Strange RX 480 Benchmarks Leaked, Here's How It Compares With A GTX 970

The first official gaming performance results of AMD’s Radeon RX 480 graphics card were leaked by Videocardz. The performance results were originally posted by A Polish magazine by the name of CD-Action but have since been removed due to it violating their Non Disclosure Agreement with AMD. But we caught it for you.

[Software_Lover]

So, will the 970 drop in price? It almost has to, but doesn't at the same time.

[Eonjay]

It probably depends on the cost of manufacturing it. There could be a case where it is actually more expensive to make than the new higher performing cards.

[dirkdady]

Doubt it will go down much for the 970 to Match the 480 as the main reason for its $200 price is due to its 14mn FinFET GPU

[UltimateMaster]

With AMD, you get great performance for the price ever since they launched direct x12.
It didn't affect positively NVIDIA cards tough, even loosing some power due to the inclusion of V-sync, not a lot but it is noticeable.
NVIDIA on the other hand grants you some superior graphics that they locked on their cards.
Let's face it. Microsoft helped AMD a lot with direct x12. Probably to get better pricing on their console?
It just bad for NVIDIA that tries hard to sell their cards when Microsoft's API gives great advantage of one company over another. It's not what I would call a fair competition.

[Death]

@UM,

Isn't the API used the choice of both NVidia and AMD? It would only be unfair if there was an exclusive agreement between AMD and Microsoft, but there isn't. Nvidia simply chooses to focus much more on a different standard.

[dcbronco]

Ultimate you're not remembering things correctly. It was AMD that guided DX12 and Vulkan to asynchronous compute with Mantle. What AMD did was a very intelligent move to push the industry forward and to their way of thinking at the same time. If NVIDIA eventually comes up short, and I believe they will, it is their fault for being less innovative. This is the history of business once again repeating itself. A seeming underdog innovates and changes the the industry works. It is the natural order of things.

[rigo8582]

For brand new probably not but GTX 970 are going for around $200 on ebay.

[Kleptic]

Dcbronco: exactly

API's rule the PC industry; it is EXACTLY how Nvidia and AMD/ati remained to begin with...both were getting slaughtered by 3DFX and voodoo cards in the late 90's, but some shifts in API acceptance had both eat up a huge part of what 3dfx controlled with the glide api, and Nvidia literally bought them a year later...

technically, vulkan is mantle 2.0 more or less...but DX12 was also heavily influenced by it, and MS partnered with AMD to develop it.

As far as the gpu makers; the 'api used' is not so much chosen by the gpu manufacturers, but more like they bet on which api will be the most widely used by developers...it gets messier when they meddle with the publisher for 'optimized' claims...but overall Nvidia has very strongly bet on hardware setups that brute force the more traditional DX11.x type api's...and has very much struggled to get a lot of footing the newer 'console like' api options for PC...

and that makes sense...AMD sells both gpu's and cpu's...in the cpu side of things, they are drastically outpaced by Intel and locked out by instruction standards that aren't going anywhere....but these new api's, more than anything, significantly reduce cpu overhead (that is what most people seem to miss, vulkan and DX12 are better for cpu's, not gpu's)...AMD very much should be pushing that tech, as it makes their own cpu's, which are far more affordable, have way higher value for gaming...and also helps their apu front (as they also have relatively weak cpu's compared to what intel offers for 3x the price)...

anyway, the 480 is state of the art from a manufacturing standpoint, and that is a huge reason for its cost...the 970 isn't, its a powerful gpu built on older die-sizes...but those lines don't drop in per unit costs the same way. The 1100 series of Nvidia will be when Nvidia really shows what direction they're going...the 1000 series are crazy powerful, but also not overly focused on newer api's or low cost manufacturing in the same style as AMD.

[nveenio]

I've purchased one AMD card in my life, and I don't think I ever will again. I don't care how cheap they are. I use their CPUs, though.

[AndrewLB]

Some of you guys have some pretty outlandish ideas about DX12 API and where it came from...

http://support.amd.com/en-u...

"What is the relationship between Mantle and DirectX® 12?

​There is no direct relationship, but we support and celebrate a direction for game
development that is aligned with AMD’s vision of lower-level, "closer to the metal" graphics APIs for PC gaming. While industry experts expect this to take some time, developers can immediately leverage efficient API design using Mantle.​"

http://support.amd.com/en-u...

"What are the similarities between Mantle and DirectX® 12?

​DirectX®12 is Microsoft’s own creation, though its development has been steered by
input from many different technology partners including AMD."

