NVIDIA recently unveiled its GTX 770 GPU. Sitting between the GTX 680 and GTX 780, the Geforce GTX 770 is a refined GK104 with higher clockspeeds and improved GPU boost. It features 1536 CUDA cores and a 256-bit memory bus.

While the stock GTX 770 comes clocked at 1046 MHz base and 1085 MHz boost, ASUS is factory overclocking its DirectCU II OC card with a maximum boost GPU clockspeed of 1110 MHz. The 2GB of GDDR5 memory on the card will come clocked at 7010 MHz.

The differentiating factor here (aside from the overclock) is the custom DirectCU II cooler. ASUS has fitted the overclocked GTX 770 with a DirectCU cooler that uses copper heatpipes that directly contact the GPU and attach to an aluminum fin stack. The heatsink is, in turn, cooled by two 80mm fans. ASUS claims that the GTX 770 DirectCU II OC is up to 20% cooler and three-times quieter than the referrence NVIDIA cooler. Other features include a 10-phase DIGI+ VRM, and “Super Alloy Power” capacitors, chokes, and MOSFETs. The dual slot card is 10.7” long and includes two DL-DVI, one HDMI, and one DisplayPort video ouptut. ASUS' GPU Tweak software will allow users to adjust core and memory clockspeeds, voltage, fan speeds, and the power control target.

The ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC is shipping now and will be available at retailers soon. In fact, the card is avaiable at Newegg right now for just under $410.

Read more about NVIDIA's GTX 770 GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Review – GK104 Speed Bump @ PC Perspective!