AMD Silently Cuts Down Core Count on Radeon RX 560 Graphics Card – Now Shipping With 896 Cores Inste

[happy medium]

I think the lesson learned here is whether its Nvidia, Intel , and yes even AMD, these are company's that want to make money, your money, and they sometimes will do things shady to do it. In the end, they only care about grabbing your money and making a profit.

Sometimes we forget that.

I think AMD is using this as free advertising for a 560 gpu that's not selling well.
They know just a few will care enough to cry out loud but it may sell the uniformed on a new 560 gpu instead of a much more popular gtx1050. Mabe?

 

[SpaceBeer]

At least some retailers will adjust the name and add D

 

[Yotsugi]

At least some retailers will adjust the name and add D

AMD should've done this themselves to begin with.

 

[Dribble]

Can't believe this is worth it for AMD. Their whole marketing approach with enthusiasts is how much more honest, open, and good they are then their competitors. Surely this will cost AMD more money in lost goodwill then they will ever get from the underhanded sale of a few cards?

 

[LTC8K6]

Can't believe this is worth it for AMD. Their whole marketing approach with enthusiasts is how much more honest, open, and good they are then their competitors. Surely this will cost AMD more money in lost goodwill then they will ever get from the underhanded sale of a few cards?

It means you really can't complain too much about NV anymore, because folks will just point to this if you do, and it points out the absurdity of falling in love with a company.

 

[coercitiv]

It means you really can't complain too much about NV anymore

Nope, it means you really have to complain about this, now more than ever.

 

[Krteq]

AMD's official statement

“It’s correct that 14 Compute Unit (896 stream processors) and 16 Compute Unit (1024 stream processor) versions of the Radeon RX 560 are available. We introduced the 14CU version this summer to provide AIBs and the market with more RX 500 series options. It’s come to our attention that on certain AIB and etail websites there’s no clear delineation between the two variants. We’re taking immediate steps to remedy this: we’re working with all AIB and channel partners to make sure the product descriptions and names clarify the CU count, so that gamers and consumers know exactly what they’re buying. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused.”

AMD Statement About Radeon RX 560 896 shader SKUs

Too late I guess, damage has been done

 

[Kenmitch]

AMD's official statement
AMD Statement About Radeon RX 560 896 shader SKUs

Too late I guess, damage has been done

Another burnt witch pardoned after the execution it looks like. Seems the norm on these boards to lynch AMD and make excuses for Nvidia while doing the same or similar things.

 

[UsandThem]

AMD's official statement
AMD Statement About Radeon RX 560 896 shader SKUs

Too late I guess, damage has been done

In my opinion, no. Yes they screwed up. But they say they are going to fix it, so we'll see what they do. Damage would be if they released a statement saying "Too bad, deal with it". I personally think it was a really bad oversight they didn't put much thought into, and they got called out on it. All companies (and people) screw up at times. It's how it's handled afterwards that matters. IMO of course.

 

[crisium]

Only doing that because of the bad press. And it is still not enough.

Hey Einsteins at AMD, you know a great way to provide "the market with more RX 500 series options" and avoid "confusion"? Call the 896sp variant a Radeon 555 or whatever. You know, something with no room for misinterpretation?

But no, they know that even if 896sp is clearly labelled, it will still be pulling a fast one on many less-than-knowledgeable consumers who only see the product name "560". This shows they still desire consumer trickery.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Another burnt witch pardoned after the execution it looks like. Seems the norm on these boards to lynch AMD and make excuses for Nvidia while doing the same or similar things.

I disagree. To me this is more like Nvidia only admitting the GTX 970 was really a 3.5 GB card with .5 GB of poison VRAM after they were caught in their lying by omission.

It was sleazy behavior by NVidia then, it was sleazy behavior by AMD now. Damage control after they were caught doesn't excuse their original behavior.

 

[DeathReborn]

Have AMD hired any of EA's PR people recently? This could have been prevented by AMD right from the beginning enforcing clear labelling on the AIB's.

 

[UsandThem]

I just wonder if there is any computer component or software company that hasn't screwed its customers over at some point? Can any one name a faultless company?

Just off of the of my head:

-Nvidia: product naming / 3.5GB VRAM.

-Intel: RAMBUS, blacklisting/charging more for OEMs who offered Athlon systems, CPUs with unfixable bugs (which they eventually replaced after first saying no).

Microsoft: Antitrust, enough said.

Samsung/Hynix/Micron: DRAM price fixing.

EVGA: GTX 1060/1070/1080 lack of VRM cooling with first fan design.

Now I'm not saying AMD is innocent in the mess the created, but at least they are quickly fixing their mistake instead of dragging out a losing fight. I guess I look at it as a company trying to make money, and not like a person who has my best interests in mind. We are simply $$$ to them.

 

[Elixer]

Have AMD hired any of EA's PR people recently? This could have been prevented by AMD right from the beginning enforcing clear labelling on the AIB's.

AMD's GPU PR team is downright horrible, at every turn, they manage to screw something up.
The CPU PR team is much better.

If AMD had this "560D", then whomever said that initial response shouldn't be on the PR team.
There is no excuse at all to NOT use that, since they *already were using it* in other regions.

Lisa must be shaking her head in awe of the stupidity that went on these past few days.

