Msi radeon rx 5700 xt 8gb review: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X Review

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Review

The «Navi» line, as AMD’s next-gen video cards have long been termed, took a while to arrive, but early returns say that AMD is clawing its way back into contention. The $399 Radeon RX 5700 XT is the upper of two new graphics cards, based on a 7-nanometer (7nm) production process, that aim to muffle the thunder Nvidia has been enjoying in the midrange market for so long. And after running it through our benchmarks, this card does so with gusto. It runs a bit hotter than its Nvidia counterparts (the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 Supers), and its early overclocking results leave something to be desired. But aside from that, the RX 5700 XT is an encouraging card that, thanks in part to a sudden prerelease price drop, gets AMD to a better place than it’s been for years. Midrange graphics card shoppers hungry to see some competition will be pleased.

RDNA Architecture: A New Beginning

Lower power requirements. Better performance per watt. Less cooling needed to maintain healthy GPU temperatures. These are the promises of AMD’s new 7nm Radeon DNA (RDNA) architecture, a long-overdue overhaul to the Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture that had been powering AMD cards, in different forms, since all the way back to 2012. The Navi cards’ launch on July 7 (7/7), alongside the company’s first 7nm Ryzen CPUs (among them the Editors’ Choice winning Ryzen 9 3900X), was engineered to commemorate the new process technology and architecture.

First, that power bit. AMD cards have long tended to be the hotter, louder, and power-hungrier cards at any given level made by the two major GPU manufacturers, but the Navi cards show gains here. As a direct comparison, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT needs only 225 watts of power at peak operation, versus the 295 watts that its predecessor card, the 2017-era Radeon RX Vega 64, requires to keep trucking.

Overall, AMD has promised that its new RDNA-based cards offer 1.5 times the performance per watt over any cards built on top of the GCN architecture. Another impressive AMD claim: It offers 2.3 times the «performance per area,» with the 14nm Vega 10 chips taking up 495mm2 of space on a die, while this first round of Navi cards, based off the new 7nm manufacturing process and built around RDNA, need only 251mm2 of space.

Similar Products

4.0

Excellent

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super

4.0

Excellent

MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Armor

3.5

Good

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64

4.0

Excellent

AMD Radeon RX Vega 56

4.5

Outstanding

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super

4.0

Excellent

MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Gaming X 6G

Also on the menu, albeit a side item: PCI Express 4.0. PCI Express 3.0 has been a staple on PC motherboards for so long that the advent of a new PCI Express spec is something of a watershed moment, even if 4.0 won’t matter for video cards for some time to come. Cards released on RDNA will be fully PCI Express 4.0-compatible, and the spec delivers tantalizing potential throughput improvements (a peak possible throughput of 22Gbps, versus 13Gbps with PCI Express 3. 0), on a theoretical level.How much does this matter to GPUs, specifically? For games, not much. Cards weren’t bottlenecked under PCI Express 3.0, and there isn’t a AAA title on the market (even a killer-harsh one like Metro: Exodus) that would know what to do with all that 4.0 bandwidth. The early scuttlebutt is that creative workloads and their associated software suites (such as DaVinci or Maya) might see the greatest gains from PCI Express 4.0 in the coming years. It’s not a factor for gamers, for now, and 4.0 is only a feature at the moment on new AMD X570-based motherboards. It’s nice to know the new Radeons are ready for the future, but they’ll work fine on existing PCI Express 3.0 motherboards.

Other notable improvements with RDNA include an all-new multi-level cache hierarchy, which, in a nutshell, reduces the latency at each level of the instruction process. That, according to AMD, leads to an improvement of 1.25 times performance per clock cycle.

Overall, RDNA offers just the kind of refinements and improvements you would expect from an architecture refresh seven years in the making, and it looks poised to give AMD a fighting shot at taking on Nvidia’s competing cards on the key metric of price-to-performance ratio.

Do these first cards succeed? Let’s dig in into the first «Navi» performance numbers, right after we talk pricing, and I take you on a tour of the first RX 5700 XT card to stop into PC Labs. (Chip architecture isn’t the only thing seeing improvements around AMD’s workshops, either. Check out our our review of the Radeon RX 5700to see what the company has been up to on the software side of things. I didn’t want to repeat all of that here, as both reviews run rather long, and you should check both of them out if you’re seriously considering either card.)

First, a Word on Pricing: What Happened?

Those of you who have been keeping a close eye on the run-up to the release of these cards might be asking yourselves: «Wait, wasn’t the RX 5700 XT supposed to be more than $400?»

Yup, it was. Then last week happened.

On July 2, Nvidia launched its rumored GeForce RTX Super line in a classic surprise attack, dropping a neutron bomb in the middle of AMD’s video-card launch plans. AMD had already announced pricing at E3on its first two Radeon RX Navi cards: $449 for the Radeon RX 5700 XT, and $379 for the Radeon RX 5700, as well as $499 for a special, limited RX 5700 XT Anniversary Edition (basically, a dialed-up version of the vanilla RX 5700 XT).

Nvidia’s Super pricing mandated some quick counter-shuffling. The GeForce RTX 2060 Super (starting at $399) and the RTX 2070 Super (starting at $499) launched, and a few days later, AMD decided it was done playing to Nvidia’s hand. It dropped the price on all three of its new cards only two days before they were due to hit the street: The RX 5700 XT Anniversary Edition fell from $499 to $449, the non-Anniversary Radeon RX 5700 XT (the card I’m looking at here) went from $449 to $399, and the Radeon RX 5700 dropped from $379 to $349.

Did AMD plan this late price drop all along? (It probably had it in its back pocket.) Was it a result of Nvidia’s Super launch? (Who can say for sure? AMD’s CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, for sure. ) Either way, in the case of the Radeon RX 5700 XT, the price drop directly pits the card against the new $399 Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super, a fight that AMD originally planned against the non-Super RTX 2070.

That was a lot of drama for one week, before anyone even got a chance to assess the cards! Okay, let’s take a closer look at the card.

Hey, Who Dropped My Video Card?

You can see it, we can see it: Yeah, that’s a big dent.

Right in the middle of the Radeon RX 5700 XT reference card we have on hand, a large dent breaks up an otherwise perfect rectangular block. Of course, it’s intentional. But I’m undecided whether it’s a cool modern-art touch, or if it just suggests that someone at the factory whacked the card on something hard before boxing it up. (The vibe is a bit of both, really.) Whatever you think of it, it’s unlike any card design to date.

Now, bear in mind that this card I have on hand is a reference board from AMD. What that means: The initial Radeon RX 5700 XT cards that most consumers can buy will be made in the same image (and spec loadout) as this card, by AMD’s third-party card partners.

