ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum R9290X:
Performance card for enthusiasts
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By Nimish Sawant / 04 Aug 2014 , 15:25:19
It has been a while since we tested
graphics cards. We recently got the ASUS’s ROG Matrix Platinum R9290X
card. This Matrix ROG card like its predecessors is targetted at high
end users and comes in a massive size. So let us see how it performs as
compared to a stock R9290X graphics card.
Build and Design
ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum R9290X without the top metal cover
Thanks to the ROG branding, you will notice the
familiar black and red colour signature. The card is constructed using a
metallic front frame which has circular holes for the dual-fan cooling
solution. R9290X uses CoolTech dual fans featuring hybrid cooling
mechanism. Under this you have the hefty aluminium heat-sink which comes
with one 10mm diameter heatpipe which comes out from the top. There are
two 8mm and two 6mm heat pipes which are seen coming out from the base
of the heatsink. These pipes are connected to the copper heat sink which
is placed just over the GPU, an arrangement similar to the DirectCUII
based cards that we have seen in the past with the only difference being
the heatsink having a black paint job.
Heat pipes coming out of the base of the aluminium heat sink
Below this, you have the printed circuit board itself
with all the components on it. ASUS Matrix Platinum R9290X comes with a
dedicated aluminium back plate, which provides further support to the
card.
ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum R9290X has a metal sheath on top and has two DVI ports, an HDMI port and a DisplayPort
On the display front, you have the dual DVI ports, an
HDMI and a DisplayPort. It is almost 30cm in length, so ensure that you
have enough clearance space in your case. Despite the bulky appearance,
the Platinum R9290X is a dual slot card. Considering this is the high
end card, you will also find some interesting additions which we will
discuss in the features segment.
Features
There are two 8-pin power ports
ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum R9290X or going by the shorter name ROG Matrix-R9290X-P-4GD5 is clocked at 1050MHz which is 50MHz over the stock speed and a memory clock speed of 1350MHz which is 100MHz over the stock speed. The memory bus width and RAM are the same at 512-bit and 4GB GDDR5 respectively. While the stock R9290X came with a 6-pin+8-pin power connectors, the Matrix R9290X comes with dual 8-pin power connectors.
There is a notch for switching between standard mode and LN2 mode
Since the card is aimed at the gaming enthusiast crowd,
ASUS has added some interesting features. On the top of the board, to
the right hand side, you will notice a Republic of Gamers sticker which
is temperature sensitive and glows according to the load on the card –
red indicating heavy load. Closer to the display ports on the top, you
have a notch which allows you to switch between normal and liquid
nitrogen (LN2) mode. This is for the overclockers who want to test the
limits of the graphics card. The LN2 mode gives you more leeway as far
as power, voltage and overcurrent protections are concerned.
On the farthest end of the board, you have the Memory
Defroster switch, which helps you defrost the memory section during
subzero overclocking temperatures. Then you have the VGA Hotwire, which
allows you to connect the R9290X to a compatible ROG board so that you
can adjust the GPU clocks and VRAM via the BIOS or OS on the fly.
There is a VBIOS reset button, which helps you switch to default settings, if the overclocked settings give issues
In case the GPU settings are causing the system to
destabilise, you have the Safe Mode switch which basically resets the
VBIOS, allowing you to restore default frequencies and voltages with a
single button.
On the utilities front, you have the ASUS GPUTweak
which allows you to monitor the GPU performance in real time. You can
also overclock the GPU, set profiles, check temperatures, power settings
and much more.
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K
Motherboard: ASRock Z87M Extreme4
RAM: 2 x 4GB GSkill RipjawsX
Drive: Intel SSD, 80GB (boot drive)
Additional Drive: Western Digital Velociraptor, 150GB (secondary)
PSU: Cooler Master 800W Silent Pro Gold
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Monitor: ASUS PB278Q
Performance
3DMark 11
3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and
developed by Futuremark Corporation to determine the performance of a
computer’s 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing
capabilities. The latest version makes extensive use of all the new
features in DirectX 11, including tessellation, compute shaders and
multi-threading. We used the “Performance” preset for this benchmark.
