The latest iteration of the Radeon cards is upon us, providing a combination of excellent value for money and performance. We put the RX480 8GB through its paces.
AMD Radeon RX480 Polaris 8GB Review
Last edited:
AMD Radeon RX480 Polaris 8GB Review
- Thread starter tinytomlogan
- Start date
The latest iteration of the Radeon cards is upon us, providing a combination of excellent value for money and performance. We put the RX480 8GB through its paces.
AMD Radeon RX480 Polaris 8GB Review
Doomslayer
New member
XFX is the only company who put a back plate on where all of the other companies did a bone head move buy not putting one on.
Also the ASUS, Gigabyte & MSI are a complete rip off in pricing on this card too they are charging an extra $40-$50 more compare to the XFX card.
Also the ASUS, Gigabyte & MSI are a complete rip off in pricing on this card too they are charging an extra $40-$50 more compare to the XFX card.
Last edited:
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I was expecting quite a bit little lower temperatures, and lower power draw as well, but the performance is only slightly lower than I expected which is not bad. It's the price and availability that is going to give AMD the lead here, I reckon.
I read a Crossfire 480 review... it's bad. Either drivers seriously need work—which is a given, obviously—or this is the state of multi-GPU setups now.
I read a Crossfire 480 review... it's bad. Either drivers seriously need work—which is a given, obviously—or this is the state of multi-GPU setups now.
Doomslayer
New member
Yes for the moment but i think Nvidia is going to counter punch AMD maybe with the 1060 when it comes out, But who knows atm.
Well all know that Nvidia can do it but will they is the question.
It certainly is a good step forward for AMD, but i'm not sure if impressive is the right word to describe it. If the 970 is the competitor, i can get an EVGA GTX970 Superclocked ACX for 240€, that's just 20€ more and that cooler is definitely better, with a bit of an overclock it can probably keep up with the 480, at least for now while drivers are in an early stage. The 8GB version is 270€, which i think is a bit much, the non reference cards are going to be approaching the 300€ mark. A 6GB version would've been perfect, i've seen games at 1080p go slightly over the 4GB mark, but 8GB? Far from it. Considering that the reference cooler has no overclocking headroom (unless you are fine with 93C and the fan going at full chat, i'm not), that really brings the price/performance ration down quite a lot. In terms of power consumption they've made good progress but there's still a gap to nvidia, the 1070 uses the same amount of power but performs a lot better, makes me wonder what the power consumption on Vega will be like. Maybe you can file that under 'It's a mid range card, what did you expect', but it's still worth noting i think.
Overall i'd probably still recommend an aftermarket 4GB 480 over the 970 simply because drivers are going to make that card better, but it's not that price performance monster the hype suggested it would be. Is there any word on when the non reference cards will release?
They also need to stop marketing these as VR GPUs, they just aren't, a 1080 hardly qualifies imo. VR requires 90-120 fps at 2x1080p, that's just not going to happen with a 480, even with two that's going to be a struggle. Someone who will spend 800€ on a VR headset isn't the type of person who is on a GPU budget, VR is nowhere near being affordable right now.
Overall i'd probably still recommend an aftermarket 4GB 480 over the 970 simply because drivers are going to make that card better, but it's not that price performance monster the hype suggested it would be. Is there any word on when the non reference cards will release?
They also need to stop marketing these as VR GPUs, they just aren't, a 1080 hardly qualifies imo. VR requires 90-120 fps at 2x1080p, that's just not going to happen with a 480, even with two that's going to be a struggle. Someone who will spend 800€ on a VR headset isn't the type of person who is on a GPU budget, VR is nowhere near being affordable right now.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I can't see the 1060 being as cheap as the 480, but I can definitely see it being more powerful, with better temperatures, lower power draw, and with better overclocking (at least compared to reference 480).
