Poll: The Vega Review Thread.

[AlamoX]

Have people seen this:

http://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20170808000038-260202



So AMD is going to use TSMC 7NM next year for its APUs and GPUs due to restricted 14NM capacity at Global Foundries,who make all their CPUs and current GPUs. They only shifted to Global Foundries for Polaris and Vega.

Edit!!

Just checked the website,its one of the leading newspapers in Taiwan:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Times

about time, they got screwed so hard with glofo, especialy this generation, their product hit a hard wall with clock, and frequencies eat unbelievable amount of power.
the other thing AMD needs would be firing Koduri, vega is the worst GPU launch ever imo, the guy all he does is drink, smoke cigars and promote bollywood movies.

 

[Gerard]

AMD have had 2 "meh" launches this year and one that went off well, Ryzen while obviously a very good product had a pretty hectic launch with motherboards being hard to come by, ram incompatibility, bios being flaky and needing updated for better ram speeds etc. On the flip-side of that threadripper had a good launch though motherboards were a bit thin on the ground. Vega is just an eye-roller, the usual war-cry of dodgy drivers (wouldn't you think that they would try and get the best driver possible for reviews and launch to show best possible performance at that point or am i just talking crazy??), things not enabled on the gpu, stock shortage, and the real elephant in the room, prices going up after "x" amount of units sold which absolutely was not communicated by amd prior to launch.

Overall 1 step forward 2 steps back.

 

[WeSbO]

Ryzen while obviously a very good product had a pretty hectic launch with motherboards being hard to come by, ram incompatibility, bios being flaky and needing updated for better ram speeds etc.

Yeah it's a bleeding damn good job that the product is competitive and that Intel have been sitting on their hands for years, otherwise that launch would have been a complete disaster, but it just goes to show that when you do have a good product you can make launch mistakes and they are quickly forgotten, in other words, the product sells itself.

 

[pagepack]

AMD have had 2 "meh" launches this year and one that went off well, Ryzen

With all gpu gouging I think I'll update to Ryzen, possibly threadripper this year. Getting my boy the one x in November, see what that's like.

 

[Hotwired]

Feel like making an easy to read post with links.

Videocardz posted a week ago that the MSRP would rise from $499 to $599 for Vega 64, which was before the release date and all the current drama.

I'm not saying it is a good thing to do, but it was known about beforehand.

Indeed, one week ago Videocardz was aware from multiple sources that the $499 blower would be to hit the launch price and not be the regular price:

This is not the first time the product is offered at a higher price than first advertised. This usually happens for preorders or shortly after launch. However few shops will still offer Vega 64 at official suggested price, just so AMD can say it was sold for 499 USD.

This is exactly what happened, some preferred shops were given stock to sell at $499 or local equivalent to hit the launch price. (Exactly the same happened on 480 launch, we saw cards at £175 as promised for a very brief moment).

So when Videocardz forgets about this when they claim pricing drama to cause drama as a news article yesterday:

Here’s the thing. AMD cannot force any retailer to sell Vega at fixed price, it’s illegal. That’s why we have MSRP (suggested pricing). Yet somehow most retailers are offering Vega for the same increased price (a true magic I guess).

I'm sure it is Videocardz, magic that you forgot you talked about it earlier and had no issue with it.

Here at OCUK we have Gibbo on launch day saying what Videocardz forgot they said earlier:

AMD Launch price of $499, some posters get it, some do not, but in fairness AMD have wored things poorly causing mass confusion.

Black stand alone card was $499 for a set launch quantity, which is now all sold, as such now all you can buy from OcUK is the bundle packs, Black and Silver which are $599 or the Aqua which is $699.
Stand alone is no more, unless AMD say so.

In a nutshell, it was known about before, done at the last major card launch and it's easily summed up as people venting generic anger after being spoon fed an argument they liked the sound of.

Get over yourselves if you're trying to make drama out of it.

