Hot on the heels of AMD's Radeon RX 6000 announcement, Asus has taken the opportunity to unveil the brand's ROG Strix and TUF Gaming iterations of the Radeon RX 6800 series of graphics cards.
Asus didn't release the specifications for the graphics card, and their corresponding product pages aren't live yet. However, the Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT hit the market on November 18 so more information on Asus' custom models should be available as we approach the launch day.
ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT
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The ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT sits on top of Asus' Big Navi product stack and might be one of the smallest custom iterations of the Radeon RX 6800 XT we've seen so far. The Navi 21-powered graphics card does rock a 300W TBP (total board power) rating, so Asus resorted to a hybrid cooling system to keep the ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT's dimensions down.
The liquid cooling module on the ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT does all the heavy lifting. A cold plate with substantial proportions cool both the Navi 21 die and surrounding GDDR6 memory chips. Consequently, the heat is transferred directly to a 240mm radiator. An internal heatsink with its corresponding blower fan cools the power delivery subsystem. Asus mentions that the sleeved cooling hoses are very flexible and measure 600mm long so consumers will have no problems installing the ROG Strix LC Radeon RX 6800 XT into the biggest of computer cases.
ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800
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The ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800, on the other hand, relies on traditional air cooling. The Radeon RX 6800 might consume less power than the XT variant, but the graphics card is still rated for 250W. This explains why the ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800 features a 2.9-slot heatsink and numerous heat pipes to remain cool. It also employs three Axial-tech cooling fans to provide adequate airflow. The central fan rotates in a clockwise direction while the flanking fans spin in a counterclockwise direction. Asus claims that this unique design helps reduce turbulence.
Like any high-end offering, the ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800 comes sporting a metal backplate. According to Asus, the Radeon RX 6800 possesses a short PCB, and that allows the manufacturer to put a ventilation cutout on the backplate for the heat to escape the graphics card.
TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6800 XT, RX 6800
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The TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 might be from another family, but shares some common traits with the ROG Strix Radeon RX 6800. For starters, the 2.9-slot heatsink and triple Axial-tech cooling fans aren't going anywhere. The backplate with the ventilation cutout also made its way to the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 as well.
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Built on the TUF philosophy, the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6800 XT and RX 6800 go through a rigorous 144-hour testing program and reportedly utilize more robust components. On the contrary to the ROG Strix series, the TUF offerings come equipped with a military-inspired theme with less eye candy and typically have more modest clock speeds.
Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.