Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB OC Edition Review
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Tom’s Hardware Verdict
Asus did a great job designing a sharp-looking Radeon RX Vega 64 card that performs better than AMD’s reference implementation. We would have liked to see the company put a thermal pad between its PCB and backplate, though, to counter high board temperatures under load, along with using slightly higher fan speeds. Regardless, the prices of all Radeon RX Vega 64 models remain a little too high for a recommendation at this time.
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Cons
- —
Price is still too high
- —
Temperatures rise in closed cases
- —
Fan speed should be a little higher
- —
Missing a thermal pad between PCB and backplate
Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Today’s best Asus Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB deals
106 Amazon customer reviews
☆☆☆☆☆
No price information
Check Amazon
Features & Specifications
AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 64 is as fast or faster than a GeForce GTX 1080 in our gaming benchmarks. That much is well-established fact. But up until recently, the flagship Vega card was priced well beyond Nvidia’s alternative, making it easy for us to recommend the GeForce instead. Now that Vega 64 is becoming more affordable, though, it’s getting harder to choose between the two high-end options.
The Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB OC Edition we’re reviewing today does cost $70 more than the least expensive Vega 64 model (and $100 more than the cheapest GTX 1080). However, it does add RGB lighting, a big heat sink, quiet fans, a second HDMI port for VR headsets, and high-quality components. In the end, those extras aren’t enough to justify such a big mark-up, particularly when the Radeon desperately needs a price break to secure a competitive advantage.
Specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| GPU (Code-name) | Vega 10 |
| Shader Units | 4096 |
| Base & Boost Clocks | 1630 MHz |
| Memory Size & Type | 8GB HBM2 |
| Memory Clock | 1.89 Gb/s |
| Memory Bandwidth | 484 GB/s |
| Fans | (3) 90mm |
| Ports | (2) HDMI 2.0, (2) DisplayPort 1.4, (1) DL-DVI |
| Power Connectors | (2) 8-pin PCIe |
| Dimensions (LxHxD) | 30.2 x 12.7 x 4.5cm |
| Weight | 1286g |
| Warranty | 3 Years |
Unboxing, Look, & Feel
Weighing in at 1286 grams, this card lands between Gigabyte’s much lighter Radeon RX Vega 64 Gaming OC 8G and the aforementioned behemoth from Sapphire.
Asus goes big on the physical dimensions, too. Its ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB OC Edition measures 30.2cm long, 12.7cm tall, and 4.5cm deep.
- AMD RX Vega 64 at Walmart for $935
Three 90mm fans are mounted in 92mm openings. With their special shape, a total of 11 rotor blades per fan provide airflow and turbulence, rather than just static pressure. This should prove beneficial to Asus’ thermal performance.
The backplate is embossed with an illuminated ROG logo. That plate doesn’t help with cooling at all; it’s primarily meant to look good and give the card some rigidity.
Plan for an extra 5mm of clearance (at least) behind the ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB OC Edition. This may cause problems on some motherboards, particularly if the heat sink/backplate intrude on an occupied expansion slot or large CPU cooler.
As we can see from the bottom, Asus employs vertically-oriented fins. At the expense of occupying a third slot with its 2.
5-slot design, the company does open up more room for airflow.
The dark plastic shroud covers part of the top, creating room for a back-lit ROG logo. Toward the back, you’ll find a pair of eight-pin power connectors that are rotated by 180 degrees and recessed a bit, sitting flush with the PCB.
In addition to five 6mm heat pipes, the board’s closed end reveals two PWM-controlled fan connectors able to accommodate optional case fans, an RGB output, and LED headers.
The rear bracket plays host to five display outputs. A pair of HDMI 2.0 interfaces is ideal for anyone with a VR HMD, while two DisplayPort 1.4 connectors make multi-monitor configurations easy. Dual-link DVI ports aren’t as pervasive as they once were, but Asus still gives you one. Since the card’s cooling fins face up and down, we’re not particularly worried about those five outputs interfering with airflow.
Although Asus’ official documentation claims a 1590 MHz boost clock, GPU-Z reports 1630 MHz.
That specification is mostly wishful thinking though, given a 295W power limit.
