Prototypes Show What Navi Graphics Cards Will Look Like

AMD isn't talking much about Navi, its next-generation graphics platform, here at Computex. Instead, the company has told journalists and the public that they'll get more details in the near future, likely around the E3 timeframe. We don't have specs, SKU numbers, costs or even serious benchmark numbers for the long-anticipated GPU just yet. But, if you want to know what a Navi card will look like, there are a few prototypes at the show.

ASRock, which only makes AMD-powered graphics cards, has three cards on display that a company representative described as having "next-generation graphics," which has to be Navi. The cards were available to look at, but weren't working models with the actual Navi guts inside. However, you can see just what the style of these cards could potentially look like.

The first card, part of the company's Phantom Gamer line, has a silver and black aesthetic with some RGB-illuminated lines near the rightmost fan.  The ridged areas look really slick and likely help dissipate heat.

The all-black backside of this first card has more RGB lighting. You can see on the left that there's a Phantom Gaming logo.

The second card, also a Phantom Gamer, has three ARGB (addressable RGB) fans that allow you to do all kinds of blinking light effects, with different colors for each individual fan. 

The backplate also has its own light-up RGB version of the Phantom Gaming logo. We shouldn't read too much into the fact that this prototype had two, 8-pin power connectors as it may just be part of the mockup (remember that these weren't working cards with a real Navi chip under the cooling.

ASRock's Taichi brand is targeted more at mainstream users than hardcore gamers so the design is typically more classy and emphasizes the gear logo. Only the middle fan of the three fans is lit but it has a sleek pattern with over three dozen strips surrounding the blades. 

The lines are visible from the back too.

Obviously, all of these designs are subject to change, but they give us a small morsel to chew on while we wait for AMD to deliver a feast of Navi information, hopefully in a few weeks.