On AMD Vega

[mason-the-deathbat]

Since my comment about this on the AMD Zen discussion thread seems to have been deleted, here we go again.

At the New Horizon event, we saw a Vega GPU beat the GTX 1080 in Doom @ 4K. I want there to be a slightly cut-down part that performs more in between the GTX 1070 and 1080 as well, because frankly, I don't need that much performance when I build a full-blown Zen/Vega computer. I'll be getting either a 1080p@144Hz or 1440p@60Hz monitor to go with this build, as currently, I'm rocking a 900p@60Hz monitor with my system. Will there be a more practical 1440p60/1080p144 Vega GPU?

 

[Justiceinacan]

The reason the new GPU beats the 1080 is likely because AMD partners with devs to make their game work as well as possible with AMD GPU's, not because of raw performance. Btw, 1440p at 60FPS demands a 1080 ; Absolute max FPS at 1080p would likely be AMD's new high end hardware or GTX 1070.

 

[mason-the-deathbat]

The reason the new GPU beats the 1080 is likely because AMD partners with devs to make their game work as well as possible with AMD GPU's, not because of raw performance. Btw, 1440p at 60FPS demands a 1080 ; Absolute max FPS at 1080p would likely be AMD's new high end hardware or GTX 1070.

The GTX 1070 seems to be a very competent 1440p card, and it can keep 60 in most cases, except for maybe broken games like Mafia III or Dishonored 2.

 

[rhysiam]

AMD almost always releases cards in pairs, with a fully enabled higher end part, and a slightly cut down lower end part.

7970 - 7950
290X - 290
Fury X - Fury
480 - 470

They usually actually come out at the same time too, or at least close to one another. Yields are never perfect and it makes sense to have a slightly cut down line which can be used to salvage some less than perfect GPU dies.

I would expect AMD to do the same thing this time around. Of course, that's no guarantee. We'll have to wait and see ultimately. But I'd be surprised if we don't get another pair of GPUs launched either at the same time, or within a few weeks of one another.

 

[mason-the-deathbat]

AMD almost always releases cards in pairs, with a fully enabled higher end part, and a slightly cut down lower end part.

7970 - 7950
290X - 290
Fury X - Fury
480 - 470

They usually actually come out at the same time too, or at least close to one another. Yields are never perfect and it makes sense to have a slightly cut down line which can be used to salvage some less than perfect GPU dies.

I would expect AMD to do the same thing this time around. Of course, that's no guarantee. We'll have to wait and see ultimately. But I'd be surprised if we don't get another pair of GPUs launched either at the same time, or within a few weeks of one another.

Hopefully that'll be the case this time. I'd likely pair that slightly lower card with the 6-core/12-thread Zen CPU or even the 4-core/8-thread Zen CPU.

 

[rhysiam]

The reason the new GPU beats the 1080 is likely because AMD partners with devs to make their game work as well as possible with AMD GPU's, not because of raw performance. Btw, 1440p at 60FPS demands a 1080 ; Absolute max FPS at 1080p would likely be AMD's new high end hardware or GTX 1070.

The GTX 1070 seems to be a very competent 1440p card, and it can keep 60 in most cases, except for maybe broken games like Mafia III or Dishonored 2.

Yeah, I think @Justiceinacan is equating 1440P @ 60fps with Ultra/uber settings. The 1070 is a very capable 1440P card, and I would consider it absolute overkill for 1080P @ 60hz gaming. You may not be able to dial every single slider up to full on every single game, but it'll get high to very high settings is just about everything. That's a solid 1440P card in my book.

It's really too early to say where Vega cards will sit in relation to Nvidia competitiors. I completely agree with @justice that those 4K Doom benchmarks shouldn't be seen as representative of overall gaming performance. Remember too that there are two Vega GPUs (Vega 10 and Vega 11), each of which will likely have slightly cut down versions. So that's four cards to be released. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until release.

 

[mason-the-deathbat]

The reason the new GPU beats the 1080 is likely because AMD partners with devs to make their game work as well as possible with AMD GPU's, not because of raw performance. Btw, 1440p at 60FPS demands a 1080 ; Absolute max FPS at 1080p would likely be AMD's new high end hardware or GTX 1070.

The GTX 1070 seems to be a very competent 1440p card, and it can keep 60 in most cases, except for maybe broken games like Mafia III or Dishonored 2.

Yeah, I think @Justiceinacan is equating 1440P @ 60fps with Ultra/uber settings. The 1070 is a very capable 1440P card, and I would consider it absolute overkill for 1080P @ 60hz gaming. You may not be able to dial every single slider up to full on every single game, but it'll get high to very high settings is just about everything. That's a solid 1440P card in my book.

It's really too early to say where Vega cards will sit in relation to Nvidia competitiors. I completely agree with @justice that those 4K Doom benchmarks shouldn't be seen as representative of overall gaming performance. Remember too that there are two Vega GPUs (Vega 10 and Vega 11), each of which will likely have slightly cut down versions. So that's four cards to be released. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until release.

I'm very aware they aren't representative, especially given the fact that they used old Iris drivers. And yes, I'm willing to wait until release.

 

[rhysiam]

I'm very aware they aren't representative, especially given the fact that they used old Iris drivers. And yes, I'm willing to wait until release.

I think I'm in a similar boat to you, looking at a major upgrade in the next 12 months or so. I'm cheering on both Zen and Vega. We need competition and I'll support the underdog as long as they're relatively competitive. I'd love to have a 6 or 8 core Ryzen build with a nice AMD GPU. Here's hoping they deliver!

 

[redgarl]

The new Vega architecture is 20% stronger on paper and I believe it is a fairly accurate expectation. I believe Vega is going to match Titan X and 1080 TI. It's using HBM2 also.

 

[mason-the-deathbat]

I'm very aware they aren't representative, especially given the fact that they used old Iris drivers. And yes, I'm willing to wait until release.

I think I'm in a similar boat to you, looking at a major upgrade in the next 12 months or so. I'm cheering on both Zen and Vega. We need competition and I'll support the underdog as long as they're relatively competitive. I'd love to have a 6 or 8 core Ryzen build with a nice AMD GPU. Here's hoping they deliver!

My current system is a placeholder that I'll use for like a year or so. And personally I don't need an 8-core just yet, I'm looking at either the quad or the six core, and I don't need the highest-end Vega either.

 

[mason-the-deathbat]

The new Vega architecture is 20% stronger on paper and I believe it is a fairly accurate expectation. I believe Vega is going to match Titan X and 1080 TI. It's using HBM2 also.

At what price though?