AMD RX 400 series (Polaris) MegaThread! FAQ & Resources

[Rogue Leader]

Meh, the naming of processes is inaccurate. It's quite possible that TSMC and GloFo 7nm will be comparable to Intel 10nm.

Where do you get this idea? In fact TSMC, GloFo, Intel and others all use the same machines. I know because the company I work for makes the machines. 7nm is 7nm is 7nm.

So all three have the same equipment and are building comparable models? I got to admit I thought their processes varied some between all three thanks for the update.

They do all use the same or similar equipment but no their processes vary greatly and their "recipes" are very secretive. That said their models in the end get to a similar point and are comparable. They are all trying to get to the same place, basically. That said we should start a new thread elsewhere to discuss this, its an interesting topic, how all this works.

 

[simon12]

Please post a link to this new thread if you create one.
Cheers

 

[Rogue Leader]

Please post a link to this new thread if you create one.
Cheers

I was going to create one however the best place to discuss this would likely be this thread in CPUs, since we are discussing mostly AMD GloFo 7nm

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2699237/amd-cpus-soc-rumors-speculations-temp-thread.html

Any discussion of 7nm processes and so on should be brought there.

 

[Kawdam91]

I recently bought a Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 4GB no one should listen to all the BS about noise levels with this card, i am yet to even hear this card running, in idle it sits at 40-45c with the fans off and the most i have had this get to yet is under 80c at 27 percent fan speed and i still could not hear it.

I will admit i have only had this card a couple of days and only got to try it out on Battlefield 4 Ultra and Overwatch Epic settings, capped at 60FPS @ 1080P it never drops below 60FPS under any circumstances.

For 200 pound it was and is an absolute bargain, as an extra if you have an open case or see through side panel it is one nice looking GPU, with it's back-plate and it's colour changing LED's.

I upgraded from an Nvidia 660ti and believe me i was reluctant to go to AMD, a member of the forums on here convinced me to save the money over a 1060 and go for the model i got saving 80 pounds, i do not regret my decision at all i am extremely happy with this GPU.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

GPU noise is so related to case airflow. I'll go back to one of my former experiences, NZXT H440, R9 390. 3 intake and 1 exhaust fan. Got to 90C. Added 2 exhaust fans to the top. Dropped temps down to 70C, and also brought fan RPM down from 100% to 40%. Just from pure case fans.

 

[TehPenguin]

If you cap your game at 60fps you don't utilize your GPU fully as it can render in both BF4 and Overwach many, many more frames/second. That is why you get 80C at 27% fan speeds. Remove the fps cap and check again.

 

[madmatt30]

^ but why would you on a 60htz screen really??
There is quite simply no point at all.

 

[Kawdam91]

If you cap your game at 60fps you don't utilize your GPU fully as it can render in both BF4 and Overwach many, many more frames/second. That is why you get 80C at 27% fan speeds. Remove the fps cap and check again.

^ but why would you on a 60htz screen really??
There is quite simply no point at all.

Agreed at 1080p on a 60Htz monitor there is no need for me to do this, games run fine at 60FPS

The highest it gets to on Overwatch Epic is 65-70c.

 

[madmatt30]

GPU noise is so related to case airflow. I'll go back to one of my former experiences, NZXT H440, R9 390. 3 intake and 1 exhaust fan. Got to 90C. Added 2 exhaust fans to the top. Dropped temps down to 70C, and also brought fan RPM down from 100% to 40%. Just from pure case fans.

fan noise in general is so relative to things much more than that I have to take the comment 'its noisy' with a grain of salt every time I read it in a review or suchlike

