R9 290x vs rx 480: Radeon RX 480 vs R9 290X [in 8 benchmarks]

AMD Radeon R9 290X vs MSI Radeon RX 480: What is the difference?

42points

AMD Radeon R9 290X

47points

MSI Radeon RX 480

PowerColor OCAsus DirectCU IIVTX3D X-EditionPowerColor PCS PlusGigabyte 270X WindForce 3X OC

54 facts in comparison

AMD Radeon R9 290X

MSI Radeon RX 480

Why is AMD Radeon R9 290X better than MSI Radeon RX 480?

64GB/s more memory bandwidth?
320GB/svs256GB/s
256bit wider memory bus width?
512bitvs256bit
512 more shading units?
2816vs2304
500million more transistors?
6200 millionvs5700 million
32 more texture mapping units (TMUs)?
176vs144
32 more render output units (ROPs)?
64vs32
2 more DVI outputs?
2vs0
2 more displays supported?
6vs4

Why is MSI Radeon RX 480 better than AMD Radeon R9 290X?

120MHz faster GPU clock speed?
1120MHzvs1000MHz
0. 65 TFLOPS higher floating-point performance?
5.16 TFLOPSvs4.51 TFLOPS
130W lower TDP?
120Wvs250W
750MHz faster memory clock speed?
2000MHzvs1250MHz
3000MHz higher effective memory clock speed?
8000MHzvs5000MHz
2x more VRAM?
8GBvs4GB
20.3 GTexels/s higher texture rate?
161.3 GTexels/svs141 GTexels/s
1 newer version of OpenCL?
2.2vs1.2

Which are the most popular comparisons?

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 580

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 570

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon R9 290

MSI Radeon RX 480

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD Radeon R9 290X

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 550

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 470

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 570

MSI Radeon RX 480

MSI Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon R9 390X

MSI Radeon RX 480

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB Limited Edition

AMD Radeon R9 290X

PowerColor R9 290X OC

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 390

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 560

MSI Radeon RX 480

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

AMD Radeon R9 290X

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

MSI Radeon RX 480

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 Super

Price comparison

User reviews

Performance

1. GPU clock speed

1000MHz

1120MHz

The graphics processing unit (GPU) has a higher clock speed.

2.GPU turbo

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 290X)

1266MHz

When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.

3.pixel rate

35.2 GPixel/s

35.8 GPixel/s

The number of pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.

4.floating-point performance

4.51 TFLOPS

5.16 TFLOPS

Floating-point performance is a measurement of the raw processing power of the GPU.

5.texture rate

141 GTexels/s

161.3 GTexels/s

The number of textured pixels that can be rendered to the screen every second.

6.GPU memory speed

1250MHz

2000MHz

The memory clock speed is one aspect that determines the memory bandwidth.

7.shading units

Shading units (or stream processors) are small processors within the graphics card that are responsible for processing different aspects of the image.

8.texture mapping units (TMUs)

TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.

9.render output units (ROPs)

The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.

Memory

1.effective memory speed

5000MHz

8000MHz

The effective memory clock speed is calculated from the size and data rate of the memory. Higher clock speeds can give increased performance in games and other apps.

2. maximum memory bandwidth

320GB/s

256GB/s

This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.

3.VRAM

VRAM (video RAM) is the dedicated memory of a graphics card. More VRAM generally allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.

4.memory bus width

512bit

256bit

A wider bus width means that it can carry more data per cycle. It is an important factor of memory performance, and therefore the general performance of the graphics card.

5.version of GDDR memory

Newer versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher transfer rates that give increased performance.

6.Supports ECC memory

✖AMD Radeon R9 290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.

Features

1.DirectX version

DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.

2.OpenGL version

OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.

3.OpenCL version

Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.

4.Supports multi-display technology

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

The graphics card supports multi-display technology. This allows you to configure multiple monitors in order to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as having a wider field of view.

5.load GPU temperature

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

A lower load temperature means that the card produces less heat and its cooling system performs better.

6.supports ray tracing

✖AMD Radeon R9 290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games.

7.Supports 3D

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

Allows you to view in 3D (if you have a 3D display and glasses).

8.supports DLSS

✖AMD Radeon R9 290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an upscaling technology powered by AI. It allows the graphics card to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution with near-native visual quality and increased performance. DLSS is only available on select games.

9.PassMark (G3D) result

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

This benchmark measures the graphics performance of a video card. Source: PassMark.

Ports

1.has an HDMI output

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.

2.HDMI ports

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 290X)

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

More HDMI ports mean that you can simultaneously connect numerous devices, such as video game consoles and set-top boxes.

3.HDMI version

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (AMD Radeon R9 290X)

Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

Newer versions of HDMI support higher bandwidth, which allows for higher resolutions and frame rates.

4.DisplayPort outputs

Allows you to connect to a display using DisplayPort.

5. DVI outputs

Allows you to connect to a display using DVI.

6.mini DisplayPort outputs

Allows you to connect to a display using mini-DisplayPort.

Price comparison

Cancel

Which are the best graphics cards?

Radeon RX 480 vs Radeon R9 290X

Home
VGA Benchmarks
Radeon RX 480 vs Radeon R9 290X

Radeon RX 480

113%
Radeon R9 290X

100%

Relative performance

Radeon RX 480

101%
Radeon R9 290X

100%

Relative performance

Reasons to consider Radeon RX 480

140 watts lower power draw. This might be a strong point if your current power supply is not enough to handle the Radeon R9 290X .

This is a much newer product, it might have better long term support.

Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute

Supports FreeSync

Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)

Supports TrueAudio

Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications

Reasons to consider Radeon R9 290X

Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute

Supports FreeSync

Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)

Supports TrueAudio

Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications

No clear winner declared

These graphics cards seems to have comparable performance based on the game benchmark suite used (33 combinations of games and resolutions).

Core Configuration

	Radeon RX 480		Radeon R9 290X
GPU Name	Ellesmere (Ellesmere XT)	vs	Hawaii (Hawaii XT)
Fab Process	14 nm	vs	28 nm
Die Size	232 mmÂ²	vs	438 mmÂ²
Transistors	5,700 million	vs	6,200 million
Shaders	2304	vs	2816
Compute Units	36	vs	44
Core clock	1120 MHz	vs	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	vs	64
TMUs	144	vs	176

Memory Configuration

	Radeon RX 480		Radeon R9 290X
Memory Type	GDDR5	vs	GDDR5
Bus Width	256 bit	vs	512 bit
Memory Speed	2000 MHz 8000 MHz effective	vs	1250 MHz 5000 MHz effective
Memory Size	8192 Mb	vs	4096 Mb

Additional details

	Radeon RX 480		Radeon R9 290X
TDP	150 watts	vs	290 watts
Release Date	29 Jun 2016	vs	24 Oct 2013

Radeon RX 480

40. 50 GP/s
Radeon R9 290X

64.00 GP/s

GigaPixels — higher is better

Radeon RX 480

182.30 GT/s
Radeon R9 290X

176.00 GT/s

GigaTexels — higher is better

Radeon RX 480

256.00 GB/s
Radeon R9 290X

320.00 GB/s

GB/s — higher is better

Radeon RX 480

5834.00 GFLOPs
Radeon R9 290X

5632.00 GFLOPs

GFLOPs — higher is better

Radeon RX 480

18430
Radeon R9 290X

16210

Points (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

Radeon RX 480

60
Radeon R9 290X

57

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait

Radeon RX 480

60
Radeon R9 290X

66

FPS (higher is better)

OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

Radeon RX 480

94
Radeon R9 290X

100

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

Radeon RX 480

86
Radeon R9 290X

73

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Settings

Radeon RX 480

66
Radeon R9 290X

68

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA

Radeon RX 480

84
Radeon R9 290X

83

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

Radeon RX 480

75
Radeon R9 290X

75

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

Radeon RX 480

70
Radeon R9 290X

60

FPS (higher is better)

DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

Radeon RX 480

53
Radeon R9 290X

49

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Details

Radeon RX 480

77
Radeon R9 290X

64

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

Radeon RX 480

59
Radeon R9 290X

61

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

Radeon RX 480

39
Radeon R9 290X

41

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait

Radeon RX 480

45
Radeon R9 290X

48

FPS (higher is better)

OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

Radeon RX 480

61
Radeon R9 290X

63

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

Radeon RX 480

56
Radeon R9 290X

47

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Settings

Radeon RX 480

46
Radeon R9 290X

50

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA

Radeon RX 480

59
Radeon R9 290X

58

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

Radeon RX 480

57
Radeon R9 290X

59

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

Radeon RX 480

48
Radeon R9 290X

43

FPS (higher is better)

DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

Radeon RX 480

41
Radeon R9 290X

39

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Details

Radeon RX 480

56
Radeon R9 290X

49

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

Radeon RX 480

42
Radeon R9 290X

44

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xAA

Radeon RX 480

23
Radeon R9 290X

25

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA,EP3 Gator Bait

Radeon RX 480

21
Radeon R9 290X

26

FPS (higher is better)

OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx

Radeon RX 480

31
Radeon R9 290X

32

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Ultra Details, Godrays, High shadows

Radeon RX 480

26
Radeon R9 290X

22

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Settings

Radeon RX 480

25
Radeon R9 290X

28

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF, 2xMSAA

Radeon RX 480

30
Radeon R9 290X

31

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF

Radeon RX 480

31
Radeon R9 290X

31

FPS (higher is better)

DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+

Radeon RX 480

24
Radeon R9 290X

24

FPS (higher is better)

DX11,Max Details, 16:1 HQ-AF, +AA

Radeon RX 480

25
Radeon R9 290X

24

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Very High Details

Radeon RX 480

29
Radeon R9 290X

26

FPS (higher is better)

DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF

Radeon RX 480

24
Radeon R9 290X

25

FPS (higher is better)

	VS
Radeon RX 480	VS	GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER

	VS
Radeon RX 480	VS	Radeon RX 580

	VS
Radeon R9 290X	VS	GeForce GTX 1650

	VS
Radeon R9 290X	VS	Radeon RX 570

	VS
Radeon RX 5500	VS	GeForce GTX 1660

	VS
GeForce GTX 1660	VS	Radeon R9 Nano

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Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480 — Th200

Table of Contents

Introduction
Specifications
Benchmarks
Key Differences
Conclusion
Comments

Graphics card

Introduction

We compared two GPUs: the AMD Radeon R9 290X versus the AMD Radeon RX 480. On this page you will learn about the key differences between graphics cards and find out which has the best specs and performance.

The AMD Radeon R9 290X is a graphics card of the Volcanic Islands (R9 200) generation based on the GCN 2.0 architecture, launched on Oct 24th, 2013. It comes with 4 Gb of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1250 MHz, requires 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors and consumes up to 290 Watts.

The AMD Radeon RX 480 is a graphics card of the Arctic Islands (RX 400) generation based on the GCN 4.0 architecture, launched on Jun 29th, 2016. It comes with 8 Gb of GDDR5 memory clocked at 2000 MHz, requires 1x 6-pin power connectors and consumes up to 150 Watts.

Specifications

Graphics Card

Name

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 480

Release Date

Oct 24th, 2013

Jun 29th, 2016

Bus Interface

PCIe 3.0 x16

Graphics Processor

Die Size

438 mm²

232 mm²

Memory

Bandwidth

320.0 GB/s

256.0 GB/s

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate

64.00 GPixel/s

40.51 GPixel/s

Texture Rate

176.0 GTexel/s

182.3 GTexel/s

FP16 (half) performance

5.834 TFLOPS (1:1)

FP32 (float) performance

5.632 TFLOPS

5.834 TFLOPS

FP64 (double) performance

704.0 GFLOPS (1:8)

364.6 GFLOPS (1:16)

Clock Speeds

Base Clock

1120 MHz

Boost Clock

1266 MHz

Memory Clock

1250 MHz

2000 MHz

Render Config

Shading Units

2816

2304

Texture Units

176

144

Raster Units

Compute Units

Graphics Features

DirectX

12 (12_0)

OpenGL

4. 6

4.6

OpenCL

2.0

2.1

Vulkan

1.2

Board Design

TDP

290W

150W

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

1x 6-pin

Slot Width

Dual-slot

Benchmarks

3DMark Graphics

3DMark is a computer benchmarking tool created and developed by UL, to measure the performance of computer hardware. Running 3DMark produces a 3DMark score, with higher numbers indicating better performance.

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 480
+3%

Blender bmw27

Blender is the most popular 3D content creation software. It has its own Benchmark, which is widely used to determining the rendering performance of processors and graphics cards. Benchmark measures the time needed to render bmw27 scene.

AMD Radeon R9 290X
+36%

AMD Radeon RX 480

Th200 RP

Th200 RP is a test created by Th200. It measures raw power of the components and gives score, with higher number indicating better performance.

AMD Radeon R9 290X
+21%

AMD Radeon RX 480

Key Differences

Why is AMD Radeon R9 290X better than AMD Radeon RX 480?

Has 21% better performance

Has 256 bit wider memory bus

Has 25% higher bandwidth — 320.0 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s

Has 58% higher pixel rate — 64.00 GPixel/s versus 40.51 GPixel/s

Has 32 more texture units

Has 32 more raster units

Has 512 more shading units

Has 8 more compute units

Why is AMD Radeon RX 480 better than AMD Radeon R9 290X?

Newer — released 2 years later

Consumes up to 49% less energy — 150 Watts versus 290 Watts

More modern manufacturing process — 14 nm versus 28 nm

Has 4 Gb more memory

Has 4% higher texture rate — 182.3 GTexel/s versus 176.0 GTexel/s

Conclusion

Which is better Radeon R9 290X or Radeon RX 480?

The Radeon R9 290X delivers 21% better performance, consumes up to 94% more energy and holds 4 Gb less memory. Based on our research Radeon R9 290X is more powerful than Radeon RX 480.

What AMD graphics cards is equivalent to Radeon R9 290X?

The Radeon R9 295X2 is AMD’s closest competitor to the Radeon R9 290X. It is 2% more powerful, uses 73% more energy, and holds same amount of memory.

What NVIDIA graphics cards is equivalent to Radeon R9 290X?

The GeForce GTX TITAN Z is NVIDIA’s closest competitor to the Radeon R9 290X. It is 3% more powerful, uses 30% more energy, and holds 2 Gb less memory.

How does Radeon R9 290X perform compared to Radeon RX 480 and other graphics cards?

Relative performance

Global performance

Desktop performance

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480 GPU Comparison

Compare AMD Radeon R9 290X 4 GB vs AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB, specs and GPU benchmark score. Which is the better graphics card for the money?

GPU Comparison

Quickly search and compare graphics cards

Overall Score

General gaming and workstation score

47 %

30%
slightly better overall score

Flux Core frame rate

Volumetric ray casting test, a computationally expensive method of rendering high-quality scenes

54 FPS

10 FPS
slightly higher Flux Core frame rate

43 FPS

Electron frame rate

Randomly generated noise sphere test

41 FPS

9 FPS
slightly higher Electron frame rate

32 FPS

City frame rate

Procedurally generated city scene with voxel rendering

45 FPS

6 FPS
slightly higher City frame rate

40 FPS

Clouds frame rate

Real-time noise calculation and ray marching test

23 FPS

6 FPS
significantly higher Clouds frame rate

17 FPS

Want to compare your graphics card against the Radeon R9 290X and the Radeon RX 480? Download our free and quick PC Performance Test.

Download GPU Benchmark

Geekbench (OpenCL) score

OpenCL compute benchmark

43,067

44,522

3%
slightly higher Geekbench (OpenCL) score

Geekbench (Vulkan) score

Vulkan compute benchmark

48,969

0%
slightly higher Geekbench (Vulkan) score

48,947

3DMark Graphics score

High-end graphics benchmark

4,130

3%
slightly higher 3DMark Graphics score

Boost Clock Speed

Higher turbo frequency when power conditions are met

947 MHz

1,266 MHz

33%
slightly higher boost clock speed

Memory

Onboard memory size for textures and vertices

8 GiB

100%
significantly more memory

Memory Bus Width

Number of parallel lines to the memory chips

512 Bit

100%
significantly larger memory bus width

256 Bit

Memory Bandwidth

Data transfer speed between GPU core and memory

320 GB/s

42%
much higher memory bandwidth

224 GB/s

TDP

Thermal Design Power: Measure of heat generated by the GPU

150 W

66%
significantly lower TDP

Pixel Rate

Number of pixels that can be rendered per second

64 Gigapixels/s

57%
significantly higher pixel rate

41 Gigapixels/s

Texture Rate

Number of textured pixels that can be rendered per second

176 Gigatexels/s

182 Gigatexels/s

3%
slightly higher texture rate

Floating Point Performance

Raw number of floating point operations per second

6 TFLOPS

3%
slightly better floating point performance

Shading Units

Number of processors dedicated to shader processing

2,816

22%
slightly more shading units

Texture Mapping Units

Number of processors dedicated to applying textures

176

22%
slightly more texture mapping units

Render Output Processors

Number of processors dedicated to final pixel rendering

100%
significantly more render output processors

Rank

Ranking in the hardwareDB database

80th
of 526

103rd
of 526

Family

The product line

Radeon R9 Series

Radeon 400 Series

Release date

The official date of release of this chip

—

June 2016

Memory Type

The type of memory used by this chip

GDDR5

DirectX Support

Maximum version of DirectX supported

12. 0

12.0

OpenGL Support

Maximum version of OpenGL supported

4.6

4.5

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480 specs and performance

According to the hardwareDB Benchmark, the Radeon R9 290X GPU is faster than the Radeon RX 480 in gaming.

