ASUS RoG ARES 4GB Review

A Closer Look at the ASUS ARES

If it’s at all possible, the ARES has done what very few other high-end cards have accomplished: it actually has the LOOK of an expensive product. Not only that but this thing weighs in at a massive 4.12 pounds which would make any PCB flex in protest. Luckily, ASUS has designed the card in such a way that the front and rear heatsinks act not only to lower temperatures but also to reinforce the PCB.


The top of the card features an absolutely massive shroud that hearkens back to the aforementioned Extreme N7800GT Dual and takes the original design of the next level. It looks simply stunning and unlike other plastic shrouds we have seen all too often in the past, this one is milled out of a single piece of aluminum and can actually act as a secondary heatsink if needed. By removing four screws on either side it can also be taken off if you want to clean out the copper fins within each individual heatsink.


The back of the card features a full-length aluminum heatsink that covers the rear memory modules and disperses their heat. ASUS has also provided spring-loaded retention screws for the main heatsink assembly which should lead to easy removal if you choose to go the water cooling route. Speaking of which, we should also mention the screw offset around each of the cores is identical to that of a standard HD 5870 card.


Aside from taking note of the massive chunks of copper and anodized aluminum poking out of every corner, there are a number of other interesting features around the periphery of the ARES. To begin with, it seems ASUS went a bit overboard when it came to choosing power connectors for their flagship product: two 8-pin connectors and a single 6-pin along with the PCI-E 2.0 slot mean the ARES could theoretically pull 525W.

Believe it or not, by way of a single Crossfire connector it is also possible to run a pair of these cards together which should be great news for those of you with an extra $2600 lying around collecting dust.