Best RX 6900 XT Graphics Card

AMD's RX 6900 XT is an amazing GPU with a lot to offer. With all the options, which one should you pick? Here are the best RX 6900 XT graphics cards.

For the first time in over a decade, AMD has ultimately created a challenger to NVIDIA’s leading consumer GPU.

Not only does this contender perform at the same level as NVIDIA’s RTX 3090, but it also undercuts it by $500. The RX 6900 XT comes with an MSRP of $1000, while the RTX 3090 costs $1500.

Of course, AMD’s flagship isn’t perfect in every respect. It lacks ray tracing performance and doesn’t have a DLSS equivalent.

The RX 6900 XT is still an excellent GPU, and offers much better value per dollar than the 3090.

If you are reading this guide, you’re likely already prepared to buy an RX 6900 XT; you just have to pick the right AIB model.

To assist you in making that choice, we have thoroughly researched all the RX 6900 XT variants.

Here’s our compilation of the prime selections available!

best overall

MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio

MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio
  • Solid performancernAcceptable RGBrnQuiet
premium pick

ASUS RX 6900 XT STRIX OC LC

ASUS RX 6900 XT STRIX OC LC
  • Best-in-class coolingrnLots of room for overclocking

The Pros:

  • Solid factory overclock rnPlenty of OC headroomrnDecent RGBrnQuiet and cool

The Cons:

  • No deal-breaking disadvantages

MSI’s Gaming X Trio has proved to be one of the excellent aftermarket designs for most GPUs. Many reviewers and users have stated that MSI’s cooling solution, Tri-Frozr, is effective for RTX 3090s, 3080s, 3070s, RX 6800 XTs, RX 6800s, and any other card that uses the same triple-fan setup.

The MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio is expected to perform just as robustly in every aspect. Let’s look closer at each feature individually.

Pricing

MSI has not released an MSRP for the Gaming X Trio.

We estimate that the price probably falls somewhere between $250 and $350 above the reference card. This would make it about $1350—a premium price tag for minimal gains.

It is difficult to say whether or not this pricing is fair. To see the full picture, it is important to look at all the other alternatives and compare them in terms of performance and pricing.

Design

First of all, this is a massive graphics card. It is 324mm long. Many buyers might realize they have made a mistake when they cannot fit the GPU into their PC case.

Then again, if people are prepared to pay $1300+ for a GPU, they are probably also prepared to buy a larger PC case.

In terms of design, MSI has made a few updates compared to the previous Gaming X Trio generation. The front of the GPU is a bit more uniform. The visual elements are less pronounced, and everything seems to flow together much more seamlessly.

Some plastic silver accents have been added around the three fans, and there are a few slits between the fans that are dedicated to RGB lighting.

On the side, there is MSI and GEFORCE RTX branding. The GEFORCE is a sticker, while the MSI logo is enhanced with RGB illumination.

Above the logo is a strip across the edge of the card to bring a bit more RGB to the table.

The backplate is made of metal and has effective contact with the PCB thanks to the thermal pads located under it.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

MSI advertises a boost clock of up to 2340 MHz which is about 90 MHz higher than the reference card. This doesn’t sound too remarkable. However, actual performance shows a different outcome. During extended gaming sessions, this RX 6900 XT can boost up to 2500 MHz, although, once it settles, the clocks average around 2380 MHz.

However, things become more fascinating if you are a fan of custom overclocks.

By pushing the power limit, OC enthusiasts have achieved a maximum overclock of 2760 MHz. That is much better than what the reference card can do (around 2450 MHz).

Thermals

The RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio pulls in a lot of power. This makes sense, considering you have to connect it with three 8-pin connectors. The power consumption during gaming is about 350W.

A muscular heatsink is needed to keep the temperature under control.

Fortunately, MSI’s solution with this GPU is pretty good. This mammoth of GPU averages between 67 °C and 70 °C, which is not bad. It is even better when you consider that the noise levels never exceed 30 dBA.

Of course, if you don’t care about noise levels and want lower temperatures, you can always ramp up the fan speed.

The Pros:

  • AffordablernThe design fits in any PC case

The Cons:

  • Loud cooling solution

This time around, Gigabyte has released two variants for AMD’s flagship GPU. The AORUS MASTER and Gaming OC. The latter is the flagship and pricier option.

However, the AORUS MASTER is substantially more expensive, so the Gaming OC makes a lot more sense.

The RX 6900 XT Gaming OC might not have as much RGB as the AORUS MASTER and has a more compact heatsink, but it is still a considerably better deal.

Pricing

Again, just like the MSI variant, there is no MSRP available.

Some sources suggest that the Gaming OC’s official price is £1,079.99, which approximately translates to $1,500.

This is remote from Gigabyte’s flagship variant of the RX 6900 XT, so we can’t exactly justify such a significant increase in price.

But let’s examine whether the performance can justify it.

Design

This one is tinier than the Gaming X Trio. The entire GPU is only 286 mm long, almost 3cm shorter. This is expected because the flagship model usually features a beefier heatsink.

This same design is used for other AMD GPUs, such as the RX 6800 and the RX 6800 XT, but this is a far more powerful card. Does this mean the heatsink won’t be able to keep up with the demand? We will explore that later. For now, let’s see what the design has to offer.

As is typically the case, there is a triple-fan setup and a simple black shroud surrounding the fans. There is nothing too fascinating to report on the front or the sides either.

There is Gigabyte branding on the side, which is colorful.

The back doesn’t show anything noteworthy, just some Gigabyte branding, and that’s about all. Overall, it’s nothing too exceptional, but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad. If you only care about performance or are looking for any black GPU to install into your computer, this could be an excellent option.