As stated by the manufacturer, the Radeon RX 480 has significantly more memory with 8 GiB of memory compared to 4 GiB. Lots of memory is good when playing at high resolutions or with many monitors.

In addition, the Radeon RX 480 has a significantly lower TDP at 150 W when compared to the Radeon R9 290X at 250 W. This is not a measure of performance, but rather the amount of heat generated by the chip when running at its highest speed.

According to the results of the hardwareDB benchmark utility, the Radeon R9 290X is faster than the Radeon RX 480.

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AMD Radeon RX 480 vs AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 480 vs AMD Radeon R9 290X

Comparison of the technical characteristics between the graphics cards, with AMD Radeon RX 480 on one side and AMD Radeon R9 290X on the other side. The first is dedicated to the desktop sector, it has 2304 shading units, a maximum frequency of 1,3 GHz, its lithography is 14 nm. The second is used on the desktop segment, it includes 2816 shading units, a maximum frequency of 1,0 GHz, its lithography is 28 nm. The following table also compares the boost clock, the number of shading units (if indicated), of execution units, the amount of cache memory, the maximum memory capacity, the memory bus width, the release date, the number of PCIe lanes, the values obtained in various benchmarks.

Note: Commissions may be earned from the links above.

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Specifications:

Graphics card	AMD Radeon RX 480	AMD Radeon R9 290X
Market (main)	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	Q2 2016	Q4 2013
Model number	215-0876184, Polaris 10 XT	215-0852000, Hawaii XT
GPU name	Ellesmere	Hawaii
Architecture	GCN 4. 0	GCN 2.0
Generation	Arctic Islands RX 400	Volcanic Islands R9 200
Lithography	14 nm	28 nm
Transistors	5.700.000.000	6.200.000.000
Bus interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
GPU base clock	1,12 GHz	1,00 GHz
GPU boost clock	1,27 GHz	1,00 GHz
Memory frequency	2.000 MHz	1.250 MHz
Effective memory speed	8 GB/s	5 GB/s
Memory size	8 GB	4 GB
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory bus	256 Bit	512 Bit
Memory bandwidth	256,0 GB/s	320,0 GB/s
TDP	150 W	290 W
Suggested PSU	450W ATX Power Supply	600W ATX Power Supply
Multicard technology	—	—
Outputs	1x HDMI 3x DisplayPort	2x DVI 1x HDMI 1x DisplayPort
Cores (compute units, SM, SMX)	36	44
Shading units	2. 304	2.816
TMUs	144	176
ROPs	32	64
Cache memory	2 MB	1 MB
Pixel fillrate	40,5 GP/s	64,0 GP/s
Texture fillrate	182,3 GT/s	176,0 GT/s
Performance FP32 (float)	5,8 TFLOPS	5,6 TFLOPS
Performance FP64 (double)	364,6 GFLOPS	704 GFLOPS
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eBay

Note: Commissions may be earned from the links above.

Price: For technical reasons, we cannot currently display a price less than 24 hours, or a real-time price. This is why we prefer for the moment not to show a price. You should refer to the respective online stores for the latest price, as well as availability.

We can better compare what are the technical differences between the two graphics cards.

Performances :

Performance comparison between the two processors, for this we consider the results generated on benchmark software such as Geekbench 4.

	FP32 Performance in GFLOPS
AMD Radeon RX 480	5.834
AMD Radeon R9 290X	5.632

The difference is 4%.

Note: Commissions may be earned from the links above. These scores are only an
average of the performances got with these graphics cards, you may get different results.

Single precision floating point format, also known as FP32, is a computer number format that typically occupies 32 bits in PC memory. This represents a wide dynamic range of numeric values that employs a floating point.

Equivalence:

AMD Radeon RX 480 Nvidia equivalentAMD Radeon R9 290X Nvidia equivalent

Disclaimer:

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Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 6600 XT

Availability

MSRP in USD: $549

No items available

Availability

MSRP in USD: $379

MSI Gaming AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 128-bit 8GB GDDR6 DP/HDMI Dual Torx Fans FreeSync DirectX 12 VR Ready OC Graphics Card (RX 6600 XT MECH 2X 8G OC)

Buy on Amazon

$339.99

In Stock

~~1968~~ 2033 MHz

Base Clock

~~2589~~ 2602 MHz

Boost Clock

Updated 76 minutes agoPowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 8GB GDDR6 Memory, Powered by AMD RDNA 2, HDMI 2. 1

Buy on Amazon

$471.59

In Stock

Same as Founder’s Edition

Updated 76 minutes agoSapphire Technology Sapphire 11309-01-20G Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB GDDR6 HDMI/3DisplayPort PCI-Express 4.0 Video Card

Buy on Amazon

$384.98

In Stock

~~1968~~ 2064 MHz

Base Clock

~~2589~~ 2607 MHz

Boost Clock

Updated 76 minutes agoXFX Speedster SWFT210 Radeon RX 6600 XT CORE Gaming Graphics Card with 8GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 2 RX-66XT8DFDQ

Buy on Amazon

$499.99

In Stock

Same as Founder’s Edition

Updated 76 minutes agoXFX Speedster QICK308 Radeon RX 6600 XT Black Gaming Graphics Card with 8GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 2 RX-66XT8LBDQ

Buy on Amazon

$419.99

In Stock

Same as Founder’s Edition

Updated 76 minutes agoSapphire 11309-03-20G Pulse AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming Graphics Card with 8GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 2

Buy on Amazon

$529.99

In Stock

~~1968~~ 2000 MHz

Base Clock

~~2589~~ 2593 MHz

Boost Clock

Updated 76 minutes agoSapphire Technology Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card, 11309-01-20G

Buy on Amazon

$389. 99

In Stock

~~1968~~ 2064 MHz

Base Clock

~~2589~~ 2607 MHz

Boost Clock

Updated 76 minutes ago

Key Differences

In short — Radeon RX 6600 XT outperforms Radeon R9 290X on the selected game parameters. We do not have the prices of both CPUs to compare value. The better performing Radeon RX 6600 XT is 2836 days newer than Radeon R9 290X.

Advantages of AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

Performs up to 23% better in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive than Radeon R9 290X — 493 vs 401 FPS
Consumes up to 45% less energy than AMD Radeon R9 290X — 160 vs 290 Watts
Up to 100% more VRAM memory than AMD Radeon R9 290X — 8 vs 4 GB

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Resolution

1920×1080

Game Graphics

High

Radeon R9 290X

Desktop • Oct 24th, 2013

FPS

401

81%

Value, $/FPS

Price, $

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Desktop • Jul 30th, 2021

FPS

493

100%

Value, $/FPS

$0. 69/FPS

100%

Price, $

$339.99

100%

FPS and Value Winner

MSI Gaming AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 128-bit 8GB GDDR6 DP/HDMI Dual Torx Fans FreeSync DirectX 12 VR Ready OC Graphics Card (RX 6600 XT MECH 2X 8G OC)

Buy for $339.99 on Amazon

In Stock

Updated 76 minutes ago

Resolution

1920×1080

Game Graphics

High

Radeon R9 290X

Desktop • Oct 24th, 2013

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Desktop • Jul 30th, 2021

652

FPS

830

FPS

League of Legends

147

FPS

205

FPS

Grand Theft Auto V

862

FPS

1042

FPS

Minecraft

291

FPS

380

FPS

VALORANT

401

FPS

493

FPS

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Theoretical Performance

Radeon R9 290X

Desktop • Oct 24th, 2013

Pixel Fillrate

64 GPixel/s

39%

Texel Fillrate

176 GTexel/s

53%

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Desktop • Jul 30th, 2021

Pixel Fillrate

165. 7 GPixel/s

100%

Texel Fillrate

331.4 GTexel/s

100%

AMD Radeon R9 290X	vs	AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
Oct 24th, 2013	Release Date	Jul 30th, 2021
Volcanic Islands	Generation	Navi II
$549	MSRP	$379
2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	Outputs	1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a
1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	Power Connectors	1x 8-pin
Desktop	Segment	Desktop
4 GB	Memory	8 GB
GDDR5	Type	GDDR6
512-bit	Bus	128-bit
320 GB/s	Bandwidth	256 GB/s
1000 MHz	Base Clock Speed	1968 MHz
Not Available	Boost Clock Speed	2589 MHz
1250 MHz	Memory Clock Speed	2000 MHz

Builds Using Radeon R9 290X or Radeon RX 6600 XT

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, 1080p, High

Skytech Blaze 3. 0 Gaming PC

398 FPS

$2.64/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Core i5-10400F

16 GB, N/A Storage

Buy on Amazon

$1,049.99

In Stock

Updated 67 minutes ago

iBUYPOWER Pro Gaming PC

506 FPS

$2.53/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Core i7-11700F

16 GB, 480 GB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$1,282.49

In Stock

Updated 66 minutes ago

HP OMEN 30L Gaming Desktop PC

480 FPS

$1.8/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

16 GB, 512 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD

Buy on Amazon

$864.99

In Stock

Updated 57 minutes ago

HP OMEN Gaming Premium Desktop PC

480 FPS

$1.75/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

16 GB, 1 TB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$839.99

In Stock

Updated 57 minutes ago

iBUYPOWER Pro Gaming PC

480 FPS

$2.68/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

16 GB, 480 GB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$1,287. 69

In Stock

Updated 67 minutes ago

Skytech Blaze 3.0 Black Gaming PC

424 FPS

$2.59/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 3600

16 GB, 1 TB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$1,099.99

In Stock

Updated 67 minutes ago

HP Pavilion Gaming PC

505 FPS

$1.86/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 7 5700G

16 GB, 512 GB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$938.5

In Stock

Updated 67 minutes ago

HP OMEN 30L Gaming Desktop PC

480 FPS

$2.04/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

32 GB, 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD

Buy on Amazon

$979.99

In Stock

Updated 57 minutes ago

HP OMEN Gaming Premium Desktop PC

480 FPS

$1.94/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

32 GB, 1 TB SSD

Buy on Amazon

$929.99

In Stock

Updated 57 minutes ago

HP OMEN 30L Gaming Desktop PC

480 FPS

$2. 31/FPS

Radeon RX 6600 XT

Ryzen 5 5600G

64 GB, 1 TB SSD + 2 TB HDD

Buy on Amazon

$1,109.99

In Stock

Updated 57 minutes ago

Select from the most popular similar graphics card comparisons. Most compared graphics card combinations, including the currently selected ones, are at the top.

Radeon RX 6650 XT

$354.22

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 5700 XT

$699.99

GeForce RTX 2080

$849.95

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 5600 XT

$584.99

Radeon RX Vega 56

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon RX 5700

GeForce GTX 980

$540.9

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339.99

Radeon R9 290X

N/A Stock

Radeon Pro 5300

N/A Stock

GeForce RTX 3050

$319.99

Radeon RX 6600 XT

$339. 99

0024 320GB/s vs 256GB/s

256bit wider memory bus?
512bit vs 256bit

512 more stream processors?
2816 vs 2304

500million more transistors?
6200 million vs 5700 million

32 more texture units (TMUs)?
176 vs 144

32 more ROPs?
64 vs 32

2 more DVI outputs?
2 vs 0

Supports 2 more displays?
6 vs 4

Why is MSI Radeon RX 480 better than AMD Radeon R9 290X?

GPU frequency 120MHz higher?
1120MHz vs 1000MHz
0.65 TFLOPS higher than FLOPS?
5.16 TFLOPS vs 4.51 TFLOPS
130W below TDP?
120W vs 250W
750MHz faster memory speed?
2000MHz vs 1250MHz
3000MHz higher effective clock speed?
8000MHz vs 5000MHz
2x more VRAM?
8GB vs 4GB
20. 3 GTexels/s higher number of textured pixels?
161.3 GTexels/s vs 141 GTexels/s
1 newer version of OpenCL?
2.2 vs 1.2

What are the most popular comparisons?

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 580

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 570

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon R9 290

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD Radeon R9 290X

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon RX 550

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 470

AMD Radeon R

AMD Radeon R9 290X

AMD Radeon R9 390X

MSI Radeon RX 480

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 8GB Limited Edition

AMD Radeon R9 290X

PowerColor R9 290X OC

MSI Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 390

AMD Radeon R9 290x

AMD Radeon RX 560

MSI Radeon RX 480 9000 9000 9505050505

NVIDIA GEFR290X)

1266MHz

When the GPU is running below its limits, it can jump to a higher clock speed to increase performance.

3.pixel rate

35.2 GPixel/s

35.8 GPixel/s

The number of pixels that can be displayed on the screen every second.

4.flops

4.51 TFLOPS

5.16 TFLOPS

FLOPS is a measurement of GPU processing power.

5.texture size

141 GTexels/s

161.3 GTexels/s

Number of textured pixels that can be displayed on the screen every second.

6.GPU memory speed

1250MHz

2000MHz

Memory speed is one aspect that determines memory bandwidth.

7.shading patterns

Shading units (or stream processors) are small processors in a video card that are responsible for processing various aspects of an image.

8.textured units (TMUs)

TMUs accept textured units and bind them to the geometric layout of the 3D scene. More TMUs generally means texture information is processed faster.

9 ROPs

ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, such as writing the final pixel data to memory and for performing other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the appearance of graphics.

Memory

1.memory effective speed

5000MHz

8000MHz

The effective memory clock frequency is calculated from the memory size and data transfer rate. A higher clock speed can give better performance in games and other applications.

2.max memory bandwidth

320GB/s

256GB/s

This is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored in memory.

3.VRAM

VRAM (video RAM) is the dedicated memory of the graphics card. More VRAM usually allows you to run games at higher settings, especially for things like texture resolution.

4.memory bus width

512bit

256bit

Wider memory bus means it can carry more data per cycle. This is an important factor in memory performance, and therefore the overall performance of the graphics card.

5.versions of GDDR memory

Later versions of GDDR memory offer improvements such as higher data transfer rates, which improve performance.

6. Supports memory troubleshooting code

✖AMD Radeon R9 290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

Memory troubleshooting code can detect and fix data corruption. It is used when necessary to avoid distortion, such as in scientific computing or when starting a server.

Functions

1.DirectX version

DirectX is used in games with a new version that supports better graphics.

2nd version of OpenGL

The newer version of OpenGL, the better graphics quality in games.

OpenCL version 3.

Some applications use OpenCL to use the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions are more functional and better quality.

4. Supports multi-monitor technology

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

The video card has the ability to connect multiple displays. This allows you to set up multiple monitors at the same time to create a more immersive gaming experience, such as a wider field of view.

5. GPU temperature at boot

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

Lower boot temperature means the card generates less heat and the cooling system works better.

6.supports ray tracing

✖AMD Radeon R9 290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

Ray tracing is an advanced light rendering technique that provides more realistic lighting, shadows and reflections in games.

7. Supports 3D

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

Allows you to view in 3D (if you have a 3D screen and glasses).

8.supports DLSS

✖AMD Radeon R9290X

✖MSI Radeon RX 480

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an AI based scaling technology. This allows the graphics card to render games at lower resolutions and upscale them to higher resolutions with near-native visual quality and improved performance. DLSS is only available in some games.

9. PassMark result (G3D)

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

This test measures the graphics performance of a graphics card. Source: Pass Mark.

Ports

1.has HDMI output

✔AMD Radeon R9 290X

✔MSI Radeon RX 480

Devices with HDMI or mini HDMI ports can stream HD video and audio to the connected display.

2.HDMI connectors

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (AMD Radeon R9 290X)

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

More HDMI connections allow you to connect multiple devices at the same time, such as game consoles and TVs.

3rd HDMI version

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (AMD Radeon R9 290X)

Unknown. Help us offer a price. (MSI Radeon RX 480)

Newer versions of HDMI support higher bandwidth for higher resolutions and frame rates.

