AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 finally has AIB partners
AMD is set to push back into high-end gaming with a non-reference OC (over-clocked) graphics card coming from Asus this August and a liquid cooled version by September.
For those who don’t know, Asus makes semi-custom graphics cards which tend to be binned better by the manufacturer. Whether it’s AMD or NVidia, Asus buys better performing graphics cards from each manufacturer and then resells them with enhanced features. Asus has a sub-brand by the name of “ROG” which stands for Republic of Gamers which is applied to all gaming peripherals they sell. They also have a line of GPUs which come under the “Strix” branding which primarily incorporates RGB lighting as well as a general better quality build. Asus has announced custom Radeon RX Vega 64 cards to follow soon. Asus has decided to make a card called the “ROG Strix RX VEGA 64 OC edition”.
Asus has announced possibly four variants to the Vega 64 card which includes the liquid cooled Vega 64. Former Asus ROG Strix cards like the AMD Radeon RX 480 or GTX 1080 from Nvidia have always adhered to certain key features. Some of the features include better acoustics meaning that the cards produce less noise when under full load with the graphics card being utilised to its maximum. These custom cards tend to be larger in form factor taking up to two and a half slots. With more thermal pads and more heat-pipes to dissipate heat generated, these cards come at a premium price compared to a standard reference model direct from the manufacturer. This premium card comes with fan headers on the card itself. This allows fan speeds to connected fans to be controlled by the card when in operation. This card is also supports the ASUS Aura Sync RGB technology that allows the user to control lighting zones on the card for those that want to match colours.
Finally, exciting news that there is support from custom add-in-board (AIB) partners. Asus has built a reputation for adapting reference cards to a high standard while not charging an arm and a leg on top. Other AIB partners have yet to come forward and disclose if they are planning to make their own custom cards. Other manufacturers that could be making custom cards include; Sapphire Technology, Zotac, Power VR, Matrox Graphics, SiS and MSI.