8Pack tests ASUS Matrix Nvidia 980Ti 6GB full review!!!

[8 Pack]

Since the days of the 580 Matrix I have been a buyer or reviewer but more importantly an Overclocker of this series of GPU by ASUS. Aimed squarly at high end gaming, ambient benchmarking and LN2 World records they have set themselves out as the true Elite Tier Choice for performance enthusiasts.

Firstly the ASUS 980Ti Matrix 6gb is very well built and looks fantastic. ASUS have gone for a new style copper cooling accents on the stock cooler to match the new Z170 Maximus VIII xtreme motherboard. I really like this look as it fits in with many builds and looked great in my Rampage V X99 test rig. The Cooler on this card is a beefed up DC3 cooler with dual fans running ultra quiet even on load. To compliment the card a logo'd up back plate finishes nicely the premium feel to the card and ofcourse helps remove heat and keep the card rigid ensuring its longevity. The cooler is two slots so cards could be run in quad sli in a supporting motherboard if a customer should wish but temps may well be toasty with the fans not having room to shift much air. Dual SLI is ofcourse not an issue at all with a larger gap being offered between the cards.

So lets have a look how the card looks while set up for testing in my torture room!!!




The Matrix card is ofcourse not just about the looks, in its position as a flagship graphics card performance has to be absolutely top notch also. Now lets check out its Overclocking performance on the stock cooler. For easy overclocking and voltage control on the card the end user can download the latest version of GPU Tweak which offers control of all the key voltages on the card as well as power limits, fan speeds and ofcourse clocks. The new GPU tweak I can confirm is both easy to use and working great. Simple sliders for all controls and working profiles that the end user can save and load up at any stage.

System used for testing:
Intel i7 5960X @ 4875mhz
ASUS Rampage V Xtreme MB
Kingston HyperX Predator mems
Superflower 8Pack 2000w PSU

Windows 8.1 64Bit
Nvidia Driver 358.50
ASUS GPU Tweak Overclocking Software.

Performance and Overclocking
Firestrike

Firstrike Xtreme

Firestrike Ultra 4K

Valley Ultra HD 1080P

Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset 1080P

Valley 4K

Heaven 4.0 4k


The benchmark scores are showing the ASUS matrix is a very good performer. Certaainly at least as good as any flagship card on the market. The card was able to run totally stable through all the benches upto 4k resolution at 1525mhz Core and 2125mhz mems. It did this with no need to adjust voltages or add any noise by changing the stock fan profile. These kind of overclocks not just boost benchmarks but also boost gaming performance also.

Conclusion

In summary I would not hesitate to recomend the ASUS Matrix 980 Ti to all high end users. It is well built and looks great which means it will integrate into the majority of systems and both look and perform terrific. The out of the box boost clocks of over 1400mhz Core and 1800mhz mems represent a decent factory overclock for gamers who dont like to push there hardware. The stock cooler kept the card lower than 68C during all my testing without adjusting the fan profile which meant a very silent testing experience one that will extend in to hours of gaming. The card was able to offer good overclocking headroom on air further increasing its already graet performance and the new version of GPU tweak software is easy to use to get the best out of the card for any benchmarker or Overclocker.

Next........... I will try the Card on LN2 and update with further results......... Inovations like memory heater make the Matrix the perfect sub zero benchmarkers card...........

Well done then to ASUS another premium product in every way.

Buy your very own ASUS 980Ti Matrix here: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...ss-graphics-card-gtx980ti-6gd5-gx-389-as.html

 

[LambChop]

I probably would change the title to NSFW - Look at that thing... !

 

[Dicehunter]

For the price of these things, Asus should at least do some binning, Mate of mine bought 2, Neither can go over 1400, Sure the boost is 1400 but he can't overclock the core at all and the memory only around 50MHz before it crashes.

Considering it's touted as an overclockers card maybe just a little binning would have been nice.

 

[ElliotHand]

I probably would change the title to NSFW - Look at that thing... !

Lol, deserves a +1.

 

[Simon Belmont]

For the price of these things, Asus should at least do some binning, Mate of mine bought 2, Neither can go over 1400, Sure the boost is 1400 but he can't overclock the core at all and the memory only around 50MHz before it crashes.

Considering it's touted as an overclockers card maybe just a little binning would have been nice.

