AMD R9 Fury X Review

[mazty]

What a odd conclusion. Here we have a card that is almost always out performed by the 980Ti and yet it's a gold award? Why would someone choose it over the 980Ti? They wouldn't, hell, you can't even overclock the damn thing. Every other site has pointed out that this card has been marketed towards 4K gaming, which it simply isn't capable of. It's a card without a market - the 980Ti is more powerful and has overclocking headroom. If it was priced against the 980, okay then that would make sense. But pricing it against a card that is simply better than it, it's a no brainer.

Posts merged - don't double post.

I've gone through about 3 reviews so far and my initial feeling is mehhhhhhh.

I didn't want a card that would slot between the competitions offerings, I wanted a card that would give Nvidia boys something to worry about.

£509 for the reference 980ti at OCUK, think my decision is crystal clear at this point.

That's exactly my feelings. All reviews state that it isn't a market leader which is what people were hoping for but simply bites at the heels of the 980 Ti.

 

[JR23]

What a odd conclusion. Here we have a card that is almost always out performed by the 980Ti and yet it's a gold award? Why would someone choose it over the 980Ti? They wouldn't, hell, you can't even overclock the damn thing. Every other site has pointed out that this card has been marketed towards 4K gaming, which it simply isn't capable of. It's a card without a market - the 980Ti is more powerful and has overclocking headroom. If it was priced against the 980, okay then that would make sense. But pricing it against a card that is simply better than it, it's a no brainer.

Because it's cheaper (at time of review), cooler and quieter...

JR

 

[Type-8]

Because it's cheaper (at time of review), cooler and quieter...

JR

Exactly

 

[Jbo1234]

I've gone through about 3 reviews so far and my initial feeling is mehhhhhhh.

I didn't want a card that would slot between the competitions offerings, I wanted a card that would give Nvidia boys something to worry about.

£509 for the reference 980ti at OCUK, think my decision is crystal clear at this point.

Spot on. How it got a gold and innovation award is strange, though not as strange as the pricing. With it ranging from £509 to £649 I don't see why you wouldn't buy a super high end 980 an OC the heck out of it, or the 980ti...and OC the heck out of it.

Because it's cheaper (at time of review), cooler and quieter...

JR

Not over here sadly.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?catid=56&groupid=701&sortby=priceAsc&subid=3068
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?catid=1914&groupid=701&sortby=priceAsc&subid=1402

It will be cooler, but then buy a cheap 980, add a water block and OC it. That would be cooler and perform as well (but of course, a lot more hassle).

 

[tinytomlogan]

My feelings exactly. How it got a gold and innovation award is strange, though not as strange as the pricing. WIth it ranging from £509 to £649 I don't see why you wouldn't buy a super high end 980 an OC the heck out of it, or the 980ti...and OC the heck out of it.

At 509 it deserves gold and that was the price we were given (it is out there)

At 649 its a no brainer - buy a GTX980 Ti.

 

[Jbo1234]

At 509 it deserves gold and that was the price we were given (it is out there)

At 649 its a no brainer - buy a GTX980 Ti.

Aye, just so odd to have a reference design vary so much in price.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Aye, just so odd to have a reference design vary so much in price.

Thats down to each individual retailer not AMD.

 

[mazty]

Because it's cheaper (at time of review), cooler and quieter...

JR

Sadly that price gap has literally now gone as a reference Ti is the same price as a pre-order (??) Fury X. I have to say that while it's good to see that AMD have at least some competition to the 980 Ti, I am very disappointed that it's big gun is still outmatched by Nvidia's offering. All in all, the tighter the competition, the better it is for the consumer as prices drop and performance increases. If the Fury X had come in as cheaper than the Ti and better, then that would have really disrupted the market. As it stands, all it's made is a little gurgle.

 

[Dicehunter]

After the OC3D review I read HardOCP's and wow, They really aren't impressed one bit.

 

[tinytomlogan]

After the OC3D review I read HardOCP's and wow, They really aren't impressed one bit.

Always two ways to look at something, people that listened to the hype expected the best GPU in history.... It wasnt, but it wasnt BAD.

