ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces Strix RX 480

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 07/20/2016 03:59 PM | source: | 43 comment(s)

Powered by the latest AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics processing unit (GPU), clocked at 1330MHz in OC mode, ROG Strix RX 480 delivers up to 15%-faster performance in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme and 19%-faster gaming performance than reference cards in Hitman and Doom.

ROG Strix RX 480 is packed with exclusive ASUS technologies, including DirectCU III with a patented triple wing-blade 0dB fan designed to deliver maximum airflow for 30%-cooler and three-times (3X) quieter performance, and ASUS FanConnect, which features GPU-controlled fan headers to connect to system fans for targeted supplemental cooling. Industry-exclusive Auto-Extreme technology with Super Alloy Power II components ensures premium quality and reliability.

ROG Strix RX 480 enables complete gaming system personalization with Aura RGB Lighting. A virtual-reality (VR)-friendly design with two HDMI ports lets gamers always keep a VR device and a monitor connected to their system for immersive gaming anytime. It also includes GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster for intuitive performance tweaking and instant gameplay streaming. ROG Strix RX 480 is equipped with ASUS DirectCU III cooling technology, which features direct-GPU-contact heatpipes that transport more heat away from the GPU, outperforming reference designs and achieving up to 30% cooler gaming performance. DirectCU III technology includes triple 0dB fans, engineered with a patented wing-blade design that delivers maximum airflow and improves static pressure over the heatsink by 105%, while operating at three-times (3X) quieter volume than reference cards.

ROG Strix RX 480 also comes with ASUS FanConnect technology. When gaming, the GPU often runs hotter than the CPU, but chassis fans usually only reference CPU temperatures, resulting in inefficient system cooling. ASUS FanConnect solves this issue with two four-pin GPU-controlled headers that can be connected to system fans to provide targeted supplemental cooling for optimal thermal performance. All ASUS graphics cards are now produced using Auto-Extreme technology, an industry-exclusive, 100%-automated production process that incorporates premium materials to set a new standard of quality. Auto-Extreme technology ensures consistent graphics card quality as well as improved performance and longevity. This new manufacturing process is also environmentally friendly, eliminating harsh chemicals and reducing power consumption by 50%. Super Alloy Power II components enhance efficiency, reduce power loss, reduce component buzzing by 50% while under full load, and achieve thermal levels that are approximately 50% cooler than previous designs for enhanced quality and reliability.

ROG Strix RX 480 includes ASUS Aura RGB Lighting on both the shroud and the backplate. This stunning illumination technology is capable of displaying millions of colors and six different effects for a totally personalized gaming system. ROG Strix RX 480 also has a VR-friendly design with two HDMI ports that let gamers connect a VR device and display at the same time, so they can enjoy immersive VR experiences anytime without having to swap cables.

Redesigned with an intuitive user interface, GPU Tweak II makes gaming and overclocking easier than ever, while retaining advanced options for seasoned overclockers. With one click, the Gaming Booster function maximizes system performance by removing redundant processes and allocating all available resources automatically. An included one-year XSplit Gamecaster premium license — a $99 value — lets gamers easily stream or record gameplay via a convenient, in-game overlay. The overlay also displays GPU clock speed, temperature, and VRM usage, and has GPU Tweak II controls, so gamers can choose a gaming profile and boost performance with just one click.

ASUS ROG Strix RX 480 will be available worldwide from mid-August 2016. Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.

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RotatingFan

Posts: 31
Joined: 2016-07-21

#5309664 Posted on: 07/21/2016 08:41 AM

question

Can anyone say for sure what the power difference is between
8 gig 256 bus and 6 gig 192 bit bus.
It would be interesting to know this information if anyone has it.

Noisiv
Senior Member

Posts: 6655
Joined: 2010-11-16

#5309678 Posted on: 07/21/2016 09:20 AM

https://www.computerbase.de/2016-06/radeon-rx-480-test/5/
Thats a Fractal Design Define R5 with an RX480 after 20 mins, clocks speeds are down to 1160mhz in the games they tested at 1440p.

Now i'm not going to get into if you think thats a great case or not, the lans i go to where people would buy $240 cards its would probably be mid-upper end for them.

