AMD Polaris Thread: Radeon RX 480, RX 470 & RX 460 launching June 29th

[Sonikku]

People are forgetting the economics behind these chips. AMD's single best selling point for the RX 480 vs. the competition is it's price. It's definitely not faster, and doesn't appear to be more efficient. We all now know it's got performance somewhere around 390x to Fury levels and approximately a 230mm2 die size. Compare P10 and GP104 against Pitcairn and GK104 in terms of performance. GTX680 at release was about 30% faster than HD7870, but now we're looking at GTX1080 being 64% faster (480 at 390x speeds) to 47% faster (480 at Fury Vanilla speeds). Nvidia substantially increased the performance delta between itself and AMD with similar die sizes on finfets vs. first gen 28nm. So now the question becomes this: whats to stop Nvidia from dropping prices of the 1080 and 1070 and releasing a 192-bit GP104 for $250 that still handily beats the RX 480 by 10-15%? Do you think Nvidia is going to sit on it's laurels and let a smaller, cash strapped competitor undermine them? Of course not, and the economics of perf/mm2 clearly show that Nvidia has the upper hand.

At current pricing, I would definitely buy an RX 480 if I didn't absolutely need GTX 1070 or faster performance. But I don't expect Nvidia to sit idle and simply let AMD run wild in the lower priced performance segment and steal gobs of marketshare. GP106 will be out soon and Nvidia will probably release a third GP104 sku to fill in the ~$250 price bracket. I expect very stiff competition in the coming months for my money.

This all goes away if AMD goes under. Expect 1060 type cards to go for $300 and everyone will give it 5 eggs because they have nothing to compare it to.

 

[maddie]

Sounds right, but it wont be what you expect.

Seeing that Nvidia has the vast majority presently, It's impossible for it to swing hugely in their favour. It's already there.

 

[boozzer]

This all goes away if AMD goes under. Expect 1060 type cards to go for $300 and everyone will give it 5 eggs because they have nothing to compare it to.

I would just buy a ps4.5 then a console is only 300-500$ and lasts 5-10 years.

 

[sze5003]

I would just buy a ps4.5 then a console is only 300-500$ and lasts 5-10 years.

Not anymore. Both Sony and MS are planing to upgrade consoles every 2 years or so. There's another thread on that too. Sony is coming out with a ps 4.5 this holiday season, MS with a smaller Xbox one this year and an upgraded Xbox one early 2017.

 

[IllogicalGlory]

Yeah, gaming isn't so easy these days. Every game is broken at launch, console developers don't utilize the hardware correctly, high-end graphics cards seem to be becoming increasingly more required to run games acceptably and now consoles have three year lifespans instead of seven or eight.

 

[boozzer]

Not anymore. Both Sony and MS are planing to upgrade consoles every 2 years or so. There's another thread on that too. Sony is coming out with a ps 4.5 this holiday season, MS with a smaller Xbox one this year and an upgraded Xbox one early 2017.

every 2 years??? please provide a link.

 

[sze5003]

every 2 years??? please provide a link.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...4-and-xbox-one-makes-much-sense/#c3f3c2b21b64

Check out the thread too in console section.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

The PS4 will be ~3 years 2 months old when the PS4 Neo/4.5/4K comes out. I think if it sells well it won't be unreasonable to see new/upgraded consoles every 2-3 years.

 

[swilli89]

Yeah, gaming isn't so easy these days. Every game is broken at launch, console developers don't utilize the hardware correctly, high-end graphics cards seem to be becoming increasingly more required to run games acceptably and now consoles have three year lifespans instead of seven or eight.

I keep seeing comments like this. PS4 and XBONE are not nearing their end of life and probably have another 3-4 years.

Is it only us Americans that have to "keep up with the Jones" that makes us think just because a better PS4.5 comes out that PS4 is no longer valid? If you were gaming in a (social) vacuum you wouldn't have any idea your console is no longer the best out there. Your games continue to look the same and continue to be supported along with new released continuing to come to PS4.

 

[sze5003]

I keep seeing comments like this. PS4 and XBONE are not nearing their end of life and probably have another 3-4 years.

