Asus ROG Strix RX Vega 56 graphics card evaluation, non-public version of the counterattack.

　　[PConline evaluation]At the recent CES show, AMD had a big explosion, which will bring more new products on the two product lines of CPU and GPU, and Ryzen APU and RX Vega Mobile will be listed later. There should be no brand-new products for desktop graphics cards this year, and the planned 14nm+ products are gone. However, AMD plans to launch Vega graphics cards with 7nm technology, and the architecture remains unchanged, but the process upgrade is expected to improve the energy efficiency of graphics cards. The 7nm Vega graphics card is mainly used in the deep learning market, and may be used in the consumer market in the future, but this process may take a long time, at least until the end of this year. At present, AMD relies on the RX Vega series in the high-end graphics card market. Recently, everyone has noticed that the non-public version of Vega graphics cards has been widely publicized. Asustek and Dylan have launched the non-public version of RX Vgea 64 graphics cards, and now the non-public version of Asustek RX Vega 56 graphics cards has also come. Today, the ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 56 O8G Gaming graphics card is tested.

　 　Asus RGO Strix RX Vega 56 graphics card: domineering, but also very low-key.

　　ASUS launched the non-public RX Vega 64 graphics card in July last year. This time, the ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 56 O8G Gaming graphics card (hereinafter referred to as ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card) is a Vega 56 series, which also uses a domineering three-fan radiator, but compared with other graphics cards, ASUS’s current design gives people a very low-key feeling. The style of this graphics card is not flamboyant, but this does not mean that it is not dazzling enough. It can only be said that ASUS now knows the psychology of high-end players too well, and it has a good grip on the design, low-key and cool RGB LED lights.

　　For Vegax graphics card, the previous public version gave people the impression that it was relatively hot, so ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card uses three fan radiators, three 9 cm diameter blade silent fans, patented airfoil blade design, and also supports IP5X dustproof, which is very important for domestic users. Asustek, a three-fan radiator, has been used in many high-end graphics cards. Practice has proved that it has good heat dissipation effect and excellent temperature control. It also supports the popular intelligent start-stop technology, and the fan can completely stop running under low load, achieving zero noise operation.

　　ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card uses dual 8-8pin power supply, which can provide up to 375W power supply capacity, which is also sufficient for RX Vega graphics card. There are many RGB LED lights on the front and top of the graphics card, and the lighting effect can be controlled by ASUS Aura Sync software.

Aura Sync lamp control synchronization software

　　ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card supports the equivalence of static, breathing light, pulse and color cycle, and there are two kinds of special effects, which can show different colors according to the rhythm of music and the load of GPU. Therefore, in terms of playing with lights, the design of ASUS ROG board card can be said to understand the psychology of high-end players.

Luminous effect animation effect

Not only can the front glow, but the logo, the eye of ROG’s failure, on the back is also an RGB light.

　　The interface supported by ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is very comprehensive, including 1 DVI, 2 HDMI and 2 DP interfaces. Unlike the public graphics card, this combination can not only meet the needs of multi-screen users, but also the dual HDMI interfaces are more friendly to VR players and can support various VR devices more conveniently.

　　ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is also designed with two FanConnect interfaces at the end, which can connect two system fans, so that the rotation speed can be adjusted according to the temperature of the graphics card, which provides a more targeted cooling scheme for the graphics card and optimizes the heat dissipation of the whole machine.

　　The back metal backboard of ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is cast and pressed as a whole, which shows that it feels good after being processed by metal Lars process. The unique cosmic rune of ROG and the logo of the eye of rog’s prodigal family also improve the visual effect of the backboard, which is less boring and can also provide more solid support for the whole card. After all, the high-end graphics card is getting bigger and bigger, its volume and weight are not small, and it is really worrying that there is no metal plate reinforcement.

　　The radiator of ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card uses MaxContact heat dissipation technology, and the pure copper mirror base is polished very smoothly, which increases the contact area and improves the heat dissipation efficiency. Coupled with the assistance of six heat pipes, this radiator can bring better heat dissipation effect to graphics cards like RX Vega, and the measured results are indeed true. The temperature and noise control behind it are satisfactory.

　　The PCB layout of ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is as shown in the above figure. The non-public over-the-shoulder PCB design is also reinforced by an integrated metal frame, and the PWM circuit part has a separate heat dissipation sticker to improve the heat dissipation efficiency.

　　ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is powered by 11+2-phase SAP II superalloys, and uses a large number of all-solid capacitors, DrMOS and SAP alloy inductors. The workmanship and materials are better than the public version. After all, the frequency of this graphics card is much higher than the public version of Vega 56, and the core frequency is raised to 1573MHz, which is close to the level of the water-cooled version of RX Vega 64.

　 　Comparison of ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 56 graphics card specifications

　　Specification:Compared with the public version of RX Vega 56, the biggest change of ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is naturally that the frequency is higher, and the acceleration frequency can reach 1573 MHz (1590MHz is displayed in GPUZ), which is higher than the public version of 1471MHz, and the performance is naturally stronger. However, in addition to performance, the temperature and noise control of the non-public RX Vega graphics card will be better than that of the public version, which is the most influential to the user experience. Let’s take a look at the performance of the graphics card.

　　testPlatform description:The test platform is the mainstream consumer platform Z270+i7 7700K. In this test, a total of six graphics cards are selected for comparative test. The main tests are 3DMark and mainstream DX11/DX12 games.

　　In the theoretical test part of 3DMark, in addition to the commonly used FireStrike and FireStrike Ultra tests, the DirectX 12 benchmark test Time Spy newly launched by 3DMark is added, so as to bring you a more comprehensive reference.

　　Summary of theoretical test:Due to the slightly higher frequency, the performance of ASUS ROG Vega 56 graphics card is obviously better than that of public RX Vega 56. The scores of FireStrike and Fire Strike Ultra graphics cards are 21239 and 5115 respectively, which are about 9% to 10% higher than that of public version, and the score of GPU in TimeSpy is 6752, which is also 10% higher than that of public version of VEGA 56, thus obviously narrowing the gap with RX Vega 64 graphics card.

　　The future will undoubtedly be DX12′ s world. In this test, we have selected five representative game masterpieces, including Tomb Raider 10, Singularity Ashes, Whole Territory Blockade and the latest Ghost Action: Wilderness and Survival of the Jedi.

　　Test summary:We have verified in the previous initial test that the performance of RX Vega 56 graphics card exceeds the public GTX 1070 graphics card, and the game performance is not stressful, while the performance of non-public ASUS ROG RX Vega 56 graphics card is improved by 10%, which is better than the public card in most game tests, and the game performance is on par with RX Vega 64 graphics card.

Platform power consumption test

　　We will use three application scenarios to measure the power consumption of the platform, namely 3DMark stress test copying machine, game copying machine and standby state.

　　Summary of power consumption test:For RX Vega graphics card, its energy efficiency has been criticized by people, while the power consumption of non-public graphics card will only be higher because it increases the frequency, and the game power consumption can reach 438W, which is higher than that of RX Vega 64 graphics card, but there is nothing that can be done. It is inevitable that RX Vega will increase its power consumption with the increase of frequency. With this architecture, graphics card manufacturers cannot change it.

　　In order to test the extreme temperature of ASUS ROG RX Vega 56 graphics card, we adopted 3DMark stress test.

The copying temperature of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card is 72 C.

3DMark pressure copying temperature

　　Test summary:If you don’t worry about power consumption,Asus ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card copying machine is better than the public version in experience, and its third fanRadiator plays an excellent role in temperature control. The temperature of copying machine is only 72°C, which is similar to the public version, but don’t forget that it has higher frequency and stronger performance, and the noise test in the back is also dominant.

　　Here, our noise meter tests the fan noise when the graphics card is fully loaded with 3DMark stress test, and the background noise is about 50 decibels.

Copy noise of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card

Copy noise of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card

　　Test summary:The noise of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card is only 52 decibels, and the fan speed is only about 1600RPM. The whole operation is very quiet, which is much better than the public graphics card and improves the user experience a lot.

About noise:
　　0-20 decibels: very quiet, almost imperceptible; 20-40 decibels: quiet, like whispering; 40-60 decibels: general indoor conversation; 60-70 decibels: noisy: harmful to nerves; 70-90 dB: It is noisy and nerve cells are destroyed. 90-100 decibels: increased noise and hearing loss; 100-120 decibels: unbearable, temporarily deaf after staying for one minute. Above 120 decibels: extremely deaf or totally deaf; About 300 dB or above: 20km of people in Fiona Fang are irreparably deaf.

　　What is the overclocking ability of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card? Let’s take a look at the overclocking results:

　　The advantage of ASUS graphics cards is that they have their own powerful GPU Tweak II overclocking software, and they can also support pressurization, which is increased from the default 1.2V to 1.3V, which is not available in other software/graphics cards.

　　According to the actual measurement,The core frequency of ASUS ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics card can be increased to 1684MHz, the HBM 2 frequency can reach 1900MHz, and the actual acceleration frequency can reach 1675MHz. The FireStirke Ultra performance of 3DMark is improved from 5115 to 5234, which is only 2%. The main reason is that the time to maintain high frequency after overclocking is limited, and the frequency of graphics card fluctuates greatly, unless the fan is not controlled. Considering the high frequency cost of RX Vega graphics card, it is suggested that players should not overclock, and increasing the frequency will not improve the comprehensive experience.

　　Ladder diagram description:Based on the above test results,Asus ROG RX VEGA 56 graphics cardThe position on the ladder diagram is shown above, which is slightly higher than the level of the air-cooled version RX VEGA 56. .

　　The number of non-public RX Vega graphics cards has been increasing in recent years, which is a good thing for AMD high-end players. After all, the performance of public RX Vega graphics cards is not satisfactory in terms of temperature and noise, while non-public graphics cards can provide more powerful heat dissipation, greatly improving the original shortcomings of RX Vega graphics cards and further improving the performance of graphics cards.

　　ASUS ROG Strix RX Vega 56 O8G Gaming graphics card is such a product. Its frequency is higher, and its overall performance is about 10% higher than that of the public version RX Vega 56. At the same time, the copying machine temperature can be controlled within 72°C, the normal game temperature can be controlled around 60°C, and the noise is very low, only 52 dB. The whole process is very quiet and there is no noise disturbance.

　　Is there anything wrong with this card? Everyone has seen the problem of high power consumption, and another is the price, which can be said to be a daily life for ASUS high-end cards. At present, this graphics card has been put on the shelves in JD.COM, and the price is 5399 yuan, which is higher than the public RX Vega 56 graphics card by 1000 yuan. However, considering the characteristics of ASUS, high pricing has always been their "habit" — — Lack of money is our problem, not ASUS’s.