In comparison to the relevant reference cards the data looks as follows:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Model | Radeon RX Vega 64 | Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 | Radeon RX Vega 56 | GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | GeForce GTX 1080 |
| GPU | Vega 10 | Vega 10 | Vega 10 | GP104 | GP104 |
| Die Size | 486 mm² | 486 mm² | 486 mm² | 314 mm² | 314 mm² |
| Transistors | 12. 5 billion |
12.5 billion | 12.5 billion | 7.2 billion | 7.2 billion |
| Base/Boost Clock Rate | 1274/1546 MHz | 1274/1630 MHz | 1156/1471 MHz | 1607/1683 MHz | 1607/1733 MHz |
| Shaders/SIMDs | 4096/64 | 4096/64 | 3584/56 | 2432/19 | 2560/20 |
| Texture Units/ROPS | 256/64 | 256/64 | 224/64 | 152/64 | 160/64 |
| Pixel Fill Rate | 99 GPix/s | 104 GPix/s | 94 GPix/s | 108 GPix/s | 114 GPix/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 396 GT/s | 417 GT/s | 330 GT/s | 244 GT/s | 257. 1 GT/s |
| Memory Interface | 2048-bit | 2048-bit | 2048-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Type | HBM2 | HBM2 | HBM2 | GDDR5 | GDDR5X |
| Memory Bandwidth | 484 GB/s | 484 GB/s | 410 GB/s | 256 GB/s | 320 GB/s |
| Memory Speed | 1.89 Gb/s | 1.89 Gb/s | 1.6 Gb/s | 8 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s |
| Memory Size | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| DX12 Feature Level | 12_1 | 12_1 | 12_1 | 12_1 | 12_1 |
| PCIe Power Connectors | 2x 8-Pin | 2x 8-Pin | 2x 8-Pin | 1x 8-pin | 1x 8-pin |
| TDP | 295W | 295W | 210W | 180W | 180W |
Test System & Measurement Methods
We introduced our new test system and methodology in How We Test Graphics Cards.
If you’d like more detail about our general approach, check that piece out. We’ve upgraded the CPU and the cooling system since then to make sure that nothing’s holding back graphics cards as fast as this one.
The hardware used in our lab includes:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Test System | |
| Hardware | Intel Core i7-6900K @ 4.3 GHzMSI X99S XPower Gaming TitaniumCorsair Vengeance DDR4-32001x 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 (M.2, System SSD)2x 960GB Toshiba OCZ TR150 (Storage, Images)be quiet Dark Power Pro 11, 850W PSUWindows 10 Pro (All Updates) |
| Cooling | Alphacool Eisblock XPX5x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 PWM (Closed Case Simulation)Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (Used when Switching Coolers) |
| Case | Lian Li PC-T70 with Extension Kit and ModsConfigurations: Open Benchtable, Closed Case |
| Monitor | Eizo EV3237-BK |
| Power Consumption Measurement | Contact-free DC Measurement at PCIe Slot (Using a Riser Card)Contact-free DC Measurement at External Auxiliary Power Supply CableDirect Voltage Measurement at Power Supply2 x Rohde & Schwarz HMO 3054, 500 MHz Digital Multi-Channel Oscilloscope with Storage Function4 x Rohde & Schwarz HZO50 Current Probe (1mA — 30A, 100 kHz, DC)4 x Rohde & Schwarz HZ355 (10:1 Probes, 500 MHz) 1 x Rohde & Schwarz HMC 8012 Digital Multimeter with Storage Function |
| Thermal Measurement | 1 x Optris PI640 80 Hz Infrared Camera + PI Connect Real-Time Infrared Monitoring and Recording |
| Noise Measurement | NTI Audio M2211 (with Calibration File, Low Cut at 50Hz) Steinberg UR12 (with Phantom Power for Microphones) Creative X7, Smaart v. 7 Custom-Made Proprietary Measurement Chamber, 3.5 x 1.8 x 2.2m (L x D x H) Perpendicular to Center of Noise Source(s), Measurement Distance of 50cm Noise Level in dB(A) (Slow), Real-time Frequency Analyzer (RTA) Graphical Frequency Spectrum of Noise |
MORE: Best Graphics Cards
MORE: Desktop GPU Performance Hierarchy Table
MORE: All Graphics Content
AMD RX Vega 64: Price Comparison
106 Amazon customer reviews
☆☆☆☆☆
No price information
Check Amazon
powered by
- 1
Current page:
Features & Specifications
Next Page Board & Power Supply
ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 OC Gaming Review
Rakesh Sharma
Dec 16, 2017 4045
ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 OC Gaming Review
ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 OC Gaming Review
In August this year AMD Radeon officially released their new AMD Radeon Vega family of graphics card in India and AMD Radeon India, gave us the opportunity to have a hands on experience and tests the AMD Radeon Vega graphics card.
