Best RX 6900 XT Graphics Card

For the first time in over a decade, AMD has finally created a contender to NVIDIA’s leading consumer GPU.

Not only does this competitor perform at the identical level as NVIDIA’s RTX 3090, but it also undercuts it by $500. The RX 6900 XT comes with an MSRP of $1000, while the RTX 3090 costs $1500.

Of course, AMD’s flagship isn’t perfect in every respect. It lacks ray tracing performance and doesn’t have a DLSS equivalent.

The RX 6900 XT is still an outstanding GPU, and offers much better value per dollar than the 3090.

If you are reading this guide, you’re likely already prepared to buy an RX 6900 XT; you just have to pick the suitable AIB model.

To assist you in making that choice, we have thoroughly researched all the RX 6900 XT variants.

Here’s our compilation of the finest selections available!

MSI’s Gaming X Trio has proved to be one of the excellent aftermarket designs for most GPUs. Many reviewers and users have stated that MSI’s cooling solution, Tri-Frozr, is effective for RTX 3090s, 3080s, 3070s, RX 6800 XTs, RX 6800s, and any other card that uses the same triple-fan setup.

The MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio is expected to perform just as strongly in every aspect. Let’s examine more carefully at each feature individually.

Pricing

MSI has not released an MSRP for the Gaming X Trio.

We estimate that the price probably falls somewhere between $250 and $350 above the reference card. This would make it about $1350—an expensive price tag for small gains.

It is challenging to say whether or not this pricing is reasonable. To see the complete picture, it is essential to look at all the other alternatives and compare them in terms of performance and pricing.

Design

First of all, this is a huge graphics card. It is 324mm long. Many buyers might realize they have made a mistake when they cannot fit the GPU into their compact PC case.

Then again, if people are willing to pay $1300+ for a GPU, they are probably also ready to buy a larger PC case.

In terms of design, MSI has made a few updates compared to the previous Gaming X Trio generation. The front of the GPU is a bit more uniform. The visual elements are less pronounced, and everything seems to flow together much more seamlessly.

Some plastic metallic accents have been added around the three fans, and there are a few spaces between the fans that are dedicated to RGB lighting.

On the side, there is MSI and GEFORCE RTX branding. The GEFORCE is a sticker, while the MSI logo is decorated with RGB lighting.

Above the logo is a strip across the border of the card to bring a bit more RGB to the table.

The backplate is made of metal and has effective contact with the PCB thanks to the thermal pads located under it.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

MSI advertises a boost clock of up to 2340 MHz which is about 90 MHz higher than the reference card. This doesn’t sound too extraordinary. However, real performance shows a different outcome. During extended gaming sessions, this RX 6900 XT can boost up to 2500 MHz, although, once it settles, the clocks average around 2380 MHz.

However, things become more intriguing if you are a fan of personalized overclocks.

By pushing the power limit, OC enthusiasts have achieved a peak overclock of 2760 MHz. That is much higher than what the reference card can do (around 2450 MHz).

Thermals

The RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio pulls in a lot of power. This makes sense, considering you have to connect it with three 8-pin connectors. The power consumption during gaming is roughly 350W.

A sturdy heatsink is needed to keep the temperature under control.

Fortunately, MSI’s solution with this GPU is quite good. This massive GPU averages between 67 °C and 70 °C, which is not bad. It is even better when you consider that the noise levels never exceed 30 dBA.

Of course, if you don’t care about noise levels and want lower temperatures, you can always ramp up the fan speed.

This time around, Gigabyte has released two variants for AMD’s flagship GPU. The AORUS MASTER and Gaming OC. The latter is the high-end and more expensive option.

However, the AORUS MASTER is significantly more expensive, so the Gaming OC makes a lot more sense.

The RX 6900 XT Gaming OC might not have as much RGB as the AORUS MASTER and has a more streamlined heatsink, but it is still a considerably better deal.

Pricing

Again, just like the MSI version, there is no MSRP obtainable.

Some sources suggest that the Gaming OC’s official price is £1,079.99, which approximately translates to $1,500.

This is remote from Gigabyte’s flagship variant of the RX 6900 XT, so we can’t exactly justify such a considerable increase in price.

But let’s analyze whether the exceptional performance can justify it.

Design

This one is smaller than the Gaming X Trio. The entire GPU is only 286 mm long, almost 3cm shorter. This is expected because the top-tier model usually features a bigger heatsink.

This same design is used for other AMD GPUs, such as the RX 6800 and the RX 6800 XT, but this is a considerably more potent card. Does this mean the heatsink won’t be able to keep up with the demand? We will explore that later. For now, let’s see what the design has to offer.

As is typically the case, there is a triple-fan setup and a plain black shroud surrounding the fans. There is nothing too captivating to report on the front or the sides either.

There is Gigabyte branding on the side, which is bright.

The back doesn’t show anything noteworthy, just some Gigabyte branding, and that’s about all. Overall, it’s nothing too remarkable, but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad. If you only care about performance or are looking for any black GPU to install into your computer, this could be an excellent option.

Before we can say with confidence that this is a viable option, let’s examine the general performance.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

The advertised boost clock for the Gaming OC is 2285 MHz, which is nearly identical to the reference RX 6900 XT. It is only 35 MHz higher. However, when you launch benchmarks, rendering tasks, or a challenging video game, the clocks can jump up to 2500 MHz.

