At first, we would like to thank XFX for sending out a sample of their Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 Ultra THICC III video card for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About XFX:

 

“XFX dares to go where the competition would like to but can’t.

 

That’s because, at XFX, we don’t just create great digital video components—we build all-out, mind-blowing, performance-crushing, competition-obliterating video cards, power supplies, and computer accessories.

 

And, not only are they amazing, you don’t have to live on dry noodles and peanut butter to afford them. XFX is a division of PINE Technology Holdings Limited, a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovative solutions for the worldwide gaming technologies market.

 

Founded in 1989, PINE designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance video graphics technology and computer peripherals. The company’s dedicated research and development team are continually pushing the limits to meet the demands of the ever-growing and performance-driven community.

 

Headquartered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR), PINE has more than 1,000 employees worldwide with 16 offices around the globe. PINE also maintains four state-of-the-art research and development facilities in the Asia Pacific region and two factories in Mainland China.”

 

XFX Zero DB Auto Load Sensing Fans - Power when you need it and quiet when you don't.

 

XFX fans are equipped to run at the highest possible performance, while our Zero DB Fan System will also keep your fans running at efficient RPM in order to minimize annoying fan noise by lowering RPM all the way down to Zero RPM. When the heat is on during intense gaming, our fans will speed up as needed.

 

Fidelity FX

 

FidelityFX is a collection of high-quality post-process effects that automatically collapse multiple effects into fewer shader passes to reduce overhead and free up your GPU for the visceral experience you demand

 

Ultra HD Support

 

The XFX RX 5700 XT is built for high-performance and high-resolution gameplay. Experience smooth gameplay performance at 1440p and 4k. With support for 8k you are ready for Next-Gen displays. See everything in mind blowing detail without sacrificing performance.

 

Radeon Freesync

 

Radeon Freesync 1 and FreeSync 2 HDR2 take full advantage of Radeon RX 5700 series, bringing gamers the best stutter and tear-free gaming experience with higher refresh rates, lower latency, and 10-bit HDR, available on over 700 monitors.

 

Gaming RDNA Architecture

 

RDNA architecture is engineered for the next generation of high-performance gaming. It’s the DNA that powers your games, the DNA that brings your games to life, the DNA that keeps evolving, the DNA that brings your games to life.

 

Intuitive Gaming Features

 

AMD Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition gives you more control over your gaming experiences. The software's intuitive interface enables players to stream, share and tweak graphics settings in real-time without missing a second of the action or compromising in-game performance.

 

Seize your gaming victories with easy streaming capabilities of Radeon™ ReLive

Work smarter and cooler with Radeon™ Chill — dynamically helping save power while gaming

Tailor your gameplay with custom profiles and enhance your PC performance with Radeon™ Wattman

Tailor preferences without having to leave your game with Radeon™ Overlay

Get Day-0 driver support and more

 

AMD VR Ready Premium - For extraordinary virtual reality experiences.

 

Experience the new generation of compelling Virtual Reality content with the Radeon™ graphics card paired with the leading VR headsets. The Radeon™ card coupled with AMD LiquidVR™ technology delivers a virtually stutter-free, low latency experience, essential for remarkable Virtual Reality environments. Industry leading innovation and powerful performance enables the Radeon™ to deliver premium experiences on high-end VR games, entertainment, and applications.

 

XFX LED LOGO

 

Light up your case and show your XFX pride. Our bright XFX LED not only looks great and shows off your awesome rig, it also lets others know that this isn't some average off the shelf scrub computer, this is a hard-core gaming computer powered by the best graphics card on the market You play like a pro and your system looks just as professional.

 

Latest Display Connections

 

Radeon™ GPUs with the Radeon architecture support HDMI® 2.0b and DisplayPort™ 1.4 w/ DSC for compatibility with a new generation of monitors that would make any gamer excited: • 1080p @ 240Hz

• 1440p @ 240Hz

• 4K @ 120Hz

• 1440p ultra-wide @ 190Hz

• 8k @ 60Hz

 

XFX 3 Year Warranty - Giving you the performance you have come to expect from XFX.

 

Even though we trust that our high-quality products will continue working at peak performance well beyond your use of it, we want to put our word behind that promise. That is why we offer our 3 Year Warranty with this series of graphics cards. This means that your product is protected by a 3-year limited hardware warranty on manufacturing defects of anything on the card.

 

 

XFX did not sit still after releasing the RAW II Ultra implementation of the RX 5700 XT and made further improvements in terms of acoustics and temperatures by releasing a new card, which is the Ultra THICC III. This one features a very robust cooling system that occupies 2.8 slots inside the case and no less than three fans with EBR bearing.

 

The card does feature the standard 8GB of GDDR6 memory and was built to handle most titles at 1440P at very high details; Radeon RX 5700 is the first series supporting the new PCIe Express 4.0 standard and the NAVI core is built on the 7nm node. The RX 5700XT comes with 2560 active shader processors and for the Ultra THICC III model XFX has set a Base Clock of 1810MHz, a Game Clock of 1935MHz, while the Boost Clock is the highest we have seen so far at 2025MHz.

