AMD Talks “Better Coolers” On Next-Gen Radeon HD 8000 Series

Gregster · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:10

AMD is said to be working on better coolers for their next generation Radeon HD 8000 series cards according to a report by Computerbase. The site had a meeting with AMD’s product manager for desktop graphics at Computex 2013 who told that AMD is indeed working on a new series of graphics card which would feature better coolers than the ones currently available on Radeon HD 7000 series:

Radeon HD 8000

“The next coolers are better. Although I can not go into detail for the next generation, however, we have some changes made to the cooling system. The cooler the Radeon HD 7900 series was in fact no great shakes.” VIA Computerbase

AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series To Feature “Better” Cooling Designs?

What AMD is trying to say here is that that the coolers for their upcoming Radeon HD 8000 series would be better than the predecessors but won’t be as good as the custom solutions offered by their AIB partners. AMD does always launch reference models of their GPUs at launch but its user preference whether they want to stick with reference or custom solutions from AMD and its partners. AMD’s HD 6000 series were among the first GPUs to make use of vapor chamber cooling design and NVIDIA followed the same path with their GeForce 500 series. Since then, both AMD and NVIDIA have been using vapor/liquid chamber cooling for their GPUs so it would be interesting to see what new would their next generation HD 8000 series cards would feature for cooling.

AMD also mentions that while they do want to make better coolers for their cards, they won’t make them as attractive as people may think since it only adds to the cost of the board. NVIDIA’s $1000 Titan and $649 GTX GeForce 780 are just an example since the use the same magnesium alloy metal used on the GeForce GTX 690. AMD want’s to spend that time and money enhancing the performance of the card while leaving the job for making the card attractive on its AIB partners.

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-talks-coolers-nextgen-radeon-hd-8000-series/#ixzz2VXGKUjdY

Nothing special by the sounds of it but got to be better than the reference coolers of the current 7 series? And another hint at no 8/9 series till later on in the year.

humbug · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:45

My £180 Powercolor Tahiti LE has a metal shroud on it for goodness sake, its not the most effective cooler because it only has one fan, but using metal instead of plastic does not add great expense.

They are, and even in a round about way admitting being carful not to make the coolers to good so that third parties can charge more with those better coolers.
But if they are still going to make the coolers better on the reference GPU's then... well good

On release dates for the new GPU's, they are talking about the HD 8000 series, that's most likely to be a 28nm refresh, the consensus already seems to be October along with BF4.
One third party Data sheet has them for October 1'st, less than 4 months.

Sin_Chase · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:51

I would quite like to see PCB board+gubbins only sales with options to buy own 3rd party cooler and DIY it.

AMD/nVidia would never sell it directly, would be a warranty nightmare. but some of the custom cooler friendly AIBS, such as EVGA, could sell such a card which would offer cheaper boards for WC rigs and those who want to buy 3rd party coolers and attach.

panyan · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:53

humbug said:
My £180 Powercolor Tahiti LE has a metal shroud on it for goodness sake, its not the most effective cooler because it only has one fan, but using metal instead of plastic does not add great expense.

a plastic or metal shroud makes no difference to temps though?

the shroud basically separates the two zones of air - the cooler case air and the hotter air within the card

James J · 7 Jun 2013 at 14:59

I was really put off amd this time around due to how loud reference design cards are to keep the temps under control. Was a clear 10db louder than the 680, which for me is just too much. The titan cooler is great though as its really not that loud and the GPU boost 2.0 feature allows you to control its speed in favour of silence, which for me is also a massive plus point.

If AMD provide some quieter reference cards, similar to how quiet a 7990 is from them, I'd DEFINITELY be interested in buying the next time around.

LtMatt · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:04

I'm all for improving the stock cooler as long as it doesn't give them a reason to hike the prices up. At the end of the day looks is nice, but price and performance are what matters to me as a gamer.