4.DisplayPort 9 outputs0003

Allows you to connect to a display using DisplayPort.

5.DVI outputs

Allows connection to a display using DVI.

Mini DisplayPort 6.outs

Allows connection to a display using Mini DisplayPort.

Price match

Cancel

Which graphic cards are better?

R9 290 vs rx 580

Why is AMD Radeon R9 290 better than AMD Radeon RX 580?

64GB/s more memory bandwidth

Why is AMD Radeon RX 580 better than AMD Radeon R9 290?

GPU frequency 458MHz over

What are the most popular comparisons?

AMD Radeon R9 290

Gigabyte Radeon RX 570

AMD Radeon RX 580

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

AMD Radeon R9 290

MSI Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon RX 580

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070

AMD Radeon R9 290

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

AMD Radeon RX 580

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

AMD Radeon R9 290

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon RX 590

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD Radeon RX 560

AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD Radeon RX 580x

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD Radeon R

AMD Radeon RX 580

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

AMD Radeon R9 290

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060

AMD Radeon RX 580

XFX Radeon RX 590 Fatboy

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD Radeon RX 550

AMD Radeon RX 580

Palit GeForce GTX 1660 Stormx

AMD Radeon R9 290

NVIDIA GTX 770

AMD RADEON RX 580

AMD Radeon RX VEGA VEDEN energy to be dissipated by the cooling system. A lower TDP also usually means less power consumption.

A higher transistor count usually indicates a newer, more powerful processor.

Nvidia Quadro GV100

A smaller size indicates a newer process for making the chip.

AMD Radeon RX 570

PCI Express (PCIe) is a high speed expansion card standard that is used to connect a computer to its peripherals. Newer versions support higher throughput and provide better performance.

R9 290	RX 580	Difference
AMD Radeon R9 290	AMD Radeon RX 580
Price	₽ 20,332.9	₽ 9,904.1	10428.8 (51%)
Year	2013	2017	4 (0%)
Maximum recorded temperature	94C	75C	19 (20%)
Maximum fan noise	60.1dB	45. 7dB	14.4 (24%)
Recommended power supply	625W	535W	90 (14%)
Reference Processor	Intel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz ($248.98)	Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4.20GHz ($354.99)
CPU effect on FPS	+0.0 FPS	+0.0 FPS	0 (0%)
CPU impact on FPS%	0.0%	0.0%	0 (0%)
Benchmark quality parameters	Low Quality Settings	Low Quality Settings
Average performance 1080p	162.2 FPS	176.3 FPS	14.1 (9%)
Average performance 1440p	148.3 FPS	157.7 FPS	9.4 (6%)
(Ultrawide) Average performance 1440p	127.6 FPS	134.2 FPS	6.6 (5%)
Average 4K performance	97. 9 FPS	101.0 FPS	3.1 (3%)
Memory	4GB	8GB	4 (100%)
1080p cost per frame	₽ 434.9	₽ 202.0	232.9 (54%)
1440p Cost Per Frame	₽ 604.1	₽ 285.3	318.8 (53%)
(Ultrawide) 1440p Cost Per Frame	₽ 695.9	₽ 339.8	356.1 (51%)
4K Cost Per Frame	₽ 972.7	₽ 500.5	472.2 (49%)
Variant	AMD Radeon R9 290	AMD Radeon RX 580
Total score combination

Total score combination

Description	Metric	From	to	Weight
The release year of the graphics card. The newer the better technology and performance optimization and driver support.	Year	2016	2019	13
2015	2016	11
2014	2015	8
2013	2014	4
2007	2013	2
The price of the graphics card. The cheaper the better.	Price		250	35
250	400	30
400	550	25
550	650	15
650	9999	5
Power Supply Wattage required for overall system. The lower the better.	PSU		350	4
350	450	4
450	550	3
550	650	2
650	9999	1
Maximum recorded temperature under load. The lower the better for longer life of the graphics card.	Temp		70	2
70	75	2
75	80	1
80	85	1
85	999	1
Noise Levels under load. The lower the better.	Noise		45	2
45	48	2
48	50	2
50	55	1
55	999	1
Full HD performance at 1080p resolution. The higher the better.	FHD	60	9999	18
55	60	13
45	55	11
35	45	7
	35	5
Quad HD performance at 1440p resolution. The higher the better.	QHD	60	9999	10
55	60	8
45	55	5
35	45	4
	35	2
4K performance at 2160p resolution. The higher the better.	F4K	60	9999	5
55	60	4
45	55	3
35	45	2
	35	1
Current CPU Impact on performance with respect to the highest performing CPU used for benchmark at the time this graphics card was released.	CPU	-5	9999	5
-7	-5	4
-10	-7	3
-15	-10	2
-9999	-15	1
Graphics card memory (RAM) capacity. The higher the better for higher resolution textures and future demanding games.	MEM	8	9999	5
4	8	4
2	4	3
1	2	2
	1	1
FROM	TO	VERDICT
The overall score is determined based on the calculated weightings for the individual components.	OVERALL SCORE	80	99	Excellent
70	80	Very Good
60	70	Good
40	60	Acceptable
	40	Weak

81/100 97/100 16 (20%)

AMD Radeon R9 290

AMD’s xx90 card has always been high-end priced with performance that knocks on the doors of extreme graphics cards — especially when overclocked. After taking the time to fully test the GCN 2.0 graphics card inside the R9290, we can say without a doubt that she continues the trend.

For 1080p Full HD, we could play Fallout 76, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, World War Z, Resident Evil 2, Strange Brigade at 61 fps to 69 fps, and kept the frame rate 66 around 66 fps.

AMD Radeon RX 580

AMD’s xx80 card has always been mid-range priced with performance that knocks on the doors of high-end graphics cards — especially when overclocked. Having taken the time to fully test the GCN 4.0 graphics card inside the RX 580, we can say without a doubt that it continues the trend. The RX 580 is much cheaper than the RX 480 as it costs ₽15020.1. Compare that to the RX 480, which originally came in at $26,236. Meanwhile, the closest equivalent NVIDIA card is the GTX 1060 6GB, which costs $16,659..9.

Unfortunately, the gaming performance was not as impressive. Even if the RX 580 consistently delivers frame rate increases over the RX 480, the gain is not that much of an RX 480 to justify an upgrade. For 1080p Full HD, we were able to play Final Fantasy XV, Apex Legends, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, F1 2019, Forza Horizon 4 at 62 fps to 68 fps, and kept the frame rate at 65 around 65 fps.

For 1440p Quad HD, we could play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Fallout 76, World War Z, Battlefield V at 64 fps to 70 fps, and kept the frame rate 66 around 66 fps.

Comparative analysis of AMD Radeon RX 580 and AMD Radeon R9 290X video cards by all known characteristics in the categories: General information, Specifications, Video outputs and ports, Compatibility, dimensions, requirements, API support, Memory, Technology support. Analysis of video card performance by benchmarks: PassMark — G3D Mark, PassMark — G2D Mark, Geekbench — OpenCL, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — T -Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), GFXBench 4. 0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Fps), 3DMark Fire Strike — Graphics Score.

Benefits

Reasons to choose AMD Radeon RX 580

Newer graphics card, release date difference 3 year(s) 5 month(s)
Boost core clock 41% higher: 1340 MHz vs 947 MHz
1096.4 times faster texturing speed: 192.96 GTexel/s vs 176.0 GTexel/s
A newer manufacturing process for the video card allows it to be more powerful, but with lower power consumption: 14 nm vs 28 nm
Approximately 35% less power consumption: 185 Watt vs 250 Watt
Maximum memory size is 2 times larger: 8 GB vs 4 GB
Memory frequency 6.4 times more: 8000 MHz vs 1250 MHz
Performance in GFXBench 4.0 — Car Chase Offscreen (Frames) about 38% better: 15099 vs 10905
Performance in GFXBench 4. 0 benchmark — Car Chase Offscreen (Fps) about 38% more: 15099 vs 10905

Features
Issue date	18 April 2017 vs 24 October 2013
Boost Core Clock	1340 MHz vs 947 MHz
Texturing speed	192.96 GTexel/s vs 176.0 GTexel/s
Process	14 nm vs 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	185 Watt vs 250 Watt
Maximum memory size	8 GB vs 4 GB
Memory frequency	8000 MHz vs 1250 MHz
Benchmarks
GFXBench 4.0 – Car Chase Offscreen (Frames)	15099 vs 10905
GFXBench 4.0 — T-Rex (Frames)	3361 vs 3353
GFXBench 4.0 – Car Chase Offscreen (Fps)	15099 vs 10905
GFXBench 4. 0 — T-Rex (Fps)	3361 vs 3353

Reasons to choose AMD Radeon R9 290X

22% more shader processors: 2816 vs 2304
908.4 times better floating point performance: 5,632 gflops vs 6.2 TFLOPs
Geekbench — OpenCL performance about 2% better: 44033 vs 43263
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop – Face Detection (mPixels/s) performance about 7% better: 124.442 vs 116.37
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop – Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 2.5x better performance: 2525.314 vs 1019.049
Performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop – T-Rex (Frames/s) about 20% better: 11.12 vs 9.237
Performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — V >

Features
Number of shaders	2816 vs 2304
Floating point performance	5,632 gflops vs 6.2 TFLOPs
Benchmarks
Geekbench — OpenCL	44033 vs 43263
CompuBench 1. 5 Desktop – Face Detection (mPixels/s)	124.442 vs 116.37
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop – Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	2525.314 vs 1019.049
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — T-Rex (Frames/s)	11.12 vs 9.237
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop — Video Composition (Frames/s)	120.942 vs 84.493
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop – Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	628.757 vs 607.721
GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Frames)	5132 vs 3695
GFXBench 4.0 — Manhattan (Fps)	5132 vs 3695

Benchmarks comparison0002 AMDRadeon RX 6950 XTRadeon RX 6900 XTRadeon RX 6800 XTRadeon RX 6800Radeon RX 6750 XTRadeon RX 6700 XTRadeon RX 6700Radeon RX 6650 XTRadeon RX 6600 XTRadeon RX 6600Radeon RX 6500 XTRadeon RX 6400Radeon RX 5700 XTRadeon RX 5700Radeon RX 5600 XTRadeon RX 5500 XTRadeon VIIRadeon RX Vega 64Radeon RX Vega 56Radeon RX 590Radeon RX 580 XTRRadeon RX 580Radeon RX 570Radeon RX 560Radeon RX 550Radeon RX 480Radeon RX 470Radeon RX 460Radeon R9 Fury XRadeon R9 FuryRadeon R9 NanoRadeon R9 390XRadeon R9 39380XRadeon R9 380Radeon R7 370Radeon R7 360Radeon R9 295X2Radeon R9 290XRadeon R9 290Radeon R9 280XRadeon R9 285Radeon R9 280Radeon R9 270XRadeon R9 270Radeon R7 265Radeon R7 260XRadeon R7 260Radeon R7 250Radeon R7 240Radeon HD 7970Radeon HD 7950Radeon HD 7870 XTRadeon HD 7870Radeon HD 7850Radeon HD 7790Radeon HD 7770Radeon HD 7750Radeon HD 6990Radeon HD 6970Radeon HD 6950Radeon HD 6930Radeon HD 6870Radeon HD 6850Radeon HD 6790Radeon HD 6770Radeon HD 6750Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5Radeon HD 6670 GDDR3Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5Radeon HD 6570 GDDR3Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5Radeon HD 6450 GDDR3Radeon HD 5570 GDDR5Radeon HD 3750Radeon HD 3730Radeon HD 5970Radeon HD 5870Radeon HD 5850Radeon HD 5830Radeon HD 5770Radeon HD 5750Radeon HD 5670Radeon HD 5570Radeon HD 5550Radeon HD 5450Radeon HD 4890Radeon HD 4870 X2Radeon HD 4870Radeon HD 4860Radeon HD 4850 X2Radeon HD 4850Radeon HD 4830Radeon HD 4790Radeon HD 4770Radeon HD 4730Radeon HD 4670Radeon HD 4650Radeon HD 4550Radeon HD 4350Radeon HD 4290 (IGP 890GX) Radeon HD 4200 (IGP) Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 3870 Radeon HD 3850 Radeon HD 3690 Radeon HD 3650 Radeon HD 3470 Radeon HD 345000 XT 1Gb GDDR4Radeon HD 2900 XTRadeon HD 2900 PRORadeon HD 2900 GTRadeon HD 2600 XT DUALRadeon HD 2600 XT GDDR4Radeon HD 2600 XTRadeon HD 2600 PRORadeon HD 2400 XTRadeon HD 2400 PRORadeon HD 2350Radeon X1950 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1950 XTXRadeon X1950 XTRadeon X1950 PRO DUALRadeon X1950 PRORadeon X1950 GTRadeon X1900 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1900 XTXRadeon X1900 XTRadeon X1900 GT Rev2Radeon X1900 GTRadeon X1800 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1800 XT PE 512MBRadeon X1800 XTRadeon X1800 XLRadeon X1800 GTORadeon X1650 XTRadeon X1650 GTRadeon X1650 XL DDR3Radeon X1650 XL DDR2Radeon X1650 PRO on RV530XTRadeon X1650 PRO on RV535XTRadeon X1650Radeon X1600 XTRadeon X1600 PRORadeon X1550 PRORadeon X1550Radeon X1550 LERadeon X1300 XT on RV530ProRadeon X1300 XT on RV535ProRadeon X1300 CERadeon X1300 ProRadeon X1300Radeon X1300 LERadeon X1300 HMRadeon X1050Radeon X850 XT Platinum EditionRadeon X850 XT CrossFire EditionRadeon X850 XT Radeon X850 Pro Radeon X800 XT Platinum EditionRadeon X800 XTRadeon X800 CrossFire EditionRadeon X800 XLRadeon X800 GTO 256MBRadeon X800 GTO 128MBRadeon X800 GTO2 256MBRadeon X800Radeon X800 ProRadeon X800 GT 256MBRadeon X800 GT 128MBRadeon X800 SERadeon X700 XTRadeon X700 ProRadeon X700Radeon X600 XTRadeon X600 ProRadeon X550 XTRadeon X550Radeon X300 SE 128MB HM-256MBRadeon X300 SE 32MB HM-128MBRadeon X300Radeon X300 SERadeon 9800 XTRadeon 9800 PRO /DDR IIRadeon 9800 PRO /DDRRadeon 9800Radeon 9800 SE-256 bitRadeon 9800 SE-128 bitRadeon 9700 PRORadeon 9700Radeon 9600 XTRadeon 9600 PRORadeon 9600Radeon 9600 SERadeon 9600 TXRadeon 9550 XTRadeon 9550Radeon 9550 SERadeon 9500 PRORadeon 9500 /128 MBRadeon 9500 /64 MBRadeon 9250Radeon 9200 PRORadeon 9200Radeon 9200 SERadeon 9000 PRORadeon 9000Radeon 9000 XTRadeon 8500 LE / 9100Radeon 8500Radeon 7500Radeon 7200 Radeon LE Radeon DDR OEM Radeon DDR Radeon SDR Radeon VE / 7000Rage 128 GL Rage 128 VR Rage 128 PRO AFRRage 128 PRORage 1283D Rage ProNVIDIAGeForce RTX 4090GeForce RTX 4080 16GBGeForce RTX 4080 12GBGeForce RTX 3090 TiGeForce RTX 3090GeForce RTX 3080 TiGeForce RTX 3080 12GBGeForce RTX 3080GeForce RTX 3070 TiGeForce RTX 3070GeForce RTX 3060 TiGeForce RTX 3060 rev.

