AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB Review

[RedJaron]

umm , not really , Workstations use Quadro and Tesla cards and have their connectors .

The Server/workstation PSU have their 12V out put , all what you need is the hot swap plate to include the cables needed.

*sigh* So much wrong with this.

First, I said very few, not none.

Second, please take into account all the non-retail, small-capacity PSUs out in the wild for business class applications ( which includes the hundreds of thousands of Dell and HP desktop PCs sitting in the millions of offices around the world ). Are you really trying to argue that workstations, specifically workstations with auxiliary powered GPUs, are a significant portion of that compared to the computers running integrated graphics or servers that have no graphics at all?

Third, before you go off saying low-capacity PSUs are suitable for workstation graphics, remember that Quadro, FirePro, and Tesla cards require just as much power as their consumer model counterparts. Meaning a FirePro W9100 sucks down 250W at full load, similar to a 290X. Even the mid-range W7000 sits around 150W. The lower performing cards don't need a PCIe power cable, so those don't figure into this scenario. The newer NVidia cards don't require quite as much power, but that's a recent change and doesn't affect the older workstations already in use, which this discussion counts. And apart from the GPU power requirements, the power draw for the rest of the system is going to be higher than you'd see in a basic office desktop as well.

Fourth, even though you could run a mid-range workstation on 400W, professional GPUs are expensive. A low-end professional GPU costs more than a mainstream gaming GPU and a mid-range FirePro costs more than a GTX 970. If you're paying that much for the GPU, let alone the rest of the system, quibbling over an extra $15 on the PSU is more than a bit ridiculous. Not only that, but entrusting an expensive piece of equipment to the cheapest PSU you can find is a bad, bad idea.

Fifth, you're trying to prove me wrong talking about hot swap plates when I already said some of the PSUs have the capacity for a PCIe cable? Regardless, we're talking about low-cost PSUs, so adding a hot swap plate to one kinda negates the whole "low-cost" thing.

In short, nothing you said contradicted anything I said in any way, so why are you trying to sound like you're correcting me?

 

[vertexx]

If I were building a system around an RX480, I would use this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

This would be for a purpose-built minimalist system with quality components.

 

[logainofhades]

I would think that would be a bit low, wattage wise, for an RX 480. I slapped together a fairly simple rig, just an i5 6500, B150 board, with an M.2 ssd, and 1tb HDD. PCPP put the wattage @310. While the wattage is more than really necessary, I would just pick up an Evga GQ 650, for $5 less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438059

Mini-itx would shave off some wattage, but still you wouldn't have much upgrade headroom, with a 360w PSU.

 

[Sakkura]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

 

[RedJaron]

If I were building a system around an RX480, I would use this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

This would be for a purpose-built minimalist system with quality components.

This perfectly demonstrates what some of us have been saying, where the money difference at the lower capacities isn't there. You could get that PSU, or you could spend the same money on this one to meet the same needs ( good quality, full ATX size, at least one 6-pin cable, and enough wattage for a 480 system ). The extra 60W ( and the additional 6+2 cable ) make it more flexible, so it could be used in another, beefier system down the road ( or handle a significant GPU upgrade ).

You've got a lot of good PSU options in the $50 - $70 range that can power the vast majority of enthusiast and gaming rigs out there. If the same money gets you more flexible cable choices and/or higher wattage without sacrificing quality, why not take it?

 

[Mousemonkey]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

 

[jimmysmitty]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

Strangely as components get better they seem to get less complex.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

Strangely as components get better they seem to get less complex.

Are the latest line up of GPU's less complex than those of five or ten years ago?

 

[littleleo]

If I were building a system around an RX480, I would use this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

This would be for a purpose-built minimalist system with quality components.

Don't they recommend a 500w power supply for the RX-480?

 

[InvalidError]

Don't they recommend a 500w power supply for the RX-480?

Recommendations are meaningless since they are based on the average quality of PSUs found in the wild, which is somewhere between 'meh' and mediocre.

 

[littleleo]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

Strangely as components get better they seem to get less complex.

Are the latest line up of GPU's less complex than those of five or ten years ago?

I like the current AMD model numbers, back in the day all the different numbering ranges I wasn't sure how the cards compare to each other. Since they went the R7 & R9 route it's much easier to offer the right card.

