ASUS Radeon R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB Video Card Review

It's been a while since we've looked at an ASUS video card, and we get stuck back into it today with the R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 3GB.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: ASUS
19 minutes & 45 seconds read time

Introduction and Package

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Another day, another R series based video card from AMD. This time, we're looking at another one of the R9 cards. While the other day, we had a look at the entry-level R9 model in the MSI R9 270 2GB Gaming OC, today we're looking at the model above that: the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB.

It has been a long time between testing ASUS video cards, but we were so happy to see the ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II TOP 3GB roll through our labs a few weeks ago. And, we were even more impressed to see it perform exceptionally well, with a really strong overclock being achieved on the model. If you find yourself thinking of the ASUS series of cards, but feel that the R9 280X $300 price tag is too much, the cheaper R9 270X version might be just what you're looking for.

There's really not much more that needs to be said. We all have a good idea about who ASUS is, and we've looked at so many AMD video cards over the last few months, that we have a good idea of exactly where each model sits in the market. So, with haste, let's get stuck into the package, and see just what ASUS is offering us here today with the R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB.

Package

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Taking a look at the box, you can see the overall design isn't anything new. We've got the model clearly shown, along with mention that it's of course one of the DirectCU II TOP cards. We can also see some of the main features across the bottom, which include the TOP Overclocked Edition, 3GB GDDR5 Memory, Digi VRM, and support for GPU Tweak. Turning the box over, you can see it goes into a whole lot more detail on the main features that are offered. We've got a good run down on the DirectCU II cooler, Digi+ VRM Super Allow Power, and information about GPU Tweak. In the bottom left corner, you can also see a description on the I/O panel. We will of course look closer at that in a few moments.

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Taking a look in the package, you can see we've got the Speed Setup and Driver CD, which includes GPU Tweak. Due to when we received the card, we didn't get a complete package. Along with these two items, we also have a Dual Molex to 6-Pin PCIe power connector, and CrossFire bridge to round things out.

The Card and Specifications

The Card

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Taking a look at the card, we really don't see anything too out of the ordinary. Thanks to the DirectCU II cooler, the card looks near identical to the bigger 280X we recently looked at from ASUS. You can see that we've got two fans over the card, and a couple of really massive heat pipes coming out of the bottom of the card. You can see we've got a great black and red color scheme going on, with the black even being shown on the PCB. Still, as good as it looks, the performance of the cooler is what really matters, and we'll be checking that out a little later in the review.

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If we take a look around the card you can see that power comes in the form of two connectors. One is a 6-Pin PCIe power connector, and the other is an 8-Pin PCIe power connector. This is up on the reference power design, which consists of two 6-Pin PCIe connectors only. Staying at the top of the card, but moving to the front, you can see two CrossFire connectors in the event that you want to run multiple cards.

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Flipping the card over, and looking at the I/O panel, you can see a very standard setup. We've got two Dual-Link DVI connectors, one is DVI-D, while the other is DVI-I. Along with that, we round off the connectivity side of things with a HDMI, and DisplayPort connector.

Specifications

Being a TOP card of course means that the R9 270X from ASUS comes overclocked out of the box. What separates the TOP from a normal "OC" version of the card is a much stronger overclock. Out of the box, a reference R9 270X is going to bring with it a core clock of 1050MHz, while the 2GB of GDDR5 comes in at 5600MHz QDR.

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Looking above, you can see that while ASUS, like most companies, has chosen to do nothing with the memory clock; they have chosen to give the core a strong boost of 70MHz bringing it too 1120MHz. The core is what brings the biggest gains, and the decision for companies to choose to increase this more and leave the memory clock alone, isn't uncommon at all.

Benchmarks - Test System Setup

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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASUS, and Corsair.

Having tested so many video cards lately, our graphs are full of so many great models from companies. Alongside of our ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB, we've got from the bottom, the reference R7 270X 2GB. Moving into the R9 series, we've got the HIS R9 270X IceQ X2 2GB, which is of course the model that sits directly below the R9 270X.

As for the R9 270X, we've got the reference version from AMD. Moving up, we've also included the VisionTek R9 280X 3GB, reference R9 290 4GB, and reference R9 290X 4GB in "Uber Mode," to round out the AMD side of things. As for NVIDIA, we've included just the reference GTX 770 2GB.

The main card we'll be looking at today alongside the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB, is the reference version of the card, so we see just what kind of extra performance is seen from the overclock that ASUS offers us.

The FPS Numbers Explained

When we benchmark our video cards and look at the graphs, we aim to get to a certain level of FPS which we consider playable. While many may argue that the human eye can't see over 24 FPS or 30 FPS, any true gamer will tell you that as we climb higher in Frames Per Seconds (FPS), the overall gameplay feels smoother. There are three numbers we're looking out for when it comes to our benchmarks.

