The RX Vega 56 Owners Thread

SpudMaster · 2 Nov 2019 at 22:50

ANDREW GREEN said:
IS it actually worth it though?

I'd love to hear other peoples experiences.

I've had my V56 since release and been running a V64 bios since the second week of owning the card.
I run my card at 1630/1100mhz. In the stock bios I could only get around 940mhz for the HBM. I can run the core uptown 1700mhz but I saw a bigger increase in performance from overclocking the HBM. In my opinion it's worth it but each to their own.

My card is watercooled btw

dankeeys · 3 Nov 2019 at 19:32

Trivo said:
I haven't read the laws regarding that but will paraphrase Steve from GN. According to him the laws in the US and EU are that a customer has the right to service his GPU (and hardware in general) and repasting/repadding is part of that service. He even made a fuss when doing a tear down of some of the GPUs they sent him that had the well known warranty sticker circles over one of the cooler mount screws. As far as I remember he said it's illegal to sell GPUs that have such a sticker in the EU/US. So in theory you should, but don't take my word for it. However, if you damage it while in the process due to mishandling, that will not fall under warranty I think.

On that note I asked a while ago here if anyone has come across a tear down / repasting video for the Pulse 56, since I couldn't find any. I know it should be pretty straightforward but still when doing a disassembly for something for the first time I like watching the video of how it's done.

Careful with Vega 56 cooling alterations. The HBM and GPU core has frequently been confirmed on many forums to sit at differing heights. It would be easy to make a mistake with this in mind, adding further complications to simplicity; the VRM's and ancillary cooling might also bear design complications.

Reply to wrong post...ignore

dankeeys · 3 Nov 2019 at 20:05

fuzed said:
Guys and girls, I have a MSI Vega56 - got it not long ago, really impressed with it when it doesn't crap out - I know its just settings related, I'm running three 1080p monitors in portrait mode and do light gaming, specifically Gears 4 at the moment.

I've undervolted using dankeeys settings for the +15 power setting (the number 1 on his list) , but I need to understand exactly what I'm doing, it works most of the time, then the game will crash/not load, so I have to reset/restart the PC.

has anyone got a link which tells me what each setting is, or should be.

I've noticed I can't change the voltage on the HBM2 as its linked to the Processor power.
I'm assuming I need to keep increasing the HMB2 mhz until mines stable? or have I got that wrong?

Thank you for any guidance, it'll be appreciated.

It just ends up about trial and error coupled with a level of understanding with Vega 56, it's like overclocking was back in the mid to late 90's; the result can be a black burnt CPU. Download and use GPUZ, the GPU core temp on Vega 56 is pretty much irrelevant. Manage the hot spot temp, VRM temp and HBM temps and then fine tune from there. If you are just crashing now and again whilst gaming mate, you are close (I was like that at 1662mhz core). Increase your power limit by a percentage or 2, drop your overclock by circa 50mhz. Turn your fan speed up and refine your overclock.

ttps://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/202082/202082

JarlStreamus · 3 Nov 2019 at 22:05

So just a little background. I've previously posted on this forum when i had a gigabyte vega56, well in the last few weeks that bit the dust with artifacting and code43. Because I am a tight git I like to browse for parts and not working on a certain website. I managed to pick up a Asus strix vega56 with "crashing during benchmark problems". I took the plunge a bought the thing at the same cost as what I sold my previous card at.

Well i am reasonably pleased with my purchase. Yes it crashes on benchmark at stock, however I found if i downclock the HBM to 770mhz it works fine.

So Pros:

It works albeit HBM downclocked
It has nice RGB
It looks brand spanking new
It has a moulded core
It has the updated Heatsink/VRM thingy
It preforms benchmark wise roughly same as my old card
IT DOESN'T BLACK SCREEN CRASH (Huzzah)
It doesn't have coil whine

Cons:

Something is wrong with it clearly, so longevity of card
My OCD at not having HBM at stock or overclocked

My question to you wise people is "i wonder what is wrong with this card?" - "will it work in long term?" - "i wonder if there is a fix?".

So overall i'm pretty stoked as at the moment i'm not out of pocket, your thoughts please.

Poneros · 3 Nov 2019 at 22:38

JarlStreamus said:
My question to you wise people is "i wonder what is wrong with this card?" - "will it work in long term?" - "i wonder if there is a fix?".

So overall i'm pretty stoked as at the moment i'm not out of pocket, your thoughts please.

My first guess is it's probably been used for mining and that's why the HBM clocks are shot. The Vegas are used for the HBM mostly in that case and that's what's driven the hardest. Idk if it's fixable but you might have more luck talking to people on GPU mining forums as they have a lot more experience with that. Perhaps there is a fix that I just don't know about. It might also be a good idea to check on the card's bios, as those usually get modified as well. That could be the issue.

Yadda · 3 Nov 2019 at 22:46

It may be to early to tell yet but are many people having to reflow their Vegas?

gpuerrilla · 3 Nov 2019 at 23:12

JarlStreamus said:
My question to you wise people is "i wonder what is wrong with this card?" - "will it work in long term?" - "i wonder if there is a fix?".

So overall i'm pretty stoked as at the moment i'm not out of pocket, your thoughts please.

Theres a tuber called Timmy Joe and he done a similar experiment by buying the cheapest 2080ti he could source. It was an alienware/dell flimsy thing but it would crash when benching. He got it discounted after contacting the seller but the thing worked properly after he took it apart, added pads where they should be and used washers to help with the core tension for better cooler contact.

So I would strip the thing apart, re-apply pads and paste , confirm good contact with core and start testing. I would assume if the HBM was shot from mining too hard on it, it would crash all the time or give display corruption.