2GeForce RTX 3060GeForce RTX 3050GeForce RTX 2080 TiGeForce RTX 2080 SuperGeForce RTX 2080GeForce RTX 2070 SuperGeForce RTX 2070GeForce RTX 2060 SuperGeForce RTX 2060GeForce GTX 1660 TiGeForce GTX 1660 SuperGeForce GTX 1660GeForce GTX 1650 SuperGeForce GTX 1650 GDDR6GeForce GTX 1650 rev.3GeForce GTX 1650 rev.2GeForce GTX 1650GeForce GTX 1630GeForce GTX 1080 TiGeForce GTX 1080GeForce GTX 1070 TiGeForce GTX 1070GeForce GTX 1060GeForce GTX 1060 3GBGeForce GTX 1050 TiGeForce GTX 1050 3GBGeForce GTX 1050GeForce GT 1030GeForce GTX Titan XGeForce GTX 980 TiGeForce GTX 980GeForce GTX 970GeForce GTX 960GeForce GTX 950GeForce GTX TitanGeForce GTX 780 TiGeForce GTX 780GeForce GTX 770GeForce GTX 760GeForce GTX 750 TiGeForce GTX 750GeForce GT 740GeForce GT 730GeForce GTX 690GeForce GTX 680GeForce GTX 670GeForce GTX 660 TiGeForce GTX 660GeForce GTX 650 Ti BoostGeForce GTX 650 TiGeForce GTX 650GeForce GT 640 rev.2GeForce GT 640GeForce GT 630 rev.2GeForce GT 630GeForce GTX 590GeForce GTX 580GeForce GTX 570GeForce GTX 560 TiGeForce GTX 560GeForce GTX 550 TiGeForce GT 520GeForce GTX 480GeForce GTX 470GeForce GTX 465GeForce GTX 460 SEGeForce GTX 460 1024MBGeForce GTX 460 768MBGeForce GTS 450GeForce GT 440 GDDR5GeForce GT 440 GDDR3GeForce GT 430GeForce GT 420GeForce GTX 295GeForce GTX 285GeForce GTX 280GeForce GTX 275GeForce GTX 260 rev. 2GeForce GTX 260GeForce GTS 250GeForce GTS 240GeForce GT 240GeForce GT 230GeForce GT 220GeForce 210Geforce 205GeForce GTS 150GeForce GT 130GeForce GT 120GeForce G100GeForce 9800 GTX+GeForce 9800 GTXGeForce 9800 GTSGeForce 9800 GTGeForce 9800 GX2GeForce 9600 GTGeForce 9600 GSO (G94)GeForce 9600 GSOGeForce 9500 GTGeForce 9500 GSGeForce 9400 GTGeForce 9400GeForce 9300GeForce 8800 ULTRAGeForce 8800 GTXGeForce 8800 GTS Rev2GeForce 8800 GTSGeForce 8800 GTGeForce 8800 GS 768MBGeForce 8800 GS 384MBGeForce 8600 GTSGeForce 8600 GTGeForce 8600 GSGeForce 8500 GT DDR3GeForce 8500 GT DDR2GeForce 8400 GSGeForce 8300GeForce 8200GeForce 8100GeForce 7950 GX2GeForce 7950 GTGeForce 7900 GTXGeForce 7900 GTOGeForce 7900 GTGeForce 7900 GSGeForce 7800 GTX 512MBGeForce 7800 GTXGeForce 7800 GTGeForce 7800 GS AGPGeForce 7800 GSGeForce 7600 GT Rev.2GeForce 7600 GTGeForce 7600 GS 256MBGeForce 7600 GS 512MBGeForce 7300 GT Ver2GeForce 7300 GTGeForce 7300 GSGeForce 7300 LEGeForce 7300 SEGeForce 7200 GSGeForce 7100 GS TC 128 (512)GeForce 6800 Ultra 512MBGeForce 6800 UltraGeForce 6800 GT 256MBGeForce 6800 GT 128MBGeForce 6800 GTOGeForce 6800 256MB PCI-EGeForce 6800 128MB PCI-EGeForce 6800 LE PCI-EGeForce 6800 256MB AGPGeForce 6800 128MB AGPGeForce 6800 LE AGPGeForce 6800 GS AGPGeForce 6800 GS PCI-EGeForce 6800 XTGeForce 6600 GT PCI-EGeForce 6600 GT AGPGeForce 6600 DDR2GeForce 6600 PCI-EGeForce 6600 AGPGeForce 6600 LEGeForce 6200 NV43VGeForce 6200GeForce 6200 NV43AGeForce 6500GeForce 6200 TC 64(256)GeForce 6200 TC 32(128)GeForce 6200 TC 16(128)GeForce PCX5950GeForce PCX 5900GeForce PCX 5750GeForce PCX 5550GeForce PCX 5300GeForce PCX 4300GeForce FX 5950 UltraGeForce FX 5900 UltraGeForce FX 5900GeForce FX 5900 ZTGeForce FX 5900 XTGeForce FX 5800 UltraGeForce FX 5800GeForce FX 5700 Ultra /DDR-3GeForce FX 5700 Ultra /DDR-2GeForce FX 5700GeForce FX 5700 LEGeForce FX 5600 Ultra (rev. 2)GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (rev.1)GeForce FX 5600 XTGeForce FX 5600GeForce FX 5500GeForce FX 5200 UltraGeForce FX 5200GeForce FX 5200 SEGeForce 4 Ti 4800GeForce 4 Ti 4800-SEGeForce 4 Ti 4200-8xGeForce 4 Ti 4600GeForce 4 Ti 4400GeForce 4 Ti 4200GeForce 4 MX 4000GeForce 4 MX 440-8x / 480GeForce 4 MX 460GeForce 4 MX 440GeForce 4 MX 440-SEGeForce 4 MX 420GeForce 3 Ti500GeForce 3 Ti200GeForce 3GeForce 2 Ti VXGeForce 2 TitaniumGeForce 2 UltraGeForce 2 PROGeForce 2 GTSGeForce 2 MX 400GeForce 2 MX 200GeForce 2 MXGeForce 256 DDRGeForce 256Riva TNT 2 UltraRiva TNT 2 PRORiva TNT 2Riva TNT 2 M64Riva TNT 2 Vanta LTRiva TNT 2 VantaRiva TNTRiva 128 ZXRiva 128 9Fury XRadeon R9 FuryRadeon R9 NanoRadeon R9 390XRadeon R9 390Radeon R9 380XRadeon R9 380Radeon R7 370Radeon R7 360Radeon R9 295X2Radeon R9 290XRadeon R9 290Radeon R9 280XRadeon R9 285Radeon R9 280Radeon R9 270XRadeon R9 270Radeon R7 265Radeon R7 260XRadeon R7 260Radeon R7 250Radeon R7 240Radeon HD 7970Radeon HD 7950Radeon HD 7870 XTRadeon HD 7870Radeon HD 7850Radeon HD 7790Radeon HD 7770Radeon HD 7750Radeon HD 6990Radeon HD 6970Radeon HD 6950Radeon HD 6930Radeon HD 6870Radeon HD 6850Radeon HD 6790Radeon HD 6770Radeon HD 6750Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5Radeon HD 6670 GDDR3Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5Radeon HD 6570 GDDR3Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5Radeon HD 6450 GDDR3Radeon HD 5570 GDDR5Radeon HD 3750Radeon HD 3730Radeon HD 5970Radeon HD 5870Radeon HD 5850Radeon HD 5830Radeon HD 5770Radeon HD 5750Radeon HD 5670Radeon HD 5570Radeon HD 5550Radeon HD 5450Radeon HD 4890Radeon HD 4870 X2Radeon HD 4870Radeon HD 4860Radeon HD 4850 X2Radeon HD 4850Radeon HD 4830Radeon HD 4790Radeon HD 4770Radeon HD 4730Radeon HD 4670Radeon HD 4650Radeon HD 4550Radeon HD 4350Radeon HD 4350Radeon HD 43500 (IGP 890GX) Radeon HD 4200 (IGP)Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 3850Radeon HD 3690Radeon HD 3650Radeon HD 3470Radeon HD 3450Radeon HD 3300 (IGP)Radeon HD 3200 (IGP)Radeon HD 3100 (IGP)Radeon HD 2900 XT 1Gb GDDR4Radeon HD 2900 XTRadeon HD 2900 PRORadeon HD 2900 GTRadeon HD 2600 XT DUALRadeon HD 2600 XT GDDR4Radeon HD 2600 XTRadeon HD 2600 PRORadeon HD 2400 XTRadeon HD 2400 PRORadeon HD 2350Radeon X1950 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1950 XTXRadeon X1950 XTRadeon X1950 PRO DUALRadeon X1950 PRORadeon X1950 GTRadeon X1900 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1900 XTXRadeon X1900 XTRadeon X1900 GT Rev2Radeon X1900 GTRadeon X1800 CrossFire EditionRadeon X1800 XT PE 512MBRadeon X1800 XTRadeon X1800 XLRadeon X1800 GTORadeon X1650 XTRadeon X1650 GTRadeon X1650 XL DDR3Radeon X1650 XL DDR2Radeon X1650 PRO on RV530XTRadeon X1650 PRO on RV535XTRadeon X1650Radeon X1600 XTRadeon X1600 PRORadeon X1550 PRORadeon X1550Radeon X1550 LERadeon X1300 XT on RV530ProRadeon X1300 XT on RV535ProRadeon X1300 CERadeon X1300 ProRadeon X1300Radeon X1300 LERadeon X1300 HMRadeon X1050Radeon X850 XT Platinum EditionRadeon X850 XT CrossFire EditionRadeon X850 XT Radeon X850 Pro Radeon X800 XT Platinum EditionRadeon X800 XTRadeon X800 CrossFire EditionRadeon X800 XLRadeon X800 GTO 256MBRadeon X800 GTO 128MBRadeon X800 GTO2 256MBRadeon X800Radeon X800 ProRadeon X800 GT 256MBRadeon X800 GT 128MBRadeon X800 SERadeon X700 XTRadeon X700 ProRadeon X700Radeon X600 XTRadeon X600 ProRadeon X550 XTRadeon X550Radeon X300 SE 128MB HM-256MBR adeon X300 SE 32MB HM-128MBRadeon X300Radeon X300 SERadeon 9800 XTRadeon 9800 PRO /DDR IIRadeon 9800 PRO /DDRRadeon 9800Radeon 9800 SE-256 bitRadeon 9800 SE-128 bitRadeon 9700 PRORadeon 9700Radeon 9600 XTRadeon 9600 PRORadeon 9600Radeon 9600 SERadeon 9600 TXRadeon 9550 XTRadeon 9550Radeon 9550 SERadeon 9500 PRORadeon 9500 /128 MBRadeon 9500 /64 MBRadeon 9250Radeon 9200 PRORadeon 9200Radeon 9200 SERadeon 9000 PRORadeon 9000Radeon 9000 XTRadeon 8500 LE / 9100Radeon 8500Radeon 7500Radeon 7200 Radeon LE Radeon DDR OEM Radeon DDR Radeon SDR Radeon VE / 7000Rage 128 GL Rage 128 VR Rage 128 PRO AFRRage 128 PRORage 1283D Rage ProNVIDIAGeForce RTX 4090GeForce RTX 4080 16GBGeForce RTX 4080 12GBGeForce RTX 3090 TiGeForce RTX 3090GeForce RTX 3080 TiGeForce RTX 3080 12GBGeForce RTX 3080GeForce RTX 3070 TiGeForce RTX 3070GeForce RTX 3060 TiGeForce RTX 3060 rev. 2GeForce RTX 3060GeForce RTX 3050GeForce RTX 2080 TiGeForce RTX 2080 SuperGeForce RTX 2080GeForce RTX 2070 SuperGeForce RTX 2070GeForce RTX 2060 SuperGeForce RTX 2060GeForce GTX 1660 TiGeForce GTX 1660 SuperGeForce GTX 1660GeForce GTX 1650 SuperGeForce GTX 1650 GDDR6GeForce GTX 1650 rev.3GeForce GTX 1650 rev.2GeForce GTX 1650GeForce GTX 1630GeForce GTX 1080 TiGeForce GTX 1080GeForce GTX 1070 TiGeForce GTX 1070GeForce GTX 1060GeForce GTX 1060 3GBGeForce GTX 1050 TiGeForce GTX 1050 3GBGeForce GTX 1050GeForce GT 1030GeForce GTX Titan XGeForce GTX 980 TiGeForce GTX 980GeForce GTX 970GeForce GTX 960GeForce GTX 950GeForce GTX TitanGeForce GTX 780 TiGeForce GTX 780GeForce GTX 770GeForce GTX 760GeForce GTX 750 TiGeForce GTX 750GeForce GT 740GeForce GT 730GeForce GTX 690GeForce GTX 680GeForce GTX 670GeForce GTX 660 TiGeForce GTX 660GeForce GTX 650 Ti BoostGeForce GTX 650 TiGeForce GTX 650GeForce GT 640 rev.2GeForce GT 640GeForce GT 630 rev.2GeForce GT 630GeForce GTX 590GeForce GTX 580GeForce GTX 570GeForce GTX 560 TiGeForce GTX 560GeForce GTX 550 TiGeForce GT 520GeForce GTX 480GeForce GTX 470GeForce GTX 465GeForce GTX 460 SEGeForce GTX 460 1024MBGeForce GTX 460 768MBGeForce GTS 450GeForce GT 440 GDDR5GeForce GT 440 GDDR3GeForce GT 430GeForce GT 420GeForce GTX 295GeForce GTX 285GeForce GTX 280GeForce GTX 275GeForce GTX 260 rev. 2GeForce GTX 260GeForce GTS 250GeForce GTS 240GeForce GT 240GeForce GT 230GeForce GT 220GeForce 210Geforce 205GeForce GTS 150GeForce GT 130GeForce GT 120GeForce G100GeForce 9800 GTX+GeForce 9800 GTXGeForce 9800 GTSGeForce 9800 GTGeForce 9800 GX2GeForce 9600 GTGeForce 9600 GSO (G94)GeForce 9600 GSOGeForce 9500 GTGeForce 9500 GSGeForce 9400 GTGeForce 9400GeForce 9300GeForce 8800 ULTRAGeForce 8800 GTXGeForce 8800 GTS Rev2GeForce 8800 GTSGeForce 8800 GTGeForce 8800 GS 768MBGeForce 8800 GS 384MBGeForce 8600 GTSGeForce 8600 GTGeForce 8600 GSGeForce 8500 GT DDR3GeForce 8500 GT DDR2GeForce 8400 GSGeForce 8300GeForce 8200GeForce 8100GeForce 7950 GX2GeForce 7950 GTGeForce 7900 GTXGeForce 7900 GTOGeForce 7900 GTGeForce 7900 GSGeForce 7800 GTX 512MBGeForce 7800 GTXGeForce 7800 GTGeForce 7800 GS AGPGeForce 7800 GSGeForce 7600 GT Rev.2GeForce 7600 GTGeForce 7600 GS 256MBGeForce 7600 GS 512MBGeForce 7300 GT Ver2GeForce 7300 GTGeForce 7300 GSGeForce 7300 LEGeForce 7300 SEGeForce 7200 GSGeForce 7100 GS TC 128 (512)GeForce 6800 Ultra 512MBGeForce 6800 UltraGeForce 6800 GT 256MBGeForce 6800 GT 128MBGeForce 6800 GTOGeForce 6800 256MB PCI-EGeForce 6800 128MB PCI-EGeForce 6800 LE PCI-EGeForce 6800 256MB AGPGeForce 6800 128MB AGPGeForce 6800 LE AGPGeForce 6800 GS AGPGeForce 6800 GS PCI-EGeForce 6800 XTGeForce 6600 GT PCI-EGeForce 6600 GT AGPGeForce 6600 DDR2GeForce 6600 PCI-EGeForce 6600 AGPGeForce 6600 LEGeForce 6200 NV43VGeForce 6200GeForce 6200 NV43AGeForce 6500GeForce 6200 TC 64(256)GeForce 6200 TC 32(128)GeForce 6200 TC 16(128)GeForce PCX5950GeForce PCX 5900GeForce PCX 5750GeForce PCX 5550GeForce PCX 5300GeForce PCX 4300GeForce FX 5950 UltraGeForce FX 5900 UltraGeForce FX 5900GeForce FX 5900 ZTGeForce FX 5900 XTGeForce FX 5800 UltraGeForce FX 5800GeForce FX 5700 Ultra /DDR-3GeForce FX 5700 Ultra /DDR-2GeForce FX 5700GeForce FX 5700 LEGeForce FX 5600 Ultra (rev. 2)GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (rev.1)GeForce FX 5600 XTGeForce FX 5600GeForce FX 5500GeForce FX 5200 UltraGeForce FX 5200GeForce FX 5200 SEGeForce 4 Ti 4800GeForce 4 Ti 4800-SEGeForce 4 Ti 4200-8xGeForce 4 Ti 4600GeForce 4 Ti 4400GeForce 4 Ti 4200GeForce 4 MX 4000GeForce 4 MX 440-8x / 480GeForce 4 MX 460GeForce 4 MX 440GeForce 4 MX 440-SEGeForce 4 MX 420GeForce 3 Ti500GeForce 3 Ti200GeForce 3GeForce 2 Ti VXGeForce 2 TitaniumGeForce 2 UltraGeForce 2 PROGeForce 2 GTSGeForce 2 MX 400GeForce 2 MX 200GeForce 2 MXGeForce 256 DDRGeForce 256Riva TNT 2 UltraRiva TNT 2 PRORiva TNT 2Riva TNT 2 M64Riva TNT 2 Vanta LTRiva TNT 2 VantaRiva TNTRiva 128 ZXRiva 128

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Reviews of video cards AMD Radeon R9 290:

The Radeon R9 290 is AMD’s newest generation flagship. Testing an ASUS graphics card with DirectCU II cooling

ASUS R9290-DC2OC-4GD5

AMD Radeon RX 480 Overview. Benchmarks and specs

The AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card (GPU) is ranked #117 in our performance ranking. Manufacturer: AMD. AMD Radeon RX 480 runs at a minimum clock speed of 1120 MHz. The graphics chip is equipped with an acceleration system and can operate in turbo mode or when overclocked at a frequency of 1266 MHz. The RAM size is 4 GB GB with a clock speed of 2000 MHz and a bandwidth of 224 GB/s.