Yeah, the 970 is pretty much the same price as a 480, is quieter, cheaper, overclocks better, and performs, on average, ever so slightly behind the 480, which can recouped easily with a modest overclock. I'm a bit disappointed. Like you said, I'd still recommend a 480 over a 970 since nVidia will likely stop supporting Maxwell once Pascal is fully released. And the 480 is only going to improve as more and more games are optimized for the new architecture and the next slew of DX12 games come out like Deus Ex. But I was hoping for a GPU like the 960—low temps, good overclocks, low noise—with around 980 performance, but maybe that was a little overoptimistic. Maybe we'll see closer to 980 performance once the drivers mature and the temperatures and overclocking should improve once the AIB partners ditch that rubbish cooler AMD and OCUK insists is perfectly adequate, but right now the RX480 is just a very good value for money card.
Dark NighT
New member
To me, this is the card i would recommend to anyone with not a big budget and still looking for good 1080p performance, Yes i could recommend the 970, and i have one of those myself, BUT i want to recommend this 480 because we all need amd to do better and get back in the market, otherwise nvidia can just keep doing what it is doing, and settle for seriously stupid prices and get away with it.
I knew it would be around 970 performance ,and for the money its pretty damn good, yeah stock cooler is an issue with amd, always has been, but thats not a bad thing in my opinion, id prefer this not so great cooler over the bollocks that nvidia is playing with theirs, oh want the FE cooler, pay more for nothing extra, and then board partners started to match that price, because why would they sell for 70 or 100 dollar less if people are willing to shell that much for a reference cooler, ahem rant over.
I think amd did great here all things considered.
I knew it would be around 970 performance ,and for the money its pretty damn good, yeah stock cooler is an issue with amd, always has been, but thats not a bad thing in my opinion, id prefer this not so great cooler over the bollocks that nvidia is playing with theirs, oh want the FE cooler, pay more for nothing extra, and then board partners started to match that price, because why would they sell for 70 or 100 dollar less if people are willing to shell that much for a reference cooler, ahem rant over.
I think amd did great here all things considered.
shambles1980
New member
so it is a 780ti performance level card..
i'm feeling quite clever right now having assumed that for ages. But also slightly disappointed, i was hoping it would be at the lvls leak's had claimed. ah well..
its still a good card, and should bring decent 1080p gaming to masses of people who would usually buy a much lower performing card.
i'm feeling quite clever right now having assumed that for ages. But also slightly disappointed, i was hoping it would be at the lvls leak's had claimed. ah well..
its still a good card, and should bring decent 1080p gaming to masses of people who would usually buy a much lower performing card.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
Card is impressive at 1440p. But it's basically a 970 for cheaper. Which means at 1440p, not all games can be maxed out, again like a 970. Really hope AIBs get cards out quick and we can see if the real OCs can be had
I'm slightly disappointed with the performance...
If this card can only offer similar performance to GTX970, then the value is not what I expected it to be.
At this moment we can get an overclocked GTX970, already with custom cooler and better performance in general for only $265~ on amazon.
If a stock RX480 w/ 8G RAM already priced at $239, then how much will the one with custom cooler and slightly overclocked from OEMs be? I'm pretty sure it will be more than $265.... and if it is, then the performance/dollar of RX480 is not that great.
I guess I'll wait and see what GTX1060 can offer then decide which one I'll get from there.
I'm a cheapskate, so performance/dollar will always be the No. 1 deciding factor to me -_-
If this card can only offer similar performance to GTX970, then the value is not what I expected it to be.
At this moment we can get an overclocked GTX970, already with custom cooler and better performance in general for only $265~ on amazon.
If a stock RX480 w/ 8G RAM already priced at $239, then how much will the one with custom cooler and slightly overclocked from OEMs be? I'm pretty sure it will be more than $265.... and if it is, then the performance/dollar of RX480 is not that great.
I guess I'll wait and see what GTX1060 can offer then decide which one I'll get from there.
I'm a cheapskate, so performance/dollar will always be the No. 1 deciding factor to me -_-
Davva2004
Active member
I'm absolutely stoked AMD have come up with a competitive card for the money!
So let's compare red vs green:
If we look at 4GB cards, the £189 Sapphire RX 480 competes with the £210 MSI GTX970. That's £20 cheaper. And I'm not even gonna go there with the 3.5GB thing...
