AMD’s Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card is now three days away from its official launch and we can expect many custom variants with the RDNA 2 graphics chip. There were a few RX 6700 XT models officially introduced by manufacturers, but more variants were leaked by Videocardz.
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT Custom Models Leak Out – PowerColor Hell Gound, Sapphire Nitro +, XFX Merc319 / Qick319 and Gigabyte AORUS Elite Graphics Cards
We have PowerColor, Sapphire, XFX and Gigabyte models we talked about, which together make up six different graphics card series (XFX Merc / Qick & Sapphire Nitro / Pulse). Each graphics card has its own cooling and power delivery that provides better cooling and overclocking features.
PowerColor Radeon RX 6700 XT Hellhound Series
First, we need to talk about the upcoming PowerColor Hellhound series. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT appears to be the first graphics card to receive the Hellhound treatment. The Hellhound series is being teased by PowerColor, but it looks like they’re still waiting to officially unveil these cards, but it’s leaked anyway. The PowerColor Radeon RX 6700 XT Hellhound falls to a level below the Red Dragon range, so it’s the mainstream segment. The range uses a completely different color scheme than the previous red / black offering from PowerColor.
The Radeon RX 6700 XT Hellhound has a black coat and back plate with a triple fan solution in a two-groove chassis. Each fan has a clear acrylic blade texture with blue LEDs in it. On the back plate, the Hellhound logo is etched just next to the exhaust cutout, as PowerColor uses a cooler that is longer than the length of the PCB. The card is powered by dual 8-pin connectors and features the standard display configuration which includes three DP 1.4 and a single HDMI 2.1 output.
Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT Nitro + & Pulse Series
Sapphire, on the other hand, will offer its Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics cards in both the Nitro + and PULSE series. The Radeon RX 6700 XT Nitro + from Sapphire is a massive graphics card with three fans. Two of the fans each have 9 blades, while the one at the end contains 12 fan blades, and as such we can expect them to push a lot of airflow to the central heat sink.
The card has a solid metal plate and extends beyond the length of the circuit board. There is a cutout at the back to let air move through the aluminum fins. You can also see an RGB Nitro + logo that looks good with the whole aesthetics of the card. The card is said to have a 2.7-slot design and out of sight contains a large aluminum heatsink under the casing with 6 solid heat pipes. We can expect the card to boast an overclock in the factory, and it will be powered by an 8 + 6 clutch configuration.
The Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT Pulse is a more streamlined variant with a double slot and a dual fan design. The fans have 12 blades and push air to a central cooling plate consisting of several aluminum fins and heat pipes. The card also has a back plate and cooler that is longer than the PCB itself. We see Radeon and Sapphire / Pulse logos on the side and back plate. The card is also powered by an 8 + 6-pin connection configuration.
XFX Radeon RX 6700 XT Speedster Merc319 & Qick319 Series
The XFX Radeon RX 6700 XT Series consists of the Speedster Merc319 and Speedster Qick 319 graphics cards. The card has a black color scheme and a white or silver texture around the fans and garment. The front casing has a triple fan design and takes up 3 spaces.
The Radeon RX 6700 XT Speedster Merc 319 series cards each contain 13 fan blades on the triple fans that are incorporated through the garment with a ball bearing design. The headgear is also cast with aluminum to give a more premium look. A large aluminum back plate serves as a heat dissipator at the back, while also having a recess to allow hot air to disappear from the back of the card.
The GPU and GDDR6 memory are attached to a copper base plate to distribute the heat effectively. The PCB also has a sturdy aluminum cast tray that acts as a support bracket and provides extra durability to prevent the PCB from bending. XFX also has a large number of thermal cushions over the important components of the card. The main differences between the Radeon RX 6700 XT Merc319 and Qick319 graphics card is that the Qick variant is slightly cost effective and does not feature the RGB Lit logo or the more premium clothing design of the Merc variant.
Gigabyte Radeon RX 6700 XT AORUS Elite Series
Lastly, we have Gigabyte’s Radeon RX 6700 XT AORUS Elite. We have already seen the standard Gigabyte variants, but this is the first AORUS model that we need to pay attention to. The RX 6700 XT AORUS Elite is equipped with a luxurious solution for three-fan and three-slot. The graphics card has a nice black aesthetic and contains RGB LEDs embedded inside the frame of the fans, which gives a unique lighting effect. The card is powered by an 8 + 6-pin connection configuration and has a backplate that extends beyond the PCB.
On the side you also see a nice AORUS logo for the Radeon RX 6700 XT AORUS Elite. The main heatsink looks massive and contains large copper heat pipes running through it. In terms of screen output, the card has two HDMI 2.1 and 2 DisplayPort 1.4 connectors. The price of these cards will fluctuate during launch, but we can certainly expect it to cost a massive premium above the $ 479 US benchmark MSRP.
News sources: Videocardz # 1, # 2, # 3, # 4