Hot delicacies for vegans: Asus RX Vega64 Strix OC in review

If we were asked for a slightly better equipped RX Vega64 and if the range of such cards were more diversified, we would probably call the Asus RX Vega64 Strix OC. Where and how exactly the map is positioned, today's test ... Board layout Like Gigabyte and Sapphire, Asus is extremely different from AMD's reference layout, which should make the use of existing full-cover water coolers impossible. Asus relies on 6 phases with Doubling, so that in... With a current BIOS and the newer drivers, the peculiarities of the benchmark results, as we were able to see during the review of the Sapphire RX Vega64 Nitro+, finally disappear completely and the maps now do exactly what you can from... The overall picture does not change much, even if the Vega cards break in a little more in a few games. But then it almost doesn't matter if reference or board partner card. Shared suffering is half suffering, although it is never a real d... Power consumption at different loads The power consumption in the gaming loop is at the measured approx. 275 watts in Balanced Mode about 5 watts below what could be measured at the reference in the default BIOS. This is all the more astonishing because ... Overclocking and undervolting The conventional overclocking by means of an even higher power limit and more clock counteracts the current cooling concept, because the rather quiet cooler gets along quite well with what it has to dismount ex works. More on the other hand... Cooling system and backplate Of course, the generated waste heat is directly related to the recorded power, for which the cooling solution is responsible for optimum dissipation. And this is precisely where we are faced with minor problems, which we are... How and where can we classify the Asus RX Vega64 Strix OC now? The map is in itself quite a solid story, apart from the hot tension converters. The quality of the workmanship is neat and the component selection is ...

How and where can we classify the Asus RX Vega64 Strix OC now? The map is in itself quite a solid story, apart from the hot tension converters. The quality of the workmanship is neat and the component selection is. It could hardly have been realized much better in this constellation. Nevertheless, in addition to many very positive impressions, there are also a few criticisms left.

The fact that the card is particularly sensitive to the installation in closed housings is due to the orientation of the exhaust air, which is first applied against the side wall or the motherboard is pressed and then sucked back to a not insignificant extent for cooling. Some competitors use inclined slat ends or a functionally designed radiator cover, which gives the outgoing exhaust air an even more optimal direction on the way.

We would have liked to have gemodded the card with regard to the thermal pad between the back of the board and the backplate, but then we would have had to remove the glued plastic chip of the RGB backlight by force, because unfortunately it has some of the relevant cooling surface is covered. If Asus had at least turned the logo around 90° or kept it a little smaller, a problem-free conversion would have been possible. But that's how we're handicapped, because otherwise we would have had to change the map irreversibly.

Asus can't change AMD's very idiosyncratic fan curve design, Guideline is guideline. But a few revolutions per minute in a fully warmed-up state would certainly have helped to cool some of the components better. If you really take full advantage of the Power Limit, you have to 30 minutes of corresponding load around 100°C and significantly above it on a very large part of the board. Assuming that the manufacturers of the board material are only about approx. Recommending 95°C as a long-term upper limit, this is already a challenge (dehydration, bending).

But even without increasing the power limit and good utilization, the waste heat of the voltage converters reaches the area under the base after only 12 to 15 minutes, in order to warm it up from below. A heat flux analysis in a hotbox would have made this very easy and quick to prove, especially since companies such as PC partners own and use such boxes with sensors and IR equipment.

Conclusion

Only this one partial result prevents us from giving this otherwise very balanced card a buying tip, which would have been sarcastic enough anyway because of the lack of availability. It also makes much more visually significant than the bookishly slashed gigabyte card, which is characterized by reason and damage limitation.

The Sapphire Nitro+, on the other hand, is more of a feasibility study of what you can do to tame Vega hard and uncompromisingly. Accountantly smooth suicide, which ultimately ended in the slimmed-down pulse that replaces the nitro, which is far too expensive to make.

Thus, Asus actually occupied exactly the middle between these two competitive interpretations, which does not have to be a disadvantage. Better than a savings bun (if you can still write it that way at these prices) and still a little more sensible than a nitro economic miracle made from the full, where you wanted to present yourself above all.

If these Vega cards were sufficient and at reasonable prices, this card would certainly not be a bad choice. But you should not overburden the durability by manually cracking the 300 watt mark by means of software settings. In the long run, the card is already running out of steam. Also literally.

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