So could Asus engineer that result , absolutely , would they have to try hard to pick the case to do it .. i don't think it would be hard looking at that.

Whats telling is Asus's same card for the 1060 (strix) they report about a 6-7% gain , so would they put themselves in a worse light there than with a rx480 strix ? i doubt it - they would use the same methods i would think.

Asus is telling us there strix model will gain 10%+ on the 480 vs their 1060 strix is the point.

And on the same page you can clearly see the difference of 4% between throttling card and RX 480locked at 1266MHz via increased PT/TT: AMD RX 480 MAX (8GB)
https://www.computerbase.de/2016-06/radeon-rx-480-test/5/

If you think that 1330 MHz overclock can gain more than 1330/1266 = 5% over such 1266MHz locked card... I won't try to dissuade you any further.
From the same reviewer:

Orthello
Member

Posts: 62
Joined: 2008-09-23

#5309707 Posted on: 07/21/2016 10:31 AM

And on the same page you can clearly see the difference of 4% between throttling card and RX 480locked at 1266MHz via increased PT/TT: AMD RX 480 MAX (8GB)
https://www.computerbase.de/2016-06/radeon-rx-480-test/5/

If you think that 1330 MHz overclock can gain more than 1330/1266 = 5% over such 1266MHz locked card... I won't try to dissuade you any further.
From the same reviewer:

Jeez Reading is important ! Asus were talking 1440p and 4k- you pick 1080p to back up your claims ?? .. 6 % is the average gains eliminating the throttling in 1440p according to the same reviewer. Ashes and ROTR see 8% at 1440p .. The witcher 3 is 10% ! in 1440p vs ref 480 to power tweaked 480 etc just to 1266 boost.

So Asus would obviously pick the best case to show this in , that review did not test Firsetrike Extreme (asus benchmarked ) , this might have showed 11 % etc. Add in the 5% OC boost to 1330 and you are pretty close to the 15% that Asus quote for 1440p gains - best case obviously .

Just relooked at it they did test fire strike ultra (4k) and the gain was 11% the gain for Firestrike (1080p) was 8 % , so i put Firestrike extreme somewhere in the middle say 9.5-10% at a guess. So yeah if Asus's claim is on the high side it might be by 1-2 % , but its pretty close from what i can see.

Ryu5uzaku
Senior Member

Posts: 6770
Joined: 2006-09-24

#5309709 Posted on: 07/21/2016 10:34 AM

When not throttling the 480 and 1060 are 1% from each other not that bad.

Noisiv
Senior Member

Posts: 6655
Joined: 2010-11-16

#5309718 Posted on: 07/21/2016 10:40 AM

When not throttling the 480 and 1060 are 1% from each other not that bad.

Nah...to get there you should compare "RX 480 Max" with "GTX 1060 Founders Edition Max" (2nd pic)

480 loses 4% at default PT/TT compared to Max
1060 loses 3%

GTX 1060 throttles only 1%... less than 480

Noisiv
Senior Member

Posts: 6655
Joined: 2010-11-16

#5309723 Posted on: 07/21/2016 10:53 AM

Jeez Reading is important ! Asus were talking 1440p and 4k- you pick 1080p to back up your claims ?? .. 6 % is the average gains eliminating the throttling in 1440p according to the same reviewer.

OK 6%.
6% + 5% = 11%

11% faster than ref. 480

And only for those who don't know how to or refuse to increase PT/TT on their ref. 480.
Else - 1330/1266 = 5% increase

Dygaza
Senior Member

Posts: 535
Joined: 2015-05-18

#5309784 Posted on: 07/21/2016 12:46 PM

Don't forget they might have also increased memory speed. Or did they already announce mem speeds?

Dygaza
Senior Member

Posts: 535
Joined: 2015-05-18

#5309796 Posted on: 07/21/2016 01:01 PM

Some promising leaks from Saphire nitro models. Gives high hopes for this card aswell.

