As a hardware enthusiast, you will no doubt know that Nvidia introduced the GeForce GTX 980 and 970 a few weeks ago. Within our extensive review, we wrote that Nvidia let us know that all GeForce 980 boards initially available for purchase would simply be reference models. Nothing could be further from the truth, as ASUS was able to provide us with their GeForce GTX 980 Strix, a GTX 980 with a custom cooler and PCB design, just a week after the GTX 980's initial release. Is this video card a better choice than the reference model?

As is indicated by its name, ASUS' first non-reference GTX 980 belongs to the Strix series, a relatively new line of gamer-oriented video cards and game accessories. As with previous Strix boards, the cooler should more or less remind you of the eyes of an owl.