RX480 8GB Reference VS. RX480 4GB Aftermarket

doubleJ

doubleJ

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
221
Hello...
I've been waiting to get an RX480 and now the market is flooded with aftermarket (IE...non-reference designs) versions.
Newegg has a couple of the new, 4GB, versions and an old, 8GB, version for similar pricing.
Just wondering on your thoughts.
It seems like the newer versions would have better cooling, from double the fans, but the exhaust port is only have as wide, due to the inclusion of a DVI port.
Assumingly, 8GB vs 4GB isn't really a valuable difference.
Is there reason to buy one over the other?
JJ

GIGABYTE Radeon RX 480 G1 Gaming 4GB GV-RX480G1GAMING-4GD Video Card-Newegg.com
XFX Radeon RX 480 DirectX 12 RX-480P4LFB6 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card - Newegg.com
ASUS Radeon RX 480 RX480-8G 8GB Video Card - Newegg.com
 
If you are gaming at 1920 x 1080 the RX 480 4GB version is all the card you need. I just read an article in MaximumPC where they did a massive graphics card round up. In the article they said that there was no advantage in the 8GB card vs the 4GB card. They gave the RX 480 4Gb a verdict 9 Kick Ass award.
 
image.jpg


8GB fo shizzle.

Speicher auf Grafikkarten: 3, 4, 6 & 8 GB VRAM im Vergleich (Seite 2)
 
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I was going to get a 4GB 470 but in the end I stumped up the extra and got a XFX GTR 480 8GB. I tend to run my cards 3+ years so its worth spending a little extra.

The card exceeds my expectations. I've even down cranked it to 1095MHz on the clock.
 
The biggest question was with regard to the cooling.
Is there not a difference in the wider exhaust and 1 fan versus the narrower exhaust and 2 fans?
Are the 2 fans noticeably louder?
JJ
 
Generally speaking 2 fans will be noticeably quieter than 1 fan, 2 fans means that they don't have to work as hard and the 1 fan reference coolers are blower fans which are louder as well. The quietest/coolest 480 seems to be the MSI Gaming X card, the Saphire Nitro+ OC and XFX GTR seem to be the best overclockers. Another nice feature with the XFX GTR and Saphire Nitro OC is that the fans can be replaced without removing the cooler.
 
My XFX GTR is pretty loud on full power. Much louder than my single fan HSI 7870.Hence also why I downclocked mine.
 
I would recommend the 8GB version, it would last longer as a viable gaming card in the long run.
 
You are better off getting the reference version and then buy like a Prolimatech MK-26 to cool it. So far it seems both the Gigabyte G1 and the Powercolor ones have worse PCBs than the reference PCB, and also coolers that just look similar but doesn't perform as well as usual.
 
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