So far, all of the RX 5700 XT card chassis I have seen have adhered to the dented reference cooler and body: Asrock, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Sapphire, XFX, and others. It will be interesting to see if and when AMD’s board partners retain the dent in future partner-card versions of the RX 5700 XT that may not adhere to the reference specs, or go all-out with their own cooling designs. We suspect the latter approach. Custom versions of the RX 5700 cards are expected in mid-August.

Anyone who has seen the inside of a gaming laptop knows that, sometimes, angled copper channels are laid down to more effectively move and radiate the heat they carry in a specific direction. Though I won’t be ripping the shroud off our review sample of the Radeon RX 5700 XT to theorize whether that kind of thing is in play here, AMD’s marketing around the card points to the dent with a description titled «vapor chamber cooling.» It wouldn’t be unthinkable to suggest that this design element is in some way related to keeping the card within workable temperatures.

Either way, aside from the dent, much of what we can see about the design of the RX 5700 XT is visible on its shell. In this reference design, the company has returned to the blower design that remained so contentious in the AMD fanbase for so many years. On the one hand, the benefit of the blower design is its exceptional thermal exhaust routing, which ensures the hot air coming off your GPU’s heatsink gets pushed out the back of the PC, rather than swirling into the case like dual- and tri-fan designs would. A non-blower design requires more care on the PC upgrader’s part that airflow in the chassis is up to snuff.

The compromise (until now, evidently) was noise. The blower fans would always be significantly louder than a standard fan design done right, the former sometimes pumping out upward of 20 more decibels than the latter, depending on the manufacturer. This became a sticking point for some buyers, but AMD claims its new blower design has addressed this issue.

In testing, I found that in an environment that read a baseline of 43. 1dB, the Radeon RX 5700 XT would top out at 61.2dB with the meter two feet away from the closed case. That’s not a quiet fan by any stretch, but it is a quieter one than what came before it on AMD cards like the Radeon RX Vega 64.

Powering the card and its blower is a two-piece power connector. You’ll need one six-pin and one eight-pin lead from your power supply, while the back of the double-slot Radeon RX 5700 XT features three DisplayPort 1.4b outputs and one HDMI 2.0 out.

All the reference cards I saw from third parties on launch day had the same port loadout. Notably not present is a USB Type-C/VirtualLink port (intended for future VR headsets) like we’ve seen on some late-model GeForce RTX cards, such as the GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Specs Compared: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs. AMD Radeon RX Vega 64

To start, we’re going to be comparing the specs of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 to the card that AMD most likely intends for it to replace in its own line: the Radeon RX Vega 64. (There’s no official word yet on whether production of the Vega 64 will cease as AMD moves into the RDNA era, but I know where I’d place my bet.)

Here, the most obvious difference is in the fabrication process and the architecture, both of which have been vastly changed from the Vega 64 into the Radeon RX 5700 XT. This includes lower power requirements, a cheaper introductory price, and the move from 8GB of HBM2 memory to 8GB of GDDR6. (HBM supplies were often prone to scarcity; I suspect moving to GDDR6, which is what Nvidia also uses on its latest-gen cards, gives AMD some breathing room on sourcing it.)

Specs Compared: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs. Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070

In all the materials I saw touting the performance of the Radeon RX 5700 XT before its launch, AMD pitted the card against Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2070as a point of comparison. Note that that’s the vanilla, reference RTX 2070, not the GeForce RTX 2070 Super that went on sale July 9, or the GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition (which, contrary to first impressions, is actually an overclocked card sold by Nvidia, not a reference board).

Before the various July launches, reference RTX 2070 cards started at $499; the Radeon RX 5700 XT was then slated to come in at $449. Now, RTX 2070 Super cards start at $499, and we’ll see what the market does with the non-Super RTX 2070 cards still available. (According to Nvidia, the RTX 2070 Super replaces the vanilla RTX 2070s.)

Many of the specs between these two cards are fairly close, and they share a lot of similarities on the surface. But we’ll see how well that closeness translates once we get into PC Labs’ benchmarks.

Specs Compared: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT vs. AMD Radeon RX 5700

Finally, it’s time to see what a little extra cash gets you. With the pricing adjustments announced on July 5 discussed above, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 hits shelves for a suggested price of $349 for reference designs, while big-bro RX 5700 XT is $399.

Almost everything about these two cards is the same, save for the clock speeds, the processing core count, and the power requirements (though they both have the same six-pin/eight-pin PSU-connector configuration). So, what does that extra $50 get you in the real world? Let’s dig in and see…

Let’s Get Testing: RDNA Stretches New Legs

PC Labs ran the Radeon RX 5700 XT through a series of DirectX 11- and 12-based synthetic and real-world benchmarks. Our PC Labs test rig is Intel-based and employs a PCI Express 3.0, not 4.0, motherboard. It’s equipped, as ever, with an Intel Core i7-8700K processor, 16GB of G.Skill DDR4 memory, a solid-state boot drive, and an Aorus Z370 Gaming 7 motherboard.

For our testing, I focused some of the effort on the esports aspect of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT with games like CS:GO and Apex Legends, and I also ran the card through the rest of our standard benchmark regimen, which tests a card’s abilities to handle AAA games at the highest possible quality settings.

Synthetic Benchmarks

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra

Synthetic benchmarks can be good predictors of real-world gaming performance. Futuremark’s circa-2013 Fire Strike Ultra is still a go-to as an approximation of the load levied by 4K gaming. We’re looking only at the test’s Graphics Subscore, not the Overall Score, to isolate the card performance.

Straightaway, the slugfest between AMD and Nvidia heats up fast. Fire Strike Ultra tests a GPU’s ability to handle DX11 games at higher resolutions, and here the Radeon RX 5700 XT surprised us by edging out the RTX 2070 Super by a scootch. Reminder: That’s a card $100 more expensive.

So far so good for the RX 5700 XT. How will this translate to real-world gaming results, though? Hang tight.

3DMark Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme

This is Futuremark’s benchmark for predicting the performance of DirectX 12-enabled games. It uses major features of the API, including asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading.

Things come back down to earth in this test, as the RX 5700 XT barely edges out the RTX 2060 Super (its price equal) in standard Time Spy, and trades back a narrow loss against that same card in Time Spy Extreme.

Unigine Superposition

Our last synthetic benchmark is Unigine’s 2017 release, Superposition. This benchmark does incorporate ray tracing, but it’s done in software, not hardware, and thus doesn’t engage RT cores (in the case of Nvidia’s RTX cards).

On this test, the Radeon RX 5700 XT does not compete with the RTX 2070 Super, but it manages a slight overall win versus the RTX 2060 Super, which is all the card needs to do to remain competitive.

