Alphacool today unveiled the Eisblock Aurora Plexi GPX-A line of full-coverage water blocks for a range of custom-design AMD Radeon RX 5700 series graphics cards. The lineup includes a model for the Sapphire RX 5700 XT Nitro+, one for the PowerColor Red Devil and Red Dragon models of RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, and one for the MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X. The common element between the three is a combination of nickel-plated copper primary material, mated with a clear acrylic top. The three weigh roughly 1.2 kg, and feature mount hole spacing aligning with PCBs from the three brands. Available now, the blocks cost 109.94€ a piece.

The Sapphire-specific model is compatible only with the RX 5700 XT Nitro+, and measures 260 mm x 141 mm x 23 mm (LxHxW). The PowerColor-specific model, which supports the common PCB PowerColor uses across its Red Devil and Red Dragon models based on the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, measures 238 mm x 143 mm x 23 mm. The MSI-specific model is the longest among the three, measuring 293 mm x 139.3 mm x 22.5 mm, supporting the RX 5700 XT Gaming X. All three support standard G 1/4" fittings.

PowerColor, who have released excellent Radeon RX 5700 XT custom designs recently (our reviews: Red Dragon, Red Devil) has just posted an image announcing a watercooled Radeon RX 5700 XT "Liquid Devil".

I enhanced the photo of the card a bit and you can now clearly see the "EK" logo in the bottom right corner of the card, confirming that it is based on a custom EK Water Blocks cooling solution that you integrate into your existing watercooling loop. Release date and specifications are yet unknown, but I wouldn't be surprised if this will end up being the highest-clocked RX 5700 XT out there, because Navi will definitely benefit from lower temperatures and a higher power limit.

The leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, ASRock, announces their new Taichi X series graphics cards - the Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi X 8G OC+, which is ASRock's first Taichi X series graphics card featuring AMD's latest Radeon RX 5700 XT GPU and 8 GB 256-bit GDDR6 memory, brings exceptional computing power and an immersive experience nested within an elegant design.

In Chinese culture, "Taichi" represents the philosophical state of yin and yang. ASRock's Taichi graphics cards are designed for tech geeks and power users who care about products' design and quality, and comes with premium features that can fulfill every geek's dream and fulfill power user's important task. To carry forward Taichi's spirit, which symbolizes the balance between elegance and stability; Taichi graphics cards are formed with two main elements in mind - "design" and "quality".

Ahead of its September 16 launch, pricing of the Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT NITRO+ (model: 100416NT+8GSR) was revealed thanks to an early product listing by leading American retailer Newegg. The card is priced at USD $439.99, which makes it on-par with certain other premium custom RX 5700 XT offerings, such as the PowerColor RX 5700 XT Red Devil and the MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X. The Newegg listing also mentions the card's boost frequency as 2010 MHz, which is the same as the PowerColor Red Devil, but a touch short of the 2100 MHz of the MSI Gaming X. Our reviews of the Red Devil and the Gaming X show that these frequencies are mostly moot, and both cards end up performing the same.

Sapphire is ready with its premium Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, the NITRO+ OC. This card was teased to the web earlier this month, and now we have proper press pics. The RX 5700 XT NITRO+ OC is longer, taller, and thicker than the RX 5700 XT Pulse OC. It appears to feature a different PCB from the Pulse OC, which will feature a stronger VRM setup that pulls power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors, to support an increased power-limit, and higher boost frequencies.

The cooler is longer than the PCB, and features an elaborate compound aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by three fans, two of which are larger 100 mm, and the central one smaller, around 80 mm. The back-plate only covers the length of the PCB, beyond which it has large openings so the extended portion of the heatsink can vent directly through. Display connectivity appears to include two each of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 connectors. Key specs such as clock-speeds are still under the wraps, but the NITRO+ OC is expected to compete with the fastest RX 5700 XT cards out there. It is already up for pre-order on Amazon France for 470€ including taxes.

