Sapphire Radeon RX 590 Nitro+ Special Edition 8 GB

[Valantar]

Dear techpowerup,@W1zzard
Ive joined this forum for a request.
If its possibe, could you please add gpu compute benchmarks to the reviews.
Thank you

AnandTech does quite thorough compute benchmarking.

 

[Shaky156]

AnandTech does quite thorough compute benchmarking.

I do check and i am a big fan of anandtech reviews, but i believe they are somewhat bias with their benchmarks in cpus and gpus, their comparison list is not as extensive as techpowerup.
The more comparable data the better.
For example from anandtech the compubench benchmark shows the nvidia 1070, but not the 1080. The rx590 defeats the 1080 in the compubench n-body simulation benchmark, that is one example.

 

[Valantar]

I do check and i am a big fan of anandtech reviews, but i believe they are somewhat bias with their benchmarks in cpus and gpus, their comparison list is not as extensive as techpowerup.
The more comparable data the better.
For example from anandtech the compubench benchmark shows the nvidia 1070, but not the 1080. The rx590 defeats the 1080 in the compubench n-body simulation benchmark, that is one example.

I think that's a consequence of them having a wider test portfolio - TPU does more games, but less non-gaming tests, and have more cards (and seem to do more GPU reviews in general vs. AT's focus on in-depth tech explanations); AT has a wider test portfolio but fewer games, and generally include fewer comparisons in their graphs. Sadly there's a limit to just how much testing you can squeeze in between receiving a review unit and the embargo lifting. Then again, AT has Bench, but sadly it seems they've been slow to include recent review units in the results database there. My solution is always to check multiple sources, as no single source is likely to cover every interesting data point.

 

[Casecutter]

AMD saying "we're doing something" while waiting for Navi to arrive

Not to rival you on this, Seeing that AMD is slowly amputating itself from GloFo, and all their comingling as to wafer agreements I think this was what AMD could do. It was all GloFo could provide within that without a lot of engineering funds/time from AMD. I think this was all AMD had as a "course/finale" at GloFo. AMD kind of took it for many reasons we don't always comprehend. This probably was the best way to stay in their agreement, till they can finish the 7nm Navi, and offer some last thrust.

I just wonder if AMD is being press by GloFo to change all their production to 12nm, ceding GloFo to settle into a concurrence in production. If that's the direction GloFo press's what will the RX580/570 end up being? Just 12nm at the same clock just lower power, and improve OC'n?

Honestly this is working for AMD as Nvidia has to toil with reducing their channel inventory but maintain their current pricing. They can't bring anything new to the market while their abundance of Pasqual remains.

 

[Valantar]

Not to rival you on this, Seeing that AMD is slowly amputating itself from GloFo, and all their comingling as to wafer agreements I think this was what AMD could do. It was all GloFo could provide within that without a lot of engineering funds/time from AMD. I think this was all AMD had as a "course/finale" at GloFo. AMD kind of took it for many reasons we don't always comprehend. This probably was the best way to stay in their agreement, till they can finish the 7nm Navi, and offer some last thrust.

I just wonder if AMD is being press by GloFo to change all their production to 12nm, ceding GloFo to settle into a concurrence in production. If that's the direction GloFo press's what will the RX580/570 end up being? Just 12nm at the same clock just lower power, and improve OC'n?

Honestly this is working for AMD as Nvidia has to toil with reducing their channel inventory but maintain their current pricing. They can't bring anything new to the market while their abundance of Pasqual remains.

I doubt GF can push AMD to move everything to 12nm given that they just announced the I/O die for Rome on 14nm (and it's confirmed to be GF making them). Then again, I can't imagine 12nm requiring significant equipment upgrades from 14nm, so it would be kind of odd if GF didn't plan to upgrade all 14nm production to 12nm in time - but for the I/O die with loads of components that don't really scale with node shrinks I'm betting AMD went for the cheapest of the two by design. Still, might this be the reasoning for the stealth-launched 2048-SP RX 580 - might it actually be a cut-down 590 with matching clocks? And if so, will they launch an even further cut down 570 refresh? I suppose we'll see over the next few months.

Still, you're probably right that the wafer agreement is part of why AMD is launching this card now, pushing for a short-term increase in orders from GF before they can truly ramp production of I/O dice and other stuff to keep them within the terms of the agreement when Navi moves the majority of GPU production to TSMC. Not doing this might leave them "owing" GF an unreasonable amount of production that they then wouldn't need.

 

[theravenesia]

wish i've that vga card

 

[B-Real]

It is funny to compare 590 with 980 Ti and 2080, the 3 of them consume around 220 W, but 980 Ti is a 3.5 years old card in 28 nm that is still 4% faster, and 2080 is 2x faster using a 12 nm process as 590. Price is AMD's only weapon.View attachment 110656

RX590 temperatures are well in the right region. We are not speaking of 290X 90ish degrees. 75ish degrees don't do harm to the GPU, and in terms of electricity bill, the extra consumption compared to the 1060 doesn't seem in the bill when you play games ~2-3 hours on weekdays and -6 hours in the weekends.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

@B-Real all are within margins, after all.

 

[John Naylor]

An OC 1060 is begging to enter the review graphs

RX 590 which can't overclock beats GTX 1060 by 10%. GTX 1060 can easily be overclocked to pull that 10% back. GTX 1060 costs $50 less and consumes 25% less power.

