ASUS POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti Graphics Card Review: Belief and Performance

When the first graphics card of ASUS Poseidon series, POSEIDON 780 , was released last year, it attracted a lot of exclamations. Hybrid cooling + super performance became the symbol of top belief. With the upgrading of GPU , Poseidon series also launched a new product POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti .

The STRIX-GTX 980Ti graphics card launched not long ago has already given us a taste of ASUS's achievements in high-end products, but the appearance of the POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti "Poseidon" card has reached higher heights in all aspects. If the ASUS Eagle Knight series graphics cards have brought the air cooling effect and graphics card performance to the extreme, then the ASUS Poseidon series graphics cards have achieved the ultimate in heat dissipation and quietness. The protagonist of our review today is the new member of the Poseidon series, the POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti .

The Calm "Poseidon"

The highly recognizable appearance is the most obvious sign of a non-public version graphics card. As the latest generation of Poseidon, it also fully reflects this aspect. It continues the appearance design of the first-generation GTX780 Poseidon. The overall black + red color scheme also integrates the tradition of the ROG series, which also makes Poseidon more stable.

For gamers, the appearance of this POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti is very different from the previously reviewed STRIX-GTX 980Ti , but the unique and stable design will definitely be unforgettable for enthusiasts.

Compared with the Raptor, which only has air cooling, the heat dissipation of Poseidon with two fans seems not good enough, but the two water cooling ports on the top of the graphics card further portray the characteristics of the name Poseidon. Compared with the public version 980Ti , the heat dissipation module has become a weapon of Poseidon. The heat sink of the Poseidon series is the unique DirectCU H2O , a highly integrated air cooling / water cooling module. Asus officially claims that its heat dissipation performance is twice that of the public version , and the quietness is three times that of the public version.  

Under air cooling, the quietness of POSEIDON-GTX980ti is 1.5 times that of the public version. It can be used with air cooling alone or with water cooling together to achieve the effect of 1+1 ＞ 2 .

In terms of interfaces, it has dual 8-pin external power supply interfaces, which are essential for high-end graphics cards , and also provides HDMI interface /DVI interface /3 DisplayPort interfaces , preparing for multi-screen display for professional players.

On the back of the graphics card, in addition to the various LOGO logos that highlight its identity , the aerospace-grade quality of POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti is also reflected in the backplate. The metal backplate can effectively prevent the PCB from bending over time.

Of course, how can a ROG graphics card be without a faith light ? There is a ROG Logo on the top of the graphics card and near the IO baffle . The top logo also has an LED background light, which can flash red light like breathing when running , highlighting the player's noble temperament in the dark.

  Show off with performance and speak with facts

This time we also used the Z97 motherboard that we used to test the Raptor STRIX-GTX 980Ti before, combined with 16GB 2133 memory , the top model i7-4790K , the Haswell architecture CPU , and the latest WIN10 system, which will definitely not let this new noble down.

In the running test ,   The final running score of POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti reached X8109 which is not satisfactory and is basically consistent with most 980Ti graphics cards. However, the biggest feature of this Poseidon graphics card is water cooling.

Of course, running scores cannot explain the specific advantages and disadvantages of a graphics card. Only games can reflect it. Without further ado, let’s get into the game.

The GPU Tweak II software that comes with POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti integrates overclocking and running status monitoring , which also provides great convenience for our subsequent game testing at different graphics card frequencies .

The games chosen this time are still "The Witcher 3 " and " GTAV ". I wonder what kind of shock Poseidon can bring us this time?

The graphics card frequency in game mode is 1203MHz , and the video memory can reach up to 8412MHz . At a resolution of 1080P , the special effects of "The Witcher 3 " are turned to ultra-high, and vertical synchronization is disabled. The picture is smooth and stress-free, and it is maintained at around 60fps throughout the whole process . Even in battles and scene switching, the change in frame rate is basically kept within a small range.

Also at 1080P , the special effects of " GTAV " are improved to the extreme, and all advanced options are adjusted to the highest. The picture is very smooth, and the FPS is maintained above 90 throughout the whole process . Even in combat and racing scenes, the frame rate can be maintained at around 70 .

Overclocking is another major feature of the Poseidon series. With the support of a powerful cooling system and aerospace-grade materials, overclocking becomes very easy. Through the new generation of GPU TWeak II that comes with it , you can easily adjust the working mode of the graphics card. Of course, if you are an enthusiast, you can also explore the true limit of POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti through the custom mode.

Under overclocking, " GTAV " easily breaks through the 90Fps mark, and the game performance is improved by more than 20%, while "The Witcher 3" also easily reaches around 70, but it will occasionally experience freezes. However, the performance increase brought by overclocking is already quite considerable.

It has to be said that as the ultimate embodiment of gaming, these two games are also remarkable at 4K resolution. Among them, games with rich environmental details like "The Witcher 3" are not excellent at 4K resolution, but they are more than enough to kill the consoles, basically maintaining above 45Fps, which is indeed good.

Of course, if players want to experience the ultimate effect, a 4K display is indispensable, or connecting it to a TV will make the experience more impressive.

Extremely Calm Poseidon

Faced with such an effect, it is estimated that many players have begun to be eager to try it out. However, facing the irritable temperament of high-end graphics cards, I wonder what kind of "temper" Poseidon has?

However, facing the provocation of games with full special effects turned on, Poseidon-GTX 980Ti seems quite calm. The temperature in standby state is stable at around 20 °, and the temperature of "burning card" for a long time is maintained at around 50 °, which is obviously different from our traditional impression of the " violent " and " enthusiastic " character of flagship high-end graphics cards . Of course, this miraculous effect can only be achieved by the dual-in-one air cooling and water cooling.

For the dormant Poseidon, the embodiment of silence has also reached the extreme. The POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti graphics card is equipped with SAP2.0 super alloy power supply, which can reduce the power supply noise by more than 2 times when fully loaded . The noise is almost non-existent, and you may even think that the graphics card is on strike again. However, when facing the operation of extreme games, you have to give up such an idea.

The current market price of nearly 6,000 yuan is indeed worthy of praise from enthusiasts for this latest Poseidon graphics card. However, apart from the price, the outstanding materials and powerful heat dissipation efficiency have demonstrated the strength of the king of cards in the test . POSEIDON-GTX 980Ti is worthy of the title of the non-official version 980Ti single-core king of cards. Is your wallet ready to recharge your faith in such a flexible and highly playable graphics card?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.