Before we can say with certainty that this is a good option, let’s look at the performance.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

The advertised boost clock for the Gaming OC is 2285 MHz, which is nearly the same as the reference RX 6900 XT. It is only 35 MHz higher. However, when you fire up benchmarks, rendering tasks, or a demanding video game, the clocks can jump up to 2500 MHz.

The clocks are unable to stay that high for an extended period, but they stabilize at around 2350 MHz.

Although this is one of the more economical variants of the RX 6900 XT on the market, the heatsink can handle a bit of overclocking.

Some reviewers have achieved an average core clock of 2650 MHz. That is about a 5% higher frequency than the usual overclock.

Thermals

As previously mentioned, this is a heatsink almost 3cm shorter than the Gaming X Trio. Expectedly, the temperatures will be higher.

The “Silent BIOS” enabled the RX 6900 XT Gaming OC average of around 76°C. This is a bit warm but still cooler than the reference card. Unfortunately, it also gets a bit noisy; the noise levels can jump up to 36 dBA.

If you don’t care about the noise levels and just want lower temperatures, try switching to the standard BIOS. With this BIOS, you’ll drop to 73-74°C. It isn’t a massive improvement, but it is still something.

The Pros:

  • Unique liquid cooling designrnRemarkable overclocking headroomrnLowest temperatures achieved on an RX 6900 XT

The Cons:

  • Radiator takes additional space

When purchasing an ASUS graphics processing unit, there are typically only two or three alternatives. After 2020, the primary options available are STRIX or TUF.

However, this time, ASUS has offered something extraordinary, something that we rarely see on the market. The RX 6900 XT STRIX OC LC, a factory liquid-cooled card very similar to the AIO coolers used for CPUs.

Liquid cooling usually results in much lower temperatures, silent running, and better overclocks. What type of performance can this kind of premium RX 6900 XT bring?

Pricing

Distinctively engineered PC tech always comes with a price premium, especially with the ASUS branding.

This liquid-cooled GPU has an MSRP of $1550, about $550 more than the reference card. That is a substantial amount of cash.

For $1550, you could probably get a totally different GPU, for example, a 24GB VRAM RTX 3090.

Regardless, most people would be paying that kind of money for the benefits of liquid cooling. Let’s look at those benefits.

Design

It’s safe to say that ASUS has many other brands beat with this GPU. The only other liquid-cooled GPU currently on the market is the Sapphire RX 6900 XT Toxic, which comes with a 360mm radiator. Even so, ASUS takes the award this time.

The card has the conventional blower design that we used to see frequently back in the day. It is now far less common. As there is only one fan, the other side of the front is completely free, which has allowed ASUS to add some RGB goodness.

The side that faces away from the motherboard is where the tubes emerge. These lead directly to the radiator. For some additional RGB, ASUS has added an illuminated ROG logo next to where the tubes come out.

The radiator comes with two jet-black ROG RGB fans with white and diaphanous blades. There is nothing too special to report about it. It is similar to any other AIO dual-fan radiator.

Naturally, the radiator can end up on the rear, top, or even the front of the case, depending on the clearance.

The only mediocre part of this product is the backplate. It doesn’t have any unique features, which is sad considering that the back is often the main element of the GPU in a PC case, other than those with a vertically-mounted GPU.

Performance and Overclocking Capabilities

With stock options, the RX 6900 XT OC LC has a boost clock of 2365 MHz, which is greater than the Gigabyte and MSI variants.

However, that isn’t all. ASUS’s product regularly exceeds 2500 MHz when in-game. We assume that this is all thanks to the exceptionally effective cooling solution.

That cooling performance brings much more to the table. It opens up even more OC latitude than you would normally enjoy.

Some OC enthusiasts have reported a successful core clock of 2700 MHz. That is almost 10% higher than the custom overclocks on other models, which is remarkable.

Remember, your mileage may vary. You might even win the “silicon lottery,” which would allow you to push to (or exceed) 2750 MHz.

Thermals

During extended and demanding gaming sessions, the RX 6900 XT OC LC sits at a comfortable average of ~53°C. Low temperatures are expected from liquid cooling, but this is even better than most. It’s more than 15 degrees Celsius lower than MSI’s Tri-Frozr cooling solution. That isn’t even comparable.

Keep in mind that these results were obtained with the high-performance BIOS enabled.

By switching to the other (quiet) BIOS, temperatures jump up to 56 °C. This is still much cooler than most of the alternatives out there.

Table of ContentsShow

Verdict – Which RX 6900 XT Is The Best?

The list of the most common RX 6900 XTs probably includes about six to seven models.

After gathering comprehensive information and thoroughly researching, we successfully trimmed this list to just three different variants.

However, that still leaves you with a difficult decision. So, which one of these models is the best?

The MSI RX 6900 XT Gaming X Trio is the evident winner here and takes the award for Best Overall. It has a great factory core overclock and is quiet and cool without paying a massive price premium over the reference card. You can’t go wrong with this one.

The ASUS RX 6900 XT OC LC is exceptionally expensive, but it is also one of the most distinctive GPUs the industry has seen. Thanks to liquid cooling, it is also the coolest and fastest RX 6900 XT available. This is why the OC LC deserves the Premium Pick award.

Honorable mentions:

  • Gigabyte RX 6900 XT Gaming OC Affordable, a basic design, and average cooling. The only major downside is that it can be noisy at times.
  • Sapphire RX 6900 XT ToxicA good alternative to ASUS’ OC LC. A liquid-cooled GPU with a 360 mm radiator.

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Branko Gapo

Keeping up with the incredibly fast evolution of computer technology is impossible. That is why Branko will be using his knowledge on this matter to share news and information on all the latest essential technological innovations and advancements.