Having joined the graphics card game not so long ago, rookie manufacturer ASRock is already working on its 2nd generation of Phantom Gaming X graphics cards.
Credit: XFastest
Earlier this month, ASRock introduced its new Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX Vega 64 8G and RX Vega 56 8G graphics cards. At an event held in Taipei by Hong Kong-based XFastest, ASRock revealed this is just the start, unveiling its graphics card product roadmap through 2019. ASRock will launch at least two 2nd generation Phantom Gaming X series graphics cards in August. The new models will carry the MK2 (Mark 2 Edition) branding to distinguish from their predecessors. The Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 (4GB and 8GB variants) SKUs were the first two models to reach the MK2 treatment.
Another piece of valuable information is that ASRock will continue to offer its existing lineup of Phantom Gaming X graphics cards alongside the upcoming MK2 revisions until February of next year. Given ASRock's close relationship with AMD, it's safe to say that we don't expect AMD to launch the Radeon 600 series anytime soon.
Unfortunately, ASRock didn't disclose a lot of information about the MK2 revisions of the Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 except for the display connectors. While the original models came with one HDMI 2.0 port, one dual-link DVI-D port and three DisplayPort 1.4 outputs in total, the MK2 revisions will drop one of the DisplayPort 1.4 outputs in favor of adding an additional HDMI 2.0 port.
We got the opportunity to review ASRock's Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX580 8G OC last month, and the graphics card proved to be a solid performer. However, there is certainly room for improvement as the graphics card's three-heatpipe cooling solution forced the two fans to spin faster than necessary to compensate for the scrawny heatsink. So, it's highly possible that the MK2 models will feature an improved cooling solution for better thermal performance and acoustics. We'll just have to wait and see.
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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.