The first ASUS AREZ branded graphics card which is the lineup dedicated to the AMD Radeon RX series has been listed and available for sale. The ASUS AREZ brand was formed after the major controversy regarding NVIDIA's GPP (GeForce Prime Program) which has since been canceled by NVIDIA themselves.
ASUS Radeon RX Vega 64 AREZ STRIX Now Available For $750 US - Premium Price For Custom Vega Cards
ASUS AREZ STRIX is the AMD version of the ROG STRIX which was made after ASUS had spent quite a few efforts in advertising their new lineup. Little did they know that all of their efforts will become totally useless a few months later after GPP got canned. But ASUS couldn't let AREZ STRIX, a brand they spent millions over in advertising and reproduction of Radeon RX AREZ STRIX branded cards go down the drain. ASUS then decided to keep the ROG STRIX brand exclusively to GeForce lineup and AREZ STRIX exclusively for the Radeon lineup.
In a way, ASUS just went with their original plan although it faced some backlash for removing the iconic ROG STRIX branding from Radeon RX cards. Other manufacturers also planned new series for the Radeon RX cards, but just threw them in the bin to avoid any negative consumer reaction.
So now we are looking at the first wave of ASUS AREZ STRIX cards reaching retail outlets. Newegg currently lists two AREZ STRIX cards, a 2 GB Radeon RX 550 and an 8 GB Radeon RX Vega 64. The obvious attraction here is the Vega 64 variant which is known as the ASUS Radeon RX Vega 64 AREZ STRIX.
The card is a fully custom design which is similar to the ROG STRIX variant we got last year with a branding change. The card uses slightly overclocked frequencies out of the box with boost clocks upto 1590 MHz. The main differences on the custom boards compared to the reference cards include a non-reference PCB design, ASUS DirectCU III cooler, a modified power delivery system and a slightly different yet also similar display connector configuration. Both cards are supplied power through dual 8 pin connectors.
This is ASUS’s latest DirectCU III cooling system that combines Super Alloy Power II components. These deliver the best stability and overclocking results under any circumstance. The card also has built-in ASUS’s industry-leading Auto-Extreme process which ensures the best quality for graphics cards. ASUS’s triple slot behemoth comes with ASUS AURA RGB LED support and should feature a custom PCB and a custom backplate. The card has a retail price of $749.99 US at Newegg, expect more AREZ STRIX cards to be listed soon.
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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