Amd riks 480. Video cards. Conclusions on the theoretical part

Sapphire's product range includes several non-reference models created on the AMD Polaris 10 graphics processor. Built on the basis of the Nitro series, they combine the use of high-quality components and a non-reference cooling system, which provides video cards with high performance characteristics, which include performance, low level noise and rich functionality.

The video card comes in an elongated black package with dark printing. On the front side there is an image of a branded cyborg, which gives an understanding of the manufacturability of the product used. From the information on the box, we can highlight the names of the manufacturer and model, the amount of video memory equal to 8 GB, non-reference design and factory overclocking.

The description on the back is superficial. The developers talk about the new Sapphire Nitro series, which was developed and optimized to meet the needs of AMD architectures Polaris, and that the new line will unlock the full potential of the GPU. A separate list contains supported functions and technologies.

Inside the dark packaging is a thick cardboard box that protects the contents during transportation.

For additional safety, the Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb is placed in an antistatic bag with an air gap.

There is a separate niche for the delivery set. It includes a user manual, driver disk, company brochure and warranty leaflet.

Appearance

The developers have developed a monolithic black design for the entire Sapphire Nitro+ line, which is reduced to two fans with a diameter of 100 mm and a decorative casing with a characteristic pattern in the form of numerous dots.

The dimensions of the video card are quite affordable. The length of the model is 240 mm, width – 121 mm, the PC will have two expansion slots covered.

The cooling system practically covers the video card with side inserts. Only the top panel sports protruding heat pipes. On the bottom there is a colorful Nitro Glow backlight with RGB LEDs.

A distinctive feature of the Sapphire video card among other models is the metal backplate. In addition to the colorful design and slots for hot air to escape, the plate removes heat from the power subsystem area through a black thermal pad, which reduces the temperature of the VRM.

The rear panel houses five reference video outputs - DVI-D, two HDMI 2.0b and two DisplayPort 1.4.

The Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb video card has one eight-pin additional power connector, which raises the TDP bar from 150 to a maximum of 225 W. It is worth noting that the average power consumption of the model is 140-150 W, which leaves a certain margin for overclocking.

The highlight of the new product is the combined firmware switch and the button for changing the backlight mode, located one above the other. Dual BIOS allows in case unsuccessful firmware fix the defect without any problems, and also use two BIOS version: in one, use, for example, the recommended settings, and in the second – for overclocking at higher frequencies.

Cooling system

The cooling system of the Sapphire Nitro+ line deserves special attention. The model is equipped with an improved Dual-X cooler with interesting Quick Connect technology. This function implies the ability to simply remove the fans for cleaning and, in extreme cases, replacement. The next innovation is also interesting – Nitro FanSafe. It allows you to control the status of the fans, which can be done using the Sapphire TriXX utility. If the “health” of the turntables has deteriorated, then, according to the developers, if you contact technical support and clarify the details, they will send you a replacement.

The fans themselves are manufactured by Champion, model CF1015H12D. Their diameter is 100 mm, and the impeller itself is 95 mm. They are capable of operating in the range of 0 – 3500 rpm.

The cooler is a single-section radiator made of 36 nickel-plated aluminum plates. They are penetrated by three heat pipes, two of which have a diameter of 8 mm, and one of 6 mm. All connections are carefully soldered.

A copper insert is in contact with the graphics processor, and a large base covers all video memory chips. A similar situation is with the power subsystem, where for each group power transistors The developers highlighted their thermal pad.

Printed circuit board

Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb is built on an original black PCB. The developers resorted to an interesting PCB shape, which allows you to use part of the PCB to attach the cooling system casing. It is worth emphasizing that this printed circuit board is used not only on the new product being tested, but also on its modifications and the Radeon RX 470 version.

High-quality components are used, including long-life solid-state capacitors, Direct-FET transistors and proprietary Black Diamond chokes with low power consumption.

The power subsystem is different in that it is built according to the “5+1” formula, where five phases are allocated to the graphics processor and one to the video memory. One phase for the GPU remains unsoldered, which possibly means it will appear on a more productive and overclocked Sapphire model Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb.

The graphics processor is presented by AMD with the code name Polaris 10. It has 2304 threading processes, 144 texture units and 32 ROPs.

The well-known and well-documented PWM controller IR 3568B is responsible for control.

The video card contains eight video memory chips manufactured by SKhynix with a total capacity of 8 GB. The chips operate at a nominal frequency of 2000 MHz.

Test bench

• Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K (4000 MHz);
• Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5, BIOS version 1.11;
• Cooler: Noctua NH-D15S;
• Memory: 2 x 4 GB DDR3 2133, Kingston HyperX Genesis (KHX18C10/4);
• Video card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb;
• SSD drive: SanDisk X110 256 GB;
• Power supply: Chieftec APS-1000C 1000W;
• Case: Zalman Z9 Neo;
• Monitor: BenQ GW2460HM;
• Operating system: Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1;
• Drivers: AMD Crimson 16.11.2 HotFix.

Testing

The Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb received a slight factory overclock, however, compared to its competitors, this is already a noticeable step forward. The core frequency has been increased from 1120 MHz to 1160 MHz, in Boost mode– from 1266 MHz to 1306 MHz. The company's product range also includes a more productive model. The graphics processor operates at 1,150 V. In idle mode, the frequencies drop to 300/300 MHz, and the cooling system stops the fans, which has become a sign of good form in modern video cards. The temperature stays at 42-45°C.

As a load test to evaluate the effectiveness of the cooling system, 3DMark Fire Strike was used in stability test mode, 15 runs. This creates a high load on graphics accelerators, but the Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb performs well. The core frequency is 1252-1286 MHz at 1.089 V, and the fans run at 39% of maximum power, which is 1650 rpm. The video card runs quietly and warms up to 77-78°C.

Synthetic tests

Game tests

The new product has a certain potential, which we will try to realize. The Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb was overclocked at the core frequency to 1360 MHz, and at the memory speed to 2150 MHz. The results are by no means record-breaking, however, the cooling system worked at automatic mode at a maximum rotation speed of 1900 rpm, and the temperature barely reached 80°C. This optional parameter is programmed into the BIOS itself, the value of which the cooler tries to maintain.

Productivity increased by an average of 5%.

Conclusion

At the moment, the Radeon RX 480 8Gb video card is the highest representative of the graphics solution from AMD, taking its place in the average price segment, where it competes with an equally successful opponent in the form of the GeForce GTX 1060. On the side of the “red” there is a good level of performance in Full HD resolution, the ability to edit firmware thanks to utilities that allow you to configure the video card to your needs, and the output current versions drivers for new games. Using the Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb as an example, we were able to verify this.

The developers were able to release a balanced solution, which was noted for its fairly compact size, optimal system cooling, which has a low noise level and demonstrates acceptable heating. Of course, users expected more from Sapphire, which has been producing some of the best non-reference AMD brand products over the past few years, however, the video card turned out to be quite optimally configured and fits into the “install and forget” concept, which allows you to enjoy high performance and low noise levels.

Advantages:

• Performance in Full HD resolution;
• Factory overclocking;
• Two BIOS chips;
• Eight-pin additional power connector;
• Efficient Dual-X cooling system;
• 8 GB of video memory.

Flaws:

• Noisy cooling system when reaching 2100 rpm and above;
• Low overclocking potential.

AMD Radeon RX 480 8Gb. Version from HIS

With the advent of the new gaming video card RX 480, most gamers are thinking about upgrading their PC, this is not surprising because such performance at this price point has not been seen for a long time. AMD has released two solutions, the RX 480 4GB which costs $199 and the RX 480 8GB which will cost you $40 more, let's decide if it's worth it and whether the difference in memory sizes is a significant difference.

Radeon RX 480 Specifications

As practice shows, 4 and 8 GB are practically no different, but the memory of the 8Gb version is faster - 256 GB/sec, and its younger model has 224 GB/sec.

Now looking at the tests:

You can understand that the $199 version loses a little, showing results that are 3-4% worse than the $240 video card in each test. But these percentages clearly do not justify the premium, because when the video card is running you are unlikely to feel these minor differences, and even if you look at system requirements modern games, you can understand that 4GB is enough.

RX 480 4Gb – Unigine Heaven – Haswell RX 480 4Gb – Unigine Valley – Skylake RX 480 4Gb – Unigine Heaven – Skylake RX 480 4Gb – Unigine Valley – Haswell

Now let's move on to the 8GB version. I would like to say that the clock frequency is limited to 1266 MHz, but this is not the limit of the chip, which is created using 14 FiNFER technology. AMD themselves assure that the transition between nodes from 28 nm to 14 nm increased the performance of the video card by 1.8 times, and as for optimization, it was brought to a ratio of 2.9. And a comparison with the GeForce GTX 1070 immediately comes to mind, which with the same power and a slightly more capacious GPU reaches a frequency of 1683 MHz.

Let's talk briefly about the characteristicsRX 480:

1. Architecture - GCN 4th generation.
2. The number of computational units is 36.
3. Threaded processes – 2304.
4. Clock frequencies. Basic and boost – 1120 MHz / 1266 MHz.
5. Peak performance reaches up to 5.8 teraflops.
6. Memory type – GDDR
7. Memory bandwidth is 224 GB and sometimes higher.
8. Standard board consumption is 150 W.
9. HDMI cable version is 2.0.
10. The maximum resolution is 5120x2880.
11. Video memory capacity - 8192 MB.
12. Interface – PCI-E 16x 3.0

There is support for Directx 12, as well as the new Polaris architecture with AMD LiquidVR technology, providing a feeling of deep realism when combined with immersive VR headsets.

