While the card might have been released into our market few weeks ago, it doesn’t stop AMD from having a proper launch event for its new Polaris-based Radeon RX 480 graphics card in Malaysia last week. We already discussed to quite some extent about the reference version of the card through our review but the launch event did features additional items though: the custom version of RX 480 by AMD’s add-in-board partners.
Among custom cards that were shown at the event is the ASUS ROG STRIX RX 480 which carries the same DirectCU III cooler, RGB lights, and backplate as per its GeForce GTX counterparts. Scheduled for release in August, the card will apparently be made available in two variants based on their clock speed. While both of them will overclocked directly from factory, the slower model runs at a maximum speed of 1286 MHz while OC model is tuned to go as high as 1330MHz.
At the same time, AMD has also brought over the HIS Radeon RX 480 IceQ X2 Roaring card to the event. Information regarding this card is rather scarce at the moment though but physically, the card carries plenty of things that users might expected from premium custom cards such as back plate, dynamic fan, LED illumination, and composite heatpipes.
The much anticipated PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 card was also showcased there which features three 80mm thermal fans that are also equipped with dual-ball bearing on each of them in order to increase their durability. Built with 6+1 power phases and tuned to run at up to 1330MHz, the card also features two 8mm and 6mm nickel-plated heatpipes within its heatsink.
A card from AMD’s long-time partner, Sapphire has also made its way to the Malaysian RX 480 launch event in the form of Nitro+ RX 480. Clocked at up to 1342MHz, one of the card’s main attraction is its elaborate thermal solution that features two detachable 95mm fans with dual ball bearings as well as vents on its backplate, and RGB LEDs on the Sapphire logo that is located on top of the card.
Last but not least, let’s not forget about XFX. Truth to be told, the XFX card we have seen is not a fully customized model but it is something we like to label as a “Reference+” card since the company did add a full length backplate to its RX 480 card while still retaining the reference cooler. Additionally, the GPU in the card has also been tuned by XFX to run at as high as 1328 MHz.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian release date for all the custom RX 480 cards above is not yet known at the moment with the exception of XFX Custom Backplate RX 480 cards which are readily available in our market for RM 1,299 (tuned to 1228MHz) and RM 1,349 (Black Edition, tuned to 1328MHz). Nevertheless, they are expected to be on their way to Malaysia soon enough.
ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 480
HIS Radeon RX 480 IceQ X2 Roaring
PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480
Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480
XFX Custom Backplate Radeon RX 480