 

The card is shipped in a medium-sized cardboard box, with a photo of the cooling system on the top cover, but also some product highlights:

 

 

 

On the side of the box, the manufacturer has included an explanation regarding “Game Clock”:

 

 

 

Nearby we will also get to see the minimum system requirements, along with the box contents:

 

 

 

Some of the product features such as FreeSync2 HDR, FidelityFX, Image Sharpening or Anti-Lag are described on the back as well:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will end up with a plain cardboard box, which features a middle, subtle XFX logo:

 

 

 

On the top layer of the box, we will find an envelope, that holds the card bundle:

 

 

 

Near the installation guide, we will also find a leaflet informing the user of the missing driver disk and that the latest build should be downloaded from the XFX or AMD’s website:

 

 

 

The manufacturer does also supply PSU adapter cables, in case yours does not have the necessary connectivity options:

 

 

 

The supplied manual does instruct the user on how to proceed with the hardware installation, but also the software side:

 

 

 

The Ultra THICC III card comes wrapped inside an anti-static bag for additional protection during transit:

 

 

 

The top plastic shroud along with the fans are protected from the factory by a transparent plastic film:

 

 

 

Ultra THICC III does feature a three-fan cooling system and an even larger heatsink, for allowing proper dissipation. The fans are not the same in size, the left and right one being 90mm fans, while the one in the middle being 100mm in size:

 

 

 

Each fan does have an XFX chromed logo in the middle, while the frames are chromed as well:

 

 

 

 

 

On the side of the cards, we do have plastic frames with cut-outs in the region of the heatsinks; the margins are chromed for a premium look as well:

 

 

 

 

In the back, the card does come with a chromed grille, which looks like an element taken from old American hot-rod cars:

 

 

 

On the I/O, we have three DisplayPort 1.4 ports but also one HDMI 2.0b; the metallic shroud also comes with a nice XFX logo, so people will know that you are packing in your system an XFX video card even if the inside of the system is not easily accessible for viewing:

 

 

 

The bottom layer of the PCB is fully covered by an XFX-branded backplate and is continued by a black plastic frame:

 

 

 

In the GPU area, we are seeing four spring-loaded screws, that hold the copper plate in place:

 

 

 

This card does require power from two 8-pin PCIe power connectors:

 

 

 

Nearby we do also have the Silent/Performance BIOS switch:

 

 

 

After removing the top cooling system, we will be able to observe that the plastic frames are quite tall and do surround the full PCB length:

 

 

 

On this card we do have a two-phase design for the memory VRM, controlled by the NCP81022 IC:

 

 

 

The VRM components in charge of the GPU are driven by the NCP302155 ICs from ON Semiconductor:

 

 

 

 

 

On this card model, the GDDR6 memory chips are made by Samsung and carry the model number K4Z80325BC-HC14:

 

 

 

We have found the thermal compound as having an even distribution on the die, for an optimal heat transfer:

 

 

 

Here are some additional shots of the VRM elements:

 

 

 

 

In the back of the PCIe power connectors, we have found two additional headers, which are unused:

 

 

 

 

All three fans are powered from the same 4-pin header:

 

 

 

The plastic chromed grille we have talked about before is part of the bottom frame and stays attached to the card:

 

 

 

After turning the cooling system on its back, we can take a look on how massive it is and holds improvements as well versus the Ultra RAW II implementation:

 

 

 

While the distribution of the thermal pads has remained the same, XFX is now using a copper interposer instead of aluminum, that really helps driving the GDDR6 temperature down:

 

 

 

The same solution has been used for the VRM area though:

 

 

 

Here are some additional shots of the cooling system with four nickel-plated copper composite heatpipes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Test Setup

 

CPU: Intel I5 9700K Retail

CPU Cooler: Deepcool Captain 240 EX RGB AIO

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming

RAM: Patriot Memory Viper RGB Series DDR4

Video: currently tested VGA card

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

SSD: Silicon Power P34A80 PCIe 3x4 M.2 2280 1TB

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

With the help of the GPU-Z utility, we could extract lots of information regarding the video card clocks,memory type, pixel and texture fill rate and so on:

 

 

To receive more in-depth information regarding the GPU, we have used the AIDA64 utility:

 

 

 

 

Temperature tests:

For monitoring the temperatures while in load with GPU-Z, we did enable logging and started a complete run of Time Spy Extreme. With this run, we have seen GPU core not exceeding 73 degrees Celsius, while the memory has also remained at safe values of 80 degrees Celsius. The VRM temperature maximum value we have recorded was 73 degrees Celsius, way under the maximum limit.

 

 

For getting the temperature averages during multiple runs, we have used the HWINFO64 utility and enabled the Time Spy Extreme stress testing (5 runs). During very stressful tools such as this one, more heat can accumulate inside the case and at the same time we can see ASIC power spikes up to 269W. A maximum boost clock can be also observed as being 2051Mhz. During the runs, the ambient temperature was 23.2 degrees Celsius:

 

 

 

Noise measurements

Before measuring out the noise the video card was producing, we have first measured the noise inside the room the tests took place and we found out it was 28.9 dBA (with everything turned off).

