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Software and Overclocking
Every GeForce RTX 2000-series card we’ve tested thus far comes with a bundled overclocking utility, and Asus’ ROG Strix is no exception. GPU Tweak II offers the same knobs and dials found on popular alternatives like EVGA’s Precision X1 and MSI’s Afterburner.
Simple mode makes it easy to toggle between the card’s OC, Gaming, and Silent modes with a basic reporting of memory utilization, GPU clock rate, and temperature.
Clicking the Advanced Mode link opens a more comprehensive interface with granular control over GPU and memory frequencies, voltage, fan speeds, and power targets. As our screenshots show, OC mode corresponds to an 1,845 MHz GPU clock rate, Gaming mode drops the frequency to 1,815 MHz, and Silent mode dials in 1,785 MHz (still faster than Nvidia’s Founders Edition).
OC Scanner utilizes Nvidia’s arithmetic-based stress test to adjust the card’s voltage/frequency curve across a worst-case scenario. It’s certainly possible to overclock more aggressively based on one specific workload, but the automated procedure does work as-advertised. In our case, the adjusted settings simply weren’t worth much extra performance.
We also spent some time playing with Asus’ Aura software, which is used to control the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 O8G Gaming's RGB lighting. Compared to some of the less expensive cards we’ve tested, which included configurable LEDs as a superficial feature, the ROG Strix makes illumination an important selling point. Lights across the fan shroud and on the backplate are far more prominent. Moreover, the ability to coordinate them with RGB LEDs in your case (via Aura Sync) speaks to Asus’ ecosystem ambitions.
Although I don’t personally gravitate toward RGB lighting and the cookie-cutter effects common to most implementations, Asus adds a couple that differentiate the ROG Strix card: one pulses to the beat of your music, while the other changes from green to red as your GPU heats up.
It’s also worth noting that, for a limited time, Asus includes a free copy of Battlefield V, allowing you to toy around with real-time ray tracing in the first game optimized for Nvidia’s RT cores.
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