And no, Huddy's claim is not undisputed. Microsoft has said plenty of times they had been working on it for over 4 years and so has Nvidia, Intel and Qualcomm. Microsoft also very directly said that there WOULD be another DX, right after Taylor said it wouldn't.

There's also the fact that Mantle itself is based on console APIs, that is, based on Xbox One API mostly (which is why Mantle is Windows only), in which DX12 is also based on, more than likely.

There's a reason that AMD's own FAQ does not repeat the lies said by Huddy et al in unnofficial statements and/or interviews or blogs. There's no legal implications on the latter (which they make sure to make clear in such statements btw), and no direct link to AMD.

EDIT: And of course further evidence is the fact that DX12 was shown a mere 3 mosnths after Mantle was released and both Nvidia and Intel had drivers. Not to mention Nvidia's Fermi and Kepler already supporting its low level features and maxwell being full compliant. If you pretend to know anything about tech, you should know that drivers are not made in 3 months, not to mention hardware, that takes 4-5 years from inception to actual products

[RegorL]

@UltimateMaster DX12 was first shown on Nvidia Titan running Forza
http://wccftech.com/forza-5...

[Erik7357]

"RX 480 running at 1266MHz was slightly slower than an overclocked GTX 970, but it does beat the reference model."

The game settings also were NOT detailed for the games tested also so don't take this test so seriously yet

And the gtx970 does better in other games, 10 fps in two of them and one exact same fps but thats not good when its a 100 dollars more.

They will probably do a 50 dollar price cut in 3-4 months, I would pick the gtx970 after that because of better support with drivers and sponsorships with other games and getting features that run well on nvidia cards and not amd.

[FlameBaitGod]

We still don't have official benchmarks relax and we are going to see benchmarks with stock coolers(that GTX970 is overclocked + cost $330 and the AMD isn't + cost $200). When other companies release their own cards they will run better plus we need to know on what drivers these cards where running on. I can tell your an Nvidia fanboy but its ok.

[ShadowKnight]

@Fries agreed

[Nathan_Hale53]

Better support with drivers? Nvidia loves to give less support to older cards.

[Dragonking007]

It already dropped price last i checked went from 300 something to 270? Forgot precise price but i dont recall seeing it that cheap.

[Lon3wolf]

It did drop about a week ago.

[MK24ever]

I think none of these benchmarks are using the latest drivers for it, so yeah... let's wait and see..

[Omnislashver36]

I'll likely just wait on the r490, I want a card with GDDR5X or HBM on it.

[thekhurg]

Just can't leave nvidia in my experience they've always supplied better drivers.

[Software_Lover]

I keep hearing that but I have not had any issues with either of them. Maybe because I just don't pay attention to the details and I don't benchmark my rig.

I went from 9800gx2, to gtx 460, to hd 6950, to hd 7950, to gtx titan black. I should have never sold my titan black rig :( I haven't had any know issues that I can think of. I want the new 1080 but I'm really interested in what these new AMD cards can do for the price.

[Fishy Fingers]

It's not so much that AMD drivers cause issues. Rather Nvidia just manage to squeeze more out of the hardware then AMD through theirs. The days of 'broken' AMD drivers are behind us, but Nvidia still do it better. Either way, both are offering great performance for price these days.

[Kleptic]

It's funny to me mostly because my very first discrete 3d card was an Nvidia Riva 128 in 1997, back when everything was 3dfx or gtfo...and it's driver support was abysmal...Had to wait almost a year before OpenGL support arrived to work properly with Quake 2 and QGL. I was nvidia only all the way up to Vista, and driver support then is not exactly something i'd call...stable...either.

My 280x is the very first AMD/ATI product I ever owned...bought it summer of 2013...and have yet to have a single driver related problem with it (other than a conflict with win 10 still trying to force download amd drivers at random times, but I at least stopped it from installing them)...that includes mantle on BF4, all the 'bad' ogl support for Rage and Wolf: NO and OB as well as Doom...it has performed perfectly on everything i've thrown at it, especially considering it's architecture from 2011...

Just depends on experience I guess...I gave up on PC last gen; Vista was a joke and both consoles walked all over anything PC related for over half of it...that has changed significantly over the past couple of years, but I don't have any modern experience with nvidia to know how much 'better' it is...but, I wouldn't hold them up on the pedestal that many seem to, that's for sure...

[xGrunty]

For me it's never been an issue of driver support on one over the other, but customer support from different brands. EVGA has an AMAZING SUPPORT TEAM, and ever since I just have chosen to stick by them. I'll pay the price for better support with my parts, that's for sure. :) I do think this generation of cards is very intriguing on how closely they are performing though.