Is it only us Americans that have to "keep up with the Jones" that makes us think just because a better PS4.5 comes out that PS4 is no longer valid? If you were gaming in a (social) vacuum you wouldn't have any idea your console is no longer the best out there. Your games continue to look the same and continue to be supported along with new released continuing to come to PS4.

It seems they are going towards the phone model approach. It also seems like a money grab to me.

Come on I have both consoles and a gaming PC, no way in hell are games going to play at 4k on the new ps4. They have hard enough time getting games to play at 4k smoothly on PC.

It's mainly just scaling the games to a 4k resolution. Maybe some added effects. But mostly allowing the consoles to stream 4k services.

Those who just got the console are going to be upset because they may play at a friend's house, see how good a game looks then go and play the same game on ps4 at home to see that it doesn't look the same.

I'm not expecting graphics to improve vastly honestly.

 

[Sonikku]

I keep seeing comments like this. PS4 and XBONE are not nearing their end of life and probably have another 3-4 years.

Is it only us Americans that have to "keep up with the Jones" that makes us think just because a better PS4.5 comes out that PS4 is no longer valid? If you were gaming in a (social) vacuum you wouldn't have any idea your console is no longer the best out there. Your games continue to look the same and continue to be supported along with new released continuing to come to PS4.

I'd probably have an idea of Dragon Age starting at 30fps and dropping to low 20fps on a regular basis. This stuff sucks ass. I can only hope the Neo will see some studios like EA rolling out performance patches to their current titles that maybe run them in 60fps/1080p instead of 30fps/900p or something.

 

[R0H1T]

Not anymore. Both Sony and MS are planing to upgrade consoles every 2 years or so. There's another thread on that too. Sony is coming out with a ps 4.5 this holiday season, MS with a smaller Xbox one this year and an upgraded Xbox one early 2017.

Not 2 years, that's hearsay at best & disinformation at worst. They can manage 3 years if they really push the developers, basically incentivize them, but 4~5 years is still the optimal time for periodic cycles. The last one was much longer for many different reasons.

 

[sze5003]

Not 2 years, that's hearsay at best & disinformation at worst. They can manage 3 years if they really push the developers, basically incentivize them, but 4~5 years is still the optimal time for periodic cycles. The last one was much longer for many different reasons.

3 years is pretty much what all the articles out there are saying. Still, a lot less than before and many will find it better to just build PC's unless they really push some nice exclusives.

Think about it, what games have the current consoles had that were must haves? Besides uncharted/halo, it's all games we've seen before or remakes.

In my opinion a 2-3 year cycle isn't worth it when you don't have the games to sell it with. Most games are multiplatform now anyways.

 

[boozzer]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...4-and-xbox-one-makes-much-sense/#c3f3c2b21b64

Check out the thread too in console section.

meh that is still 5+ years of gameplay for 300-500$ and hassle free too.

 

[USER8000]

3 years is pretty much what all the articles out there are saying. Still, a lot less than before and many will find it better to just build PC's unless they really push some nice exclusives.

Think about it, what games have the current consoles had that were must haves? Besides uncharted/halo, it's all games we've seen before or remakes.

In my opinion a 2-3 year cycle isn't worth it when you don't have the games to sell it with. Most games are multiplatform now anyways.

Most people buy prebuilt PCs and many people prefer laptops to desktops.

Even with a new console every three years people will still buy them - a £300 console is still not even the cost of a high end graphics card.
The old ones will still be supported for a few years too,so somebody will still get five years out of one,maybe more.

 

[swilli89]

Can we please get back on topic to the Radeon RX 480 Launch?

 

[deanx0r]

Is there a 480 and 480x or just a 480?

I am looking to upgrade from my GTX970 for freesync and 1440p and the RX480 seems like a side-grade to me. I doubt AMD would be leaving food on the table with the GTX970 being one of the most popular cards out there.

Lisa Su mentioned they were targeting the $100-$300 segment. So there is still hope they might unveil an RX490 at E3 to cover that gap. I hope they also clean up their naming convention. I get so confused with AMD's line up between R9 290X/290 R9 280X/280 R7 270X/270 and so on.

