External Power Supply and Extras

Another one of the more impressive features of the Asus TOP line of graphics cards is their inclusion of an external power supply (at least in recent models). 

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The power block is shown here and can provide power to the GPU through a direct connection to a wall outlet instead of through connecting to the computer’s internal power supply.  It outputs 12v and 6.67 amps of power to the card and should be more than enough for any type of usage.  In this case, the external power supply is included for the benefit of users that have older power supplies that might not hold up to the task of delivering power to a beefy GPU like this one.  But, the external power connection isn’t required; in our testing I used the PCIe connection on our 480 watt Antec PSU without any issues.  But users with over burdened PSU’s or older units may find this extra to be very useful.

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Asus puts a lot of stuff in their video card boxes, including from the picture above: two DVI adaptors, PCIe power adaptor, component output dongle, composite output cable, S-Video output cable and VIVO dongle.  Everything is here to take advantage of all the features that the Asus AX1800XT TOP offers.

Asus Extreme AX1800 XT TOP 2DHTV Video Card Review - Graphics Cards 68

The software included with the graphics card is pretty standard and most of it isn’t really worth noting, with the exception of the full version of King Kong the game.  This game has gotten some very good reviews, though I didn’t get a change to play it myself yet.  It is a $40 value, at least.

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Asus didn’t stop there though. They also include a USB controller for your PC as well.  It is laid out like a PS2 controller for the most part and has a good feel to it in my hands.  The buttons aren’t tough or too touchy and it is again another $40 or so value that Asus is giving away.  These extras really are adding to the Asus AX1800 XT TOP list of features more so than any other add-in card has done recently.

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