AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Video Card Review @ [H]

sabrewolf732 said:
Retailers are pricing the card higher than $499. AMD just released a statement on this,

"“Our SEPs, and the price tag that we announced,” Youngblood says, “is our full intention of where we would suggest the product be priced. Not just for launch, but ongoing."

Source: https://www.pcgamesn.com/amd/amd-rx-vega-launch-price-reduction
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Ups we got caught manipulating reviews with fake prices let's release PR blaming everything on retailers and allocate few more cards to 499$ edition.
 
cybereality said:
Forward is already here, as shown in the [H] review where Vega 56 has a lead in Vulkan and DX12 games.
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If you have an nvidia card you can run those games in dx11 (or open-gl in Doom's case) and get better (or at least similar) performance. Dx12 or Vulkan still does not bring any extra features that would improve the picture quality or anything else, so it's not an advantage for AMD, it's just a workaround for their awful open-gl support and their dx11 CPU overhead - and it's also limited to a few specific titles.

We can talk about this again when there's a bunch of native dx12/Vulkan games around. But I doubt AMD will hold any advantage by then because nvidia will 1) have new cards 2) improve dx12 support in their drivers when the need arises (they have already done that successfully for some titles on Maxwell and Pascal).
 
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lucidrenegade said:
Only fanboys and Freesync owners are tied to AMD cards. If Nvidia feels the least bit threatened by the Vega56, they'll just drop the price on the 1070 by $50. At this point in the 1070 lifecycle they can afford to.
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Nvidia isn't setting that price, retailers are and it's due to mining demand. Why would they set 1070 within 50 bucks of a 1080? Makes zero commercial sense.
 
TechCat said:
The 1070 has half the memory so that accounts for two things less power draw and higher mem OC. The 1070 is old tech that will be unable to keep up going foward. All OC cards draw more power and gen more heat.

I would like to see a multi monitor comparison I am sure the 1070 could not keep up with th 56 because of mem limitations. I wonder how the 1080 would fair against the 64.
I use three 144Hz 1080p Freesync monitors but what about three 1440p monitors tested too?

How loud a sound is subjective in this case I think the consant droning is what is the real complaint.
Look at this chart.
http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm
Clearly 45.2 or 53.9 is not that loud.

My FX 9800GT was loud.
6800 ultra was loud
5950U was loud
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My vega is LOUD. Far louder than my 1070s.

They're both 8GB lol?
 
TechCat said:
The 1070 has half the memory so that accounts for two things less power draw and higher mem OC. The 1070 is old tech that will be unable to keep up going foward. All OC cards draw more power and gen more heat.

I would like to see a multi monitor comparison I am sure the 1070 could not keep up with th 56 because of mem limitations. I wonder how the 1080 would fair against the 64.
I use three 144Hz 1080p Freesync monitors but what about three 1440p monitors tested too?

How loud a sound is subjective in this case I think the consant droning is what is the real complaint.
Look at this chart.
http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm
Clearly 45.2 or 53.9 is not that loud.

My FX 9800GT was loud.
6800 ultra was loud
5950U was loud
Click to expand...
:oops:
 
TechCat was half asleep 1070 is of course 8GB card. (was thinking about older card noise the 970 spec snuck in)

Still I would like to see these new cards tested with multi monitors.

AMD cards do draw more juice over and over. My utilities are included so just exaust heat has to be delt with.

Many will still buy AMD just to support competition though. Adjusting a slider or two is not that big of an issue.
AMD has done a lot if you consider their resources compared to nVidea.

How much of a toll does mining take? We used to be concerned with OC gaming when it came to used cards but mining runs 24 hrs a day.
 
Great review, looks to be a decent option from RTG. Maybe useful if RTG has some Radeon 56 and FreeSync 1440p packs - looks like the sweet spot for this card.

Someone indicated extra heat in the case - unless you direct the exhaust air back into the case - the blower style cards, even consuming way more power would allow for a cooler case temperature since it is exhausting heat outside of the case then a lower powered card exhausting inside.

There are presently DX 12 only games, that will probably increase over time. Hands down the 56 stumped the 1070 in DX 12 and the one Vulkan game tested (DOOM). The 56 looks to be the better longer term card.

RTG drivers and recent history indicates that more performance should be expected as time goes on, I would not be too surprised that the 56 catches up to the 1080 in a year especially in DX12 and Vulkan games in general.