 

[sze5003]

I am looking to upgrade from my GTX970 for freesync and 1440p and the RX480 seems like a side-grade to me. I doubt AMD would be leaving food on the table with the GTX970 being one of the most popular cards out there.

Lisa Su mentioned they were targeting the $100-$300 segment. So there is still hope they might unveil an RX490 at E3 to cover that gap. I hope they also clean up their naming convention. I get so confused with AMD's line up between R9 290X/290 R9 280X/280 R7 270X/270 and so on.

My guess is they will reveal a 490/490x by the end of the month. It would be weird if this was it, just the 480 until Vega in October or so.

 

[Bacon1]

I am looking to upgrade from my GTX970 for freesync and 1440p and the RX480 seems like a side-grade to me. I doubt AMD would be leaving food on the table with the GTX970 being one of the most popular cards out there.

Lisa Su mentioned they were targeting the $100-$300 segment. So there is still hope they might unveil an RX490 at E3 to cover that gap. I hope they also clean up their naming convention. I get so confused with AMD's line up between R9 290X/290 R9 280X/280 R7 270X/270 and so on.

390 already seems to do better than the 970 in newer games, and the 10 should be faster (closer to 390x?) so might be worth it to sell the 970 asap and wait for release. Might be very cheap upgrade if you get a good sale price off craigslist or similar.

 

[selni]

My guess is they will reveal a 490/490x by the end of the month. It would be weird if this was it, just the 480 until Vega in October or so.

490 seems unlikely before vega given what we know (unless it's a *very* well kept secret or the 480 is very conservatively clocked), but it's quite possible that announced 480 is slightly cut down from a 40CU die or such, so there could be a 480X.

 

[deanx0r]

Remember the X1900XTX? RX480X sounds like a mouthful, and having some many SKUs is going to confuse consumers even more with the following cards: RX490X/RX490/RX480X/RX480/RX470X/RX470... It would help consumers if AMD can streamline their offering with Fury at the very top, followed by RX490, 480. 470, 460 and so on for the rest of their line up.

Isn't this the first time that a GPU isn't manufactured at TSMC? I can't remember of any other foundry partner ATI might have had in the past. I do remember when AMD acquired ATI 10 years ago. We were all salivating in the hope for a GPU being clocked similarly to CPU (1GHz+) when Global Foundries was part of AMD. It almost comes back full circle.

 

[SelenaGomez]

as someone who doesn't follow AMD, the numbers in their products are just ridiculously confusing and hard to follow. I have no idea which AMD card is faster etc. They should.

Also, The Polaris is being relesead in 3 weeks and yet they wont release any real benchmarks. That's either bad marketing or they know the card is a flop once again.

 

[el etro]

AMD probably Gone for a even simpler naming scheme:

RX 490 (Full P10)
RX 480
RX 470 (another cut P10)
RX 460...

 

[Mopetar]

AMD probably Gone for a even simpler naming scheme:

RX 490 (Full P10)
RX 480
RX 470 (another cut P10)
RX 460...

Seems unlikely. If what's been announced as the 480 is cut (seems possible given it has 36 CUs) then the full P10 would be a 480X. 470 is probably a 32- part. 490 won't be out for several months (October if you believe some rumors) and isn't too likely to be seen until early 2017.

 

[Silverforce11]

Polaris 11 can occupy the $99 and $149 mark.

Polaris 10 shipping manifests from many months ago have 3 SKUs, C4 2048 SP, C7 (RX 480) 2304 SP and C10 2560 SP.

RX 480 and RX 480X is probably too much a mouthful. Too many Xs. There's gonna be full Polaris 10 8GB at the $299 mark given that Lisu Su already confirmed Polaris shipping at $100 to $300 segment.

The real interesting thing is the over-clock headroom on these SKUs. 1.26ghz on 14nm FF is really low base clocks. If they pull off a Tahiti OC, like 7950 800mhz -> 1.2ghz situation, it's gonna be a real winner.