 

[littleleo]

Don't they recommend a 500w power supply for the RX-480?

Recommendations are meaningless since they are based on the average quality of PSUs found in the wild, which is somewhere between 'meh' and mediocre.

I always try to sell above average quality parts so I have less issues with RMAs they are a killer! In this business you can have RMAs blow up in your face and cost you a good customer. You know the old saying "garbage in garbage out", I don't want to sell garbage I consider my customers good friends and I treat them as I would want to be treated in their place. If they want to buy cheap crap they can but I always recommend better quality stuff and I warn them if they are asking for something I know is poor quality of having issues. That is why I found Tom's trying to find good unbiased (que the haters) reviews on new parts.

 

[Samer1970]

If I were building a system around an RX480, I would use this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

This would be for a purpose-built minimalist system with quality components.

This perfectly demonstrates what some of us have been saying, where the money difference at the lower capacities isn't there. You could get that PSU, or you could spend the same money on this one to meet the same needs ( good quality, full ATX size, at least one 6-pin cable, and enough wattage for a 480 system ). The extra 60W ( and the additional 6+2 cable ) make it more flexible, so it could be used in another, beefier system down the road ( or handle a significant GPU upgrade ).

You've got a lot of good PSU options in the $50 - $70 range that can power the vast majority of enthusiast and gaming rigs out there. If the same money gets you more flexible cable choices and/or higher wattage without sacrificing quality, why not take it?

I think there is a minimum cost for good components PSU outside the "Watts" per dollar cost all PSU must have , and thats why you will find a 350 watts "good" PSU the same Price of a 650 or 550 watts one ....

That is you pay for the "base must have" components , then pay for "higher Watts" components.

 

[InvalidError]

I think there is a minimum cost for good components PSU outside the "Watts" per dollar cost all PSU must have , and thats why you will find a 350 watts "good" PSU the same Price of a 650 or 550 watts one ....

That's only half of the story, the other is production volume: a lower power PSU can use smaller FETs, smaller capacitors, smaller chokes, smaller transformers, smaller diodes, etc. that will cost a few pennies less each when buying components by the 1M units crate. If your production volume is only high enough to order components in batches of 100k, those pennies go away due to lower bulk purchase discounts.

Between a 350W and a 650W PSU based on the same design, there will be less than $2 worth (at bulk pricing) of extra or bigger/higher-rated parts between them. Larger components increase overhead losses and nuke efficiency at low power outputs, which is why you see 80+ Bronze-Platinum PSUs drop to 50-70% efficiency at 10% load. For a low power system which idles a lot, picking a 350W PSU may save 10-20W at light load and that's $8-15/year for someone like me who leaves his PC on close to 24/7.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

Strangely as components get better they seem to get less complex.

Are the latest line up of GPU's less complex than those of five or ten years ago?

I meant PSUs. GPUS are obviously getting more complex while PSUs seem to be able to get less complex due to superior capacitors and such.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Don't they recommend a 500w power supply for the RX-480?

Recommendations are meaningless since they are based on the average quality of PSUs found in the wild, which is somewhere between 'meh' and mediocre.

Dude I didn't post that! :lol:

I wish GPU pricing was like PSU pricing. Scaling up from a GTX 950 to an RX 480 to a GTX 1080 adds cost quite a lot faster than scaling up the PSU wattage.

If PSU's ever get as complex as GPU's then your wish may come true! :lol:

Strangely as components get better they seem to get less complex.

Are the latest line up of GPU's less complex than those of five or ten years ago?

I meant PSUs. GPUS are obviously getting more complex while PSUs seem to be able to get less complex due to superior capacitors and such.

Yeah, that makes more sense.

 

[InvalidError]

I meant PSUs. GPUS are obviously getting more complex while PSUs seem to be able to get less complex due to superior capacitors and such.