 

[Kaapstad]

At 509 it deserves gold and that was the price we were given (it is out there)

At 649 its a no brainer - buy a GTX980 Ti.

This above

The price will settle down to around £509 once stock is more plentiful.

There is something else people should remember about the price too. In the TX and Ti owners threads I run one of the most popular things people do is replace the reference cooler with the EVGA Hybrid AIO cooler. The Fury X already comes with an AIO solution making it even better value compared to the NV cards.

 

[Dicehunter]

Always two ways to look at something, people that listened to the hype expected the best GPU in history.... It wasnt, but it wasnt BAD.

True that, In all honesty I was expecting a tiny bit more though.

 

[Dark NighT]

I think Amd did well here, nvidia jumped on them like a scary clown and went Boom baby 980TI, no company would be able to beat that performance in the short time it took from 980ti to releasing this fury X, which was planned a while ago.

The prices maybe swinging around right now but if amd gets their drivers properly out i think they should be fine from this point on, and i really believe that they should grab this result and run with it as fast as they can, this could be a moment where amd grabs some of its market share back, and boy do we need that to happen.

 

[DisturbedJim83]

£509 on overclockers . but there is a £140 premium on the ones that are in stock

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?catid=56&groupid=701&sortby=priceAsc&subid=3068

edit all sold out within 30min
and the 980ti is £509 this weeks only offer

out of stock at Scan too but at least they are not charging a £140 premium on models that having nothing more than a sticker change on the fan like overclockers where 1 or 2 models are £509 and the others are £649 ironically the same as the US $ MSRP are they even aware that £1 is worth $1.50.

I used to order regular from overclockers but now it looks like they are attemptimg to fleece the consumer by not even trying to reflect the currency exchange rate I may have to reconsider and order my future products from Scan instead

 

[mazty]

I think Amd did well here, nvidia jumped on them like a scary clown and went Boom baby 980TI, no company would be able to beat that performance in the short time it took from 980ti to releasing this fury X, which was planned a while ago.

The prices maybe swinging around right now but if amd gets their drivers properly out i think they should be fine from this point on, and i really believe that they should grab this result and run with it as fast as they can, this could be a moment where amd grabs some of its market share back, and boy do we need that to happen.

The only way AMD will get market share back is if they massively cut their card prices. Drop the Fury X to £450, the 390X to £280 and the 390 to £220. They are behind team green by running hotter, hungrier and with less OC headroom. Therefore they have lost the enthusiast market where performance is everything, so hit Nvidia hard by undercutting them.

 

[Kaapstad]

The only way AMD will get market share back is if they massively cut their card prices. Drop the Fury X to £450, the 390X to £280 and the 390 to £220. They are behind team green by running hotter, hungrier and with less OC headroom. Therefore they have lost the enthusiast market where performance is everything, so hit Nvidia hard by undercutting them.

Are you serious they are selling the Fury X to cheap now at a recommended price of £509. For that you are getting a card with -

HBM memory
AIO watercooler
8.9 billion transistors

These things are not cheap or easy for AMD to include in the spec for the asking price.

As to the performance once AMD get the drivers sorted for this new tech those 8.9 billion transistors will start punching their weight, remember the Titan X only packs 8 billion transistors on it's core.

 

[spolsh]

I hoped for more, believed the hype.

Hopefully prices will fall back to RRP once supply is properly sorted out.

 

[CodeKiller]

Wrong results

How can the result for the 980 TI can be so different from this test ?

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/nvidia_gtx980ti_review/10

OMG...

 

[TheOrangeOne]

Nice review Tom!
The performance is good, but i'm looking forward to see how DX12 will change things, if at all

 

[RickPlaysWarr]

This is an interesting card. I would see myself using it in a small box for living room gaming. The only issue I have with it is the fact that the performance of the latest and best offering from AMD is already beaten. I wish that it were unlocked so the max performance of the card could be determined. I am also wanting to see if a third party waterblock from EK or XSPC comes as that would make this small performer really attractive for a small liquid cooled build.

I am very interested in seeing if the pro model comes unlocked and what the max potential of the Fury series cards holds.

Great review Tom. Thank you

--Rick--