Manufacturers and tests

ASUS

ASUS offers two designs for the RX 480, the first being its own design designed for ROG STRIX adapters. AND Asus Rog Strix-Rx480-O8g-Gaming with factory overclocking frequency of 1330 MHz. The video card has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, operating at a frequency of 8000 MHz. The video card implements a hybrid mode of operation of the cooling system, which means that in idle mode the RX 480 is silent.

The radiator is enough to maintain the GPU temperature at 40-50 degrees. When testing the video card, its peak temperature did not exceed 70 degrees, in order to prevent the chip from heating up more strongly, the fans were spinning at speeds above 2000 rpm. Also, thanks to utilities, you can configure your cooling mode, but without the appropriate knowledge you should not do this.

Testing

• Unigine Valley Benchmark - FPS: 53, Score 2228.
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark - FPS: 52, Score 1313.
• Benchmark Sky Diver – graphics score 4043

Game tests:

The extension in all games was set to 1920x1080, and VSync functions were disabled, all other settings were set to maximum. Intel Core i7-7700K processor with a frequency of 4.2GHz.

And here are the results we got:

• Crysis 3 – 52 Fps.
• DOOM - 67 Fps.
• Dying Light: - The Following 42 Fps.
• GTA5 - 47 Fps.

From these data we can conclude that the RX 480 is perfect for gamers, and provides them with good immersion without brakes.

Sapphire

Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb – Sapphire has several imperfect models based on the Polaris 10 architecture. Created on the basis of the Nitro base, they combined high-quality use of the element base and a non-reference cooling system, which later provided these video cards with high performance, as well as low noise level, as well as a rich set functionality. The 480 model was equipped with a DualX cooler with new technology Quick Connect, this technology allows quick replacement fan, which allows cleaning several times faster, just as the TriXX utility is installed, it is responsible for the performance of your cooler, according to the developer, if your cooler is broken, then by contacting support they can send you a replacement.

Testing

The Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb receives an insignificant factory overclock, but considering its competitors, this is a step forward. The frequency increases from 1120 MHz to 1160 MHz and in boost mode from 1266 to 1306. I would also like to note that in the mode when the video card is not loaded, the system slows down the fans and the temperature remains at 40-45 degrees, this reduces energy costs. To evaluate the performance, 3DMark Fire Strike was used; as a result of testing, the RX 480 Nitro+ 8Gb showed itself to perform quite well, the chip frequency was 1250-1285 MHz, while the fans operated at only 39% of their peak power. The video card itself worked quietly during the test, and its temperature was 75-76 degrees.

• Unigine Valley Benchmark - FPS: 54, Score 2265.
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark - FPS: 53, Score 1358.
• Benchmark Fire Strike – graphics score 13163.

In gaming tests:

Intel Core i7-7700K processor with a frequency of 4.2GHz.

• Crysis 3, Textures: Max, MSAAx8, 1920x1080 – stable 55 fps, although there were drops to 40, at moments when there were too many explosions.
• The Witcher 3: wild Hunt, High settings, HairWorks off, 1920×1080 – fps indicators ranged from 50 to 90 in places of varying congestion such as cities. We conclude that it is quite playable.
• Rise Of Tomb Rider: 1920×1080 High graphics settings – the game shows an average value of 41 fps, which is also quite enough for a comfortable game.

Gigabyte

Summer 2016, it was at this moment that AMD Polaris graphics chips were released. Which became the first step for Gigabyte in the transition to 14 nm chips, and after that new opportunities opened up for them; the RX 480, RX 470 series models built on this base became the driving force of production in the mid-price segment.

Testing

As tests have shown, for video cards with alternative systems cooling is strongly influenced by clock speeds, as well as temperatures. The RX 480 is equipped with a WindForse cooler that can cope with temperatures up to 78 degrees, of course this is not the lowest level, but let’s be honest, it’s not the highest. It is important that the temperature does not exceed a critical value, otherwise the video card may burn out.

• Unigine Valley Benchmark - FPS: 56, Score 2285.
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark - FPS: 50, Score 1318.
• Benchmark Fire Strike – graphics score 14163.

In gaming tests:

Expansion in all games 1920x1080, best quality settings, all tests in DirectX 11: Intel Core i7-7700K processor with a frequency of 4.2GHz.

• Rise Of the Tomb Raider – 45 Fps.
• Fallout 4 – 45 Fps.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 50 Fps.
• BattleField 1 – 40 Fps.

Conclusion

On this moment The Radeon RX 480 is the best solution in the mid-price segment, where it competes with the GTX 1060. Thanks to utilities that can be adjusted to your needs, the range of tasks it can solve is large, it is equally good both in games and in working with graphics. And also, if you are a VR owner, you can immerse yourself in virtual reality without any problems, since the card’s power will be quite enough for this.

The reference Radeon RX 480 - the fastest Polaris video card so far - was presented on June 29, 2016. Of course, there was a very thick layer of marketing involved. Namely, AMD's PR propaganda was built on one concept: we offer you the fastest $200 gaming video card. I agree, it sounded very tempting. Only in reality it turned out that 4 GB references were simply not on sale at that price, and the samples given to testers turned out to be 8 GB versions with a locked memory array. In addition, only standards appeared in Russia. The first custom versions of the “four hundred and eightieth” arrived on 1/9 of the landmass only in mid/late August.

On July 19, the main competitor of the Radeon RX 480, the GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB (review), went on sale. The Greens performed in a unique way. They sell the reference at an inflated price only in their own store. It does not work in Russia yet. Other modifications immediately leaked into public retail. What did this multi-step approach lead to? According to Steam statistics for the month of August, 0.24% of users of this game client have already become owners of the GeForce GTX 1060. There are only Radeon RX 480 owners... The fact of the matter is that Polaris new products were not included in the statistics, despite a head start of almost a whole month! And I blame this kind of voting with money not so much on the success of the GeForce GTX 1060 accelerator, but on the lack of that very diversity. Even now, in mid-September 2016, the unrefined Radeon RX 480 is an infrequent guest on the shelves of domestic stores.

Let's see how the picture changes in the near future. Competition is great. And if you still haven’t decided on buying a gaming accelerator worth 20-25,000 rubles, then testing different Radeon RX 480 from the most popular companies in our country will come in handy.

Versions of Radeon RX 480 from ASUS, MSI, PowerColor and SAPPHIRE

Specifications

The first point: all four video cards are equipped with 8 GB of video memory. In other articles in which the Radeon RX 480 was discussed, I already noted that it makes sense to take an adapter with just that many “brains”. In reserve. Yes, the minimum in 2016/2017 is 4 GB. But in this case, it is better to consider the option of purchasing a custom Radeon RX 470 (review), which, when overclocked, catches up with the reference Radeon RX 480.

Second point: there are several versions from ASUS, MSI and SAPPHIRE. The models use identical cooling. The cards differ only in the frequencies of the graphics chip. The one that is faster is more expensive. The test laboratory received accelerators ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING from ASUS, Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G from MSI, AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC from PowerColor and 11260-07 from SAPPHIRE. The frequencies are shown in the table. I attach screenshots of GPU-Z.

It is noteworthy that the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro is based on the Polaris 10 chip with a greatly reduced frequency

As you can see, some models are already well overclocked at the factory. Decent, because for the Polaris 10 processor used in the Radeon RX 480, frequency range 1300-1400 MHz is a kind of maximum today. And here the ROG Strix RX 480 in OC mode operates at a speed of 1330 MHz, and so does the Red Devil. SAPPHIRE has a modification numbered 11260-01. It is perhaps considered the fastest non-reference Radeon RX 480 at this time. There are models on sale: HIS RX 480 IceQ X² Roaring Turbo 8GB and XFX RX-480P8DBA6, whose GPU frequency reaches 1338 MHz.

	ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING/ ROG STRIX-RX480-8G-GAMING)	MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G / Radeon RX 480 GAMING 8G	PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 (AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC)	SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB (11260-01/ 11260-07)
Chip name	Polaris 10 (Ellesmere)
Technical process	14 nm
Number of stream processors	2304
Number of texture blocks	144
Number of ROPs	32
Core frequency	For STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING:	GAMING X 8G:	Up to 1330 MHz	U 11260-01:
	up to 1330 MHz (OC Mode);	up to 1316 MHz (OC Mode);		up to 1342 MHz.
	up to 1310 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1303 MHz (Gaming Mode);		U 11260-07:
	For STRIX-RX480-8G-GAMING:	up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).		up to 1306 MHz.
	up to 1286 MHz (OC Mode);	GAMING 8G:
	up to 1266 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1292 MHz (OC Mode);
		up to 1272 MHz (Gaming Mode);
		up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).
	up to 1330 MHz (OC Mode);	up to 1316 MHz (OC Mode);
	up to 1310 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1303 MHz (Gaming Mode);
	For STRIX-RX480-8G-GAMING:	up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).
	up to 1286 MHz (OC Mode);	GAMING 8G:
	up to 1266 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1292 MHz (OC Mode);
		up to 1272 MHz (Gaming Mode);
		up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).
	up to 1330 MHz (OC Mode);	up to 1316 MHz (OC Mode);
	up to 1310 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1303 MHz (Gaming Mode);
	For STRIX-RX480-8G-GAMING:	up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).
	up to 1286 MHz (OC Mode);	GAMING 8G:
	up to 1266 MHz (Gaming Mode).	up to 1292 MHz (OC Mode);
		up to 1272 MHz (Gaming Mode);
		up to 1266 MHz (Silent Mode).
	up to 1330 MHz (OC Mode);
	up to 1310 MHz (Gaming Mode).
	For STRIX-RX480-8G-GAMING:
	up to 1286 MHz (OC Mode);
	up to 1266 MHz (Gaming Mode).
Memory	GDDR5, 8 GB, 2000 (8000) MHz
Memory interface	256 bit
Memory Bandwidth	240 GB/s
Maximum power consumption level	>150 W
Nutrition	8 pin
Video outputs		2x HDMI 2x DisplayPort 1x DVI	1x HDMI 3x DisplayPort 1x DVI	2x HDMI 2x DisplayPort 1x DVI
Actual price at the time of publication in Russia (in Europe)	25,000 rub. (€270) for STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING	25,000 rub. (€270) for GAMING X 8G	22,000 rub. (€250)	25,000 rub. (€270) for 11260-07

Specifications ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING)

The length of the reference Radeon RX 480 is 240 mm. Quite a compact solution by today's standards. Manufacturers use their own cooling systems in their products, and marketing pushes them to introduce large coolers with multiple fans. Video cards are also selected based on external features. The more, the more respectable. The leader, so to speak, in our review is PowerColor Red Devil with its 300 mm. Next in descending order are ASUS ROG Strix (298 mm), MSI GAMING X 8G (276 mm) and SAPPHIRE NITRO+ (240 mm).

All four video cards are overclocked to 1300+ MHz on the chip

All video cards have improved power supply. As you know, the use of a 6-pin connector caused the reference to consume (before the software fix) more energy than the manufacturer declared. Excuses in the style of " we did this so that users of older systems would not experience problems when upgrading" sounded like a pun. All four devices use a full 8-pin connector that transmits up to 150 W of power. So such an incident will definitely not happen to them.

From left to right: PowerColor, ASUS, MSI, SAPPHIRE, reference

Let's study the design features of each custom in more detail.

ASUS ROG Strix

Interestingly, the ROG Strix RX 470 video card (review) received a modification of the DirectCU III cooler with two fans. But the “four hundred and eightieth” is practically indistinguishable in appearance from Asus’ GeForce GTX 1060/1070/1080 (review) - a three-fan cooling system is used everywhere. Hence the large length of the video card. But most importantly: the device takes up only two expansion slots. Among the design elements, I would like to note the presence of lighting on the cooler casing and the back of the video card. It is configured using special software.

ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING)

The DirectCU III cooler is based on five copper heat pipes of different lengths and diameters. The chip itself only comes into contact with 2.5 of them. The now widespread technology of direct contact is used. Additionally, the cooler interacts with the power subsystem.

Cooling system ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING)

For greater rigidity, in addition to the backplate, the printed circuit board received an additional L-shaped metal plate. The device's power subsystem consists of eight phases. The reference, as we remember, has only six.

A feature of ASUS custom products is the presence of pins for connecting case fans directly to the video card

An interesting know-how of custom ASUS cards: next to the power connector, two 4-pin connectors are wired for connecting case fans. Using the GPU Tweak II program, the user can adjust their rotation speed. A thing that, in my opinion, is quite useful. For now it is used exclusively in ASUS video cards.

Printed ASUS board ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING)

More photos of ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 (ROG STRIX-RX480-O8G-GAMING) are posted in the article.

MSI GAMING X

Neref MSI has a similar situation. The company uses the original Twin Frozr VI cooling system wherever possible. Exactly the same cooler, for example, is used in a custom modification of the GeForce GTX 1060 (review). It is based on two 14-blade 100mm fans.

The red plastic “feathers” framing the right impeller glow during operation. Another illuminated element is the dragon logo at the end of the video card. Color can be adjusted in the program MSI Gaming app. The accelerator takes up exactly two expansion slots. The length is acceptable, but the Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G was definitely the tallest 3D accelerator reviewed in this review.

MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G

The Twin Frozr VI cooling system “cooperates” only with the GPU through a large nickel-plated copper plate. Memory chips and elements of the power subsystem are cooled by a separate metal frame. The radiator is based on three heat pipes of different lengths and different diameters.

The color of the “feathers” does not change

The manufacturer states that thermal paste with a special composition is used with Twin Frozr VI.

Cooling system MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G

Six phases are allocated for the needs of the processor. Two more chokes are for memory and PLL block. Branded SFC elements and Japanese quality components are used. Cooler, more efficient, “better” - everything like that, in general. But you can’t fault the build quality of the GAMING X 8G. It is a fact.

MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G PCB

More photos of the MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G are posted in the article.

PowerColor Red Devil

"Red Devil" is another Radeon RX 480 with a three-fan cooler. The impellers have an original shape. The “technology” was called Double Blade. So, according to the developers, the air is raked in better, and the Carlsons themselves are quieter.

There is no backlight. By the way, this is the only map without such a modding element. But this is never a disadvantage! But the logo on the end is located upside down. Elementary negligence. As the saying goes, devil lies in the details.

PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 (AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC)

Backplate is present. The cooler consists of four heat pipes. They interact with the chip through a large sole. The plate screwed to the base also cools the memory chips and elements of the power subsystem. All this is located very close to each other. Personal experience suggests that the processor, memory and transistor circuit will heat each other, which will reduce the efficiency of the cooling system.

Cooling system PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 (AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC)

You probably noticed that all video cards use the same memory. GDDR5 chips with an effective frequency of 8000 MHz were produced by Samsung, labeled K4G80325FB-HC25.

The power subsystem has six phases. In general, in terms of circuit design, the PowerColor Red Devil printed circuit board is very similar. But it's just a little longer. Plus, an 8-pin power connector is used.

The only card in the test without backlighting. Well, fine!

At the end of the video card there is a BIOS firmware switch. There is a so-called Silent mod. When activated, the processor frequency is reduced from the maximum possible 1330 MHz to 1279 MHz. Looking ahead, I’ll note that the video card throttles in all modes.

PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 PCB (AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC)

More photos of the PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 (AXRX 480 8GBD5-3DH/OC) are posted in the article.

SAPPHIRE NITRO+

It turns out interesting. In our test there are two companies that work only for AMD, and two companies that are friends with two companies at once. SAPPHIRE is a faithful companion of the Reds.

The NITRO+ version received two 95 mm fans. Therefore, the adapter turned out to be quite high, but not as high as the MSI custom, for example. The backplate has ventilation holes on the reverse side. According to the manufacturer's idea, the heated air is better circulated this way. The “technology” is called NITRO Free Flow. It just turns out that streams of hot air rush straight towards the processor cooler. However, the manufacturer claims that the new Dual-X cooler is 10% quieter than the previous generation cooling system.

Another feature of SAPPHIRE NITRO+ is the removable fans. This type of design is used, for example, in the Radeon RX 460 (review). This makes it easier to maintain the video card. In particular, clean it from dust. Double ball bearings increased the fan life by 85%. NITRO FANSAFE technology somehow monitors the condition of the Carlsons.

NITRO+ feature - removable fans

There is a backlight. The color is selected using the analog key located on the end of the video card, and in the TriXX 3.0 program. There is also a lever for switching between BIOS firmware.

SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB (11260-07)

Unfortunately, representatives of SAPPHIRE, who provided the video card for testing, did not allow us to disassemble the device. The Dual-X radiator received only three heat pipes of different diameters. In my opinion, there are not enough aluminum fins for a video card with 95 mm fans. Not only the graphics processor, but also memory chips and elements of the power subsystem come into contact with the sole.

Cooling system SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB (11260-07)

The power connector is rotated 90 degrees. In some cases this arrangement is considered successful, in others it is not. The processor power subsystem received five phases. Branded Black Diamond Chokes are used. It can be seen that there are unsoldered elements on the printed circuit board. Possibly an improved PCB is used in version 11260-01. Or over time it will be used in some other Radeon RX 480 from SAPPHIRE.

PCB SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB (11260-07)

More photos of SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB (11260-07) are posted in the article.

Testing

Test bench:

• CPU:Intel Core i7-4790K @4.5 GHz
• CPU cooler:Corsair H75
• Motherboard: MSI Z97 MPOWER
• Storage device: SSD Patriot Blast 480 GB
• RAM: DDR3-2400, 2x 8 GB
• Power supply: Corsair HX850i, 850 W
• Peripherals: LG 31MU97 monitor
• Operating system: Windows 10 x64
• Driver: 16.8.3 Hotfix

Cooling efficiency and noise

As you can see, all four companies have their own idea of ​​what it should look like gaming video card. But without unification there is nowhere. Cooling systems “roam” from one model to another. WITH printed circuit boards same situation.

From left to right: ASUS, PowerColor, MSI, reference, SAPPHIRE

Let's start with the GPU temperature. The chip is cooled most efficiently by MSI. 62 degrees Celsius for Polaris 10 is very little. Don't forget that all four cards are additionally overclocked at the factory, and a slight increase in megahertz leads to a serious increase in energy consumption. Thus, the reference processor warms up to 83 degrees Celsius.

