Packaging

The Card

For their TUF series, ASUS created a new design identity. The card uses black and various shades of gray. Note how the center fan is smaller than the surrounding ones—this is new on the EVO version. A metal backplate in matching colors is included, too.


Dimensions of the card are 28 x 13 cm.


Installation requires three slots in your system.


Display connectivity options include three standard DisplayPort 1.4a and an HDMI 2.0b.


The board uses one 8-pin and one 6-pin power connector. This input configuration is specified for up to 300 watts of power draw.


AMD's Navi generation of GPUs no longer supports CrossFire. DirectX 12 does include its own set of multi-GPU capabilities, but implementation requires game developers to put serious development time into a feature only a tiny fraction of their customers might ever use.

Disassembly

As mentioned in the introduction, ASUS had some issues with the initial batch of TUF cards, which caused public outcry from consumers and reviewers. We are testing the fixed version, which has upgraded fans with axial tech to direct the airflow through the fins. Also note how the fan impellers are surrounded by a plastic ring to ensure no air can escape horizontally. The outer fans are 90 mm in diameter, and the center fan is 80 mm across.


Once the cooling assembly is removed, you get access to the heatsink. It uses five heatpipes and a large array of fins to keep the card cool. This heatsink provides cooling for the GPU, memory chips, and VRM circuitry. Do note that the memory chips are cooled by a plate that is bolted to the heatsink—it is not part of it. This means that the heat transfer is slightly reduced, but still much better than on the original TUF, which just had a thin metal heatspreader on the memory that did not connect with the main heatsink at all.


The backplate is made out of metal to protect the card against damage during installation and handling. There are some thermal pads to pick up a little bit of heat from the other side of the memory chips.