If our review of CORSAIR's Hydro X series XG7 GPU water block for the NVIDIA GTX 1080 interested you and made you want to look into their offerings for newer cards, then you may be just as interested in knowing that AMD's latest and greatest in the discrete GPU market gets some Hydro X love too. CORSAIR has added to their custom watercooling product portfolio with the new RX-SERIES GPU block which is compatible with all reference design AMD Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT offerings. The block has the same feature set as with their other XG7 GPU blocks, with full coverage (GPU, VRM, VRAM), integrated dRGB lighting supported by iCUE, pre-applied thermal pads and paste for easy installation, a full-length aluminium backplate included in the package, and a transparent top coupled with a flow indicator wheel. It costs $149.99 for customers in the USA, and is available immediately as of the time of this post.

Sapphire China has let out a partial teaser of their upcoming RX 5700 XT NITRO graphics card, which is nearing release and has apparently been finalized. The design shows a slightly longer graphics card than we're used to from Sapphire in recent generation (based on 8-pin port placement and component ratio in the provided image).

The card will seemingly sport a silver-based finish (and what looks like black details in the fan area), and features an RGB "SAPPHIRE" detail on the side, as well as what looks like an RGB strip alongside the PCB. From the image, it seems Sapphire will be using a triple fan cooling solution on this one. Being set in the NITRO series, it's currently unknown if this will be a NITRO or NITRO+ product.

ASRock is ready with its flagship Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, which is among its first fully in-house graphics card designs. The Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi features a board design that was teased at the 2019 Computex show as a high-end graphics card cooling solution concept. It's since been mated with a custom-design RX 5700 XT PCB. The card features a triple-slot cooling solution with an aluminium fin-stack heatsink, and a cooler shroud that holds three fans. The smaller central fan features an RGB LED embellishment. A tiny LED segment display along the top of the cooler appears to display real-time monitoring. ASRock's signature Taichi gearwheel aesthetic carries over not just to the cooler, but also its backplate.

The PCB is noticeably taller than the AMD reference PCB, pulls power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors, offers dual-BIOS with a toggle between an "OC BIOS" and a "Silent BIOS," an LED lighting master control switch, and possibly a strong VRM solution to keep the juices flowing to "Navi." The clock-speeds of the card are still under the wraps, but it's likely that only the OC BIOS features factory-overclocked speeds, while the Silent BIOS ticks at reference clock speeds to favor an aggressive fan-control. Both BIOSes could offer idle fan-stop. The display connectivity is particularly interesting - four DisplayPorts, and two HDMI connectors, all along the rear I/O. There's no word on the availability, but at least the box-art proves this card isn't a tradeshow unicorn.

MSI unveiled its Radeon RX 5700-series MECH graphics cards. The lineup includes graphics cards based on both the Radeon RX 5700 XT and the Radeon RX 5700. MSI further differentiated them into a base variant that ticks at AMD-reference clock speeds out of the box, and OC Edition variants that come with factory-overclocked speeds. The MECH series is positioned slightly lower than the company's Evoke series, and the OC Edition variants come with clock speeds that are a notch lower than those of the Evoke OC. The RX 5700 XT MECH OC Edition ships with 1670/1815/1925 MHz (base/gaming/boost) clocks, while the RT 5700 XT MECH has reference clocks of 1605/1755/1905 MHz. The RX 5700 MECH OC Edition comes with 1515/1675/1750 MHz, while the standard RX 5700 MECH ships with reference clocks of 1465/1625/1725 MHz.

All four MECH series graphics cards are based on a common board design. The PCB is custom-design, and is similar to that of the RX 5700 Evoke series. The cooling solution uses the same exact aluminium fin-stack heatsink as the EVOKE, with the same pair of 90 mm TorX fans, but suspended onto a cost-effective plastic shroud, compared to the diamond-cut alloy shroud of the EVOKE. All four cards feature a backplate. The cards draw power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Display outputs include three DisplayPorts and an HDMI. The RX 5700 XT and RX 5700 MECH series from MSI are expected to be priced about $10-15 higher than the AMD baseline prices for the base variants, and about $15-20 higher for the OC Edition variants.