Real-World Gaming

The following benchmarks are games that you can play. The charts themselves outline the settings we used (typically the highest in-game presets and, if available, DirectX 12). As mentioned, we’ve got a mix of AAA titles in here, as well as a few more optimized, multiplayer-focused ones.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Square Enix’s recent title is the first real-world test. This game is well-optimized for the PC platform but very demanding at its higher visual quality settings.

AMD was heavy on marketing the Radeon RX 5700 XT as a 1440p gamer’s dream, and on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it matches frames dead-on with the GeForce RTX 2070 Super, 77fps, at 1440p. And it outpaces the RTX 2060 Super by a few frames. A very good start.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

The 2015 predecessor to Shadow of the Tomb Raider is still a great benchmark.

Here, the Radeon RX 5700 XT beats the Radeon Vega 64 (as you’d expect) and the RTX 2060 Super by a couple of frames, but the RTX 2070 Super reasserts its dominance at the two higher resolutions.

Far Cry 5 and Far Cry Primal

The fourth and fifth installments in the Far Cry series are based on DirectX 11, but they are still demanding games in their own right.

On both of these tests, the Radeon RX 5700 XT misses the bar set by the RTX 2070 Super by millimeters. Those two cards are pretty much in lockstep here, and when you look at the price difference between them, it’s hard not to call this a nice pair of wins for the Radeon RX 5700 XT.

Final Fantasy XV

Let’s take a respite from fps-based benchmarks for Final Fantasy XV. A side note: By this point, it’s accepted that the Final Fantasy XV benchmark is well-tuned for Nvidia cards, due in part to the GPU maker’s tight involvement in helping Square Enix port the game from console to PC.

As we have seen in other card tests, Nvidia indeed dominates in this specific trial.

World of Tanks Encore

This is another non-frame-rate-based benchmark that’s available as a free download. It’s not super-demanding, but it is still a telling test.

On this one, it’s more or less a wash against the RTX 2060 Super, and the RX 5700 XT trails the RTX 2070 Super by roughly 10 percent across the board.

…and How About Some Legacy Games?

We also ran some quick tests on some oldies-but-goodies that still offer the AAA gaming experience. These legacy tests include runs of Hitman: Absolution, Tomb Raider (2013), and Bioshock: Infinite, the last being a game that has no business still being as well optimized as it is here in 2019.

Results were a bit back and forth here, with more losses than gains for the RX 5700 XT in the face of Nvidia’s Super lineup. I’d call this particular cluster inconclusive versus the RTX 2060 Super.

Multiplayer Games

Though most of PC Labs’ game tests are maxed out in graphical fidelity to push the cards to their limit, multiplayer gaming is all about maintaining the best balance between graphical fidelity and frame rate. With that in mind, we’ve kept Apex Legends, CS:GO, and Rainbow Six: Siege tuned to the best combination of necessary improvements in settings (higher anti-aliasing and lower shadows, for example), while still trying to keep frame rates for 1080p games above 144fps.

Why 144fps? That’s a coveted target for highly competitive esports gamers who have high-refresh-rate 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. For more casual players with ordinary 60Hz monitors, a solid 80fps or 90fps at your target resolution, with some overhead to account for dips under 60, is fine.

Apex Legends

Apex Legends is the newest, most exciting battle royale on the block. If you’re upgrading your rig to get in on it, you should have a good idea of what kind of performance to expect on that first boot, right?

The Radeon RX 5700 XT just misses the golden 144fps mark here at 1440p, but that could be remedied easily enough by tuning the detail settings just a bit lower than the Medium preset PC Labs tests at.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive

One of the oldest, yet still most popular, games around the globe, CS:GO has changed almost nothing about its core gameplay since 1999…and gamers wouldn’t have it any other way. The engine is considered one of the best optimized in all of PC gaming, which makes it easy to see major gaps in any one card’s abilities versus another’s.

I mean…is there any midrange card that can’t run this game at 100fps-plus? Every resolution on the test cards here delivers faster than 144fps for 144Hz panels, and you 1080p/240Hz-monitor gamers out there don’t have much to worry about, either. Play on this game at 4K was not a strength on the Radeon RX 5700 XT, but it was a strong contender at the more reasonable 1440p and 1080p resolutions.

A Peek at Overclocking and Thermals

Late-model AMD cards have had a reputation for blowing hot, but the company has made some pretty substantial gains in RDNA over GCN when it comes to both power consumption and heat output.

We ran a 10-minute stress test in 3DMark on the Radeon RX 5700 XT, and the reference card peaked at a temperature of 84 degrees C. This number only continued to climb after we turned on AMD’s WattMan for some automated overclocking, up to a max of 86 degrees C off a gain of 125MHz (roughly) to the card’s boost clock.

We tried to overclock the card manually in WattMan, AMD’s overclocking tool contained in its driver software, but either the card wouldn’t return results as strong as the automated overclocking (a 4 percent increase in frame rates, on average, so take «strong» with a dash of salt), or it would crash outright. The card also crashed multiple times even with the «auto» setting turned on in games, though it remained stable on the modest auto-overclock when running through 3DMark benchmarks.

This was with the most recent driver available to us, on a clean Windows 10 install. We imagine these hiccups may be solved in future updates to the driver (which, if you haven’t used an AMD card of late, you should know is now called Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition). Or, it’s possible that the RX 5700 XT sample on hand was already pretty maxed out; after all, if the RX 5700 XT is a «binned» version of the same GPU in the RX 5700, rated for better performance, it may already be close to the peak of its abilities right out of the box. At the moment, stock performance looks like all you can count on.

The TLDR: AMD Is Back in the GPU Game

We all remember what AMD represented in the video-card race for years on end: on the whole, the cheaper alternative to mainstream and lower-end Nvidia cards. AMD cards had arguably less attractive software, but they did their jobs, say, 90 percent as well for 75 percent of the cost.

Recent years have seen some hurdles and extraordinary circumstances around AMD’s graphics operation. The cryptocurrency boom spurred some temporary manic demand for the last GCN cards, leading to shortages and price distortion for some time, when Nvidia’s Pascal was at its peak. It was hard to buy reasonably priced mainstream Radeon cards, for a time. More recently, Intel has raided AMD’s graphics personnel on a head-hunting spree for the ages. Whatever’s been happening at AMD HQ for the last few years, on the graphics side of things, something bigger was always happening down the virtual street at Nvidia: the highly successful «Pascal» GeForce GTX GPU family that dominated the desktop and mobile graphics field from 2016 on; the launch of GeForce RTX.