The AMD Radeon RX 480 power consumption is 150 Watt and the process technology is only 14 nm. Below you will find key compatibility, sizing, technology, and gaming performance test results. You can also leave comments if you have any questions.

Let’s take a closer look at the most important characteristics of the AMD Radeon RX 480. To get an idea of which graphics card is better, we recommend using the comparison service.

4.3
From 196
Hitesti Grade

General information

The base set of information will help you find out the release date of the AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card and its purpose (laptops or PCs), as well as the price at the time of release and the average current cost. This data also includes the architecture used by the manufacturer and the video processor code name.

Performance Rating Position:		153
Value for money:		49.01
Architecture:		Polaris
Code name:		Ellesmere
Type:		Desktop
Release date:		29 June 2016 (5 years ago)
Starting price:		$229
Current price:		$480 (2.1x MSRP)
Design:		reference
GCN generation:		4th Gen
Value for money:		23. 23
GPU Code Name:		Polaris 10 Ellesmere
Market segment:		Desktop

Specifications

This is important information that determines all the power characteristics of the AMD Radeon RX 480 video card. The smaller the chip manufacturing process, the better (in modern realities). The clock frequency of the core is responsible for its speed (direct correlation), while signal processing is carried out by transistors (the more transistors, the faster the calculations are performed, for example, in cryptocurrency mining).

Conveyors:		2304
Core Clock:		1120 MHz
Acceleration:		1266 MHz
Number of transistors:		5,700 million
Process:		14nm
Power consumption (TDP):		150 Watt
Number of texels processed in 1 second:		182. 3
Floating point:		5.834 gflops
Compute units:		36
Pipelines / CUDA cores:		2304
Acceleration speed:		1266 MHz
Number of transistors:		5,700 million
Estimated heat output:		150 Watt

Dimensions, Connectors & Compatibility

There are so many PC case and laptop form factors available today that it’s important to know the length of your graphics card and how it’s connected (except for laptop versions). This will help make the upgrade process easier, as Not all cases can accommodate modern video cards.

Interface:		PCIe 3.0 x16
Length:		241 mm
Additional power:		1x 6-pin
Tire support:		n/a
Bridgeless CrossFire:		1

Memory (frequency and overclocking)

Internal memory is used to store data when performing calculations. Modern games and professional graphics applications place high demands on the amount and speed of memory. The higher this parameter, the more powerful and faster the video card. Memory type, size and bandwidth for AMD Radeon RX 480 + turbo overclocking capability.

Memory type:		GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount:		4GB
Memory bus width:		256 Bit
Memory frequency:		2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth:		224 GB/s
Shared memory:		—

Support for ports and displays

As a rule, all modern video cards have several types of connections and additional ports, for example HDMI and DVI . Knowing these features is very important in order to avoid problems connecting a video card to a monitor or other peripherals.

Display connections:		1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Eyefinity:		1
HDMI:		2.0
DisplayPort support:		1.4HDR

Technologies

Each graphics card manufacturer complements their products with proprietary technologies that are used both in games and in the workflow. Below is a list of features that will be useful to you.

AppAcceleration:		n/a
CrossFire:		1
FRTC:		1
FreeSync:		+
HD3D:		n/a
LiquidVR:		1
PowerTune:		+
TressFX:		1
TrueAudio:		n/a
ZeroCore:		+
VCE:		+
Enduro:		n/a
UVD:		+
DisplayPort 1. 3 HBR / 1.4 HDR Ready:		+

API Support

All APIs supported by the AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card are listed below. This is a minor factor that does not greatly affect the overall performance.

DirectX:		DirectX® 12
OpenGL:		4.5
Vulkan:		+
Shader Model:		6.4
OpenCL:		2.0
		n/a

Overall gaming performance

All tests are based on FPS. Let’s take a look at how the AMD Radeon RX 480 scores in the gaming performance test (calculated based on the game developer’s recommended system requirements and may differ from actual situations).

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Horizon Zero DawnDeath StrandingF1 2020Gears TacticsDoom EternalHunt ShowdownEscape from TarkovHearthstoneRed Dead Redemption 2Star Wars Jedi Fallen OrderNeed for Speed HeatCall of Duty Modern Warfare 2019GRID 2019Ghost Recon BreakpointFIFA 20Borderlands 3ControlF1 2019League of LegendsTotal War: Three KingdomsRage 2Anno 1800The Division 2Dirt Rally 2. 0AnthemMetro ExodusFar Cry New DawnApex LegendsJust Cause 4Darksiders IIIFarming Simulator 19Battlefield VFallout 76Hitman 2Call of Duty Black Ops 4Assassin´s Creed OdysseyForza Horizon 4FIFA 19Shadow of the Tomb RaiderStrange BrigadeF1 2018Monster Hunter WorldThe Crew 2Far Cry 5World of Tanks enCoreX-Plane 11.11Kingdom Come: DeliveranceFinal Fantasy XV BenchmarkFortniteStar Wars Battlefront 2Need for Speed PaybackCall of Duty WWIIAssassin´s Creed OriginsWolfenstein II: The New ColossusDestiny 2ELEXThe Evil Survival 2Middle-earth:8 Shadow of WarFIFA EvolvedF1 2017Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (2017)Team Fortress 2Dirt 4Rocket LeaguePreyMass Effect AndromedaGhost Recon WildlandsFor HonorResident Evil 7Dishonored 2Call of Duty Infinite WarfareTitanfall 2Farming Simulator 17Civilization VIBattlefield 1Mafia 3Deus Ex Mankind Divid edMirror’s Edge CatalystOverwatchDoomAshes of the SingularityHitman 2016The DivisionFar Cry PrimalXCOM 2Rise of the Tomb RaiderRainbow Six SiegeAssassin’s Creed SyndicateStar Wars BattlefrontFallout 4Call of Duty: Black Ops 3Anno 2205World of WarshipsDota 2 RebornThe Witcher 3Dirt RallyGTA VDragon Age: InquisitionFar Cry 4Assassin’s Creed UnityCall of Duty: Advanced WarfareAlien: IsolationMiddle-earth: Shadow of MordorSims 4Wolfenstein: The New OrderThe Elder Scrolls OnlineThiefX-Plane 10. 25Battlefield 4Total War: Rome IICompany of Heroes 2Metro: Last LightBioShock InfiniteStarCraft II: Heart of the SwarmSimCityTomb RaiderCrysis 3Hitman: AbsolutionCall of Duty: Black Ops 2World of Tanks v8Border 2Counter-Strike: GODirt ShowdownDiablo IIIMass Effect 3The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimBattlefield 3Deus Ex Human RevolutionStarCraft 2Metro 2033Stalker: Call of PripyatGTA IV — Grand Theft AutoLeft 4 DeadTrackmania Nations ForeverCall of Duty 4 — Modern WarfareSupreme Commander — FA BenchCrysi s — GPU BenchmarkWorld in Conflict — BenchmarkHalf Life 2 — Lost Coast BenchmarkWorld of WarcraftDoom 3Quake 3 Arena — TimedemoHalo InfiniteFarming Simulator 22Battlefield 2042Forza Horizon 5Riders RepublicGuardians of the GalaxyBack 4 BloodDeathloopF1 2021Days GoneResident Evil VillageHitman 3Cyberpunk 2077Assassin´s Creed ValhallaDirt 5Watch Dogs LegionMafia Definitive EditionCyberpunk 2077 1.5 GRID LegendsDying Light 2Rainbow Six ExtractionGod of War

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

high

1920×1080

ultra

1920×1080

QHD

2560×1440

4K

3840×2160

Horizon Zero Dawn (2020)

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

high

1920×1080

ultra

1920×1080

QHD

2560×1440

4K

3840×2160

Death Stranding (2020)

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

high

1920×1080

ultra

1920×1080

QHD

2560×1440

4K

3840×2160

F1 2020 (2020)

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

high

1920×1080

ultra

1920×1080

QHD

2560×1440

4K

3840×2160

Gears Tactics (2020)

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

104

high

1920×1080

65.8

ultra

1920×1080

51.6

QHD

2560×1440

32.3

4K

3840×2160

17. 2

Doom Eternal (2020)

low

1280×720

med.

1920×1080

high

1920×1080

ultra

1920×1080

QHD

2560×1440

4K

3840×2160

Description
5	Stutter — The performance of this video card with this game has not yet been studied enough. Based on interpolated information from graphics cards of a similar performance level, the game is likely to stutter and display low frame rates.
	May Stutter — The performance of this video card with this game has not yet been studied enough. Based on interpolated information from graphics cards of a similar performance level, the game is likely to stutter and display low frame rates.
30	Fluent — Based on all known benchmarks with the specified graphic settings, this game is expected to run at 25 fps or more
40	Fluent — According to all known benchmarks with the specified graphics settings, this game is expected to run at 35fps or more
60	Fluent — Based on all known benchmarks with the specified graphic settings, this game is expected to run at or above 58 fps
	May Run Fluently — The performance of this video card with this game has not yet been studied enough. Based on interpolated information from graphics cards of a similar performance level, the game is likely to show smooth frame rates.
?	Uncertain — testing this video card in this game showed unexpected results. A slower card could deliver higher and more consistent frame rates while running the same reference scene.
	Uncertain — The performance of this video card in this game has not yet been studied enough. It is not possible to reliably interpolate data based on the performance of similar cards in the same category.
The value in the fields reflects the average frame rate across the entire database. To get individual results, hover over a value.

AMD Radeon RX 480 in benchmark results

Benchmarks help determine performance in standard AMD Radeon RX 480 benchmarks. We’ve compiled a list of the world’s best-known benchmarks so you can get accurate results for each one (see description). Pre-testing the graphics card is especially important when there are high loads, so that the user can see how the graphics processor copes with calculations and data processing.

Overall performance in benchmarks

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN

39.98%

NVIDIA Quadro K6000

39.37%

AMD Radeon RX 480

39.31%

AMD Radeon RX 5500

39.06%

NVIDIA GeForce 7300 SE

The Ice Storm multi-platform test shows the performance of a graphics card using the screen rendering method. Standard test conditions — 1280*720 (720p).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

394694

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q

387951

AMD Radeon RX 480

383333

AMD Radeon RX 470

380689

AMD Radeon RX 590

379940

Unlike Ice Storm, 3DMark’s Cloud Gate test uses more resource intensive scenes. The better the final score, the faster your graphics card. Processing is done with DirectX 10.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

AMD Radeon RX 5600M

AMD Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire

AMD Radeon RX 570

This is an advanced graphics card benchmark. When using DirectX 11 for processing, typical testing time is 15 minutes. The higher the score, the faster the graphics card.

AMD Radeon R9 390X

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980

AMD Radeon RX 480

NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Mobile

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti

Complex graphic scenes require all the graphics card resources. They use the entire RAM and computing power. The test’s results can be viewed below.

AMD Radeon RX 5500M

NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Mobile

AMD Radeon RX 480

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970

AMD Radeon RX 470

This benchmark analyzes the gaming performance of a graphics card using Direct X 11 (multithreading, tessellation, shader calculations).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q

AMD Radeon R9 390X

AMD Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 470

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980

This Direct X10 based benchmark contains tests for artificial intelligence, physics and 6 computational tests.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Mobile

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q

AMD Radeon RX 480

NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q

AMD Radeon RX 5300M

Passmark is an excellent benchmark that is updated regularly and shows relevant graphics card performance information.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN

NVIDIA Quadro K6000

AMD Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 5500

AMD Radeon R9 295X2

This test works for all types of video cards, has an innovative cross-platform core, supports Direct X 9/10/11 and OpenGL.

AMD Radeon R9 290X

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M SLI

AMD Radeon RX 480

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980

AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire

4.3
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

AMD Radeon RX 570

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

AMD Radeon HD 8750M

AMD Radeon Pro 555

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M

AMD Radeon R9280

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M

AMD Tonga

AMD Radeon RX 480

New middle peasant, catching up of the previous generation top -end accelerators

Content

Part 1 — theory and architecture
Part 2 — practical acquaintance

9002

Part 3 — Game Test Results and Conclusions

We present a basic detailed material with the study by AMD Radeon RX 480.

Reference materials

Game Card customer
Video for the AMD Radeon 30029

and Titan

3D Game Test Methodology and Settings

Test Subject : AMD Radeon RX 480 3D Graphics Accelerator (video card) 8 GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI-E

Developer ID : ATI Technologies (trademark of ATI) was founded in 1985 in Canada as Array Technology Inc. In the same year it was renamed to ATI Technologies. Headquartered in Markham, Toronto. Since 1987, the company has focused on the release of graphics solutions for PCs. Since 2000, Radeon has become the main brand of ATI graphics solutions, under which GPUs are produced for both desktop PCs and laptops. In 2006, ATI Technologies was acquired by AMD, which formed the AMD Graphics Products Group (AMD GPG). Since 2010, AMD has abandoned the ATI brand, leaving only Radeon. AMD is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, while AMD GPG remains headquartered at AMD’s former office in Markham, Canada. There is no production. The total number of AMD GPG employees (including regional offices) is about 2,000 people.

Part 1: Theory and Architecture

In our past articles, we have repeatedly lamented the stagnation in the field of GPUs associated with delays in the production of GPUs on new technological processes and the actual omission of one of them — 20 nm process technology, which turned out to be unsuitable for mass production complex video chips. For a long five (!) years, both companies that are GPU manufacturers have been producing solutions based on the already very old 28 nm process technology.

Microelectronic chip manufacturers were able to mass-produce such complex and large chips using new FinFET processes (14 and 16 nm, depending on the manufacturer) only towards the middle of the year. Not so long ago, Nvidia shot back, releasing rather expensive video cards designed for the top of their line, and now it’s time for AMD, which went its own way, first releasing not the most expensive video cards, roughly similar to the Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 models, became quite popular at the time.

It’s already time and time again that AMD offers the consumer even less efficient video cards than the competitor, but at a much lower price. As with the mentioned Radeon HD 4800 series graphics cards, this time they also set themselves the task of making a graphics processor for low-cost solutions in the price segment around $200, powerful enough for modern tasks and games, but not too expensive and very energy efficient. We have already disclosed some of the information about the Polaris family of solutions planned for launch, and today we are ready to share all the details.

To better understand AMD’s way of thinking, which differs from that of their competitors, let’s look at their ideas about the most demanded video cards on the market. According to AMD, a relatively small percentage of PC players buy expensive graphics cards that provide comfort at high resolutions and maximum settings, and most of them use very outdated GPUs. 84% of gamers buy video cards priced between $100 and $300 according to AMD, and only the rest of the players choose what is more expensive.

It is clear that the majority will not be able to even try the topic of virtual reality, which is so popular now, if they so desire, because VR requires very decent computing power. In addition, according to AMD, not all users are willing to invest in equipment that will become obsolete in a couple of years. True, it is unlikely that all of them will rush to buy VR helmets … On the other hand, with outdated video cards, they will not even have the opportunity to try out virtual reality. Only 13 million PCs around the world are configured powerful enough to run VR applications — that’s just 1% of the nearly 1.5 billion PCs users have on hand.

According to surveys provided by AMD, two-thirds of users do not plan to purchase equipment for VR precisely because of the high cost of such a configuration. This is in addition to quite reasonable arguments, such as those that helmets are still too bulky and with interfering wires, and virtual reality, in principle, is applicable to only a small part of gaming applications. However, the most important barrier to VR adoption is the price of the hardware. And AMD sees itself as a promising opportunity to provide millions of PCs with GPUs of the required power in the next few years. True, it remains unclear why AMD considers the video card to be an inaccessible component, if the VR helmet and controllers themselves are more expensive? However, they can really lower the threshold for entering VR a little by offering solutions of sufficient performance for relatively little money.

And AMD is promoting its new solutions in many respects as high-performance and energy-efficient video cards designed to «democratize» rather expensive virtual reality, providing those who wish with sufficient GPU power. And yet another target for the company’s new graphics solutions is both ultra-low power compact PCs and gaming laptops, which can now easily be powered to match or even exceed that of gaming consoles. For example, the junior Polaris chip not only has low power consumption, but is also specifically designed for compact laptops — the total package height of this GPU is only 1. 5 mm compared to 1.9mm from Bonaire, which will help AMD win competitions for the supply of solutions for mobile PCs.