ASUS today launched its TUF Gaming X3 Radeon RX 5700-series "Navi" graphics cards. The TUF Gaming series is positioned a notch below the company's premium ROG Strix RX 5700-series, and above its cost-effective custom-design Dual-series. A common board design is used for both the RX 5700 XT and the RX 5700. It features a macho-looking plastic cooler shroud with the TUF "urban camo" pattern. There's also a metal backplate with the same pattern. The card is based on a custom-design PCB that's shorter than that of the ROG Strix card.

The triple-slot cooling solution of the TUF Gaming X3 Radeon RX 5700-series features a compound aluminium fin-stack heatsink much like the ROG Strix, albeit slightly smaller. Three 80 mm fans ventilate it, although the cooler lacks idle fan-stop. The fans feature IP5X-certified dust-resistance and fluid-dynamic bearings with a "space-grade lubricant." Both cards come with factory-overclocked speeds. The TUF Gaming X3 RX 5700 XT ships with 1650 MHz base, 1795 MHz "gaming" clocks, and 1905 MHz boost; while the TUF Gaming X3 RX 5700 ships with 1565 MHz base, 1720 MHz "gaming" clocks, and 1750 MHz boost. Both cards feature software-based one-click "OC" modes that dial up clock speeds by around 4 percent, which require you to install the GPUTweak utility. The company didn't reveal pricing.

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphic cards since 1997, brings today the highly praised Red Devil and Red Dragon series to the RX 5700 line, engineered to provide the best hardware for the ultimate 1440p gaming experience.

To celebrate the new Red Devil branding as well the introduction of RGB lighting to the product line for the first time, PowerColor is having a special limited-edition RX 5700 XT Red Devil, to celebrate the new Red Devil series with an entire new cooling solution to bring the best of Navi as well a more neutral use of colors that will match any gaming rig color scheme. In addition, the Red Devil includes RGB lighting both on the side and on the back of the card for awesome tweaks.

AMD this Monday in a blog post demystified the boosting algorithm and thermal management of its new Radeon RX 5700 series "Navi" graphics cards. These cards are beginning to be available in custom-designs by AMD's board partners, but were only available as reference-design cards for over a month since their 7th July launch. The thermal management of these cards spooked many early adopters accustomed to seeing temperatures below 85 °C on competing NVIDIA graphics cards, with the Radeon RX 5700 XT posting GPU "hotspot" temperatures well above 100 °C, regularly hitting 110 °C, and sometimes even touching 113 °C with stress-testing application such as Furmark. In its blog post, AMD stated that 110 °C hotspot temperatures under "typical gaming usage" are "expected and within spec."

AMD also elaborated on what constitutes "GPU Hotspot" aka "junction temperature." Apparently, the "Navi 10" GPU is peppered with an array of temperature sensors spread across the die at different physical locations. The maximum temperature reported by any of those sensors becomes the Hotspot. In that sense, Hotspot isn't a fixed location in the GPU. Legacy "GPU temperature" measurements on past generations of AMD GPUs relied on a thermal diode at a fixed location on the GPU die which AMD predicted would become the hottest under load. Over the generations, and starting with "Polaris" and "Vega," AMD leaned toward an approach of picking the hottest temperature value from a network of diodes spread across the GPU, and reporting it as the Hotspot.

AMD today released Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.8.1 drivers as the first custom-design Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards took to the shelves. The drivers add Microsoft PlayReady 3.0 DRM support for the RX 5700 series. The drivers also fix several issues but don't even acknowledge the elevated idle fan-speeds on reference RX 5700-series graphics cards, in what is shaping up to be a bait-and-switch tactic that's unbecoming of a company like AMD. Among the resolved bugs are color corruption noticed upon install of Radeon Software on Windows 10 May 2019 Update (1903) without Windows Update KB4505903 in place.