As for price, the abysmal availability of any worthwhile cards <$400 is troubling since majority of PC Gamer's would be in this category - I see mining as affecting PC gaming worst then the consoles ever did if current availability and pricing continue. It would be nice if that $399 holds but I don't see that happening.

VR testing? That could turn the tide either way for a person looking to get into VR or to upgrade.
 
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If this card was released 13 months ago, I could have stayed in Team Red for my GPUs... At least RTG showed up on the battlefield for this tier of performance.
 
Last years performance, 2013 power consumption. There's nothing here that would make me upgrade my 1070 (And I have a Freesync monitor)
 
Great review as usual Kyle and Brent. I can't wait to get my hands on 2 VEGA 56s at MC. If they allow you to buy 2 per person I am going to buy 4 of them. I think where VEGA 56 is going to shine is when I get it under a full cover block. With the early teases we have seen from undervolting the gpu and overclocking HBM, I can't wait. Once you factor in a ~25-30C drop in load temperatures, power draw will come down a fair amount as well (not that I care coming from a pair of 1.2V 1.3Ghz 290s :p)..
 
Spoonie_G said:
Last years performance, 2013 power consumption. There's nothing here that would make me upgrade my 1070 (And I have a Freesync monitor)
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I don't get the complaint about last year's performance. It's later than the 1070, it does best it, and last anyone heard the 1070's replacement is at least six months away. So let's bitch about having competition in this market for what reason? Better to have it for 6 months than not at all.
 
ManofGod said:
Only fanboys and Gsync owners are tied to Nvidia cards. (See what I did there?) Dude, AMD Vega 56 is definitely a good product and will earn them some so they can turn around and do more research and development. AMD Is alive! :) (Yea, I am an AMD Fan, I never hide it.)

Oh, and why would retailers drop prices on their 1070's if they are already selling and making them money? Are you feeling a bit of concern for the green team?
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All AMD has proven is that they require 50+w more power to match the performance of a year old card. I could care less about which card people buy - it's just fun to get fanboys like you all riled up.
 
lucidrenegade said:
All AMD has proven is that they require 50+w more power to match the performance of a year old card. I could care less about which card people buy - it's just fun to get fanboys like you all riled up.
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*Shrug* Rather have Vega than Nvidia any day of the week and this card is a plus for me.
 
Pieter3dnow said:
It is not a pretty picture however you want to see it. AMD is paying a good deal for HBM2, performance for Vega is not the best and does not scale, if "they" can come through on price it becomes palatable but only for a small segment of the market.

If the price is not right then why bother with purchasing a Vega based card ?
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vega56 at 399 is more than just palatable, and definitely not just for a small market segment. that price is flat out amazing for that performance

and I say this as a staunch critic of amd, your post just comes off as hating imo.
 
I am actually looking forward to the aftermarket Vega 56. If the pricing can stick close to $400 I'll likely sell one of my 1070's to update to it because of my freesync monitor and my desire to play with something new. The performance is pretty much what I need for 1440p and the added power consumption is not an issue for me considering I usually only have enough time to game maybe 8-10 hours a week these days.
 
My 2560x1440 display is a freesyncer. The r9 390 drives it fine...but I have a vega 56 itch... hmm. Gotta see the aftermarket cards and prices.

Of course, if 1070 prices ever come down, I'll use one of them to replace my 970, and use that to replace my 670.

It had hinges on noise, price, and less so on heat.
 
c3k said:
My 2560x1440 display is a freesyncer. The r9 390 drives it fine...but I have a vega 56 itch... hmm. Gotta see the aftermarket cards and prices.

Of course, if 1070 prices ever come down, I'll use one of them to replace my 970, and use that to replace my 670.

It had hinges on noise, price, and less so on heat.
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I would just wait for AIB Vega 56 than the blower type Vega 56. Hopefully not a long wait.
 
Good review, conclusions seem right on the money from the results. This is the AMD we know: good performance and features for the price (perhaps at the cost of power). If I was in the market for a card would definitely be on my shortlist.

Will be interesting to see, once folks start receiving them, if they unlock to 64s (like many other of AMD's first-batch chips e.g. 290). Amd of course will you actually be able to get one at MSRP...
 