Whole coverage of the event is here.
Since then we were waiting to get our hands on a custom RX Vega graphics card. And today thanks to ASUS India, we are reviewing our first custom AMD Vega 64 graphics card, the ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 8G OC Gaming card.
With Strix triple fan cooling solution and a custom PCB design from ASUS, let’s see find out what more this card offers against the AMD Reference design.
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 reference design.
Features
- 1590 MHz Boost Clock (OC Mode) featuring 8GB HBM2 memory with AMD’s Vega architecture
- ASUS Aura Sync RGB lighting provides a nearly endless spectrum of colors with the ability to synchronize effects across an ever-expanding ecosystem of ASUS Aura Sync enabled products
- MaxContact plus Auto-Extreme manufacturing technology delivers 2X more GPU to heatsink contact for increased cooling efficiency and premium quality aerospace-grade Super Alloy Power II components
- Patented wing-blade 0dB fans with FanConnect II maximizes cooling performance using three axial fans to deliver 105% more air pressure and dual 4-pin headers for referencing chassis fans to GPU temperatures
- GPU Tweak II makes monitoring performance and streaming easier than ever, featuring Game Booster and a free 1-year premium license of XSplit Gamecaster
40% More Heat Dissipation Area
Up to 30% Cooler and 3X Quieter Gaming Performance
New ROG Strix graphics are constructed with a 2.
5-slot width, providing 40% more heat sink surface area for heat dissipation compared to previous 2-slot designs for dramatically cooler and quieter performance.
MaxContact Technology
2X More Contact with GPU for Improved Thermal Transfer
MaxContact is an industry-first GPU cooling technology, featuring an enhanced copper heat spreader that directly contacts the GPU. MaxContact utilizes precision machining to provide a surface that makes up to 2X more contact with the GPU than traditional heat spreaders, resulting in improved thermal transfer.
Patented Wing-Blade Design
Max Air Flow with 105% More Air Pressure
Patented wing-blade fans delivers maximum air flow and 105% greater static pressure over the heat sink, while operating at an up to 3X quieter volume than reference cards.
IP5X-Certified Dust Resistance
Longer Fan Lifespan
The fans in ROG Strix graphics cards are certified under the International Protection Marking (IP code) as IP5X dust resistant for improved reliability and a longer lifespan.
This stringent certification process ensures ROG Strix graphics cards provide optimal fan performance, even under severe conditions.
ASUS FanConnect II
Optimal System Cooling
ASUS FanConnect II features two 4-pin, hybrid-controlled headers that can be connected to both PWM and DC system fans for optimal system cooling. The connected fans reference both the GPU and CPU, operating automatically based on the one with the higher temperature. A comprehensive set of tuning options allow you to tune fan speeds for efficient cooling.
ASUS Aura Sync
Outshine The Competition
Featuring Aura RGB Lighting on both the shroud and backplate, ROG Strix graphics cards are capable of displaying millions of colors and six different effects for a personalized gaming system. ROG Strix graphics cards also feature ASUS Aura Sync, RGB LED synchronization technology that enables complete gaming system personalization when the graphics card is paired with an Aura-enabled gaming motherboard.
VR-friendly HDMI Ports
Easily Enjoy Immersive Virtual Reality Experience
ROG Strix graphics cards have two HDMI ports for connecting a VR device and display at the same time, so you can enjoy immersive virtual reality experiences anytime without having to swap cables.
GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster
Intuitive Performance Tweaking
Redesigned with an intuitive, all-new UI, GPU Tweak II makes overclocking easier and more visual than ever, while still retaining advanced options for seasoned overclockers. With one click, the new Gaming Booster function maximizes system performance by removing redundant processes and allocating all available resources automatically.
Specifications
Package
The STRIX RX Vega 64 comes in a box securely packaged with actual product picture and STRIX graphics and features highlights on front and the back of the box.
Inside the box
Along with the GFX card box also includes Software installation CD, quick start guide one PCI-e power cable and two ROG Velcro cable tie straps.
Looks
Card is having great looks with complete black theme. In front we have a big triple fan cooling with patented wing-blade fans mounted on to the new maxcontact technology heatsink.
Back of the card have a thick back-plate with complete coverage of the PCB. Beside etched graphics backplate also have a large ‘Republic of Gamers’ logo with RGB lighting which can be fully customized.
Due to the thick cooling solution card is a 2.5 slot design, but you will need 3 standard slots available to accommodate the card inside your PC.
This Strix card features 2 X 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, which along with the PCI-E lane’s power provides this card with an over 395w of power.
At the rear of the card we have lot of connectivity options consisting of 2 X DisplayPort 1.4 connections, 2 X HDMI 2.0 ports and a DVI-D connector.
On the case inside end of the card we can see the new Asus Fanconnect II headers – a unique feature allowing you to connect two 4-pin CPU / GPU PWM-controlled fans instead of plugging them into your motherboard.
Inside
Removing the heatsink reveals all nickel plated cooling solution with six copper pipe fused onto a big copper base which is finely milled to give the GPU silicon perfect flat contact with the heatsink. Whole PCB is given rigidity with strong aluminum frame.
As you may notice this PCB don’t look like a regular graphics card PCB, with a big GPU chip surrounded by lot of memory module chips. This is indeed a first glimpse of how our graphics cards will look in near future. AMD with its Vega GPU lineup has introduced a new way of reducing memory latency by installing two high speed HBM2 memory silicon alongside Vega 10 GPU core onto a single GPU package.
Below you can see two HBM2 memory silicon alongside Vega 10 GPU core. This is a retail card not a review sample, so you can clearly see that whole GPU package is having a uniform contact area with cooler. Whereas on some sites with review sample reported of the lower sitting HBM2 stacks than the main GPU core.
Rest of PCB looks empty, holding only power delivery and output circuitry. Main power section is having a 11 Phase designed power section using International Rectifier’s IR 3555M a integrated PowIRstage® contains a synchronous buck gate driver IC which is co-packed with control and synchronous MOSFETs and a Schottky diode to further improve efficiency and each phase has output current capability of 60A. Power controller used in the custom design is an International Rectifier IR35217 chip.
Testing
Test system configuration —
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 1700 |
| Board | AORUS AX370 Gaming 5 |
| RAM | 2 X 8GB Vengeance LPX DDR4 3600Mhz |
| SSD | SAMSUNG 830 SSD |
| Cooler | CORSAIR GTX h200i |
| GFX | ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 |
| PSU | Corsair RM650x |
| Display | Asus PB287Q |
| OS | Windows 10 |
Benchmarks
Temperatures
Room Temperature: 30C
In idle, the temperature is real good and at full load running 3D Mark Time Spy temperature was ok and fans were not loud at all.
Power Consumption
Wattage reading as per displayed by APC Pro 1000VA (Model no. BR1000G-IN) UPS.
Pros
- Nice 4K Performance
- Fan turns off on idle
- Factory overclocked
- Very quiet
- Attractive looks
- Excellent build quality
- Back plate
- RGB lighting
- Extra fan connectors
Cons
- Slight high power consumption side.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a great gaming experience than this card will never beat a 1080Ti. But if you are an AMD fan boy with a FreeSync monitor and want to get best gaming experience with AMD, than the ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 OC Gaming graphics card is one of the best custom RX Vega 64 graphics card out there.
The market pricing and availability of this card is little un-speculated likely due to extremely high demand due to mining, but if you can find one with right price than the ASUS ROG STRIX RX Vega 64 OC Gaming graphics card is our choice for the red team and worthy of our PC TeK Reviews CHOICE Award.
Manufacturers Info
Site Link
Thanks.
