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Asus RoG Mars Quad SLI Review

Comments 26 to 50 of 67

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mrbens 18th September 2009, 13:51 Quote
It looks like an old Betamax tape!!!
Paradigm Shifter 18th September 2009, 13:53 Quote
First page, penultimate paragraph - it's "girth" not "gurth".

Tenth page, final paragraph - it's "lunacy" not "loonacy".

...

To be honest, I'm amazed you even gave it 2/10 for value. If there is one card that any tech enthusiast can point to and say, "Card for the rabid fanboys" then this was it. Other reviews I've seen have shown it overheating - even at stock speeds, I think the PC Games Hardware review had that issue. Drivers letting it down further just add a bitter topping to an already exorbitantly expensive e-penis-measureing contest. And as no other manufacturer is going to come out with something like this, Asus can't even promise that drivers will get fixed, as nVidia is going to have little interest in fixing something that at worst is only going to affect 1000 users. And as most of the people who are going to want one of these are probably going to be able to justify buying two... this card remains little more than a technical marketing exercise.
pimonserry 18th September 2009, 14:07 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by 500mph
I was hoping for some shots of the cooler.

Me too :(
Silver51 18th September 2009, 14:55 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hustler
Most pointless Gfx card ever...?

Right up there with Voodoo 6000


IMO, the Voodoo 5 6000 passed into legend some time ago. Iir, it never got any further than the prototype stage before 3dfx went under and were subsequently bought out by nVidia.

http://www.x86-secret.com/articles/divers/v5-6000/v56kgb-6.htm

Full article from beginning.
wbdog206 18th September 2009, 15:13 Quote
I seen the UK price for this card and my jaw hit the floor like
a sledgehammer!
perplekks45 18th September 2009, 15:25 Quote
Everybody seems to think nVidia has absolutely bugger-all up their sleeves to compete with AMD's 5 series.
I'd say we should all relax and wait for both to release their next generation cards.

On Topic: The Mars seems to be amazingly pointless and overpriced.
kenco_uk 18th September 2009, 15:29 Quote
Page 10, last para = lunacy, not loonacy :)
perplekks45 18th September 2009, 15:42 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by kenco_uk
Page 10, last para = lunacy, not loonacy :)
You're grammar Nazi-foo is weak, kenco. Para is way ahead of you. :p
kenco_uk 18th September 2009, 17:12 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by perplekks45
You're grammar Nazi-foo is weak, kenco. Para is way ahead of you. :p

Damn, ninja'd at grammar :D
jamesthebard 18th September 2009, 18:15 Quote
The Mars is severely overpriced. It looks great, well designed, and doesn't turn your computer into slag once you get it up to speed. With great driver support, it should scream without any problems (from the looks, I don't exactly have that kind of money to spend on a video card) but "should" and "is" are two very different worlds.

I have no doubts, however, that they will sell their 1K units.
Vek 18th September 2009, 18:37 Quote
I do have one question related to the Call of Duty: World at War testing.

From the graph, it seems that you've locked the max frame rate at 90 FPS. Is there any particular reason why? I'd much rather make an evaluation with an unlocked framerate cap. I'm sure the Mars would soar far into the lead then.

Because with the cap removed, my Sapphire 4870 1GB can push upwards of 140FPS with maxxed settings out of combat.
xaser04 18th September 2009, 18:51 Quote
Why is the mars slower than the GTX295 in alot of these tests?

A Pairs of GTX285s in SLI would be quicker so why isn't this card? I assume driver issues are at fault here (something that shouldn't be the case given the architecture of the Mars is essentially identical to the GTX295 but better).
tejas 18th September 2009, 19:20 Quote
Pointless waste of money card especially with 5870 and 5870X2 round the corner.

Mark is totally right though. Nvidia drivers have been dogsh*t since the 190 series came out. Im having to run my GTX295 on 186.18 drivers. I think that whole adaptive power saving crap is actually clock gating in games and thus causing stuttering and unplayable gaming. Didn't Harry notice crap minimums in his latest review as well?

AMD drivers are utterly superior to Nvidia's at the moment! What a change in fortunes!

If Nvidia do not get their drivers sorted then AMD will destroy them when the 58xx series comes out and I will follow suit.
Deadpool46 18th September 2009, 19:23 Quote
I was really surprised you were running standard CPU clock speeds. If you're running a £1,000 GPU you'd want a zero CPU bottle neck, these chaps seemed to have a bit more success:
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=832&pageid=4

Maybe that choked the Quad-SLI but thanks for the article, shame the results weren't so hot.
pullmyfoot 18th September 2009, 19:58 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by iwog
I'm guessing as they're limted additions you were under strict orders not to pull them apart and have a proper look at the coolers :(

yeah i was hoping to see what it looked like on the inside
Cptn-Inafinus 18th September 2009, 20:04 Quote
Does anyone else see the kind of VHS resemblance at the back of the card, or is it just me?
Star*Dagger 18th September 2009, 20:26 Quote
ATI/AMD still reigns supreme with the price/performance of the ATI Radeon HD 4870x2.
My plan of buying the best at the start and then buying a 2nd one when the price is cheap a year later, again wins the day. I did it with the 8800gtx and now the 4870x2. Total pwnage for 2 years.
PM me for gpu recommendations ;)

S*D
MiNiMaL_FuSS 18th September 2009, 21:02 Quote
still yet to find anything my clocked 3870 cant manage well!
HourBeforeDawn 18th September 2009, 21:44 Quote
I was expecting A LOT better results for the price, so ya no thanks I pass.
mclintox 18th September 2009, 22:05 Quote
Two butties short of a picnic if you want one of these!
Phil Rhodes 18th September 2009, 23:02 Quote
Quote:
Does anyone else see the kind of VHS resemblance at the back of the card

Yes.
dec 19th September 2009, 01:16 Quote
the first page made it look soooooo cool and its got lamer and lamer with every page turn. what kinda cooler does this thing have!?!
Mighty Yoshimi 19th September 2009, 01:24 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyboy700
Do ASUS really think that someone will buy a graphics card for that price?

Sheesh, I'd love to know what their sales predictions are for this one.

I'd buy one jusr cos i can But before that i gptta get my hot tub finished. Depends on what people call disposible income.
Aristide1 19th September 2009, 01:58 Quote
While an interesting engineering exercise and status symbol I think I'll just water cool a 295, OC it, and keep a lot more money in my pocket that's left over.
Slyr7.62 19th September 2009, 02:20 Quote
Small error,

Page 10 - Folding@Home Power Consumption (graph):

MARS cards are switched. MARS SLI uses 497W vs the MARS @ 373W.
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