Yeah, it seems like amd is doing rebates to incentivize retailers into selling for msrp and avoid gouging. If this is the case then eff retailers hard.
 
at $399 i am very excited for vega, but i spent all my money on 1080s #impatient
 
Nimisys said:
I don't get the complaint about last year's performance. It's later than the 1070, it does best it, and last anyone heard the 1070's replacement is at least six months away. So let's bitch about having competition in this market for what reason? Better to have it for 6 months than not at all.
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I was looking for 1080ti level performance. AMD doesn't offer that.
 
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And to add to what I just said. I have a freesync monitor and my last card was a AMD Fury. I purchased the 1070 as a place holder until something from AMD came out. I waited and thought that AMD would at least be able to match or beat the 1080ti a year after the 1080ti was released. That didn't happen. These current AMD cards don't offer enough performance for me replace my 1070.
 
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Spoonie_G said:
I was looking for 1080ti level performance. AMD doesn't offer that.
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Shocking a mid range card doesn't offer the same level of performance as the near top tier card of the established segment leader.

Unrealistic expectations aside, it is still a slight bump over a 1070 and works more effectively with your monitor than the 1070. It was never intended to be a 1080ti competitor, so why judge it as such?
 
I'm looking to upgrade from Radeon 290x.

I don't have a High Refresh Monitor yet.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to get Vega56+Freesync or GTX 10xx+Gsync.

The cost of 1440p IPS Gsync still scares me off going Nvidia.
 
wicktr0n_ said:
I'm looking to upgrade from Radeon 290x.

I don't have a High Refresh Monitor yet.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to get Vega56+Freesync or GTX 10xx+Gsync.

The cost of 1440p IPS Gsync still scares me off going Nvidia.
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for sure go vega 56 and freesync. If you were to go nvidia you're looking at a 1060 and g sync for the price of vega 56 and freesync.
 
I'd say Vega 56 and FreeSync. You might even be able to get in on one of those bundle deals.
 
wicktr0n_ said:
I'm looking to upgrade from Radeon 290x.

I don't have a High Refresh Monitor yet.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to get Vega56+Freesync or GTX 10xx+Gsync.

The cost of 1440p IPS Gsync still scares me off going Nvidia.
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Ask again when retailers actually have decent stock of these cards, and make sure that you're comparing like monitors. One reason that the G-Sync tax is perpetuated is that G-Sync monitors typically have more features, and conversely the monitor manufacturers tend to limit features and/or put lower-end panels in their FreeSync monitors, in my observation.
 
Nimisys said:
Shocking a mid range card doesn't offer the same level of performance as the near top tier card of the established segment leader.

Unrealistic expectations aside, it is still a slight bump over a 1070 and works more effectively with your monitor than the 1070. It was never intended to be a 1080ti competitor, so why judge it as such?
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Unrealistic expectations? So much for AMD being the performance leader. I guess that really is an unrealistic expectation. It works better than my current card but not enough for me to get one. I'll wait to see what comes in a year or two.
 
cybereality said:
Forward is already here, as shown in the [H] review where Vega 56 has a lead in Vulkan and DX12 games.
Click to expand...
Not a significant lead IMO. Pascal does not seem to suffer in DX12 or Vulkan only the gains are not as pronounced. Could that become a weakness in the future? Possibly, but it definately was not one when it launched in 2016 nor is it one now in 2017. DX12 and Vulkan games have appeared to slow down with very few titles announced to use those APIs.
 
if you have a custom loop already, it might be a better buy for watercoolers to go with a V56 over a 1070. if you can get a deal on a full cover block, V56 does great on water and new power limit (yeah it guzzles the gas though)
 
Presbytier said:
Not a significant lead IMO. Pascal does not seem to suffer in DX12 or Vulkan only the gains are not as pronounced. Could that become a weakness in the future? Possibly, but it definately was not one when it launched in 2016 nor is it one now in 2017. DX12 and Vulkan games have appeared to slow down with very few titles announced to use those APIs.
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I believe Nvidia is finally getting their shader intrinsic build into Vulkan.
 
Chimpee said:
I believe Nvidia is finally getting their shader intrinsic build into Vulkan.
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Pascal does really well in Vulkan doom which as far as i can find is the only full fledge implementation of Vulkan out ther, at least in a AAA game.
 
So when exactly is this thing available? Seems like every review failed to mention it. or I am just blind!

Edit: I guess the 28th. But man why do reviews these days fail to mention a release date when the reviews are ahead of launch day. I used to see availability date at the end of articles in conclusion. I guess times have changed.
 
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