MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X Review vs. Nitro+, THICC, & More

The MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X is up for benchmark and review, including memory thermal pad inspection during tear-down. Compared vs. all other 5700 XTs we've tested.
Sponsor: Buy Gigabyte's Z390 Master (Amazon geni.us/gZ9tQ)
The MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X doesn't seem to be listed yet, but should be here when it is: geni.us/hlAMZ
Gigabyte RX 5700 XT Gaming OC (Amazon): geni.us/4qEqz5r
Sapphire Nitro+ 5700 XT (Amazon): geni.us/Wybi
XFX RX 5700 XT THICC (Amazon): geni.us/ySLN
MSI RX 5700 XT Evoke OC (Amazon): geni.us/ZmJEx
Sapphire RX 5700 XT Pulse (Amazon): geni.us/8pcskY
The MSI RX 5700 XT Gaming X deserves a comparison against other high-end RX 5700 XT models, like the Sapphire Nitro+ OC, ASRock Taichi X, and the XFX THICC. There's also the Sapphire Pulse and Gigabyte Gaming OC on the charts, and the return of the MSI Evoke OC.
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Editorial, Testing: Steve Burke
Video: Andrew Coleman
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[@GamersNexus]

Hello, fellow gamers! We will be rebranding to X_xGamersXNeXxuSx_X and selling a new X ModMat X. In the meantime, watch our Sapphire Nitro+ review: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZmUdZiFad6taNU

[@nicholasbalser6901]

I vote for Uwu_XxX_GamXersXNexXxusX_XxX_uwU.

[@LostPicksUniverse]

waiting for YT to add a Xsubxscribe Xbutton so I can properly support XGxNX

[@Archer_Legend]

Review corsair carbide spec delta and spec omega!

[@GamersNexus]

@Im.a.tea.addict I like that idea.

[@d00dEEE]

Will the X-MoxMax-X cost 2X more than the old ModMat?

[@michaelnichelson3423]

"The more x's the better" Keep up the good work

[@GamersNexus]

This is the level of detailed analysis you can expect from us.

[@thetrashman5252]

The *X*F*X* R*X* 5700*X*T Thicc II would like a word with you. With 4 Xs, it manages 33% better performance than the Gaming X and 100% more performance than the nitro+/red devil.

[@777anarchist]

7 looks like axe so there's one more.

[@Chaosdude341]

Steve's rhetoric is phenomenal. Beautiful work.

[@goldentendon3483]

Gamer NeXXXXXXXus

[@The_Curious_Cat]

Things that make your PC fast: - Downloading more ram. - More RGB - If the GPU has at least three or four X´s.

[@picapica201]

@@misterx8934 torrents, obviously smh

[@xtremegamer78]

I like to download more cores..

[@Krzeszny95]

xXx MSI RX5700XT GX xXx

[@jp8378]

So XFX RX 7900 XTX gotta be good, too? ithas got at least 3x

[@Soup-Here]

Maybe if XFX had named it the THIXX their cooler wouldn't have been so terrible, lol

[@larrisAWSOME]

CR055H41RZ nou

[@turkepic3637]

XFX Radeon RX 5700XT has 4. So it should be better than the gaming X.

[@AlexanTheMan]

I remember the ATI Radeon X1900 XTX was a thing.

[@Elven_Red]

@@Cosmstack Yeah too many X's, there would be so much power going through that card that it would instantly fry everything no matter how much LN2 you tried to pour in it

[@zatro2916]

CR055H41RZ XXX XHIXX

[@WayStedYou]

This explains why the thicc is so bad, no X's the nitro + is just an X turned on its side.

[@jean-paulpitman2172]

Or x with a twist.

[@lizardhd3030]

shiettt😂

[@previousslayer]

How'd you explain the Devil then? :P

[@Lapisz123]

@@previousslayer a v and an upside down v makes an x

[@peterjohnson1379]

@@Lapisz123 it's a stretch but it'll do

[@benxgaming3484]

MSI "How many times do we need to teach you theses lessons old man!"

[@mattsmechanicalssi5833]

That's why you're so good! Gamers NeXus!

[@salehamini2036]

I remember the time you had only 100-150k subscribers, now you almost have 700k and its a big improvement from 300k from beginning of the year. Great job and congrats :D

[@charlesballiet7074]

17:4 thankyou the noise to rpm curve that is an important reference point for user reference and I wish I could see the curves of the other cards. in any case good job Steve and co

[@kevmcl4258]

Gamers Nexus: "Gamers really like x's" So that's why I watch this channel. Here I thought it was just snowflake.

[@fishlexic]

One of the best intros ever.

