XFX RX 480 GTR Capsule Review

Power

Temperature

Sound

Power consumption is obviously above that of the newly power managed RX 480, but not overly so. The OC isn’t a terribly large amount, and it seems the PCB design may use less power overall. In terms of noise, it’s not very loud at all. The fans themselves are noticeable though they aren’t at an annoying frequency. It’s a massive upgrade over the stock cooler. The design choice seems to have paid off, and thankfully the very warm VRMs are completely covered in this case, so not an issue at all. Temps were also fairly well controlled. Keep in mind the idle temperature is higher due to the zero-RPM fan. The trade-off is no noise whatsoever. There was no coil-whine or other unexpected noises from the PCB noted during testing.

Conclusion

XFX has struck back with this generation, turning over what appears to be a new leaf. The new design is outwardly different though they’ve also taken steps to actually improve cooling as well. There isn’t much overhead in Polaris to begin with, but you’re able to get a few more MHz even out of this already OC’d card. The fans, while mostly being interchangeable so you can add your desired LED effect, actually are great when you consider how the fan has the highest probability of failing compared to any part. Being so easily changed can help to increase the life of the card by quite a bit. The GTR is working very well within the framework that Polaris is giving them, and the PCB along with their cooler make it a very good choice among a very crowded market. It performs as expected, and the price is actually very good considering. Being that it’s so well placed, we’re giving it our Best Value award. It’s a great choice if you’re looking to get into the AMD camp. Polaris is a still a very viable solution for the mid-range, and the XFX RX 480 GTR is one of the better cards out there.