The flagship Navi based graphics cards have been highly anticipated ever since AMD introduced its first-generation RDNA lineup. While the first generation RDNA gave us a small glimpse of what we could expect from a flagship offering, the lineup never really introduced its own flagship variant & instead focused on the more mainstream performance-ended products. But two years later, the wait is finally over!
AMD has officially launched its Big Navi graphics card lineup and it's not just the biggest Navi GPU we have seen to date but also based on the 2nd Generation RDNA 2 architecture which delivers an impressive leap in performance per watt while offering a range of new features to put AMD Radeon ack in the high-end and enthusiast market segment.
The AMD RDNA 2 architecture for its Big Navi Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6900 series graphics cards has a lot to offer. In addition to architectural enhancements, you can expect hardware-accelerated ray tracing, smart access memory, Infinity Cache, and a lot more features on-deck which make the lineup one of the most competitive enthusiast families that AMD has ever positioned against NVIDIA.
Some of the main features for the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards include:
- AMD Infinity Cache – A high-performance, last-level data cache suitable for 4K and 1440p gaming with the highest level of detail enabled. 128 MB of on-die cache dramatically reduces latency and power consumption, delivering higher overall gaming performance than traditional architectural designs.
- AMD Smart Access Memory – An exclusive feature of systems with AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processors, AMD B550 and X570 motherboards, and Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics cards. It gives AMD Ryzen processors greater access to the high-speed GDDR6 graphics memory, accelerating CPU processing and providing up to a 13-percent performance increase on an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card in Forza Horizon 4 at 4K when combined with the new Rage Mode one-click overclocking setting.
- Built for Standard Chassis – With a length of 267mm and 2x8 standard 8-pin power connectors, and designed to operate with existing enthusiast-class 650W-750W power supplies, gamers can easily upgrade their existing large to small form factor PCs without additional cost.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT "Big Navi 21 XT" GPU Powered 16 GB Graphics Card Specifications
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT will come packed with the Navi 21 XT GPU which is a cut-down SKU featuring 72 Compute Units or 4608 SPs. The card will also feature 16 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit bus interface, a 512 GB/s total bandwidth, and clock speeds of 2015 MHz base and 2250 MHz boost at reference specs. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT also packs 72 Ray Accelerators which are dedicated for real-time raytracing workloads. The card will feature a based TBP of 300W with factory-overclocked models pushing it above 350W and will arrive at a later date.
In addition to the standard memory, the Radeon RX 6800 series graphics cards will also feature 128 MB of Infinity Cache on the GPU die. The cache will help boost bandwidth for higher performance at resolutions beyond 1080p HD. The 128 MB Infinity Cache boosts the standard 512 GB/s bandwidth by 3.25x, delivering an effective bandwidth of up to 1.664 TB/s across all Big Navi GPU based graphics cards.
In terms of performance, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is shown to compete against the GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card. The card features a 20W lower total board power & delivers better GPU performance in several AAA titles using the best API (Vulkan / DirectX 12). AMD is also bringing its Rage-mode back which is an automatic overclocking tool within its Radeon Software suite that delivers even higher performance along with a nifty new feature known as Smart Access. Gains of up to 13% were showcased with the said features as can be seen below.
So for this review, I will be taking a look at the MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio. The Gaming X Trio comes is said to feature an MSRP of around $849 US so that's a $200 US premium over the 649 US reference MSRP. At this price, you get a triple-fan cooling solution and a factory overclock out of the box.
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series "RDNA 2" Graphics Card Lineup:
| Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX 6700 | AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT | AMD Radeon RX 6800 | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | Navi 22 (XL?) | Navi 22 (XT?) | Navi 21 XL | Navi 21 XT | Navi 21 XTX |
| Process Node | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm | 7nm |
| Transistors | TBA | TBA | 26.8 Billion | 26.8 Billion | 26.8 Billion |
| Compute Units | TBA | 40 | 60 | 72 | 80 |
| Stream Processors | TBA | 2560 | 3840 | 4608 | 5120 |
| TMUs/ROPs | TBA | TBA | 240 / 96 | 288 / 128 | 320 / 128 |
| Game Clock | TBA | TBA | 1815 MHz | 2015 MHz | 2015 MHz |
| Boost Clock | TBA | TBA | 2105 MHz | 2250 MHz | 2250 MHz |
| FP32 TFLOPs | TBA | TBA | 16.17 TFLOPs | 20.74 TFLOPs | 23.04 TFLOPs |
| Memory Size | 12 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache | 16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache | 16 GB GDDR6 +128 MB Infinity Cache |
| Memory Bus | 192-bit | 192-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Memory Clock | 14 Gbps? | 16 Gbps? | 16 Gbps | 16 Gbps | 16 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 320 GB/s | 384 GB/s | 512 GB/s | 512 GB/s | 512 GB/s |
| TDP | TBA | TBA | 250W | 300W | 300W |
| Price | TBA | TBA | $579 US | $649 US | $999 US |
In case you want to read our full AMD RDNA 2 GPU architecture deep dive and Radeon RX 6800 XT reference model review, head over to this link.
The MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio is the flagship variant in the RX 6800 family. It is a very powerful graphics card, rocking the 2nd generation Tri-Frozr cooling for MSI's Gaming graphics cards. In overall size and weight, this thing is just tons of massive performance packed in one triple slot form factor.
In addition to the custom design, the Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio comes with a non-reference PCB, featuring a 13+3 phase design that features higher quality components than the reference variant which is already a really good design by itself. In terms of clock speeds, the graphics card features the same base frequency of 1850 MHz but the boost clock is rated at 2285 MHz which is a 35 MHz clock bump over the reference model. The card features a TDP of 300W which is the same as the reference model.
Following are some of the features of the MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio before we go into detail:
Boost Clock / Memory Speed
- Up to 2285 MHz / 16 Gbps
- 16GB GDDR6
- DisplayPort x 3
HDMI x 1 (Supports 4K@120Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1)
TRI FROZR 2 Thermal Design
- TORX Fan 4.0: A masterpiece of teamwork, fan blades work in pairs to create unprecedented levels of focused air pressure.
- Core Pipe: Precision-crafted heat pipes ensure max contact to the GPU and spread heat along the full length of the heatsink.
- Airflow Control: Don't sweat it, Airflow Control guides the air to exactly where it needs to be for maximum cooling.
RGB Mystic Light
- Mystic Light gives you complete control of the RGB lighting for MSI devices and compatible RGB products.
Dragon Center
- MSI's exclusive Dragon Center software lets you monitor, tweak, and optimize MSI products in real-time.
MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio Graphics Card Gallery:
The MSI Gaming X Trio Graphics Cards With 2nd Tri-Frozr Cooling
With the differences out of the way, now let's talk about the similarities and the main highlights of the Gaming X Trio design. The Gaming X Trio is a toned-down variant of the much higher-end card, the MSI Lightning. Both cards use advanced Tri-Frozr coolers which are the replacement of the MSI Twin Frozr series which have been widely used in current and last-generation graphics cards from MSI.
The latest iteration of MSI’s iconic GAMING series once again brings performance, low-noise efficiency, and aesthetics that hardcore gamers have come to recognize and trust. Now you too can enjoy all your favorite games with a powerful graphics card that stays cool and silent. Just the way you like it.
MSI has incorporated and refined a couple of things in the new Tri-Frozr design for Gaming X Trio graphics cards. First is the TORX fan 4.0 which uses a ring design that connects two fan-blades with each other to increase airflow towards the internal heatsink assembly. These fans are made up of a double ball bearing design which ensures silent functionality in heavy loads.
The fans are fully compliant with the Zero Frozr Technology and are actually comprised of three areas. All of these would stay at 0 RPM (idle state) if the temperatures don't exceed 60C. When it does exceed 60C, all fans would start spinning. You can change that through the MSI configuration panel if you want more cooling performance over noise load but it's a nifty feature that I do like.
In addition to the cooling fans, the heatsink has been designed to be denser by using the brand new wave curved 2.0 fin design. The new heatsink makes use of deflectors to allow more air to pass through the fins smoothly, without causing any turbulence that would result in unwanted noise. MSI estimates a 2 degrees (C) drop in temperatures with the updated design versus the previous generation cooling system.
Talking about the heatsink, the massive block is comprised of seven copper squared shaped heat pipes with a more concentrated design to transfer heat from the copper base to the heatsink more effectively. The base itself is a solid nickel-plated base plate, transferring heat to the heat pipes in a very effective manner. To top it all off, MSI uses their exclusive Thermal Compound X which is said to offer higher thermal interface and heat transfer compared to traditional TIM applications.