 

[LoadsaMoney]

 

[RavenXXX2]

AIB Partners to GN: Gibbo Was Right About AMD Price Changing

http://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/3023-aib-partners-to-gn-yes-vega-price-will-change

Following the initial rumors stemming from an Overclockers.co.uk post about Vega price soon changing, multiple AIB partners reached out to GamersNexus – and vice versa – to discuss the truth of the content. The post by Gibbo of Overclockers suggested that launch rebates and MDF would be expiring from AMD for Vega, which would drive pricing upward as retailers scramble to make a profit on the new GPU. Launch pricing of Vega 64 was supposed to be $500, but quickly shot to $600 USD in the wake of immediate inventory selling out. This is also why the packs exist – it enables AMD to “lower” the pricing of Vega by making return on other components.

In speaking with different sources from different companies that work with AMD, GamersNexus learned that “Gibbo is right” regarding the AMD rebate expiry and subsequent price jump. AMD purportedly provided the top retailers and etailers with a $499 price on Vega 64, coupling sale of the card with a rebate to reduce spend by retailers, and therefore use leverage to force the lower price. The $100 rebate from AMD is already expiring, hence the price jump by retailers who need return. Rebates were included as a means to encourage retailers to try to sell at the lower $499 price. With those expiring, leverage is gone and retailers/etailers return to their own price structure, as margins are exceptionally low on this product.

We also learned from the AIB partners that AMD provided a list of retailers that board partners should sell to, as those would be the companies most likely holding rebates to best support the lower pricing of the product. We are not clear if any such rebates will be reinstated at time of partner card launch, and have not been given information to lead us to either conclusion. At this point, our understanding is that said initial rebates have expired – they were only available for the first wave of cards – and retailers now largely have free rein on pricing. The packs are still in-stock at some stores and, from what we’ve been told by a third, reliable source, have seen highest allocation since Vega’s launch. Our present understanding is that Newegg received 60-70 units allocated for “packs” on their store, but a significantly lower number of standalone cards. That’d explain why we saw the inventory and sell-through behavior at launch.

This affects Vega 64 as of now. We are not sure of the impact on Vega 56.

We reached out to AMD for comment on August 15 and have received no response.

- Steve Burke

 

[chrcoluk]

Feel like making an easy to read post with links.



Indeed, one week ago Videocardz was aware from multiple sources that the $499 blower would be to hit the launch price and not be the regular price:


This is exactly what happened, some preferred shops were given stock to sell at $499 or local equivalent to hit the launch price. (Exactly the same happened on 480 launch, we saw cards at £175 as promised for a very brief moment).

So when Videocardz forgets about this when they claim pricing drama to cause drama as a news article yesterday:

That would suggest it was indeed known about, however it was sly as it was kept inside closed circles, reviewers were not told it was only a very short lived temporary price, and retailers didnt advertise special launch pricing, gibbo I suppose we can praise for the info he gave as without it we would all be non the wiser. But he probably decided it was worth leaking it so he wouldnt be (successfully) accused of large price gouging.

So to me the actual MSRP is 599usd, the launch price, I expect is still profitable but 599usd was settled on due to demand for the cards. I have seen no UK MSRP posted anywhere tho other than on here to say its 50gbp higher than a 1:1 usd MSRP?

So with all that in mind I fully agree that a reviewer who is morale and values any respect he/she gets from their readers should pull down any existing review, and redo it with the 64 up against the 1080TI and the 56 up against the 1080 to reflect pricing, however I dont think a single reviewer will do this, in terms of the reviews the damage is done.

 

[chrcoluk]

Further proof

http://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/3023-aib-partners-to-gn-yes-vega-price-will-change

In speaking with different sources from different companies that work with AMD, GamersNexus learned that “Gibbo is right” regarding the AMD rebate expiry and subsequent price jump.

I have emailed steve to ask him to do a new review to reflect the pricepoints

So 56 vs 1080 and 64 vs 1080ti

His email address is on the contact section on the website if anyone else whats to make the request.

 

[DELETED_195422]

AMD are shady as ****. They need to be called out on their BS. If they were in the position of Intel or Nvidia, i don't think they'd do things that differently from the other two firms.

 

[Hotwired]

I have emailed steve to ask him to do a new review to reflect the pricepoints

So 56 vs 1080 and 64 vs 1080ti

His email address is on the contact section on the website if anyone else whats to make the request.

