Gigabyte AORUS RX 580 XTR 8 GB Review

Name: Gigabyte AORUS RX 580 XTR 8 GB
Brand: GIGABYTE

W1zzard

on Jul 24th, 2017,

in Graphics Cards.

Manufacturer: GIGABYTE

(28 Comments) »

Introduction

Earlier this year AMD launched the Radeon RX 580 leading the new RX 500 series of graphics cards, which continues to be based on the 4th generation Graphics CoreNext architecture, aka "Polaris," but is not exactly a rebrand of the RX 480. The underlying ASIC is the same Ellesmere GPU as on the RX 480 as it comes with the same transistors, but boasts manufacturing improvements. This means that the core configuration of the two is identical, but the RX 580 is able to run at higher clock speeds.

Gigabyte's AORUS RX 580 XTR is the company's highest-clocked RX 580 variant. It also features a revamped PCB with a dual-fan thermal solution. Pricing is currently in flux due to the mining craze, but a typical retail price would be $270.

Radeon RX 580 Market Segment Analysis
	Radeon RX 470	Radeon RX 570	Radeon R9 390	GeForce GTX 970	Radeon RX 480	Radeon RX 580	AORUS RX 580 XTR 8 GB	Radeon R9 390X	GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB	GeForce GTX 980	GeForce GTX 1060	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	Radeon R9 Fury X	GeForce GTX 1070
Shader Units	2048	2048	2560	1664	2304	2304	2304	2816	1152	2048	1280	2816	4096	1920
ROPs	32	32	64	56	32	32	32	64	48	64	48	96	64	64
Graphics Processor	Ellesmere	Ellesmere	Hawaii	GM204	Ellesmere	Ellesmere	Ellesmere	Hawaii	GP106	GM204	GP106	GM200	Fiji	GP104
Transistors	5700M	5700M	6200M	5200M	5700M	5700M	5700M	6200M	4400M	5200M	4400M	8000M	8900M	7200M
Memory Size	4 GB	4 GB	8 GB	4 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB	3 GB	4 GB	6 GB	6 GB	4 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	HBM	GDDR5
Memory Bus Width	256 bit	256 bit	512 bit	256 bit	256 bit	256 bit	256 bit	512 bit	192 bit	256 bit	192 bit	384 bit	4096 bit	256 bit
Core Clock	1206 MHz	1244 MHz	1000 MHz	1051 MHz+	1266 MHz	1340 MHz	1425 MHz	1050 MHz	1506 MHz+	1126 MHz+	1506 MHz+	1000 MHz+	1050 MHz	1506 MHz+
Memory Clock	1650 MHz	1750 MHz	1500 MHz	1750 MHz	2000 MHz	2000 MHz	2000 MHz	1500 MHz	2002 MHz	1750 MHz	2002 MHz	1750 MHz	500 MHz	2002 MHz
Price	$170	$170	$290	$235	$220	$230	$270	$410	$190	$360	$230	$390	$380	$350

Packaging

You will receive:

Graphics card
Documentation + driver disc
AORUS case badge

The Card

Gigabyte's card is dominated by black plastic with silver highlights forming an X. On the back you will find a metal backplate with a copper core above the GPU. Dimensions of the card are 27.5 cm x 13.0 cm.

Adjustable RGB lighting is included, too, of course.

Installation requires three slots in your system.

Display connectivity options include a DVI port, an HDMI port, and three DisplayPorts.

The HDMI port is version 2.0b, and DisplayPort has been updated to 1.3 HBR3/1.4 HDR ready, which enables support for 4K @ 120 Hz and 5K @ 60 Hz, or 8K @ 60 Hz with two cables. GPU-accelerated encoding is now supported for H.264 at up to 4K30, and HEVC is supported at up to 4K60. Accelerated decoding is supported for HEVC at up to 4K60 Main-10, VP9 is supported at up to 4K, and H.264 works at up to 4K120.

We shine the light from a self-leveling line laser onto the card, which shows no noteworthy sagging.

Pictured above are the front and back, showing the disassembled board. High-res versions are also available (front, back).

A Closer Look

Gigabyte's thermal solution uses four double-length heatpipes which make direct contact with the GPU surface. This part of the heatsink also cools the voltage regulation and memory chips as indicated by the white thermal pads.