AMD Vega MegaThread! FAQ and Resources

[-Fran-]

Yep. It's not unheard of, but still annoying.

I hope they took the chance to add a bit of the external stuff into it while porting the design to 12nm. Specially FreeSync2.

Cheers!

 

[renz496]

so far this is still in the rumor land. i will take it more seriously when VCZ starts talking about it. shrink polaris to 12nm really does not make much sense to me when AMD starts pushing vega based product even in APU. just design new chip based on vega but having the same amount of stream processor as polaris.

 

[-Fran-]

They need something to fill in the gap though.

Vega/Navi is "high end", so they need the "mid range" to be filled.

I can see why they could want to have this 12nm refresh, as long as, they target the low end of the graphics market: $50-$200 range. You can assume or imagine 12nm is just 14nm with a bit more oomph, so the process should (or I'd expect it to) be cheaper. The GPUs will be more efficient and probably have a tad better performance, at a lower power. That is good for the price range they'd be targeting.

I do agree it makes little sense to keep Polaris on life-support, but I can see why they might want to try.

Cheers!

 

[charliepelletier]

I currently have a 4690k/RX 480 build and am looking to upgrade in the next month or though, if not by the end of the year. I have decided on the Sapphire Nitro+ Vega 64 but don't really need to order the parts until a month from now or possibly longer. Do you guys have any advice on whether I should wait for Navi or this possible refresh or should I just jump on this Vega 64 build.

 

[renz496]

I can only make some assumption from history but Navi probably still very far from actual release. When AMD starts shiwing some real prototype running real software then we can expect actual launch will be 6 to 7 months after that. It has been this way with both polaris and vega.

 

[AndrewJacksonZA]

They need something to fill in the gap though.

Vega/Navi is "high end", so they need the "mid range" to be filled.

So basically, the very broad and general purchasing layers would be:
*struggle struggle struggle* How in the flip do I create a table in this editing box? Apologies for the layout.

I Don't Want to Upgrade for a Decade: 2080/2080 Ti__________||| 	
High-end____________________________: GTX 1080/1080 Ti/2070_||| Vega 64
Upper Mid range_____________________: GTX 1070/1070 Ti______||| Vega 56
Mid range___________________________: GTX 1060 3GB/6GB______||| RX470/570/480/580
Budget______________________________: GTX 1050 Ti___________|||
Entry level_________________________: GTX 1050______________||| RX 460

 

[-Fran-]

Without being overzealous, that table seems about right.

I'd still mention both AMD and nVidia still sell very old cards for Entry Level (GT710 and HD6450 !!). I don't know if that is because they're still manufacturing them or because there's still some world supply of them around.

Cheers!

 

[Rexer]

I currently have a 4690k/RX 480 build and am looking to upgrade in the next month or though, if not by the end of the year. I have decided on the Sapphire Nitro+ Vega 64 but don't really need to order the parts until a month from now or possibly longer. Do you guys have any advice on whether I should wait for Navi or this possible refresh or should I just jump on this Vega 64 build.

I own a reference model Sapphire Vega 64 and I don't have many problems with it. In fact, it's a pretty good gpu. It's moderately clocked, 1630 to 1690Mhz. Memory up around 960 to 1000Mhz. Temps are anywhere from 53c to 70c (room benefits from air conditioning). I've had it for a year and I can't complain. Owning a 144hz freesync monitor helped make my decision to buy AMD. I'm pretty satisfied with the choice. If you don't need the latest and greatest, I'd certainly recommend taking a look at Vega 64. I paid retail $500 (the highest I've seen was $1100) but the prices are going down, $459.99 at Newegg.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202326

When you start floating around the high end gpu market, not much can go wrong, Nvidia or AMD.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Without being overzealous, that table seems about right.

I'd still mention both AMD and nVidia still sell very old cards for Entry Level (GT710 and HD6450 !!). I don't know if that is because they're still manufacturing them or because there's still some world supply of them around.

Cheers!