[@nathangamble125]

This channel's name is mis-spelled. It's supposed to be "Gamers n' Xs" to show how well Gamers and Xs go together

[@ObsoleteVodka]

Multiple dragon logos in parts that will never see the light except when doing maintenance, yet they cut corners with useful features...

[@georgemorley1029]

Diego Zuñiga I was thinking the same. Preposterous.

[@grizzly6699]

Yep. My thoughts exactly.

[@saikrishankumar]

Savagely ripping companies a new one with subtly.

[@diegobahena1274]

weird flex but ok

[@97whitesi]

it's like sportbikes with R's - i.e. ZX-6RR, CBR600RR, GSX-R600, R-6 the more the better, obvs.

[@97whitesi]

(and I know the standard is the ZX-6R but there was an RR for awhile)

[@ChrisPBacon9]

In the 90s Suzuki made a kei-car named the Suzuki Wagon R RR SuzukiSport

[@bardofhighrenown]

Hey Steve, I just wanted your opinion on Intel's distinct lack of X's in their consumer desktop platform. Do you feel this X deficiency has allowed to AMD to retake significant market share in the consumer X product segment? I look forward to hearing your thoughts, thanks

[@imvirpil]

MSI is like yugioh. "Gaming" and "X" are a combo. Also 18:45

[@turkepic3637]

Xx_GamingProGaming_xX GAMING X

[@weesenpai9056]

Why not gaming Z. sound pretty cool

[@skavossis5377]

Dragons make power phases work better!

[@turkepic3637]

Of course it does. I just hope MSI put that on this GDDR6 memory too.

[@PaPaChicken1]

I tried taking a shot every time you said x, but I died of alcohol poisoning in the first 16 seconds.

[@budgetbajur]

RIp you

[@Dracossaint]

X GOING TO GIVE IT TO YA!

[@Nathanael_Forlorn]

First thought this was the Gigabyte Gaming OC. Naming man. I do get bored of repetitive content decently quickly, but i enjoyed every single RX 5700 (XT) Video thoroughly. Again, a very nice Job, everyone over at GN. Thank you. Especially that you keep up with these, as soon as you get your hands on the cards. Release was quite some weeks ago already. Other would have and HAVE already stopped reporting on these. Being able to check every specific card is very valuable, though i do realise the insane amount of work this means. Will continue to look forward to the eventual Gigabyte Gaming OC Video.

[@georgemorley1029]

Nathanael Forlorn They already did it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6bcamSJbqqgkMU

[@GholaTleilaxu]

Much appreciated the report about the card's coil whine. It's hardly ever mentioned by reviewers even though, in my experience with Asus GTX 1080Ti for example, coil whine seems to be an issue with lots of video cards. I don't know if it goes away after a "brake-in" time period, I'm not willing to test it myself past the 15-days return window. If it goes away, the manufacturers should tell us after _THEY_ extensively test their own cards.

[@troyyey4353]

awesome this is what we were waiting for

[@wisfl6510]

I bought this card a few days ago on newegg, its a solid card. By far seems to be one of the better 5700XT's currently out. Coming from a EVGA 1080ti Black I am pleased.

[@KilzKnight]

do you have coil whine?

[@KilzKnight]

ive got two and they both rma

[@wisfl6510]

@@KilzKnight No coil while present on my card.

[@KilzKnight]

BR0723 damn lucky 😭😭

[@joker927]

The reference 5700 XT has a backplate but no thermal pads or anything really to make contact with the card. I would really like a video of experimenting with adding thermal pads or even removing the back-plate.

[@chinchy111]

The entire reference card is one big design flaw. Only reason to buy one is if your going to take it apart and watercool it

[@joker927]

@@chinchy111 kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6azinpubrKgg5Y

[@chinchy111]

@@joker927 its still going to get less fps than the partner models though

[@MotoFlows]

Steve is Supreme Court Justice for all reviews, no one else’s opinion matters!

[@wayner2ll704]

Thanks for all your work

[@knexfan100]

0:12 No no nooo... it's pronounced the "Jaming X"

[@SteveAkaDarktimes]

I swear to god i will invent timetravel and kick the guy who thought Gif is prounounced JIF in the nuts with a steel toed boot. it stands for Graphics Interchange Format! there is no Jay anywhere near it!

[@knexfan100]

@@SteveAkaDarktimes Jamers Nexus literally did an entire ad spot using J.... the right choice

[@EVPointMaster]

@@SteveAkaDarktimes That guy would be Steve Wilhite, the guy who invented the GIF format

[@givemeajackson]

@@EVPointMaster yeah, fuck that scrub!