Do a new review? What are you smoking?

Every decent reviewer compared the cards to a whole stack of relevant cards. We already know the comparisons you think are needed.

At worst they can go to the one paragraph at the end where they mention what they think of pricing and change that one paragraph.

Not sure what reviews you look at but the ones worth reading compare performance to what is nearby for the vast majority of it and only discuss how well its priced afterwards.

 

[AmateurExpert]

... and the 56 up against the 1080 to reflect pricing, however I dont think a single reviewer will do this, in terms of the reviews the damage is done.

Joker said he was considering doing that, not yet caught up on the videos myself so not sure if he's done that already.

 

[chrcoluk]

Do a new review? What are you smoking?

Every decent reviewer compared the cards to a whole stack of relevant cards. We already know the comparisons you think are needed.

At worst they can go to the one paragraph at the end where they mention what they think of pricing and change that one paragraph.

Not sure what reviews you look at but the ones worth reading compare performance to what is nearby for the vast majority of it and only discuss how well its priced afterwards.

not really, most video reviews keep mentioning the direct competitor, e.g. after one game you will hear the reviewer stating something like so the 56 beats the 1070 in this game now onto the next. Its a lot more than a note at the end.

--edit--

Really struggling here.

I watched 5 video reviews now.

4 of them only tested the 1070 and 1080 from nvidia's line up, not really a host of cards and in particular the 1080ti was ommited.

The 5th included the ti but didnt really put much emphasis on it as if it was irrelevant.

 

[triss]

If this whole RRP price jump post launch turns out to be correct then thats not a good look IMO for AMD.
Hopefully it turns out to be wong and Vega stays at semi reasonable prices

 

[ICDP]

If this whole RRP price jump post launch turns out to be correct then thats not a good look IMO for AMD.
Hopefully it turns out to be wong and Vega stays at semi reasonable prices

If AMD are doing such a dick move it really will turn a lot of people against them. No way in hell is Reference Vega 64 worth £550 - £630.

 

[Gerard]

If AMD are doing such a **** move it really will turn a lot of people against them. No way in hell is Reference Vega 64 worth £550 - £630.

Personally i'd say reference plastic shroud 400, aluminium LE 425 and 500-550 tops for the aio.

 

[mmj_uk]

“Launch price was $499 with NO games for the Black card, as outlined to us by AMD as a launch only price. AMD allowed us to sell a set amount at this price, which was several hundred, clearly not enough as they were sold out in approximately 15 minutes. After this the regular price was $599 with FREE games for both the black and silver cards, $699 for the aqua card plus taxes.”

How are they free games when you're paying $100 for them?

£600 Vega 64 v £500 1080 is a complete no brainer "free games" or not. I'd expect Vega to go the way of the dodo like Fury did, AMD can't make HBM cards cheap enough to be competitive so I don't know why they persist with it.

 

[Hotwired]

How are they free games when you're paying $100 for them?

Because $499 was sponsored by AMD to be below the regular price as Gibbo said.

You're into making-profit-is-evil territory but AMD took a hit to get a limited number of cards to be sold at the launch price (so they can say it launched at £499 price) and only by preferred retailers.

So when you say you're paying $100, you're falling over an assumption that $499 was a viable price for AMD.

Sure there's a deal with the game makers but its linked with the actual price AMD feel they need to sell at and like I described earlier, it wasn't a surprise at all : Clicky.

 

[melmac]

This is been discussed over on Hardocp forums. They are talking about the gamernexus video. The owner of that forum claims that it's illegal for AMD to force a price point in the USA and that AMD hasn't changed any of the MRSP's since launch.

So, if this is true and AMD are forcing prices then they will get into a ton of hot water over this and it would be pretty easy to prove. It's not just shady it's breaking the law.

 

[Rimsy]

If AMD are doing such a **** move it really will turn a lot of people against them. No way in hell is Reference Vega 64 worth £550 - £630.

Its worth it if you have recently spent a shedload of money on a fancy Freesync monitor as the alternative is to go green.

Quite a genius move from AMD really - absolutely fleecing their captive customers and getting away with it if sales figures are to be believed!