Asus Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC review

EYEFINITY GAMING

Even budget cards can cope with outputting the Windows desktop to multiple monitors, which is great if you need to compare documents, edit video or have a web browser open while you work, but they tend to struggle when playing games over multiple monitors.

This is partially the case with the Radeon HD 7790, which failed our Crysis 2 test at a resolution of 5,760×1,080 with quality options set to Ultra, scoring an average frame rate of just 8.4fps. Dropping the quality to Very High resulted in an improved average frame rate of 19fps, which is technically a pass, but it’s still too jerky for comfort.

Yet the card coped well with less graphically challenging games such as Dirt Showdown, where it returned an average frame rate of 24.7fps at Ultra quality, rising to a very playable 43.4fps at High quality.

These results are again very similar to those returned by the Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X OC, with the Sapphire model scoring slightly higher in some tests and slightly lower in others. The results also show the card is capable of good, multi-monitor gaming in Eyefinity mode as long as you stick to less graphically demanding titles and are willing to compromise on detail settings.

We love the Asus Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC because it lets you play the latest games without spending a fortune, it currently costs more than the Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X OC and doesn’t have as many accessories in the box, so isn’t as good value. Even so, it’s still a great card that performs as well as the Sapphire model and is still a Best Buy.