XFX just gave a sneak peek of its Radeon RX 6800 with an oversized cooler

AMD's first graphics cards based on RDNA 2 are right around corner, with both the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 6800 launching to retail on November 18, followed by the 6900 XT on December 8. In the lead up to the retail launch, custom designs are emerging from AMD's add-in board (AIB) partners, like Sapphire's gorgeous Nitro+ series. Perhaps none will be bigger, though, than the custom variant XFX is teasing on social media.

XFX posted a short video on its Facebook and Twitter pages, both with the caption, "Arriving soon.. Are you ready? #XFX #6000 series." The actual card is revealed in the final two seconds of the 14-second clip, though you have to pause at precisely the right frame to get a mostly clear view.

Venturing a guess, I'd say it is extremely likely XFX is showing off its "THICC" series. XFX all but confirmed this in the Twitter thread, saying "soon" in response to someone commenting, "Can't wait for the THICCs." 

Perhaps it is due for a rebranding as well—the side and top of the card are clearly labelled "6800 XL," and I don't think that is a reference to a new and announced SKU. Instead, it is an extra large version of the Radeon RX 6800. Or it could be a typo for "XT," but I doubt it.

Whatever it ends up being called, this card sports three cooling fans and a sleek black shroud with silver accents. There is also a cut-out in the backplate revealing a chunky finned cooling block, which you can also see through the gaps in the fan blades on the front.

Overall, it looks similar to the Radeon RX 5700 XT THICK III and THICK III Ultra models, which are both 2.8-slot designs. That means they effectively occupy three expansion slots. It's a safe bet the custom 6800 model will as well.

I also expect there to be a factory overclock on whatever XFX is showing off, though the AIB is tight lipped at the moment. AMD's reference blueprint calls for a 1,700MHz base clock, 1,818MHz game clock, and 2,105MHz boost clock on the 6800, along with 16GB of 16Gbps memory.

AMD has set the MSRPs at $570 for the 6800 and $649 for the 6800 XT (and $999 for the 6900 XT). Expect the THICC models to run a bit higher.