ASUS ROG R9 290X MATRIX Platinum Video Card Review @ [H]

There are several risks when it comes to cooling with LN2 and the most prevalent is condensation.  This is when water in the air cools down and forms ice on your expensive electronics.  Normally if the ice stays frozen there is little risk however you are foolish to think the entire PCB will be frozen.

So, why bring this up?  Well many of the new Matrix video cards from ASUS come with a memory defroster feature.  The feature basically dumps excess voltage into the memory chips to keep them warmer and thus run more efficient.  The downside is that while you may be breaking world records you'll also run the risk of excess water pooling in the PCI Express slot.

Today we have the highest-end R9 290X from ASUS, the ASUS ROG R9 290X MATRIX Platinum video card. This video card is dual-purposed for fan or LN2 cooling, and has vast power capabilities. We're putting it up against the ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC to see which delivers the best bang for your buck.

Hate to admit it but, I still want one.

Related Web URL: http://hardocp.com/article/2014/09/08/asus_rog_r9_...