AMD Vega MegaThread! FAQ and Resources

[-Fran-]

They're already using HBM2, so they will, I'm sure.

Consumer cards? I don't think they'll do it yet.

Cheers!

 

[renz496]

we probably won't see this on any consumer grade card anytime soon either....

 

[goldstone77]

I don't know maybe it's just me. 32GBps and 32GB, 4 stacks of 8GB, seems pretty damn wicked since the bottleneck in computing is RAM performance.

 

[Martell1977]

I don't know maybe it's just me. 32GBps and 32GB, 4 stacks of 8GB, seems pretty damn wicked since the bottleneck in computing is RAM performance.

The issue many say with Vega is the low frequency of the HBM2. It would seem that high bandwidth, low frequency is not a great combo. They need to find a way to get both.

 

[Sakkura]

I don't know maybe it's just me. 32GBps and 32GB, 4 stacks of 8GB, seems pretty damn wicked since the bottleneck in computing is RAM performance.

The issue many say with Vega is the low frequency of the HBM2. It would seem that high bandwidth, low frequency is not a great combo. They need to find a way to get both.

The problem is they cut the bus width in half compared to Fury, without the clocks going up enough to compensate. Where you'd expect higher memory bandwidth you actually get a slight reduction.

So you have a GPU with the same core config, 50% higher clocks, but slightly less memory bandwidth.

 

[-Fran-]

I'm reading reports that GPUs have gone up in price (nVidia as well) quite considerably after the New Year.

Anyone noticed anything like that anywhere?

Cheers!

 

[goldstone77]

Oh yeah, they are skyrocketing worst than before!

 

[goldstone77]

1080's and 1080Ti's selling for the same prices $1,100-1,300. Ridiculous!
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%204814%20601201888%20601203793%20601204369%20601301599%20601296377&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=36

 

[goldstone77]

1060's selling for $400+

Edit: The prices on Newegg have doubled or nearly double or gone over double.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Used Vega 64 liquids are $1500+ on ebay

 

[Martell1977]

I'm thinking that, AMD in particular, is cutting back production of the current Vega\Polaris cards and letting them dry up further in anticipation of the new ones coming. However, I don't think sales have been slow, but we don't really know how many are already in the supply chain.

Funny how the new lineup is coming soon and the board partners have just finally released their better versions.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I'm thinking that, AMD in particular, is cutting back production of the current Vega\Polaris cards and letting them dry up further in anticipation of the new ones coming. However, I don't think sales have been slow, but we don't really know how many are already in the supply chain.

Funny how the new lineup is coming soon and the board partners have just finally released their better versions.

Since Etherium went crazy they have never been in large supply. Getting your hands on a Vega LC was just plain dumb luck right place at the right time (thats how I got mine). It was rare that they were ever in stock anywhere for more than an hour or two.

 

[Martell1977]

Since Etherium went crazy they have never been in large supply. Getting your hands on a Vega LC was just plain dumb luck right place at the right time (thats how I got mine). It was rare that they were ever in stock anywhere for more than an hour or two.

I know supplies aren't great, but I really have to wonder...how much of the shortage is actual supply issues and how much is retailers holding back stock to inflate prices.

 

[renz496]

On AMD side their card is very popular for mining to begin with. Plus with supply issue it is not that strange to see the price hike. But on nvidia side the price hike is crazy. Even cards like 1080ti/1080 got significant price increase when they say GX5 memory did not do well with mining. Did nvidia start limiting their pascal production already?

 

[Rogue Leader]

Since Etherium went crazy they have never been in large supply. Getting your hands on a Vega LC was just plain dumb luck right place at the right time (thats how I got mine). It was rare that they were ever in stock anywhere for more than an hour or two.

I know supplies aren't great, but I really have to wonder...how much of the shortage is actual supply issues and how much is retailers holding back stock to inflate prices.

When they do come into stock though they are selling for MSRP, I paid $699 for my card, and I haven 't seen Microcenter moving these for more than $799 (which is the MSRP for the Sapphire model I believe). The people selling them for $1300 are either people selling used, flipping them, or the tiny 3rd party resellers like the ones on Amazon, Newegg, and eBay that jack them up. Those guys just aren't big enough to cause a shortage like this.