In nominal terms, the coldest is MSI, the hottest is PowerColor

The only thing that upsets me is the work of “Red Devil” from PowerColor. The cooler seems to be powerful: three fans, heat pipes and all that. But the chip warmed up to 80 degrees Celsius.

If someone thinks that 76 degrees Celsius is too much for SAPPHIRE NITRO+, then you can safely increase the rotation speed of the impellers from 1000 rpm to 1200 rpm. It will get a little louder, but temperatures will drop below 70 degrees Celsius.

Maximum graphics temperature ASUS processor ROG Strix RX 480, MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G, PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 and SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB

All four video cards are equipped with backplates on the reverse side. It not only increases the rigidity of the structure, but also retains heat. The ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 turned out to be the coldest. But in general, all video cards have temperatures within normal limits.

Heating ASUS ROG Strix RX 480

The reference turned out to be quite noisy. At a distance of a meter, the “turbine” howled at 45 dB, spinning up to 2200 rpm. In general, I did everything to keep the coveted 1266 MHz on the chip. The tested models were noticeably quieter. Sound pressure is acceptable. The results are similar, but the ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 is the quietest. Three fans of this custom rotate at a frequency of 1600 rpm. Everything is logical, since this non-reference model has perhaps the most impressive cooling system. Unfortunately, the throttles whistle under a certain type of load (for example, in the menu of the third “The Witcher”, when the FRAPS counter shows under 3000 FPS) on all models. A familiar picture, however. I didn't notice anything critical.

The nominal quietest is SAPPHIRE, the noisiest is MSI

All video cards operate absolutely silently in 2D. Fans do not rotate. Only when reaching 59 degrees Celsius do the custom impellers begin their activity.

Noise level of ASUS ROG Strix RX 480, MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G, PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 480 8GB GDDR5 and SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 480 8 GB

Gaming performance

You can find the results of testing the Radeon RX 480 in 20 games and a direct comparison with the GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB. Obviously, the difference in performance between the reference version and the custom version is determined by the frequencies of the GPU and memory at which the video cards operate. So first I’ll tell you about stability frequency characteristics tested graphics adapters.

The non-refs MSI and SAPPHIRE are doing fine with their stated performance. The adapters maintain the declared 1303 MHz and 1306 MHz, respectively, under any type of load. ASUS maintains the 1330 MHz stated in the OC mod in FurMark and GTA V, but in the third “Witcher”, which apparently loads the 3D accelerator more heavily, the GPU frequency jumps and periodically drops down to 1230 MHz. This delta megahertz has a noticeable impact on performance. In the same Witcher, ASUS and MSI show similar results, although the Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G operates at a lower frequency. Let's not forget about measurement error.

PowerColor started working normally only after flashing the BIOS

With PowerColor the situation is even more interesting. By default, the BIOS is activated at 1330 MHz. Like the same ASUS. But under load, the speed of the chip drops down to 1207 MHz. Even the reference frequency holds better. The reason for this throttling is the low power limit. In the driver we can increase it by only 5%. In other customs - by 50%. The manufacturer has released an updated BIOS with the Power Limit parameter unlocked. After flashing, the “red devil” keeps the chip frequency stable at the stated 1330 MHz. This video card is listed on the charts as PowerColor Red Devil 2.

Confrontation in the segment of top video cards always attracts the attention of users. But besides the information hype, there is also real demand. Not every player is ready to shell out the large sums that are now demanded for flagship products. And if NVIDIA continues to successfully storm the graphics Olympus, then AMD this time took a different path, opening the new generation of Radeon with a mid-level model, which at the same time should beat all competitors in its price category.

According to statistics cited by AMD, up to 84% of gamers use discrete graphics costing $100-$300, and 95% of gamers use 1920x1080 resolution. The Radeon RX 480 video adapter is aimed at this large-scale audience, which will offer the optimal combination of performance and cost thanks to a new architecture, a new process technology, increased frequencies and a large amount of memory.

AMD Polaris Architecture

The new generation of Radeons is based on the Polaris architecture, which is an evolution of the GCN architecture. This is the fourth generation in this line. The new product in question is codenamed Polaris 10. The graphics processor has 36 Compute Units (CU), which are organized into four Shader Engine arrays with their own geometry processing unit and rasterization units. Each CU operates with 64 stream processors and four texture units, similar to units in older GPUs. The result is 2304 stream processors, 144 texture block and 32 rasterization units.

The general structure of the GPU is reminiscent of other AMD processors, or rather, something between Grenada (Hawaii) and Antigua, i.e. This intermediate option between Radeon R9 390X and Radeon R9 380X. At the same time, the efficiency of shader execution has been increased, the volume of the L2 cache has been increased to 2 MB and work with it has been improved, the memory controller has been updated, geometry processing units have been improved and support for asynchronous calculations Async Compute, support for FP16 and Int 16 instructions has been added. As a result, efficiency has been increased, and high frequencies provide additional acceleration.

According to AMD, the efficiency of a single CU has increased by 15% compared to the Radeon R9 290. When processing tessellation in conjunction with heavy AA modes, the efficiency increase can be twofold or even threefold. Data compression is supported, which improves throughput memory. In particular, the Delta Color Compression algorithm is supported, which allows you to encode color differences. We talked about this technique in the description of the NVIDIA Pascal architecture. AMD supports this compression, including on the Radeon Fury X, but the efficiency of the Polaris 10 algorithms is higher. With such an increase in efficiency in data transmission, the chip is content with a 256-bit bus. The Radeon RX 480 uses GDDR5 memory chips with an effective data rate of 8 GHz.

Asynchronous shaders allow you to optimize the execution of a combined workload that combines graphics and non-graphics calculations. Effective load distribution is implemented thanks to new hardware schedulers and familiar Asynchronous Compute Engines (ACE) blocks.

The Polaris 10 graphics chip is made using the 14nm FinFET process, while NVIDIA Pascal chips are manufactured using 16nm standards. This is a serious breakthrough for the industry, where for several years all graphics were produced using a 28-nm process technology. Such a subtle technical process can significantly reduce energy consumption. AND this task was initially one of the key ones in the development of the new generation. Engineers focused on the features of the new 3D transistors, optimizing the structure of the new crystal and implementing improved voltage control mechanisms. Among other things, crystals based on the new technological process differ less in their characteristics. If we again start from the Radeon R9 290 card, with which AMD compares the new product, then the increase in performance per watt is almost twofold.

The Radeon RX 480 has a stated TDP of 150 W, which is close to the performance of the GeForce GTX 970. At the same time, the new product should be more productive. And if we talk about temperature and noise characteristics, then according to AMD measurements, the reference version of the Radeon RX 480 has slightly lower acoustic noise.

The new technical process made it possible to increase the GPU frequency to 1266 MHz, which is the maximum Boost value. If the power or temperature limit is exceeded, the frequency can be gradually reduced. The guaranteed base value is 1120 MHz. You can compare the characteristics with its predecessors using the table.

Video adapter	Radeon RX 480	Radeon R9 390	Radeon R9 290	Radeon R9 380X	Radeon R9 280X
Core	Polaris 10	Grenada	Hawaii	Antigua	Tahiti
	n/a	6020	6020	5000	4313
Technical process, nm	14	28	28	28	28
Core area, sq. mm	232	438	438	366	352
	2304	2560	2560	2048	2048
Number of texture blocks	144	160	160	128	128
Number of rendering units	32	64	64	32	32
Core frequency, MHz	1120-1266	Up to 1000	Up to 947	up to 970	1000
Memory bus, bit	256	512	512	256	384
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory frequency, MHz	8000	6000	5000	5700	6000
Memory capacity, MB	8192/4096	8192	4096	4096	3072
	12	12	12	12	12
Interface	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0
TDP level, W	150	275	275	190	250

Among the features of the Radeon RX 480, it should be noted that there are two versions with different amounts of memory. The main model is equipped with 8 GB, and the cheaper modification will receive 4 GB.

Video cards will receive support for AFR frame pacing technology for DirectX 12. This technique smoothes out unevenness when outputting frames in CrossFire.

Along with support for DirectX 12, the video card is also compatible with the new Vulkan API. And besides simple gaming, the Radeon RX 480 can quite cope with virtual reality VR Optimal performance will be ensured by support for AMD LiquidVR capabilities, which implies the best distribution of computing resources for mixed tasks, support for Asynchronous Time Warp technology on Oculus Rift for correct and fast image updating during movements. This also includes AMD TrueAudio Next technology for correctly calculating the propagation of sound waves using ray tracing technology. Moreover, these calculations also fall within the scope of Async Compute. NVIDIA is also developing a similar initiative. But AMD's version provides open tools for developers through the GPUOpen program.

Variable Rate Shading technology allows you to adjust the image quality of individual image segments during VR rendering, maintaining maximum resolution for the central zone and reducing it in the periphery. This saves resources and speeds up performance in VR.

The Radeon RX 480 video adapter supports the DisplayPort 1.3 HBR interface and is ready for DisplayPort 1.4 with support for the new HDR standard. This means that in the future you will be able to connect new HDR displays and view related content. When connected via DisplayPort, image output is supported up to 5K at 60 Hz, as well as 4K at 120 Hz or 4K at 96 Hz in HDR mode.