30 FPS - It's the minimum number we aim for when it comes to games. If you're not dropping below 30 FPS during games, you're going to have a nice, and smooth, gaming experience. The ideal situation is that even in a heavy fire fight, the minimum stays above 30 FPS, making sure that you can continue to aim easily, or turn the corner with no drama.

60 FPS - It's the average we look for when we don't have a minimum coming at us. If we're getting an average of 60 FPS, we should have a minimum of 30 FPS or better, and as mentioned above, it means we've got some smooth game play happening.

120 FPS - The new number that we've been hunting down over recent months. If you're the owner of a 120 Hz monitor, to get the most out of it, you want to get around the 120 FPS mark. Moving from 60 FPS / 60 Hz to 120 FPS / 120 Hz brings with it a certain fluidity that can't really be explained, but instead has to be experienced. Of course, if you're buying a 120 Hz monitor to take advantage of 3D, an average of 120 FPS in our benchmark means that in 3D, you will have an average of 60 FPS, which again means you should expect some smooth gameplay.

Why are some graphs incomplete?

Adding new game benchmarks is a long, tedious, and time consuming task as every video card has to be re-tested in those new benchmarks. Because of this, we have always just evaluated our benchmark line up every six months. To stay up to date and current with the latest benchmarks and games available, we've changed our approach to adding new benchmarks.

Our benchmark line up will progress and be updated as newer, more intensive games with benchmarks come to light. While this will mean that initially you may only see a single video card in those particular graphs, as the weeks go on, and we test more and more video cards, the results will grow quickly. This will help keep our benchmark line up as up to date as possible as we introduce and remove games on a constant basis.

Benchmarks - 3DMark 11

3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/

Buy It Here

3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance, 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11, including tessellation, compute shaders, and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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Out of the gate with 3DMark 11, we see a nice little boost in both presets, and you can see the overclock helps push us into the 9,000 point realm.

Benchmarks - 3DMark Fire Strike

3DMark Fire Strike

Version and / or Patch Used: 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark

Buy It Here

Fire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today. Fire Strike will only be available in the Windows editions of 3DMark initially.

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Fire Strike sees a bit of movement at both presets, which translate into roughly about an extra 5% performance.

Benchmarks - Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Version and / or Patch Used: 3

Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com

Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//

New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential, in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode, emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend, and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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Moving into Heaven we're painting a similar picture, which sees our ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB gain around an extra 5% performance when compared to the reference model.

Benchmarks - Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.sega.com/?t=EnglishUSA

Product Homepage: http://www.pso2.com/us/html/index.html

Play Phantasy Star Online 2 and experience revolutionary combat in an action-driven, free-to-play multiplayer online RPG from SEGA. Take a journey into an immersive sci-fi fantasy narrative and explore mysterious worlds to unravel their secrets. Join fellow adventurers and fight against the legions of darkness to banish them from the galaxy.

Score explanation: Less than 2000: Please adjust your game settings because the processing load is quite heavy.

2000 through 5000: The game runs fine at the setting, if you have room, you can adjust some settings.

5001+: The game works wonderfully at this setting.

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Moving out of our synthetic benchmarks and into our games, you can see that we continue to see this gain of around 5%, which pushes us a little further into the 5,000 point range. This is exactly where we want to be.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/

Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game: "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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Looking at Lost Planet 2 numbers, you can see the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB offers some really nice performance with 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050; both not being an issue. It's only when we move to 2560 x 1600 that we see the model falls behind that 60 FPS number we aim for.

Benchmarks - Just Cause 2

Just Cause 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Dark Tower

Developer Homepage: http://www.eidos.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.justcause.com/

Just Cause 2 employs the Avalanche Engine 2.0, an updated version of the engine used in Just Cause. The game is set on the other side of the world from the original Just Cause, on the fictional island of Panau in Southeast Asia. Panau has varied terrain, from desert to alpine to rainforest. Rico Rodriguez returns as the protagonist, aiming to overthrow the evil dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay, and confront his former mentor, Tom Sheldon.

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Just Cause 2 performance is really good across the board, and you can see the overclock helps move our 2560 x 1600 numbers out of the 60 FPS range, and into the 70 FPS range. This gives us a bit more breathing room, which is something that we always appreciate.

Benchmarks - F1 2012

F1 2012

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com

In F1 2012 players will feel the unparalleled thrill of becoming a FORMULA ONE driver with a host of new features, wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements and extensive competitive and co-operative multiplayer components. F1 2012 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the debut of the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX at Austin, Texas, and the return of Germany's famous Hockenheim circuit to the calendar.

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F1 2012 numbers look good across the board. You can see the gains here are at about the 10% mark as we move from 80 FPS on the reference card, to 88 FPS on the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB.

Benchmarks - Metro Last Light

Metro Last Light

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.4a-games.com/

Product Homepage: http://enterthemetro.com/ /

Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike. Khan believes the Dark One is the key to humanity's future, and wants to make peace with it, while Ranger leader Colonel Miller wants to kill the creature due to its potential threat. Miller sends Artyom to the surface with a mission to kill the Dark One; he is accompanied by Anna, Miller's sarcastic daughter, and the Rangers' best sniper.

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While we do see a slight bit of movement across the board, the intensity of Metro: Last Light sees that anything below the R9 280X 3GB does not achieve a 60 FPS average at any resolution.

Benchmarks - Dirt Showdown

Dirt Showdown

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/dirtshowdown/360/

DiRT Showdown is the new arcade racing game from the team that brought you the award-winning DiRT series, uncaged in 2012. Pick up and play controls combine with electrifying events, frenzied crowds, and stunning graphics to deliver high octane, dive in and drive thrills from event one.

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DiRT Showdown performance looks good, and you can again see some nice gains across the board when compared to the reference R9 270X 2GB.

While at 2560 x 1600 we manage to see a really nice boost in performance which takes us from the 40 FPS range into the mid 50 FPS range, you can see we still fall short of that 60 FPS number we want by just a few FPS.

Benchmarks - Nexuiz

Nexuiz

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.alientrap.org/

Product Homepage: http://www.nexuiz.com/

Nexuiz is an Arena First Person shooter coming soon to consoles. Nexuiz is fast paced with extremely competitive game play. IllFonic brings Alientrap Software's Nexuiz to next-gen gaming consoles around the world while staying true to the game play refined over the years through development. IllFonic introduces a new Victorian influenced art style that is simultaneously futuristic, and sophisticated. Nexuiz for consoles is powered by CryENGINE 3.

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When we first tested the R9 270X 2GB, we ran into some problems with it, and for that reason we don't have results for it here. While we would probably see a slight change in FPS (one or two here or there), the numbers are ultimately way too low, as even the lowest resolution scores just 34 FPS.

Benchmarks - Sniper Elite V2

Sniper Elite V2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/

Product Homepage: http://sniperelitev2.com/us/age.html

Sniper Elite V2 features detailed sniping simulation with advanced ballistics, taking into account gravity, wind, velocity, bullet penetration, aim stability, and more. Guaranteed to provide players with the most realistic simulation of military sharpshooting yet available.

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Sniper Elite V2 puts out some great numbers at both 1920 x 1200, and 1680 x 1050. You can see at 1920 x 1200, the overclock offered by the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB helps move us from the 60 FPS range, to a strong 70 FPS. It's only at the highest resolution that we see our card doesn't offer the FPS we need.

Benchmarks - Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://eu.square-enix.com/en

Product Homepage: http://www.sleepingdogs.net/

The core gameplay of Sleeping Dogs consists of giving the player an open world environment in which players move around freely. Sleeping Dogs is played as an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective, action-adventure game with role-playing elements. The player controls Wei Shen, a Chinese-American police officer, as he goes undercover to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. On foot, the player character has the ability to walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles, and swim, as well as use weapons and martial arts in combat. Players also drive a variety of vehicles including cars, boats, and motorcycles.

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Sleeping Dogs really sees some great number across the board, with playable FPS being seen at all resolutions. We can also see that like in some other instances, the overclock on the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB helps push us out of the 60 FPS range, and into the 70 FPS range. This gives us a bit more breathing room.

Benchmarks - Hitman Absolution

Hitman Absolution

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.ioi.dk/

Product Homepage: http://hitman.com/

Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure stealth game developed by I/O Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and runs on I/O Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release, the developers stated that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on 20 November 2012, which is in the 47th week of the year (in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47).

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Hitman sees some great minimums across the board and nice little gains over the reference clock. While we do get a slight bump in the 2560 x 1600 average, and do have a strong minimum, we'd still say the 51 FPS average is just a little too low for us. 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1060 look fantastic though, with great numbers in both the minimum and average departments.

Benchmarks - Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.nixxes.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.tombraider.com/us/base/agegate?refer=184&

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure platform video game. Published by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics in the Tomb Raider franchise. As the first entry in a new Tomb Raider continuity, the game is a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character Lara Croft. Tomb Raider was released on 5 March 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows to universal critical acclaim.

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Tomb Raider sees that 5% gain for the most part across the board. While the 56 FPS average at 1680 x 1050 is lower than we would like, because of the 42 FPS minimum, we would say that the game is playable in this state. Moving up the resolution table though, the averages are just too low.

