The Card

XFX's card looks really good due to a modern, understated look that mostly uses straight lines and curved edges. The dominant colors are black and gray, with a high-quality metal backplate on the back in matching colors.


Dimensions of the card are 31.5 cm x 13.0 cm, which is around 2 cm longer than the XFX THICC II.


Installation requires three slots in your system.


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

AMD took the opportunity to update the display controllers handling these outputs by leveraging DSC 1.2a (display stream compression), which unlocks very high resolution and refresh-rate combinations over a single cable. Among the single-cable display modes supported are 8K 60 Hz (which took two DP 1.3 cables until now), 4K 240 Hz, and 1080p as high as 360 Hz. On top of these, the outputs support HDR and 30 bpc color-depth for better color accuracy in creative applications.


The board uses two 8-pin power connectors. This input configuration is specified for up to 375 watts of power draw. The XFX THICC II uses a 6+8 configuration.


XFX is including a dual-BIOS feature with their card; the default BIOS is called "performance", and the second BIOS is "quiet". I'm not happy with the placement of the BIOS switch as it's impossible to reach with your fingers due to the shroud blocking it—you have to use a pen or similar object to change the switch setting.


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

XFX is using four heatpipes and a copper base on their cooler. This piece of the cooler also provides cooling for the memory chips and VRM circuitry. Note how the memory cooling pads sit on a separate metal piece, which leads to higher, but still safe memory temperatures. This memory cooling plate has been upgraded to copper and no longer has a separating foil between it and the main heatsink, which improves thermals, too. The XFX THICC II has a similar cooler design with the same number of heatpipes that's slightly shorter overall. The two outer fans are 90 mm in diameter, and the center fan is 100 mm.

The thermal pads are 2 mm for the VRMs and 1 mm for the memory, thanks to @Firebird5star, who sent in that info.


Once the main heatsink is removed, an elaborate system of shroud components becomes visible. I think this is the first time I have seen such an approach—it is refreshing and looks great because the cooler "wraps" around the card, giving it a more solid, industrial look and feel.

On the next page, we dive deep into the PCB layout and VRM configuration.