During the last quarter of 2020, AMD released three exceptionally competitive high-end graphics cards onto the market.
The RX 6800, AMD’s $579 rival against NVIDIA’s RTX 3070. The RX 6900 XT, a $1000 contender to NVIDIA’s $1500 RTX 3090. However, the most interesting release was and still is the RX 6800 XT. For just $650, it competes against the RTX 3080, priced at $700.
Overall, the card is quite exceptional, and it beats the 3080 in terms of pure rasterization. It is an obvious victory while playing games that don’t have any ray tracing features.
It is the obvious choice for many people, but less obvious is which aftermarket RX 6800 XT is the leader for performance and cooling. Should you choose ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, or Sapphire?
There are several options out there, and, to assist you, we have compiled this list of the top RX 6800 XT graphics cards.
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ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT Taichi X
Interface: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB Type-CrnrnBoost Clock: Up to 2360 MHzrnrnDimensions – H: 330 W: 140 H: 56 mm
The Pros:
- New design style on the marketrnOne of the best overclocking RX 6800 XTs
The Cons:
- Unjustified price premium
ASRock is a name you will seldom hear or see when it comes to graphics cards. This is mainly because ASRock is popular for its motherboards, and the company only became AMD’s AIB partner in 2018.
In comparison, brands such as ASUS, MSI, and Sapphire have collaborated with AMD (previously ATI) for multiple decades.
However, just because ASRock is the youngest member does not mean they can’t deliver a superb product. Perhaps the RX 6800 XT Taichi X might be the best of the bunch.
Pricing
The reference design of the RX 6800 XT costs $650. That is a reasonably decent deal, considering that it easily trades blows with the $700 RTX 3080.
However, the RX 6800 XT Taichi X is placed on a completely different price level. Its MSRP is $830, $180 more than AMD originally specified for this card.
This is unacceptable and extremely difficult to justify even after considering all benefits.
Design
The design of the Taichi X has been updated from the previous generation. It is less assertive but still has a bold style on the front.
The initial observation you probably make about this card is that it is incredibly huge. It’s both lengthy and wide.
It receives the standard triple-fan treatment, and those fans are see-through. That is something that we don’t often observe in the current industry.
The central fan is surrounded by a metallic gear-like element. This cogwheel visual is something that you can frequently see on ASRock products. The central fan is also the only one that has RGB lighting.
The side has some distinctive RGB lighting, which is nice to see. Not your typical RGB logo.
There is nothing too fascinating on the backplate in terms of design. It’s black without any over-the-top branding. It’s also metal and has thermal pads under it.
Performance and Overclocking Capabilities
The advertised boost clock is 2360 MHz, but that is not what the benchmarking and gaming results have shown. The Taichi X effortlessly surpasses 2360 MHz during demanding 3D loads. The clocks spike up to 2450 MHz but then stabilize back to approximately 2400 MHz.
So far, this seems quite promising for the youngest AIB partner. Well, ASRock didn’t cease there. The OC headspace also leaves a positive impression.
Users have comfortably pushed above the 2650 MHz threshold, which is something only a few other models have achieved. It is one of the superior RX 6800 XT OC cards. If you are an OC enthusiast, the Taichi X may be your perfect bet.
Thermals
The thermals don’t look too bad, either. In fact, they are quite competitive.
With the default BIOS active, temperatures hover around 73°C. To put that into perspective, the options from Sapphire, XFX, and PowerColor are either at the same level or beyond it.
By enabling the “Quiet BIOS”, the average temperature remains the same, but the noise levels diminish significantly. There is only 31 dBA max system noise with the “Silent BIOS”.
XFX RX 6800 XT Speedster Merc 319 Black
Interface: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB Type-CrnrnBoost Clock: Up to 2340 MHzrnrnDimensions – H: 340 W: 138 H: 54 mm
The Pros:
- Balanced pricingrnOkay cooling
The Cons:
- Might not fit in every case considering the 340 mm lengthrnUnnecessary branding on the back
XFX is one of AMD’s long-standing AIB partners, and they have been fairly consistent with their products throughout the years.
