MSI Radeon RX 5500 XT Gaming X 8 GB Review

Name: MSI Radeon RX 5500 XT Gaming X 8 GB
Brand: MSI

W1zzard

on Dec 12th, 2019,

in Graphics Cards.

Manufacturer: MSI

(68 Comments) »

Introduction

AMD today launched the Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card, and we have with us its premium rendition, the MSI Radeon RX 5500 XT 8 GB Gaming X. The RX 5500 XT is based on AMD's second 7 nm "Navi" family graphics chips, the "Navi 14." It comes with the entire feature-set of "Navi," including the latest RDNA compute units, GDDR6 memory, PCIe gen 4.0 capability, and all the software features the RX 5700-series support.

The RX 5500 XT is an interesting card to review given AMD originally announced the RX 5500 series way back in October, while being rather quiet about its retail availability. It debuted in the OEM channel with the RX 5500 4 GB. We reviewed one of those cards last month. We were expecting the same card to launch in December, alongside a premium "XT" variant that maxes out "Navi 14." It came as a surprise then that AMD announced that the retail channel implementation of "Navi 14" will exclusively be called RX 5500 XT and come with two variants based on memory size: 4 GB and 8 GB.

What's unexpected about the RX 5500 XT is that it does not max out "Navi 14." It has the same exact core configuration as the RX 5500 OEM card we reviewed last month, with 22 RDNA compute units making up 1,408 stream processors, 88 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 128-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface. The "Navi 14" silicon features 24 compute units (1,536 stream processors); currently, the only contraption that maxes it out is the Radeon Pro 5500M found exclusively in Apple's MacBook Pro 16-inch. The RX 5500 XT has slightly higher reference clock speeds as the RX 5500 OEM, with up to 1845 MHz boost and 1717 MHz "gaming" clocks. The memory ticks at 14 Gbps (GDDR6 effective) on both 4 GB and 8 GB variants. The MSI RX 5500 XT ships with factory-overclocked speeds of 1737 MHz Game Clock and 1845 MHz maximum Boost.

NVIDIA has been busy since October with the introduction of the GeForce 16 SUPER series. The GTX 1650 Super was launched recently as AMD was claiming "the RX 5500 beats the GTX 1650." The price-performance of the GTX 1650 Super disturbs the GTX 1660, and so NVIDIA launched the GTX 1650 Super, possibly to preempt the "RX 5500 XT," which it thought would max out "Navi 14" and ship with higher clocks.

The new RX 5500 XT is being launched at sub-$200 price-points, with the 4 GB variant being priced at $170 and the 8 GB variant at $200. The MSI RX 5500 XT 8 GB Gaming X is priced at $225, a $25 premium. It implements the company's Twin Frozr 7 cooling solution with the same aesthetic as the RX 5700 Gaming X series, which appears to be exclusive to the AMD Radeon series. The card offers several premium features, such as idle fan stop and a metal backplate.

Radeon RX 5500 XT Market Segment Analysis
	Price	Shader Units	ROPs	Core Clock	Boost Clock	Memory Clock	GPU	Transistors	Memory
GTX 1650	$150	896	32	1485 MHz	1665 MHz	2000 MHz	TU117	unknown	4 GB, GDDR5, 128-bit
RX 570	$110	2048	32	1168 MHz	1244 MHz	1750 MHz	Ellesmere	5700M	4 GB, GDDR5, 256-bit
RX 5500	unknown	1408	32	1670 MHz	1845 MHz	1750 MHz	Navi 14	6400M	4 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
RX 5500 XT	$170	1408	32	1717 MHz	1845 MHz	1750 MHz	Navi 14	6400M	4 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
RX 5500 XT 8 GB	$200	1408	32	1717 MHz	1845 MHz	1750 MHz	Navi 14	6400M	8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
MSI RX 5500 XT 8 GB Gaming X	$225	1408	32	1737 MHz	1845 MHz	1750 MHz	Navi 14	6400M	8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
GTX 1650 Super	$160	1280	32	1530 MHz	1725 MHz	1500 MHz	TU116	6600M	4 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
RX 580	$160	2304	32	1257 MHz	1340 MHz	2000 MHz	Ellesmere	5700M	8 GB, GDDR5, 256-bit
GTX 1060 3 GB	$170	1152	48	1506 MHz	1708 MHz	2002 MHz	GP106	4400M	3 GB, GDDR5, 192-bit
GTX 1060	$210	1280	48	1506 MHz	1708 MHz	2002 MHz	GP106	4400M	6 GB, GDDR5, 192-bit
RX 590	$180	2304	32	1469 MHz	1545 MHz	2000 MHz	Polaris 30	5700M	8 GB, GDDR5, 256-bit
GTX 1660	$210	1408	48	1530 MHz	1785 MHz	2000 MHz	TU116	6600M	6 GB, GDDR5, 192-bit
GTX 1070	$300	1920	64	1506 MHz	1683 MHz	2002 MHz	GP104	7200M	8 GB, GDDR5, 256-bit
RX Vega 56	$270	3584	64	1156 MHz	1471 MHz	800 MHz	Vega 10	12500M	8 GB, HBM2, 2048-bit
GTX 1660 Super	$230	1408	48	1530 MHz	1785 MHz	1750 MHz	TU116	6600M	6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
GTX 1660 Ti	$280	1536	48	1500 MHz	1770 MHz	1500 MHz	TU116	6600M	6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit

Packaging

The Card

MSI is using the same style on their RX 5500 XT Gaming X as on other Navi-based Gaming X cards. The card is dominated by black and gray, with some red highlights; I very much like the design. A high-quality metal backplate is included, too.

Dimensions of the card are 24.5 cm x 13.0 cm.

Installation requires a little bit more than two slots in your system.

Display connectivity options include three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and one HDMI 2.0b.

The board uses one 8-pin power connector. This input configuration is specified for up to 225 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 the implementation requires game developers to put serious development time into a feature only a tiny fraction of their customers might ever use.

Disassembly

MSI's cooler uses two 90 mm fans and four heatpipes to keep the card cool. The cooler's base provides cooling for the GPU, memory chips, and VRM circuitry.

A metal reinforcement plate is installed on the card to provide additional rigidity. It doesn't cool any components.

The backplate is made from metal and protects the card against damage during installation and handling.

High-resolution PCB Pictures

These pictures are for the convenience of volt modders and people who would like to see all the finer details on the PCB. Feel free to link back to us and use these in your articles or forum posts.