And that's not even an AIB card... The MSI (101.1) outperformed the stock (97.5) card by 3.7% ...applying that makes the 1060 number 74.14 or a 7.3% faster

I do check and i am a big fan of anandtech reviews, but i believe they are somewhat bias with their benchmarks in cpus and gpus, their comparison list is not as extensive as techpowerup.

Since Anandtech got purchased by product placement firm (Purch group) I stopped reading ... same reason I left THG.

 

[Valantar]

Since Anandtech got purchased by product placement firm (Purch group) I stopped reading ... same reason I left THG.

Unlike Tom's, it doesn't seem like AT has changed on the editorial level since being bought - they still provide technical insight that's second to none (and still have the slowest/weirdest publishing cycle and selection of reviews in the tech media ). I suppose that's hard to avoid when half your editorial team has a PhD in whatever they're covering. The biggest difference I've seen is more annoying ads, but those are thankfully easily blocked.

 

[Vayra86]

RX590 temperatures are well in the right region. We are not speaking of 290X 90ish degrees. 75ish degrees don't do harm to the GPU, and in terms of electricity bill, the extra consumption compared to the 1060 doesn't seem in the bill when you play games ~2-3 hours on weekdays and -6 hours in the weekends.

You sure about that? We're talking literally double the power consumption here. Its like running 1060's in SLI and I can guarantee you, you will see it on your bill (I could literally spot the difference when adding a 2nd GTX 660 back in the day). Even at a conservative 4 hours per day of usage, you'll be looking at a steep premium if you consider using the GPU for 3 years. I haven't done the exact math, but 30-50 EUR/year is reasonable to think of. That is 90 EUR on top right there, across three years and a single GPU purchase. And its most likely going to be more.

This is a real factor that should be considered with RX 590. Its going way off the charts compared to an only slightly slower predecessor. Feels a bit like the midrange Vega.

 

[onliniak]

Good review.

20FPS+ in 4K and 50FPS+ in 1440p (for people who upgrade from Intel HD Graphics). But too close to RX 580 ($50 cheaper). Plus for normal price, noise and temperatures. Maybe worth for 1440p or light 4k, but for 1080p ? Maybe in 2020 … not everyone needs 60 frames, for some people 25 is OK.

Well-priced only without taxes-> we pay $370 in Poland. $100 = 23% = "free games".
https://www.x-kom.pl/p/462827-karta...n-rx-590-nitro-special-edition-8gb-gddr5.html

 

[Valantar]

Maybe worth for 1440p or light 4k, but for 1080p ? Maybe in 2020 … not everyone needs 60 frames, for some people 25 is OK.

I get that one's standards are adjusted based on experience and what is attainable, but the difference in experience in any game with even moderate focus on movement between 25fps and 60 is night and day. Increasing the resolution before reaching 60-ih fps is just maintaining a sub-par expectation on your part. It's definitely worth it for 1080p.

 

[holyprof]

Not a very good card in my opinion. I would have preferred a 580 with lower power draw and slightly higher boost clock (than existing 580) instead. Sure one can buy a 590 and downclock to 580 clocks and/or undervolt it but not at that price.
I recently bought a new pc to serve as a backup to my main one and picked Ryzen 3 2200G with Vega graphics and I'm very happy with it. It's nearly as fast as an intel i3 + nvidia 1030 but cost the same as if the gpu was for free. And all of this drawing not much power (probably less than the mentioned (i3+1030). I wish AMD had a gpu like that. Well, one can dream.

 

[Ravenas]

Does anyone know if the PowerColor RX 590 has a thermal backplate, or do they have what XFX has with the Fatboy (a piece of metal)?

 

[Valantar]

Does anyone know if the PowerColor RX 590 has a thermal backplate, or do they have what XFX has with the Fatboy (a piece of metal)?

Good question. I looked through Videocardz' entire review roundup, and not a single review of the Red Devil had bothered to remove the backplate (it screws in from behind the cooler, so you can remove the cooler without removing the backplate). That's pretty lazy.

 

[W1zzard]

Good question. I looked through Videocardz' entire review roundup, and not a single review of the Red Devil had bothered to remove the backplate (it screws in from behind the cooler, so you can remove the cooler without removing the backplate). That's pretty lazy.

Powercolor knows who to send their samples to .. we'll take the card apart completely and didn't get one

 

[Ravenas]

Powercolor knows who to send their samples to .. we'll take the card apart completely and didn't get one

Still shocked that we saw no OEM aftermarket cards for Vega 64.

 

[AppleSauceMacintosh]

I really appreciate all the testing you did on this card. I took the plunge and installed it in my 2012 Mac Pro to take advantage of 4 K and the great resolution... thanks for all your counsel.

 

[V1TRU]

Hi, i'm waiting this card.
I read that rising core frequencies to 1600mhz reduce consumes by 20w on load and boost slightly performances.
How is even possible?
Thanks

 

[FordGT90Concept]

My card doesn't go higher than 1560 MHz and when it does, it's only briefly because the power limitations on the card will force it to drop to around ~1340 MHz for continuous load.

 

[Ravenas]

W1zz I have a ASUS 290X Matrix I’m thinking of replacing with this 590 for my son’s computer. Do you have relative performance gains as far as a percentage for gaming in 1080p?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

290X ~= 390 and 590 is about 25% faster than 390 with lower power consumption

 

[lexluthermiester]

W1zz I have a ASUS 290X Matrix I’m thinking of replacing with this 590 for my son’s computer. Do you have relative performance gains as far as a percentage for gaming in 1080p?

Unless you can get a 590 for a great price, get an RX5700 instead. Far better performance and much better power and heat profiles.

 

[Ravenas]

For approximately $150 more.