Rocking a classy brushed look, the backplate on the GAMING TRIO series provides a nice visual finish to the card. It also strengthens the card and thanks to some cleverly placed thermal pads even helps to keep temperatures low.
The MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio graphics card comes inside a standard cardboard box. The front of both packages has a large "AMD Radeon" brand logo along with the "MSI" logo on the top left corner and the "Gaming X Trio" series branding on the lower-left corner. A large picture of the graphics card itself is depicted on the front which gives a nice preview of the Gaming X Trio design.
The packaging has put a large emphasis on the AMD RDNA 2 architecture as the first feature enlisted by AIBs. There's also a mention of 4K gaming, 16 GB GDDR6 memory, and PCIe 4.0 functionality for the card.
The back of the box is very typical, highlighting the main features and specifications of the cards. The three key aspects of MSI's top-tier custom cards are its blazing performance which is achieved by fully custom design, the new Tri-Frozr cooling system, and a new wave-curved 2.0 heatsink which will offer better cooling performance compared to the traditional flat-surfaced fin heatsinks.
There's also a focus towards AMD.com on each AIB card through which users can download the latest drivers and Radeon Software application which are a must for gamers to access all feature sets of the new cards.
The sides of the box once again greet us with the large Radeon RX branding. There's also the mention of 16 GB GDDR6 (RX 6800 XT) memory available on the card. The higher memory bandwidth delivered through the new GDDR6 interface would help improve performance in gaming titles at higher resolution over GDDR6 and GDDR5X based graphics cards.
Outside of the box, the graphics card and the accessory package are held firmly by foam packaging. The graphics card comes with a few accessories and manuals which might not be of much use for hardcore enthusiasts but can be useful for the mainstream gaming audience.
The card is nicely wrapped within an anti-static cover which is useful to prevent any unwanted static discharges on various surfaces that might harm the graphics card. The card accessories include a Molex power connector which isn't of much use in high-end systems since the PSUs already have the required cables.
The most interesting accessory that I found in the package was a graphics card support bracket. This bracket connects the graphics card to the casing, offering better durability and prevents any sort of bending that may occur due to the heavyweight of the Gaming X Trio series graphics cards.
Useful manuals and installation guides are packed within an MSI labeled letter case. There is an MSI Quick Users Guide, a Support bracket installation guide, a sticker letter, the MSI DIY comic, and a single driver's disk. It's best to ignore the driver disk and install the latest software and graphics drivers directly from the AMD and MSI official web pages as the ones shipped in the disks could be older versions and not deliver optimal performance for your graphics cards.
After the package is taken care of, I can finally start talking about the card itself. This thing is a beast and I can't wait to test it out to find what kind of performance improvement I get over current-gen cards.
MSI’s Tri Frozr heat sinks are some of the biggest heatsink cooling solutions that I have ever tested. I first tested the Gaming X Trio when MSI released the 1080 Ti variant back in 2017 and that was a very aggressive design in its own right. With the RTX 30 series cards, MSI has further refined the Gaming X Trio design. The card measures the same at 335 x 140 x 56 mm and weighs in at 1565 grams. The card is also slightly taller at 2.7 slots height compared to the 2.5 slots height of the previous model.
You would have to keep in mind the height when going for a dual card solution as your case or motherboard PCIe slot combination may not allow such a setup. The cooling shroud extends all the way to the back of the PCB and it requires a casing with good interior space for proper installation.
The back of the card features a solid backplate which looks stunning. The backplate offers a lot more functionality than just looks which I will get back to in a bit.
In terms of design, we are looking at an updated version of the Tri Frozr heatsink which is now in its sixth variation while for the Gaming X series, this is the 2nd iteration. The first variation started off with the GTX 780 Ti Lightning, the second was the 980 Ti Lightning, then came the 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio, the 1080 Ti Lightning, and then the RTX 20 and RTX SUPER Gaming X Trio graphics cards.
The new heatsink looks like a beefed-up version of the Gaming X Trio with the main changes being the shroud and heatsink design that feature an aggressive shroud design on the front, absorbing the black and silver color platelets while featuring the RGB emitting acrylic cutouts at the front. The sides also come with a large RGB accent bar which lights up when the card is powered on.
