Conclusion

The ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum is a complex beast. Many users probably would never understand what the real capability or design of this card is, but enthusiasts know it is a sign that manufacturers love this just as much as we do. This is the reason that companies like ASUS hire people like Peter Tan and hold OC events to improve their products. As for the card itself, it is a very intense card, and an expensive one at that. For those who never intend to overclock, this card is slightly unnecessary, but might be cool to have nonetheless, especially as it comes with a custom cooler and a rock-solid build quality.

However, this card was designed with overclocking at heart. The HD 7970 MATRIX Platinum has all the right parts for those of us who chase world records in megahertz, and we would definitely recommend it for the overclocking and benchmarking crowd. The only real issue we can think of is that the triple-slot cooler could cause some issues in multi-GPU configurations. The four memory chips left uncovered by the heatspreader concerned us a little, but as you can see, the memory overclocks fine. Overall, this card is great for those looking for an amazing card that can take a pounding. If you do want one, though, be quick, as these GPU’s are hand-sorted for performance, and there are only so many super-sample chips left.

OUR VERDICT: ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum

Performance 10 Value 10 Quality 10 Features 10 Innovation 10 We are using a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn’t an aggregate average of the new rating system. Total 10 Pros Cons Built to Overclock Rock solid build quality 20 Phase DIGI+ VRM Onboard overclocking and tuning Centrally located mod points Onboard Voltage switches VGA Hotwire Plugs Very strong MATRIX DirectCU II cooler Matrix LED Load lighting system is cool Safe mode switch allows worry free OC GPU Tweak software has many tuning options LLC and VRM frequency controllable A few memory chips were not cooled by heatspreader Triple slot cooler can cause fitment issues in multi GPU configs

Summary: The ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum has a strong, capable build quality and feature set, along with some amazing overclocking ability. For this it receives the Bjorn3D Golden Bear Award.