Gregster · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:07

Sin_Chase said:
I would quite like to see PCB board+gubbins only sales with options to buy own 3rd party cooler and DIY it.

AMD/nVidia would never sell it directly, would be a warranty nightmare. but some of the custom cooler friendly AIBS, such as EVGA, could sell such a card which would offer cheaper boards for WC rigs and those who want to buy 3rd party coolers and attach.

I like that idea. EVGA/we could save a bundle for those that want to go straight onto water or a custom cooler.

humbug · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:07

panyan said:
a plastic or metal shroud makes no difference to temps though?

the shroud basically separates the two zones of air - the cooler case air and the hotter air within the card

I'm talking about ascetics and build quality, but having said that, would you glue plastic HS to your memory IC's?

Metal is far better at absorbing and dissipating heat, plastic acts as an insulator.

You might argue that's an advantage for a blower cooler and be right, or some thermal transfer to the outside and then removed by case fans might be a good thing as it helps stop a build up of heat inside.

Who knows, these things would have to be tested to see whats best.
My point is a lot of those coolers with the plastic are a bit tacky.
you wouldn't buy a BMW if the dash was made out of wheelie bins.

whyscotty · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:07

LtMatt said:
I'm all for improving the stock cooler as long as it doesn't give them a reason to hike the prices up. At the end of the day looks is nice, but price and performance are what matters to me as a gamer.

Agreed.

Better coolers = potentially higher prices

Gregster · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:11

LtMatt said:
I'm all for improving the stock cooler as long as it doesn't give them a reason to hike the prices up. At the end of the day looks is nice, but price and performance are what matters to me as a gamer.

whyscotty said:
Agreed.

Better coolers = potentially higher prices

The AMD chap did say they wouldn't be as good as AIB coolers but would be better than what they have now, as they didn't want to hike the price. I doubt many keep the reference coolers on anyways and it shouldn't have any effect on price.

subbytna · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:17

Possible liquid cooling...like having some sort of hydro h90 AIO liquid cooler with the card?

Jokester · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:24

Is this a backhanded way of saying that the 8xxx series is going to be a power guzzling behemoth of a GPU?

humbug · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:38

Jokester said:
Is this a backhanded way of saying that the 8xxx series is going to be a power guzzling behemoth of a GPU?

Be that as it may, As long as its also a monster I don't really care.

bru · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:47

Every one keeps saying 8000 series but I notice in the actual quote he just says next coolers are better, it is only the article author who mentions the 8000 series. maybe a name change or just to keep people guessing.

Bottom line anything that makes the reference better is good, as the AIB coolers normally have to be better than the reference ones.

humbug said:
One third party Data sheet has them for October 1'st, less than 4 months.

I read yesterday on a forum October 1st as well,( cant find the dam thing now) sooner than I expected to be honest but good news all the same if true.

Final8y · 7 Jun 2013 at 15:56

Bring it on already.

apeksdiver · 7 Jun 2013 at 16:42

Must admit I thought they were going to 9000 series as there are 8000 gpus just we can't buy them (and are rebadged 7000 series).

humbug · 7 Jun 2013 at 16:48

apeksdiver said:
Must admit I thought they were going to 9000 series as there are 8000 gpus just we can't buy them (and are rebadged 7000 series).

I think that Desktop renaming of the HD 7000 to HD 8000 has been dropped, well, I read that somewhere, don't know how true it is.

apeksdiver · 7 Jun 2013 at 16:50

I stand corrected.

melmac · 7 Jun 2013 at 17:27

I didn't read the whole article, was there any leaking of info about release dates?

Better coolers are always welcome, and I would take better over nicer any day of the week.

EL_JOCK · 7 Jun 2013 at 19:14

James J said:
Was a clear 10db louder than the 680.

It was 1db louder, (going by guru3d) if it was 10db more that's about 40x the sound level at load than a 680, something no one would put up with.

However would always be nice to see better ref coolers as 3rd party always seems the best option.