A black screen noticed on RX 5700 series with automatic memory overclocking enabled in games with full-screen display settings, has also been fixed. The drivers also fix Radeon Chill settings not being in sync with game profiles changed in-game using Radeon Overlay. Radeon AntiLag slightly impacting performance in some games has also been fixed. Uninstalling RX 5700 drivers on Windows 7 machines resulting in a black-screen has also been fixed. ReLive recording not working correctly on Windows 7 with RX 5700 series has also been fixed. Grab the drivers from the link below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.8.1 Beta

The change-log follows.

With the introduction of AMD's AIB partners' custom designs for the Navi-based RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT graphics cards, rumors (ie, reports) started to float around of AMD's discontinuation of their reference designs. However, AMD's own Scott Herkelman confirmed via Twitter that the company isn't transitioning its reference designs to an EOL (End of Life) status, and that they will continue to be offered in the traditional venues.

However, Scott did say that AMD is in the stage of transitioning their AIB partners fully to their own custom designs. This means that AMD will likely keep the market cornered on blower-style designs, that can be bought by users planning to stick their own aftermarket cooling solution and just want the cheapest possible card. This way, AIB partners will always sell Radeon cards under their own brand names, instead of something like "ASUS Radeon RX 5700".

HIS is ready with its Radeon RX 5700 XT IceQ X2 graphics card. The card combines a custom-design cooling solution with a PCB designed by Pine Group (XFX' parent company). It has the same exact PCB as the one the XFX RX 5700 XT THICC II comes with. The PCB is close-to-reference in design, with small changes near the power-connector area. It also features dual-BIOS. The card's cooling solution, too, resembles the XFX THICC II, with the exception for its shroud and back-plate design. The shroud and back-plate don't fuse over a metal extension like it does on the XFX card. The back-plate is dominated by a HIS "roaring lion" graphic. The card ticks at AMD-reference speeds of 1905 MHz boost and 14 Gbps (GDDR6-effective) memory. Like most other custom-design RX 5700-series graphics cards, this one will launch mid-August.

We're willing to bet that whoever came up with the name "Fatboy" for a 3-slot thick RX 590 graphics card at XFX, is also behind the new Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC II. This 3-slot "thick" RX 5700 XT is characterized by a symmetric combination of cooler shroud and back-plate, which fuse at the card's tail end into a chrome grille, which probably explains the name THICC (a slang for people voluptuous below the waist). Under all this, the card uses a custom-design PCB that's somewhat similar to the reference-design, with minor modifications near the power inputs (upside down connectors to help with clearance with the tall cooler), and the use of conventional cylindrical capacitors.

A pair of 100 mm fans ventilate a large aluminium fin-stack heatsink underneath the shroud. The card probably features idle fan-stop. The heatsink consists of two aluminium fin-stacks arranged along the ends of a few copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the GPU. The clock-speeds of this card are not known, since the box doesn't appear to have any "OC" markings. Like most other AMD add-in board (AIB) partners, XFX is expected to launch the Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC II and its other cost-effective sibling some time mid-August.

Ahead of its launch, the press-deck of ASUS' premium custom-design Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, the ROG Strix RX 5700 XT OC, was leaked to the web by VideoCardz, revealing some fascinating details. Out of the box, the card ships with clock-speeds of 1770 MHz base, 1905 MHz "game clock," and 2010 MHz boost clock, which are closer to AMD's reference-design boost clocks. A software-activated "OC mode," which requires you to install the GPU Tweak software, runs the card at 1840 MHz base, 1965 MHz game clock, and 2035 MHz boost clock. The card features dual-BIOS, which have identical clock-speeds, but change the fan-behavior. Both BIOSes enable idle fan-stop, but one of them reduces fan-speeds when gaming, compared to the other, trading temperatures for noise.