To clearly meet these requirements, AMD decided to design two GPU models, Polaris 10 and Polaris 11, to meet certain levels of capability and performance. The older Polaris series chip will provide PC gamers with enough power for VR applications and all modern games, while the lower-end junior GPU is designed for thin and light laptops, but offers features and performance that surpass those of game consoles.

Accordingly, at the time of announcement, AMD offers the following desktop solutions: connected via a 128-bit bus;
Radeon RX 470 is a very affordable mid-range graphics card with enough power for games in Full HD-resolution, with more than 4 teraflops of power, 4 GB of video memory and a 256-bit bus;
The Radeon RX 480 is by far the highest performance solution of the new family, designed for VR and modern games with more than 5 teraflops of performance, 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory with a 256-bit bus, consuming less than 150 watts.

Today we’ll take a look at the Radeon RX 480 model, which offers premium features for gamers — Premium HD Gaming. What is this term in the understanding of AMD? This includes both the capabilities of new graphics APIs, such as asynchronous execution in DirectX 12, as well as FreeSync and CrossFire technologies. But the main thing is the advantage over similarly priced competitor solutions in modern games with DirectX 12: 9 support.0003

In most DirectX 12-enabled games this year (Ashes of the Singularity, Hitman, Total War: Warhammer, Quantum Break, Gears of War and Forza APEX), even previous generation AMD Radeon graphics cards often outperform Nvidia counterparts in price: we noted Fury X vs. 980 Ti, R9 390 vs. GTX 970 and R9 380 vs. GTX 960, and the latest Polaris 10-based model is bound to perform even better.

In addition to DirectX 12, one more API can be noted — Vulkan. In the corresponding version of the game Doom, AMD claims an increase of up to 45% on the Radeon RX 480 compared to the OpenGL version of the game, although on older video cards the difference is expected to be somewhat less — about 20-25%.

And what about virtual reality, is AMD’s new product really capable of sufficient performance for VR applications? Thanks to the high power of the GPU and support for features such as Asynchronos Time Warp, you can comfortably view relevant VR applications, and even with low power consumption. So, the generally accepted test for evaluating the performance of the SteamVR Performance Test shows a clear superiority over the solutions of the previous generation (it is not clear, however, why they compared it with the Radeon R9380?):

Since the Radeon RX 480 model is based on the Polaris 10 GPU, which has the fourth generation GCN architecture, which is similar in many details to previous AMD solutions, before reading the theoretical part of the article, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with our previous materials on past video cards of the company based on the GCN architecture of previous generations:

[15.07.15] AMD Radeon R9 Fury X: New AMD flagship with HBM 9 support0029
[09/02/14] AMD Radeon R9 285: Tahiti got a 256-bit bus and became Tonga
[10/28/13] AMD Radeon R9 290X: Reach Hawaii! Get new heights of speed and functionality
[12/22/11] AMD Radeon HD 7970: The new single-socket leader in 3D graphics

Let’s take a look at the detailed specifications of the Radeon RX 480 graphics card based on the full version of the next generation Polaris 10 GPU.

Radeon RX 480 9 graphics accelerator0596
Texture units	144 texture units, with support for trilinear and anisotropic filtering for all texture formats
ROP units (ROPs) , including with FP16 or FP32 framebuffer format. Peak performance up to 32 samples per clock, and in colorless mode (Z only) — 128 samples per clock
Number of slots occupied in the system chassis	2
MSRP	$199/$229 (US market)

Its name differs from its predecessors by a changed symbol in the first part of the index and the generation number — RX 480. If everything is clear with the second change, because the generation is really new, then the R9 replacementon RX is not entirely logical, in our opinion, because this figure used to show the level of the video card: R7 were slower than R9, but they were all produced within the same generation. And now it is not clear, firstly, why this figure is higher for the RX 480 than for the R9 390X, for example, and what numbers after R in the name will be in junior solutions based on new GPUs.

The first model in the new Radeon 400 family takes the place of previous solutions in the current line of the company, similar in positioning, replacing them on the market. Since the released video card is more of an average level in terms of price and speed, taking into account the new generation, it was decided to leave the index 49 for future solutions on a GPU of even greater power.0.

The reference Radeon RX 480 will be offered at a suggested price of $199 for the 4GB variant and $229 for the 8GB model, and those prices are very attractive! Compared to the top-end video cards of the previous generation, this is a very good price tag, since the Radeon RX 480 should not be inferior in speed to such models as the Radeon R9 390 and GeForce GTX 970. The new product will compete with them, at least at the beginning of its life’s journey, until the release of the soon-to-be-released GeForce GTX 1060. But at the time of its release, today’s new product is absolutely the best performance offer in its class.

Reference Radeon RX 480 graphics cards will ship with 4GB of GDDR5 memory at 7GHz effective and 8GB of memory at 8GHz. But as AMD’s partners’ own graphics cards go on sale, other options will appear, but they will all be equipped with GDDR5 memory with a frequency of at least 7 GHz — this is the will of AMD.

The decision to install 4 and 8 GB of memory is very wise. The younger version will allow you to save a little, because 4 GB at the moment can be considered the «golden mean», and the advantage of 8 GB of memory in the second version of the Radeon RX 480 will be revealed in the future. Although the 4GB variant of the video card will provide acceptable performance in modern games, but 8GB of memory will allow you to have a decent headroom for the future, as the requirements for video memory in games are constantly growing. As an example, the advantage of which is already noticeable is the game Rise of the Tomb Raider in DirectX 12 version, at very high settings and a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels:

More video memory in the Radeon RX 480 8 GB and Radeon R9 390 helps to avoid extremely unpleasant performance drops and FPS jerks compared to 4 GB options, including solutions from competitors GeForce GTX 970 and GTX 960. It is the Radeon RX 480 8 GB that gives the ability to obtain a smooth gameplay with no slowdowns associated with loading data that does not fit into the local video memory. And since current generation gaming consoles have 8GB of total memory, the benefit of more memory will only grow over time, and the 8GB variant of the Radeon RX 480 will be great for the games coming out in the next few years.

The board uses a single 6-pin connector for auxiliary power, and the Radeon RX 480 model on a Polaris 10 GPU is set to 150W typical power consumption. In reality, without overclocking, the board consumes even less, about 120 W of energy, but a small power reserve will improve the overclocking potential. By the way, AMD partners are planning to release factory-overclocked versions of this video card, which differ in both cooling and power systems.

Architectural highlights

The Polaris 10 graphics processor is the fourth generation of the Graphics Core Next architecture, the most advanced to date. The basic building block of the architecture is the Compute Unit (CU), from which all AMD GPUs are assembled. The CU compute unit has a dedicated local data storage for data exchange or extension of the local register stack, as well as a first-level read-write cache and a full-fledged texture pipeline with sampling and filtering units, it is divided into subsections, each of which works on its own command stream. Each of these blocks deals with planning and distribution of work independently.

At its core, the Polaris architecture has not changed much, although not the main blocks of the video chip have changed more noticeably — the blocks for encoding and decoding video data and outputting information to display devices have been seriously improved. Otherwise, this is the next generation of the well-known Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture, already the fourth in a row. So far, the family has included two chips: Polaris 10 (formerly known as Ellesmere) and Polaris 11 (formerly known as Baffin).

Still, some hardware changes have been made to the GPU. The list of improvements and changes includes: improved geometry processing, support for multiple projections when rendering VR with different resolutions, updated memory controller with improved data compression, modified instruction prefetching and improved buffering, scheduling and prioritization of computational tasks in asynchronous mode, support for operations on data in FP16/Int16 format. Consider the scheme of the new GPU (click on the image for a larger version of the illustration):

Full Polaris 10 GPU includes one Graphics Command Processor, four Asynchronous Compute Engines (ACEs), two Hardware Schedulers (HWS), 36 Compute Units (CUs), four geometry processors, 144 texture TMUs (including four LSUs per TMU) and 32 ROPs. AMD’s new GPU memory subsystem includes eight 32-bit GDDR5 memory controllers, sharing a 256-bit memory bus, and 2MB L2 cache.

Improvement of geometric engines in Polaris is announced — in particular, the so-called Primitive Discard Accelerator has appeared, which works at the very beginning of the graphics pipeline, discarding invisible triangles (for example, with zero area). Also in the new GPU, a new index cache for duplicated (instanced) geometry was introduced, which optimizes data movement and frees up resources of internal data transfer buses and increases the efficiency of using memory bandwidth when duplicating geometry (instancing).

The geometry discard accelerator helps speed up geometry processing, especially in tasks like multisampling tessellation. The diagram shows that under different conditions, the new block allows you to increase productivity up to three times. However, these are synthetic data of the interested party, it is better to look at the gaming results of independent tests.

Also in the fourth generation of GCN, the efficiency of shader execution has been improved — instruction prefetching has been introduced, which improves instruction caching, reduces pipeline idle times and increases overall computational efficiency. The size of the instruction buffer for the array of instructions (wavefront) has also been increased, increasing single-threaded performance, support for operations on data in FP16 and Int16 formats has been introduced, which helps to reduce memory load, increase computing speed and improve energy efficiency. The latter possibility can be applied in a wide range of graphics, machine vision and learning problems.

The hardware scheduler (HWS) used in asynchronous computing has been improved once again. Its tasks include: unloading the CPU from scheduling tasks, prioritizing real-time tasks (virtual reality or sound processing), parallel execution of tasks and processes, resource management, coordination and balancing the load of execution units. The functionality of these blocks can be updated using microcode.

In addition to doubling the L2 cache size to 2 MB, the processing and caching of data in the L2 cache has been changed and the overall efficiency of the cache subsystem and local video memory has been improved. The memory controller received support for GDDR5 memory with an effective clock speed of up to 8 GHz, which in the case of Polaris means a memory bus bandwidth of up to 256 GB / s. But AMD did not stop there, further improving lossless data compression algorithms (Delta Color Compression — DCC), which support compression modes with a ratio of 2:1, 4:1 and 8:1.

On-chip data compression improves overall performance, makes better use of the data bus, and improves power efficiency. In particular, if the Radeon R9 290X did not have internal information compression and the effective bandwidth is equal to its physical bandwidth, then in the case of a solution based on the Fiji chip, compression allowed to save almost 20% of the memory bandwidth, and in the case of Polaris, up to 35-40%.

Comparing the Radeon RX 480 to the Radeon R9 290, the new solution consumes noticeably less power to provide the same effective bandwidth as the previous generation graphics card. As a result, the new product has noticeably higher performance per bit — although the Radeon R9290 is higher than the peak memory bandwidth, but it is much more energy efficient in Polaris 10 — the total power consumption of the memory interface is 58% of that of the old GPU.

In general, the fourth-generation GCN changes in the Polaris GPU involve the adoption of advanced 14nm FinFET process technology, microarchitectural changes, physical design optimizations, and power management techniques. All this has borne fruit in the form of a significant increase in productivity and efficiency compared to previous solutions. At the lowest level, the CUs in Polaris 10 (Radeon RX 480) are about 15% faster than Hawaii (Radeon R9)290).

It is difficult to judge how big the contribution of one or another optimization to the overall speed increase, but if we take all the optimizations in combination, then the difference in energy efficiency between the Radeon RX 470 and Radeon R9 270X, according to AMD specialists, reaches 2.8 times . Moreover, they estimate the contribution of the FinFET process technology to be less than the contribution of their optimizations. Probably the most favorable comparison was chosen, and for other models, the increase in energy efficiency is somewhat less. For example, if we compare the performance of RX 480 and R9290, then the difference in energy efficiency will be closer to twofold. In any case, such huge gains happen once every few years, and therefore we have no doubt that the sales of the Radeon RX 480 will be successful.

Technological process and its optimization

As we have already said, the main thing in Polaris is not changes in hardware blocks, but a big step forward due to the use of a new 14 nm process technology using vertically located gate transistors (FinFET) in the production of this GPU — Fin Field Effect Transistor), also known as transistors with a three-dimensional gate structure or 3D transistors.

Dynamic power consumption grows linearly with the number of compute units, and cubically with increasing frequency with increasing voltage (for example, a 15% increase in frequency and voltage increases consumption by more than half!), and as a result, GPUs often operate at lower clocks. frequencies, but use higher-density chips to accommodate more computing devices that operate in parallel.

For the past five years, graphics processors have been produced using 28 nm process technology, and the intermediate 20 nm did not give the required parameters. The development of even more advanced technical processes had to wait quite a long time, and now, for the production of GPUs from the Polaris family, AMD chose the production of Samsung Electronics and GlobalFoundries with their 14 nm FinFET process technology, which ensures the production of some of the densest microprocessors. The use of FinFET transistors is critical to reduce power consumption and reduce GPU voltage by about 150 mV compared to the previous generation, reducing power by a third.

The illustration schematically shows the conditional resizing of the same GPU, produced using different technical processes. Samsung Electronics and GlobalFoundries share orders for the production of 14 nm CPUs and GPUs from AMD, since they have the same technical process and it is not difficult to set up simultaneous production, dividing orders between them based on the yield of suitable chips and other parameters, which should allow solving potential problems with inadequate production volumes.

The Polaris architecture was originally designed for the capabilities of FinFET processes, and should use all of their capabilities. In short, a FinFET transistor is a transistor with a channel surrounded by a gate through an insulator layer on three sides — compared to a planar transistor, where the mating surface is one plane. FinFET transistors have a more complex device, and there were plenty of difficulties in implementing the new technology, it took five years to master the corresponding technical processes.

On the other hand, a new form of transistors provides a higher yield, less leakage and noticeably better energy efficiency, which is the main task of modern microelectronics. The number of transistors in GPUs per square millimeter of area has doubled roughly every two years, and so has static leakage. To solve some of these problems, special tools were used, such as islands of transistors with different supply voltages and clock signal control circuits (clock gating), which helped to reduce leakage currents in idle or sleep modes. However, these techniques do not help with active work states and can reduce maximum performance.

FinFET processes solve many of the problems, allowing for revolutionary improvements in performance and power consumption compared to previous conventional chips. New technical processes allow not only to increase performance, but also to reduce the variability of characteristics (the difference in the characteristics of all manufactured chips of the same model) — compare the spread of parameters for FinFET-process 14 nm and the usual 28 nm from TSMC:

This chart shows both greater average performance for FinFET products, smaller leaks on average, and less variation in performance and leak rates across samples. The improved variability of these characteristics for GPUs in the case of FinFET means that it is possible to increase the final frequency for all products, while for planar transistors it was necessary to pay more attention to the worst performance and reduce the reference characteristics for all end products.

As a result, GPUs manufactured using FinFET manufacturing processes provide a fundamental improvement in performance and energy efficiency compared to their counterparts, which were manufactured using traditional planar transistors. According to AMD experts, the use of FinFET technical processes can provide either 50-60% lower power consumption, or 20-35% higher performance, all other things being equal.

New FinFET manufacturing processes not only help reduce power consumption and significantly improve energy efficiency, but also open up new form factors and formats for future GPU applications. So, in the future, there may be relatively thin and light gaming laptops that will not require a significant reduction in 3D graphics quality settings, sufficiently powerful ultra-compact desktop PCs, and familiar gaming video cards will be able to manage with fewer power connectors.

But in order to achieve greater energy efficiency, it is not enough just to transfer the chip to a “thinner” process technology, numerous changes in its design are required. For example, Polaris uses adaptive GPU clocking. GPUs operate at low voltage and high current, and it is quite difficult to supply quality voltage from power circuits. The variation in voltage can reach 10-15% of the nominal value, and the average voltage has to be increased in order to cover this difference, and a lot of energy is wasted on this.

AMD’s adaptive clocking recovers these losses while cutting power costs by a quarter. To do this, in addition to the already existing energy consumption and temperature sensors, a frequency sensor is also added. As a result of the algorithm, maximum energy efficiency is achieved for the entire chip.

The power supply is also calibrated when the system boots. When testing the processor, special code is run to analyze the voltage, and the voltage value is recorded by the integrated power monitors. Then, when the PC boots up, the same code is run and the resulting voltage is measured, and the voltage regulators on the board set the same voltage as it was during testing. This eliminates the cost of energy that is wasted due to differences in systems.

Polaris also has adaptive transistor aging compensation — usually GPUs require a headroom of about 2-3% to accommodate chip transistor aging, and other components also show aging (for example, the GPU receives lower voltage from the system). Modern AMD solutions are able to self-calibrate and adapt to changing conditions over time, which ensures reliable operation of the video card for a long time and slightly improved performance.