Coming to the fans, the card actually features two different fan designs based on the Torx 4.0 system. All three fans feature a ring-based design to allow for higher airflow to be channeled within the main heatsink. All fans deploy a double ball bearing design and can last a long time while operating silently.
MSI also features their Zero Frozr technology on the Tri Frozr heatsink. This feature won’t spin the fans on the card unless they reach a certain threshold.
In the case of the Tri Frozr heatsink, that limit is set to 60C. If the card is operating under 60C, the fans won’t spin which means no extra noise would be generated.
I am back at talking about the full-coverage, full metal-based backplate which the card uses. The whole plate is made of solid metal with rounded edges that add to the durability of this card. The brushed matte-black finish on the backplate gives a unique aesthetic.
There are cutouts in screw placements to easily reach the points on the graphics card. We can also see the MSI Dragon logo on the back which looks stunning. MSI is also using heat pads beneath the backplate which offer more cooling to the electrical circuitry on the PCB.
With the outsides of the card done, I will now start taking a glance at what's beneath the hood of these monster graphics cards. The first thing to catch my eye is the humungous fin stack that's part of the beefy heatsink which the cards utilize.
The large fin stack runs all the way from the front and to the back of the PCB and is so thick that you can barely see through it. It also comes with the wave-curved 2.0 fin stack design which I want to shed some light on as it is a turn away from traditional fin design and one that may actually offer better cooling on such power-hungry graphics cards such as the RX 6800 XT & RX 6900 XT.
The heatsink has been designed to be denser by using a wave curved fin design. It allows more air to pass through the fins smoothly, without causing any turbulence that would result in unwanted noise. Airflow Control Technology guides the airflow directly onto the heat pipes, while simultaneously creating more surface area for the air to absorb more heat before leaving the heatsink.
Talking about the heatsink, the massive block is comprised of seven copper squared shaped heat pipes with a more concentrated design to transfer heat from the copper base to the heatsink more effectively. The base itself is a solid nickel-plated base plate, transferring heat to the heat pipes in a very effective manner. To top it all off, MSI uses their exclusive Thermal Compound X which is said to offer higher thermal interface and heat transfer compared to traditional TIM applications.
MSI adds extra protection to its impressive PCB by including a rugged anti-bending plate. This also acts as a memory and MOSFET cooling plate while the PWM heatsink with micro fins keeps the VRM cool under stressful conditions.
I/O on the graphics card sticks with the reference scheme which includes three Display Port 1.4a & a single HDMI 2.1 port.
MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio Teardown:
MSI makes use of a 13+3 phase PWM design that includes its Military Class components such as Hi-C Caps, Super Ferrite Chokes, and Japanese Solid Caps. The main VRM controller is an Infineon XDPE132G5D which powers the 13 GPU phases. For VRAM, the controller is an OnSemi NCP81022N while the MOSFETs are made up of IR's TDA21472 DrMOS.
The card also uses the GDDR6 memory from Micron that operates at 16 Gbps alongside a 256-bit wide memory interface.
The MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio is a very power-hungry graphics card as showcased by its custom design. Being so, it uses a very power-intensive connector configuration which comprises dual 8 pin connectors. The card is rated at a TDP of 300W officially by MSI.
MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio Series RGB Lighting Gallery:
MSI Gaming X Trio series cards utilize their Mystic Light RGB technology to offer you a visually pleasing lighting experience on your graphics cards. There are a total of 8 different RGB effects which you can choose from and the cards have 3 RGB accent points, 2 on the front, and one lightbar surrounding the side of the card which looks really good. You can fully customize the RGB lights to your preference using the MSI Mystic Light application from MSI's web page.
Following is what the graphics card looks like when lit up.
We used the following test system for comparison between the different graphics cards. The latest drivers that were available at the time of testing were used from AMD and NVIDIA on an updated version of Windows 10. All games that were tested were patched to the latest version for better performance optimization for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.
Do note that the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT performance was evaluated on an Intel Z490 platform with the Core i7-10700K while the memory and rest of the specifications were kept similar to our Z390 testbed. This was done for the sole purpose of comparing SAM (Smart Access Memory) GPU performance which is only possible on Intel's 400 and AMD's 500/400 series platforms.
MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio Test Setup:
| CPU | Intel Core i9-9900K @ 4.70 GHz |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | AORUS Z390 Master |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z MSI GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming X MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Lightning X |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Series 32GB (4 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz |
| Storage | Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB) |
| Power Supply | ASUS ROG THOR 1200W PSU |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Drivers | AMD Radeon Adrenalin Edition 20.7.2 NVIDIA GeForce 456.38 WHQL |
- All games were tested on 2560×1440 (2K) and 3840×2160 (4K) resolutions.
- Image Quality and graphics configurations have been provided in the screenshots below.
- The “reference” cards are the stock configs while the “overclock” cards are factory overclocked configs provided to us by various AIB partners.
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Doom Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption II is one of the most visually stunning open-world games I've played to date that is backed up by a rich story set around the protagonist, Arthur Morgan. The game is based on the RAGE engine which features an insane amount of graphics fidelity but also requires a lot of power to run maxed out. For the purpose of this test, we set the graphics settings to Ultra with AA turned disabled.
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Wolfenstein is back in The New Colossus and features the most fast-paced, gory, and brutal FPS action ever! The game once again puts us back in the Nazi-controlled world as BJ Blazkowicz. Set during an alternate future where Nazis won the World War, the game shows that it can be fun and can be brutal to the player and to the enemy too. Powering the new title is once again, id Tech 6 which is much acclaimed after the success that DOOM has become. In a way, ID has regained their glorious FPS roots and are slaying with every new title.
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Ashes of The Singularity: Escalation
NVIDIA and AMD have been tweaking the performance of their cards for Ashes of the Singularity since the title released. It was the first to make use of the DirectX 12 API and the first to leverage from the new Async compute technology that makes use of the DX12 renderer to improve performance.
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best looking Battlefields to date.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Humanity is at war with itself and divided into factions. On one end, we have the pure and on the other, we have the augmented. That is the world where Adam Jensen lives in and this is the world of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The game uses the next generation Dawn Engine that was made by IO interactive on the foundation of their Glacier 2 engine. The game features the support of DirectX 12 API and is one of the most visually intensive titles that taxes the GPU really hard.
Death Stranding
Sam Porter Bridges has delivered one of PS4's most anticipated games to the PC community and opened a whole new world of possibilities. This was the first game to feature the Decima Engine on PC and unarguably did it the best. Death Stranding may not feature ray tracing effects but it does showcase that DLSS can be used effectively even when RT isn't around. We tested this one just like we did in our launch coverage with DLSS enabled.
Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 carries on the open-world racing tradition of the Horizon series. The latest DX12 powered entry is beautifully crafted and amazingly well executed and is a great showcase of DX12 games. We use the benchmark run while having all of the settings set to non-dynamic with an uncapped framerate to gather these results.
Hitman 2 (DX12 Highest Settings)
Hitman 2 is the highly acclaimed sequel to 2016 Hitman which was a redesign and reimaging of the game from the ground up. With a focus on stealth gameplay through various missions, the game once again lets you play as Agent 47 who embarks on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Shadow Client. The game runs on IO’s Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine which has been updated to deliver amazing visuals and environments on each level while making use of DirectX 12 API.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners.
Assassins Creed: Origins
Assassins Creed Origins is built by the same team that made Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag. They are known for reinventing the design and game philosophy of the Assassins Creed saga and their latest title shows that. Based in Egypt, the open-world action RPG shows its graphics strength in all corners. It uses the AnvilNext 2.0 engine which boosts the draw distance range and delivers a very impressive graphics display.
We tested the game at maxed settings with TAA enabled and 16x AF. Do note that the game is one of the most demanding titles out in the market and as such tweaks and performance issues are being patched out.
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 has made its way into the test lineup thanks to strong demand by gamers and simply delivering MORE Borderlands. The game was tested with max settings under the DX11 preset since the DX12 preset doesn't deliver any visible improvement in either frame rate or graphics at the moment.
Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 is a standalone successor to its predecessor and takes place in Hope County, a fictional region of Montana. The main story revolves around doomsday cult the Project at Eden’s Gate and its charismatic leader Joseph Seed. It uses a beefed-up Dunia Engine which itself is a modified version of CryEngine from Crytek.
Final Fantasy XV
Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V is the most optimized gaming title that has been made for the PC. It’s so optimized, it even runs on my crap GT 840M based laptop with a smooth FPS on a mix of medium/low settings. I mean what???
Aside from being optimized, GTA V is a great game. It was the Game of The Year for 2013. At 1440p Ultra quality, the game gave us smooth frames on all cards tested.