The ROG Strix RX 5700 XT OC is a purely custom-design RX 5700 XT graphics card, with a custom-design PCB that's larger than AMD's reference-design, and features a 14-phase VRM (11-phase vGPU and 3-phase vMem). ASUS deployed its latest Super Alloy Power II (SAP II) component selection, consisting of chokes that don't buzz or whine; and high quality DrMOS. The card draws power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and features a combination of three DisplayPorts and one HDMI. The card also puts out a 4-pin/3-pin RGB/ARGB header, and two 4-pin PWM case-fan headers. The DirectCU III cooling solution features a mirror-finish base that makes contact with the GPU. ASUS claims that the card is 32 percent quieter than the reference-design, and runs 18 percent cooler. It's also 4.7 percent faster than the reference-design

Update Aug 12th: Our review of the ASUS Radeon RX 5700 XT STRIX OC is live now.More slides follow.

Here are some of the first pictures of the PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT Red Devil graphics card. This is the company's most premium custom-design product based on the RX 5700 XT, and combines a custom-design PCB with a large triple-slot cooling solution that features an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by a trio of 80 mm spinners.

The card offers idle-fan stop, dual-BIOS, voltage measurement points, and addressable-RGB LED embellishments along the card's top and back-plate. The card is also expected to feature the company's highest factory-overclock. The card pulls power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors, while display outputs include three DisplayPorts and an HDMI.

Update: PowerColor hopes to launch the RX 5700 XT Red Devil graphics card by August 13th.

Update Aug 15th: Our review of the Powercolor RX 5700 XT Red Devil is posted now.

Ahead of its launch, TechPowerUp scored an exclusive picture of MSI's premium custom-design Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, the RX 5700 XT EVOKE. The EVOKE is a completely new card design and brand-extension making its debut with the RX 5700-series. MSI drew some visual cues from the NVIDIA TITAN RTX, as the card features a solid metal cooler shroud holding a pair of 90 mm fans, with a champagne gold finish and diamond-cut edges. The shroud binds seamlessly with the matching metal back-plate. Underneath it, MSI appears to be using a similar aluminium fin-stack heatsink to its Twin Frozr VII cooling solution, which uses four 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes t, and a single fin-stack that spans the entire length of the card.

It's not just the heatsink, even the two fans are similar 90 mm TorX spinners. The card offers idle fan-stop, a must-have especially for this GPU. Interestingly, underneath this custom cooling solution, our sources tell us that MSI is using AMD's reference-design PCB for the RX 5700-series, which draws power from a combination of 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power connectors. In terms of monitor connectivity, the card has three DisplayPort outputs and one HDMI port. It remains to be seen what factory-overclocked speeds MSI offers for these cards. The card should hit the shelves on August 15, our review sample is already on its way.

Update: MSI distributed one image each to several websites. In addition to ours, we collected four more so far (IgorsLab, Guru3D, TweakTown, WCCFTech).

Update Aug 15th: Our review of the MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT Evoke is live now.

Here are some of the first pictures of one of Sapphire's custom-design Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics cards, the RX 5700 XT Pulse. The Pulse brand has traditionally been associated with Sapphire's cost-effective custom-design products, while the company reserves the Nitro brand with its premium offerings. With the RX 5700-series, Sapphire is rumored to bring back some of its more iconic brands, such as Toxic, and perhaps even Atomic. The RX 5700 Pulse combines a custom-design cooling solution by Sapphire, with AMD's reference-design PCB for the RX 5700 XT, and likely reference clock-speeds. Sapphire has utilized the dual-BIOS preparation of the reference PCB by adding a second SPI flash chip and a 2-way BIOS selector switch.

