What's so great about the TOP line of cards from ASUS is that they're actually overclocked to a level where a decent performance can be seen. So many companies these days offer an overclock, but a few MHz on the core and a couple on the memory doesn't really equate to that much of a performance increase. All it tends to do is constantly just put it ahead of a reference based card. The TOP line of cards aren't like this, though ASUS seem to put a bit of time and effort into the overclocking process and really find out what exactly the cards are capable of, which in turn tends to make them some of the fastest cards on the market in their category. - TweakTown

ASUS GeForce GTX 260 TOP Graphics Series Review

Today we're looking at the GeForce GTX 260 which is currently only second to the GeForce GTX 280 in the NVIDIA food chain. As usual, ASUS has done an impressive job with the clocks which equates to some nice performance. The front of the box isn't anything we haven't really seen before and is part of the new smaller design that we've been seeing from ASUS for a few releases now. Across the top of the box we have the ASUS logo and motto. To the right we have a picture of a warrior lady. At the bottom of the box we have a mention of the model along with the fact that this is part of the TOP series of cards.

Above that we have some of the main features of the card including 896MB of GDDR3 memory along with some of the exclusive software that ASUS include in the package. Turning the box over, ASUS go into more detail on the features of the card along with a rundown of the software that is included in the package and what exactly it can do. We also have some recommended system specifications and a bit of a note about the power needed for the card. Pulling the card out of the box, you're not greeted by any real surprises. Like all the GeForce GTX 260 cards, the ASUS TOP model carries the same reference cooler.

We've got a bit of a camouflage thing going on and we again see a picture of the female warrior that we saw on the front of the box. Towards the back of the card we have two 6-pin PCI Express power connectors. Further down the card we find our two SLI connectors that let us run up to three of the cards together. As we've already mentioned a few times, the GeForce GTX 260 we have here from ASUS today is overclocked. The core has been increased from the default 576MHz to 650MHz while the shader clock has increased from 1242MHz to 1400MHz and the 896MB of GDDR3 memory has moved from 2000MHz to 2300MHz speeds.

It doesn't come as any real surprise that the GeForce GTX 260 TOP from ASUS performs well when compared to the stock model. Like most high end cards, the gains between the different models aren't really seen until the widescreen resolutions. What this means is that if you're using a monitor that outputs just the normal resolutions it's really not worth spending the extra on an overclocked card that is going to yield no to very little gains. While it would be nice if ASUS started including a full version game again, like they did with some of previous generations high-end models, the added mouse pad and CD wallet are nice.

But we wonder if people are going to actually make use of them. Performance is really what the TOP series of cards are all about, though, and as usual the version we have today does that extremely well. Offering good gains over the stock GeForce GTX 260 at higher resolutions makes the card a good option for people who are looking for something a bit better but don't want to break the bank by moving to a more expensive GeForce GTX 280. There isn't a whole lot to complain about when it comes to the GeForce GTX 260 TOP. It could be a little cheaper, but the higher price tag is really expected from ASUS these days.

Throw in the fact that the GeForce GTX 260 TOP we have here today is one of the highest clocked GeForce GTX 260's and you really can't go wrong. While one of the more expensive GeForce GTX 260's, the card performs great thanks to a massive out of the box overclock. This is one GeForce GTX 260 you won't be dissappointed in.