Radeon WattMan — new overclocking and monitoring options

Overclocking settings are an important part of any modern video driver, allowing you to squeeze all its capabilities out of the GPU. Previously, this was managed by the AMD Overdrive section in the solution drivers of this company, and along with the release of new solutions, AMD decided to radically update this driver section, calling it Radeon WattMan.

Radeon WattMan is AMD’s new overclocking utility that allows you to change GPU voltage, GPU and VRAM frequency, cooling fan speed, and temperature target. Radeon WattMan builds on features seen previously in Radeon Software, but offers several new thin overclocking features — with different GPU voltage and frequency control options. Also, WattMan has a convenient monitoring of GPU activity, clock speeds, temperatures and fan speed.

Conveniently, as with other Radeon Software Crimson Edition settings, you can set your own overclocking profile for each application or game that will be applied when they start. And after the application ends, the settings will return to the global default. Radeon WattMan can be found in Radeon Settings, it has replaced the current AMD OverDrive panel, and is compatible with the AMD Radeon RX 400 series. Simple frequency tuning works by default and allows you to change the values \u200b\u200bset by AMD engineers that are optimal for each state of the GPU. Changing the frequency curve is possible with an accuracy of 0.5%. There is also a dynamic change in the frequency curve, when the clock frequency of the GPU core and video memory can change for each state along with a change in voltage for each of them. The voltages for the GPU and memory are set independently of each other.

WattMan also has advanced fan speed control in the cooling system, when setting the minimum speed, target speed and minimum acoustic limit. In this case, the target rotation speed is the maximum at which the fan will rotate at a temperature not higher than the target. Improved temperature management allows you to set the maximum and target temperatures. Together with the power consumption limit, this allows for finer settings.

The maximum temperature is the absolute maximum at which the frequency of the graphics chip does not decrease, but after reaching it, the frequency will begin to decrease. And the target temperature is the value upon reaching which the fan speed will increase. The GPU power limit can be increased or decreased by up to 50% (in the case of the Radeon RX 480 model).

It seems that somewhere we have already seen the possibility of a subtle change in the curve of frequencies and voltages, and quite recently, right? But what we haven’t seen yet is a convenient monitoring interface and settings in the drivers themselves, rather than third-party utilities, and AMD can only be commended for taking such care of users.

New monitoring interface allows you to record and view GPU activity, temperature, fan speed and frequencies. Moreover, there is both global monitoring (Global WattMan) and separate monitoring for user profiles, which monitors peak and average data only when the application is open. Data is also collected in the background, the Radeon Settings utility does not need to be running, data is collected up to a maximum of 20 minutes of application operation.

In general, AMD still has some work to do to improve the usability of the WattMan interface, since it is not designed for keyboard control, for example, but the initiative itself can only be welcomed — convenient configuration and monitoring tools right in the drivers can be an additional plus New Radeon RX 400 family solutions.

New display options

We have already mentioned that AMD’s new solutions will support the latest DisplayPort and HDMI standards. The new Radeon RX family graphics cards are among the first solutions to support DisplayPort 1. 3 HBR3 and DisplayPort 1.4-HDR. Newer versions of this standard use existing cables and connectors, but there may be additional restrictions on their length.

The main advantage of the DisplayPort 1.3 HBR3 standard is the increase in bandwidth to 32.4 Gbps (80% more than HDMI 2.0b), pushing back the bandwidth limit of the previous generation DisplayPort 1.2. The new standard allows you to connect 5K RGB monitors at 60 Hz using a single cable (you now have to connect a couple of connectors and cables), as well as UHDTV TVs with 8K resolution (7680×4320) using 4:2:0 color subsampling at 60 Hz. Also, DisplayPort 1.3 can connect stereo displays with 120 Hz and 4K resolution. Single-cable 5K displays and HDR-enabled 4K displays are expected later this year.

Polaris is also ready to implement the DisplayPort 1.4-HDR standard, which supports up to 10-bit color depth in 4K resolution and refresh rates up to 96Hz. The new company supports the ITU Rec.2020 color space recommendations for UHDTV, as well as the CTA-861. 3 and SMPTE 2084 EOTF standards for HDR data transmission.

The new DisplayPort 1.3 standard will also be useful in promoting FreeSync technology for 4K monitors. AMD expects the first such devices to support 120Hz dynamic refresh technology by the end of 2016. These monitors will be capable of 4K resolution using FreeSync technologies at 30-120 FPS and will support Low Framerate Compensation.

Here is a list of next generation monitor features that are enabled by the new extended bandwidth version of DisplayPort 1.3: 1920×1080 pixel monitors: 240Hz SDR and 240Hz HDR, 2560×1440 monitors: 240Hz SDR and 170Hz HDR, 4K monitors: 120Hz SDR and 60Hz HDR, 5K monitors: 60Hz SDR.

If we started talking about FreeSync, then it should be mentioned that in Polaris architecture solutions this technology will work with monitors that have HDMI 2.0b connectors. The company is currently working with its partners, including Acer, LG, Mstar, Novatek, Realtek, and Samsung, to enable dynamic refresh rate technology, including via HDMI. The list of monitors planned for release includes products with screen sizes from 20 to 34 inches and various resolutions.

One of Polaris’s most interesting and promising display capabilities is support for high dynamic range HDR displays. To obtain a high-quality picture, you need to output images in a wide color gamut with increased contrast and maximum brightness, and on current displays a person sees only a small part of what he can observe with his own eyes in the world around him. The range of brightness and colors we perceive is far greater than what current output devices can give us.

The introduction of High Dynamic Range into all stages of the image processing pipeline is awaited by many image quality enthusiasts. In order to even get closer to the capabilities of human vision, a new industry standard for TVs has been introduced — HDR UHDTV, providing a brightness range from 0.005 to 10,000 nits. Early HDR devices are up to 600-1200 cd/m2 ² , while High Dynamic Range (HDR) LCD monitors with local backlighting can achieve up to 2000 nits in the future, and OLED displays up to 1000 nits, but with perfect blacks and greater contrast.

When using HDR, users will also be exposed to an extended color range, as the current sRGB color space is far behind the capabilities of human vision. The current content is almost all created within the BT.709, sRGB, SMPTE 1886 (Gamma 2.4) standards, and the new HDR-10 standard, Rec.2020 (BT.2020), SMPTE 2084 is capable of displaying more than a billion colors at 10-bit per component, which brings the color quality closer to natural for a person.

Don’t confuse the topic of display devices with HDR capabilities with what’s been around for a long time in games called HDR rendering. Indeed, many modern game engines use high dynamic range rendering to preserve shadows and highlights, but this is done exclusively before the information is displayed. And then the image is still reduced to the usual dynamic range in order to display it on an SDR monitor.

Special tone mapping algorithms are used for this ( tone mapping ) — transformations of tonal values from a wide range to a narrow one. Given the emergence of HDR devices, both improved tone mapping algorithms and their orientation to HDR displays are needed. Polaris hardware color data engine has programmable gamma control and gamut remapping capabilities, all calculations are made with high accuracy and the result will be fully consistent with the display capabilities.

While even current Radeon graphics cards are somewhat ready for HDR monitors, the newer models are delivering noticeably higher refresh rates and color depth. Polaris GPUs are ready for HDR monitors with 10-bit and 12-bit color depth per component, although the first such displays will only support 10-bit, but more advanced ones will follow that will surpass the capabilities of human vision.

In order to get a high-quality HDR image in game applications, it is necessary to redo not only the graphics part of the game engine, but also part of the content: the same textures must also be stored in formats that allow the use of a wide color and brightness gamut. AMD is working with game developers to ensure that future games can already take full advantage of HDR displays, and for this they have released a special Radeon Photon SDK.

And there is something to work on. Tone mapping in games must be done by the graphics engine, as this process, performed by the display, adds significant latency. AMD suggests doing this: the monitor is polled for its color, contrast and brightness capabilities, then, taking into account this information, the game engine makes tone mapping and displays it on the display in its finished form. Since game engines already do tone mapping in SDR, they just need to add HDR output capability.

The Photon SDK is now available for developers, HDR support for video data and rendering in DirectX 11 applications in the driver is ready, and DirectX 12 support is planned with a future update. It remains to add that Polaris supports HDR displays connected via an HDMI 2.0b connector (with HDCP 2.2) at 1920×1080 at 192Hz, at 2560×1440 at 96Hz and 3840×2160 at 60Hz and color coding 4 :2:2. In the case of connection via DisplayPort 1.4-HDR (also with HDCP 2.2), the possibilities are wider: 1920×1080 at 240Hz, 2560×1440 at 192Hz and 3840×2160 at 96Hz. It remains to wait for such monitors with a price lower than that of a cast-iron bridge.

Improved video encoding and decoding

As often happens, new generations of GPUs also improve video processing hardware units. After all, time does not stand still, all new formats and conditions for their use appear (frame rate, color depth, etc.). Therefore, it is not surprising that Polaris made some improvements in decoding and encoding video data.

If previous solutions were able to encode video in H.264 format up to 4K resolution at 30 or even 60 FPS, then Polaris learned how to encode video in HEVC (H.265) format for the first time. The hardware video encoding unit in the new GPU supports the following resolutions and frame rates: 1080p at 240 FPS, 1440p at 120 FPS, and 4K at 60 FPS.

In addition, the Radeon RX series graphics cards have added support for high-quality game streaming encoding. After all, the quality of encoding has always been the weak point of streaming video, and with a rapidly changing image, its quality has seriously suffered. High image quality can be achieved with two-pass encoding with image analysis in the first pass, which was implemented in Polaris. Hardware two-pass encoding works with both H.264 and HEVC format, and this approach gives a noticeably higher quality video stream.

To unlock the hardware capabilities of the Polaris architecture, software support is also needed. A quality hardware encoder for games is supported by the following utilities: Plays.TV, AMD Gaming Evolved, Open Broadcaster Software.

Polaris is also equipped with the most advanced hardware unit that decodes video data. AMD video decoder can work with HEVC format and Main-10 encoding profile at resolutions up to 4K at 60 FPS, MJPEG at 4K resolution at 30 FPS, H.264 at 4K resolution up to 120 FPS, MP4-P2 up to 1080p at 60 FPS and VC1 up to 1080p at 60 FPS.

Support for virtual reality systems

Over the past few years, the current reincarnation of virtual reality helmets has come a long way, constantly improving its consumer characteristics (although it is still very far from ideal). If it all started with less than Full HD resolution for both eyes in 2014 at no more than 30 FPS, now it has come to a resolution of 1080 × 1200 pixels for each eye at 90 FPS and 10 ms delays. And now the feeling of VR is much more comfortable and realistic.

AMD is also working on improving performance related to VR. Thus, the LiquidVR technology involves the implementation of some features that improve VR on the company’s solutions. Among the latest changes are support for TrueAudio Next audio technology, redundancy of computing blocks for specific tasks, Quick Response Queue asynchronous computing technology, variable resolution and rendering quality for VR, support for DirectX 12 and Vulkan.

Thus, TrueAudio Next’s advanced sound processing technology includes all work with sounds on the GPU in real time — in compliance with the physical laws of the propagation of sound waves and the use of ray rendering (ray tracing) for a variety of sound sources. This allows you to get high-quality sound with low delays and with the help of settings (the number of processed sources and the number of reflections of sound waves) to get a well-scalable solution.

Another VR capability that has recently emerged has been to dedicate multiple Compute Units to different tasks such as sound processing, in which case these CUs would be solely dedicated to those tasks to avoid the problems of running different tasks at the same time. tasks on the GPU in real time — this solution provides immediate execution of critical code and works with any type of shader, compute or graphics.

The Polaris architecture has been improved on the command processor with a new quality of service (QoS) technique called Quick Response Queue. This technique allows developers to assign high priority to certain computational tasks through an API. Both types of tasks (regular and priority) share the same GPU resources, but the higher priority ensures that such tasks use more resources and finish first without switching the shell to lower priority tasks.

Specifically in LiquidVR, this technique is used in Asynchronous Time Warp, which is used in VR systems to avoid dropped frames that degrade the smoothness of the process — in VR this is a very demanding task on delays, and task prioritization will help make sure that the distortion of time occurs exactly when it is needed. The Quick Response Queue (QRQ) technique gives you precise control over timings by minimizing them.

Without the use of the asynchronous time warp technique in virtual reality systems, it turns out that the GPU discards about 5% of frames during operation, and with Asynchronous Time Warp these frames are not discarded, which reduces the “jitter” (different rendering times of adjacent frames) by tens once. At the moment, the feature is already part of the library available on the GPUOpen website.

We already know about another VR-related optimization — the use of multiple projections when rendering a VR scene at different resolutions. We’ve talked about this feature several times before, which optimizes VR rendering by using independent settings for resolution and resolution quality across multiple projections, which mimics the funnel rendering type used in VR headsets. In this case, high-res rendering is applied to the center of the frame, and it is reduced to the periphery to optimize performance.

LiquidVR includes support for DirectX 12, an ideal graphics API for a virtual environment, as it allows for more draw call functions in a scene, helps reduce CPU usage, has native support for asynchronous compute execution and multi-chip rendering, and provides some opportunities for low-level access to the GPU. Examples of using DirectX 12 as part of LiquidVR, as well as related documentation, are available at GPUOpen.com.

Radeon Software Technologies

AMD continues to improve not only the hardware component of its products, but also the software components. Once again, they decided to optimize the frequency of new video driver releases, as some users were unhappy with what happened last year. For many years they released updated WHQL drivers every month, but some users felt that this was too often. After they reduced the frequency of driver releases, other users became dissatisfied with the already infrequent releases.

So, in 2015, three WHQL drivers and 9 beta versions were released, and the plan for 2016 is: six full-fledged drivers with WHQL certification per year + as many special versions with optimizations for games as you need (ideally — also WHQL). So far, they almost always succeed, since the release of the games, Radeon Software Crimson Edition drivers have been available for The Division, Far Cry Primal, Hitman, Quantum Break and others. With the game Doom and video cards based on previous generations of GCN chips, there was a slight hitch, but who doesn’t?

AMD continues to pay attention to driver optimizations designed for smooth frame changes, especially in multi-chip configurations. For example, the CrossFire API for DirectX 11 has been included in GPUOpen, and for some DirectX 12 applications it is planned to support multi-chip rendering with smooth frame changes and a small difference in the rendering time of adjacent frames, and not just with high FPS.

Future Radeon Software drivers for DX12 games will specifically support AFR frame pacing, a technology that specifically adds delays before the image is displayed on the screen, which improves smoothness and eliminates stuttering in multi-chip rendering.

It is very important that more and more attention is paid to operating systems other than Windows. So, support for Polaris for Linux distributions based on open source is presented — these drivers already have support for the Vulkan version of the Dota 2 game, for example.

As a curiosity, we note a special program for beta testing Radeon Software Beta Program. This program is managed by Quality Assurance (QA) and anyone can join by emailing [email protected] for more information.

The most important changes have been made to the Radeon Settings included in the new driver. There appeared global support for Crossfire and energy efficiency, HDMI scaling and application-specific scaling, color temperature change, user interface language selection and much more — we have already talked about overclocking and monitoring capabilities above.

This is all about end users, but there are always changes in software support aimed at developers. The GPUOpen initiative has long been known as a convenient method for providing developers with SDKs, libraries, and open source examples. In the last month alone, 14 major updates have appeared on the portal, 41 blogs have been written by developers in four months, and more than 60 code examples, SDKs, libraries and utilities have been posted since the launch of the initiative at the end of January.

Recent examples include ShadowFX with DirectX 12 support, GeometryFX improvements for DirectX 11, updated TressFX 3.1 (DirectX 11). There are new libraries, SDKs and examples for multi-chip rendering in DirectX 12, an out of order rasterization example for Vulkan, FireRays for Vulkan and OpenCL, CrossFire API support for DirectX 11. Also, AMD became the first hardware manufacturer to release an extension for SPIR-V — shader language in the Vulkan graphics API with support for GCN instructions). Also introduced is Radeon support for OpenVX, an open, cross-platform standard for accelerating machine vision applications.

AMD recently introduced the Shader Intrinsic Functions extension to the GPUOpen library, which will make it easier to optimize PC versions of games, making it easier to develop multi-platform applications and port games from consoles. When using Shader Intrinsic Functions, a developer can directly access low-level instructions, as on consoles — by inserting low-level code into high-level sources. This feature can be used in applications that support DirectX 11, DirectX 12, and Vulkan.

