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After the launch of GTX 1660 SUPER, today our attention has turned back to AMD, and the RX 5700 XT. The card in question is from ASRock, and we have assessed the flagship RX 5700 XT Taichi X OC+.
We've seen a fair number of aftermarket Navi cards since the launch in July, but I have to say the Taichi is the most visually striking card I have seen. That's not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but I would expect opinion to be split on the design of this card due to its fairly aggressive and angular styling. Most users will install the card horizontally, though, so I've never been too concerned about the look of a card.
More important is just how the card performs, and the Taichi proved the fastest-running RX 5700 XT I've tested so far, with the highest out of the box clock speeds of any other partner card we've reviewed. This meant, averaged across all of our testing, the Taichi runs 5% faster than the AMD reference card, while it is 2% faster than both the Sapphire Nitro+ and the PowerColor Red Devil.
The Taichi's extra frequency also closes the gap on the RTX 2070 SUPER Founders Edition, as the ASRock card is just 3% slower. Versus the 2060 SUPER Founders Edition, the Taichi holds an 18% performance advantage, but as expected the 2080 SUPER Founders Edition is 16% faster.
That's all well and good, but it is clear ASRock has made some compromises to achieve the higher clock speeds with the Taichi. Primarily, power draw is through the roof for a RX 5700 XT, as we saw this card draw the same amount of power as a RTX 2080 Ti, despite being significantly slower. Put it another way, the Taichi draws 19% more power than the reference design, for only a 5% performance increase. It is simply much less efficient at these higher clock speeds.
The extra power also has a negative affect on the card in terms of noise levels. While the temperatures were fairly good, the Taichi does have to spin its fans fairly fast – around 2030rpm – to keep thermals down, resulting in a card that is certainly one of the louder custom RX 5700 XTs we have tested.
The saving grace for the Taichi is that is does come equipped with a Silent BIOS, which not only runs quieter, but it is much more power efficient too. The downside to this mode is that it also drops clock speed by around 120MHz, so you lose out on some performance, but to my mind it gives a much better balance of thermals, noise levels and power consumption.
For me, that means the Taichi would still be a decent buy, as long as the price was right. At the moment, though, the card is priced at £469.99 which I think is just too high for a RX 5700 XT – no matter how good it is. With both the Sapphire Nitro+ and the PowerColor Red Devil costing less than the Taichi, but offering a better balance of all around performance, I think the Taichi needs to be priced closer to £420 to be worth considering.
On top of that, cheaper custom RTX 2070 SUPER cards are available from £475, so for just £5 more that does make a lot more sense than a RX 5700 XT at £470. The RX 5700 XT Taichi X OC+ isn't a bad card, but it does need a decent price cut to stay competitive.
If you are interested in this card, it is currently available for £469.99 from Overclockers UK HERE.
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Pros
- Fastest RX 5700 XT yet.
- Unique aesthetic.
- Decent temperatures.
- Bling-tastic RGB (for those who like that sort of thing.)
- Silent BIOS offers a good balance of noise, thermals and performance.
- Six video outputs.
Cons
- OC BIOS draws far too much power.
- Noise levels are relatively high for a RX 5700 XT using the OC BIOS.
- Current pricing is too high for a 5700 XT.
KitGuru says: Priced closer to £420, the Taichi X would be a good buy. At £470, it is priced too close to RTX 2070 SUPER.