This is XFX’s top card, and the name is a bit of a mouthful: the RX 6800 XT Speedster Merc 319 Black. Not exactly the easiest name to remember.
The Merc is a successor of the RX 5700 XT THICC III that was unveiled back in 2019.
The initial version of the THICC lacked in every aspect. XFX received a lot of severe criticism for its lack of quality control with the THICC. In response, XFX revised their custom card twice, which ultimately led to the conclusive version, THICC III. The ultimate version finally performed as adequately as it should.
As this RX 6800 XT Merc is based on that final version, efficient cooling is anticipated.
Pricing
It’s priced at $150 above the official price of the RX 6800 XT, coming in at $800. This is a significant price hike but considering Taichi X’s pricing and some of the other custom cards on the market, it’s not too unanticipated.
Nobody should support this type of price increase. However, if you are in immediate need of a GPU, you might have no other alternative.
Design
The design is quite similar to the THICC III, but it is a bit simpler. It’s still rather bulky. It’s 340 mm long and weighs over 1800 grams.
The major difference is that the shroud around the fans is made of metal instead of inferior plastic. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it will improve cooling, but metal instead of plastic is always pleasant to see. It suggests improved quality.
There is nothing too fascinating on the front of the GPU, just three fans with minimal visuals on the shroud.
On the side, there is “Radeon RX 6800 XT” branding and an XFX logo. All of this is enhanced by RGB lighting, which is a superb addition.
There is huge “MERC” writing slapped on the backplate, which is excessive, but at least it’s white-colored and doesn’t look too out of place.
Performance and Overclocking Capabilities
The factory boost clock is rated at 2340 MHz which is analogous to the ASRock variant and nearly 100 MHz above the reference card.
This is nothing too crazy, but once you start demanding substantial loads on this GPU, it starts pushing toward 2500 MHz. Although it never quite reaches the 2.5 GHz mark, the peaks do approach that. Once it heats up, the frequency stabilizes at around 2450 MHz.
Like the Taichi X, the RX 6800 XT Speedster Merc 319 Black can be overclocked up to 2650 MHz. That’s probably the typical of what this GPU can achieve with custom OC. If you are fortunate, you might go even further beyond that.
Thermals
Again, this is comparable to the Taichi X. With either BIOS, the GPU stabilizes at around 73-75 °C. Peak system noise at maximum load doesn’t surpass 31 dBA.
These temperatures are not ideal, but that isn’t on the AIB brands because the RX 6800 XT already runs at that temperature overall. However, the noise levels seem pretty good. The fans rarely spin up over 1200 RPM, which is always great to see.
Sapphire Radeon RX 6800 XT Nitro+
Interface: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4rnrnBoost Clock: Up to 2360 MHzrnrnDimensions – H: 310 W: 134 H: 55 mm
The Pros:
- Best cost per framernSolid cooling and noise levelsrnOnly 310 mm long
The Cons:
- No major cons
AMD’s longest-running GPU manufacturing partner Sapphire is back yet again with Pulse and Nitro+ variants, but this time for the RX 6000 series. The RX 6800 XT Nitro+ earns a spot on this list because it is overall an excellent option than the Pulse variant, even though it is costlier.
Given all the positive user and professional reviews for the RX 6800 and RX 6900 XT Nitro+, excellent performance is also anticipated from this one.
Pricing
The RX 6800 XT Nitro+ enters the market at the price of $770. That’s $120 higher than the reference card but still a bit less expensive than the Speedster Merc and Taichi X.
If you want more RGB, you can choose the Special Edition of the Nitro+, which comes with RGB fans. That will cost you $30 more.
Overall, the pricing seems excellent to other offers on the market, but let’s see if saving $30 over the Speedster or $60 over ASRock’s variant is beneficial.
Design
The design of the Nitro+ can’t be ignored: a triple-fan GPU with silver accents in all the correct places. This is nothing as showy as you would see from a STRIX or AORUS card, but it looks great.
The cooler shroud is made of plastic. That’s a trend we commonly observe these days, but using plastic cuts down on the total mass (and cost) of the GPU, so it makes sense. Either way, a metal shroud wouldn’t change much in terms of thermal performance.
