Doom 3 is
the most advanced OpenGL game to date. It takes advantage of the latest
videocard technology and pushes the processing power of the CPU to its absolute
limits. At its highest setting, Ultra quality, texture sizes pass the 500MB mark
which means even tomorrow's videocards will have a hard time running everything.
The frame rates in the game itself are locked at 60 fps so anything above that point is
wasted. Each test is run three times and with the third run being
recorded.
Rounding things out,
Doom 3 performance with 2x AA and 8x AF is very impressive and the Asus
videocard will keep casual gamers very happy.
Quiet Computing at its best!
One negative side
effect of computers getting faster over the years is that components are
generating more heat. Cooling something as complex as a modern videocard can be
quite a challenging. With GPU/VPU transistor count's rivaling the number in
processors, it is no wonder videocards are producing more heat than ever before.
Videocard manufacturers also have an added handicap due to lack of space around
the videocard expansion slots.
To deal with these heat related issues, videocard
manufacturers have become quite creative. There are quite a few quiet options
for those looking silent computing and the Asus EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A is
probably the most impressive on the market. Not only is it completely silent, it
is also pretty darn fast!
The Asus EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A is not just a
silent videocard, it also comes with a very large software bundle. The five full
version games (Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising, Xpand Rally, Chaos League,
Second Sight and PowerDrome) will keep gamers busy for quite some time. Throw in
some video editing software and you got yourself a very well rounded
videocard.
The heatpipe cooler on the EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A
is not simply for show, it works quite well. The SilentCool setup is designed to
take advantage of the air that is being pulled down to feed the CPU fan.
Temperatures of the GeForce 6600GT core were around 60C at load, which is the
same temperature what a normal actively cooled 6600GT core would operate at.
Running the Asus card completely passive, the copper radiator temperature shot
up to 60C while the core ran at a toasty but safe 82.7 degrees Celsius. PCSTATS
would not recommend running the Asus EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A as completely
passive setup (ie. watercooled CPU and no case fans), but it is nice to know
that the card will not dramatically overheat if applied to such a situation from
what we can tell. Still, fans are most certainly recommend somewhere in the
chassis.
With a default clock speed of 520 MHz core, 1040 MHz
memory the Asus EN6600GT Silencer videocard is actually clocked
higher than the stock GeForce 6600GT. That explains why the card routinely
outperforms other GeForce 6600GT videocards at stock speeds. If you feel that
the card is not fast enough, overclocking is definitely an option - which is
quite remarkable actually. The Asus EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A PCSTATS tested
was able to hit a nice 566 MHz core and 1149 MHz memory.
The Asus EN6600GT/Silencer/HTD/256M/A has not hit the
retail market just yet... but if you are looking to build a silent PC, look no
further. Quiet and fast, the Asus videocard does offer the best of both
worlds!
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Doom 3
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