JarlStreamus · 5 Nov 2019 at 10:29

Poneros said:
My first guess is it's probably been used for mining and that's why the HBM clocks are shot. The Vegas are used for the HBM mostly in that case and that's what's driven the hardest. Idk if it's fixable but you might have more luck talking to people on GPU mining forums as they have a lot more experience with that. Perhaps there is a fix that I just don't know about. It might also be a good idea to check on the card's bios, as those usually get modified as well. That could be the issue.

I did try flashing the stock bios using the ATI Flash programme, however I have a feeling it may have not flashed correctly as it literally completed the operation in a few seconds-normally in my experience it takes a bit longer ??

subbytna · 5 Nov 2019 at 10:38

Bang for buck, the vega 56 is a monster of a card

fuzed · 5 Nov 2019 at 12:25

dankeeys said:
It just ends up about trial and error coupled with a level of understanding with Vega 56, it's like overclocking was back in the mid to late 90's; the result can be a black burnt CPU. Download and use GPUZ, the GPU core temp on Vega 56 is pretty much irrelevant. Manage the hot spot temp, VRM temp and HBM temps and then fine tune from there. If you are just crashing now and again whilst gaming mate, you are close (I was like that at 1662mhz core). Increase your power limit by a percentage or 2, drop your overclock by circa 50mhz. Turn your fan speed up and refine your overclock.

ttps://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/202082/202082

thank you, yes looks like that's what I need to do, it works brilliantly and drives three 1080p monitors in portrait at around 60 frames per second without any real issues in Gears 4... so I'm impressed. Just need to sort out the stability - will try an keep an eye on the temps and see what they are doing when it craps out.

When it has happened, wattman has reset itself to default, so I know its a setting issue somewhere

JarlStreamus · 5 Nov 2019 at 12:40

has anyone ever installed thermal pads on the backside of the card?

fuzed · 6 Nov 2019 at 10:03

JarlStreamus said:
has anyone ever installed thermal pads on the backside of the card?

I don't think there would be a need would there?, the heat is generated by the chips, so they are what needs the cooling more than anything else.

phatboy · 6 Nov 2019 at 21:00

Right guys and girls

I have sold my second machine to a friend and have the money to pick up a 1440p freesync 31.5" panel

Who is running a 56 @ 1440p and does it still handle the job ok?

My spec is in my signature and I am running the card Undervolted and lightly clocked the HBM (900) and according to gpu-z I am at 488gb/sec so up near 64 figures

Little bit of me is "buy a 5700xt" but the Vega has been so, so good

gpuerrilla · 6 Nov 2019 at 23:27

I dont think going from a 56 to a 5700xt is a massive jump and it can handle 1440 well enough. Saying that if you can offset such a move by selling the vega it will last a bit longer and suit your display. The gains to be had are better power efficiency for the ~30% improvement. It is 2 years between the two so an expected gain, but if your paying way more for the AIB model your trying to stay under the £400 mark.

phatboy · 7 Nov 2019 at 09:06

Yeah it is kind of a one or the other situation, hence the question around how the VEGA will do at 1440p,

Did some extra research last night and it appears that 1440p is no good at outputting 1080p so my consoles I have for myself and the kids would look horrible, maybe back to the drawing board

gpuerrilla · 7 Nov 2019 at 09:46

phatboy said:
Yeah it is kind of a one or the other situation, hence the question around how the VEGA will do at 1440p,

Did some extra research last night and it appears that 1440p is no good at outputting 1080p so my consoles I have for myself and the kids would look horrible, maybe back to the drawing board

Really? I was planning to next upgrade my monitor to take advantage of 1440p. I sometimes use the PS4 with my youngsters on that display so what is it that fits the bill then?

ANDREW GREEN · 7 Nov 2019 at 09:46

phatboy said:
Yeah it is kind of a one or the other situation, hence the question around how the VEGA will do at 1440p,

Did some extra research last night and it appears that 1440p is no good at outputting 1080p so my consoles I have for myself and the kids would look horrible, maybe back to the drawing board

Vega is generally considered a 1440p card but it depends on what FPS you aim for, the games you play and obviously as more detailed games come out they will perform worse because they're more demanding.

You can get an extra 15-20% by undervaulting, overclocking and increasing the power limit. With powerplay mods you can actually get 2070 level performance but how that affects the card longterm I'm unsure.

TNA · 7 Nov 2019 at 09:53

Th0nt said:
Really? I was planning to next upgrade my monitor to take advantage of 1440p. I sometimes use the PS4 with my youngsters on that display so what is it that fits the bill then?

Another option is to get a 4K monitor and use resolution scaling which all new games have and drop to 67% resolution which is about 1440p if you need to.

phatboy · 7 Nov 2019 at 10:27

TNA said:
Another option is to get a 4K monitor and use resolution scaling which all new games have and drop to 67% resolution which is about 1440p if you need to.

Yeah people are saying 4k screens can give pixel perfect 1080p resolution and 1440p also looks good where as 1080p on 1440p is being explained as almost 720p quality because of the pixel difference

phatboy · 7 Nov 2019 at 10:28

ANDREW GREEN said:
Vega is generally considered a 1440p card but it depends on what FPS you aim for, the games you play and obviously as more detailed games come out they will perform worse because they're more demanding.

You can get an extra 15-20% by undervaulting, overclocking and increasing the power limit. With powerplay mods you can actually get 2070 level performance but how that affects the card longterm I'm unsure.

I am Undervolted and have the increased limit enabled and as mentioned I am up from 410gb/sec to 488gb/sec if that is knocking me up towards 2070 then as you say there is little point in forking out the £200+ required over selling the VEGA to go 5700 series

Health wise I am always under 70deg at full load and not hammering the power circuits because of the lowered voltage