Polaris also received a new encoding/decoding unit for H.264 and HEVC video content with support for resolutions up to 4K. Now you can record video from games in high quality or stream it immediately. A good bonus for gamers, because previously, even on top-end Radeons, it was only possible to capture Full HD video through the AMD Gaming Evolved client.

Radeon RX 480 works with the new AMD Radeon Settings software center, which provides extensive functionality for customizing settings color range or operating parameters of the video card. There are currently no third-party utilities for overclocking Polaris, but all of these features are available in AMD's new WattMan app. To access the program in AMD Radeon Settings, you need to go to the “Games” tab, and then to “Global Settings”. Here you can fine-tune Boost or overclock the card by simply increasing the frequency scale. You can control the fan algorithm, change power and temperature limits.

After a brief overview of the architectural features, let's take a look at a real example of the Polaris 10 video card.

This is a reference video card. It is made in an already recognizable style. The design is simple, the “turbine” type cooler looks like a brick.

The length of the Radeon RX 480 reaches 24 centimeters. There are large Radeon logos on the case and fan.

The fee turns out to be very short. The fan hangs over the PCB from the side; in this place there are special holes for air flow.

Radeon RX 480 is no longer equipped DVI connectors, but on the rear panel there are three DisplayPorts and one HDMI.

The housing cover can be easily unscrewed without completely disassembling the device. This allows you to evaluate the cooling system assembly. We see a large base and a separate aluminum heatsink on the GPU.

The metal base plate has fins to increase the heat dissipation area, including in the area of ​​the power supply. So the heatsink for power elements and memory chips is made very well.

On the other hand, a radial fan is mounted on the base, which drives air through the fins of the main radiator.

The graphics chip cooler is simple. No copper tubes, just a copper insert in the contact area. And, frankly speaking, the dimensions of the radiator are too small. However, we are talking about a chip with a low TDP, so this design may be quite justified.

The printed circuit board is less than 18 centimeters. The installation of elements is very tight. The power system has six phases. In the corner there is one six-pin power connector.

The Polaris processor has no markings on the surface; all markings are located on the substrate.

Eight gigabytes of memory are equipped with Samsung K4G80325FB-HC25 chips.

The GPU-Z utility correctly determines all characteristics. The frequencies, as can be seen from the bottom screenshot, correspond to the recommended ones. The GPU runs at Boost 1266 MHz, memory at 2000 MHz (effective value 8000 MHz).

Testing took place on an open bench at 27 °C indoors. In such conditions, the card temperature easily exceeded 80 °C in all gaming tests. IN The Division at maximum quality graphs peak values ​​reached 84 °C. The screenshot below shows the maximum parameters and core frequency value at a separate point in time (by pointing at a point on the graph).

The Metro: Last Light benchmark easily warmed the core up to 85 °C. In both tests, the frequency varied, there were drops to 1180 MHz or less. However, the value of 1200 MHz can be taken as average in heavy tests.

The noise was moderate, the fan spun up to 2200 rpm.

How to overclock Radeon RX 480? Go to AMD Settings, “Global Settings”.

In the settings you will have to immediately set high speed for the fan, because a standard cooler does not have much reserve for cooling during overclocking. Then we experiment with frequencies. It will also be useful to increase the target temperature, after which a gradual decrease in frequency begins. But you need to be careful with this and prevent overheating. At maximum fan speed, we raised this limit by 4°C, which helped increase average Boost in high operating temperature environments.

The final overclock was only +4.5% to the initial core frequency. But taking into account the increase in the temperature limit, the real difference in Boost may be slightly higher. The memory worked stably at 8720 MHz. With the frequency configuration of 1235/8720 MHz, we were able to pass all tests; higher frequencies could lead to failures.

The increase is small, but the noise increases significantly. Cooling works at its limit and at peak moments howls at all 5000 rpm. In a number of tests, the frequency tended to reach a maximum of 1325 MHz, but in Metro: Last Light there were drops below 1300 MHz. This moment is reflected in the bottom screenshot.

As an addition, here is a screenshot of the mining program on the Radeon RX 480 at nominal frequencies.

Characteristics of tested video cards

The reviewed video card will be compared with its main competitor, the GeForce GTX 970. Regular version the opponent will be replaced by MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. Powerful cooling gives the MSI card the benefit of constant maximum Boost. To bring performance closer to the reference GeForce GTX 970 with Floating Boost, MSI clocks are calibrated to ensure maximum Boost does not exceed 1200 MHz in gaming benchmarks and 1220 MHz in 3DMark benchmarks.

Some applications will have additional modes where comparisons are made with top models from AMD and NVIDIA. Therefore, we present the characteristics of all participants in the table.

Video adapter	Radeon RX 480	Radeon R9 Fury X	GeForce GTX 1070	GeForce GTX 980 Ti	GeForce GTX 970
Core	Polaris 10	Fiji	GP104	GM200	GM204
Number of transistors, million pieces	n/a	8900	7200	8000	5200
Technical process, nm	14	28	16	28	28
Core area, sq. mm	232	596	314	601	398
Number of stream processors	2304	4096	1920	2816	1664
Number of texture blocks	144	256	120	176	104
Number of rendering units	32	64	64	96	56
Core frequency, MHz	1120-1266	Up to 1050	1506-1683	1024-1100	1051-1178
Memory bus, bit	256	4096	256	386	256
Memory type	GDDR5	H.B.M.	GDDR5	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory frequency, MHz	8000	1000	8000	7010	7010
Memory capacity, MB	8192	4096	8192	6144	3584 + 512
Supported DirectX Version	12	12	12.1	12.1	12
Interface	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0	PCI-E 3.0
Power, W	150	275	150	250	145

Test bench

Configuration test bench next:

• processor: Intel Core i7-6950X ([email protected] GHz);
• cooler: Noctua NH-D15 (two NF-A15 PWM fans, 140 mm, 1300 rpm);
• motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI;
• memory: G.Skill F4-3200C14Q-32GTZ (4x8 GB, DDR4-3200, CL14-14-14-35);
• system disk: Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB (240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s);
• additional drive: Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 (1 TB, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm);
• power supply: Seasonic SS-750KM (750 W);
• monitor: ASUS PB278Q (2560x1440, 27″);

• operating system: Windows 10 Pro x64;
• Radeon RX 480 driver: AMD Crimson 16.6.2.
• Radeon R9 Fury driver: AMD Crimson 16.5.3.
• GeForce GTX 1070 driver: NVIDIA GeForce 368.39;
• GeForce GTX 1080 driver: NVIDIA GeForce 368.25;
• GeForce GTX 980 Ti driver: NVIDIA GeForce 368.22.

The test method described in one of the previous articles is taken as a basis. But since the test configuration was used for top-end video cards, not all modes and applications are involved in this comparison. In some cases, with a forced reduction in graphics quality, only the Radeon RX 480 and GeForce GTX 970 are compared. In other cases, where no changes were made to the settings of the test applications, their results are supplemented by the results of flagship video cards.

Test results

Batman: Arkham Knight

Radeon RX 480 beats GeForce GTX 970 in Arkham Knight. AMD's newcomer at par demonstrates the performance level of its overclocked competitor. Increasing frequencies allows you to gain a few more percent.

Battlefield 4

The situation is different in Battlefield 4. Here the GeForce GTX 970 already has an advantage, and the Radeon RX 480 needs to be overclocked so that it gets closer to its opponent.

DiRT Rally

We can talk about parity between the newcomer AMD and the GeForce GTX 970 at initial frequencies. In acceleration, the second one gets the advantage. Both are significantly behind the top solutions.

DOOM

In the new DOOM, the difference between older and younger video cards is not so critical, but it will still not be possible to catch up with them. Strange result GeForce GTX 1070 can be written without optimization problems. Something before the Radeon RX 480, it overtakes the GeForce GTX 970 only if its frequencies are increased.

Fallout 4

In Fallout 4, we re-ran the tests in the usual Ultra mode, so the older video cards from previous reviews were not included in the comparison. At initial frequencies of up to 5%, Radeon wins over its opponent, but after overclocking, the balance changes in favor of GeForce.

Far Cry Primal

The review hero wins more than 11% over the GeForce GTX 970 in Far Cry Primal when compared in nominal modes. In overclocking, the rivals are equal. Overclocking itself gives acceleration of about 9%.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

First surprise from a newbie. At maximum texture quality, the Radeon RX 480 shows a slight lag behind the Radeon R9 Fury. With such textures, the game needs more than 4 GB, which limits the potential of AMD's flagship. For the same reason, the GeForce GTX 970 with its combined memory is at the bottom of the rating, where only 3.5 GB are effectively used. It is logical to assume that if the quality of the textures is reduced to the usual level, the difference between the opponents will decrease.

Grand Theft Auto 5

Radeon has a slight advantage over its opponent in GTA 5 at initial frequencies. After overclocking, the situation is the opposite, but the difference is not dramatic.

Just Cause 3

The Radeon RX 480 is 5-11% faster than its opponent in Just Cause 3, and even after overclocking it retains a tiny advantage. It is noteworthy that the accelerated Radeon RX 480 is only 10% behind the Radeon R9 Fury X - a good result!

Metro: Last Light

In Last Light we conducted two tests. Using simpler settings, we compared our competitors in the mode that they could do. Additionally, they were compared with the tops for SSAA.

A small gap from the opponent in nominal terms and a more significant one after acceleration. At the same time, it’s still nice that you can comfortably play even in 2K.

