Overview
So there we have it. A set of new GPUs. Well new graphics cards that utilise the same GPUs that we’ve had now for quite some time though I’m not even mad about that. It’s a pretty dire time for gaming right now and having something to actually talk about is a bit like a breath of fresh air, especially as it’s not just a tweaked model or a refresh of a cooler that we’ve seen time and time again.
I like the idea. It’s novel and could save quite some time and money if your GPU ever has a fault, though of course that’s limited to the fans though in experience, if a GPU does die, it’s one of two things, the first being that it’s full on dead, and the other being fan related, so again, this could save some time, money and hassle and could be the future of cooling, at least for XFX.
Now in terms of performance, it is lacking somewhat, which is a shame, as otherwise I think I’d be singing the praises of these cards a lot more, but, and this may be limited to my samples, the performance as just a little under what I’d expect, though still for the most part, fell within margin of error, and the 7900 XTX did line up a lot better than the 7800 XT did in comparison to similar cards that used the same GPU.
Now when it comes to pricing, we’ve been told that the 7800 XT Magnetic Air will be launching for $529, which in comparison to the QICK 319 model is $10 more expensive, which personally I’m fine with considering the potential added value of the hot-swappable fans, while the 7900 XTX Magnetic Air will be launching for $979 which is a 6% markup over the standard model and in my opinion is a bit too much to ask, though a lot of this could come down to the retailer and what they decide to stock it at so hopefully it may come in cheaper, because while the idea is good, $60 more for essentially the same card, is quite a tough pill to swallow.
Overall, as I mentioned, it’s nice to see new ideas coming to market that actually inflict real change and have a benefit to the feature, opposed to just more of the same stuff which at this point in a GPU cycle is just getting boring and tiresome and I hope more brands jump on this bandwagon of mentality and start to offer more to the consumer, but hopefully without too much of a price increase because while the 7800 XT makes sense from a standpoint of what you get vs what you pay, the 7900 XTX in my opinion just isn’t worth the extra cost, and that’s a shame, because I honestly think that XFX have something here, but sadly, it’s just not priced in a way that will make me tell you to go out and buy it.
So what do you think? Is the idea good? Is the execution good? Is the price bad? Let me know in the comments section below.