I'm sure those production lines have long been shut down, but they likely have a ton of leftover chips.

 

[Rogue Leader]

@angelo8

I hate to sound like a moderator, but well, I am.

This thread isn't for getting personal advice, it is for discussing AMD Vega technology. Please start your own thread for your question.

 

[-Fran-]

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMD-Vega-2-Trademark

So it will be "Vega 2" for the 7nm refresh, it seems. I hope there's more to this "refresh" than just the die shrink and linear to speed increases.

Cheers!

 

[renz496]

AMD might release some kind of frontier edition for Vega 20. there is some increase in clock and the addition of true FP64 support that is very weak in the original Vega 10 but apart from that there is nothing really new to the architecture itself. and initially we heard vega 20 was supposed to also have some sort of their own version of tensor core but in the end AMD does not include it with Vega 20. my prime suspect was AMD did not add more hardware feature to Vega 20 because they were running out of power budget. if i remember correctly Vega 20 is around 300mm2 to 350mm2 but the power already rated at 300w.

 

[goldstone77]

Charlie Demerjian
‏

Navi will make you very happy then. Can't say why yet but AMD seems to have found religion on this front.

https://twitter.com/CDemerjian/status/1079830193575989248

Taken in context, it makes one assume blower style cooling is going to be a thing of the past for AMD.

 

[-Fran-]

Well, a bit of a short story for context: I swapped my RX480 for a Vega64 Sapphire because I got a new monitor (2560x1440@144Hz w/FS2) and I have to say... Holy cow this thing is silent. I have no idea how Sapphire improved the noise to RPM ratio, but at the same RPMs, they are basically silent.

This card has 2 8-pins and I know it's sucking more power than my old 7970Ghz, but it's not even making a sound. I've put it to the torture test and I can see the fans spin and all, but no sound is coming out.

So, that is just to say, maybe Sapphire has a nice "OEM" surprise for the "cheap" cards.

Cheers!

 

[Rogue Leader]

Well, a bit of a short story for context: I swapped my RX480 for a Vega64 Sapphire because I got a new monitor (2560x1440@144Hz w/FS2) and I have to say... Holy cow this thing is silent. I have no idea how Sapphire improved the noise to RPM ratio, but at the same RPMs, they are basically silent.

This card has 2 8-pins and I know it's sucking more power than my old 7970Ghz, but it's not even making a sound. I've put it to the torture test and I can see the fans spin and all, but no sound is coming out.

So, that is just to say, maybe Sapphire has a nice "OEM" surprise for the "cheap" cards.

Cheers!

I'm assuming your Sapphire has their air cooler on it or the reference one? I have the XFX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled, the cooler is made by Coolermaster, and its noisy. The card also averages 330w power draw while gaming. But whatever my system can handle it and it crushes anything I throw at it at 3440x1440.

 

[-Fran-]

This is the link to the card: http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.com/en/vega64le.html

At first glance, it just looks normal; nothing outstanding at all. Maybe mine's a fluke? Maybe it was so much metal (it's so damn heavy) that the fans spin, but don't need to do it at full force all the time? I haven't checked RPMs themselves for top speeds, but the reported ones are, like I said, silent compared to the RX480 Nitro.

If I read the tech-sheet, the fans are the "common" ones:

Cooling:
Tri-X fans
Two ball bearing
Vapor-X chamber

Maybe they improved the vapor chamber tech?

Cheers!

 

[Rogue Leader]

This is the link to the card: http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.com/en/vega64le.html

At first glance, it just looks normal; nothing outstanding at all. Maybe mine's a fluke? Maybe it was so much metal (it's so damn heavy) that the fans spin, but don't need to do it at full force all the time? I haven't checked RPMs themselves for top speeds, but the reported ones are, like I said, silent compared to the RX480 Nitro.

If I read the tech-sheet, the fans are the "common" ones:

Cooling:
Tri-X fans
Two ball bearing
Vapor-X chamber

Maybe they improved the vapor chamber tech?