I wouldn't be so sure about that: basic PSUs left the standard ATX PSU enclosure looking nearly empty aside from the large transformer and two heatsinks while modern high-efficiency units fill it up to the brim: riser cards for the PWM/APFC circuitry because it doesn't fit on the main PCB, one or two rectifier bridges with their own heatsink or on the same extra-long heatsink as the APFC and primary FETs, double-sided riser cards for the 3.3V and 5V DC-DC converters, double-sided riser cards for the output monitoring and fan control, double-sided riser card for the modular connectors, etc. Most components got smaller thanks to modern PSUs operating at higher frequencies and using more efficient topologies than flyback or single-transistor forward but there are many more of them - old PSUs had all of their components on the top side, contemporary ones have tons of SMD devices hidden on the back and it takes many more SMD components to make a board look crowded.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I meant PSUs. GPUS are obviously getting more complex while PSUs seem to be able to get less complex due to superior capacitors and such.

I wouldn't be so sure about that: basic PSUs left the standard ATX PSU enclosure looking nearly empty aside from the large transformer and two heatsinks while modern high-efficiency units fill it up to the brim: riser cards for the PWM/APFC circuitry because it doesn't fit on the main PCB, one or two rectifier bridges with their own heatsink or on the same extra-long heatsink as the APFC and primary FETs, double-sided riser cards for the 3.3V and 5V DC-DC converters, double-sided riser cards for the output monitoring and fan control, double-sided riser card for the modular connectors, etc. Most components got smaller thanks to modern PSUs operating at higher frequencies and using more efficient topologies than flyback or single-transistor forward but there are many more of them - old PSUs had all of their components on the top side, contemporary ones have tons of SMD devices hidden on the back and it takes many more SMD components to make a board look crowded.

True but I know where Jimmy's coming from.

 

[vertexx]

So now that the 1060 reviews are out, I think I will be looking at getting the 480 after all. Better performance at DX12 for a lower price. The power efficiency is still to NVidia's advantage, but AMD closed the gap. Now to wait for a good partner board and availability at actual MSRP.

 

[littleleo]

Yeah, the GTX 1060 didn't live up to the hype. It isn't as fast as the 980, it seems more in between the GTX 970 and the RX-480. At $300 it's not worth it unless you bleed green, lol.

 

[17seconds]

I don't know, it seems like a pretty good deal, particularly since there actually are cards with custom cooling going for $249.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_1060_Gaming_X/26.html

 

[-Fran-]

I don't know, it seems like a pretty good deal, particularly since there actually are cards with custom cooling going for $249.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_1060_Gaming_X/26.html

Not if you find a RX 480 4GB.

Cheers!

 

[vertexx]

I don't know, it seems like a pretty good deal, particularly since there actually are cards with custom cooling going for $249.

Yeah - I normally rely on TPU reviews as well, but this time TH and TPU reviews were biased toward older titles. Look around the net - RX 480 4GB beats 1060 at any DX 12 title and is within 5-10% on DX 11.

Really, I think both of these cards are nice cards, and a valid argument can be made either way, but this time my $$ is going to go AMD. I just wish they had a better blower, because I'd like to use one for this mini-ITX build it will go in.

And that perf per dollar chart is for the RX 480 8GB - for my purposes, 4GB will be plenty assuming they show up in the market.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I don't know, it seems like a pretty good deal, particularly since there actually are cards with custom cooling going for $249.

Yeah - I normally rely on TPU reviews as well, but this time TH and TPU reviews were biased toward older titles. Look around the net - RX 480 4GB beats 1060 at any DX 12 title and is within 5-10% on DX 11.

Really, I think both of these cards are nice cards, and a valid argument can be made either way, but this time my $$ is going to go AMD. I just wish they had a better blower, because I'd like to use one for this mini-ITX build it will go in.

And that perf per dollar chart is for the RX 480 8GB - for my purposes, 4GB will be plenty assuming they show up in the market.

Which DX12 games? That's the problem. The market is currently saturated. By the time DX12 is the majority API, they will probably be just as good at each other and will matter only which is better.

I mean sure TH and TPU can run games that are either biased towards one (AotS), buggy and still incomplete even (Hitman) or one that is not out yet.

How many people do you know are playing Hitman or AotS? Most people are playing GTA V, the Witcher 3, DOOM or a multitude of older titles like CS:GO, TF2, LoL, DOTA2 etc.

SO which games matter more? The ones that are currently in their infancy and/or just glorified benchmarks or the games that everyone is playing?

 

[17seconds]

Let's just agree that Hitman doesn't actually run better because of DirectX 12 or Async Compute. Instead, let's recognize that it is an AMD GAME, always has been always will be. Actually the same can be said of Ashes of the Singularity.