PowerColor Radeon RX 6800 XT Red Devil

[W1zzard]

It matters, if a processor outputs say the same 200W and uses the same cooler but one is smaller and the other is larger in area. The smaller area one will be harder to cool and therefore run hotter than the larger area one. This is why CPUs which are usually smaller than GPUs in die size are harder to cool with lower TDPs than GPUs even when delidded and direct die cooling negating the impact of an IHS being used.

You are right, any ideas how to determine how big this effect is?

 

[EsaT]

It matters, if a processor outputs say the same 200W and uses the same cooler but one is smaller and the other is larger in area. The smaller area one will be harder to cool and therefore run hotter than the larger area one. This is why CPUs which are usually smaller than GPUs in die size are harder to cool with lower TDPs than GPUs even when delidded and direct die cooling negating the impact of an IHS being used.

Also distribution of heat output inside that "raw" size of of silicon die has effect.
In case of CPUs big part of the problem is that actual cores/execution units are getting constantly smaller with shrinking transistor size.

 

[HenrySomeone]

Just thought about this, but maybe comparing different GPU coolers for the cooler comparison chart isn't right. The AMD has a higher heat density than Nvidia GPUs so it will naturally look like Nvidia's cards' coolers cool better since they run cooler at the same wattage by the lower heat density.

That's just not true for the current gen cards;
6800XT: 280W / 520mm2 = 0.538 W/mm2
6800: 225W / 520mm2 = 0.433 W/mm2
3090: 365W / 628mm2 = 0.581 W/mm2
3080: 340W / 628mm2 = 0.541 W/mm2
3070: 235W / 393mm2 = 0.598 W/mm2
3060Ti: 200W / 393mm2 = 0.509 W/mm2

It's clear that of all the current gen cards the only pair where AMD has a higher heat density is 6800XT vs 3060Ti, in all other cases, Nvidias are above.

 

[Mussels]

How does heat density matter if both cards emit 200 W for example? The cooler has to dissipate 200 W in both cases

my 5800x says "by not sending the heat to the cooler, no matter how awesome the cooler is"

200W over twice the physical area is heaps easier to cool... but in the case of my CPU, they simply designed it to work within the higher operating temperatures.

 

[owen10578]

That's just not true for the current gen cards;
6800XT: 280W / 520mm2 = 0.538 W/mm2
6800: 225W / 520mm2 = 0.433 W/mm2
3090: 365W / 628mm2 = 0.581 W/mm2
3080: 340W / 628mm2 = 0.541 W/mm2
3070: 235W / 393mm2 = 0.598 W/mm2
3060Ti: 200W / 393mm2 = 0.509 W/mm2

It's clear that of all the current gen cards the only pair where AMD has a higher heat density is 6800XT vs 3060Ti, in all other cases, Nvidias are above.

Yes but W1zzard was testing all at the same wattage so the heat density will vary per different die size and again any small difference will make the results kinda useless in isolating just cooler performance.

You are right, any ideas how to determine how big this effect is?

Don't get me wrong I think its still an interesting data point for the review. I'm not sure how to compensate for that but I think just calculating the heat density and showing a disclaimer to readers about that fact would be good.

 

[Night]

Listed in Links for as little as 980€, "it's a steal", also rightfully labeled as 'Limited Edition'.

 

[RichF]

Red Devil 6800 XT Limited Edition part number is AXRX 6800XT 16GBD6-2DHCE/OC (Link)

Retail (Standard) Red Devil 6800 XT is AXRX 6800XT 16GBD6-3DHE/OC (Link)

Somewhat disingenuous on the part of PowerColor to not provide these details to reviewers and only send Limited Edition SKUs, especially because of the difference in port configuration. While I don't care for USB C personally, owners of VR headsets might.

Micro Center near Cleveland has these in stock at the moment but the part number listed is OC/AXRX6800XT16. The price is $1100, which appears to be a bargain when compared with the $1400 and up pricing I've been seeing on 6800 XTs. And, of course, $2200 MSI 3090s.

I wonder if the cooler is the same quality? The low noise does seem to be a nice thing.

 

[Mussels]

These came in stock near me yesterday

Sold out in 45 seconds, so i can only assume there was very little stock and bots got in.

 

[notaburner]

Just picked one of these up (not the limited edition) with gpu prices cratering, though the performance is spot on to this review, I'm getting quite a bit of coil whine. Wondering if this is a trend with this card or if I'm an outlier and if there is a chance that an RMA would result in a card with better "acoustic" performance.

 

[Mussels]

Just picked one of these up (not the limited edition) with gpu prices cratering, though the performance is spot on to this review, I'm getting quite a bit of coil whine. Wondering if this is a trend with this card or if I'm an outlier and if there is a chance that an RMA would result in a card with better "acoustic" performance.

Most likely an issue with your PSU

And before you say "but my PSU is great" - yeah we know. but these new cards can spike power requirements way higher than anything ever used to.

 

[notaburner]

Most likely an issue with your PSU

And before you say "but my PSU is great" - yeah we know. but these new cards can spike power requirements way higher than anything ever used to.

Thanks for your reply!

I'm running a EVGA Supernova G5 750w which I know is a pretty average PSU so I'll look into upgrading it to something more suitable. I appreciate the response on this old thread.

 

[Mussels]

I had an 750W corsair platinum that was fantastic for several years, but with a 3080 it had *insane* coil whine
Moved to a 3090 after an RMA and it got better despite higher power draw but got worse and worse over the following year until i upgraded to a fractal unit (860W)

 

[notaburner]

I had an 750W corsair platinum that was fantastic for several years, but with a 3080 it had *insane* coil whine
Moved to a 3090 after an RMA and it got better despite higher power draw but got worse and worse over the following year until i upgraded to a fractal unit (860W)

I ended up picking up a Corsair HX1200 so hopefully that does the trick. It's absolute overkill but at least I can tick the PSU off the troubleshooting checklist, plus no worries about upgrading on the graphics front in the future. After a decade of GPUs, my previous card (EVGA 2060 XC Ultra) was the first one I ever encountered with coil whine so after getting this new card I thought I just had back luck twice in a row. Here's hoping that isn't the case.