Overview of ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 OC
Video cards Radeon RX Vega were quite long-awaited for fans of the «red» camp. Many hoped for a more pleasant price tag than that of a competitor, someone expected the highest level of performance, miners in anticipation of the RX Vega 64 saw it as a “gold mine”. However, RX Vega 64 can already be found on store shelves but only in a reference version, and while other manufacturers are dozing, ASUS introduced a non-reference version of the ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC Edition. As the tests of my colleagues show, the reference RX Vega 64 turned out to be quite hot and noisy, so it is doubly interesting to look at the first non-reference design.
Specifications
| Graphics core | RX Vega 64 |
| Process technology | 14 nm |
| GPU frequency MHz | 1630 MHz(Boost) |
| Stream processors | 4096 |
| Texture blocks | 256 |
| Raster pipelines | 64 |
| Memory type | HBM2 |
| Memory bus width | 2. 048 bits |
| Memory size | 8 GB |
| Memory frequency | 94 5MHz |
| DirectX\OpenGL\Shader Model | 12.1\4.5\ 5.0 |
| Interfaces | One Dual Link DVI, two HDMI and two DisplayPort |
| TDP | 295W |
| Page on the manufacturer’s website | https://www.asus.com/ ru/Graphics-Cards/ROG-STRIX-RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING/ |
Packing and contents
ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC is packed in a fairly large box, the dimensions of which seem to hint at the impressive size of the video card itself. In addition to large dimensions, the box received a very colorful and informative design. The video card itself is depicted on its front side, as well as a fairly large emphasis is placed on the red design, which immediately makes it clear that we are talking about an AMD family video accelerator, and a huge V sign will make it clear and irrevocably that this is the long-awaited RX Vega.
In the back parts of the package describe the main technical characteristics and main marketing features of the video card. The delivery set is not rich:
- installation and configuration instructions;
- driver disc;
- adapter from two 6-pin to one 8-pin connector;
- two cable ties.
Appearance, circuit board, cooling system
Externally, ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC has the traditional design for the ROG Strix series: the same strict design with chopped shapes, which can play with different colors thanks to ASUS Aura backlight. The casing of the video card is quite massive and made of plastic. A metal backplate is installed on the back of the card, on which the Republic of Gamers logo is clearly visible. A backplate is always good, because it protects the video card both from mechanical damage and prevents the PCB from bending, because the entire cooling system weighs quite a lot. only digital and it will no longer be possible to connect an old VGA monitor through an adapter.
It’s also nice that the card has two HDMIs and is convenient for connecting VR headsets. On the back side there is a connector for connecting an LED strip so that it glows in unison with the video card, and there are also two connectors for connecting case fans, respectively, their rotation speed will depend on the temperature of the video card, and not on the temperature of the processor. The side view of the video card makes it possible to externally assess the useful area of the radiator of the cooling system, but in general, the video card occupies 2.5 expansion slots due to the massive cooling system, which is simply necessary for RX Vega 64. Active elements cooling systems are three at once 90 mm fans with an optimized shape of the impeller that creates optimal airflow and IPX5 dust protection. a coating that does not impair heat dissipation, but at the same time protects the tubes from oxidation (darkening), as is the case with ordinary copper tubes. Contact with the graphics chip is not direct, but it passes through an almost perfectly polished and smooth area, it is also worth mentioning that the RX Vega 64 crystal carries both the graphics chip and the HBM2 memory on the same substrate, so the memory is also cooled from this area.
Considering the power-hungry nature of the Radeon RX Vega 64 chip compared to the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti OC, the VRM zone cooling system has been redesigned for the better. Now the heat from the power phases is taken through the thermal pad directly to the radiator. A small radiator is also installed on the reinforcing metal plate to cool the two power phases of the memory modules. The reference uses two 8-pin power connectors at once, which, together with the PCI-e slot, can provide up to 375 watts. The power system is called Super Alloy Power II and is recruited exclusively from high-quality components.
Backlight effects
ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC is equipped with bright backlight near the fans, which is great if you have a case that allows you to install a video card parallel to the motherboard, and if not, then you don’t have to be upset, the Republic of Gamers logo is highlighted on the side side and on the backplate. An example of the backlight is shown below.