AMD still held strong positions in the budget space with its Radeon RX 570 and Radeon RX 580, but with so many years of reliance on iterations of GCN, the company was long overdue for a reboot and a win. With the release of the Radeon RX 5700 XT and its little-brother RX 5700, AMD proves it’s back in the GPU brawl. And, with the prospect of further RDNA cards down the line, it has no intention of tapping out anytime soon.

In the case of the Radeon RX 5700 XT, its 11th-hour price shift to $399 was key and a brilliant judo move. Why? The RX 5700 XT outpaces, albeit by modest margins in many cases, the new, same-price $399 GeForce RTX 2060 Super in almost every benchmark test we ran, and it competes at times with the $499 GeForce RTX 2070 Super, by percentage margins smaller than the price difference between the two. For 1440p play with ordinary monitors, it indeed delivers all that you could ask for at its $399 price point.

Folks looking forward to leveraging in-game hardware ray tracing (still rare in games) and doing aggressive overclocking might still want to consider one of those Nvidia cards as an option, or hunt for a discounted non-Super RTX 2070. (It remains to be seen if any aggressive price-shifting indeed comes to pass as the RTX 2070s fade out.) But what the Radeon RX 5700 XT proves: For the first time in ages, AMD has pushed its traditional value-for-money game out of the budget-card space and further upmarket. Well done, Team Red.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

4.5

Editors’ Choice

Pros

• Strong value proposition for a midrange video card

• 1440p results above 60fps across all benchmarks

• Radeon Image Sharpening improves game visual fidelity

Cons

• Only modest early returns on overclocking our sample

• No hardware ray-tracing support

• Loud blower cooler.

The Bottom Line

With its Radeon RX 5700 XT, AMD introduces its new graphics architecture, a suite of software improvements, and enough speed for the money to keep 1440p gamers very happy—and competing GeForce cards at bay.

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MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC Graphics Card Review 2023

AMD is making quite some waves with their Ryzen 3000 series CPUs which are fabricated on a 7nm process node. This is not all as their Radeon division has also been working on new graphics architecture and they have released their new architecture named as RDNA and their new Navi (10) series of the graphics cards are based on RDNA architecture and fabricated using 7nm process.

MSI Radeon RX 5700 Review

The new RDNA architecture is optimized for efficiency and programmability while offering backward compatibility with the GCN architecture. It still uses the same seven basic instruction types: scalar compute, scalar memory, vector compute, vector memory, branches, export, and messages. However, the new architecture fundamentally reorganizes the data flow within the processor, boosting performance and improving efficiency. Following SKUs are released in new Navi 10 family:

• Radeon RX 5700 XT
• Radeon RX 5700
• Radeon RX 5600 XT
• Radeon RX 5600
• Radeon RX 5500 XT
• Radeon RX 5500

There is also a 50th-anniversary edition of the RX 5700 Review. Engineered from the ground up with superior performance and power efficiency, RDNA is the architecture powering AMD’s 7nm gaming GPU, delivering 1.25 performance per clock compared to the previous 14nm processors1.

Equipped with GDDR6 memory and featuring PCI Express 4.0 support, RDNA architecture is ready for the new generation of games. RDNA Architecture is hyper-efficient with less latency, power, bandwidth needed to enable quality gaming experiences. Efficiently energetic, RDNA architecture runs faster with lower power consumption than ever before.

Built on the 7nm FinFET process allows up to 1.5 performance per watt when compared to previous 14nm processors. With an improved graphics pipeline, RDNA Architecture is designed to decrease latency and render your games faster. Stream to the world and consume the latest and most demanding content with dedicated 4K encode and 8K decode Radeon Media Engine built into the RDNA architecture that will handle any codec.

Check Price on Amazon

Above is the shader engine picture of the RX 5700 XT. The RX 5700 XT is organized into several main blocks that are all tied together using AMD’s Infinity Fabric. The command processor and PCI Express interface connect the GPU to the outside world and control the assorted functions.

The two shader engines house all the programmable compute resources and some of the dedicated graphics hardware. Each of the two shader engines includes two shader arrays, which comprise of the new dual compute units, a shared graphics L1 cache, a primitive unit, a rasterizer, and four render backends (RBs). In addition, the GPU includes dedicated logic for multimedia and display processing. Access to memory is routed via the partitioned L2 cache and memory controllers.

Today, we will be taking a look at the RX 5700 XT MECH OC from the MSI. This graphics card is based on Navi 10 and features 40 compute units with 2560 shaders clocked at 1670MHz with the boost clock of 1925MHz and Game frequency of up to 1815MHz.

The MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC packs 8GB GDDR6 Micron Memory chips clocked at 1750MHz having a bandwidth of 448. 0 GB/s with a bus width of 256 bit. One of the salient features of the Navi 10 and new RDNA architecture is the support for the PCIe 4.0 which enables two times the bandwidth compared to PCI Express® 3.0.

• Item:                     RX 5700 XT MECH OC
• Manufacturer:       MSI
• Price:                    Check Price on Amazon
• Availability:          Games and Geeks

Radeon RX 5700 Specifications:

RX 5700 Packaging and Unboxing:

The graphics card is shipped inside a cardboard box with an outer packing box made of the paperboard. The packing theme is of the black and red colors.

There is minimalist yet crucial information printed here. The variant is MECH OC. 6GB GDDR6 and PCIe 4.0 support are prominent at the bottom as well as several other features including FreeSync 2, HDR, Fidelity FX to name a few.

The MSI Radeon RX 5700 review for increased and directed airflow. The heatsink is made of a single piece of aluminum with 6mm copper heat pipes. The minimum system requirements include:

• PCIe compliant motherboard with one x16 dual-slot
• 600W or Greater PSU (750W Recommended)
• 8GB RAM (Recommended is 16GB)
• 64-bit operating system

Powered by Radeon 7nm GPU is printed in 22 languages.

MSI brand logo and name are printed on the top. AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is printed at the bottom.

The inner box does not have a top cover. We can see an MSI branded container that has literature documents inside, placed on the top. There is a Styrofoam pad covering the contents of the box.

The graphics card is covered inside an anti-static container.

A user guide, decal for MECH and brochures are included.

RX 5700 Closer Look:

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is based on Navi 10 graphics processor. It has 10300M transistors using 7nm technology having a die size of 251mm². It packs 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs. We have 2560 shader units. The Pixel fill rate is 122.3 GP/s and the Texture fill rate is 308.0 GT/s. It has 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM rated at 1750MHz clocks using 256-bit bus width having a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. It supports PCIe 4.0 bus interface with backward compatibility.

