Except for Nvidia’s Founder’s Edition GPUs, most top-of-the-line GPUs feature three fans to purge the tremendous heat they generate when running full tilt. But, as reported by VideoCardz.com, Asus is breaking this tradition by launching dual-fan versions of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and XT GPUs. This was an unexpected move, as other video card makers are reducing their GPU outputs owing to reduced demand, leading to lower revenues for AMD.
Although both cards are smaller than their three-fan counterparts, they retain the overclocked performance of their bigger brothers. So, you still get 2,535 MHz (Boost Clock) and 2,175 MHz (Game Clock) for the 7900 XT and 2,615 MHz (Boost Clock) and 2,455 MHz (Game Clock) for the XTX.
However, their default performance is fractionally lower than the three-fan models. The Asus TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XT OC’s Game Clock is 2,130 MHz, and its Boost Clock is 2,500 MHz, but the Dual version only gets 2,075 MHz (Game) and 2,450 MHz (Boost). We also have the same story for the XTX—the three-fan Asus TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 2,565 MHz (Boost) and 2,395 MHz (Game), but the dual-fan GPU only gets 2,525 MHz (Boost) and 2,330 MHz (Game).
But aside from these minute differences in size and default clock speeds, everything else remains the same: the Asus Dual Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC has 24GB GDDR6 memory and 6,144 Stream Processors while recommending an 850-watt PSU. On the other hand, the Asus Dual Radeon RX 7900 XT OC comes with 20GB GDDR6 memory and 5,376 Stream Processors, requiring less power with a lower 750-watt PSU recommendation. These specifications are the same as that of their bigger counterparts.
These two new GPUs will be a boon to small form factor PC enthusiasts, as their *slightly* smaller footprint will make them easier to fit into tiny cases. Asus’ three-fan 7900 XT and XTX offerings measure 352.9 x 158.2 x 72.5 mm, taking up four slots, but the Dual versions of these cards come at a smaller 323 x 147 x 58 mm, taking up three slots. However, these GPUs are still larger than the stock 7900 XT and XTX cards from AMD, which have a length of 287 mm and 276 mm, respectively.
Nevertheless, despite their smaller size and one less fan, the Dual versions of the 7900 XTX and 7900 XT should, on paper, perform similarly close to their larger siblings. However, we can only check this once we get our hands on the actual GPUs and benchmark them. After all, Asus can’t defeat the laws of physics—a smaller GPU means smaller space to put in a heatsink, thus offering reduced cooling. Unless Asus made some magical changes under the hood, we expect these Dual GPUs to provide a bit less performance than the bigger video cards, but at least they fit in a smaller rig.
