AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Graphics Card Review
Peter Donnell / 4 years ago
A Closer Look
Obviously, we have the AMD edition of this card directly from them. However, it’ll be available from most major brands with this same design, but they’ll likely swap out a logo or two to say “Gigabyte” on the side or something similar. There are custom cards out there too, but today, it’s all about this “stock” model from AMD. It’s not exactly the blower cards we used to see them put out, that’s for sure.
The card uses three huge Axial Fans, with AMDs own custom fan profile design, which has an impressive surface area and a spinning ring around the fan, helping to channel air straight down.
The heatsink on the card is absolutely gorgeous. Thick black metal, lots of fins, and just a huge slab of material and surface area over all. There’s no doubt this thing will be able to shift some serious heat.
The card is closed up on both ends, so all the airflow is vented through the sides of the card, it’s very much a one way street for air here, rather than your usual just blow it away in any direction design.
The card requires around 300W of power, so just a pair of 8-pin connectors are required. I love that red bezel as well, it looks super retro and modern at the same time. There’s no ugly solder on show, no PCB sticking out, it’s just ultra-clean and stylish and I love that attention to detail.
Like I said, it’s all closed up at the back! I like that two-tone look though, it’s pretty
Again, no ventilation here, it’s all closed up, but you do get USB C, Display Port, and HDMI. Of course, they all meet the latest and greatest specification, so 4K 120hz displays, etc, are all supported.
After the drama of some Nvidia cards that may or may not have had enough of these… well, that looks like enough.
Finally, we have that stunning die-cast aluminium backplate, which looks incredible, but also keeps the card rigid, and provides further heat dissipation for the PCB. Overall though, this is one of the best-made cards I’ve ever handled, and I really mean that. Thinking back to the Radeon VII which I felt looked unfinished, it’s clear AMD listened to the critics and the fans alike.