This is a factory overclocked card as the reference design has a game clock of up to 1755MHz with a boost clock of up to 1905MHz and a base clock of 1605MHz. This card has a game frequency of 1815MHz with a boost clock of up to 1925MHz. AMD is using Game Frequency terminology which is specified as the expected clocks when running under the typical gaming applications, set to typical TGP (total graphics power). Actual individual game clock results may vary. From the statement, it looks like AMD is referring to the boost clock but then looking at the specifications we see that boost clock is mentioned separately like in our case the Game Clock is up to 1815MHz whereas the Boost Clock is up to 1925MHz and now we have a base clock as well in RX 5700 XT to take into consideration. This is kind a blurry statement and may cause confusion. In Navi 10, the clocks are dynamically adjusted given the power of the graphics processor.

Designed from the ground up for exceptional 1440p gaming performance and high-fidelity gaming is what AMD is setting this card at. This makes the RX 5700 XT taking on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 though Nvidia was quick enough to release the Super variant of the GeForce RTX 2070 to compete with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. Interesting proposition!

The pricing of GeForce RTX 2070 starts at above Rs.82,000/- in the local market in official channel warranty whereas Games and Geeks are selling the AMD rival solution in Rs.68,500/- without channel warranty. Looking at the NewEgg for the international pricing, the pricing of GeForce RTX 2070 is starting at $400 tab whereas the pricing of GeForce RTX 2070 Super is starting at $500 roughly. The pricing of RX 5700 XT starts at roughly $380.

It is time to take a closer look at the design of the graphics card followed by the results of the gaming and synthetic benchmarks. The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is a dual-slot design though it is quite thicker and weighs much when holding in hand. It weighs around 794g. It has a dimension of 232x126x46mm. This card has a length of 232mm making it compatible with any chassis as it even does not cross the ATX size motherboard’s length. Also, it has a height of 126mm which should not cause any such trouble either.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC packs Power sensor as well. This is where we have taken the maximum power draw of the card.

Let’s take a look on the shroud side of the graphics card. We have a gray and black color scheme that speaks for itself. The shroud is made of hard plastic material and is quite sturdy. The shroud has a geometrical design with insets and cutouts that really blends in quite well. The top and bottom portions on the intersection of two fans have a shiny black coating on the inset.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC packs two fans. These are TORX 3. 0 fans. A brand new version of the MSI TORX fan pushes the limits of thermal performance yet further than before. The new trims clearly visible on the traditional fan blade create a focused airflow which in turn is pushed down by the dispersion fan blades for increased static pressure. A special curved blade accelerates the airflow, increasing its effectiveness. These fans seem to be 85mm sized. These fans don’t have Zero DB or Auto Stop feature.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC features a single aluminum made heatsink with 45 aluminum fins and 4x 6mm copper heat pipes in nickel coating. These heatpipes and two nickel-plated copper plates are making direct contact with the GPU and the VRAM chips for maximum heat transfer. Ample amounts of thermal pads are used to allow various components to transfer heat to the heatsink for better cooling.

MSI has used thermal pads on the VRAM chips and MOSFETs.

Let’s take a look at the top side of the graphics card. There is a large section open-ended for maximum ventilation. The shroud part extends over the PCB and the cooling solution. MSI brand logo, name, and RADEON are printed in white color on the shroud. The top side of the massive heatsink is quite visible showing the layout of the heat pipes.

The above picture shows a look from a different angle on the top.

This graphics card is using an 8-pin and a 6-pin power connector. The combined power draw of these two connectors is 225W. Adding 75W from the PCIe connector would make the power draw of 300W for this graphics card.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has a solid metallic black color backplate. The only exposed area on the backplate is the 4x holes giving the users access to the black screws of the GPU socket. One of these screws has a white color sticker on it. Peeling it off or tearing it would void the warranty. There is MSI branding on the backplate along with some styling lines.

A 4-pin connector in white color is on the right side of the PCB at the bottom. This is powering the fans of the card. It is PWM as the speed is regulated based on the thermal sensor of the GPU.

The shroud is bending and taking over a certain portion of the heatsink on the front side. The rest of the area is open-ended making it more ventilated. The PCB is black in color.

Following connectivity options are available at the user’s disposal:

• 1x HDMI port 2.0 b
• 3x DP port 1.4

Due to limitations from the source, I did not open the card to take a look at the PCB and the power delivery system.

Radeon RX 5700 Testing:

Following is the information regarding the test system and drivers that I have used to test this graphics card:

• Intel i7 8700k @ 5.0GHz
• Asus Strix Z390-E Gaming Motherboard
• Ballistix Elite 16GB kit @ 3000MHz
• Noctua NH-U14S
• HyperX 120GB SSD
• Seagate Barracuda 3.5” 2 TB HDD
• Thermaltake TP iRGB 1250W Titanium PSU

RX 5700 Drivers:

• Nvidia driver 442. 19 For COLORFUL GeForce GTX 1650 Super NB-4G-V
• Nvidia driver 417.71 for GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060
• Nvidia driver 411.70 For ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 OC
• Nvidia driver 398.35 for GeForce GTX (Pascal) graphics cards
• Nvidia driver 417.71 for GeForce GTX 1080 [Required for Battlefield V]
• Nvidia driver 430.86 for other GeForce GTX 1600 Series cards
• Nvidia driver 430.86 for ASUS ROG Strix Geforce RTX 2080 OC and ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2070 Amp Extreme
• Nvidia driver 431.60 for GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC 8G
• AMD driver Adrenalin 2019 19.4.3 for the Radeon RX 570 and RX 580.
• AMD driver Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.1.3 for XFX Radeon RX 5500XT Thicc II Pro
• AMD driver Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.2.2 for MSI Radeon RX 5700XT MECH OC

5700 Monitoring Software:

MSI Afterburner 4.62 was used to monitor and record the FPS for the games without in-built benchmarks. Three runs per game per API per resolution were made and the average is being shown on the graphs. The tough ordeal for the tester! For the tweaking EVGA Precision X1 was used.

Synthetic Benchmarks:

Following synthetic benchmarks have been used:

• 3DMark Fire Strike
• 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
• 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
• 3DMark Time Spy
• 3DMark Time Spy Extreme
• Unigine Superposition

Games:

Following games have been benched:

• Ashes of the Singularity [DX11, DX12]
• Battlefield 1 [DX11, DX12]
• Battlefield V (DX11, DX12, DXR]
• Metro Last Light Redux [DX11]
• Metro Exodus [DX11, DX12, DXR]
• Assassin’s Creed Origin [DX11]
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider [DX12]
• Grand Theft Auto – V [DX11]
• Final Fantasy – XV
• Far Cry 5 – [DX11]
• Middle Earth – Shadow of War [DX11]
• The Witcher 3 [DX11]
• DOOM [Vulkan]
• Wolfenstein II The New Colossus [Vulkan]

Synthetic Benchmarks

In all three Fire Strike benchmarks the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is sitting above the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Here, we have an opposite situation as compared to Fire Strike series of the tests as the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind both GeForce RTX 2070 cards.