Take them with grain of salt. Found them from Anand forum, but don't know the source.

xIcarus
Senior Member

Posts: 941
Joined: 2010-08-24

#5309842 Posted on: 07/21/2016 02:26 PM

This is purely nVidia's fault. People did not care about power efficiency much. Then Maxwell came as power efficient and nearly everyone started to think that power efficiency means better fps or huge financial savings.
Efficiency matters at the top-end. Desktop Maxwell stopped at 250W and surpassed its competition by quite a decent amount; think about what that means, just for a second.

Nvidia's fault for what? For making an efficient architecture? Dammit Nvidia, how could you!
Until Maxwell the themal envelopes have been relatively similar (although the 290x was power hungry way beyond AMD's 250W envelope, but hey; let's ignore that small fact).
You can see Maxwell's fruit right now in Pascal, the 1070 needs about the same power as the 480 yet it kills it performance-wise in every possible way and by a very wide gap.

Now it's suddenly a problem how Nvidia decided to make an efficient architecture yet we can clearly see it was a smart move? Give me a break man. Maxwell is likely one of the reasons why Pascal was able to launch in such short order seeing as there are already 3 Pascal cards on the market compared to 1 Polaris card. Nvidia didn't have to do squat, they just solved 1 or 2 of Maxwell's deficiencies, shrunk the whole thing and clocked it like crazy.

Doubling transistors is not 100% necessity. There are parts of GPU which will not be doubled. Like PCIe IO, VCE, Scheduler, internal bus, ...
+RX-480 is not really that power hungry on GPU side, solid part of consumption is blower and gddr5.

Are you being serious right now? A fan. You're blaming the 480's power consumption on a fan? Toppest of keks this is the most ludicrous thing I've heard lately.

I also remember an article stating how Raja Koduri said that the VRAM on the 480 takes maybe 30W IIRC correctly? That sounds pretty ok to me, I can't find the article however but you're seriously overexaggerating how much VRAM + A FAN takes from the overall TDP.

HBM doesn't cut as much power as you think it does, in case that's where you were going with this.

And on top of this improvement, if ASUS's statement is solid and their 5% OC + proper cooling/power delivery brings 15~19% improvement in performance over stock card...

On this I can agree, if ASUS manages to do something like that it will outright kill the 1060 once and for all. However keep in mind, marketing is the name of the game. ASUS might simply be cherry picking situations or outright spewing bull**** just to attract attention. Like AMD did with the 480, said 2 of them are better than a 1080 but it turned out it's only in AOTS.

I might not be a fan of AMD's vaporware tactics (not like I'm a fan of Nvidia's messed up business practices either) but AMD really needs to sell a lot of cards this generation.
I'm particularly scared for them because the 480 doesn't look like a spawn of Fiji to me considering the rather unimpressive TDP.

Back in the day, I have seen Fiji as more capable than Maxwell per transistor investment and same clock. But AMD as always picks denser manufacturing, higher leakage, and lower stable clock. Improvement from Maxwell to Pascal is much smaller than Fiji to Polaris. And as such AMD/GloFo has to fix that clock and leakage issue... and we have big improvement maximum achievable performance per single GPU.

What improvement are we talking about? Performance? Because if so, you're saying nonsense. The 1070 is almost twice as fast as the 970, the 1080 is almost twice as fast as the 980 while the 480 is almost twice as fast as the 380. I see a similar increase.

Man I have no idea what's up with these posts of yours.

Fox2232
Senior Member

Posts: 9739
Joined: 2012-07-20

#5309858 Posted on: 07/21/2016 03:23 PM

Efficiency matters at the top-end. Desktop Maxwell stopped at 250W and surpassed its competition by quite a decent amount; think about what that means, just for a second.

Nvidia's fault for what? For making an efficient architecture? Dammit Nvidia, how could you!
Until Maxwell the themal envelopes have been relatively similar (although the 290x was power hungry way beyond AMD's 250W envelope, but hey; let's ignore that small fact).
You can see Maxwell's fruit right now in Pascal, the 1070 needs about the same power as the 480 yet it kills it performance-wise in every possible way and by a very wide gap.

