INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Back in 2019 crypto mining caused demand for graphics cards to skyrocket which in turn of course also caused their prices to skyrocket as well. Most importantly however in 2021 (and also due to COVID-19) the market experienced its 1st severe shortage of graphics cards (which obviously led to even more price hikes) and it took well over a year for things to finally start improving. Now as many of you are aware AMD has done extremely well with their Radeon RX 6XXX series of graphics cards, not only did the RX 6900 XT break many records and even managed to compete with the GeForce RTX 3090 but their RX 6600/6700/6800 XT models also managed to take on the equivalent competition by NVIDIA (namely the GeForce RTX 3060/3070/3080 cards). Because of that NVIDIA took things one step further by introducing Ti versions of all those said models so it was just a matter of time before AMD did something similar to keep up and today, they just did with the official launch of their Radeon RX 6650/6750/6950 XT models.

   SAPPHIRE Technology continues to be a world leading manufacturer and global supplier of innovative graphics and mainboard products, delivering its AMD Radeon based products to the PC markets addressing gaming, eSports and performance graphics enthusiasts as well as delivering an array of professional graphics products and embedded system solutions. Recently SAPPHIRE has penetrated new markets with a series of GPU Compute server systems targeting the blockchain and commercial cryptocurrency mining businesses.

   With me today i have the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB model which just like its predecessor is a PCIe 4.0 x16 graphics card (supports technologies like DirectX 12.0 Ultimate, ray tracing, FreeSync, smart access memory, variable rate shading, mesh shaders, sampler feedback, anti-lag, image sharpening and super resolution) based on the 7nm "Navi 22 KXT" chip. In terms of specifications/numbers the new Radeon RX 6750 XT is almost identical to the RX 6700 XT model so it comes ready with 40 RDNA2 compute units, 2560 stream processors, 64 raster units (or render output units), 40 ray accelerators and 160 texture mapping units. Unlike its predecessor however this time over AMD equipped the Radeon RX 6750 XT with a total 12GB of blazing fast 18Gbps GDDR6 memory (Samsung) on a 192-bit memory bus. A small chunk (96MB) of Infinity Cache memory is also present on the GPU side which should help with the overall performance of the card. The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ (Plus) model that i have here with me today is a 310mm long tri-slot design card that sports three two-ball bearing angular velocity fans (replaceable via quick connect) for optimal cooling. It also features an aluminum backplate, dedicated VRM memory heatsink, 14 layer 2oz copper PCB (increased durability), 5 composite nickel plated heatpipes running through both aluminum heatsinks and all their V-shape fins (faster heat dissipation), dual-BIOS switch and 2 ARGB lighting zones (8 different modes via TRIXX software). Last but not least in terms of connectivity SAPPHIRE has equipped their AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT NITRO+ with three full sized DP v1.4 (with DSC) ports and a single HDMI v2.1 VRR port. Also, worth pointing out that SAPPHIRE also bundles a graphics card support bracket made out of metal with their new series.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SAPPHIRE NITRO logo is located at the front of the box along with the model name, available RAM, PCIe version and the ideal gaming resolution (this card is aimed primarily towards 1440p gaming).

 

 

A sticker with the serial numbers and barcodes for the card is located on the left side of the box.

 

 

At the rear we find the key features and specifications of the card along with the minimum system requirements.

 

 

The card is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed inside a formed piece of black foam.

 

 

Along with the NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB Graphics Card inside the box you'll also find a support bracket, small bag with mounting screws (for the bracket), SAPPHIRE contact information paper and the quick installation guide.

 

 

THE NITRO+ RADEON RX 6750 XT 12GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SAPPHIRE NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB graphics card takes up to 3 slots and measures no less than 310mm in length (identical to the RX 6800 model - review here).

 

 

Here you can see how the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB graphics card compares to the 352mm long GALAX GeForce RTX 3080 Ti HOF OC Lab Edition graphics card.

 

 

Once again SAPPHIRE has used a tri-fan design (replaceable two-ball bearing angular velocity models) with the left and right fans spinning counter clockwise and the center fan clockwise.

