Introduction
At Gamescom 2023, AMD announced the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT video cards, based on the RDNA 3 architecture, to fulfill the Radeon RX 7000 lineup. The Radeon RX 7800 XT has an MSRP of $499, and the Radeon RX 7700 XT has an MSRP of $449. We published the specs announcement on August 25th, read that for the full press presentation and information about these new video cards, and also check out our full Radeon RX 7800 XT made-by-AMD reference video card review.
In today’s review, we will be looking at the brand new XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition video card, which XFX has set with an MSRP of $469.99. The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition offers custom cooling, and a custom design from XFX based around the new AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT GPU, which has an MSRP of $449.
The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition has a factory overclock, which is boosted beyond the default Radeon RX 7700 XT reference specification. The factory overclock, and custom cooling and build is why this video card is a bit higher than the $449 MSRP, it carries a slight premium. The complete product name is XFX SPEEDSTER QICK319 RADEON RX 7700 XT BLACK Gaming Graphics Card with 12GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 3 SKU# RX-77TQICKB9.
AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Specs
The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is positioned for the 1440p gameplay experience with 12GB of VRAM. It has 54 Compute Units, 3456 Shader Units, 54 RT Accelerators (2nd Gen), 108 AI Accelerators, and 96 ROPs. It uses 48MB of 2nd Gen AMD Infinity Cache. It has a Game Clock of 2171MHz and a Boost Clock of 2544MHz. It has 12GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus at 18Gbps which gives it 432GB/s of memory bandwidth, and it uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface with a TDP of 245W. It is based on the RDNA 3 architecture and thus supports AV1 encoding and DisplayPort 2.1 technologies.
There will not be made-by-AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT video cards. This means the video cards will all be provided by the Add-In-Board partners (AIBs) and may have varying degrees of overclocks and shroud/heatsink designs. The prices could well vary from the advertised MSRP of $449. We were provided with a full retail video card directly from XFX for this launch. XFX is a well-known graphics card supplier.
According to XFX the suggested price for our XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition will indeed be $469.99. At the time of our review, the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition is the only model of the Radeon RX 7700 XT GPU that XFX produces. Our card being reviewed today is from the “QICK” (QuickSilver) line-up of cards. This is a slightly lower-priced version versus their top-tier MERC video cards.
Typically the QICK has a plastic shroud and ¾ metal backplate while the MERC lineup may have a full metal shroud and backplate. The PCB, heatsink design, and fans are generally the same, however, the MERC may have a higher level of enthusiast flare. The MERC usually has lights along the top margin. Clocks will generally be higher in the MERC. The “BLACK” moniker indicates some amount of overclock in either branding. Warranty with appropriate registration through XFX is 3 years. Worth mentioning also is a current promotion/bundle with the new game Starfield.
XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition Specs
The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition is a factory overclocked video card, meaning it has a higher game and boost clock compared to the reference AMD spec. The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition has a game clock of 2276MHz and a boost clock of up to 2599MHz. This compares to the reference AMD spec for Radeon RX 7700 XT which has a game clock of 2171MHz and a boost clock of up to 2544MHz. That gives the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition a 5% boost to the game clock and a 2% boost to the top-end boost clock.
XFX has the TGP of this video card set at 220W, which is not the same as the board power. Board power is 245W as the reference spec. XFX has given the XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition a dual BIOS, however, there is no difference between the options, it is there as a backup. The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition has 12GB of GDDR6 at 18GHz, which is the reference spec. XFX recommends a 700W power supply.
The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition uses a fully digital PWM with a 14-phase power design. XFX has tuned the BIOS for an additional 20W over the reference specification to hold the higher boost clock. It uses the DrMOS PWN MP87997 to support a maximum working current of 70A per phase.
A nickel-plated copper cold plate is used, along with an aluminum heatsink plate for the memory with plenty of thermal pads all around for VRMs and memory. The cold plate transfers heat into 5 6mm heatpipes. There is a solid aluminum backplate with vents so heat doesn’t get trapped. The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition uses a triple fan design of 100mm + 90mm + 100mm in a 13-blade fan design with fan stop.
XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition Pictures
XFX sent along a full retail video card packaged in their customary black and white “tall” box. The video card was well protected and was all there was in the box. An inside cover piece has information regarding registration and warranty. The VRAM capacity is displayed on the front, and requirements on the back.
The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition is covered in a black full-length triple fan plastic shroud. The shroud is a semi-glossy black with silver accents, a sort of NFL Raiders look, quite understated. Simple white lettering is noted on the top, “XFX” and “Radeon”, there is no RGB. On the back is a brushed aluminum backplate that is approximately 75% of the back surface. It is slotted for maximum airflow. This is terminated by a plastic piece which covers the last 25%. The card has a full-length aluminum heatsink and a cold plate which is nickel-plated copper.
You will notice a small BIOS switch near the front of the video card. It has two positions. The card arrived with the switch closest to the I/O plate. This is merely a dual BIOS switch. The switch position has no effect on clocks or fan speeds.
This is a solidly built video card that occupies 2.5 slots. There is more than adequate ventilation with the card being open on the end and slotted on the back. It weighs in at 2 pounds 7 ounces.
The XFX Speedster QICK 319 Radeon RX 7700 XT Black Edition measures 13.2″ inches in length, 5.1″ inches in width, and 2″ inches in height. That makes it larger and thicker than the Radeon RX 6700 XT made-by-AMD reference video card which is 10.5″ in length and 1.5″ in height. This is a bigger video card than the previous generation in this price segment for sure, to make sure it fits before you go down that route.
Power is supplied by 2 8-pin PCIe power connectors. The backplate has been recessed in to allow easier access to the power connectors, though the heatsink still catches them every now and then, it is a lot easier to get to the clips however. The I/O plate contains one HDMI 2.1 and three Display Port 2.1 ports. There are no LEDs or RGBs present.