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We used GPUz logging to measure the card’s power consumption with the Metro:Exodus benchmark running at 2560 x 1440 using the default Ultra settings. The tested card is warmed up prior to testing and started after settling to an idle temperature (after about 10 minutes). The benchmark is looped a total of five times which yields around 10 minutes of testing. In the charts you will see a few blips in power use which is a result of the benchmark ending one loop and starting the next.
We also use Furmark to capture worst-case power readings. Although both Nvidia and AMD consider the application to be a “power virus,” or program that deliberately taxes the components beyond normal limits, the data we can gather from it offers useful information about a card’s capabilities outside of typical gaming loads.
Power Draw
In our power draw testing, we charted all three RX 5700 XT’s as well as the RTX 2070 Super Gaming OC. What we find here is the Aorus and Taichi cards (and the RTX 2070 Super) use a lot more power than the 5700 XT Gaming OC. Where the two faster cards averaged 215W, the Gaming OC was less at 186W. This is in part due to the much slower clock speeds we’ll see below.
The RTX 2070 Gaming OC averages 212W while still being the faster card. Though AMD has made strides with the RDNA architecture and 7nm process, the Navi 10 variant isn’t as efficient as the older 12nm process Nvidia uses, especially at these clock speeds.
When using Furmark to look at power consumption, we see all the cards used hit the power limit. In this case, we observed power limits for the Aorus 5700 XT around 225W (averaging 219W) while the Taichi is 235W (averaging 229W). The Gaming OC uses a lot less power than the two faster cards again, with a limit of 195W (averaging 189W). The higher-performing RTX 2070 Super averaged 213W, quite similar to its result above.
Temperatures, Fan Speeds and Clock Rates
In order to see how each video card behaves, like the power testing, we use GPUz logging in one-second intervals to capture data. As with testing for power, testing for these items is also done by looping the Metro: Exodus benchmark five times at Ultra settings running at 2560x1440 resolution.
Additionally, we also used Furmark to capture some of the data below, which offers a more consistent load and uses slightly more power, regardless of the fact that the clock speeds and voltages are limited. These data sets give insight into worst-case situations along with a load other than gaming.
Gaming
Between our tested 5700 XT’s, the ASRock ran the coolest with temperatures peaking at 67 degrees Celsius. The Aorus and its powerful Windforce 3 cooler hit 68C. Meanwhile, the Gaming OC variant ran the warmest, peaking at 69 degrees Celsius. That said, there isn’t much of a difference here performance-wise. All of these cooling solutions keep the card running within specifications.
Fan speeds during game testing ramped up quickly and is stable throughout the tests. None of the cards show varying fan speeds, which is good for their acoustic properties. The Aorus 5700 XT and the Windforce 3 cooler ran at 1,800 RPM. The Gaming OC at 1,900 RPM with the Taichi turning in the fastest fan speed averaging a bit over 2,000 RPM.
As far as acoustics go, none of the cards are loud, but the ASRock Taichi is louder than the others.
We tested the Aorus RX 5700 XT using the OC BIOS -- its default setting. This BIOS allows the card to stretch its legs and run the highest clocks out of the box, noise be damned. In this case, the card averaged 1,916 MHz, which is above the specified gaming clock of 1,905 MHz. Put simply, the rated boost clock is a pipe dream for AMD cards. As far as the comparison cards, the Taichi averaged 1,956 MHz and the Gaming OC 1,826 MHz.
Furmark
As we have seen in past video card reviews, temperatures when using Furmark don’t change much. In the case of the Aorus RX 5700 XT, temperatures peaked at 68 degrees Celsius, 1 degree more than the gaming test. We saw similar results on the Gaming OC (69 degrees Celsius versus 68 degrees Celsius) and the Taichi peaking at 71 degrees Celsius.
Like temperatures, fan speed didn’t change much either with the Aorus card again running 1,800 RPM. In fact, the Gaming OC and Taichi’s fan speeds were remarkably similar. This is due in part to the difference in clock speeds and voltages used when using Furmark. In order to stay below the power limit, the cards will lower clock speeds and voltage to make that happen. These adjustments allow the fan to run around the same RPM.
As mentioned previously, when running Furmark, clock speeds and voltage tend to drop considerably from gaming. In this case, the Aorus card ran at 1,670 MHz. This is almost 250 MHz slower than the gaming test. As for the Gaming OC and Taichi cards, these ran at 1,582 MHz and 1,694 MHz respectively. Again, down from gaming clock speeds.
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