At all times, the sound meter was placed 20cm near the video card.

The GPU fan was controlled by the AMD Wattman utility:

 

 

Besides building a new test bench in order to avoid platform limitations, we have also modified the software suite and it now includes updated games, but also synthetic benchmarks.

 

3DMark

 

3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by UL, (formerly Futuremark), to determine the performance of a computer's 3D graphic rendering and CPU workload processing capabilities. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score, with higher numbers indicating better performance. The 3DMark measurement unit is intended to give a normalized mean for comparing different PC hardware configurations (mostly graphics processing units and central processing units), which proponents such as gamers and overclocking enthusiasts assert is indicative of end-user performance capabilities.

 

Time Spy

Time Spy Extreme

Port Royal

Fire Strike Ultra

Fire Strike Extreme

Fire Strike

Unigine Superposition

 

Superposition benchmark continues the line of GPU benchmarks by UNIGINE used by tens of millions of people around the world. Superposition is a new-generation benchmark tailored for testing reliability and performance of the latest GPUs.

 

 

Gears of War 4

Details: Ultra

 

Gears of War 4. Gears of War 4 is a third-person shooter video game developed by The Coalition and published by Microsoft Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. It is the fifth main installment in the Gears of War series, and the first mainline entry not to be developed by Epic Games.

 

Forza Horizon 4

Details: Ultra

 

Forza Horizon 4 is an open world racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on 2 October 2018 on Xbox One and Microsoft Windows after being announced at Xbox's E3 2018 conference. The game is set in a fictionalised representation of the United Kingdom.

 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Details: Ultra

 

Mankind Divided is set in 2029, two years after Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The Deus Ex series is set in a cyberpunk future rife with secret organizations and conspiracies, including the Illuminati.

 

Strange Brigade

Details: Ultra

 

Strange Brigade is a third-person shooter with a huge emphasis on cooperative gameplay. In the game, the player assumes the role of an adventurer in the 1930s and can team up with three other players to fight against different mythological enemies like mummies, giant scorpions and minotaurs.

 

Hitman 2

Details: Ultra

 

Sniper Assassin mode brings a co-op experience to the Hitman series for the first time, allowing two players to work together online to take down their targets as Stone And Knight. ... Ghost Mode is a brand new game mode for HITMAN 2 that introduces competitive multiplayer for the first time ever in the franchise!

 

FarCry New Dawn

Details: Ultra

 

Similar to its predecessors, Far Cry New Dawn is an action-adventure first-person shooter set in an open world environment which the player can explore freely on foot or via various vehicles. The game is set in the fictional Hope County, Montana and uses a reimagined version of Far Cry 5's map.

 

 

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Details: Ultra High

 

The game is set in 431 BC, four hundred years before the events of Assassin's Creed Origins. It recounts a secret fictional history set during the Peloponnesian War, which was fought between the city-states of Greece.

 

Metro Exodus

Details: Ultra

 

Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter game with survival horror and stealth elements. ... The game features a mixture of linear levels and sandbox environments. It also includes a dynamic weather system, a day-night cycle, and environments that change along with the seasons as the story progresses.

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Details: Very High

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action-adventure game in which players control Lara Croft, who is on a quest to discover the legendary city of Kitezh.

 

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Details: Highest

 

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be.

 

Final Fantasy XIV ShadowBringers

Details: Maximum

 

Explore breathtaking new environments, encounter exotic new races, master exciting new jobs, and fight alongside prominent characters with the new Trust system as you embark on a new journey as the Warrior of Darkness! With over 16 million adventurers worldwide, join the next chapter and become what you must.

 

For Honor

Details: Extreme

 

For Honor is an action fighting game set during a medieval, fantasy setting. Players can play as a character from three different factions, namely the Iron Legion (Knights), the Warborn (Vikings), and the Dawn Empire (Samurai).

 

 

XFX did listen to user feedback and watched closely the competition after the release of the THICC II card and the end result is quite amazing: we are getting a well designed package that features the same attractive shroud elements, three new fans that are able to spin under 500RPM under low GPU load but also a revised heatsink. The new heatsink comes with a copper interposer for the memory that helps drop temperatures considerably, while keeping the whole package TGP at values of over 260W. Besides the high-quality fans, the card BIOS has been tuned for low RPMs under load so the THICC III won’t really bother you in terms of acoustics while playing the latest games.

 

 

 

In terms of performance, the card really takes the performance crown and succeeds to boost up to no less than 2051MHz.

 

XFX is also offering now free replacements of the revised THICC II cooler, if the technical service is contacted directly, which can also translate in great customer service.

 

The THICC III Ultra card can be found online for about 439 Euros at the time of the review.

XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB GDDR6 Ultra THICC III Video Card is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to XFX for making this review possible!