You get some RGB on the side and also on the rear. There’s also an ARGB header on the backplate. You can use this to synchronize the graphics card with all the other ARGB LEDs in your enclosure.
Performance and Overclocking Capabilities
The rated boost clock is 2360 MHz with the default BIOS. If you don’t care about the few extra frames from the factory OC, you can switch to the other (quiet) BIOS that has a frequency of 2285 MHz.
Nothing unusual happens when you give it a demanding gaming task to handle. Clocks do jump up to 2500 MHz, but they quickly stabilize back to around 2380 MHz which is very close to the advertised clock speeds.
Fortunately, there is some elasticity to push the core clock even further. With the power limit increased, it’s possible to hit an average of 2600 MHz or more.
The in-game performance gains might not be worth it as both temperatures and noise levels will increase substantially. Keep in mind that this applies to any RX 6800 XT model.
Thermals
For some reason, earlier Sapphire graphics cards didn’t have the “Fan Stop” feature that many other manufacturers have been offering for years. Fortunately, Sapphire has finally added that capability to their Pulse and Nitro+ lineup.
Temperatures look reasonably fine, averaging around 75°C with the default BIOS and 76°C with the quiet BIOS. Overall system noise stays at about 30 dBA.
This is a few degrees hotter than the XFX and ASRock variants, but the Nitro+ is still comparatively hushed. If you want lower temperatures, you can always play around with the fan curve.
MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio
Interface: 1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4rnrnBoost Clock: Up to 2285 MHzrnrnDimensions – H: 324 W: 141 H: 55 mm
The Pros:
- Superior coolingrnGood factory overclockrnNice RGB solution
The Cons:
- Huge price premium
MSI GPUs seem to end up on almost every “Best aftermarket cards” article, and with good reason. Their Gaming X Trio cooling solution works flawlessly for any GPU. It’s quiet and very effective at cooling, allowing for better factory overclocks.
Again, MSI wins a spot on this list. The RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio looks encouraging, so let’s see what it can offer to PC aficionados.
Pricing
Usually, MSI’s Gaming X Trio cards don’t come with a huge price premium over the reference card, but it looks like that may not be the case this time around. There is no official information regarding the MSRP, but reviewers are claiming an MSRP of $850.
That makes it the second priciest RX 6800 XT AIB model in this article.
Considering these prices, the Sapphire Nitro+ quickly becomes a more appealing option. But first, let’s see what MSI has to offer.
Design
The Gaming X Trio is 324 mm long, making it marginally shorter than Taichi X and the Speedster Merc. That’s something to bear in mind.
Overall, MSI’s design choices are quite commendable. It uses a triple-fan setup with a couple of silver accents on the shroud.
There is an RGB stripe across the border of the GPU and a bright logo under it.
There is nothing too noteworthy on the back except a logo of the celebrated MSI dragon.
Performance and Overclocking Capabilities
Ignoring the advertised 2285 MHz clock speed, the GPU reaches an average of 2340 MHz in demanding games such as Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, etc.
The overclocking headroom is fairly similar to most of the other AIB models. Expect an OC of around 2.6 GHz.
Thermals
This is where the RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio outperforms the competition. Temperatures drop down to 67°C with a max system noise of 32 dBA. This is about six degrees cooler than the Taichi X, the second-coolest card on this list.
Which RX 6800 XT Is For You?
The four GPUs listed above are all outstanding cards, but which one is the best for you?
If you are looking for excellent price-to-performance, the Sapphire Radeon RX 6800 XT Nitro+ is the clear choice. It’s cheaper while still offering the same level of cooling and overclocking as any other RX 6800 XT variant. It effortlessly secures the Best Value award.
For those looking for the top performance, get the MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio. It deserves the Best Overall award as it performs well in every aspect. It has a powerful factory overclock, the finest cooling solution we’ve seen, excellent RGB lighting, and decent OC headroom.
Of course, both the Speedster Merc and ASRock’s Taichi X are exceptional cards, which is why they belong on this list. If either of these two catches your eye, you should go for it.
