals.eu, on the day the review has been published.
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Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| This Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC from ASUS has
definitely been able to convince us. First of
all the cooler is really good and able to keep the card cool and noiseless
being in idle or under heavy 3D load. Furthermore we like its design. Second it's the
highest clocked HD 7790 among many others. Although you get a very good
cooler and high factory overclocking, it is not overpriced, ASUS sells it
for
only 10 Euro more than the cheapest HD 7790 around. Last but not least with AMD's Never Settle Reloaded
you get BioShock Infinite for free with the purchase of this card.
Enough for the bright side, because yes this card isn't perfect, we have seen one "major" downside. Usually as a customer when I see a DirectCU 2 series card I expect two things: a DirectCU 2 cooler and a kickass uber custom PCB design with a beefed up power stage. Here it's just not the case because ASUS chose to keep the reference PCB instead. |
- Price
- Noiseless in both 2D & 3D - Bioshock Infinite FREE - Bundle - Design - Factory Overclocking |
- Reference PCB - no MOSFET heatsink | |
| Performance | + | - | |
| Thanks to the factory overclocking, the DirectCU II
OC is about 4.5 % faster on average in games than the same card with reference clocks. You won't be able to play games with highest graphics settings with this card mostly due to the 1'024 MB of memory but the card is powerful enough to play even recent, demanding games at 1680 x 1050 with high settings and 2xMSAA smoothly. The power consumption in idle is the same as the reference card from AMD (in this case it comes from Club3D). Our entire setup was drawing no more than 52 Watts. Under load we measured 112 Watts, 9 Watts higher than the reference clocked card. In the end the DirectCU II OC still benefits of one of the best Performance/Watt ratios and a good Performance/Price ratio. |
- Performance/Watt
- Power Consumption in idle - Power Consumption under load |
||
| Recommendation | + | - | |
| We for sure do recommend this card, it's not overpriced and it features an excellent cooler and a factory overclocking on both memory and GPU that squeeze performance up by 4.5 %. | - Mid-Range Gaming | ||
| We gave the Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC from ASUS the almost perfect award of 4.5 out of 5 stars. | |||
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Author: Christian Ney c.ney@ocaholic.ch