examples

1.I have to turn off my xbox one at the plug when im not using it - the fan in the external power adapter drives my mrs nuts.I got home the other day & she had turned off literally everything under the tv apart from the xbox one.She wrongly assumed it was the wii u because its the only equipment that has a standby light.I honestly cant even hear it under normal circumstances.
2, the 60mm fan in my lenovo mini pc (bolted to the vesa brackets on the back of my tv) could drive anyone crazy - not so much the fan noise but the pitch & vibration.
3.Silverstone gd06 - comes with 3 super quiet 120mm fans - thats what the blurb says - in real life not - absolutely unbearable to me even at 7v 600rpm,undearable pitch again.Had to replace them within 24 hours.
4. had a galax exoc in the gd06 originally,hard to keep temps under control even though at 80% fan it was virtully silent so replaced with a asus 970 turbo blower.
Dropped temps by 10c - great solution but at idle speeds (30% fan) it has the most abnormal whine that drives me crazy (oddly enough this does not bother the mrs at all) - set the minimum to 40% & the whine is gone completely.
whta does fan noise really mean in all honesty??
I expect to hear airflow ,I can 100% put up with that - its what a fan does.Pitch/whine/Frequency/vibration are the ones that are killers to me.

 

[TehPenguin]

^ but why would you on a 60htz screen really??
There is quite simply no point at all.

There us one big reason: competitive gaming. There is the other thing: if you play a game where the 480 can't render as many FPS then it will get fully utilized even when capped at 60hz and then it will get hot and loud.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

GPU noise is so related to case airflow. I'll go back to one of my former experiences, NZXT H440, R9 390. 3 intake and 1 exhaust fan. Got to 90C. Added 2 exhaust fans to the top. Dropped temps down to 70C, and also brought fan RPM down from 100% to 40%. Just from pure case fans.

fan noise in general is so relative to things much more than that I have to take the comment 'its noisy' with a grain of salt every time I read it in a review or suchlike

examples

1.I have to turn off my xbox one at the plug when im not using it - the fan in the external power adapter drives my mrs nuts.I got home the other day & she had turned off literally everything under the tv apart from the xbox one.She wrongly assumed it was the wii u because its the only equipment that has a standby light.I honestly cant even hear it under normal circumstances.
2, the 60mm fan in my lenovo mini pc (bolted to the vesa brackets on the back of my tv) could drive anyone crazy - not so much the fan noise but the pitch & vibration.
3.Silverstone gd06 - comes with 3 super quiet 120mm fans - thats what the blurb says - in real life not - absolutely unbearable to me even at 7v 600rpm,undearable pitch again.Had to replace them within 24 hours.
4. had a galax exoc in the gd06 originally,hard to keep temps under control even though at 80% fan it was virtully silent so replaced with a asus 970 turbo blower.
Dropped temps by 10c - great solution but at idle speeds (30% fan) it has the most abnormal whine that drives me crazy (oddly enough this does not bother the mrs at all) - set the minimum to 40% & the whine is gone completely.
whta does fan noise really mean in all honesty??
I expect to hear airflow ,I can 100% put up with that - its what a fan does.Pitch/whine/Frequency/vibration are the ones that are killers to me.

Your Xbox One power brick has a fan? I've never heard mine before.

 

[Kawdam91]

Yeah the Xbox One's brick has a fan i cannot leave my console on standby mode at night, the fan in the brick is extremely annoying at night it keeps running lmao

 

[Zaxx420]

Imo, the vast majority of 60 fps @1080p users will not have noise issues with the Nitro (assuming you have decent case cooling)...unless its a extremely demanding game as TehPenguin pointed out. I've yet to come across any 'loud' games so far...same goes for my wife's 470. But then again I'm just a 'moderate' gamer...ymmv ofc.

 

[LeKeiser]

I had a Nitro+ 480 8GB for about 2 weeks, but I returned it. I did some benches at home, to see how much power it was using, and how much heat it was dispersing and I didn't really like what I got back.
I have a Define R5 with 2 14cms intake fans, and a 14cms that blows in the back. The card would draw +200W when stressed, and the GPU would go up to 76°, which is normal. But during that time, my HDDs sitting in the front of the case would warm up to 42°, when at normal use they would stay at around 30°. The cooler of the Nitro releases all the heat inside the case, which is normal since it's a blower. But still, lots of heat I think.
So I'm replacing this card, which is still great to my eyes but has some flaws, with a KFA2 GTX 1060. Heats less, will perform better with my DX11 games, and well, I'll see.
I think the cooler of the Nitro 480 is not big enough. It's good for a 470 but not adapted for a 480. My 2 euros...