The graph of the Unigine Superposition is sorted on the 1080p Extreme preset. Again, we are seeing this card behind both GeForce RTX 2070s.

RX 5700 Gaming Benchmarks:

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is aimed at 1440P Ultra gaming. Despite that, we have tested this graphics card for gaming performance at 1080P and 2160P to keep up with our graphs format. We will only be focusing on the 1440P gaming performance and comparing the gain over the GeForce RTX 2070/Super cards that we have reviewed earlier.

A side note on the driver part, the driver side of these cards still needs improvement for better stability as I have seen a few glitches during the testing.

Battlefield 1 DX11

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is above all the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Battlefield 1 DX12

On 1440P, the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind all the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Battlefield V DX11

Superb performance at 1440p from the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC as it is above all the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Battlefield V DX12

Similar performance as is in DX11.

Metro Last Light Redux

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Metro Exodus DX11

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Metro Exodus DX12

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is sitting between the GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Ashes of the Singularity DX11

The Ashes of the Singularity was the very first title with the DX12 and I have tested the game with DX11 and DX12 using the game’s in-built benchmark. The FPS score in the graphs is the average of all benches.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is above all the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Ashes of the Singularity DX12

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is above all the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider DX12

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is sitting between the GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Assassin’s Creed Origin DX11

I got the strange result in this game. Tested 3 times to verify but the result was the same hence reporting it as it is.

DOOM Vulkan

In DOOM the graphics cards are pulling a better FPS on 1080P and even at 1440P. The true performance potential and gain can be checked at 2160P resolution as only the 4k testing will provide a better reference point. The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind the GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants though performance is still that good.

Far Cry 5 DX11

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is sitting between the GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super.

Final Fantasy XV

The Final Fantasy XV benchmark outputs the result in terms of the score instead of the FPS.

Grand Theft Auto – V DX11

Grand Theft Auto – V does not have any graphics quality Presets. I have used maximum settings where and what available with 4x MSAA.

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

Middle Earth: Shadow of War DX11

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

The Witcher 3 DX11

MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is behind GeForce RTX 2070/Super variants on our graphs.

In terms of the overall gaming performance, the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is a solid proposition in its price bracket for the 1440p gaming. In some games, it even comes on top of the GeForce RTX 2070 Super and in few, it was sitting between the GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super variants on our graphs. In other titles, it was behind the GeForce RTX 2070.

Radeon 5700 Boost Clocks:

Now that we have taken a look at the gaming and synthetic benchmark results, it is time to take a look at the maximum boost clocks.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has boosted to 2077MHz though it was for the fraction of the second and never hit that figure again during my testing. The average was in the 1890s with the lowest dip of 1815MHz.

RX 5700 Power Consumption and Thermals:

Power Consumption

To measure the power draw, I am taking different route as HWInfo64 shows the GPU Power (if there is a sensor on the board) and this is exactly what I have been showing on my graphs instead of overall system power draw. To monitor the maximum power draw, I am using The Witcher 3 at 1080P run of 60 minutes and then record the reported maximum power draw from the HWInfo64. The PC was set to idle for like 15 minutes before the gaming session. This way any user can check their graphics card for power consumption easily.

With 212W of power draw, this card is definitely offering a better power efficiency.

Thermal Performance

I am not using Furmark or any other stress app for thermal performance checking. Instead, the reported temperatures are actually from the gaming session using The Witcher 3 at 1080P resolution for a minimum of 60 minutes. MSI Afterburner is used to record the temperatures during the gaming session.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC was idling at 27°C. On stock clocks, it maxed to 67°C. The card was tested on the open-air test bench setup. Once inside the chassis, the temperature is likely to be more than this and is depending upon the multitude of the factors particularly the airflow configuration of the chassis. Keep in mind that this testing was done on the Performance BIOS. The ambient temperature was 21. 7°C

Radeon RX 5700 Sound Level:

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has a better thermal performance but this performance is coming at the cost of elevated sound level as under typical gaming load the fans on Auto settings were making 52 dBA at an ambient sound level of 32 dBA.

Conclusion:

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is their top-end graphics solution which is designed from ground up for ultimate 1440P gaming. We got our hands on MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC for the review. The graphics card is based on AMD Radeon 2nd Gen Navi 10 graphics processor fabricated on 7nm and featuring the new RDNA architecture. It has 10300M transistors using 7nm technology having a die size of 255mm². It packs 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs. We have 2560 shader units. The Pixel fill rate is 123.2 GP/s and the Texture fill rate is 308.0 GT/s.

It has 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM rated at 1750MHz clocks using 256-bit bus width having a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. It supports PCIe 4.0 bus interface with backward compatibility. This is a factory overclocked card as the reference design has a game clock of up to 1755MHz with a boost clock of up to 1905MHz and a base clock of 1605MHz. This card has a game frequency of 1815MHz with a boost clock of up to 1925MHz. This card has a 1x HDMI 2.0b port, 3x DP 1.4 ports.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has a dimension of 232x126x46mm (LxHxW). This is a dual-slot design with a length of 232mm. The card supports and features AMD Anti-Lag, FildelityFX, Video Streaming up to 8k, PCIe 4.0 support, Radeon FreeSync2 HDR, Radeon Boost, Radeon VR Ready Premium, Radeon Rays Audio + True Audio Next, Async Compute, Radeon Image Sharpening, DX12 (12_1) to name a few.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has a beautiful shroud finished in the gray and black color resulting in an elegant design that speaks for itself. The cooling solution consists of an aluminum heatsink made of a single aluminum piece with 4x 6mm copper heat pipes finished in nickel coating. The heat pipes are making direct contact with the GPU and there are nickel-plated copper plates making contact with the VRMA chips using thermal pads.

The task of dishing away the heat from the fin stack is assigned to MSI TORX fan 3.0 fans. The new trims clearly visible on the traditional fan blade create a focused airflow which in turn is pushed down by the dispersion fan blades for increased static pressure. A special curved blade accelerates the airflow, increasing its effectiveness. These fans seem to be 85mm sized. These fans don’t have Zero DB or Auto Stop feature.

There is a solid metal backplate with MSI branding. The card takes power using an 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors making the total power draw of 300W. The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC weighs 794gm and their recommended PSU Wattage is 750W with minimum 600W PSU. 8GB minimum RAM is required with recommended 16GB capacity.

