Asus ENGTX260 Matrix, Cont’d

Like most of the GeForce cards in this roundup, the ENGTX260 Matrix has two DVI outputs and a single S-video output. With the included adapters, all the bases are covered, from HDMI to component video.

The clock speeds Asus chose to equip this powerful card with are a little strange. It's clocked similarly to a stock GeForce GTX 260, which is an odd choice for a premium offering capable of so much more. I assume Asus went this route to highlight the available control enabled through software. So, perhaps it wanted stock clocks to serve as the baseline: 576 MHz core clock, 1,242 MHz shader clock, and 999 MHZ (1,998 MHz DDR) memory clock.

Of course, the user is expected to install and utilize the bundled iTracker utility. This tool really gives you hooks into the guts of the Asus ENGTX260 Matrix. At its simplest level of control, the iTracker software can assign predefined clock profiles. We decided to apply the included gamer profile for our testing because it provides a realistic baseline of what even the most timid enthusiast can accomplish with this powerful card: 601 MHz GPU, 1,242 MHz on the shaders, and 999 MHZ (1,998 MHz DDR) on the memory.

Overclocking

Overclocking is what Asus' Matrix cards are designed to do, and our ENGTX260 sample didn’t disappoint. The iTracker utility allows for the creation of custom profiles that include not only clock speeds, but voltage and fan adjustments to make the process much more successful than a simple clock speed adjustment.

By adjusting these values with the iTracker utility, we managed to bring the card to an eye-opening 758 MHz GPU clock at 1.25 V, 1,504 MHz on the shaders, and 1,221 MHz (2,442 MHz DDR) at 2.0 V on the memory.This is an impressive result, and it provides the Asus Matrix card's bundled software utility with real credibility.