If we look at 8GB cards... there's no point. Team Green don't have an 8GB card that costs anywhere near £219. So for an extra tenner you get 4GB (or 4.5GB... hehe...) more VRAM.
And let's look at another major advantage of going Team Red: Freesync monitors are significantly cheaper than GSync.
Looking at 1080p, the cheapest 24" GSync monitor on PCPartpicker is the AOC G2460PG at £285. Whereas the AOC G2460PF - the same monitor, but with Freesync- is £189. That's £96 cheaper!!!
So you can save over £100 and get the same performance by choosing the AMD RX480 and a Freesync monitor, compared to a GTX 970 and a GSync monitor.
If that ain't a slam dunk, then I don't know what the hell is.
So let's compare red vs green:
If we look at 4GB cards, the £189 Sapphire RX 480 competes with the £210 MSI GTX970. That's £20 cheaper. And I'm not even gonna go there with the 3.5GB thing...
If we look at 8GB cards... there's no point. Team Green don't have an 8GB card that costs anywhere near £219. So for an extra tenner you get 4GB (or 4.5GB... hehe...) more VRAM.
And let's look at another major advantage of going Team Red: Freesync monitors are significantly cheaper than GSync.
Looking at 1080p, the cheapest 24" GSync monitor on PCPartpicker is the AOC G2460PG at £285. Whereas the AOC G2460PF - the same monitor, but with Freesync- is £189. That's £96 cheaper!!!
So you can save over £100 and get the same performance by choosing the AMD RX480 and a Freesync monitor, compared to a GTX 970 and a GSync monitor.
If that ain't a slam dunk, then I don't know what the hell is.
Gsync isn't relevant and has never been relevant (because it's so stupidly expensive and makes pretty much no difference) and being 20 quid cheaper than an equally performing last gen card isn't exactly a slam dunk, especially when that last gen card has a far better cooler.
I wonder why the 8GB version only costs 10 pounds more, it's 50 euros more over here.
Davva2004
Active member
It is relevant. If you want a good 1080p rig that takes advantage of variable frame rates for a smoother gaming experience, it's extremely relevant. And I can't comment on European prices, just what I see in the UK using Overclockers for RX 480 prices and PCPartpicker for all other prices.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
imo Gsync isn't really relevant. I think FS is but barely and only because you can get FS 1080p monitors for the same price as a normal 144hz monitor. But in regards to 480, the 8GB version is $239 instead of $229 like they said, probably because of markups and demand. But still pretty darn good. Just bought my brother one for his Bday actually. I'm waiting for aftermarket coolers, as i'm moving to ITX.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I agree about the Freesync vs Gsync. And I think it's very relevant, as you explained. It's one of the reasons why I bought a Fury/Freeysnc panel over a 980ti/Gsync panel. The Fury was more expensive than the 980, which was another option, and the Fury wasn't as powerful as a 980ti, but going that route would have added another €300+ to the setup. If I had gone with a 980, the purchase would have roughly evened itself out as the 980 was slightly cheaper than the Fury at the time I migrated to AMD. The Fury is more powerful in general, but it overclocks so poorly compared to a 980 that it basically evened itself out for me. But the 980 was initially the same price as a Fury.
I'm mad at Nvidia atm BUT: Asus PG279Q gsync working range 30-165HZ. MG279Q Freesync range 35-90HZ. Maybe that's why they 're cheaper?
Gripen90
New member
It funny that the review is so exited about the RX480 calling it a pocket rocket. I remember 19th of September 2014, I got the cheapest GTX 970 available and it was just €20 more expensive than what a RX480 costs today. So basically we've have had the same performance available for the same price (give or take a few) for nearly 2years now... And still we see this excitement among the reviewers!
OH did I forget to mention that in March I bought a Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Tri-X 8GB also to the same price of the RX480...and the Nitro is still faster.
Seriously wtf is going on in AMD-land?
OH did I forget to mention that in March I bought a Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Tri-X 8GB also to the same price of the RX480...and the Nitro is still faster.
Seriously wtf is going on in AMD-land?
