Yup. Definitely the card to go for if it's between 970 and RX 480. But it's definitely clear that when it comes to efficiency, AMD is way behind nvidia.
The reason for that - from what I have read - is that they didn't update their architecture too much. Apparently they are keeping the most of the latest GCN (most of the improvements were on VR, which shows; in Steam VR benchmark it scores more than 1070). The improvement on performance/Watt is mostly because of the production architecture changes (14 nm FinFET). They are writing that actual architectural improvements will be on Vega, but we will have to wait and see that for ourselves. Of course since Nvidia already had power efficient chips before they reduced their transistor sizes, they were able to focus most of their resources on improving their performance as they transitioned into 16 nm FinFET.
But yeah, I agree with both of you. First of all, it IS a huge improvement for AMD. The improvement in performance/Watt is already late, and was much needed. But also, this is a card for a mainstream 1080p gamer. So yeah, if someone wants to upgrade from an older card, and wants to decide between a 970 and a 480, the latter is the obvious choice price/performance wise. But it is currently not for an enthusiast, which seems like a deliberate choice from AMD.
But yeah, I agree with both of you. First of all, it IS a huge improvement for AMD. The improvement in performance/Watt is already late, and was much needed. But also, this is a card for a mainstream 1080p gamer. So yeah, if someone wants to upgrade from an older card, and wants to decide between a 970 and a 480, the latter is the obvious choice price/performance wise. But it is currently not for an enthusiast, which seems like a deliberate choice from AMD.
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Well, let's see what we have here.
A GTX 970 costs 250+ dollars right now. It has a TDP from 145 and the temps are decent enough
This card has 4GB of ram. (3.5GB + 0.5GB)
Now we have the new RX 480. It has almost the same TDP, temps should be fine, but it comes with 8GB of DDR5 at a cost of 200+ dollars.
So a very good result actually. The performance should be on par with an GTX 970 (give or take, depending the game.)
For those who have already an GTX 970, it's not much of an upgrade really, but if someone wants to upgrade right now,
and wants to go the other way (so no Nvidia) that's a good deal.
It can play perfectly fine every game until 1440p (high/ultra) settings and it has double the ram as the GTX 970.
Unfortunately, that GPU is the fastest you can get from an Polaris 10 chip. So there will be no faster GPUs with that chip.
Next step is the Vega chip with HBM2 memory.
A GTX 970 costs 250+ dollars right now. It has a TDP from 145 and the temps are decent enough
This card has 4GB of ram. (3.5GB + 0.5GB)
Now we have the new RX 480. It has almost the same TDP, temps should be fine, but it comes with 8GB of DDR5 at a cost of 200+ dollars.
So a very good result actually. The performance should be on par with an GTX 970 (give or take, depending the game.)
For those who have already an GTX 970, it's not much of an upgrade really, but if someone wants to upgrade right now,
and wants to go the other way (so no Nvidia) that's a good deal.
It can play perfectly fine every game until 1440p (high/ultra) settings and it has double the ram as the GTX 970.
Unfortunately, that GPU is the fastest you can get from an Polaris 10 chip. So there will be no faster GPUs with that chip.
Next step is the Vega chip with HBM2 memory.
AMD had a major AMA on reddit today. They said that they'll open up Vulkan implementation "when it's ready". So it's progressing but won't happen very soon. They also plan to provide dkms module for amdgpu driver to use it with Mesa.
Interesting results on the DX12 front though (and I'm assuming it is similar in Vulkan). In DX12 RX 480 is destroying 970 and - much more impressively - 980. With that price, it is quite admirable. Of course we will see what happens when 1060 hits the shelves. But it sure does seem like AMD did some good improvements in their architecture on the newer APIs' side. Well, they were better in those compared to Nvidia anyway, but this is still a good improvement. Let's see if Nvidia will be able to catch up to them when it comes to the performance in newer APIs, since most games will start using them soon enough. Currently it is a bit sad, since they went from negative scaling in Maxwell to neutral in Pascal, in DX11 to DX12 comparisons.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...9-radeon-rx480-8gb-performance-review-24.html
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...9-radeon-rx480-8gb-performance-review-24.html
AMD also have true asynchronous compute, while Nvidia don't even in 10xx series. Some engines actually benefit quite a bit from it (Unigine and Oxide I think).