The backlight is configured in the ASUS Aura application of the same name. It is possible to work in the modes: constant glow, breathing, flash, cyclic switching of colors, pulsations to music, color changes depending on temperature.
Of course, the most spectacular mode is the color cycling, and don’t forget that the ASUS Aura backlight can be synchronized between ASUS devices and other ASUS Aura-certified devices. At the moment, the ASUS Aura backlight system is one of the most customizable and supported by manufacturers.
Testing
Test bench
| Processor | Intel Core i7 — 7740X | |
| CPU cooler | Alphacool Eisbaer 420 | |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Strix X299-E Gaming | |
| RAM | ||
| Video card | ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 OC | |
| HDD | WD Red 2TB | |
| SSD | GeiL Zenith R3 120GB | Power supply | SeaSonic Snow Silent 750W |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Pro | |
Gaming performance
AMD Radeon driver version 17.
10.1. The video card was used in factory OC mode.
All tests in games were carried out at maximum graphics settings in 4K without anti-aliasing. The Intel Core i7-7740X processor was overclocked to 4.9 GHz, just in case.
FPS capture was done by Fraps application within 2 minutes of the game without using built-in benchmarks, a real gameplay test, everything we like.
At the time of testing the RX Vega 64, there were no powerful video cards in the editorial office for comparison, so this is a test without loud conclusions, but in general we can say that the miracle did not happen and the top RX Vega lags behind the GTX 1080 Ti and struggles with the GTX 1080 for a place in the sun, losing or, conversely, winning from project to project. Tests in 4K show that, unfortunately, it will not work to achieve the coveted 60 FPS at maximum graphics settings and you will have to be content with either lowered settings or be confident in the game without lags in 2K resolution.
Overclocking and operating temperatures
The average temperature of the graphics chip in idle is 48°C, and the video card is not audible at all, because its fans start to turn on as soon as the chip temperature exceeds 55°C. ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC is calibrated to be as quiet as possible even with decent factory overclocking to 1630 MHz core and 945 MHz memory. But even with such a factory boost, the temperature in The Witcher 3 at 4K and at extreme quality did not rise above 77 ° C, at that time the temperature in the room was 26-28 ° C, and the fan speed rose to 1200 rpm. Despite three fans at once and fairly high maximum speeds, ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC remains almost silent. The ideal speed at which the video card is not audible in a closed case is 1200-1300 rpm, and at maximum speed, let’s say, they asked for it themselves, the noise reaches 49dB with the background noise of the room 28 dB, but not a single benchmark can warm up the card so that it spins the fans so that the cooling system still has a good margin.
It is worth noting here that the video card driver sometimes gave completely incorrect data to GPU-Z. The overclocking potential of the video card is great, without much difficulty, ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC reached a frequency of 1700 MHz for the core and 1100 MHz for memory. But to work at such frequencies, you need to take care of lowering the operating temperature and set the fan speed forcibly to 90% of the maximum speed, and in this mode, the acoustic noise is no less than that of the reference, so there is not much sense in such overclocking, all the advantage of a non-reference design is lost. However, ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC is optimally overclocked from the factory.
Software
As an additional software, ASUS offers its own GPU Tweak II utility — this program is convenient for monitoring and fine-tuning the video card, as well as creating your own work profiles. To control the backlight modes, the manufacturer has provided ASUS Aura software.
Impressions and conclusions
Speaking specifically about the ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC, this is an excellent non-reference solution that got rid of the “childish” diseases of the reference version of the RX Vega 64.
Vega performed by ASUS turned out to be both noticeably quieter and colder than the reference factory design, there are no complaints specifically against ASUS in this regard.
There are questions only to the Radeon RX Vega itself. This is noticeably overpriced nutrition and poor optimization for some game projects. Of course, RX Vega 64 is an entry into the Hi-End segment of video cards, but, in general, it does not have overwhelming advantages over competitors, for example, an excellent non-reference solution, for example, the same ASUS ROG Stris GeForce GTX 1080 OC — and consumes less , and costs less, and is not inferior in performance.
