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AMD is not yet ready to please consumers with big announcements. The most popular models remain the Radeon RX 580 and Radeon RX 570, and some manufacturers continue to release new variants of these graphics accelerators. Among such novelties are the Radeon RX 570/580 Mech 2 models from MSI. They are equipped with high-quality cooling and operate at higher frequencies. Can Mech 2 surprise us in any way? Let’s find out on the example of a video card based on the Radeon RX 580 chip.
MSI Radeon RX 580 Mech 2 8G OC
The device comes in a medium-sized box with a picture of a mech robot on the front panel. The set is minimal: a disk with software and a brief instruction.
Visually, the video card resembles the MSI Armor MK2 models, which are made in a similar design. At the same time, the aggressive style of the case and the combination of red and black elements are also reminiscent of the Gaming models.
The total length of the video card is 27 cm. The cooling system occupies two slots. The cooler uses a heatpipe heatsink and two large fans.
The reverse side of the video card is protected by a metal plate with a red geometric pattern that complements the overall style of the device. Thick heat pipes peek out from the side. In the corner is an eight-pin power connector.
On the side there is a window with an illuminated MSI logo. The backlight color can be changed through the MSI Gaming App.
The design of the heatsink is reminiscent of Gaming solutions in the budget segment, but with some simplifications. Instead of a single plate at the base, there is direct contact with heat pipes. There are three tubes themselves, they are tightly fitted to each other at the base. Each permeates the array of plates in two places.
The base also has blue thermal pads that provide contact with the memory chips, but the design does not cover all the chips.
The radiator dispenses with bulky frames for mounting fans. There are two thin slats that create minimal resistance to airflow. A casing with 100 mm Power Logic fans is screwed to them. They are made using TorX 2.0 technology, the special shape of the blades and their mutual arrangement provide stronger air pressure.
The power elements of the power supply unit are covered with a finned radiator. There is a large elastic thermal pad on the throttles, which rests against the main radiator.
The non-standard design board is made on black textolite.
The GPU power system has six phases, the memory is powered by two phases.
The heart of the graphics card is the Polaris 20 processor with 2304 stream processors. The crystal is surrounded by a massive protective frame.
Eight gigabytes of memory are made up of Micron chips marked 8GB77 D9VVR.
The operating frequency of the core is increased to 1380 MHz. The effective memory frequency is 8000 MHz.
Two more software profiles with different frequencies are supported. Through the MSI Gaming App, you can enable OC mode with an increase in frequency to a core of 1393 MHz or Silent with a decrease in frequency to 1340 MHz.
When tested on an open bench, the 14-minute continuous Final Fantasy XV test warmed up the video card only to 72 ° C (indoors 25 ° C). At the same time, the average fan speed was at the level of 1200 rpm with peak values up to 1400 rpm. Noise is minimal. The core frequency was stable at 1380 MHz without deviations down, which happens on simple video cards of the Radeon RX 580 series.
These are excellent temperature and noise indicators. Most of the Radeon RX 570/580s that have passed through us have shown a hot temper or worked in not the most comfortable noise mode.
The MSI Radeon RX 580 Mech 2 8G OC video card was able to surprise with overclocking. After a number of tests, we settled on a core clock of 1480 MHz, which is the best result among all the cards based on the Polaris GPU we tested. The memory was able to work stably at 9080 MHz, which is also an excellent result.
To maintain stability and normal temperature conditions, the fan speed was fixed at 50% (about 1700 rpm). In this mode, the video card turned out to be noisier than expected, but without a serious hum.
If we talk about the maximum potential of Mech 2, then it is even higher. We managed to pass 3DMark Time Spy at 1505/9200 MHz – the result is on the screenshot below. At the same time, small artifacts were already observed, and in heavy tests they appeared at lower frequencies.
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