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I thought there were two versions of the RX 480: a 4GB model that has a MSRP of $200 and an 8GB model with a MSRP of $250? At $250 it'll likely be priced close to the GTX 1060 so it'll be interesting to see how it compares.
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@freakie1one It's $240. And the leaks suggest that the 3GB 1060 will cost $250. So Nvidia either really trusts the performance of the card compared to 480, or they still want to charge their brand premium for a product designed for the mainstream market. Because the leaks suggest that the 6 GB version will cost $299.
Yep, that's why I think it'll be interesting. AMD is trying to appeal to the low-end market but will the RX 480 actually be able to outperform Nvidia's low-end offering? Also according to some sites people are speculating that the GTX 1060 will perform close to a GTX 980 and likely the aftermarket OC models will perform faster than a GTX 980.
I'm really hoping AMD can put up some serious competition to help keep Nvidia prices in check. If AMD can't remain competitive then Nvidia will continue to keep raising prices.
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Yes there will be two versions. I thing someone should invest on the 8GB version, as the price difference will be small,
comparing what you get for that extra fee.
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@freakie1One
Yes, most probably the GTX 1060 will be ready at 7 July, but will go on sale one week later.
The same time as the RX480 goes live...according to the latest news.
However the price seems to be a lot more than the RX 480!
250 bucks for the GTX 1060 3GB and near 300 bucks for the GTX 6GB version. (maybe more ?!?)
So it will be a tough fight, i guess.
Will the GTX 1060 outperform the RX 480 as the price is not very competitive!
Also in both versions the RX 480 is the winner, as it offers more ram capacity on their products.
Performance should be between a GTX 970 and GTX 980 according to the rumors so far.
So we have more Ram, and a better price for the RX480 rival.
Lastly according to a rumor, those cards will be not SLI capable.
(Hopefully we can get some more news about that on the following days)
What's left for the GTX1060?
---------- Updated at 08:29 PM ----------
Also any thoughts about that?
http://techfrag.com/2016/06/30/amd-official-promo-leaks-radeon-rx-490/
Maybe the new VEGA chip?
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The thing is, the reference RX 480 (which is not very well made for OC purposes) is already between 970 and 980 for many games. For games that support async and newer APIs it's already faster than a 980. Considering that, custom models with OCs or better OC capabilities should easily push further 980 for (probably) cheaper than the 6 GB 1060 model. Which brings in the question of the purpose of 1060, since it will also be mainly a 1080p card. It will probably sell well because of the brand, but with those prices it seems like - for now - RX 480 will be a much sensible choice for 1080p gaming for its price, because 1060 won't bring anything new to the table (what does it matter if it has 5 more FPS in 1440p for example, as long as it won't bring it above 60 FPS?).
I am actually intrigued to see if Nvidia will surprise people by bringing out a capable 1440p card that is a little more expensive than 480, or if they will just trust their brand value and sell a pretty similar card with less VRAM for 50 to 60 dollars more. We will see next week
I am actually intrigued to see if Nvidia will surprise people by bringing out a capable 1440p card that is a little more expensive than 480, or if they will just trust their brand value and sell a pretty similar card with less VRAM for 50 to 60 dollars more. We will see next week
According to that: http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1060-Roadmap-635x357.jpg
The GTX 1060 should be on the middle of an GTX970/980 GPU.
And there will be another GPU (maybe a GTX 1060Ti version) that will offer GTX 980Ti performance.
However nothing specific yet.
The GTX 1060 should be on the middle of an GTX970/980 GPU.
And there will be another GPU (maybe a GTX 1060Ti version) that will offer GTX 980Ti performance.
However nothing specific yet.
As far as I know that's 1070
It's already as fast as 980 Ti, and a tad faster in some games. So yeah, that figure shows 1060 between 970 and 980, which roughly puts it in the same segment as 480 as I expected. Of course Nvidia might change some plans (mainly pricing) as they are rushing to the market to counteract the mainstream push by AMD.This might quite as well separate the entire market. AMD on mainstream and Nvidia on enthusiast level.