No graphics card review is complete without evaluating its temperatures and thermal load. The MSI Gaming X Trio graphics card comes with a triple-fan cooler with 0db fan technology, a massive heatsink that is composed of several aluminum fins and heat pipes, and an extended backplate that covers the entire PCB. The GALAX EX series on the other hand makes use of a premium dual-fan cooling system which also incorporates 0db fans and has a large aluminum heatsink.
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Note – We tested load with Kombuster which is known as a ‘power virus’ and can permanently damage the hardware. Use such software at your own risk!
I compiled the power consumption results by testing each card under idle and full stress when the card was running games. Each graphics card manufacturer sets a default TDP for the card which can vary from vendor to vendor depending on the extra clocks or board features they plugin on their custom cards. Default TDP for the RTX 3060 Ti is set at 175W while the custom models come with a 200W (MSI) and a 190W (GALAX) TDP, respectively.
Also, it's worth noting that the 8nm process from Samsung increases the density by around 2x versus the previous generation. NVIDIA is cramping even larger amounts of transistors and more cores than their previous cards, making it one of the densest chips built to date. It's likely to consume a lot of power and the results are reflective of that.
MSI's Radeon RX 6800 series custom graphics cards are finally here and I got the chance to test out the Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio which turned out to be a really interesting experience. MSI is doing a fantastic job with its Gaming X Trio lineup which is not only better looking than the last-gen Gaming X Trio lineup but also has far better thermal performance. This is also my first time to test AMD's brand new RDNA 2 architecture-based Radeon RX 6800 XT and the performance has me pleasantly surprised.
The sample I received featured a factory overclock of 2285 MHz but the average clock rates peaked between 2400-2500 MHz. You can further push the card through manual overclocking and gain an additional 5-6% performance boost along with SAM that adds an average 7.5% performance gain in several titles that I tested.
As for the cooling solution, the new Gaming X Trio design is built for the power-hungry RDNA 2 chips and does a pretty good job keeping the card under 65C even in stress tests. For gaming, the average temperatures were around 60C while pushing the fan speeds to 100% led to around 51-50C temps which are quite impressive at the cost of more noise output. The power consumption of the card is a metric that might be a cause of concern for many as the card can definitely increase your power input by a large factor.
I saw power figures hit around 350 Watts during gaming while peak consumption in stress tests was around 400 Watts. To run this card, you'd require a high-quality Power Supply which is a must for any flagship graphics card these days. Also, make sure that your supply is outfitted with three PCIe connectors, each on an individual rail to supply this beast with its tremendous power requirements. With that said, the Radeon RX 6800 XT was delivering around the same performance as the GeForce RTX 3080 while consuming lower power and running cooler which shows the tremendous efficiency gain that AMD has achieved with its 2nd generation RDNA architecture.
The card isn't that bulky and should fit inside most cases with relative ease and the triple-fan solution comes with 0db fan technology which unless or until you're touching 60C won't spin at all. This allows lower noise levels when you're not doing any graphics-intensive tasks. MSI went all the way by including a full metal backplate on the card which comes with dual copper heat pipes to effectively transfer heat from the back. The back of the card is also important considering there are 12 memory modules featured on the other side of the PCB which need to be cooled.
The RGB is not overdone and the Mystic Light cuts on the front and sides provide really good aesthetics of the card itself. MSI is charging a $200 US premium for its Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card. That is surely a hefty premium but considering that all AIBs have raised the MSRPs of their cards, $849 US is where you will expect the RX 6800 XT custom cards these days if you can find one which is the harder part. Compared to the RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio, the RX 6800 XT is over $100 US expensive, and while the RX 6800 XT generally tends to perform better and run cooler, it lacks the RTX and DLSS features that give NVIDIA a huge edge. SAM is a feature worth looking into but the green team is already planning to unveil its own competitor which would enable resizable-bar for their GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards.
To conclude, the MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio is a great graphics card with an insane amount of performance packed under its hood. It runs cooler than its GeForce counterparts & consumes lower power. The card also manages to beat the GeForce RTX 3090 in select titles and that is a $1499 US+ graphics card. At the same time, the hefty $849 US+ price point and the lackluster raytracing performance make this card a hard buy if you're interested in raytraced games and as of right now, AMD also doesn't have any competing solution against NVIDIA's DLSS 2.0 which is a game-changer.
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