[Nathan_Hale53]

AMD is on their level if not a notch behind, I am leaving once the AIB's come out. I haven't had issue's with the AMD PC's I have built.

[Dragonking007]

I expect that to be around 350 to 400 dollars but still, itl be hefty beast.

[DEAD-DEVIL-DISCO]

Saving to get my first gaming pc. Im very ignorant to tech. Life long hardcore console gamer. How often does the average gamer replace cards? Is it around a 4 year cycle depending on software? Thnx if anyone answers

[UltraNova]

Dead devil,

There's no clear cut answer. It depends on a lot of factors, mainly motherboard choice that will affect future upgradeability, so in essence it boils down to picking up a good future proof moth/rd and a decent relativly high end GPU that will last you until you cant run new games at your prefered settings.

Say you want 60+fps on all games @1440p and all settings at high or ultra then you will have to get a 980ti or Fury x and above. Keep in mind that each year you will have to drop settings to keep the affortmentined performance so it depends on your personal preferences.

My advice to you would be; mid- high level performance for the next 3-4 years? Get a 980ti or fury x. High to ultra level? Wait for the 1080ti and AMD Vega GPUs.

Forget sli or crosf, too unstable.

[Nathan_Hale53]

@Devil

Whenever you feel it needs to be replaced. RX 480 is a good place to start.

[Gaming4Life1981]

Me too ill wait on the 490 as i already have the r9 390 but the performance of the 480 for 200 bucks is great imo. The gtx 970 is 280 which is a great deal.

[ShadowKnight]

970 is still a beast lol. I think the 1060 is rumor to drop in August

[FlameBaitGod]

That GTX 970 is an OC version vs a stock RX 480 + the GTX 970 has had a lot more time for driver improvements.

[FlameBaitGod]

Ah love the disagrees when you actually post facts :D, so many sad people in this world ^_^

[Th3o]

Disagrees are definitely not warranted, but a lot of cards are released with drivers tested for currently released games and previous released games.

Drivers do tend to improve performance over time, but lately it depends on how the developer choose to optimise their games. Drivers can only do so much.

I will say this, from my experience with ATI, they tend to drop the ball a bit with drivers which is sad because when they had their XT line (9700, 9800 etc) They were absolutely some of the best drivers ever...so pre-AMD.

Now it's really hit or miss. I remember buying 5870 and my friend bought the 480 GTX, both cards were on par. 1 year later the 480 GTX was nearly doubling my frame rate because there was just the lack of support.

Either way, this card absolutely amazing if you can get 780 ti/970 performance out of it. CrossX will cost u only 400$ and u can compete with the 1080!!!

[ninsigma]

Loved my 970s. Flipping great cards! I think 480 will outperform the 970 I'm official benchmarks though. Really interested how the 1060 will do and how it will be priced/perform in comparison to the 480.

Also, did you get your 1080 yet??

[ShadowKnight]

No not yet. I gave customer service a called last week and they said it should be out for shipping by this week.

[ninsigma]

Nice. I decided it was taking too long lol
Cancelled mine and picked up a 960 to play some older games and some less intensive ones. I'll get the Ti instead.

[ShadowKnight]

Awesome! When is the Ti version coming out? How much do you think it will be?

[Th3o]

Ti is most likely set for a Autumn Release, around Nov.

[ninsigma]

Hoping for the end of the year or early next year. I've got a good few games to get through that the 960 will have no problem handling until then so I'm not in that much of a rush. All the new games will be down in price by the time I get around to them too :D

[Bobafret]

I have been waiting on a price drop to buy a second Gigibyte mini GTX970, hopefully this helps.

[Lon3wolf]

Very strange, I would definitely wait for more reviews etc.

[Nitromonteiro]

For people who think there will be a price drop in the 970, there most probably wont be until the 1060 releases. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[Mega_Volnutt]

What's the minimum CPU to run this GPU OK??

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Intel 486

[PixelOmen]

I'd imagine a quad core I5 would do the trick, but you might get away with something a little slower if you had to.

[Mega_Volnutt]

I hate Quad Core CPU's because it multi threads :(.

[Nathan_Hale53]

@Mega_Volnutt

What does that even mean? Quad core or more is the only way to go nowadays. I prefer a 860k over a dual core Pentium of the same price in most situations.

[OoglyBoogly]

I don't know if I believe these honestly. Everything we've seen up to this point shows the 480 being a decent amount faster than this. I highly doubt AMD's latest $200 GPU gets bested by a slightly overclocked 970. That wouldn't make any sense.

