ASUS’s ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum Spotted

The ROG MATRIX R9 280X is a Tahiti rebrand but would arrive next week with a price just over the reference range of $299. The specifications of the GPU are virtually the same over the AMD Radeon HD 7970 including 2048 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 128 TMUs and a 3 GB GDDR5 memory operating across a 384-bit wide memory interface. The card would be clocked at 950 MHz at base and 1100 MHz with GPU Boost while the memory would be clocked at 1600 MHz or 6 GHz effective clock speed.

The ROG MATRIX R9 280X features a 20 Phase DIGI+ VRM with Super Alloy power to deliver superior stability and performance to overclockerrs and enthusiasts. Power to the ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum is supplied by dual 8-Pin connectors representing a TDP of 300W. VGA Hotwire affords easier DIY modification of voltages on ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum, simplifying the process by removing the need for complicated and risky soldering.

Customers connect wires from dedicated headers on compatible ROG motherboards to VGA Hotwire connectors on ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum, after which changing voltages directly on the hardware level becomes possible via a variety of interfaces. The exclusive TweakIt utility is one such option, revised for ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum to offer a wider voltage modulation range, allowing quick changes by simply pressing the + and – keys.

	Radeon R9 280X	Radeon R9 280X Overclocked	MATRIX R9 280X Platinum	Radeon R7 260X	Radeon R7 240
GPU Codename	Tahiti XT	Tahiti XT	Tahiti XT	Bonaire XTX	Oland Pro
GPU Process	28nm	28nm	28nm	28nm	28nm
Stream Processors	2048	2048	2048	896	320
ROP/TMUs	32/128	32/128	32/128	16/56	8/20
Core Clock	1000/1050 MHz	1070 MHz	1100 MHz	1100 MHz	780 MHz
Memory Clock	1500 MHz	1600 MHz	1600 MHz	1625 MHz	1150 MHz
VRAM	3 GB GDDR5	3 GB GDDR5	3 GB GDDR5	2 GB GDDR5	1 GB GDDR5
Bus Interface	384-bit	384-bit	384-bit	128-bit	128-bit
Price US$	$299	$329	$349	$139	$89

The card further includes an overclocking safe mode to quickly restore default settings should a tuning profile prove unstable and at-a-glance LED load indicators to ensure more informed and safer performance modification. The ROG MATRIX R9 280X Platinum features two 100mm fans on a large cooler shroud that pushes air towards a central aluminum heatsink fin array equipped with direct contact copper heatpipes to dissipate heat efficiently. The GPU comes with 4 Display ports and two DVI ports for display connectivity, except its launch next week with the arrival of the rest of Radeon R9 and Radeon R7 cards.