Cheers!

That cooler is really good and quiet. Mine is the reference style liquid cooled. But the reference blower is loud too. That aftermarket cooler will always be better sound wise. Good Choice.

 

[-Fran-]

Thanks RL. I'll put the card through some hardships today, just for science. I'll also try to unlock the 8GB in the RX480, because reasons. I'll report back with findings

Also, I keep my position of being on the "meh" camp for Navi and Vega-refresh.

Cheers!

 

[Rogue Leader]

Thanks RL. I'll put the card through some hardships today, just for science. I'll also try to unlock the 8GB in the RX480, because reasons. I'll report back with findings

Also, I keep my position of being on the "meh" camp for Navi and Vega-refresh.

Cheers!

I bought on launch day a XFX RX 480 4GB, that I was able to unlock to 8gb. If its not a launch day card, don't try it you will brick it.

I sold it for twice what I paid for it during the crypto boom.

 

[-Fran-]

I bought on launch day a XFX RX 480 4GB, that I was able to unlock to 8gb. If its not a launch day card, don't try it you will brick it.

I sold it for twice what I paid for it during the crypto boom.

I'll do some research beforehand, yes.

It's a Sapphire Nitro+ from the first batch, I think. I've seen some modded flashes making the rounds, so I'll have a look.

Cheers!

 

[Rogue Leader]

I bought on launch day a XFX RX 480 4GB, that I was able to unlock to 8gb. If its not a launch day card, don't try it you will brick it.

I sold it for twice what I paid for it during the crypto boom.

I'll do some research beforehand, yes.

It's a Sapphire Nitro+ from the first batch, I think. I've seen some modded flashes making the rounds, so I'll have a look.

Cheers!

I doubt that it will work. I've only heard of Reference cards from the initial run to just get them in stores have 8gb flashed as 4gb. Not a ton were made, they were made to fit the $199 price point. But for example Microcenter where I got mine had 40 8gb cards in stock, and 3 4gb cards, of which I got 1.

 

[brandon.coker101]

Hey guys without having to read this whole topic can someone tell me what is the safe temp for a Vega 56?
I have the MSI - Air Boost OC version and I hit 80c last night and just want to make sure it's ok.

I found so many different answers that I'm not sure what to believe.

 

[-Fran-]

No idea, Brandon. ~70°C should be fine for all cards, I'd say and >85°C starts getting into uncomfortable territory for me (also fans get really loud).

As for Radeon VII... Meh. They'll pull another Fury here. Now that I have a Vega64 I can say it's not a bad GPU, but unless you're really doing prosumer stuff, it doesn't really show how good of a card it is.

On the other hand, it works great. I'm really impressed on how polished the experience now is for AMD stuff. I'd still imagined it would be faster, but oh well.

Cheers!

 

[volkgren]

This card has 2 8-pins
Cheers!

It's a Sapphire Nitro+ from the first batch, I think.
Cheers!

I always thought the Nitro+ Limited Edition had 3x 8 pins and the vapor chamber, which was the initial release. Then later came the non limited edition Nitro+ models which had 2x 8 pins and no vapor chamber.. and maybe less LEDs.

Btw, I think the Vega 56 & 64 Nitro+ are the sexiest cards ever.

 

[-Fran-]

This card has 2 8-pins
Cheers!

It's a Sapphire Nitro+ from the first batch, I think.
Cheers!

I always thought the Nitro+ Limited Edition had 3x 8 pins and the vapor chamber, which was the initial release. Then later came the non limited edition Nitro+ models which had 2x 8 pins and no vapor chamber.. and maybe less LEDs.

Btw, I think the Vega 56 & 64 Nitro+ are the sexiest cards ever.

You mixed the information. The first one talks about the Vega64 card I got and the second one talks about the RX480.

And according to the page, the cooling solution for the specific card I got is the exact same, even with one 8pin less (it does have the same PCB and the space for it, but it just didn't come with it).

Cheers!