The cooling solution of the RX 5700 XT Pulse features an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that uses nickel-plated copper heat-pipes that make direct contact with the GPU at the base; we expect Sapphire to reserve exotic tech such as vapor-chambers for its premium Nitro products. The heatsink is ventilated by a pair of large (90-100 mm) fans. Since the card uses reference-design PCB (and the fan-interface that comes with it), we're not entirely sure if it offers idle fan-stop. Overclockers.uk has this card already listed at £428.99 including taxes, which is about £30 pricier than reference-design cards sold by it.Update Aug 12th: Our review of the Sapphire RX 5700 XT Pulse is posted now.

ASUS is ready with its custom-design Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards, and is lining them up to launch some time mid-August. The company is giving the RX 5700 XT some premium treatment with a Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix OC product; while both the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT will get a TUF Gaming product. The RX 5700 XT ROG Strix features a large custom-design PCB with a meaty VRM that draws power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors; and ASUS' premium DirectCU III cooling solution that combines an aluminium fin-stack heatsink with three AxialTech fans.

The ROG Strix RX 5700 XT also offers several high-end features, such as dual-BIOS, idle fan-stop, one-touch RGB-off toggle, power-supply fault LEDs, voltage measurement points, and additional 4-pin PWM case-fan headers with which you can sync your case fans to the graphics card's cooling. It also features addressable RGB LED embellishments on the cooler shroud, the back-plate, and top. Display outputs include three DP 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0b. The RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT TUF Gaming X3 are a slightly different beast. This board design uses a slightly lighter aluminium fin-stack heatsink, yet still ventilated by three fans, and a stylish back-plate. We don't expect features such as idle fan-stop. Both cards will feature factory-overclocked speeds.

Update Aug 12th: Our review of the ASUS Radeon RX 5700 XT STRIX OC is live now.

AMD's add-in board (AIB) partners are preparing to launch custom-design Radeon RX 5700-series graphics cards leading up to mid-August, 2019. Although it wouldn't take dates, PowerColor revealed that its custom-design Radeon RX 5700 XT cards would start at USD $399. This is the same price at which all AIB partners sell AMD's reference-design RX 5700 XT.

PowerColor's parent company, TUL, has designed custom-design Radeon graphics cards for recent entrant ASRock. It's fairly possible that PowerColor's $399 RX 5700 XT will bear physical resemblance to ASRock's RX 5700 XT Challenger with differences in the form of color-scheme, cooler shroud, and decal designs. Nearly all AIB partners could have custom-design RX 5700 XT cards starting at $399, but innovating pricier, beefier premium designs that have superior cooling solutions, such as the ASRock Taichi. It will be very interesting to see what factory-overclocked speeds they ship with.

AMD ended July with the fifth release of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition for the month, version 19.7.5 beta. The drivers address an application crash noticed with "Wolfenstein: Youngblood" on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics cards, which is the only item on the change-log. AMD identified a number of new "known issues," but the 50 percent increased idle fan-speeds on RX 5700 series isn't one of them.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.7.5 beta

Here's the first picture of a possible custom-design Radeon RX 5700-series graphics card by XFX. The company could leverage this common board design to develop both Radeon RX 5700 XT and RX 5700 products. The design involves a large custom-design cooling solution that uses an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by a pair of large 100 mm fans. It's likely that the card will offer idle fan-stop looking at the size of the heatsink and the idle power-draw of the "Navi 10" silicon. The card could also feature some RGB LED embellishments. At this point it's not known if XFX has designed its own custom-design PCB for the "Navi 10," or whether it's using a reference- or close-to-reference PCB design. AMD's add-in board partners are expected to launch custom-design RX 5700-series products in August.

ASRock confirmed that its custom-design Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics cards will launch in the 2nd week of August, 2019. Most AMD add-in board (AIB) partners are expected to announce their custom-design RX 5700-series graphics cards around that time. ASRock responded to a buyer's query about the RX 5700 XT Challenger, one of the three known custom-design RX 5700 XT products by the company, besides Phantom Gaming and Taichi. AMD debuted the RX 5700 XT and RX 5700 on the 7th of July, and the two are currently only available in reference-design boards through various AIB partners.