Theoretical Conclusions

The Radeon RX 480 is the first of the Polaris family, the first model in AMD’s new line of graphics processors, designed and manufactured using the 14nm FinFET process. Together with architectural optimizations, this made it possible to seriously increase the energy efficiency of the new solution, and as a result, in this indicator, the new product is two to three times better than previous AMD video cards.

Although the Polaris 10 GPU is architecturally very similar to previous chips and largely repeats their solutions, and the graphics architectures of different generations of GCN do not differ too much from each other, many improvements have been made to the new GPU for more efficient calculations of various types, in including with asynchronous code execution, the possibilities for displaying images on displays and the functionality of video encoding and decoding blocks have been seriously improved.

Polaris 10 is AMD’s best graphics core, bringing new functionality, but most importantly, it has become much more efficient. So, improvements in computing cores have led to a 15% increase in performance of mathematical calculations, compared with the GCN architecture of previous generations. Together with the use of the new 14nm FinFET process technology and other optimizations, this has significantly improved energy efficiency — up to 2.8 times, according to the company. And this, in turn, means better user performance in terms of heat dissipation and noise from the cooling system.

The list of functional changes and improvements includes support for encoding and decoding modern video formats with new features: support for higher bitrates and advanced formats, readiness to decode streaming HDR video from online services, recording gameplay on the fly without the use of CPU power, quality mode two-pass video encoding, etc. Also noteworthy is the emergence of support for image output standards that will become very important in the future: 10-bit and 12-bit output formats for HDR TVs and monitors, as well as support for displays with high resolutions and refresh rates.

But the main thing about the Radeon RX 480 presented today is its price. Although it may seem to some that there are not so many functional innovations and optimizations in Polaris, this new product, using a modern technological process, has significantly reduced the price of a video card that is quite sufficient for both the latest games at high quality settings and for use in systems virtual reality, quite demanding on the power of the GPU.

The combination of a relatively low price and fairly high performance makes the Radeon RX 480 one of the most successful graphics cards in terms of price and performance at the time of its release, if not the most profitable. It is important that it is aimed at the middle price segment, which attracts a much larger number of potential buyers than top solutions, and the release of just such a model in the first place can positively affect AMD’s market share in the segment of gaming video cards.

In the following parts of our article, we will evaluate the performance of the new AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card in practice, comparing its speed with similarly priced accelerators from Nvidia and AMD. First, we will look at the data obtained in our set of synthetic tests, and then we will move on to the most interesting part — gaming tests.

AMD Radeon RX 480 — Part 2: Card Features and Synthetic Benchmarks →

Average current Price (number of proposals) in the Moscow retail:
CASE CARKS	competitors
RX 480 8 GB — $ 270 (as of 01.07.16)	GTX 970 — $ 331 (as of 01.01.07.16) (as of 01.01.01.6)	RX 480 8 GB — $270 (as of 07/01/16)	GTX 960 4 GB — $211 (as of 07/01/16) as of 01.07.16)

We thank the company Seagate 2 Corsair Neutron SeriesT 120 GB SSDs for test bench courtesy of Corsair

Sunrise AMD Polaris GECID.com. Page 1

::>Video cards
>2016
> AMD Radeon RX 480

06/29/2016

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The release of a new generation of video accelerators from AMD was expected with no less interest than the debut of the 16-nm NVIDIA Pascal microarchitecture. And, probably, the point is not even the announced use of the most advanced 14nm FinFET technology or the fourth generation of the AMD GCN microarchitecture, but the fact that in recent years AMD has become increasingly difficult to compete with NVIDIA, which is reflected in the gradual decrease in its market share.

That is, the stakes for the Radeon Technologies Group (it is this structural unit that has been responsible for everything related to AMD graphics accelerators since September 2015) are very high, without the right to make a mistake. And the higher the degree of tension of the situation, the more interesting it is for observers. Although we are all interested in maintaining healthy competition in the market, and for this it is imperative that AMD Polaris justify all the advances made.

At the moment, three video cards of the AMD Radeon RX 400 line are known to be under preparation: AMD Radeon RX 460, AMD Radeon RX 470 and AMD Radeon RX 480. They are aimed at the price segment from $99 to $239, that is, they will not directly compete with NVIDIA models GeForce GTX 1080 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, but will try to take market share from NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960. Later this year, NVIDIA Pascal microarchitecture will appear in this price segment, allowing a full comparison of the level of new products of the two competing camps.

Let’s immediately note that the choice of the price range is not random. According to research conducted by AMD, 95% of Steam users in single-monitor configurations use a display with Full HD resolution or less. In turn, 84% of gamers buy graphics adapters in the $100-$300 price range. Therefore, the top segment, of course, is interesting in terms of its capabilities, but the budget of the vast majority of game lovers is not designed for it.

The stats for VR entertainment systems are also interesting: only 13 million computers out of 1.43 billion in the world this year can boast the ability to play VR. There are much more people who want to join this revolution, which is why the relatively affordable AMD Radeon RX 480 video card enters the market.0582

Model

AMD Radeon R7 360

AMD Radeon RX 460

AMD Radeon R7 370

AMD Radeon RX 470

AMD Radeon R9 380

AMD Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon R9 380X

GPU

AMD Tobago PRO

AMD Polaris 11 (Baffin)

AMD Trinidad PRO

AMD Polaris 10 (Ellesmere PRO)

AMD Antigua PRO

AMD Polaris 10 (Ellesmere XT)

AMD Antigua XT

Microarchitecture

2nd Generation AMD GCN

4th Generation AMD GCN

1st Generation AMD GCN

4th Generation AMD GCN

3rd Generation AMD GCN

4th Generation AMD GCN

3rd Generation AMD GCN

Crystal area, mm ²

160

123

212

232

366

232

366

Technical process, nm

Number of computing units

Number of stream processors

768

896

1024

2048

1792

2304

2048

Number of texture units

128

112

144

128

Number of raster blocks

GPU clock frequency, MHz

1050

1090 / 1200

925 / 975

926 / 1206

970

1120 / 1266

970

Video memory type

GDDR5

Volume, GB

2 / 4

2 / 4

4 / 8

Nominal / effective memory frequency, MHz

1500 / 6000

1750 / 7000

1400 / 5600

1650 / 6600

1375 / 5500

1750 / 7000 and above

1425 / 5700

Memory bus width, bit

128

128

256

256

256

256

256

Bandwidth, GB/s

112

179. 2

211

176

224 and above

182.4

Performance level, TFLOPS

1.613

2.15

1.894

4.9

3.476

> 5

3.973

TDP value, W

100

<75

110

120

190

150

190

Estimated cost, $

109

109 / 139

149

149 / 179

199

199 / 239

229

*The original version may contain inaccuracies, since not all official data were known at the time of writing this review. As soon as this information becomes available, we will immediately update the table if the preliminary information is inaccurate.

Competitors in the internal lineup were selected according to their price position at the time of launch. The pivot table visualizes a number of important points. Firstly, there has been no microarchitecture update in the budget gaming range ($100) for several years, because the second generation of AMD GCN was introduced in 2013.

Secondly, the transition from 28 to 14 nm made it possible to significantly reduce the chip area and, in some cases, increase the number of structural blocks in the GPU. Thirdly, the increase in the clock speeds of the video memory had a positive effect on the increase in throughput. And finally, the declared level of performance has increased markedly with a simultaneous decrease in the thermal package. All this gives hope for the high competitiveness of new products.

Microarchitecture and useful technologies

Introducing the 14nm FinFET process technology, AMD reminded that the power consumption of the GPU increases linearly relative to the number of computing units in its structure. But the dependence of the clock frequency and power consumption is closer to the cubic one. For example, a 15% increase in frequency will result in a 52% increase in power consumption. Accordingly, manufacturers are trying first of all to increase the number of structural blocks. The transition to a finer process technology plays a key role in this endeavor.

AMD Polaris has selected the most advanced 14nm FinFET technology available from Samsung and GLOBAL FOUNDRIES to date. The use of FinFET transistors has reduced the operating voltage by 150 mV compared to the previous generation, which is equivalent to a 30% reduction in power consumption.

The second important point is the integration of the 4th generation of the AMD GCN microarchitecture. In general, the changes in it affected the geometric and command processors, multimedia cores, the image output unit on the screen, the structure of the L2 cache memory and the video memory controller.

CU AMD Radeon RX 480

CU AMD Radeon r 290 x

The structure of the computing units (CU) also did not change much, however, the preliminary sample mechanisms were improved, the volume of the instructions buffer has been enhanced (increases the productivity in single -resistant tasks ), L2 cache has been increased (from 1 to 2 MB) and its performance has been optimized, and support for FP16 and Int16 has been added.

Additionally, changes were made to the work of the geometric engine, which increased the efficiency in processing primitives.

As a result of all these modifications, the performance of the computing unit in the AMD Radeon RX 480 is 15% higher than that of the AMD Radeon R9 290.

For example, a completely new hardware scheduler block for asynchronous calculations has appeared in the structure. It allows you to remove some of the load from the processor, balance the distribution of tasks and resources in real time and help in the processing of VR content.

Updates in the video memory controller, implementation of improved data compression algorithms, larger L2 cache and more efficient resource balancing have significantly reduced power consumption when accessing memory.

Improvements in the video encoder and decoder allow AMD Polaris to work with HEVC (4K @ 60 FPS), VP9 (4K) and MJPEG (4K @ 30 FPS) standards. This will allow users to watch HDR video from Netflix and Amazon streaming services, stream video to Twitch using the H.264 codec, use the VP9 standardto watch YouTube videos or improve the quality of Skype video calls.

Frame Rate Targeting Control

Frame Rate Targeting Control (FRTC) is not new, as it debuted with the AMD Radeon R9 Fury line of graphics cards. However, FRTC is mentioned in the AMD Radeon RX 480 presentation, so we decided to also recall its useful purpose. The essence of its work is the ability to set the maximum frequency for rendering an image in order to reduce the load on the graphics processor and cooling system. For example, your graphics card can deliver over 100 FPS in a game at full load, but you will not experience much effect from this on a 60Hz monitor. Therefore, you can limit yourself to the level of 60-70 FPS, which maintains excellent smoothness of the gameplay and reduces the load on the video card, and hence on the power supply and on the cooling system as a whole.

Async Compute

AMD was the first to bring asynchronous computing to its GPUs by integrating Asynchronous Compute Engines (ACEs) into the AMD GCN microarchitecture. Since a lot has already been said about this technology, we will only briefly recall that when using the DirectX 11 API, all image rendering operations are performed strictly in order of priority. And when switching to the DirectX 12 API, it becomes possible to execute individual components in parallel, which leads to a reduction in the overall image processing time.

In turn, AMD Polaris has made further improvements to Async Compute technology with a new Quality-of-Service (QoS) family technique called «Quick Response Queue». It allows developers to prioritize a queue of computational tasks, so they will run before normal priority tasks and use the maximum amount of available resources for their purposes. Quick Response Queue is implemented, for example, to improve the performance of the AMD LiquidVR SDK in particular and to more effectively support virtual reality technology in general.

Vulkan

The Vulkan API was developed by the Khronos Group, the consortium behind the OpenGL standard. Vulkan is positioned as its successor, and it is also a kind of heir to AMD Mantle, since during the creation of the Vulkan API, AMD shared many of the developments from the Mantle API. The result is a new API that gives developers full access to the performance, efficiency, and functionality of AMD’s Radeon GPUs and multiprocessor systems.

Compared to OpenGL, Vulkan can significantly reduce API Overhead. This term refers to the whole complex of background work that the central processor does in order to implement game requests to the hardware. In other words, the load on the CPU is reduced and the possibility of more complete use of the computing power of the GPU opens up.

By the way, active support for the Vulkan API is provided by Google in the Android OS, as it announced in August 2015. Theoretically, this should significantly simplify the work of programmers, because the same programming interface is supported by desktop systems, game consoles and mobile devices.

DirectX 12

Of course, we should not discount Microsoft, which for several years has been preparing a new version of its programming interface — DirectX 12, which is exclusive to Windows 10. It also corresponds to the spirit of the times, giving developers more control over the use of computing resources. And now it will depend on them where to direct these opportunities: increase the smoothness of the gameplay, reduce delays (important in VR projects), reduce the energy consumption of the hardware platform, achieve the most realistic picture, or try to balance all these components.

AMD internally tests AMD Radeon RX 480 outperforms internal AMD Radeon R9 380X and external NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 in DirectX 12 games. if DirectX 12 is the future, then DirectX 11 is still our present, since many current projects have not yet switched to game engines that support the new software interface. However, AMD claims that at 1440p, the AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics card competes almost on equal terms with the more expensive NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9. 70, again leaving behind its predecessor (AMD Radeon R9 380X).

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a true godsend for the entire computer industry. Software developers in general and game developers in particular have a new scope for implementing their ideas, and hardware manufacturers have the right to count on an increase in demand for high-performance video cards. In an effort to reach a large base of potential buyers, AMD has provided the AMD Radeon RX 480 with enough processing power to display VR content at the right level of quality. And thanks to improved support for asynchronous computing and the use of Quick Response Queue technology, it was possible to implement, for example, the Oculus Asynchronous Time Warp function, which improves the stability of the image output.

The maximum effect is promised to us from a bunch of AMD Radeon RX 480 in AMD CrossFireX mode.

Image rendering lags

AMD has been heavily criticized in the past for high frame-by-frame rendering latency. The lower and more stable they are, the better the perception of the smoothness of the visual range. In AMD Polaris, bugs have been completely fixed, as evidenced by the results of internal benchmarks.

4 or 8 GB of memory

The AMD Radeon RX 480 is available in 4 or 8 GB GDDR5 memory options. The first version will be slightly cheaper ($199). It is designed for most current games. If you’re looking for a future-proof graphics card for higher resolution monitors or for VR, then it makes sense to look at the 8GB version ($239). As you can see from the following screenshots, it provides a more stable and lower latency image rendering without any significant spikes.

HDR

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology was first introduced in the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition, but AMD customers will now be able to experience its full benefits with the integration of DisplayPort 1. 4.

First, HDR allows you to expand the color range transmitted using monitors by up to 75%. Second, improve the brightness range to 0.0005 — 10,000 cd/m ² . DisplayPort 1.4 also adds support for 5K screens up to 60Hz and increases the maximum refresh rate for monitors already in heavy use.

And with the integration of HDMI 2.0b, AMD plans to expand the number of monitors that can support AMD FreeSync technology to minimize display artifacts. After all, now to activate it, you can use not only the DisplayPort interface, but also HDMI 2.0b.

Radeon WattMan

The proprietary Radeon Software Crimson Edition software has been replaced: AMD OverDrive has been replaced by the Radeon WattMan utility. It provides the user with the ability to monitor and control GPU voltage, GPU and memory clock speeds, fan speed, and GPU temperature.

The most useful Radeon WattMan will be for gamers and overclockers.

R9 290x vs rx 480: Radeon RX 480 vs R9 290X [in 8 benchmarks]

AMD Radeon R9 290X vs MSI Radeon RX 480: What is the difference?

Why is AMD Radeon R9 290X better than MSI Radeon RX 480?

Why is MSI Radeon RX 480 better than AMD Radeon R9 290X?

Which are the most popular comparisons?

Price comparison

User reviews

Performance

Memory

Features

Ports

Price comparison

Which are the best graphics cards?

Radeon RX 480 vs Radeon R9 290X

Reasons to consider Radeon RX 480

Reasons to consider Radeon R9 290X

No clear winner declared

Core Configuration

Memory Configuration

Additional details

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480

Introduction

Specifications

Graphics Card

Graphics Processor

Memory

Theoretical Performance

Clock Speeds

Render Config

Graphics Features

Board Design

Benchmarks

Key Differences

Why is AMD Radeon R9 290X better than AMD Radeon RX 480?

Why is AMD Radeon RX 480 better than AMD Radeon R9 290X?

Conclusion

Which is better Radeon R9 290X or Radeon RX 480?

What AMD graphics cards is equivalent to Radeon R9 290X?

What NVIDIA graphics cards is equivalent to Radeon R9 290X?

How does Radeon R9 290X perform compared to Radeon RX 480 and other graphics cards?

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480 GPU Comparison

GPU Comparison

Overall Score

Flux Core frame rate

Electron frame rate

City frame rate

Clouds frame rate

Geekbench (OpenCL) score

Geekbench (Vulkan) score

3DMark Graphics score

Boost Clock Speed

Memory

Memory Bus Width

Memory Bandwidth

TDP

Pixel Rate

Texture Rate

Floating Point Performance

Shading Units

Texture Mapping Units

Render Output Processors

Rank

Family

Release date

Memory Type

DirectX Support

OpenGL Support

Radeon R9 290X vs Radeon RX 480 specs and performance

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