I'm playing around with the thought of buying a new gpu for my linux gaming needs, however i have some obscure questions that i can't find clear answers for.
Some backround info:
setup:
x4 860k cpu
asus r7 360 gpu
8 gb of ram
ASRock FM2A88M motherboard
500w chieftech bronze psu
1080p 60hz monitor (which i do not plan to change in the near future)
I'm only planning on keeping the cpu until zen comes out and i can compare it's perf/price to kabylake, or skylake equivalent in price. So i will get a on a better platform and cpu in the upcoming months. Until then i would slot the new gpu into this configuration.
My gaming needs are not all that high, as i mostly just buy games that are heavily discounted on steam/gog sales, so an occasional few year old first person shooter (bioshock infinite, metro..), but mostly just strategy and rpg games. Now i would probably be ok on windows (which i will not use, or buy), but these linux ports (or the open source drivers) are finding new ways to grind my fps to bellow 30-20 range even in such seemingly undemanding games like Pillars Of Eternity, Wasteland 2, Divinity Original Sin.
With this information at hand, the rx 460 (even though i really like the efficiency of it in terms of power consumption) drops off as a possible upgrade seeing as it is only barely 21% faster than the r7 360, so that would not even bring me into the steady 30-40 fps zone. Now of course the drivers and ports will get better with time, but the games will be more demanding too and i would like to keep the new gpu for at least 3 years or so. And i'm not going with nvidia because they have no open source drivers, which i do not support from an ideological point of view and because it can be a pain in the ass when i get the urge to distrohop.
This leaves me with these gpu choices:
Sapphire Radeon RX 470 OC, 4GB (the blower model) - 205 euro
Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB - 235 euro
i would buy locally because i do not want to have the headache of dealing with international warranty (i don't even know how it works) and these are the cheapest 470's and 480's at the moment, both being 20 euro less than all the other nearest choices (and the 8 gb models are absurdly expensive by comparison).
Of these two i would prefer the 480, if not for the fact that it seems to be insanely power hungry (also needs and 8pin vs 6pin), it's listed as having a tdp that's higher than the 470 by a almost 100w! And from the reviews i have seen it seems to be quite accurate, but it's listed as having comparable idle consumption as the 470.
1) What do they mean by idle (does surfing the net count as idle)?
2) If surfing the net, reading pdf files and the like is not idle, does the 480 nitro+ consume much more energy while doing these things than the saphire 470 blower?
3) Is the 470 blower card louder/hotter than the 480 nitro+?
4) What causes the 480 Nitro+ to have such massive power requirements when it's not that much more powerfull?
5) If/when there will be a tool for linux that will let me underclock and undervolt the 480 nitro+ (maybe it's even possible now?), would that bring it to the 120-150w gap?
6) Would the performance differance between these cards shrink to very smalls margins if the 480 nitro+ would be undervolted/underclocked to fit in the 120-150w gap, favoring the 470 as the better purchase?
7) Do any of these models have a higher tendency for coil whine?
8) Are there any other things to consider when choosing either of these cards, like better quality parts, weight, length problems etc.?
9) If both of these are terrible choices, which models are the most power efficient?
*10) Does anybody in this world have an idea how much energy my asus r7 360 uses
? It's listed as having a <150w tdp in the asus website, but i can't find any other info regarding the subject.
Some backround info:
setup:
x4 860k cpu
asus r7 360 gpu
8 gb of ram
ASRock FM2A88M motherboard
500w chieftech bronze psu
1080p 60hz monitor (which i do not plan to change in the near future)
I'm only planning on keeping the cpu until zen comes out and i can compare it's perf/price to kabylake, or skylake equivalent in price. So i will get a on a better platform and cpu in the upcoming months. Until then i would slot the new gpu into this configuration.
My gaming needs are not all that high, as i mostly just buy games that are heavily discounted on steam/gog sales, so an occasional few year old first person shooter (bioshock infinite, metro..), but mostly just strategy and rpg games. Now i would probably be ok on windows (which i will not use, or buy), but these linux ports (or the open source drivers) are finding new ways to grind my fps to bellow 30-20 range even in such seemingly undemanding games like Pillars Of Eternity, Wasteland 2, Divinity Original Sin.
With this information at hand, the rx 460 (even though i really like the efficiency of it in terms of power consumption) drops off as a possible upgrade seeing as it is only barely 21% faster than the r7 360, so that would not even bring me into the steady 30-40 fps zone. Now of course the drivers and ports will get better with time, but the games will be more demanding too and i would like to keep the new gpu for at least 3 years or so. And i'm not going with nvidia because they have no open source drivers, which i do not support from an ideological point of view and because it can be a pain in the ass when i get the urge to distrohop.
This leaves me with these gpu choices:
Sapphire Radeon RX 470 OC, 4GB (the blower model) - 205 euro
Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 480 4GB - 235 euro
i would buy locally because i do not want to have the headache of dealing with international warranty (i don't even know how it works) and these are the cheapest 470's and 480's at the moment, both being 20 euro less than all the other nearest choices (and the 8 gb models are absurdly expensive by comparison).
Of these two i would prefer the 480, if not for the fact that it seems to be insanely power hungry (also needs and 8pin vs 6pin), it's listed as having a tdp that's higher than the 470 by a almost 100w! And from the reviews i have seen it seems to be quite accurate, but it's listed as having comparable idle consumption as the 470.
1) What do they mean by idle (does surfing the net count as idle)?
2) If surfing the net, reading pdf files and the like is not idle, does the 480 nitro+ consume much more energy while doing these things than the saphire 470 blower?
3) Is the 470 blower card louder/hotter than the 480 nitro+?
4) What causes the 480 Nitro+ to have such massive power requirements when it's not that much more powerfull?
5) If/when there will be a tool for linux that will let me underclock and undervolt the 480 nitro+ (maybe it's even possible now?), would that bring it to the 120-150w gap?
6) Would the performance differance between these cards shrink to very smalls margins if the 480 nitro+ would be undervolted/underclocked to fit in the 120-150w gap, favoring the 470 as the better purchase?
7) Do any of these models have a higher tendency for coil whine?
8) Are there any other things to consider when choosing either of these cards, like better quality parts, weight, length problems etc.?
9) If both of these are terrible choices, which models are the most power efficient?
*10) Does anybody in this world have an idea how much energy my asus r7 360 uses
? It's listed as having a <150w tdp in the asus website, but i can't find any other info regarding the subject.
Last edited:
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