Benchmarks - BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://irrationalgames.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.bioshockinfinite.com

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game, and the third installment in the BioShock series. Previously known as "Project Icarus", it is being developed by Irrational Games, and was released worldwide on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms on March 26, 2013. BioShock Infinite is not part of the storyline of previous BioShock games, but features similar gameplay concepts and themes.

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BioShock Infinite sees an extra 2 FPS at 1680 x 1050, moving our average from 62 FPS to 64 FPS. It's only just a few FPS, but when we're sitting this close to the 60 FPS number, every couple of extra FPS that moves us further away is always greatly appreciated.

We also see a couple of FPS at 1920 x 1200, but no change at 2560 x 1600. Of course, just scraping in at 1680 x 1050 means that playable numbers above that aren't possible.

Benchmarks - Battlefield 4

Battlefield 4

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Origin Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Custom 60 Second Run with FRAPS

Developer Homepage: http://dice.se/

Product Homepage: https://www.battlefield.com/games/battlefield-4

Battlefield 4 (also known as BF4) is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game is a sequel to 2011's Battlefield 3. Battlefield 4 features several changes compared to its predecessor. The game's heads-up display is much the same, composed of two compact rectangles. The lower left-hand corner features a mini-map and compass for navigation, and a simplified objective notice above it; the lower right includes a compact ammo counter and health meter. The mini-map, as well as the main game screen, shows symbols marking three kinds of entities: blue for allies, green for squadmates, and red/orange for enemies.

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Looking at our newest benchmark, you can see the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB puts out strong numbers at both 1920 x 1200, and 1680 x 1050. It isn't until 2560 x 1600 that we see the model fall behind the numbers we need.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF

High Quality AA and AF

While we test all our games with maximum in-game settings, turning on Anti-Aliasing (AA) and Antistrophic Filtering (AF) helps take the intensity of our testing to another level.

Here, we see video cards go from playable FPS, to an unplayable FPS, and the real power houses continue to help break that 60 FPS mark we always aim for to provide a smooth gaming experience.

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With AA and AF on, it comes as no surprise that Metro: Last Light numbers are extremely low.

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Just Cause 2 sees a bit of movement at both resolutions, and we manage to see some really good numbers out of the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB at 1920 x 1200. 2560 x 1600 though, as you'd expect, is just too tough for the card.

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Just like Metro: Last Light, the intensity of Sleeping Dogs when AA and AF are turned on is simply too much.

Temperature Test

The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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At 68c, the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall heat levels. Though, the idle looks good at 33c.

Sound Test

Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter, we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that, we get a bit more serious and place the device two cm away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode), and in load (3D mode).

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Noise levels on the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB look really strong, as you see we're sitting in the bottom half of the pack. Idle numbers again, like the temperature test, look really good though.

Power Consumption Test

Using our PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01, or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated video cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in some particular tests, the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM, and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Power draw numbers on all of the new R series cards are pretty good, and just over 350 Watt for a setup that handles 1920 x 1200 in so many situations really is extremely impressive.

Pricing, Availability and Final Thoughts

The R9 270X 2GB starts at $199.99, but we see a lot come in at the $209.99 mark; including the ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB. The range on the model though, is quite big, as we see some 2GB offerings coming in as high as $239.99. For what we've seen today from ASUS, this card really is priced just as you'd expect. Slightly higher than the standard price, but not so high that you have to start thinking of whether or not it's worth it.

Performance on a whole is really quite remarkable from the R9 270X 2GB. For just over $200, you're getting a card that manages to perform extremely strong under most games at 1920 x 1200 with no real issue. At times, we see that 2560 x 1600 also isn't an issue, and under something a bit older like Just Cause 2, we can see that AA and AF is even an option at 1920 x 1200.

Looking at the cooler, we don't have any real surprises. Just as you'd hope and expect, the DirectCU II unit is good. It puts out good heat and noise numbers, but we must say the idle numbers are what really stand out in a positive way. At idle, both the noise level and the core temperature numbers are extremely strong.

As for the package, it's all very standard with not a whole lot going on. As we've said so many times before though: we've seen companies over the last few years, cut down on the packaging and instead put more into the product itself, which is something we love.

For $200, the R9 270X continues to be an extremely strong product at this price bracket. There's not a whole lot you can complain about when it comes to this particular model. As for the version from ASUS, it's everything you'd expect it to be. ASUS has put a good product together with the R9 270X DirectCU II TOP version. The core overclock is strong, and we see a consistent 5% increase in performance almost across the board, with that extra 5% coming in handy at times.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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