 

[renz496]

power consumption aside will temperature be better on 1060? because in reviews i still see even non reference 1060 temp above 70c. sometimes i do think if 1060 is quite hot despite the power consumption only limited to around 120-130w. because cards with such power consumption usually did not go above 70c. my previous GTX660 and GTX960 usually sit below 70c.

 

[LeKeiser]

@renz496
At the bottom of this link, there are some picts of the inside of a case with both cards. The RX 4X0 produces more heat and thus heats the front of the case (where my HDDs are) more than with a 1060.
http://www.hardware.fr/focus/118/rx-480-sapphire-nitro-vs-gtx-1060-gainward-match-280.html

When I receive the card, I'll install and do some tests. I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested

 

[TehPenguin]

I have an MSI 1060 and it gets to around 71C peak at 40% fan. Up to 60% fan speed the card is inaudible. And I mean at full stress. 99% GPU utilization(Afterburner never shows 100%).

Overclocked to 2,1 GHz core, 9,2 GHz memory.

Don't think that's really hot, TBH.

 

[Zaxx420]

My case is maybe over cooled if theres such a thing...have the usual 120's for front intake and rear exhaust but have a 240mm top exhaust to handle the 2x120mm side door fans. The CM Storm Scout isn't real big or a 'premium' case but they went bat-shit crazy with the fan options...I just keep em all turned way down mostly.

 

[renz496]

@renz496
At the bottom of this link, there are some picts of the inside of a case with both cards. The RX 4X0 produces more heat and thus heats the front of the case (where my HDDs are) more than with a 1060.
http://www.hardware.fr/focus/118/rx-480-sapphire-nitro-vs-gtx-1060-gainward-match-280.html

When I receive the card, I'll install and do some tests. I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested

i see.

 

[renz496]

I have an MSI 1060 and it gets to around 71C peak at 40% fan. Up to 60% fan speed the card is inaudible. And I mean at full stress. 99% GPU utilization(Afterburner never shows 100%).

Overclocked to 2,1 GHz core, 9,2 GHz memory.

Don't think that's really hot, TBH.

71c at full load. that's good.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

My MSI R9 390 woild hit 68C at full load when installed into my Lian-Li. That was during the Assassin's Creed Unity stress test.

 

[IAEInferno]

Hey guys, what do you guys think of the upcoming AMD Video cards, like what do you guys think of the possible price and how well will they perform?

 

[TehPenguin]

Vega is still a creature full of mysteries. Your guess is as good as anyone else's. Some speculate it will be the 1080ti competitor and if it is then expect $600++
It's still unknown whether it will get released sooner, before 2017, or in 1H-17 as it was planned.

I really hope AMD pulls a powerhorse out of their hat instead of a rabbit. It'll be tough for them otherwise, they need a strong GPU just to show they can achieve the expected performance level.

 

[manleysteele]

Hey guys, what do you guys think of the upcoming AMD Video cards, like what do you guys think of the possible price and how well will they perform?

On performance, almost everyone wants parity with NVidia at the very least. Any extra performance would be a bonus. Even long time NVidia supporters want competition in the market. Personally, I don't care about clock or core count unless it delivers a performance advantage.

On price, we all want some pressure on NVidia in the price/performance envelope. A card at a 1080 price, with Titan XP performance wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings. lol

 

[IAEInferno]

Vega is still a creature full of mysteries. Your guess is as good as anyone else's. Some speculate it will be the 1080ti competitor and if it is then expect $600++
It's still unknown whether it will get released sooner, before 2017, or in 1H-17 as it was planned.

I really hope AMD pulls a powerhorse out of their hat instead of a rabbit. It'll be tough for them otherwise, they need a strong GPU just to show they can achieve the expected performance level.

This is what I read https://app.scoutfin.com/document.html?id=57c01d11fcd1d0bb759fd048&_branch_match_id=297670879870932296 and it seems they are pretty confident to say this to their investors that they will dominate the Graphics card market in 2017. AMD Investor slide