With Gigabyte, MSI and Sapphire all releasing high-end, pre-overclocked HD 5870 cards, it was only a matter of time until ASUS joined in on the party. Released under the Republic of Gamers series, their HD 5870 Matrix comes in two flavors: a base model with a boatload of features and a Platinum Edition that adds an overclocked core into the mix. In this review we take a look at the flagship Platinum card and find out if its asking price of $500 is justified.