ASUS ROG Poseidon GTX 780 Graphics Card Review

Benchmark Testing

Gaming benchmark tests were run against the Poseidon GTX 780 graphics card using the DirectCU H2O cooler in stock and overclocked configurations. Results were provided to give a more complete understanding into the potential performance benefits gained from using the DirectCU H2O cooler in conjunction with an air-based or liquid-based cooling configuration.

FutureMark 3DMark

FutureMark Corporation’s 3DMark is one of the most grueling benchmark tests on the market for determining system graphics performance. The Fire Strike benchmark measures both graphics-based and PhysX-based system capabilities. The Fire Strike benchmark was run at default settings with a 1920×1080 resolution three times with the highest reproducible 3DMark scores recorded.

The Fire Strike demo illustrates the expected performance scaling with the air-based overclock beating default speeds by about 10% and the liquid based besting both air-based scores by an additional 1-2%. However, PhysX-related operations do not seem to scale with the card GPU or memory speed, remaining constant throughout all runs.

Unigine Heaven 4.0

The Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark is one of the more strenuous methods to determine a video card's performance. The Heaven benchmark was run a 1920×1080 resolution with all graphics settings set to High, On, or Normal with the following exceptions: 8x Anti-aliasing and DX11 API selected. The benchmark tests were run three times with the highest reproducible FPS scores recorded.

The Poseidon GTX 780's performance again scales as expected with the air-based overclock out-performing stock performance by almost 10% and liquid-based performance adding an additional 1-2% performance-wise.

BioShock: Infinite

The Adrenaline Action Benchmark Tool v1.0.0.10 was used to run BioShock: Infinite's in-game benchmark. The benchmark test was run at a 1920×1080 resolution with all graphics settings set to Ultra or On (the Ultra+DDOF mode preset in the Action Benchmark Tool) with including the following settings: FXAA enabled, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, and Alternate Post Processing. The benchmark tests were run three times with the highest reproducible FPS scores recorded.

The Bioshock: Infinite benchmark is much more sensitive to memory-based overclocking, making it a good performance and stability gage. We again see the liquid cooled Poseidon GTX 780 pull ahead of the air cooled card performance by almost 12% compared with stock and 2% under overclocked conditions.

Batman: Arkham Origins

The Batman: Arkham Origins in-game benchmark was used to determine approximate real-world performance with the card under test. The benchmark test was run at a 1920×1080 resolution with all graphics settings set to High, On, or Normal with including the following settings: GeForce TXAA High Anti-aliasing, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, DX11 Enhanced mode enabled where applicable, and Hardware Accelerated PhysX High. The benchmark tests were run three times with the highest reproducible FPS scores recorded.

No surprises here, the card scaling remains within expectations, besting stock performance on air by 10% and on liquid by 12%.

Metro: Last Light

The Metro: Last Light in-game benchmark was used to determine approximate real-world performance with the card under test. The benchmark test was run at a 1920×1080 resolution with all graphics settings set to High, On, or Normal with the following exceptions: SSAA enabled, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, and Advanced PhysX disabled. The benchmark tests were run three times with the highest reproducible FPS scores recorded.

The Metro: Last Light benchmark is another grueling stability test for a graphics card, so the Poseidon GTX 780 maintaining its expected performance increase of 10% on air and 12% on liquid is a good sign.

Grid 2

The Intel AVX-enhanced version of the Grid 2 in-game benchmark was used to determine approximate real-world performance with the card under test. The benchmark test was run at a 1920×1080 resolution with all graphics settings set to Ultra, High, On, or Normal with the following exceptions: 16x QCSAA Multisampling and Ultra Anisotropic Filtering. The benchmark tests were run three times with the highest reproducible FPS scores recorded.

Grid 2 is another benchmark that is sensitive to overclocking. But we again see the expected performance scaling of 10% and 12% for air and liquid-based overclocking respectively.