ASUS GTX 760 DirectCU II Graphics Card Review

A Closer Look at the GTX 760 DirectCU II OC

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The ASUS box comes like the last few generation of TOP and OC cards with the red claw mark graphic, and a few key spec words . Inside we see the accessory box along with the card beneath it.

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The accessories with the card are simple you get a dual PCIe 6 pin into a PCIe 8 pin adapter since the card employs a single 8 pin only. Also a driver disc and quick guide but a card simply plugs in and goes so we don’t think we have ever looked at the quick guide honestly.

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The card overall has the large Black/Red shroud like many other DirectCU II cards we have seen in the past with dual fans ready to blast heat away. You can see some of the huge heatpipes peeking out from the cooler shroud those are used to carry heat away from the GPU and keep the card really cool just remember that a lot of that heat goes into the case so have some airflow to get it knocked out.

The display connectivity is about standard for what we have seen on the Kepler based lineup:

• 2x DVI
• 1x HDMI
• 1x Displayport

This all-digital connector arrangement allows for maxing out the GPU with up to 4 displays and even a surround plus accessory display array should the need arise.

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The GTX 760 DCII card employs a single PCIe 8 pin connection which we really like as it allows less cable clutter from a single easy connection. Also do note that the connector is rotated to allow easier releasing of the clip should the PCIe power cable need to be removed you don’t have to try and squeeze your fingers between the card and the cooler.

Here also you see the Direct Power device which allows direct power transfer on the PCB versus having to travel from point A to point B with less resistance, lets just think of it as a freeway for GPU power.

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Pulling the cooler you can see that the heatpipe surface as always is super flay and massive, more than can actually touch the GPU honestly, and with that we do kind of wonder if a small copper block layer might help transfer heat more evenly to the outer pipes as well for even better cooling.

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Here you can see the fin array and even the grooving of the fins and the unique design to enhance overall cooling performance for the GPU.

Laying all of the parts side by side you can see the cooling fans/shroud separated from the cooler fin array.

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Here you see the complete card along with a nice look at the VRM for the GTX 760 DCII. Here you get a good look at the passive cooler which technically is active since the cooling fans from the DCII cooling solution blows air directly through the fin array and past this cooler to keep the VRM nice and cool even under some of the worst conditions.

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Here is the VRM cooler removed you can see the two different thermal pad units designed to take up the space between the cooler and IC’s. This allows for adequate thermal transfer.

Next up you see the bare mosfet components which once again are all SAP components selected for their superior performance and reliability attributes.