Power, Temperature and Noise
The reference GTX 980 is the pick of the bunch when it comes to power efficiency, and the card's chart-topping position highlights one disadvantage to factory-overclocked derivatives: they lose some of that energy-efficient appeal. The Asus card slots in nearer the middle of the stack.
There hasn't been a lot to separate the Asus and Gigabyte GTX 980s thus far. The Gigabyte is a fraction quicker in most games, power consumption is about on par, as is under-load temperature. Notice how the Asus card is slightly warmer when idle? That's down to 0dB Fan Technology, whereby the fans turn off completely when core temperature is low.
Is this the graph that poses the biggest challenge to manufacturers? You could argue that high shipping frequencies aren't all that difficult to achieve, but combining low temperatures with very little noise requires extra thought, and it's a crucial component when you consider how well Nvidia's reference cooler performs.
The good news for Asus is that the Strix excels in this department. The card is silent when idle and the fans aren't too boisterous when called into action. Granted, it concedes a little ground in terms of frequency when compared to other overclocked GTX 980s, but on the flip side Asus's card is admirably quiet. Gigabyte's G1 Gaming feels loud in comparison.
