Asus makes the Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II

Despite the fact that AMD launched the new flagships in the Radeon R9 290 series as early as the beginning of November, no tailor-made models are yet visible on store shelves, which is extra difficult as the reference design has been criticized for being equipped with an unusually loud radiator. Asus is now presenting its own graphics card for enthusiasts and overclockers.

The new graphics card is called Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II OC and is based on the graphics processor Hawaii XT with 2,816 stream processors, 512-bit memory bus and 4 GB of memory. Asus tunes the clock frequencies to 1,050 MHz GPU and 5,400 MHz GDDR5, up from the reference design’s 1,000 and 5,000 MHz respectively.

Those who are not satisfied with Asus overclocking can embark on their own adventures thanks to the lavish voltage regulation. The specifications show 8 + 2-phase “digital” power supply with extra durable capacitors and encapsulated coils as well as support for the GPU Tweak software.

This also includes the latest generation of the DirectCU II cooler, which includes aluminum flanges, four copper heat pipes, a metal back plate and two fans, one of which is a hybrid solution. Finally, red and gold stickers are included to match the color of the Asus motherboard.

The Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II OC will be on sale a bit into next year at a preliminary approximate price of SEK 5,190 including VAT.