There is no talk of competition with the tops. The gap between the Radeon RX 480 and the Radeon R9 Fury X reaches 51%. The increase from overclocking is 9%.

Quantum Break

Since the first tests, the results of the GeForce GTX 970 in Quantum Break have improved. But even after overclocking, this opponent is weaker than the Radeon RX 480 at face value. The gap between our hero and Fury X is 25%. The merit of this is both in the updated architecture and in the large amount of memory (the game is demanding of this).

Rise of the Tomb Raider

First, let's compare the main competitors in Full HD with a very high quality profile.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is known for its heavy memory requirements. Therefore, the slight lag between the GeForce GTX 970 and the Radeon RX 480 can be considered surprising. During acceleration, the opponent even takes the lead.

If you pit fighters with older video adapters in a more difficult mode, then no one will cope with the task except the flagship GeForce. Note the minuscule difference between Polaris 10 and Fury X. Considering that the game in this mode uses more than 7 GB, this difference is not so surprising. Here, rather, the performance of the GeForce GTX 970 raises a question - we expected worse results from the accelerator.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Playing The Witcher 3 at 2K resolution will be a bit difficult, but the 30 fps bar is easily overcome by the new Radeon. And this is also an impressive result for a representative of the middle class. The advantage over the younger GeForce is 4-9%; in overclocking, the opponent makes up a little.

Tom Clancy's The Division

The Division is also beyond the capabilities of the Radeon RX 480 in 2K mode, but we can compare opponents in extreme conditions. And again our hero is better, although the GeForce is again breathing down his neck when overclocking. The difference between Radeon RX 480 and Radeon R9 Fury X is up to 38% in average frame rate.

Total War: Warhammer

New test in a new game. A special benchmark with support for DirectX 12 was used.

The results clearly speak in favor of the Radeon RX 480. The rival is still weaker even after increasing its frequencies. Performance scalability during overclocking is weak for both participants, which may be due to the characteristics of the benchmark.

XCOM 2

Latest playtest in XCOM 2. The game can even bring older video cards to their knees with heavy anti-aliasing. We will limit ourselves to the Ultra profile with simple FXAA anti-aliasing.

Initially, the Radeon RX 480 is closer to the level of its souped-up rival. But the better frequency potential of the second allows it to equalize the chances after overclocking.

3DMark 11

The Radeon RX 480 is 5% inferior to its competitor in this test, overtaking it only after increasing frequencies.

3DMark Fire Strike

But here the situation is different, and the Radeon RX 480 is immediately ahead with a margin of more than 6%. When it comes to acceleration, the opponent again takes the lead.

Energy consumption

Measurements were made according to the previously described method, but without taking into account the data of older video cards in Total War: Attila.

The Radeon RX 480, GeForce GTX 970 and GeForce GTX 1070 have almost identical performance. It seems like not a very significant achievement for Radeon, but compared to the power-hungry Radeon R9 290/390, this is a serious result. The sharp increase in power consumption during overclocking is not encouraging. It seems that every additional percentage to the core frequency will be difficult.

conclusions

Based on the testing results, we can note similar results for the Radeon RX 480 and GeForce GTX 970 video cards. De facto, the nominal advantage is often on the side of the new AMD product, but the opponent wins back during overclocking. In DirectX 12, the situation is more clear and it is clearly in favor of the Radeon RX 480. Radeon has a large amount of memory on its side, which some games can already use. Due to this volume, you can even observe a funny situation in Rise of the Tomb Raider, where it is possible to catch up with the Radeon R9 Fury X. But in general, it is not worth equating the Radeon RX 480 and Radeon R9 Fury X, these are solutions of different levels. It's nice to note that the potential of the video card allows you to play not only in Full HD; it can handle many games even in 2K mode. In its price category, the Radeon RX 480 looks great - faster than its main competitor, more promising in DirectX 12, and at the same time cheaper.

The new 14-nm process technology ensures low power consumption, but the video card cannot be called cold. In order to make the Radeon RX 480 the most affordable offering on the market, the manufacturer saved a little on cooling. The native cooler copes with the nominal mode, but it has no reserve for overclocking. Also, during overclocking, power consumption increases sharply. It seems that the initial frequencies are close to the maximum, and further it is not possible to squeeze out much. But experiments with good cooling make sense, you will benefit from it. You just have to wait for non-reference versions of the Radeon RX 480 or spend money on a CBO.

Among the advantages of the Radeon RX 480 it is worth mentioning improved support for VR, the ability to work with HDR and hardware encoding/decoding of ultra-high resolution video. And if in terms of performance this is not the most powerful offering from AMD, then it is certainly the most progressive at the moment.

At the end of June this year, AMD announced a line of new Polaris 10 and Polaris 11 graphics processors, which are based on the most advanced technological process 14 nm FinFET. At the moment, the number of video cards released on new graphics processors includes three models: AMD Radeon RX 480, AMD Radeon RX 470 and AMD Radeon RX 460. In today's article we will conduct short review reference model of the older video card and its comprehensive testing.

Since all theoretical calculations about the architecture of the new Polaris GPUs have long been published by other resources, today we will not touch on this topic. Let us just briefly note that the main innovations in the updated fourth-generation Graphics Core Next architecture concern improved processing of geometry and video data encoding and decoding units, support for asynchronous computing in DirectX 12, support for the Vulkan API, more effective methods data compression, increased energy efficiency, support for DisplayPort 1.4-HDR and HDMI 2.0b video outputs and much more.

1. Review of the AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB video card

technical specifications and recommended cost

The technical characteristics and cost of the AMD Radeon RX 480 video card are shown in the table in comparison with the reference AMD Radeon R9 390, Radeon R9 380X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060.

* – according to Yandex.Market data as of September 15, 2016.

PCB design and features

The reference design of the AMD Radeon RX 480 is virtually identical to the design of the Radeon R9 Fury X and Nano, representing a simple, but at the same time quite stylish graphics card with dimensions of 244 x 102 x 38 mm. The entire front side is covered by a plastic casing with a structure of small round cells, and a large RADEON inscription is stamped on the left.

It is also visible in the upper part of the casing.

Together with the fan rotor stylized in the same way, the design of the reference model Radeon RX 480 looks complete and strict.

The panel with video outputs has three DisplayPort version 1.4 and one HDMI version 2.0b.

As you can see, most of this panel is occupied by a grille for the unhindered passage of heated air outside the body system unit. And the video card gets quite hot, it should be noted.

The Radeon RX 480 is powered by one six-pin connector located at the top of the housing. The declared power consumption level of the video card is 150 watts, and for a system with one such video card, a 500-watt power supply is recommended. The power part of the printed circuit board is made according to a seven-phase circuit, where six phases are allocated to power the graphics processor and one to video memory.

The new Polaris 10 XT GPU, manufactured at 14nm and containing approximately 5.7 billion transistors, contains 2,304 unified shader processors, 144 texture units and 32 raster operation units (ROPs).

The GPU operating frequency in 3D mode should vary in the range from 1120 to 1266 MHz, but in practice this was not always the case, as we will discuss below.

The Radeon RX 480 can be configured with either 4 GB ($199) or 8 GB ($229) of video memory. Our copy of the video card had 8 GB of DDR5 memory with Samsung chips (according to GPU-Z).

The effective operating frequency of the video memory is 8000 MHz, which, with a 256-bit bus, can provide a throughput of 256 GB/s. This is immediately 33% higher than that of the main competitor NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with its 192-bit bus (192.2 GB/s).

cooling system

From a practical point of view, it no longer makes sense to evaluate the effectiveness of the standard cooler of the reference version of the AMD Radeon RX 480, since today original versions with branded coolers have appeared on the market. But since they haven’t reached us yet, we have no choice, so today we’ll test a standard cooler, which is a combination of an aluminum radiator with a copper base for the graphics processor, a metal heat spreader plate for power circuits and a turbine pumping air through the radiator.

The entire system is covered with a plastic casing, which directs air heated by the video card to the panel with video outputs and grille. The turbine speed is controlled by PWM in the range from 1200 to 4960 rpm.

To check the temperature conditions of the video card as a load, we used nineteen cycles of the 3DMark stress test.

Since we did not yet have an updated version of MSI Afterburner at the time of writing this article, we used the GPU-Z utility version 1.9.0 to monitor temperatures. All tests were carried out in a closed system unit case, the configuration of which you can see in the next section of the article, at average room temperature 25 degrees Celcius.

First, we checked the temperature conditions of the video card at full automatic adjustment fan speed.

Automatic mode (1200~2450 rpm)

The temperatures are very high, it is obvious that the standard cooler, even overclocked to 2450 rpm, is simply not suitable for ensuring the Radeon RX 480 operates at the standard maximum frequency of 1266 MHz, since during testing it decreased down to 1000 MHz, and on average “floated” "at the 1050-1070 MHz mark.

At the maximum possible speed of the cooler fan, the peak temperature of the processor is 12 degrees Celsius lower, due to which the GPU frequency does not jump as much as with automatic adjustment.

Maximum speed (~4960 rpm)

What is noteworthy is that the percentage of stability of the video card in the 3DMark stress test also increased from 87.6% to 97.8%.

Therefore, we can conclude that to ensure stable operation of the Radeon RX 480 and maintain the frequency of its GPU at high level(and therefore performance), its effective cooling is needed more than ever before, despite the new 14-nm process technology.