Asus want you to think they bin there chips. It's all marketing and so over priced it's no different then any other 980Ti. Gamers been falling for it for years. I believe a high percentage are finally starting to see the light.

I won't fall for it any more.

 

[Darujhistan]

Never worth that much in a million years.

 

[nashathedog]

For the price of these things, Asus should at least do some binning, Mate of mine bought 2, Neither can go over 1400, Sure the boost is 1400 but he can't overclock the core at all and the memory only around 50MHz before it crashes.

Considering it's touted as an overclockers card maybe just a little binning would have been nice.

Asus want you to think they bin there chips. It's all marketing and so over priced it's no different then any other 980Ti. Gamers been falling for it for years. I believe a high percentage are finally starting to see the light.

I won't fall for it any more.

Never worth that much in a million years.

I used to often buy Asus cards but since getting more into gaming and buying higher end cards I've moved away from Asus and that's a shame, I currently have a Maximus Hero Z97 board and would have liked to match it up with a nice Asus card but I don't trust them enough to do that at the moment. My last rig had an MSI gaming board and card to start with (Z87), the rig before had an Asus Z77 board and card to start with(not matching though) and my next which may be Zen but if not the next Intel iteration will probably have an Asus board and I'll have to see what's what with there cards at the time. I'm considering trying a Gigabyte board & card combo though, I've never owned anything Gigabyte so I may give them a twirl. It depends how nice the boards are, The Z170 Hero is a beautiful looker that puts my Z97 Hero to shame.

 

[Dicehunter]

I used to often buy Asus cards but since getting more into gaming and buying higher end cards I've moved away from Asus and that's a shame, I currently have a Maximus Hero Z97 board and would have liked to match it up with a nice Asus card but I don't trust them enough to do that at the moment. My last rig had an MSI gaming board and card to start with (Z87), the rig before had an Asus Z77 board and card to start with(not matching though) and my next which may be Zen but if not the next Intel iteration will probably have an Asus board and I'll have to see what's what with there cards at the time. I'm considering trying a Gigabyte board & card combo though, I've never owned anything Gigabyte so I may give them a twirl. It depends how nice the boards are, The Z170 Hero is a beautiful looker that puts my Z97 Hero to shame.

Every Asus GPU I have ever had has been a horrible clocker, The only ones with good clocks seem to get sent to reviewers.

The cards with the best clocks I've found have always been the reference style GPU's.

For example, My mates 2 x Matrix 980 Ti's can't clock passed 1400 on the core, Same with his Strix 980 *non Ti* which could just about get to an average clock.

My Asus DCU2 580, DCU2 680, DCU2 780, Matrix 780 Ti, Matrix 980 are all horrible clockers yet the reference versions of those cards I have, All clock beyond them, Even my 9809 Ti Matrix starts to get a little flakey when pushed beyond 1450 on the core and I can't even think about overclocking the memory yet my reference 980 Ti clocks to 1480 no problem with memory at a solid 2000.

 

[nashathedog]

Every Asus GPU I have ever had has been a horrible clocker, The only ones with good clocks seem to get sent to reviewers.

The cards with the best clocks I've found have always been the reference style GPU's.

For example, My mates 2 x Matrix 980 Ti's can't clock passed 1400 on the core, Same with his Strix 980 *non Ti* which could just about get to an average clock.

My Asus DCU2 580, DCU2 680, DCU2 780, Matrix 780 Ti, Matrix 980 are all horrible clockers yet the reference versions of those cards I have, All clock beyond them, Even my 9809 Ti Matrix starts to get a little flakey when pushed beyond 1450 on the core and I can't even think about overclocking the memory yet my reference 980 Ti clocks to 1480 no problem with memory at a solid 2000.

That's a string of bad luck, Unless that's a sarcastic post that I missed I'm surprised you stayed with them for so long when you clearly buy cards that are expected to do well at clocking.
My last Asus was a DCUII 560ti, Before that I had a 5570, 5770 & 6770, all of which were Asus cards (1 reference, 2 not).

 

[Dicehunter]

That's a string of bad luck, Unless that's a sarcastic post that I missed I'm surprised you stayed with them for so long when you clearly buy cards that are expected to do well at clocking.
My last Asus was a DCUII 560ti, Before that I had a 5570, 5770 & 6770, all of which were Asus cards (1 reference, 2 not).

Nope not a sarcastic post.

I still buy Asus as I love the aesthetics and cooling/noise performance.