I'd venture to say there may be more RX Vegas mining than gaming.

 

[-Fran-]

Ok, so it is somewhat "confirmed" that the prices went up across the board.

Shame, really. I guess we'll be stuck with our cards for a while until prices stabilize or the Fed start cracking down into the crypto currency frenzy. It smells to bubble and money laundering schemes from text book.

Cheers!

 

[goldstone77]

South Korea is trying to figure out what to do about it. And China is cracking down on it somewhat. Also, we have to consider the real problem being RAM manufactures redistributing manufacturing into other areas to slow down the production of RAM. I think ultimately this is what is causing the shortage. These memory supplies make the most profit from creating nand for cell phones, and that is where they redistributed production. The only relief we could see will happen around 3rd quarter 2018 when the new fabs come online. At least this is what I've read on the subject so far.

 

[goldstone77]

And, the fall today! It's still falling in after hours trading.

Edit: It's at ~10,200 5:28PM EST

 

[goldstone77]

Cryptocurrency Market Capitalizations
https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/

 

[goldstone77]

LAST GASPS
China’s about to deal a final blow to its bitcoin whales
WRITTEN BY
Zheping Huang
OBSESSION
Future of Finance
11 mins ago
https://qz.com/1181439/bitcoin-btc-price-tumbles-as-china-plans-to-widen-crackdown-on-cryptocurrency-trading/

Pan Gongsheng, a vice governor of the Chinese central bank, said in a recent meeting that China will continue to apply pressure on domestic crypto-trades for the sake of financial stability, according to Reuters, citing an internal memo. He was quoted as saying: “Pseudo-financial innovations that have no relationship with the real economy should not be supported.”

Pan, who also heads China’s internet-finance regulator, has vowed to end bitcoin mining in the country. Earlier this month, the body issued a notice asking local governments to “guide” bitcoin-mining operations to make an “orderly exit” from the business. In response, ViaBTC, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining pools, has raised its management fee from 6% to 50%, citing China’s “scarce” mining resources due to policy reasons.

 

[goldstone77]

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12338/samsung-starts-mass-production-of-gddr6-memory?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

 

[-Fran-]

Looks like GDDR6 is going to be a nice addition to the, by today's standard, ancient GDDR5 we currently have (has it been 10 years already?).

All I can say is... It was about time!

Cheers!

 

[goldstone77]

Samsungs new Aquabolt, second gen HBM2, is pretty remarkable as well.

Samsung on Thursday announced it has started mass production of its second-generation 8GB High Bandwidth Memory-2 (HBM2). The package, dubbed Aquabolt, delivers data transfer speeds of 2.4 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) per pin which Samsung says translates into a performance boost of nearly 50 percent compared to its first-gen offering.

I played around in MS Paint and added Aqua Bolt for an easy comparison.

I think this makes the comparison easier to see significance of AquaBolt.

Edit: Aquabolt is one word!
2nd Edit: fixed picture!
3rd Edit: Corrected picture

 

[volkgren]

I could have had an RX Vega 64 Nitro+ on Newegg yesterday, but I didn't have the $899 to spare. (Auto-Notify of In-Stock Alert)

Refreshed the page a few minutes later and it was gone. Like an elusive creature in the night. Poof.

:/ :/ :/

 

[Sakkura]

Samsungs new Aquabolt, second gen HBM2, is pretty remarkable as well.

Samsung on Thursday announced it has started mass production of its second-generation 8GB High Bandwidth Memory-2 (HBM2). The package, dubbed Aquabolt, delivers data transfer speeds of 2.4 gigabits-per-second (Gbps) per pin which Samsung says translates into a performance boost of nearly 50 percent compared to its first-gen offering.

I played around in MS Paint and added Aqua Bolt for an easy comparison.

I think this makes the comparison easier to see significance of AquaBolt.

Edit: Aquabolt is one word!
2nd Edit: fixed picture!

Wait, how do you get 32GB capacity and a 3092-bit bus? That doesn't make sense.