Discussion: Polaris, AMD's 4th Gen GCN Architecture

[17seconds]

X = 10
i.e. RX = R10 series, but that would be way too much like Nvidia's 10 series cards, so RX is the perfect prescription.

I'm a little concerned since the last time we had 480 cards, things didn't turn out so well. Hopefully the RX480 won't be hot and noisy like the GTX 480. If they needed to push clock speeds to the limits in order to hit their performance target, that could possibly end up being the case.

 

[TechyInAZ]

I think RX sounds better than R9. I don't see anything wrong with RX. I think they changed it to RX simply because they wanted to, they want to say, "this is not just another rebrand, it's something new". I'm guessing they'll also quit calling the 470/460/450 R7 then. They'll just be RX I guess.

I'm glad of that. The R7 and R9s were really confusing, especially since there was no overlap, like an r7 280 and r9 280.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

X = 10
i.e. RX = R10 series, but that would be way too much like Nvidia's 10 series cards, so RX is the perfect prescription.

I'm a little concerned since the last time we had 480 cards, things didn't turn out so well. Hopefully the RX480 won't be hot and noisy like the GTX 480. If they needed to push clock speeds to the limits in order to hit their performance target, that could possibly end up being the case.

There's one reason I don't expect that to happen, and I think it's because of the 6-pin PCIe adapter. The fact that the reference model only uses a 6-pin seems like assurance that nothing heatwise should be of any concern. Custom models overclocked should have an 8-pin, but even if an overclocked model is 180W over the 150W TDP, a custom card could easily cool that quietly.

I'm curious as to what actual power measurements will be. Maybe it'll be more about 140W, since if it really was getting close to 150W, they'd probably supply it with an 8-pin just in case. Most should be alright going over the rated specs for the cable, but still...

 

[cdrkf]

I think RX sounds better than R9. I don't see anything wrong with RX. I think they changed it to RX simply because they wanted to, they want to say, "this is not just another rebrand, it's something new". I'm guessing they'll also quit calling the 470/460/450 R7 then. They'll just be RX I guess.

My guess would be R9 -> RX. R7 -> R

As for the 480 vs hypothetical 480X, given the X is at the start, maybe they'll just use the '5' version so RX480 and RX485?

That would be more concise than the current system.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I think RX sounds better than R9. I don't see anything wrong with RX. I think they changed it to RX simply because they wanted to, they want to say, "this is not just another rebrand, it's something new". I'm guessing they'll also quit calling the 470/460/450 R7 then. They'll just be RX I guess.

I highly doubt it. The name always has some sort of meaning. Like the Quadros. The first letter of the card denotes the uArch such as the K4000 or M4000 and soon the P4000. The HD for the R600 from ATI was pretty much saying High Definition.

I am not sure what the R9 meant but it has some sort of meaning.

I think RX sounds better than R9. I don't see anything wrong with RX. I think they changed it to RX simply because they wanted to, they want to say, "this is not just another rebrand, it's something new". I'm guessing they'll also quit calling the 470/460/450 R7 then. They'll just be RX I guess.

I'm glad of that. The R7 and R9s were really confusing, especially since there was no overlap, like an r7 280 and r9 280.

Problem is that we have not seen if RX is going to be the only one as the 380 was a R9 part so there might be a R7 or that might become R8 and R5 might become R6.

And eventually with the naming AMD might release the RX-7, RX-8 and RX-9.

 

[mpc007]

My edited line-up:

Radeon Pro Duo (Dual Fiji, ultimate enthousiast) ~$1000 / NV Tesla GP100 competitor
Fury / Fury X / Fury Nano (Fiji, top end) ~$500 (HBM) / GTX 980Ti competitor
Rx 490/490X (Polaris 10 40CU 25xx SP, subtop) ~$300 / GTX 1070 competitor (maybe with G5X)
Rx 480/480X (Polaris 10 36CU 23xx SP, high end) ~$199 / GTX 970(1060) competitor
Rx 470/470X (Polaris 11, XXCU 20xx SP, midrange) ~$160 / GTX 960(1050) competitor
Rx 460/460X (Polaris 11, XXCU 16xx SP, low midrange) ~$125

R7 450/450X (Cape Verde Rebrand, entry) ~$100
R5 430/440 (Oland Rebrand, discrete) ~$80

 

[Math Geek]

i read the thoughts of someone somewhere (i read too many sites and forget quickly what was where) and he felt they might not release x versions this time around. only having 460/70/80/90 and a fury card of some kind. it's plenty of cards. he had some facts to back up his idea but noted that it was only his opinion based on pr material and other stuff that seemed to avoid the "x" naming they had used in the past.

either way, i'm cool with it. i do want a 490 though to be close to a 1080 for a lot less. 90% of the performance for 3/4 the cost ($450 or so) would be pretty cool for buyers.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Do you mean someone somewhere or Someone Somewhere?