> This might quite as well separate the entire market. AMD on mainstream and Nvidia on enthusiast level. <
Hmm, interesting.
But i thought the RX 480 is already at the mainstream level. At least the price leads to that conclusion.
And we haven't seen Vega yet. This chip should point to the enthusiast level.
So if GTX1060 has the same performance level as the RX480 then i guess we have a draw.
Of course we don't know how high the GTX 1060Ti will go. (if there will be one)
As for the GTX1070/GTX1080 level, i thing the Vega should come close to that.
And if AMD makes proper drivers this time around (and not experimental ones), hmm...I have the strange feeling
that those two competitors may share the market, near to 50/50
But i could be mistaken so,...time will tell i guess.
Nvidia seems to have the upper hand, but AMD has the better prices.
In this business, there should be always competition. Finally that comes to a benefit for the end user!
Hmm, interesting.
But i thought the RX 480 is already at the mainstream level. At least the price leads to that conclusion.
And we haven't seen Vega yet. This chip should point to the enthusiast level.
So if GTX1060 has the same performance level as the RX480 then i guess we have a draw.
Of course we don't know how high the GTX 1060Ti will go. (if there will be one)
As for the GTX1070/GTX1080 level, i thing the Vega should come close to that.
And if AMD makes proper drivers this time around (and not experimental ones), hmm...I have the strange feeling
that those two competitors may share the market, near to 50/50
But i could be mistaken so,...time will tell i guess.
Nvidia seems to have the upper hand, but AMD has the better prices.
In this business, there should be always competition. Finally that comes to a benefit for the end user!
What I meant was that AMD would have a higher share in the mainstream gamers market and Nvidia the enthusiast level. Of course Vega might come close, but after enthusiasts buy 1080 or 1080 Ti, I don't think they would feel the need to upgrade (if the Vega card is not something from outer space, of course ).
).
AMD were gradually working on fixing their messed up drivers and are improving things quite a bit. And they surely are gaining more support in the Linux crowd. If Nvidia won't follow suit with opening their drivers, they'll fall behind there.
---------- Post merged on 01-07-2016 at 03:43 AM ----------
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterra...ent_more_than_10_hours_on_the_amd_ama/d4ub0pz
---------- Post merged on 01-07-2016 at 03:43 AM ----------
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterra...ent_more_than_10_hours_on_the_amd_ama/d4ub0pz
When we launched RX 480 yesterday, we had day-one support for Linux. With a fully open driver. With performance generally on-par with Windows. For as long as I've worked at AMD, nearly six years, I think that's the first time this has happened. I think anyone following AMD+Linux understands that this is a big step forward for us, and a reflection of our commitment to FLOSS.
Or you can look at a project like GPUOpen. While our competition is running around closing up all of their effects into closed blobs, you can get all of our effects from github under the MIT license. We also provide full documentation and tools to use that code. Plus code samples to help with integration. Or you can look at our Boltzmann Initiative for HPC.
Everywhere you turn, there is a deep sense that FOSS/FLOSS is the right direction for our company across many of our projects. And I think you can see that we are making big improvements all the time.
As for the "herd mentality," you're right, it exists and it can be a bother. But Warren Buffet once said that it takes 20 years to build a reputation, and only five minutes to ruin it. So the way to solve the herd mentality is to keep doing the right thing for a long time, and have the discipline to be patient. Certainly providing a great gaming experience to the huge mainstream market helps "convert" people a little more quickly.
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As far as i know, i doubt that Nvidia will not have day one ready drivers for their new GPUs.
That was mostly an AMD problem. Hopefully they will change that now.
As for AMD - those are good news for Linux people, but the majority of the gamer working on a Windows OS.
On that department should AMD focus the most!
And judging from the previous GPU generation, AMD leaves a lot to be desired.
That was mostly an AMD problem. Hopefully they will change that now.
As for AMD - those are good news for Linux people, but the majority of the gamer working on a Windows OS.
On that department should AMD focus the most!
And judging from the previous GPU generation, AMD leaves a lot to be desired.
Nvidia had the same problem on Linux. Often their firmware wasn't released in time, which made their new cards unusable. And other such examples. In general though they are keeping their drivers in good shape. The main problem - they are closed.