[@kemaltasdeler970]

EVPointMaster That guy betrayed his own invention.

[@sadlerbw9]

Man, now I need an overclocking guide to get more X’s out of my GPU. I want to run TriXX with my StriX just for kiX!

[@mattr4078]

Check out the ASUS TUF 5700XT if you get the chance, its currently the cheapest AIB in New Zealand.

[@keithberwanger6595]

The chart with the X : FPS ratio was the most helpful, tnx.

[@PaulTheFox1988]

That coil whine is really bad, I have damaged hearing from working in industry (used to be a fabricator welder) and I can still hear it, for anyone with good hearing, I can imagine that it'd be almost unbearable. It still looks like the Nitro+ is the best overall card, cheaper, better cooler, multiple vbios and can be improved still further with manual fan tuning.

[@fredocuomo5386]

nitro+ and red dragon are best

[@simonmcneilly55]

I’m one of them weirdos that can hear the capacitor whine. I used to diagnose PCs just from plugging them in. Lol. Was also in heavy fabrication and have a mild tinnitus , any high pitch noise, drives me insane..

[@bravozero6]

thats everybody with tinnitus my friend. A silent cooler is almost a must for me or it bothers me to the point where i have to shut my computer down

[@PaulTheFox1988]

@@mvzme I wasn't in industry quite as long as you, I was only a welder for 10 years before switching careers, but i can sympathise with you nonetheless, my hearing is fucked to put it politely, but nowhere near as bad as yours (roughly 15% in my right ear, and 10% in my left) :( I used to do MIG and stick, and was trained in TIG but never had a job requiring me to use that training. I miss welding, but I definitely don't miss the exhaustion and physical stress, it was just too much for me sadly so I went into computer repair, and I love it, even if it is frustrating sometimes.

[@PaulTheFox1988]

@@bravozero6 I can bear some noise, but I definitely appreciate when I put together a system that makes zero noise, and I've been known to tear apart a system to replace fans for clients builds if it isn't quiet enough, much to the chagrin of my boss xD

[@AJDOLDCHANNELARCHIVE]

I knew the Sapphire Nitro+ was going to be the top dog as soon as it was released.

[@Kippy8472]

And here I thought I saw all your 5700 reviews.. damn youtube lettin' me know a week later, cheers

[@lobotekuani]

Now I am just looking for your review of the Red Devil, hoping you actually do review on that RX 5700

[@supaapple]

Did Steve lowkey burn AMD with "next refresh" xD

[@jesperscheel-bech998]

Great review, please do a fan curve tune video 👍

[@COLGrimm]

It's what you hearin (Listen) It's what you hearin (Listen) It's what you hearin (Listen) X gon give it to ya.

[@pageup213]

Knew there at least had to be one "X gon give it to ya" comment.

[@ERBarratt]

Wow, if MSI actually listen to you guys and shove those finding's into new partner boards in the future the top end might be getting a little more crowded. Competition = GREAT!

[@JasonOfTGA]

If you want justification for monitoring / differentiating VRM mosfet temps, though Mosfets themselves can tolerate very high temps, then you can consider possible long term effects of cooking the PCB material itself. Was shown the other day what happens to the PCB around VRMs over time with repeated thermal cycling, and I was pretty shocked at the failure modes and stresses involved.

[@cataxo444]

Is there a MSi Mech lying around to review against Evoke?

[@0101_root]

That first sentence is gold, make a shirt with it :)

[@lukcymann]

YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! SO CLOSE TO THAT FREE SANDWICH!

[@thepro3729]

2 left I think. Red devil (which should have been first), and Strix

[@joeknight2665]

Really need to see the number of X's in relation to performance chart.

[@weesenpai9056]

20:53 just wait for refresh. Steve confirmed..

[@antonym24]

watching this after i replaced mine, great card gonna miss it 😢

[@holo6883]

Aight. I'mma take the nitro+ over the GBT OC because that 10°C difference is pretty huge considering that my room becomes an oven during summer

[@spicynagaraya564]

Holo I got the nitro+ and been using it for about 3-5 weeks. So far so good. Very silent, cant even hear the fan sound when 12hours of continuous playing. Highest temp I got is 64-65 degrees with 21 degrees ambient temperature.

[@tribalhumor6684]

Is in it like 90 dollars more?

[@holo6883]

@@tribalhumor6684 €25 more

[@ВладиславКиселев-л5в]

Please test 5700 xt Red devil

[@matthias4185]

So wich RX 5700 xt manufacturer IS the best ? MSI, sapphire ... ?

