ASUS ROG Radeon RX 6750 XT STRIX review - Final words and conclusion

Final words

That STRIX is a seductive little scoundrel, and it has the looks and silence to match. Overall, the Radeon RX 6750 XT is a memorable card for gaming in the WQHD (2560x1440) resolution area, although it is somewhat pricey. In the previous two years, mainstream serials have experienced extraordinary price increases. Out of the box, this performs better than a reference video card, however since AMD is not distributing these for review, it'll be a bit of a wild guess. To support the powerful cooling and three fan architecture, the mainstream video card is physically larger in every dimension. The backplate is adequately vented and provides cooling via thermal pads. It is possible that the standard RX 6750 XT performs similarly to the RTX 3070 Ti and sometimes 3080, but solely in terms of shading performance. Raytracing performance is significantly slower than that of the rivals. Also, this is mainly in the lower resolutions thanks to caching techniques applied. While the Infinity cache works well in most cases, it was designed as a workaround for a flaw in the memory type chosen (GDDR6 versus GDDR6X), and the current AMD GPUs are memory bandwidth constrained, even when using GDDR6 at 18 Gbps, but especially when using a 192-bit wide memory bus. We question AMD's attempt to justify a price of 549 USD though. 

Performance spread reference

We've been fairly busy over the last week or so, with eight Radeon RX 6x50 XT reviews lined up, technically more as we're still waiting on other brand samples as well. Thus, the variances are not enormous from top to bottom; have a look:

So the chart above is arbitrary in the sense that results can deffer a single % here and there, less so in fillrate limited situation, more so in GPU bound situations. But from reference to the fastest AIB cards, you're looking at 3 to 4% differentials (depending on game and resolution).

Cooling & acoustic

ASUS performs great. You've seen the FLIR photographs; there is barely any illumination. The performance BIOS mode cools this card to 56 degrees Celsius, while the silent BIOS mode cools it to give or take 60 degrees Celsius. Both modes provide the same performance. Temperatures will differ slightly based on chassis and airflow. Regarding acoustics, there is only one mode to consider, quiet BIOS mode, since it is, in fact, silent. Honestly, the performance option makes little sense if there is no more performance to gain.

Energy

Heat output and energy consumption are closely related to each other, as (graphics) processors and heat can be perceived as a 1:1 state; 250 Watts in energy consumption approaches close to 250 Watts in heat as output. This is the basis of TDP. AMD is listing the card at 250W, which is okay at best for a graphics card in the year 2022. We measure numbers slightly above the XT's advertised values; we measure the entire power consumption of the card to close in at ~275 Watt, that's total board power not TGP (fans and RGB can easily utilize 10~15 Watts). The card can peak to 300W (spikes).

Coil whine

Compared to the reference Radeon RX 6700 XT, the STRIX card exhibits far less coil squeal. It's at a level you can hardly hear it. In a closed chassis, that noise would fade away in the background. However, with an open chassis, you can hear coil whine/squeal. Graphics cards all make this in some form, especially at higher framerates; this can be perceived. 

Pricing

AMD has done a great job with NAVI22. However, the price of an entry-level to mainstream graphics card has risen to $549. The model listed and tested today under SKU code 90YV0HK1-M0NA00, will cost $649. Too pricy? Yes. The cards sit close to RTX 3070 series performance though, but only in shading performance. Raw Raytracing's performance lags behind the competitors. 

Tweaking

The RX 6750 XT enjoys having more memory bandwidth available to it. You can add it manually and get up to 18.5; however, results will vary depending on the board, brand, and even card due to cooling (GDDR6/GPU/VRM) and other factors. We could get this AMD Navi GPU to run at a very respectable 2950 MHz with a little GPU tweaking. And that's without any anomalies or crashes of any kind. The dynamic clock frequency is now hovering in the ~2900 MHz range, depending on the load, game/app, and board assigned power. Even so, that's quite a feat. As is always the case, all of your tweaking and increased energy consumption will only provide you with a maximum of ~5% improvement in performance (depending on your results and model graphics card). It must successfully complete four-game runs (in four different games) in 2560x1440 resolution in order to be considered stable enough to be listed here.

Conclusion

The STRIX is an exquisite, possibly even overengineered graphics card for the Radeon RX 6750 XT product family. It provides additional features (dual BIOS, RGB/Fan connectors, etc.), cooling, and a factory tweak (for the OC variant), but that pricing, huh? The GPU stays cool and silent while gaming thanks to IC-powered fan technologies that keep the fans running precisely. You will have a WQHD product with excellent performance at temperatures and noise levels that are perfectly acceptable. Aesthetically, the card is beautiful, albeit perhaps a bit large. As said, this is a beautiful Full HD and Quad HD card with limited Ultra HD capabilities. The raytracing performance of this generation's RDNA2 GPUs is merely ordinary, while AMD is severely lacking in DLSS. All of these might be overlooked if the product was reasonably priced, but since the card will likely cost well over 600 USD/EUR, we cannot rationalize such a price point. This is not ASUS's fault; AMD has priced this series excessively. Nonetheless, the design is exquisite, with all the necessary boxes checked. The STRIX cards are always well-executed, and ASUS has done an excellent job of addressing the demands of the majority of customers and giving a well-rounded solution as a consequence.

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- Hilbert, LOAD"*",8,1.