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 is a first-person shooter video game
developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and is based on the new Frostbite 2
game engine. The game only supports DX10 and DX11, which enables
enhanced in-game destruction with Destruction 3.0, creating more refined
physics than its predecessor and quasi-realtime radiosity using
Geometrics’ Enlighten technology. The game is a visual treat and a
nightmare for graphics cards, which makes it perfect for our test. We
used the “Ultra High” preset, Post AA – High, Blur – Full, Field of View
– 90, Level – “Fear no Evil”.
Metro: Last Light
Metro: Last Light is a first-person shooter video game that
continues Metro’s legacy of being one of the most demanding games for
the best of GPUs. The game has a lot of DX11 eye-candy, which really
puts a strain on any GPU. All DX11 features were enabled for the
benchmark and we used the built-in benchmark for this test.
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Infinite developed by Irrational Games uses a
modified version of the Unreal Engine. It’s a first-person shooter which
takes place in a fictional floating city called Columbia. We ran the
benchmark using the Adrenaline Benchmark tool and used the Ultra and
Medium settings. In the Ultra settings you have FXAA On, Ultra texture
detail, 16x AF, Ultra dynamic shadows and with the Medium settings you
have FXAA On, High texture detail, 8x AF and High dynamic shadows.
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is a third-person shooter which is a reboot of
the famous series with Lara Croft as the protagonist. In this reboot,
she is ship-wrecked on a mysterious island which presents its own set of
challenges which Lara has to overcome. The game is based on a
customised CrystalEngine. It also features the AMD TressFX technology
which adds more realism to hair rendering and physics. We ran the
benchmark using the in-built benchmark tool at the Ultimate and Ultra
settings. On the Ultimate preset, you have TressFX activated, 16x AF,
FXAA whereas the Ultra preset has Normal hair quality, 16x AF, FXAA.
Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs is an open-world third-person
action-adventure game developed by United Front games and Square Enix
London Studios. Set in modern-day Hong Kong the game involves you
playing as Wei Shan, an undercover cop, who infiltrates a local Triad
gang. We ran the benchmark using the Adrenaline Benchmark tool and used
the Ultra and Medium settings.
Temperatures
We noted the temperature of all the participating cards at
idle and load states. The fan speeds were kept on auto. We noted maximum
load temperatures after running benchmarks such as FurMark at 1080p
preset, 3D Mark 11, Battlefield 3 and Metro: Last Light and taking an
average.
Power Consumption
We used an energy monitoring device to measure the power
consumed by the total rig with the graphics cards on them. The Cooler
Master 800W PSU was plugged into the power meter which gave out the
power consumed in Watts on the display. After powering on the system we
let it stay unused for a good five minutes to get the idle power reading
and then ran three instances of FurMark 1080p preset to get the maximum
load power.
Verdict and Price in India
As seen from the scores above, the scores aren’t a lot
different from the ASUS R9290X DC2 we had tested some while back. In
some games, the DC2 cards scores more than the Matrix Platinum one, but
you also need to look at the load power of the Matrix Platinum which is
almost 40W lower than the DC2 card at load. Sure, the Matrix card can
relax that limit when you get into the LN2 mode and start overclocking.
At an MOP of Rs 53,990, the Matrix Platinum R9290X is
targetted at that precise audience. Barring Metro: Last Light, the
Matrix Platinum card gives comparable performance with the ZOTAC GTX
780Ti AMP edition card. The advantage that the 780Ti AMP has is in the
temperature and power consumption department, but it costs more as well.
With the ASUS R9290X DC2OC selling at around Rs 46,000, it all boils
down on your needs – whether you want to simply overclock, or need the
extra features offered by the Matrix card.