 

[Math Geek]

oh lol

sorry i meant a random writer on some random site i visited. not THE Someone Somewhere.

 

[jimmysmitty]

i read the thoughts of someone somewhere (i read too many sites and forget quickly what was where) and he felt they might not release x versions this time around. only having 460/70/80/90 and a fury card of some kind. it's plenty of cards. he had some facts to back up his idea but noted that it was only his opinion based on pr material and other stuff that seemed to avoid the "x" naming they had used in the past.

either way, i'm cool with it. i do want a 490 though to be close to a 1080 for a lot less. 90% of the performance for 3/4 the cost ($450 or so) would be pretty cool for buyers.

The current Fury will be the top GPU until Vega comes out next year or so that is the current rumor since HBM2 is not going to be viable until then. Probably the same with the next Titan and Ti since they will probably use HBM2.

Personally I prefer 100% of the performance. I want AMD to compete, not be just a bit worse for less.

 

[Math Geek]

well yah i'd like 100% too but will take what we can get. all i know is anyone buying in the next 6 weeks is possibly making a big mistake. to be safe i'd wait until mid summer or later to buy to let the chips fall where they may. too many goodies we know little about to make an informed decision. true some fanboys will buy no matter what which is fine but those of use who go for bang for the buck should wait this out and see who comes out on top 😀

 

[guanyu210379]

I was a bit disappointed with AMD announcement. I was expecting to see 1070 and 1080 similar performance class from AMD, not some R9 390x wannabe @USD199.
I was actually looking forward to replace my current 2xGTX970s with a single powerful GPU on 1070 planned price range.
Guess, I put my hopes on AMD way too high.

 

[-Fran-]

We all want AMD to put nVidia nervous with great GPUs and all that, but... Would even buy a 1080? That is $600+ you would spend in a single component of your computer. And from a bigger picture, a lot of money! It's like a whole month of groceries or more XD

I know I won't spend more than $400 (using credit event) on a GPU, and I think 60% of people (if not more) out there is with me on this one. The last video card I bought was the 7970Ghz at $400-ish, the first time they had a massive cut in price. I am expecting to do that again with whatever higher tier GPU goes down in price first. That is why the 1070 is the key to AMD's success. If they position a GPU right next to it, just a tad cheaper, we all win. No need to chase the 1080 or even Titan/TI cards. They need money first xD

Cheers!

 

[BurgerandChips66]

It was what I was expecting - in terms of something being announced for the mainstream market at around 200$. Though with a bit more performance than I expected (RX 480 will be about 5.5 Tflops or more, so not very far off a 1070). For me that fits very well in the market.... it's cheap and powerful, maybe not as powerful as the 1070.... but a LOT cheaper. A significant move by AMD.
However, I was dissapointed that there wasn't a twin launch featuring an RX 490 etc. Something more powerful than the 1070 (and maybe with GDDR5X) but still much cheaper than a 1080, making people consider having a bit less power for the benefit of much more $avings. But maybe that will come in time.

Regarding the RX 480, I am hopeful that there will be customised boards from partners which add additional power connectors and beef-up the cooler and power delivery to give us some interesting overclocking potential. The real overclockers have generally been Nvidea cards recently and that's why I have gravitated towards them.
But how sweet would it be to have the choice of a cheap, fairly powerful next-gen card that can still be pushed significantly without using a ton of power and overheating itself to death in the process. (Think bios hacked 750Ti or 760 etc.).

 

[Embra]

Rx 490 maybe a HBM card. Who knows??
Will have to see release and benchmarks on the RX 480 to see where we really are. I would imagine more can be assumed about other models and potential performance. I think the RX 480 looks pretty good, pretty much where they said at a great price.

 

[ern88]

Does anyone know what the settings of the Doom Demo was running at and FPS? What res and was the RX 480 CF in the demo? Thanks.

 

[Math Geek]

no info on any of that. all we got was the same thing you saw which was some quick numbers and nothing to back them up with. no settings info or anything like that was released. we'l have to wait for the card to be in a reviewers hand to get that info.

and again not sure how anyone was expecting anything more than what we got from amd. they said more than once they had no intention of going after the top end right now. they said "vr to the masses for under $300" more than once also.

yet many of you are complaining that you expected a 1080 killer?????? shows how little attention many of you pay to the reality before coming in here and whining about not getting something they specifically said you would not get 😛

 

[Virtual_Singularity]

Rx 490 maybe a HBM card. Who knows??
Will have to see release and benchmarks on the RX 480 to see where we really are. I would imagine more can be assumed about other models and potential performance. I think the RX 480 looks pretty good, pretty much where they said at a great price.