 

[EXCellR8]

It’s come to our attention that on certain AIB and etail websites there’s no clear delineation between the two variants. We’re taking immediate steps to remedy this: we’re working with all AIB and channel partners to make sure the product descriptions and names clarify the CU count, so that gamers and consumers know exactly what they’re buying.

sounds sincere enough i suppose... I will forgive them if these new drivers end up being a hit

 

[Ancalagon44]

AMD's official statement
AMD Statement About Radeon RX 560 896 shader SKUs

Too late I guess, damage has been done

"We're sorry we got caught."

This really was a PR blunder. Which marketing idiot didn't think this one through? I saw this all over the tech press including YouTube.

My guess is that they won't do what they should do, which is to rename the card to something like RX 555, RX 560 SE or even keep it as RX 560D as it is in Asia.

 

[mohit9206]

Jeez....Don't buy a 560 .

You can stop right there.
Nobody should be buying a 560 anyways whether its 896 or 1024 model. Its overpriced whatever model it is. 1050ti is superior. Unless you absolutely need freesync capability.

 

[VirtualLarry]

You can stop right there.
Nobody should be buying a 560 anyways whether its 896 or 1024 model. Its overpriced whatever model it is. 1050ti is superior. Unless you absolutely need freesync capability.

This is ridiculous. On Newegg, recently, there was a 4GB RX 560 (unknown how many SP), for $108 AR. 1050ti cards, are drifting around $160. Quite a difference in price, and not the commensurate difference in performance. In fact, given those numbers, the 560 has a better price/performance ratio, even though it has lower overall performance. Some people may only want to play e-sports, and the 1050ti may be overkill for them. (Edit: And some people may want to do mining, and the RX 560 is probably superior to the 1050ti for that particular task.)

I will grant you that if you want to play AAA 1080P games, then you probably shouldn't go lower than a 1050ti. Even a plain 1050 is cutting it too close, possibly.

 

[mohit9206]

Depends on the country.
Here its $150 for 560gl 4gb vs $170 for 1050ti.

 

[VirtualLarry]

In that case, it might make sense to pass up the RX 560 4GB, and go for the 1050ti 4GB, if you wanted to play AAA games at 1080P. But if you wanted to mine on the side, the 560 makes more sense. (Only slightly. Really, you would want a 570.)

 

[DeeJayBump]

These are simply the 560D cards that were supposedly released for the China-only markets. AMD announced this in July of 2017. Looks like (some?) AIBs chose not to label/advertise them as such, and then the anti-AMD brigade simply shouted from the rooftops that AMD is attempting to swindle or dupe the masses.

Videocardz story on the cards from July:

https://videocardz.com/70764/amd-to-launch-radeon-rx-560d-with-896-stream-processors

 

[crisium]

"560D" is Asian region only. "560" has officially been changed to allow either 14CU or 16CU now across other regions.

They are going to enforce labeling the CU count more clearly, but they have not announced extending the "560D" label to other regions. I hope they do though.

 

[DaveSimmons]

These are simply the 560D cards that were supposedly released for the China-only markets. AMD announced this in July of 2017. Looks like (some?) AIBs chose not to label/advertise them as such, and then the anti-AMD brigade simply shouted from the rooftops that AMD is attempting to swindle or dupe the masses.

Videocardz story on the cards from July:

https://videocardz.com/70764/amd-to-launch-radeon-rx-560d-with-896-stream-processors

You posted this without reading the AnandTech article I linked above. It made it very clear that AMD is NOT expanding use of the D label which is still China-only, and was NOT requiring any different labeling at all until after they were caught. At best this was incompetence, at worst intentional deception.

 

[DeeJayBump]

Anandtech (as well as Tom's HG + Others) is a Purch Media owned outlet of which Intel and nVidia are clients. I don't have to read the AT story to know it will be pro their clients and anti AMD as a result, facts be damned in many cases.

These ARE 560D cards that either the AIBs and/or retailers have failed to disclose as such either to make a few extra bucks and to assist in waging an anti-AMD campaign in the process or simply for the money grab aspect. Additionally, anti-AMD brigades are screaming from the rooftops that AMD is attempting something under-handed when all indications are that the AIBs + retailers are the ones at fault here. Refer back to the Videocardz write-up on these cards entering the (at the time China+ asia-only markets) which was posted in July 2017.

 

[UsandThem]

Anandtech (as well as Tom's HG + Others) is a Purch Media owned outlet of which Intel and nVidia are clients. I don't have to read the AT story to know it will be pro their clients and anti AMD as a result, facts be damned in many cases.

So you're going to come into this thread and debate and argue with others about this issue, but you're not going to read the articles because you're accusing 'Tom's and Anandtech of being shills for Intel and Nvidia'?

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12122/amd-silently-lowers-radeon-rx-560-specifications

12/6/2017
AMD has provided a full comment to us in regards to the situation:

It’s correct that 14 Compute Unit (896 stream processors) and 16 Compute Unit (1024 stream processor) versions of the Radeon RX 560 are available. We introduced the 14CU version this summer to provide AIBs and the market with more RX 500 series options. It’s come to our attention that on certain AIB and etail websites there’s no clear delineation between the two variants. We’re taking immediate steps to remedy this: we’re working with all AIB and channel partners to make sure the product descriptions and names clarify the CU count, so that gamers and consumers know exactly what they’re buying. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused.