The launch of the RX 6500 XT had a lot of public backlash due to some of the limitations of AMD's new GPU, specifically the 4GB VRAM and the PCIe lanes being limited to 4 lanes which combined hold the card back when it comes to higher resolutions and at times if you are running very high detail games at 1080p. That said, the card does still have a place in the market, you just need to be clear about what you plan on using the card for. It is also one of the only cards you can get new without crazy markups. So I was excited when Asus offered to send their TUF Gaming RX 6500 XT OC Edition over. Not to mention, even though I had a lot of experience with the TUF lineup years ago when it first came out on motherboards. I’ve never had the chance to check out any of the TUF cards. So today I’m going to check out Asus’s card to see how the overclocked card performs and I’m especially curious to see what sets the TUF lineup apart and how it performs in things like cooling, noise, and power usage that help set cards with the same GPUs apart. So let’s check it out.
Product Name: Asus TUF Gaming RX 6500 XT OC Edition
Review Sample Provided by: Asus
Written by: Wes Compton
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Specifications |
|
Graphic Engine |
Radeon RX 6500 XT |
Bus Standard |
PCI Express 4.0 |
OpenGL |
OpenGL®4.6 |
Video Memory |
4GB GDDR6 |
Engine Clock |
OC mode: up to 2825 MHz(Boost Clock)/ up to 2705 MHz(Game Clock) Gaming mode: up to 2825 MHz(Boost Clock)/ up to 2685MHz(Game Clock) |
Stream Processors |
1024 |
Memory Speed |
18 Gbps |
Memory Interface |
64-bit |
Resolution |
Digital Max Resolution 7680 x 4320 |
Interface |
Yes x 1 (Native HDMI 2.1) Yes x 1 (Native DisplayPort 1.4a) HDCP Support Yes (2.3) |
Maximum Display Support |
2 |
NVlink/ Crossfire Support |
Yes |
Accessories |
1 x Speedsetup Manual |
Software |
ASUS GPU Tweak II & Drivers: please download all software from the support site. |
Dimensions |
250 x 147 x 54 mm 9.76 x 5.78 x 2.12 inch |
Recommended PSU |
500W |
Power Connectors |
1 x 6-pin |
Slot |
2.7 Slot |
Before getting into testing I did also run GPUz to double-check that our clock speeds match up with the specifications. The TUF has a boost clock of 2825 MHz which did match up in GPUz and is also the same clock speed as the Sapphire 6500XT card that I previously took a look at as well. For the driver, I tested using the 6500XT launch driver. GPUz also notes what BIOS revision we have as well for future reference.