So, where does this card stand? Performance, Price, Efficiency, and Warranty, are among the top factors playing a pivotal role in the final decision on pulling the trigger. In the overall gaming performance, the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC has performed quite well to the extent that it manages to beat the GeForce RTX 2070 Super in a few titles. \

In few games, it was nicely sitting between the GeForce RTX 2070 and GeForce RTX 2070 Super variants on our graphs. In a few, it was behind the GeForce RTX 2070 variants on our graphs. Remember, the drivers still need to be improved for better stability and I am hoping that AMD will do that as they have been rocking with their drivers support. This drivers instability can hit the performance factor. This performance level of the RX 5700 XT is coming at a much better efficiency of 212W as compared to the 219~220W of the other camp’s competitive offering though it is not that significant; it is what it is.

The next thing is the pricing. The local pricing of the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC is Rs.68500 as compared to the starting price of GeForce RTX 2070 to be Rs.82,000/- Please, keep in mind that the pricing of the Nvidia cards is with the official 3 years channel warranty whereas the MSI card’s price is with 1-year local warranty.

The MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC can handle the 1440P gaming that well and it is doing it with a bit better efficiency and slightly better pricing (local). The only caveat is the elevated sound level for better thermal performance. The trade-off is there and it is your choice to decide which way to go with.

I am thankful to Games and Geeks for giving me the opportunity to review the MSI AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT MECH OC graphics card.

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90,000 issue in the GECID.com price. Page 1

::>Video cards
>2019
> Sapphire PULSE RX 5700 XT 8G

22-08-2019

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In the summer of 2019, AMD pleased its fans with the announcement of video cards created on a radically new microarchitecture. After all, GCN, which debuted in 2012, is already outdated and has lost its relevance in the high price segment. It was replaced by RDNA along with AMD Radeon RX 5700 and 9 graphics cards0007 Radeon 5700XT . We will get acquainted with the latter in this review, but a little later, but for now we will focus on the features of the microarchitecture.

New graphics chips are made on a new 7nm process technology. They received fast GDDR6 memory and support for the PCI Express 4.0 interface. At the moment, only a bunch of AMD Ryzen 3000 processors and motherboards based on the AMD X570 chipset will allow to realize its capabilities. But in the future, the number of compatible products will increase. nine0003

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 and Radeon 5700 XT are based on different variants of the Navi 10 GPU. The full version of AMD Navi 10 XT consists of two Shader Engines, each of which includes 10 Dual Compute unit). Each of them has 64 ALU shader cores (128 in one DCU), which gives a total value of 2560. There are also 160 texture units, 64 rasterization units, four asynchronous engines, a geometry processor with four units primitive processing and four 64-bit memory controllers that implement a 256-bit bus for GDDR6 memory. nine0003

Compared to the GCN architecture, new CUs received two execution modes: Wave32 and Wave64 for different types of loads, and the width of the SIMD block was doubled — from SIMD 16 to SIMD 32. This increases the efficiency of filling SIMD blocks.

Serious changes have also taken place in the cache memory. The 16 KB L1 cache within each CU is now considered a Level 0 (L0) cache, and the number of L1 caches has grown from 4 to 32. The L1 cache (shared by 10 CUs) now boasts 128 KB and 16 associativity channels. This will simplify the work of the L2 cache (eight blocks per Shader Engine), which has reached 4 MB. nine0003

Color data compression algorithms have also been optimized — it has become possible to transfer compressed color data to shaders and the display controller.

These changes have reduced cache latency by up to 24% and by 7% for video memory compared to the GCN architecture.

The transition to a thinner 7nm process and updated microarchitecture has increased the number of transistors from 5. 7 billion to 10.3 billion, fitting them into a relatively compact die area of ​​251 mm ² . And if the increase in performance by 2.3 times per unit area is not particularly interesting for the average user, then the increase in performance by 1.5 times per 1 watt looks much more tempting. This allows us to hope that AMD video cards will no longer be synonymous with gluttony.

The younger version, AMD Navi 10 XL, is used as part of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 video card. It maintains the same microarchitectural features, but has lost four CU modules, which is minus 256 stream processors and 16 texture units. The core frequency has also been lowered and power consumption has fallen along with power requirements. The video memory subsystem was left unchanged. nine0003

The new products have slightly changed the approach to the designation of operating frequencies. So, in addition to the usual base (Base) and dynamic (Boost), an intermediate game value (Game Clock) has been added. Base is the minimum frequency under load. Dynamic — the maximum possible at the factory settings. And gaming is the approximate frequency for typical loads. That is, in games, the GPU frequency will be close to the Game Clock indicator.

Separately, we note several interesting technologies. Radeon Image Sharpening sharpens images and scales from low resolution to production resolution for your monitor with minimal performance degradation. nine0003

AMD FidelityFX is an open source developer toolkit that can be used to create games. It has the likes of Radeon Image Sharpening sharpening capabilities and a number of other features.

Finally, here is a table of characteristics of both video cards along with a special anniversary version of the flagship:

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Model	AMD Radeon RX 5700	AMD Radeon RX 5700XT	AMD Radeon RX 5700XT 50th Anniversary Edition
GPU	AMD Navi 10 XL	AMD Navi 10XT	AMD Navi 10XT
Microarchitecture nine0066	7nm RDNA
Number of stream processors	2304	2560	2560
Number of texture units	144	160	nine0002 160
Number of raster modules	64
GPU base / game / dynamic frequency, MHz	1465 / 1625 / 1725	1605 / 1755 / 1905	1680 / 1830 / 1980
nine0002 Peak performance, TFLOPS	7. 95	9.75	10.14
Video memory type	GDDR6
Volume, GB	8
Effective frequency, GHz	14
Bus width, bit	256
Bandwidth, GB/s	448
TBP, W	180	225
Recommended price, $	349	399	449

However, let’s move on from theory to practice, and take a closer look at the SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5700 XT 8G video card.

Specification

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Model	SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5700XT 8G (11293-01-20G)
GPU	AMD Navi 10XT
Microarchitecture	AMD RDNA
Technical process, nm
Number of stream processors	2560
Number of texture units	160
Number of raster blocks	64
GPU base/gaming/dynamic frequency, MHz	1670 / 1815 / 1925
Effective memory frequency, MHz	14000
Memory size, GB	8
Memory type	GDDR6
nine0002 Memory bus width, bit	256
Memory bandwidth, GB/s	448
Image output interfaces	1 x HDMI 2. 0 3 x DisplayPort
Minimum power supply, W	600
Additional PCIe power connectors	1 x 8-pin 1 x 6-pin
Dimensions from the official website (measured in our test lab), mm	254 x 135 x 46.5 (265 x 114 x 47)
Drivers	Latest drivers can be downloaded from the SAPPHIRE website or manufacturer’s website GPU
Manufacturer website	SAPPHIRE

Packaging and Contents

The SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5700 XT video card comes in a vertically oriented cardboard box with an original and bright design. nine0003

The list of system requirements for the computer where you plan to install the video card is located on the back of the package. Based on the recommendations, the power supply should be at least 600W and support one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCIe cable.