[kevnb]

thats a great value, im an nvidia fan but I think its very important that amd keeps them honest.

[starchild]

Yeah, competition is very important.

[Lynx0207]

Yes, it is very important. Unfortunately it appears AMD made poor GPU again. It is like 3 year old GTX.
@Nathan_Hale53 Yeah, sure. "It competes with their 980." No even 970.

[Nathan_Hale53]

It is a mid range GPU, not a $700 1080. It competes with their 2 year old 980, except has modern features too it.

[SonyWarrior]

its funny AMD and there brand new gpu that they are pushing hard can only be compaired to a 3 year old intel gpu. thats funny to me. AMD is like special ed students while Intel are the AP

[cd1]

Eh? Intel GTX970? Wasn't the chip fabricated by TSMC? Unless your talking about something else in the article that i missed.

[SonyWarrior]

apparently you are to stupid to know intel is the main company nividia is under them. specifically nividia is the graphics processing unit department of intel

[conanlifts]

@sonywarrior. You should probably not call someone stupid, especially when you are so wrong. Nvidia is a completely seperate company and not owned in any way by Intel. They had a licensing deal that is about to expire, but thats about it.

[AndrewLB]

@Sonywarrior

Please do not remove your helmet until the bus has arrived at school. lol.

Intel and nVidia are completely separate companies.

[Cweed]

Nvidia is a completely seperate company from Intel. What are you talking about? Use google to your advantage before being a dick to people for no reason.

[cd1]

Intel own Nvidia? That's probably one of those little secrets you should keep to yourself...

[kevinsheeks]

Lmao I'm not even a tech person and knew this tidbit lmao oh god and he tried to be rude about it lol

[ElementX]

Never buy AMD! They just didn't have the technology. It's a poor man's manufacturer

[superterabyte]

"They just didn't have the technology" spoken like an electrical engineer /s
Edit
Also the fact that you've made this statement using the past tense suggests that they do in fact have the "technology" now, whatever that is meant to mean.

[ElementX]

Sorry typing on my phone. I have avoided AMD since the mid 90s when I bought a $600 processor in high school and it didn't work. Luckily I got refunded, I purchased from a pc expo thing. Anyway, none of my friends at the time praised ADM and since then I have avoided them. You still hear about driver errors and lower performance compared to Intel and NVidia. Ok they may not be the poor man's choice but I wouldn't buy them.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

"I have avoided AMD since the mid 90s..."

Alright, well you should just stop talking. 1 poor experience like 20 years ago doesn't make AMD bad.

edit* It's been that way for a while. Intel is considered high end while AMD is low end. This however doesn't mean AMD makes bad products which is what you're saying. AMD is a really good option when on a budget.

[ElementX]

NVidia has the GPU market for performance and lately price. The 970 was priced lower than expected and the AMD offerings don't really stack up.
http://www.forbes.com/sites...

Intel has always outperformed on the CPU front even with fewer cores
http://www.techradar.com/us...

I may not buy amd but i still read comparisons

*NVidia, not Intel in first sentence. I rearranged my post but forgot to change that

[addictgamer]

These benchmarks don't bode well for the 480... AMD claimed two 480s would be about the same as a single 1080 but a single 1080 is twice the performance of a 980ti. Two 970s in sli are about the same as a single 980ti so based on these benchmarks two 480s in crossfire would be a bit less than a single 980ti.

[WheatBread]

I don't want it now.

[m2stech]

Not a fair comparison, it should be benchmarked against gtx 960 and 1060 though both nvidia and amd overhyped a bit when showing performances of new cards.

[Lynx0207]

Is it very serious if they broke NDA?

[Kabaneri]

Only if AMD thinks its bad enough to pursue legal action.

[Lynx0207]

NWM "strange benchmarks", there is normal one: youtube.com/watch?v=5CJBaZ9V2E o . Even 970 is better ;/

[FlyingFoxy]

This card doesn't seem all that great, even if it's a tad better than 970 that card has been out for a while now.. saying that it may end up being a good lower-midrange budget card. But i might be a bit biased here because i still have a pre-oced 980Ti.

Not that I'm a Nvidia fan, I go with whichever card gives best performance for the cash without being stupidly expensive.

[mochachino]

While I have full faith that the 480 will beat the 970, the 970 used in that test is actually a pretty low OC for a 970. They overclock like beasts very easily - just using Afterburner which is an idiot proof way to OC.

[ARESWARLORD]

Great card for the money

[susanto1228]

Man 970 that was like eons ago...move on