 

 

Beneath the front cover we find two heatsinks together with 5 composite nickel plated heatpipes.

 

 

At the top of the card, we find the company name and a LED bar right next to it (both feature ARGB LEDs beneath them).

 

 

To power the NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB graphics card you'll need two 8pin PCIe power connectors.

 

 

The dual BIOS switch is located on the front end of the card.

 

 

Turning the card around we find a partial aluminum backplate and the model name next to the company logo (one more ARGB zone).

 

 

Finally at the front we see three full sized DP v1.4 DSC ports and a single HDMI v2.1 VRR port.

 

 

The ARGB lighting of the NITRO+ AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB graphics card actually looks better than previous NITRO+ models.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   Since we'll be using our latest test rig with our graphics cards tests, we also moved to another screen (Philips BDM4037UW) in order to also offer 4k Ultra HD tests. Of course, 2160p (3840x2160p) is not the only resolution we'll be testing cards with, we are also going to be testing them at 1080p Full HD (1920x1080p) and 1440p (2560x1440p). Also, because far too many gamers own Ultra-Wide screens at first i wanted to use our AOC AGON AG352UCG monitor in order to also have its resolution of 3440x1440p in our charts but since it's plugged into our other test rig several meters away from this one i really had to choose (and 4k seemed like the better choice). This time over we also updated the list of benchmarks/games to include the Time Spy benchmark by UL, Assassin's Creed Odyssey by Ubisoft, Devil May Cry 5 by Capcom, Dreadnought by Yager, GEARS 5 by The Coalition, Metro Exodus by 4A Games, Star Citizen by Cloud Imperium Games, The Outer Worlds by Obsidian Entertainment, Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Project* and DCS World by Eagle Dynamics**.

   As with the past options like power saving, sharpness and overlays are all disabled in the cards we’re testing (to achieve maximum performance) and all tests are repeated a total of 3 times in a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation with all updates installed until the day of our review (same as all the games used). Room temperature is as usual controlled and steady at 23 degrees Celsius for all tests and to record the temperatures of the cards we used AIDA64 and GPU-Z. Recording noise levels is done with an ExTech HD600 dBA meter from a distance of no more than half a meter away (exterior of case) while power consumption is measured again using GPU-Z.

* Since February 2021
** Since August 2021

 

 

TEST RESULTS - 3DMARK TIMESPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Spy was added in 3DMark back in 2016 with only 1 simple goal, to test the graphics of systems with Windows 10 and DirectX 12. Time Spy was used at default settings.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - ASSASSINS CREED ODYSSEY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assassin's Creed Odyssey is an action role-playing video game set in the year 431 BC and the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and is based on the AnvilNext engine. For our tests we use the built-in benchmark of the game with FPS limit off, V-Sync off and the graphics set at high quality (because Assassins Creed Odyssey auto-detects your graphics card and sets settings accordingly the same graphics quality needs to be set manually every time).

 

TEST RESULTS - BORDERLANDS 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borderlands 3 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game released back in late 2019 and is powered by Unreal Engine 4. Borderlands 3 has a very basic built-in benchmark which we set at DirectX 12 with unlimited frame rate and overall quality set to High.

 

TEST RESULTS - DEVIL MAY CRY 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devil May Cry 5 is an action-adventure hack and slash video game released in March 2019 and is based on the RE Engine like other titles by Capcom. Devil May Cry 5 doesn't feature his very own built-in benchmark so for that purpose we're using the latest version of Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync Off, variable frame rate and all graphics settings set at High.

 

TEST RESULTS - DREADNOUGHT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreadnought is a space combat simulation game released for the PC in late 2018 and is the 3rd game in our tests based on the Unreal Engine 4. Dreadnought used to come with its own built-in benchmark but since that was removed, we decided to use Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync off and graphics set to High (this game is capped after all so I removed that and did all tests again – unfortunately I no longer have all the cards here).