As for overclocking, for obvious reasons we did not study it on the reference video card. Let's hope that the original Radeon RX 480 models will allow us to fully explore this issue and get acquainted with AMD's proprietary WattMan technology, implemented simultaneously with the advent of the Radeon RX 480.

2. Test configuration, tools and testing methodology

Video card performance testing was carried out in a closed case on a system with the following configuration:

motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Express, LGA2011, BIOS 4801 dated 07/28/2014);
CPU: Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition 3.5/4.0 GHz(Sandy Bridge-E, C2, 1.1 V, 6 x 256 KB L2, 15 MB L3);
CPU cooling system: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer 240 (4 x 1100 rpm);
thermal interface: ARCTIC MX-4;
video cards:

Inno3D iChill GF GTX 980 Ultra HerculeZ X4 Air Boss 4 GB 1266-1367/7200 MHz;
Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X 8 GB 1040/6000 MHz;
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB 1506-1708(1886)/8008 MHz;
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB 1120-1266/8000 MHz;
ASUS GeForce GTX 970 DC Mini 4 GB 1050-1178/7012 MHz (GTX970-DCMOC-4GD5);
ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming 4 GB 1030/5700 MHz;

RAM: DDR3 4 x 8 GB G.SKILL TridentX F3-2133C9Q-32GTX(X.M.P. 2133 MHz, 9-11-11-31, 1.6 V);
system and game drive: Intel SSD 730 480GB (SATA-III, BIOS vL2010400);
disk for storing programs and games: Western Digital VelociRaptor (SATA-II, 300 GB, 10000 rpm, 16 MB, NCQ);
archive drive: Samsung Ecogreen F4 HD204UI (SATA-II, 2 TB, 5400 rpm, 32 MB, NCQ);
sound card: Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD;
case: Thermaltake Core X71 (four be quiet! Silent Wings 2 (BL063) at 900 rpm);
control and monitoring panel: Zalman ZM-MFC3;
power supply: Corsair AX1500i Digital ATX (1500 W, 80 Plus Titanium), 140 mm fan.
monitor: 27-inch Samsung S27A850D (DVI, 2560 x 1440, 60 Hz).

As an upper benchmark for AMD Radeon RX 480 performance, we included the original Inno3D iChill GF GTX 980 Ultra HerculeZ X4 Air Boss with NVIDIA parties and also the original Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X from AMD.

The direct competitor to the heroine of today's testing will be the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, which is represented by the reference version of the Founders Edition. Next to it in the photo is the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming, which, following the labeling of video cards in the AMD line, is being replaced by the new Radeon RX 480.

And finally, the fifth video card in testing is the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 DC Mini, which, oddly enough, today costs barely less than the Radeon RX 480, which means it can also hypothetically compete with it.

Let's add that the Power Limit value on all video cards was set to maximum.

To reduce the dependence of video card performance on the speed of the platform, the 32-nm six-core processor with a multiplier of 48, a reference frequency of 100 MHz and the Load-Line Calibration function activated at the Ultra High level was overclocked to 4.8 GHz when voltage increases in BIOS motherboard up to 1.385 V.

Hyper-Threading technology is activated. Moreover, 32 gigabytes random access memory operated at a frequency of 2.133 GHz with timings 9-11-11-20_CR1 at a voltage of 1.6125 V.

Testing, which began on August 8, 2016, was conducted under the direction of operating system Microsoft Windows 10 Professional with all updates as of the specified date and installation of the following drivers:

motherboard chipset Intel Chipset Drivers – 10.1.1.27 WHQL from 07/06/2016;
Intel Management Engine Interface (MEI) – 11.5.0.1019 WHQL from 08/09/2016;
video card drivers for NVIDIA GPUs – GeForce 369.05 WHQL from 08/04/2016;
video card drivers for graphics AMD processors – AMD Radeon Software Crimson 16.8.1 WHQL dated 08/07/2016.

The performance of video cards was tested at resolutions of 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1440 pixels. For the tests, two graphics quality modes were used: Quality + AF16x – texture quality in the drivers by default with 16x level anisotropic filtering enabled, and Quality + AF16x + MSAA 4x (8x) with 16x level anisotropic filtering enabled and 4x or 8x full-screen anti-aliasing in cases , when the average frames per second remained high enough for comfortable gaming. In some games, due to the specifics of their game engines, other anti-aliasing algorithms were used, which will be indicated further in the methodology and in the diagrams. Anisotropic filtering and full-screen anti-aliasing were enabled directly in the game settings. If these settings were not available in games, then the parameters were changed in the control panel of the Crimson or GeForce drivers. Vertical synchronization (V-Sync) was also forcibly disabled there. Apart from the above, no additional changes were made to the driver settings.

The video cards were tested in one semi-synthetic graphics test and in fifteen games updated to latest versions on the date of commencement of preparation of the material. The list of test applications is as follows (the games and then the test results in them are arranged in the order of their official release):

3DMark(DirectX 9/11/12) – version 2.1.2852, tested in the Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme, Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy scenes;
Crysis 3(DirectX 11) – version 1.3.0.0, all graphics quality settings to maximum, blur level to medium, glare on, modes with FXAA and MSAA 4x, double sequential pass of a scripted scene from the beginning of the Swamp mission lasting 105 seconds;
Metro: Last Light(DirectX 11) – version 1.0.0.15, used the test built into the game, graphics quality settings and tessellation at the Very High level, Advanced PhysX technology in two testing modes, tests with SSAA and without anti-aliasing, double sequential run of the D6 scene;
Company of Heroes 2(DirectX 11) – version 4.0.0.21543, double sequential run of the test built into the game with maximum graphics quality and physical effects settings;
Battlefield 4(DirectX 11) – version 1.2.0.1, all graphics quality settings on Ultra, double sequential run of a scripted scene from the beginning of the TASHGAR mission lasting 110 seconds (for video cards on AMD GPUs, the Mantle API was used);
Thief(DirectX 11) – version 1.7 build 4158.21, graphics quality settings to the maximum level, Paralax Occlusion Mapping and Tessellation technologies activated, double sequential run of the benchmark built into the game (for video cards on AMD GPUs, the Mantle API was used);
Sniper Elite III(DirectX 11) – version 1.15a, quality settings at Ultra, V-Sync disabled, tessellation and all effects activated, tests with SSAA 4x and without anti-aliasing, double sequential run of the benchmark built into the game (for video cards on AMD GPUs, the Mantle API was used );
(DirectX 11) – build 1951.27, all quality settings are manually set to maximum and Ultra levels, tessellation and depth of field are activated, at least two consecutive runs of the benchmark built into the game;
Grand Theft Auto V(DirectX 11) – build 757.4, quality settings at Very High, ignore suggested restrictions enabled, V-Sync disabled, FXAA activated, NVIDIA TXAA disabled, MSAA for reflections disabled, soft shadows NVIDIA/AMD;
DiRT Rally(DirectX 11) – version 1.2, the test built into the game on the Okutama track was used, graphics quality settings were set to the maximum level for all points, Advanced Blending – On; tests with MSAA 8x and without anti-aliasing;
Batman: Arkham Knight(DirectX 11) – version 1.6.2.0, quality settings at High, Texture Resolutioin normal, Anti-Aliasing on, V-Sync disabled, tests in two modes – with and without the activation of the last two NVIDIA GameWorks options, double sequential run of the built-in into the test game;
(DirectX 11) – version 3.1, texture quality settings at Very High, Texture Filtering – Anisotropic 16X, and other maximum quality settings, tests with MSAA 4x and without anti-aliasing, double sequential run of the test built into the game.
Rise of the Tomb Raider(DirectX 12) – version 1.0 build 668.1_64, all parameters for the Very High level, Dynamic Foliage – High, Ambient Occlusion – HBAO+, tessellation and other quality improvement techniques are activated, two test cycles of the built-in benchmark (Geothermal Valley scene) without anti-aliasing and with SSAA 4.0 activation;
Far Cry Primal(DirectX 11) – version 1.3.3, maximum quality level, textures high resolution, volumetric fog and shadows to maximum, built-in performance test without anti-aliasing and with SMAA activated;
Tom Clancy's The Division(DirectX 11) – version 1.3, maximum quality level, all picture enhancement parameters are activated, Temporal AA – Supersampling, testing modes without anti-aliasing and with SMAA 1X Ultra activated, built-in performance test, but FRAPS results are recorded;
Hitman(DirectX 12) – version 1.2.2, built-in test with graphics quality settings at Ultra, SSAO enabled, shadow quality Ultra, memory protection disabled.

If games implemented the ability to record a minimum number of frames per second, then this was also reflected in the diagrams. Each test was carried out twice; the best of the two values ​​obtained was taken as the final result, but only if the difference between them did not exceed 1%. If the deviations of the test runs exceeded 1%, then the testing was repeated at least one more time to obtain a reliable result.

3. Performance test results and their analysis

In the diagrams, the results of testing video cards on NVIDIA GPUs are highlighted with green shading, and on AMD GPUs they are reflected in the red shade familiar to this manufacturer. To highlight the performance of the Radeon RX 480, we chose a dark red fill color. Let's add that in the diagrams in each quality mode, the test results are sorted from top to bottom in descending order of the cost of video cards.