[@schwarziex3563]

What is the reason for the skimpy pad on the memory? Is there something in the way which prevents a full sized cooling pad?

[@axelolord]

They probably had to save a few cents to afford printing one more x on the name. It's obvious that more x's is preferable to cooling.

[@schwarziex3563]

@@axelolord That makes, in a disturbing way, some sense

[@LinkinLTU]

Seriously though, it's like they go out of their way to cut the width of the thermal pad for the top memory chips in half, while using full width for the other chips.

[@nickjennis1508]

that bit at the end with the x's hit pretty close to home lmao

[@Flo8770]

Hopefully in the Future there is a technical Solution to prevent Coil whine

[@Jalahr77]

Why can't I seem to find your review on the Powercolor 5700 XT Red Devil???? Why??

[@JonManProductions]

Is it me or does it seem like the top memory module thermal pad being only half makes it appear to be genuinely a manufacturing mistake or a engineering sample? Seems weird all things considered.

[@ReignTheTempest]

I can't stop laughing as Steve does the "X's" Gag.

[@snakeatwar]

Hey Steve. Would you consider doing reviews of the Rosewill Spectra D100 and Rosewill Prism-S cases? They look pretty great for the price. Curious how they perform.

[@zbrkesbris5987]

will there be a follow up video with "fixed" pads on DDR6 modules? Just to sate the curiosity of where will it land in performance charts... Bonus points if the extra (sagging) pad real estate between side modules is cut out and re-used for upper memory modules.

[@BAdventures]

Smoked them on the product name lol 😂. Good honest review 👍

[@radneyvous]

Hi when the Asus Strix version review of this will be?

[@qgujufyubdryujgfyugfrtb45r17]

And, gaming x or nitro+ the best videocard?

[@NVMDSTEvil]

would be interesting to get some mini TEC modules and put them on the memory from the back side of the card with very thin thermal pads to see how much heat you could pull out of them. Remove pad from back of GPU...

[@hiroshiganna9078]

Aldi now has a gaming pc. Please review

[@OsyHdz]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, thank you for doing this video.

[@Nathanael_Forlorn]

Will completely take apart my personal first GPU tomorow to renew thermal paste after 6 years and remove dust. Wish me Luck, that i do not brick anything. :D All hints and tips welcome. Guess if i break anything, it is time to upgrade my GTX 770.

[@benhall7574]

Are you going to review the PowerColor 5700 xt Red Devil?

[@JamiePineappleWyatt]

With the amount of EVGA 970 XOC model cards that I've seen that have a failed (blown fet) or vrm are those without any vrm cooling whatsoever, including a 0 fanspeed mode. These two things in combination lead to the cards imminent death for many Australian users after 4 years. I went through 12 locally sourced cards and found that the same fet on each board had serious heat damage, ranging from blistered packages to straight up exploded ones. I have also found this with many GTX 600, 700 series cards that featured little to no power delivery cooling. That being said, the benefit of cooler vrms and power delivery is simply longevity. It would be nice to see the degredation of voltage stability on one of your higher tier 10 series EVGA cards that do not have active power delivery cooling, after extreme burn in for about 2-3 hours. (I ask this for the budget conscious buyers of 2020 when it comes around as there are going to be many cards that will start failing due to the wonderful Australian climate)

[@xxgg]

What softwares do you users use to monitor the memory temperature of RX5700XT? or other video cards.?

[@epicskylegend7501]

Me: How many Xs can you fit in a graphics card? Msi and XFX: Yes!

[@ConeJellos]

Steve: why are these companies taking jabs at each other? Also Steve: lemme take a jab at their naming schemes.

[@CAPT_JHON30]

not sure if this is true, but is there a new XFX thicc? I'm seeing all over a XFX Thicc II. Is it a new card or is the same Thicc that has already been reviewed?

[@itspaddyd]

i feel bad because the mic is clipping a lot in places but it would be too much to redo all the audio

[@timmcginnis3816]

dumb question not really tech savy. anyways i have a gf65 thin and am happyish with it... but would not mind upgrading to this if its compatible with the gf 65 thin?

[@k1dkerr1gan]

I live that MSI came to see you guys. More companies could benefit from a visit to the GN labs :)

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

It's completely elegant, it's bafflingly beautiful, and it's capable of reducing the population of any standing structure to zero... I call it the X Wife.

[@ashleylycan9335]

Is it possible to replace the smaller thermal pad on the top memory chips with a larger one that would cover them completely?

[@starkistuna]

Where is the MSI Mech Oc it was the first one to come out?

[@LostPicksUniverse]

That cards looks great

[@azreeno4683]

Could you release a video with good fan profiles for the 5700xt's (especially the Nitro+)?

