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R9 Nano 4GB HBM Memory for 1440p

elrasho

elrasho

elrasho

Soldato
Joined
12 Jan 2009
Posts
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The main reason I'm not getting another GTX970 to SLI is that I want to game at 1440p and not hit VRAM issues with future games.

So now that the Nano's have dropped in price I'm considering getting one. My goal is to never get below 60fps with all settings on Ultra/High.

My question is: as the Nano only has 4GB of VRAM, but it's HBM memory, will this not matter anymore? I believe HBM memory is much faster than GDDR5.
 
Didn't the 970s have some sort of issues regarding the Vram ?

I've just got a Evga 980TI Hybrid with a Dell 27' G-sync 1440p and it's stunning! keep FPS above 60 isn't a problem depending on game. Are you going to be using a G-sync or Freesync monitor in the future at all ?
 
Im planning on getting a Freesync monitor in March. Your setup sounds awesome buy I'm on a budget. Ideally I dont want to spend more than £500 on a new GPU and Monitor. So if I sell my 970 for £200 that makes the Sapphire Nano just £185 then I'll get this FreeSync monitor:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £271.09
(includes shipping: £11.10)
​


​

Although its only 60Hz I cant find any other 1440p monitors in that price range
 
My 980Ti hovers around or just above the 4gb region in some of the more demanding games at 1440p but a lot of that I imagine is pre-caching as it it available.

So I would say the nano should have no bother there and as you say I imagine the HBM would help anyway as also I believe that AMD is a little better on the memory management. As for for future titles who knows.
 
The Nano is a nice card and much better priced and that looks a decent monitor but has a Freesync window of 48Hz - 70Hz I believe, which isn't much (22Hz).

Have you thought about a Fury and going for a 2560x1440 with 144Hz refresh?

Edit:

Just looked at the prices of those monitors I mentioned and they are quite pricey.....
 
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Doesn't the Fury suck a lot of power and generates lots of heat? Sorry I dony know much about these cards as once I got my 970 I was so happy with it I didn't bother looking at anything else. But now I want to game at 1440 and the 970 won't meet my needs.
 
Im looking at the same getting a Acer X34 in the coming months and know my 970 won't be up to the job im temted to sell up now and get a 980ti while the 2nd hand prices of the 970 arn't too bad and know once pascel comes out that will change.

But im worried that once pascel comes out for the same price as 980ti it will be a lot faster.
 
I have a Fury tri-x and it's both cool and silent, Yes it uses more power than a Nano but does that really matter?

I'd also say you want a monitor with a better free-sync range, A 60hz monitor that starts at 48hz is useless IMO, The original super wide LG monitors had the same range and it's why I didn't buy one. Try and save a bit more and get a screen where the free-sync range starts at 30.
 
elrasho said:
Doesn't the Fury suck a lot of power and generates lots of heat? Sorry I dony know much about these cards as once I got my 970 I was so happy with it I didn't bother looking at anything else. But now I want to game at 1440 and the 970 won't meet my needs.
Click to expand...

Agreed, the 970 is not quite there for max settings at 1440P but be aware, neither is a Titan X. It might pay you to grab a Freesync monitor and lower settings till Polaris and go that way or even grab a G-Sync monitor and lower settings till Pascal.

As for heat, it will be fine in a single card situation but like any system, make sure you have good case airflow. The power requirements could be a problem of course but so long as you have a fairly decent 650W PSU, you will be fine.
 
Gregster said:
Agreed, the 970 is not quite there for max settings at 1440P but be aware, neither is a Titan X. It might pay you to grab a Freesync monitor and lower settings till Polaris and go that way or even grab a G-Sync monitor and lower settings till Pascal.

As for heat, it will be fine in a single card situation but like any system, make sure you have good case airflow. The power requirements could be a problem of course but so long as you have a fairly decent 650W PSU, you will be fine.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of getting a G-Sync monitor, in fact that Dell one that OCUK had but in the Dell thread lots of people had issues like dead pixels, bezel not on properly, loose on/off button etc.. so that put me off.

Going back to my questions, is 4GB HBM memory capable of playing games at 1440p?
 
elrasho said:
Doesn't the Fury suck a lot of power and generates lots of heat? Sorry I dony know much about these cards as once I got my 970 I was so happy with it I didn't bother looking at anything else. But now I want to game at 1440 and the 970 won't meet my needs.
Click to expand...


R9 Nano is not panacea
I have one, I love it but
a) begs for watercooling to stretch it's legs
b) is made for small factor systems

I am going to watercool mine, while switching to small factor so the Nano is perfect.
The 4GB HBM can deal with 4K res let alone 1440p so thats not an issue.

All depends what you want.If you buy a FuryX with V2 watercooler (the second version not the first one of the AIO cooler), used ones are going for £400.
Or else look for a normal Fury.

If you plan to overclock the card, grab the Nano, makes no sense to buy anything else. Is a FuryX after all.

As for monitors, make sure the monitor has low Freesync limit at least 40fps if not 35/30 fps.
 
elrasho said:
I was thinking of getting a G-Sync monitor, in fact that Dell one that OCUK had but in the Dell thread lots of people had issues like dead pixels, bezel not on properly, loose on/off button etc.. so that put me off.

Going back to my questions, is 4GB HBM memory capable of playing games at 1440p?
Click to expand...

4GB HBM is enough for 1440P in most games. COD:AW it wasn't and gave muddy textures but that was the only instance I found.
 
As your goal is to never get below 60fps with all settings on Ultra/High, the panel your looking at is practically useless.

Sell your 970 and get a used 290X, leaves you a few quid extra to put towards a better panel?

My 290X ran FS 1440p GTAV@>60fps on mixture/high ultra but there are still dips under 60fps that can't be avoided, a lot of titles will do the same regardless the firepower you throw at it.
 
elrasho said:
290X only has 4GB of VRAM though
Click to expand...

You are putting too much stock into the amount of VRAM. The amount of VRAM is only as good as the Core GPU that is powering it. The 970 has 4GB, the 290X has 4GB, the Fury X has 4GB etc etc but in all of those situations, they will need AA lowering in certain examples purely because at 1440P, there isn't enough Core GPU grunt to push the frames you are after, which in turn lowers VRAM/HBM usage.
 
So...erm... what shall I do?

I have a feeling the Pascal card I want won't come out until end of the year hence Im looking at a stop gap until the "Ti" version of the Pascal comes out.
 
elrasho said:
So...erm... what shall I do?

I have a feeling the Pascal card I want won't come out until end of the year hence Im looking at a stop gap until the "Ti" version of the Pascal comes out.
Click to expand...

Yer, I am inclined to agree. Tough one in truth but if I was in your shoes, I would go for the Dell and return it if it fails. Dell have a great on site warranty and will replace it with a new one and keep doing so till you are happy :)
 
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