Radeon RX 480 "Polaris" Launched at $199

[Jamesyboyjim]

There seems to be confirmed reports of the 480 failing PCI express power requirements.

https://m.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/4qfwd4/rx480_fails_pcie_specification/?utm_source=mweb_redirect&compact=true

Slightly worrying for the life expectancy of motherboards!

 

[hominid]

Slightly worrying for the life expectancy of motherboards!

if you overclock then you are always going to increase power consumption, it's clear from the way the boost clock works there isn't much headroom in the cards with just one 6 pin connector.

 

[WYNIR0]

Slightly worrying for the life expectancy of motherboards!

Indeed. Yet more reason to hold out for the AIB boards and reviews. I do have a feeling that this card will offer more with decent cooling and power. I'll be sticking with my 390's and waiting for news of the 490 though.

 

[SiDeards73]

To be fair in its current form, i wouldnt buy a 480 Ref model if you have any intentions what so ever of over clocking it or tinkering with it, if you just want a cheap card to slap in a machine for decent 1080p perf then its a brilliant if a little noisy and warm card.

If however you wait for the Aftermarket cards they should come on better designed boards, most likely with power upgrades and most definitely with better cooling, some will probably even be clocked a bit higher, however they will be a bit more expensive, and maybe potentially allow you to OC them a bit higher, but most of all they will probably offer even better performance over the reference models.

 

[Beren]

I am happy to be waiting a while for my build, this is currently my card of choice as it will be a 1080p living room build. But I also want a non blower design with better overclocking if possible.

 

[matty86uk]

On the power/pci-e issue

More worrying is these cards may in fact void warranty of the motherboards they've been inserted into.

 

[RavenXXX2]

There seems to be confirmed reports of the 480 failing PCI express power requirements.

https://m.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/4qfwd4/rx480_fails_pcie_specification/?utm_source=mweb_redirect&compact=true

Why didn't they just use an eight pin instead of six, so inept.

 

[Griffildur]

the more I read about these card the more obvious it becomes they are a massive failure.

So we have high power consumption, chance to break your motherboard, noise and hot. How on earth do all these things equal a great consumer card I will never understand.

I don't understand how AMD can be so inept. I never expected them to come close to Nvidia's range but man at least build something which works decent and doesn't kill your computer, that would be a great start in my book.

I don't like it, I have been using Nvidia for years but the fact there is virtually no competition worries me. Definitely not good for us.

 

[jimjiminy]

A quick question, is there any advantage of a RX480 over a 390X when it comes to DX11, DX12, Vulkan and future games? I see they are very similar prices right now, do I buy 2 years old tech or get the latest tech in hope that drivers and AIB improve the performance? (would it ever be as good as a 390X with higher clocks, better cooling?)

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It seems some more aftermarket cards have been leaked:

http://hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/94082-asus-msi-tease-custom-design-amd-radeon-rx-480-cards/

 

[Gerard]

I could listen to Raja say "vottmann" all day

 

[Mtom]

SO as it seems, AMD (again) made a crappy ref card.
The customs should cure this PCIE power trouble with more connectors, and also will reach high clocks, as many people already changed the cooler on the ref 480s, and they flew past 1400MHz, reaching Nano and Fury performance numbers.

 

[eddyr]

Why didn't they just use an eight pin instead of six, so inept.

I expect they were trying to do too much with one reference model (meet perf/price/OEM friendly specs). They reportedly met external PCI-SIG testing requirements so who knows.

 

[SiDeards73]

A quick question, is there any advantage of a RX480 over a 390X when it comes to DX11, DX12, Vulkan and future games? I see they are very similar prices right now, do I buy 2 years old tech or get the latest tech in hope that drivers and AIB improve the performance? (would it ever be as good as a 390X with higher clocks, better cooling?)

Generally AMD cards age fairly well, given the newer features of the 480, i would be tempted to go for one rather than the 390X, although i would definitely wait for the aftermarket cooled and clocked cards with hopefully something to address the power worries... It does already seem the 480 performs exceptionally well in DX12, i can imagine a better clocked and cooled one will be quite the card.

The other option if your are not desperate for a new card (like myself) is wait to see the RX 490, its listed on AMD's website, so it should make an appearance at some point, this will probably be the card aimed at replacing the 390X. We have no other details other than its called an RX 490 though.

 

[Bantu]

SO as it seems, AMD (again) made a crappy ref card.
The customs should cure this PCIE power trouble with more connectors, and also will reach high clocks, as many people already changed the cooler on the ref 480s, and they flew past 1400MHz, reaching Nano and Fury performance numbers.

Can we also solder on an 8-pin power connector?

 

[SiDeards73]

I expect they were trying to do too much with one reference model (meet perf/price/OEM friendly specs). They reportedly met external PCI-SIG testing requirements so who knows.

Exactly this, i think the driving force of the reference 480s was to hit the price point before all else, this is why they have such rubbish coolers on them, which quite frankly is not up to the job, it seems they skimped on these reference cards just to hit a price point.

Bring on the AIB cooled and clocked versions to see a real true representation of what Polaris will do.

 

[Bantu]

Generally AMD cards age fairly well, given the newer features of the 480, i would be tempted to go for one rather than the 390X, although i would definitely wait for the aftermarket cooled and clocked cards with hopefully something to address the power worries... It does already seem the 480 performs exceptionally well in DX12, i can imagine a better clocked and cooled one will be quite the card.

The other option if your are not desperate for a new card (like myself) is wait to see the RX 490, its listed on AMD's website, so it should make an appearance at some point, this will probably be the card aimed at replacing the 390X. We have no other details other than its called an RX 490 though.

The 490 will be interesting, though i don't hold much hope with AMD in that market segment. They have set their sights squarely on the budget market with Polaris.

My 480 arrives today.. I feel like i should have waited for the aftermarket boards. Still an upgrade on what i have.

 

[andybird123]

A quick question, is there any advantage of a RX480 over a 390X when it comes to DX11, DX12, Vulkan and future games? I see they are very similar prices right now, do I buy 2 years old tech or get the latest tech in hope that drivers and AIB improve the performance? (would it ever be as good as a 390X with higher clocks, better cooling?)

the 390X actually looks like it is faster out of the box and can overclock better than a 480, at the same price or thereabouts I would get a 390X over a 480

 

[SiDeards73]

The 490 will be interesting, though i don't hold much hope with AMD in that market segment. They have set their sights squarely on the budget market with Polaris.

My 480 arrives today.. I feel like i should have waited for the aftermarket boards. Still an upgrade on what i have.

Just send it back without opening it and get a refund.

 

[supersuperjamie]

Had a gt610 stolen from work as a placeholder. So happy to be able to play games that aren't Heroes 3 again! Division here I come...