ASUS today announced a new lineup of ROG Strix and TUF Gaming AMD Radeon 6000 Series graphics cards. The new AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series and the underlying RDNA 2 GPU gaming architecture herald a new era of Radeon graphics power. To get the most out of these exciting new GPUs, ASUS engineers have been hard at work developing ROG Strix and TUF Gaming graphics cards that deliver the high performance, low temperatures and quiet operation that enthusiasts expect.
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is one of the most powerful GPUs that AMD has ever built. As ASUS engineers began to sketch out the ROG Strix card, the raw power of the Radeon RX 6800 XT spurred design of a cooling system that could unleash its full potential. During this process, the ASUS team naturally turned to liquid cooling. PC enthusiasts the world over are already familiar with the benefits of all-in-one liquid cooling systems for their CPUs, and many of them have even added similar systems to their graphics cards using aftermarket kits to pursue the outer limits of GPU performance.
The ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT fuses the power of air and liquid cooling out of the box. It is designed from the ground up with a custom liquid cooling module that’s specifically tailored to the needs of a graphics card. A large cold plate cools both the GPU die and the GDDR6 memory modules that ring the chip. The heat from those components is transferred directly into the liquid cooling loop rather than into the case’s internal environment. At the other end of the loop, a 240 mm radiator strikes the right balance between high cooling potential and broad compatibility with the mounting points available in today’s PC cases. A low-noise blower fan and low-profile heat sink within the shroud of the graphics card ensures the power-delivery circuitry stays cool.
However it is mounted in a PC, the ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT seamlessly integrates with the build. The card is equipped with especially long 600 mm coolant hoses to allow for more mounting options in a case, even in EATX enclosures with cavernous interiors. The hoses are sleeved in textile webbing to protect against abrasion and to add an extra touch of class to the system.
To move heat out of the loop, a pair of custom-designed 120 mm radiator fans that are optimized for both high CFMs and static pressure keep air moving through the closely packed fins of the heat exchanger. As with other ROG Strix cards, the ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT’s onboard FanConnect II headers can be connected to a pair of system fans. These headers let connected case fans respond directly to changes in GPU or CPU temperatures, increasing airflow right when it’s needed.
The ROG Strix RX 6800 flies high with a full complement of ROG innovations
Alongside the Radeon RX 6800 XT, AMD is also announcing the AMD Radeon RX 6800 to bring ‘Big Navi’ performance to more midrange systems. For Radeon fans in the Republic of Gamers, the ROG Strix version of the RX 6800 comes decked out with all the latest ASUS advancements for air-cooled graphics cards.
A massive 2.9-slot heat sink effectively transfers heat away from the GPU silicon itself using multiple heat pipes and a MaxContact base plate, which increases surface area for better heat transfer. A trio of fans with the latest Axial-tech design push plenty of airflow through the heat sink’s dense fin array while minimizing noise levels. Notched barrier rings on the outer fans, along with higher blade counts than the previous generation and a counter-rotating central fan, ensure that airflow is directed to the hottest parts of the GPU cooler with minimal interference from unwanted turbulence. The custom short PCB of the ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800 facilitates a ventilation cutout in the full-length back plate of the cooler, providing more room for heat to exit the GPU and enter the case’s airflow path.
TUF Gaming pairs sturdy and stealthy designs with the RX 6800 XT and RX 6800
For gamers who want sturdy, stealthy graphics cards, ASUS also created TUF Gaming versions of the Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800. The cooling design of both cards starts with a 2.9-slot heat sink built for plenty of thermal headroom and quiet operation under the demands of today’s highest-wattage GPUs. Air is propelled through that high surface area heat sink using three Axial-tech fans. Just like on the ROG Strix cooler, the central fan rotates clockwise while the two on the flanks spin counterclockwise to reduce turbulence. This proven design allows higher RPMs and more air movement through the heat sink without a corresponding increase in acoustic footprint. An angular aluminum shroud with a rugged new industrial design wraps around the heat sink to suggest a sense of purposeful performance.
A full-length aluminum backplate adds a touch of style to a system with subtle TUF Gaming graphics, and a large ventilation cutout ahead of the short custom PCB provides another route for hot air to enter the case’s airflow path. Auto-Extreme assembly technology, used across the lineup, precisely places and solders components without human intervention to boost reliability and build quality. A 144-hour testing regime and extra-sturdy capacitors ensure out-of-the-box reliability and a long service life. Users can also personalize the card to match the rest of the system using the onboard Aura RGB LEDs.