In general, the Radeon RX Vega 64 looks like a solution for ardent fans of the “red” camp, but the ASUS ROG Stris RX Vega 64 OC is an excellent non-reference solution that deserves attention.
ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 64 OC wins «Best Choice» non-reference Radeon RX Vega 64 award. : Test & Review: ASUS ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition — Alternative Design Graphics Card
We’ve been waiting a long time for the first Radeon RX Vega 64 with an alternative design, but the card has finally arrived in our test lab.
ASUS was the first to introduce a corresponding video card, and we were the first to have it. It will be very interesting to see what improvements ASUS has been able to make with the ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition graphics card, what advantages we will get compared to the reference version.
Video cards Radeon RX Vega 64 and Vega 56 have been waiting for a very long time, the expectations of users were very high. We published a test of the reference version, where we also disassembled the Vega architecture. We also conducted additional tests of High Bandwidth Memory Controller, cryptocurrency mining and overclocking. Finally, the reduced voltage test gave some very interesting results.
But before we get into the graphics card review, let me say a few words about the situation around the alternate design Radeon RX Vega models. At Computex, some AMD partners were talking about the graphics cards being available in September or October. As usual, at first only video cards came out in reference versions.
We expected AMD partners to ship their graphics cards with a slight delay after the reference releases. But this did not happen.
The only graphics card announced so far is the ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition. It is available in the final design, but ASUS explained to us that it will not be possible to buy a video card before October. Moreover, it is not entirely clear what is meant: the beginning, middle or end of October. For the ROG Strix Radeon Vega 56, no date has been given at all.
In the meantime, we have received comments from some AMD partners about the status of alternative design models. Apparently, AMD planned to start shipping GPUs to its partners from September 11th so they could start producing graphics cards with alternative designs. But AMD has delayed deliveries indefinitely. Partners are still in a state of confusion, because they do not know when I can start producing video cards.
But back to the ASUS ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition video card.
As usual, we’ll start with the specs.
| Model: | ASUS ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition | |
| Price: | — | |
| Manufacturer website: | ASUS ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition (ROG-STRIX-RXVEGA64-O8G-GAMING) | |
| Technical information | ||
|---|---|---|
| GPU: | Vega 10 | |
| Process: | 14 nm | |
| Number of transistors: | 12.5 billion | |
| GPU clock speed (base) | 1.298 MHz | |
| GPU Clock Speed (Boost) | 1.630 MHz | |
| Memory frequency | 945 MHz | |
| Memory type | HBM2 | |
| Memory size | 8GB | |
| Memory bus width | 2.048 bit | |
| Memory bandwidth | 484 GB/s | |
| DirectX Version | 12_1 | |
| Stream Processors | 4. 096 |
|
| Texture blocks | 256 | |
| Raster Operations Pipelines (ROP) | 64 | |
| Typical power consumption: | — | |
| SLI/CrossFire | CrossFire | |
Recall that AMD set rather aggressive Boost frequencies for its reference versions, which were never achieved in practice. You could count on frequencies between 1.400 and 1.536 MHz, but no more. ASUS for the ROG Strix Radeon RX Vega 64 OC Edition has set the Boost frequency to 1.630 MHz, so it will be very interesting to see how the video card performs under load.
Otherwise, we did not receive technical distinctions in architecture. The Vega 10 GPU is used, which is manufactured using a 14nm process technology and contains 12.5 billion transistors. There are 4,096 stream processors available on the chip, running at the clock speeds mentioned above. Also available are 256 texture units and 64 raster operation pipelines.
Note also the technical novelty of the Vega generation — 8 GB of HBM2 memory, which are connected via a 2.048-bit bus. With a clock speed of 945 MHz, we get a memory bandwidth of 484 GB / s.
Before we move on to the video card, let me give you the results of clock speeds under different loads. Thanks to the Boost mechanisms, graphics cards dynamically change clock speeds, so it is quite important to evaluate the real frequencies under load.
GPU-Z screenshot confirms ASUS ROG Strix Radeon Vega 64 OC Edition technical specifications.
| Game | Temperature | Frequency |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 78 °C | 1.560 MHz |
| Rise of the Tomb Raider | 79 °C | 1.470MHz |
| Hitman | 79 °C | 1.
|