[@DirtyDozenGaming78]

Those 2 heat sinks can I put a better pad on it. I'm mining and if so what size?

[@Hadw1n]

ASUS 5700 XT TUF review? And thanks for the quality content

[@DangerB0ne]

Missed opportunity to call this video "XXX 5700 XT Review"

[@drhaaxxx]

What's happening to the GN forums? Are they going to be active soon enough?

[@samfedorka5629]

Wow look at those 56 MLCC's on that 8-phase vcore VRM! I don't see the (-) side where they connect, so I assume there's vias underneath (yeah you can see them on the back at 14:18). I also wonder if this can run LN2 with the memory VRM moved away. Not sure why they put the header there after going through the trouble to shuffle the memory VRM around. That said, if you are putting this on LN2 you can probably desolder it. 13:36: looking at the heatsink design, looks like they've intentionally blocked airflow into the VRM region (specifically where those MLCCs are) by bending the end of the fins over. I really like this if it can guarantee more airflow over parts of the PCB that you want to be cooler and get slightly better cooling for minimal cost/input. I wonder if the "coil whine" you hear is partially due to all the MLCC's.

[@Tummymunster]

I'm curious as to how the Powercolor Red Devil compares with the Nitro+ in your testing.

[@Summit900]

Same. I'm so close to buying one, but I want to wait until GN compares it.

[@diegobahena1274]

@@Summit900 still don't know which to get, Nitro+ or Red Devil. Although the Gaming X is a strong contender given its price, but it's not listed ANYWHERE yet so... Let's see, maybe I'll wait until the black friday sale. If I stumble upon a Gaming X, I'll buy immediately.

[@ToGrimmToWin]

Summit900 I grabbed a red devil 3 days ago. The nitro plus was 30 more and sold out.

[@Summit900]

@@ToGrimmToWin What's your main purpose with it? I'm looking at just medium gaming. Specifically games such as TES or Fallout series. I'm trying to find people that are ever day gamers to get their opinion on it now.

[@diegobahena1274]

@@Summit900 well, even a GTX 970 is enough for TES and Fallout so it depends on what games you want to play. For example, I want to build a PC that's ready for Cyberpunk 2077 and NFS Heat (and other games to come in the future).

[@godking_ginge]

If I had 5 bucks for every 5700 XT video I've seen over the past month, give or take, I could probably buy one now heh :P

[@donnikubbitz2146]

As long as it has 3 X's then I'm good ;)

[@samuelpark9574]

The "X's" had me laughing the whole time...

Would you recommend dissasembing Gaming X and replacing the thermal pad on the top two memory modules with the Thermal Grizzly Minus pad 8 2mm?

[@TheMCmace]

Don‘t use thicker thermalpads^^

[@Aereto]

All those air cooling designs don't solve the problem of dumping heat when the inside of the case is already hot. The heat gradient is too narrow to effectively cool cards unless the cases are either open air or have so many vents.

[@DirtyDozenGaming78]

Can I get a size of these pads. I'm changing mine and can't find sizes

[@KartikArora03X]

I have corsair spec delta which has 160mm air cooler clearance , this card is 140mm wide , can this actually fit ?

[@benjaminbourdeaux8059]

Im debating between the MSI rx 5700 xt gaming x and the sapphire rx 5700 xt nitro+, which one should I go with considering in my region they both go for 449.99?

[@Qyngali]

Did you talk to MSI about that coil whine?

[@mariotsubasashimizu5581]

TLDR which one is the best out of the box AIB 5700 xt?

[@mrsullied]

This script had me in tears. Hope you enjoyed the sandwich!

[@amelicichinalex1101]

hello thank-you for your work , but please can you make one more spreadsheet where you will put all compared video cards with : Clock speed , Voltage , power consumption ,RPM , temperature , noise level , and price . from all this we can make a true decision what is the best cooling system and bios optimization of manufacture.

[@ValkyrieStarTV]

Any chance of reviewing the PowerColor RX 5700 XT Red Dragon?

[@xWood4000]

Could you test the updated Evoke OC if it ever launches?

[@maX0229567]

this new cooler look very sleek and cool tbh

[@iliannhy]

Hi. I 'm in the verge of buying a GPU, and I have two candidates: this card and a Gigabyte RTX 2070 Windforce. I want it specifically for VR, and I have an PSU of 600 W, that I will not change it for a while. What will be your recomendation for this case?

[@WereCatStudio]

RX 5700 XT Scott Pilgrim and the Evil X's edition

[@qkhuve]

Isn’t coil whine dependent on each specific card?