HBM or no, the 490 will surely be an awesome card. And totally agree re the 480. With its 14nm design, as opposed to nVidia's 16nm pascal, it offers solid value for the money and is a bargain. More importantly, though its produced by AMD, which relies on open source development and has remained focused on hardware innovation...
For those who've any patience, AMD should have other offerings out by the holidays for Q4 this year. If Vega isn't among them, then 400x variants. no doubt, will be.

Meanwhile, nVidia is engaging in what can only be called a price gouging scheme re their "founders edition" 1080 cards. They're the lowest quality 1080's, and have an inflated MSRP to begin with. But for nVidia to deliberately underproduce them and sit back and watch while the most zealous and dimwitted of their customers spend $900 -$1100 or more on them (on amazon and ebay)... it's beyond sickening.

That's up to 50% OVER what their stated, already inflated MSRP, for the worst 1080's of the lot. And what of their AIB cards? Will prices be much better for any non-ref 1080 that offers significant quality improvements over reference for pcb layout, power phase design, cooling, and clockspeeds?

Even two 480's crossfired will offer comparable performance to a 1080, at a far lower price point. Tbh, I can't imagine throwing $$ at nVidia. Their greed, ruthless and amoral behavior, software gimmickry, paid PR, have resulted in holding back true progress in the desktop graphics and gaming industries. To the detriment of all... If people truly understood how low nVidia has sunk morally speaking, I doubt they'd see many sales afterward...

 

[Math Geek]

here is amd addressing the AoS settings used in their demo at computex http://videocardz.com/60860/amd-explains-image-quality-in-aots-radeon-rx-480-cf-vs-gtx-1080-demonstration

i knew those images looked better on the 1080 side. here is their reasoning for it....

 

[jimmysmitty]

Rx 490 maybe a HBM card. Who knows??
Will have to see release and benchmarks on the RX 480 to see where we really are. I would imagine more can be assumed about other models and potential performance. I think the RX 480 looks pretty good, pretty much where they said at a great price.

I doubt it. Would probably make it cost more than they want it to since, based on the 480 pricing, the 490 will probably be $350-$400 in pricing. Will probably be GDDR5X with Fury/Fury X/Nano being the only HBM part until their HBM2 part comes out next year.

Does anyone know what the settings of the Doom Demo was running at and FPS? What res and was the RX 480 CF in the demo? Thanks.

We know the resolution was 1440p at 144Hz but we do not know what settings they used.

 

[-Fran-]

here is amd addressing the AoS settings used in their demo at computex http://videocardz.com/60860/amd-explains-image-quality-in-aots-radeon-rx-480-cf-vs-gtx-1080-demonstration

i knew those images looked better on the 1080 side. here is their reasoning for it....

"The GTX 1080 is doing less work to render AOTS than it otherwise would if the shader were being run properly".

Not even speculation. SHOTS FIRED!

Cheers!

EDIT: Would Toms address the issue with a few screenshots when running games? 😀

 

[Math Geek]

yah no pulling punches in that post. but looking at the screen shots a second time with their reasoning in mind, it does look plausible. the rocks and such stand out more to me and if the snow is not covering things right, that would explain why they are not obscured as much as in the amd side and get a chance to stand out. whether this would result in overall gameplay issues i have no idea, but it is funny that amd called nvidia out in no uncertain terms.

 

[TehPenguin]

It's kinda weird they list the 480 CF as having 16GB of VRAM. Anyway, AMD made itself really relevant, IMO. I still am hot for a 1080ti but if AMD continues the trend I might just ignore the green team and not only save on the GPU but also save a 1080's worth when buying a FreeSync monitor as compared to G-Sync.
Whew. Exciting times!

 

[Sakkura]

It's kinda weird they list the 480 CF as having 16GB of VRAM.

With DX12 they can have an effective 16GB VRAM, but of course that's going to be the rare exception for at least the time being (if not forever).

 

[BurgerandChips66]

Apparently in DX12 when using 2 cards with 8GB Ram it can be used as a full 16GB, unlike previously in Crossfire / SLI under DX11.

But will that always be relevant? As new games are not all using DX12 yet. In fact not many at all. Still it's better than nothing.

I hope this 5.83 Tflops for the RX 480 is actually going to come true. That gives it a chance of being outstanding vfm at around 199$ for the 4GB version.