3DMark

In almost all 3DMark test scenes, the performance of the video cards confirms their value, clearly ranking the products from top to bottom. Only in the Time Spy test the density of results is higher. The AMD Radeon RX 480 is on par with the ASUS GeForce GTX 970, slightly behind its direct competitor NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 and noticeably ahead of the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming. It is obvious that the heroine of today’s article cannot reach the performance of the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X even with overclocking.

Crysis 3

The game Crysis 3 showed us a different picture.

Here the AMD Radeon RX 480 no longer looks so confident, inferior even to the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 from the past model range NVIDIA. The advantage of the new product over the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming is not at all impressive, and the difference with the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X is too great. Unfortunately, there can be no talk of any fight with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 here.

Metro: Last Light

Let us remind you that we tested the game Metro: Last Light both with and without activating Advanced PhysX.

True, disabling Advanced PhysX did not help AMD video cards today - the competitors turned out to be much stronger. The advantage of the AMD Radeon RX 480 over the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming here ranges from 16 to 28%, and the gap over the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X ranges from 2 to 24%.

Company of Heroes 2

So in Company of Heroes 2, the balance of power is not much different from Metro: Last Light - video cards on AMD GPUs are inferior to their competitors on NVIDIA chips.

The AMD Radeon RX 480 loses here even to the ASUS GeForce GTX 970, what can we say about the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, which, in turn, successfully competes with the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X?

Battlefield 4

The situation is even worse for video cards with AMD GPUs in Battlefield 4.

The AMD Radeon RX 480 was only able to demonstrate a slight advantage over the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming, but even the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 was too tough for it, not to mention the GeForce GTX 1060.

Thief

Things are much better for AMD in the Thief game, which uses the Mantle API.

Despite the absence of obvious performance gaps, the AMD Radeon RX 480 competes only with the ASUS GeForce GTX 970, slightly ahead of the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming. In turn, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 not only convincingly defeats the AMD Radeon RX 480, but is also able to withstand the more expensive Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X.

Sniper Elite III

Video card testing results in Sniper game Elite III are very dependent on the quality mode, namely SSAA 4.0 activation.

However, here too we cannot call the performance of the AMD Radeon RX 480 convincing, since the advantage over the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming is completely insignificant, and there is no need to talk about competition with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Here, the performance of the AMD Radeon RX 480 is higher than that of the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming by 4-26%, although this only applies to the resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, since in the large 2560 x 1440 pixels the new product is only ahead of its predecessor by a couple of average frames per second, and The minimum FPS for the AMD Radeon RX 480 is even slightly lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 is far ahead of both of them, as is the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X.

Grand Theft Auto V

In the game Grand Theft Auto V we can see a picture that has already become familiar to today's testing.

And yet, unlike previous benchmarks, here the AMD Radeon RX 480 manages to outperform the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 in modes without anti-aliasing and is not even far behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X. When MSAA4x is enabled, we are only talking about fighting the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 and an advantage over the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming. Nothing more, unfortunately.

DiRT Rally

In a dirt road racing simulator, the AMD Radeon RX 480 is on par with the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 and is only slightly behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. As for the huge difference with the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming, it is most likely not due to driver optimization for this video card, or a feature of the latest game patches working with Radeon R9 3xx video cards.

Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman: Arkham Knight was created with the support of NVIDIA, and it actively uses the graphics technologies of this company, but this fact did not prevent video cards based on AMD GPUs from performing confidently in these tests.

Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 480 was again inferior to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, but this time not by as much as in previous games. And the difference with the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming here is a good 24-33%.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege

Rainbow Six: Siege turned out to be the first game where the AMD Radeon RX 480 outperformed the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X and finally competed with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060.

Its difference with the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming is also impressive, reaching 48% in one of the quality modes. In addition, the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 was finally defeated by a good margin. In general, the first game that justifies the release of the AMD Radeon RX 480. Unfortunately, the holiday did not last long - everything returned to normal in Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider's support for the DirectX 12 API would seem to help the AMD Radeon RX 480, but the results indicate the opposite - the new product still loses to its main competitor.

But in modes without anti-aliasing, the AMD Radeon RX 480 is quite confidently ahead of the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming, and when AA is activated, the frame rate is so low that it makes no difference which of these two video cards you choose.

Far Cry Primal

The Far Cry Primal game very clearly ranks video cards by performance based on their cost, especially in the most resource-intensive quality mode.

AMD Radeon RX 480 is 14-23% faster than ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming in this game, and at the same time slower than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 by 8-11%.

Tom Clancy's The Division

With the exception of the abnormally high results of the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X, the rest of the ranking of video cards in terms of performance in Tom Clancy’s The Division does not stand out from the general series.

However, we note that in this game the AMD Radeon RX 480 lags behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 by a few percentage points.

Hitman

The latest version of the Hitman game is a celebration on the “red streets” of AMD, since it was in this game that video cards with Polaris and Grenada GPUs managed to outpace their competitors with Pascal and Maxwell 2.0 GPUs.

Let us add that on the ASUS GeForce GTX 970 at a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels using the maximum anti-aliasing mode, the test failed with an error, so there is no result for this video card in this quality mode.

Let's supplement the constructed diagrams with a final table with test results showing the average and minimum number of frames per second for each video card.

In addition to gaming tests, today we will present the results of testing two competing video cards in the CompuBench CL 1.5 benchmark.

AMD Radeon RX 480 4 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB

4. Pivot charts

In the first pair of summary charts, we will evaluate the difference in performance between the AMD Radeon RX 480 and its predecessor Radeon R9 380X represented by the ASUS STRIX R9 380X Gaming, the results of which in each game are taken as the starting point, and the average FPS of the heroine of today's testing is plotted as a percentage of them.

In principle, the AMD Radeon RX 480 demonstrates a good performance increase compared to the Radeon R9 380X in almost all games. Apart from the abnormally low results of the Radeon R9 380X in the game DiRT Rally, Hitman is especially indicative in this regard, where the Radeon RX 480, thanks to twice the memory and a faster graphics processor, is ahead of its predecessor by 62 to 83%. On average, across all games, the Radeon RX 480 is 27-31% faster.

Next, let's check how the Radeon RX 480 looks against the Sapphire NITRO R9 390 OC Tri-X with the same amount of video memory, but the old Hawaii GPU. By the way, now the cost of the original versions of the Radeon R9 390 has dropped close to the level of the new Radeon RX 480, so such a comparison will be quite appropriate and relevant.

Well, we see how the Radeon RX 480 could not beat the Radeon R9 390. The only exception was the game Rainbow Six: Siege and the anti-aliasing mode in Hitman. On average, for all tests, the new product lags behind by 10-11% in a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and by 14-15% in a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.

Finally, the most important and interesting pair of summary charts: a comparison of the performance of the AMD Radeon RX 480 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 - two video cards that were released to confront each other with a two-week time difference.

The advantage of a video card with graphics NVIDIA processor obviously, with the exception, again, of Hitman. In general, one cannot help but note the tendency that when moving from old to newer games (from top to bottom), the performance of video cards evens out, and the Radeon RX 480 does not at all look like a “whipping boy”, as it seemed at first. However, in our test suite of games it turned out that on average the Radeon RX 480 lags behind the GeForce GTX 1060 by 13.7-14.7% at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and by 14.1-15.0% at a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.

5. Power consumption

Energy consumption was measured using a Corsair AX1500i power supply via the Corsair Link interface and the HWiNFO64 monitoring program version 5.35-2950. The energy consumption of the entire system as a whole was measured, excluding the monitor. The measurement was carried out in 2D mode at regular work V Microsoft Word or Internet surfing, as well as in 3D mode. In the latter case, the load was created using four consecutive cycles of the introductory scene of the Swamp level from the game Crysis 3 in a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels with maximum graphics quality settings and using MSAA 4X. Let's add that the diagram shows both the peak level of energy consumption in 3D mode and the average consumption value for the entire testing cycle.

Let's compare the energy consumption level of systems with video cards tested today using the diagram.

The power consumption of the system with the AMD Radeon RX 480 video card did not exceed the consumption of the configuration with the Radeon R9 380X and turned out to be significantly lower than with the Radeon R9 390 video card. However, in comparison with the system in which the GeForce GTX 1060 is installed, the new product loses quite a lot for one class of video cards, opposed to each other. So, if at peak load the configuration with the GeForce GTX 1060 consumes only 461 watts, then with the Radeon RX 480 it already consumes 518 watts, which is 12.3% more. In terms of average power consumption, the picture is almost the same, and in 2D NVIDIA is even more economical than AMD. Of course, the level of power consumption of video cards is not the determining factor when choosing them, but we cannot help but note that AMD was inferior to its eternal competitor in this indicator too.

Conclusion

Summing up today's material, we can briefly summarize that at the moment the AMD Radeon RX 480 is inferior in performance to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 by about 14-15%, but in the most modern games that support DirectX 12, the difference between these video cards is reduced. Therefore, we can assume that Polaris still has prospects. In terms of power consumption, AMD also lost this round to NVIDIA - at the moment, the reference GeForce GTX 1060 is more economical than the Radeon RX 480. We will draw conclusions regarding the overclocking potential of both video cards after testing the original models with reinforced printed circuit boards and efficient systems cooling. In addition, in the near future, two more new games with DirectX 12 support will appear in the test package, which may also affect the balance of power between AMD and NVIDIA in this class of video cards. At retail prices, these video cards are now almost the same, so the choice, as always, is yours.

Thank you to AMD for
video card provided for testing.