one of the party pieces of the Direct CU line has been the upgraded cooling and power control capabilites, while they don't usually up the clock they leave it to the end user or enthusiast to do that bit, and usually with quite good results. Having a few of the early directCu offerings pass through my hands. I can say the results are usually quite pleasing and easy to work with.
Though at the same time EVGA continues to have a very appetizing offering. TiN is a freak of nature, and you know that anything he puts work into is gonna perform quite a bit above expectations. I would be surprised if TiN didn't have at least some input into the design of this card. Since VGA power seems to be one of his party pieces.