 

TEST RESULTS - GEARS 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gears 5 is a third-person shooter video game released back in mid-2019 and is powered by Unreal Engine 4 just like Borderlands 3. Gears 5 features a very convenient (not to mention fast) built-in benchmark which we use with V-Sync off, unlimited frame rate (none for minimum) and Ultra graphics quality.

 

TEST RESULTS - METRO EXODUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metro Exodus is a first-person shooter video game released in 2019 and is based on the 4A Engine. The latest game in the Metro series also features its very own benchmark utility which we set at DirectX 12 and Ultra graphics quality (we're also running RTX tests with that setting set at Ultra).

 

TEST RESULTS - STAR CITIZEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Citizen is an upcoming multiplayer space trading and combat game the main development of which started back in 2012 and is currently based on the Lumberyard game engine. Not only does Star Citizen come without any built-in benchmark (or utility) but it’s still in Alpha status meaning that this is not the most stable game title to use for our benchmarks (numerous graphics optimisations are expected between now and launch day). Still, we wanted to have it in our charts for anyone interested and so we did by using Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync turned off and the graphics set at High.

 

TEST RESULTS - THE OUTER WORLDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Outer Worlds is an action role-playing game released back in late 2019 and is also based on the Unreal Engine 4. The Outer Worlds is yet another title we had to use Rivatuner Statistics Server with V-Sync off, unlimited frame rate and graphics set at Very High.

 

TEST RESULTS – CYBERPUNK 2077

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest game by CD Project and is based on their REDEngine 4. Benchmarks were run on game version 1.12 with all settings set at High and with the help of Rivatuner Statistics Server.

 

TEST RESULTS – DCS WORLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DCS World by Eagle Dynamics is currently the leading combat flight simulator for the PC running on their very own in-house EDGE graphics engine. Benchmarks are run with graphics set on high with V-Sync off and once again with the help of Rivatuner Statistics Server.

 

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCKING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to admit that i didn't have enough time to push the NITRO+ Radeon RX 6750 XT to its limits (i am more used to using SAPPHIRE's TRIXX software but the new version is still not out) but still i was able to increase clocks up to 2850MHz for the core and 2312MHz for the RAM.

 

TEST RESULTS - POWER CONSUMPTION / TEMPERATURES / NOISE LEVELS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Having already reviewed both the Radeon RX 6600 XT and the Radeon RX 6800 I was expecting for the Radeon RX 6750 XT to fall somewhere in between in terms of performance and as you can see from my charts, I was partially correct. I honestly didn’t expect it to surpass the Radeon RX 6800 but in some games it did and if the RX 6800 wasn’t released in late 2020 that could potentially complicate things for potential buyers. Still the Radeon RX 6750 XT is the new kid on the block so it’s not a surprise that it has the power to surpass the “older” Radeon RX 6800 model (driver optimization may also have something to do with it). In some games scaling is not what i was expecting (just like with the GeForce 3080 Ti cards) with 1440p performance actually surpassing 1080p which further proves that AMD clearly released this model with 1440p gaming in mind. By consuming 247W at load the NITRO+ Radeon RX 6750 XT card by Sapphire is just within the published limits (250W) but with noise levels going all the way up to 57dBA at load this is obviously a loud card (on the other hand thanks to those fans temperatures never exceeded 76 degrees Celsius). Finally in terms of both build quality and looks the NITRO+ Radeon RX 6750 XT stays faithful to what SAPPHIRE has made us expect from them through the years.

   What about price? Well, the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB was launched just now with a retail price set at around USD650/799Euros so even though prices are still quite higher than what they should be it’s not currently a bad price for the performance you’re getting. Bottom line if you’re looking for a brand new graphics card with enough power to even take on the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and even the Radeon RX 6800 the NITRO+ Radeon RX 6750 XT by SAPPHIRE is just that and since it does deliver on everything gamers want it deserves the Golden Award.

 

PROS

- Build Quality (Backplate)
- Very Good Performance
- Factory Overclock
- Plenty Overclocking Headroom
- Dual BIOS
- Power Consumption / Temperatures
- Looks (3 Zone RGB System)
- Supported Technologies
- TRIXX Software

CONS

- Size (3 Slot Card)
- Noise Levels