News I've looked at all the GPU prices this Black Friday, and most of the 'real' deals are on Intel Arc graphics cards

[Admin]

I've compared the current Black Friday GPU "sale" prices to the prices we saw at the start of the month to see which GPUs have the biggest discounts. Intel Arc comes out on top, with a few AMD big discounts as well.

I've looked at all the GPU prices this Black Friday, and most of the 'real' deals are on Intel Arc graphics cards : Read more

 

[hotaru.hino]

Intel's likely doing decent sales because either they want to dump the remaining stock of video cards they have (and they're throwing in the towel) or they're trying to get enough market penetration for Arc video cards to appease investors that this is a good idea to continue dumping money into.

I don't expect any decent discounts on hot ticket hardware items. If they're still in large demand and people are still buying them up at market prices, there's no real incentive for them to have a sale.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Intel's likely doing decent sales because either they want to dump the remaining stock of video cards they have (and they're throwing in the towel) or they're trying to get enough market penetration for Arc video cards to appease investors that this is a good idea to continue dumping money into.

I don't expect any decent discounts on hot ticket hardware items. If they're still in large demand and people are still buying them up at market prices, there's no real incentive for them to have a sale.

Oh, absolutely. Intel and AMD both need to clear out inventory on their "old" GPUs. Intel's aren't as old as the RX 6000-series, but with roughly similar performance (to the various RX 6600-class parts), it can't charge a premium. I also hope this means Battlemage will come out sooner rather than later, though Intel is still keeping mum on that subject.

 

[bit_user]

How is idle power looking on the A770, these days? That's one of the main things that's been holding me back.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

How is idle power looking on the A770, these days? That's one of the main things that's been holding me back.

It's not great, though I suppose it depends on what you're after. Looking at the A770 16GB Limited Edition, I'm seeing a pretty steady ~45W at the desktop, doing nothing, using the latest 4972 drivers. I think that's better than in the past, by maybe 10~15 watts, but still about triple what the RTX 4060 draws at idle.

Related: I'm pretty sure AMD finally fixed the high idle power draw with certain monitors (Acer 4K 144Hz Predator X27 being my particular sample point). But by "fixed" I mean it's now something like 30~40W rather than 80~100W at idle. (I'd have to plug in to confirm, but last time I retested an AMD, in Alan Wake 2, I'm pretty sure I saw substantially lower idle power before I loaded the game.)

 

[bit_user]

it's now something like 30~40W rather than 80~100W at idle. (I'd have to plug in to confirm, but last time I retested an AMD, in Alan Wake 2, I'm pretty sure I saw substantially lower idle power before I loaded the game.)

Is that AMD quote for a 7900 XTX?

FWIW, I'd get a 7800 XT, if anything AMD. Speaking of which, I'm not seeing its idle power listed in the review:

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AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Review: The Lateral Pass

New architecture, similar performance.

www.tomshardware.com

​

Did I miss it?

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Is that AMD quote for a 7900 XTX?

FWIW, I'd get a 7800 XT, if anything AMD. Speaking of which, I'm not seeing its idle power listed in the review:

​

AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Review: The Lateral Pass

New architecture, similar performance.

www.tomshardware.com

​

Did I miss it?

I haven't spent time listing idle power, sorry. It wasn't normally a concern, and then Arc and RX 7000-series happened and idle power shot up! (Also: Your specific monitor can matter quite a bit it seems. Not sure why that is...) But yes, 30~40W is on the 7900 XTX now. The 7800 XT was I think in the 25~30 watts range. Again, I'd have to plug in some GPUs to check... which would require me stopping all the deal shilling for Cyber Monday. Sigh...

 

[bit_user]

yes, 30~40W is on the 7900 XTX now. The 7800 XT was I think in the 25~30 watts range.

Thanks!

Again, I'd have to plug in some GPUs to check... which would require me stopping all the deal shilling for Cyber Monday. Sigh...

Oh, it's not urgent. I was just curious. Maybe, something to keep in mind for future reviews.

I have always been interested in idle power, ever since I picked up an AMD HD 5450 for its alleged 6.4 W idle. I don't know if that was independently measured or AMD-specified, but I saw it in this Wikipedia page:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units#Radeon_HD_5000_series

​

According to that, the HD 5870 had a 27 W idle. So, you could say high-idling cards aren't new for AMD. But, it seems to have come down with GCN, as the HD 7970 claims only a 15 W idle. That's also about the list point where idle power is listed.