The clocks are unable to stay that high for a prolonged period, but they stabilize at around 2350 MHz.

Although this is one of the more affordable variants of the RX 6900 XT on the market, the heatsink can handle a bit of overclocking.

Some reviewers have achieved an average base clock of 2650 MHz. That is about a 5% greater frequency than the standard overclock.

Thermals

As previously mentioned, this is a heatsink almost 3cm shorter than the Gaming X Trio. Predictably, the temperatures will be increased.

The “Silent BIOS” enabled the RX 6900 XT Gaming OC average of around 76°C. This is a bit warm but still cooler than the reference card. Unfortunately, it also gets a bit noisy; the noise levels can jump up to 36 dBA.

If you don’t care about the noise levels and just want cooler temperatures, try switching to the standard BIOS. With this BIOS, you’ll drop to 73-74°C. It isn’t a huge improvement, but it is still something.

When purchasing an ASUS graphics processing unit, there are typically only two or three alternatives. After 2020, the primary options available are STRIX or TUF.

However, this time, ASUS has offered something exceptional, something that we rarely see on the market. The RX 6900 XT STRIX OC LC, a factory liquid-cooled card extremely similar to the AIO coolers used for CPUs.

Liquid cooling usually results in substantially lower temperatures, silent running, and superior overclocks. What type of performance can this kind of high-end RX 6900 XT bring?

Pricing

Distinctively engineered PC tech always comes with a cost premium, especially with the ASUS branding.

This liquid-cooled GPU has an MSRP of $1550, about $550 more than the reference card. That is a significant amount of money.

For $1550, you could probably get a completely distinct GPU, for example, a 24GB VRAM RTX 3090.

Regardless, most people would be paying that kind of money for the benefits of liquid cooling. Let’s look at those advantages.

Design

It’s safe to say that ASUS has many other brands surpassed with this GPU. The only other liquid-cooled GPU currently on the market is the Sapphire RX 6900 XT Toxic, which comes with a 360mm radiator. Even so, ASUS takes the prize this time.

The card has the conventional blower design that we used to see frequently back in the day. It is now far less widespread. As there is only one fan, the other side of the front is completely clear, which has allowed ASUS to add some RGB goodness.

The side that faces away from the motherboard is where the tubes emerge. These lead directly to the radiator. For some additional RGB, ASUS has added an illuminated ROG logo next to where the tubes come out.

The radiator comes with two jet-black ROG RGB fans with white and transparent blades. There is nothing too remarkable to report about it. It is similar to any other AIO dual-fan radiator.

Naturally, the radiator can end up on the rear, top, or even the front of the enclosure, depending on the accessible clearance.

The only mediocre part of this product is the backplate. It doesn’t have any remarkable features, which is disappointing considering that the back is often the primary element of the GPU in a PC case, other than those with a vertically-mounted GPU.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

With stock options, the RX 6900 XT OC LC has a boost clock of 2365 MHz, which is higher than the Gigabyte and MSI variants.

However, that isn’t all. ASUS’s product regularly exceeds 2500 MHz when in-game. We assume that this is all thanks to the exceptionally effective cooling solution.

That cooling performance brings much more to the table. It opens up even more overclocking freedom than you would normally enjoy.

Some OC enthusiasts have reported a successful core clock of 2700 MHz. That is almost 10% higher than the custom overclocks on other models, which is impressive.

Remember, your mileage may vary. You might even win the “silicon lottery,” which would allow you to push to (or exceed) 2750 MHz.

Thermals

During extended and exhausting gaming sessions, the RX 6900 XT OC LC sits at a comfortable average of ~53°C. Low temperatures are expected from liquid cooling, but this is even better than most. It’s more than 15 degrees Celsius lower than MSI’s Tri-Frozr cooling solution. That isn’t even similar.

Keep in mind that these results were obtained with the sophisticated BIOS enabled.

By switching to the other (silent) BIOS, temperatures jump up to 56 °C. This is still much cooler than most of the other alternatives out there.

Verdict – Which RX 6900 XT Is The Best?

The list of the most common RX 6900 XTs likely includes about six to seven typical models.

After gathering comprehensive information and thoroughly researching, we successfully trimmed this list to just three distinct variants.

However, that still leaves you with a challenging decision. So, which one of these models is the best?

The MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio is the clear winner here and takes the award for Best Overall. It has a great factory core overclock and is silent and cool without paying a huge price premium over the reference card. You can’t go wrong with this exceptional one.

The ASUS RX 6900 XT OC LC is exceptionally expensive, but it is also one of the most distinctive GPUs the industry has seen. Thanks to liquid cooling, it is also the coolest and fastest RX 6900 XT available. This is why the OC LC deserves the Premium Pick award.

I don’t see any text provided after “Notable mentions:” to edit. Could you please provide the complete text you’d like me to modify?

• Gigabyte RX 6900 XT Gaming OC – Affordable, a basic design, and average cooling. The only major downside is that it can be noisy at times.
• Sapphire RX 6900 XT Toxic – A good alternative to ASUS’ OC LC. A liquid-cooled GPU with a 360 mm radiator.