Asus Launches 'Dark Knight' Graphics Cards
Looking to upgrade your current video card? Looking to upgrade to something that looks cool AND has functionality for cooling? Asus has launched a few customized cards based on ATI and Nvidia GPUs that deviate from typical reference designs.
All new cards are named under Asus’ new Dark Knight (DK) name. The new Dark Knight cards come with varying specifications, but most notably the Dark Knight Fansink that will apparently deliver "extreme" cooling and "low noise levels." Other features include the EMI shield, DIP Spring Chokes, LF PAK MOS, and Japanese made Solid Capacitors.
The new Dark Knight Fansink is manufacturer from aluminum alloy, has four heatpipes and a larger surface area. From the description and available pictures at this time (see below), it looks pretty slick. Though we find it odd that Asus chose aluminum over copper. The aluminum definitely looks cool color-wise, but based on the target audience — where’s the copper?
Hopefully we’ll get our hands on some of these for a closer look soon. For now we will leave you with some eye candy to look at and the specs of the new cards to go along with them – draw your conclusions in the comments sections!
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ASUS Dark Knight ATI GPU
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Model
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EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1G
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EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512M
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EAH4870 DK/HTDI/512M
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Graphics Engine
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Radeon HD 4870
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Radeon HD 4870
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Radeon HD 4870
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Bus Standard
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PCI Express 2.0
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PCI Express 2.0
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PCI Express 2.0
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Video Memory
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1GB DDR5
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1GB DDR5
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1GB DDR5
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Engine Clock
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750 MHz
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815 MHz
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750 MHz
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Memory Clock
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3.6GHz (900MHz DDR5)
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3.7GHz (925MHz DDR5)
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3.6GHz (900MHz DDR5)
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Memory Interface
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256-bit
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256-bit
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256-bit
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DVI Max. Resolution
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2560 * 1600
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2560 * 1600
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2560 * 1600
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D-Sub Output
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Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )
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Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )
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Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )
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DVI Output
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Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
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Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
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Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
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HDTV Output(YPbPr)
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YES, via HDTV Out cable
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YES, via HDTV Out cable
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YES, via HDTV Out cable
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HDCP compliant
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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HDMI Output
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Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
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Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
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Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
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Adaptor/Cable Bundled
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1
x DVI-to-D-Sub adapter
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1
x DVI-to-D-Sub adapter
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1
x DVI-to-D-Sub adapter
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Software Bundled
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ASUS Utilities & Driver
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ASUS Utilities & Driver
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ASUS Utilities & Driver
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ASUS Dark Knight Nvidia GPU
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Model
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EN9800GTX+ DK TOP/HTDI/512M
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EN9800GTX+ DK/HTDI/512M
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Graphics Engine
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GeForce 9800GTX+
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GeForce 9800GTX+
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Bus Standard
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PCI Express 2.0
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PCI Express 2.0
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Video Memory
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512MB DDR3
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512MB DDR3
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Engine Clock
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775 MHz
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740 MHz
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Shader Clock
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1950 MHz
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1836 MHz
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Memory Clock
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2.36GHz (1.18GHz DDR3)
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2.2GHz (1.1GHz DDR3)
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Memory Interface
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256-bit
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256-bit
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DVI Max. Resolution
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2560 * 1600
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2560 * 1600
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D-Sub Output
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Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )
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Yes x 1 (via DVI to D-Sub adaptor x 1 )
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DVI Output
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Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
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Yes x 2 (DVI-I)
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HDTV Output(YPbPr)
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YES, via HDTV Out cable
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YES, via HDTV Out cable
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HDCP compliant
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Yes
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Yes
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HDMI Output
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Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
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Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
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Adaptor/Cable Bundled
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1
x DVI-to-D-Sub adapter
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1
x DVI-to-D-Sub adapter
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Software Bundled
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ASUS Utilities & Driver
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ASUS Utilities & Driver
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Note
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The card size is 4.376 inches x 10 inches
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The card size is 4.376 inches x 10 inches
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FAIL. I can live with the air not getting pumped out the back, but I can't live without a shroud. Cards need to look tight and have full enclosures if we're going to be paying this much for them. Many enthusiast that would be interested in these cards also have side windows and care about aesthetics. To have such an oversight on the most enthusiast oriented cards Asus offers is just unintelligible.
Despite what mr negative up there has said the cards look pretty sweet.
Although im more into the cheap brand cards made good with 3rd party coolers lol
I'm wondering where the hell the cool Batman decals are.
FAIL indeed... its just a naming scheme its not even like higher clocks... i mean there are already ASUS cards that are oced... what crap
however it is asus... although they are reliable... they suck...
figure that one out
Who's charts are these... I'm pretty sure (maybe it's just me) that the EAH4870 DK/HTDI/512M is only supposed to have 512MB of DDR5 not 1GB as stated in the Video Memory section.
All this looks like is another vid card with a different color, come on
Why is this news? Companies keep coming with custom heat sinks all the time, I am looking forward to the pricing though.
Attempting to cash in on the `Dark Knight' hype? Not cool.
A real enthusiast isn't going to keep even that default cooling option. This is more aimed at the same target group as the `smiling bob' commercials.
Fail. No Batman logo. Don't they know that Batman is the Dark Night lol. Seriously though I would have liked to see higher mem speeds on the TOP card though, especially considering the Diamond Black cards have speeds of 800/1100(4400 effective) for the core/mem.
FAIL too. power consumption of these cards is worth two quad processors.
double slot design is still the best even if not as effective compared with heatpipes. we certainly don't want to add heat inside a case.
now, if the cooling block was colored in the darkish color the zalman, 9700 for am2 is, and the board was black with gold like the old soundblaster live, or everything in purple with leds or something like my old epox motherboard ... then it'd been worth a closer look. Can't say having the dualslot cooling removed from a 4870 is very intriguing to me though.
Batman is the dark knight? The only one? I think dark knights existed long before batman was dreamed up. By the look of it the dark knight label has nothing to do with batman though it is a bit misleading... as most people at this time identify "dark knight" with batman.
I agree its a fail. Most cards now do use heat pipes. My Diamond HD3870 does with a dual slot cooler.
The question here is where is the air going? The way the fan is setup air is being pushed onto the fins and being dispersed anywhere within the case. This will create larger ambient temperature which is why the dual slot solution is best, it takes cool air in and pushes hot air out
Attempting to cash in on the `Dark Knight' hype? Not cool.
So you are saying Asus is Robbin' you??
Boy, I wonder...
lol I didn't even know batman was 'the dark knight' ! Guess I'm not sufficiently into marvel movies to know that (they're all too cheesy for my taste).