Included with the graphics adapter, we found only standard documentation and a software CD.

Appearance and element base

SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5700 XT 8G has an original design that stands out from the competition. The casing on the front side is made of plastic, but it looks interesting due to the different textures and inserts in silver and red. The design is rather youthful, but it certainly cannot be called overly pretentious. nine0003

Under the cooler is an original compact printed circuit board with a reference layout principle: all memory chips are soldered around the graphics core, and the components of its power subsystem are located on the right side.

The novelty is powered according to the reference 7+1-phase scheme, where seven phases are responsible for GPU power, and one is for the video memory subsystem. However, the reference design assumes the use of ON Semiconductor FDMF3170 chips with a maximum current of 70 A and tantalum polymer capacitors. Vishay SiC620A chips with a load capacity of up to 60 A and solid capacitors are also installed here. nine0003

The ON Semiconductor NCP81022 is the PWM controller.

In addition to the PCI Express x16 slot, the video card is powered through a pair of additional PCIe connectors (6- and 8-pin). The cooler does not make it difficult to disconnect the power cables, since the connector latches are located on the back of the board.

The reverse side of the PCB is protected by a metal base plate, which increases the rigidity of the structure and passively participates in the removal of excess heat. nine0003

Under it we found an IR35217 PWM controller from International Rectifier. It controls the memory power subsystem.

For image output, a reference set of interfaces is used:

• 1 x HDMI;
• 3 x DisplayPort.

The SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 5700 XT 8G is based on the 7nm AMD Navi 10 XT GPU. Its configuration is familiar, but the clock speeds differ from those declared on the official website. Instead of 1670 we see 1427 MHz, and the dynamic frequency reaches 2054 instead of the declared 1925 MHz.

The 8 GB video memory subsystem is made up of Micron GDDR6 chips with an effective frequency of 14000 MHz. With a 256-bit bus, this provides a throughput of 448 GB / s.

Finally, we note a couple of interesting features. Firstly, the company logo with built-in LED-backlight is hidden on the top end.

Secondly, there is a switch in the front between two BIOS firmwares.

Cooling system

The total length of the video accelerator with the installed Dual-X cooling system is 254 mm, which will allow it to fit into most middle tower cases without any problems. Its width reaches 2.3 slots.

The cooler consists of a single-section radiator (51 longitudinal aluminum plates), five heat pipes with a diameter of 6 mm and a pair of 95 mm fans mounted on a plastic casing. They are built on double ball bearings which are more reliable than regular plain bearings. nine0003

The heatpipes are nickel-plated and the graphics core is in direct contact with the heatsink itself through a large copper base.

A separate low-profile heatsink is used to cool the power subsystem and video memory chips.

With automatic fan speed control, in the maximum load mode, the graphics core heated up to 75°C at a critical value of 110°C, and the cooler worked at a speed of 1774 rpm (56% of its maximum power). Noise was low and did not interfere with work at all. The frequency of the graphics core was 1652 MHz. nine0003

In the maximum fan speed mode (2902 rpm), the temperature of the GPU dropped to 70°C. The noise exceeded the average level and became uncomfortable for everyday use. The GPU frequency has risen to just 1660 MHz.

In a real game load, the GPU speed reached 1917 MHz (very close to the claimed 1925 MHz). The fans rotated at a frequency of 1720 rpm (54% of the maximum).

In the absence of load, the frequencies of the graphics core and memory are automatically reduced, allowing you to reduce power consumption and heat dissipation of the video accelerator as a whole. In this mode, the temperature of the GPU does not exceed 46 ° C, since the fans generally stop rotating. The cooling system operates in a completely passive mode up to a temperature of 50°C. nine0003

On the whole, the proprietary Dual-X cooler performed very well. He did an excellent job of cooling the overclocked graphics core, while maintaining a comfortable noise level during everyday use.

Test & Review: Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT 8G Powerful Alternative Design Graphics Card

Page 1: Test & Review: Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT 8G Powerful Alternative Design Graphics Card

Radeon Graphics Cards Gradually Enter the Market RX 5700 XT in alternative designs. We continue to consider the most interesting models. Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700XT (11293-03-40G) is one of the most promising models. The performance of video cards is almost identical, so the cooling system comes first. Let’s see how the Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT performs in practice.

NVIDIA has flooded the market with Super graphics cards in recent weeks, but let’s not forget AMD GPUs. The Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT continues to receive positive feedback from users, so it’s interesting to see how the graphics card performs in practice. AMD has released its reference Radeon RX 5700 and Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics cards, leaving room for partners to further improve them. Therefore, Sapphire decided to more fully unlock the potential of the video card. nine0003

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Like any other Radeon RX 5700 XT, the Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT is powered by Navi 10 GPU with 2,560 stream processors. The chip contains 40 CUs, each with 64 stream processors. Compared to the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture, the organization has changed somewhat, which we already considered in our review of the RDNA architecture. The bottom line is that AMD can combine two CUs into a so-called workgroup. This allows you to perform certain tasks more efficiently. nine0003

In terms of memory connectivity, there are 64 raster operation pipelines (ROPs) available on the video card. 8 GB GDDR6 connected via 256-bit bus. The clock speed of the eight memory chips is 1.750 MHz (14 Gb/s per pin), which gives a bandwidth of 448 GB/s. The Nitro+ Special Edition video card (11293-05-40G) has a memory bus overclocked to 1,800 MHz (14.4 GB/s per pin), resulting in a bandwidth of 460.8 GB/s. The Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT has 160 texture units.

graphics cards

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Comparison of Radeon RX 5700

Model	Radeon RX 5700XT	Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT
Price	from 24. 200 ₽	465 euros (33.000 ₽)
Specifications
GPU	Navi 10	Navi 10
Process	7 nm	7 nm
Number of transistors	10.3 billion	10.3 billion
GPU clock (base)	1.605 MHz	1.770 MHz
GPU Clock (Gaming)	1.755 MHz	1.905 MHz
GPU clock (Boost)	1.905 MHz	2.010 MHz
Memory frequency	1.750 MHz	1.750 MHz
Memory type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory capacity	8GB	8GB
Memory bus width	256 bit	256 bit
Memory bandwidth	448 GB/s	448 GB/s
Stream Processors	2.