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- Mar 3, 2018
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AMD launched a cut down version of the RX 580 with only 2048 stream processors instead of 2304. Curiously, it has the exact same core configuration, base clock, and memory bandwidth as the RX 570. The only thing separating the RX 580 2048SP from the 570 a 40Mhz boost clock bump. According to Extremetech, its only bound for the Chinese market now.
It's not unheard of for manufacturers to make subdivisions like this, as mentioned above. Back when Nvidia launched its Tesla line of GPUs (GT200, not its line of HPC accelerators and add-in boards), it quickly realized it had miscalculated. The GTX 280 and GTX 260 both got substantial price cuts just weeks after launch once AMD’s HD 4870 and HD 4850 proved to be faster and far better priced. In addition, Nvidia introduced a "GeForce 260 Core 216" edition of the GeForce GTX 260 (the original flavor had just 192 cores). And AMD has been down this road before with Polaris. Last year, it permitted OEMs to sell RX 560 cards with just 892 cores, as opposed to the 1,024 standard. AMD’s justification for this has been that offering more flexible solutions helps OEMs sell more graphics cards to their customers at specific price points. Sure. That’s the reason companies subdivide markets in the first place. If the only GPUs you sold were priced at $100 and $1,000, you’d wind up missing an awful lot of buyers.
It's not unheard of for manufacturers to make subdivisions like this, as mentioned above. Back when Nvidia launched its Tesla line of GPUs (GT200, not its line of HPC accelerators and add-in boards), it quickly realized it had miscalculated. The GTX 280 and GTX 260 both got substantial price cuts just weeks after launch once AMD’s HD 4870 and HD 4850 proved to be faster and far better priced. In addition, Nvidia introduced a "GeForce 260 Core 216" edition of the GeForce GTX 260 (the original flavor had just 192 cores). And AMD has been down this road before with Polaris. Last year, it permitted OEMs to sell RX 560 cards with just 892 cores, as opposed to the 1,024 standard. AMD’s justification for this has been that offering more flexible solutions helps OEMs sell more graphics cards to their customers at specific price points. Sure. That’s the reason companies subdivide markets in the first place. If the only GPUs you sold were priced at $100 and $1,000, you’d wind up missing an awful lot of buyers.