Now it's suddenly a problem how Nvidia decided to make an efficient architecture yet we can clearly see it was a smart move? Give me a break man. Maxwell is likely one of the reasons why Pascal was able to launch in such short order seeing as there are already 3 Pascal cards on the market compared to 1 Polaris card. Nvidia didn't have to do squat, they just solved 1 or 2 of Maxwell's deficiencies, shrunk the whole thing and clocked it like crazy.Maybe reading #30 will help a little.
Are you being serious right now? A fan. You're blaming the 480's power consumption on a fan? Toppest of keks this is the most ludicrous thing I've heard lately.

I also remember an article stating how Raja Koduri said that the VRAM on the 480 takes maybe 30W IIRC correctly? That sounds pretty ok to me, I can't find the article however but you're seriously overexaggerating how much VRAM + A FAN takes from the overall TDP.

HBM doesn't cut as much power as you think it does, in case that's where you were going with this.

What improvement are we talking about? Performance? Because if so, you're saying nonsense. The 1070 is almost twice as fast as the 970, the 1080 is almost twice as fast as the 980 while the 480 is almost twice as fast as the 380. I see a similar increase.
Same improvement as I always talk about when I mention: "per transistor investment". It is improvement per building block of ROP, TMU, SP, ...
Man I have no idea what's up with these posts of yours.It is good to see you back, but you do not have to go into: "I do not understand place."
Because I am not always in mood to explain things I am sure people around should understand. And I am damn sure you would have no problem to extrapolate and understand all those things you did "not" understand while you made quoted post.

Agent-A01
Senior Member

Posts: 11360
Joined: 2010-12-27

#5309865 Posted on: 07/21/2016 03:44 PM

Uhm for one that's for a 7970.

2. It uses 20.4 watts at max duty cycle, under normal operation it won't use half that.

Fox2232
Senior Member

Posts: 9739
Joined: 2012-07-20

#5309873 Posted on: 07/21/2016 03:58 PM

Uhm for one that's for a 7970.

2. It uses 20.4 watts at max duty cycle, under normal operation it won't use half that.
Yes, that's HD 7970, and no, it runs under load at 70~80% while running stock clocks. It is damn loud blower.
And once OC is applied, those funny pictures with rocket engines replaced by cards with blowers are quite close, as sound it makes while it reaches 100% is awful.

Most of blowers are much stronger than regular fans. Even triple fan designs spend less energy on airflow than single blowers. But that's due to efficiency of those heatsinks under triple fan solution.

xIcarus
Senior Member

Posts: 941
Joined: 2010-08-24

#5310239 Posted on: 07/22/2016 08:27 AM

Ok, 20W is a heck of a lot (it frankly surprised me) but that thing ain't going to run at 100% all the time. You got any idea how high this thing runs under load (I know it runs around 2k RPM but I have no idea what the max RPM is in order to make a % assumption)?
My point is that if, for example, it runs at 70% under load, the power consumption would be almost half of that seeing as power increases akin to a reverse logarithmic graph when increasing RPM (2000-2100 RPM requires much more effort than 1000-1100).

Also, do you have any power ratings for different custom fans? I am really curious as to how much power they're rated at but I can't find anything solid.

Alas, I will admit I jumped the fence and your point has some merit.

Same improvement as I always talk about when I mention: "per transistor investment". It is improvement per building block of ROP, TMU, SP, ...
It is good to see you back, but you do not have to go into: "I do not understand place."
Because I am not always in mood to explain things I am sure people around should understand. And I am damn sure you would have no problem to extrapolate and understand all those things you did "not" understand while you made quoted post.

Yeah but 'per transistor investment' doesn't concern us that much, all we care about is good performance at a good price like the 480 and somewhat 1060 offer us.
I understand that it helps AMD maintain a bigger profit margin but it's really not that relevant for us consumers. AMD will prevail regardless if they offer us superior hardware.
And this time I think the 480 has the upper hand on the 1060, it really sounds like the last generation once again. Nvidia seems to not care that much about the mainstream for some reason. I could even start ranting about the conspiracy that Nvidia is leaving AMD a portion of the market on purpose.

Your post was not exactly clear in many regards. People here should understand your posts, yes, but sometimes they're really not that well worded. That's why I jumped on your ass, it sounded like complete lack of knowledge. Now that you justify it, it makes sense.

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