Asus ENGTX260 Matrix

INTRODUCTION

It has been a trend lately with the computer industry where manufacturers are simply putting their own stickers on a reference design product without much of their own design and engineering. We used to see more manufacturers producing graphic cards with custom coolers and custom designs. However, lately, if you look into current graphics cards market, you will find majority of vendors use reference NVIDIA and AMD designs and simply put their own labels on the card. In fact, many of these cards only differ in their clockspeeds as well as the bundles and warranty. Other than that, there are no physical differences among them.

Not that we are complaining about the reference NVIDIA or AMD cooler design. They are, in fact, quite good for most part and that is why the manufacturers are sticking with it. However, we do love to see manufacturers who are willing to spend a bit more attention and resources into their products and are able to enhance the product's performance and add their flavor to it.

Luckily, we can still find a few companies willing to take time and invest some resources into designing slightly different graphic cards. Asus is just one of those companies. Asus, being the leading manufacturer in the computer industry, has products ranging from full systems such as laptops and desktops, to every single components imaginable inside and outside of your computer. You can find video cards, motherboards, and LCD monitors are just a few of products they carry. They are the biggest player in the tech world and they are willing to put their own signature in their products.

Asus has recently launched a line of products called "Republic of Gamers or ROG" which is a brand that carries products that are tailored and are targeted specifically toward gamers. The ROG products cover motherboards and graphic cards. We have the good fortune to review a few of their products and today we are going to look at the latest entry to the ROG graphic cards with the Asus ENGTX260 Matrix.

About ASUS

ASUS, a technology-oriented company blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is well known for high-quality and innovative technology. As a leading company in the new digital era, ASUS offers a complete product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.

In 2007, one in three desktop PCs sold was powered by an ASUS motherboard; and the company's 2007 revenues reached US$6.9 billion.

ASUS products' top quality stems from product development. It's like learning Chinese Kung-Fu; one must begin with cultivating the "Chi" and inner strength. Besides innovating cutting-edge features, ASUS engineers also pay special attention to EMI (electromagnetic interference), thermal, acoustics and details that usually go unnoticed to achieve complete customer satisfaction. ASUS notebooks are the first TCO'99-certified notebooks worldwide.

The requirements for this honor include radiation emission control, energy (battery consumption), ecology (environment friendly) and ergonomics. To succeed in this ultra-competitive industry, great products need to be complimented by speed-to-market, cost and service. That's why all 8,000 over employees of ASUS strive for the "ASUS Way of Total Quality Management" to offer the best quality without compromising cost and time-to-market while providing maximum value to all customers through world-class services.

With unyielding commitment to innovation and quality, ASUS won 2,568 awards in 2007, meaning on average, the company received over 7 awards every day last year. BusinessWeek has ranked ASUS amongst its InfoTech 100 for the 10th straight year. ASUS has also achieved the number one title on the annual league table of Taiwan Top 10 Global Brands with a brand value of 11.96 billion US dollars.