Items tagged with graphics cards
If you are on the fence about pouncing on a graphics card upgrade, you may want to go ahead pull the trigger. For one, the GPU is the most important component when it comes to playing games, and trying to get by with an old and outdated card can mean having to constantly fiddle with in-game settings. However, there potentially is a more pressing reason to upgrade—higher prices on the horizon. We are not sounding the alarm by any means. However, market research firm TrendForce, a division of DRAMeXchange, is expecting a "sharp upturn" in graphics DRAM prices in the first quarter of 2020 (unlike PC DRAM). Analysts say server DRAM prices will lead the upwards trend in pricing due to supply...
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Even with all of the leaks and rumors, there is quite a bit of intrigue surrounding Navi, the next-generation GPU architecture that AMD is planning to launch later this year. We have heard it could be a mid-range solution, and there are rumblings that it will compete at the high-end of spectrum. Which is correct? Perhaps both, according to the latest chatter. Paul CrimsonRayne from RedGamingTech posted an interesting video on YouTube in which he outlines the scuttlebutt surrounding Navi. More than just loose gossip, though, Paul claims to have come across information about Navi from a source who has "proven to be extremely reliable in the past." According to what the source told Paul, AMD will...
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At CES MSI announced a bundle of new PCs and tech components targeted at gamers. Among these new products are two desktop PCs, a case, a mechanical keyboard, and a graphics card. "MSI is devoted to gaming and our lineup reaffirms our position as an industry leader endorsed by gamers and eSports teams worldwide," said Charles Chiang, MSI's new global CEO. "We are honored to be recognized by the CES awards panel and will continue to push boundaries to achieve extreme performance, superior design, and maximum reliability." Both of the new gaming desktops announced by MSI are described as using a compact form factor, though it's unclear if these will be micro-ATX or mini-ITX systems. One of the cases...
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Make no mistake folks, Intel is serious about competing in the discrete graphics space starting in 2020, which is when the company anticipates launching its first discrete GPU solution. Whether Intel kicks things off with a professional graphics card or a consumer oriented one remains to be seen. Either way, Intel wants to get this right, and it's been actively engaging with the online community to make sure it's headed in the direction users want it to go. More than a marketing stunt, Intel was seen taking the feedback it solicited from a recent AYA (Ask YOU Anything) session on Reddit and sharing it with the company's GPU engineers. These are exciting times we live in. If you've been out of...
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A new book titled "The Legacy of 3dfx" sheds some incite on 3dfx's experimental Rampage graphics card that never saw a public release. A few pictures released early from the book reveal the results of a few benchmark tests that show how pre-production models of the Rampage GPU performed. 3dfx Interactive closed it's doors eighteen years ago, but the company is still far from forgotten. For those of you that don't know, 3dfx was once the leading developer of graphics accelerators. The company was ultimately forced to close its doors due to a couple of bad business decisions and tough competition against ATI and NVIDIA, which was then just a fledgling company in the graphics card world that would...
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AMD announced that it will bundle a handful of games with select GPUs purchased between November 15 and February 9, 2019. This announcement comes immediately after the launch of the company's new Radeon RX 590, which succeeded the Radeon RX 580 as AMD's Polaris-based flagship GPU. The games being offered in the bundle are Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5, and Tom Clancy's: The Division 2. All of these games are scheduled to launch early in 2019, so you may be waiting a bit before you can play, but at least all of the games are new, AAA titles. If you purchase an AMD Radeon RX 590 or an AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics card, you will receive all three of these games for free. If you purchase an AMD...
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AMD seems to be focusing on squeezing as much out of its Polaris architecture as possible while we wait for Navi to arrive. There have already been several generations of Polaris parts, including the Radeon RX 400 series, Radeon RX 500 series, and a refreshed release of the latter. Now there is chatter of a Radeon RX 590 model being around the bend. A Radeon RX 590 would be an interesting wrinkle to the Polaris lineup, given that it's recently been rumored AMD would launch 12nm Polaris 30 GPUs. As the rumor goes, Polaris 30 would be used in upcoming Radeon RX 680 and Radeon RX 670 models. None of this has been announced, of course, but we can certainly envision AMD stretching out its Polaris...
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Strap on your life preservers, folks, here comes the wet and wild liquid cooled variants of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and GeForce RTX 2080 graphics cards. MSI has taken the plunge with four new models, two of which are designed for straight liquid cooling setups, and two others that are hybrid all-in-one solutions. Starting with the latter, MSI's new Sea Hawk X models combine a traditional blower-style air cooler with an AIO liquid cooler that is already attached to the graphics card. All users have to do is install the card as they normally would, and mount then mount the 120mm radiator with fan attached to the rear or top of their case. The GeForce RTX 2080 Sea Hawk X comes factory overclocked...
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It's been a tough year for gamers who needed to upgrade their GPU, but were stopped dead in their tracks by inflated price tags and a general shortage on most mid-range and high-end graphics cards. Thankfully, that is mostly in the rear view mirror. One of the reasons why is because Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have become less profitable to mine, and subsequently plummeted in value. Consider that Bitcoin was trading for nearly $10,000 in parts of April and May. Before that, it had approached $20,000 and had investors talking about an eventual $50,000 or even $100,000 value on the horizon. Instead, it came crashing down and is fast approaching a less-than-$5000 trading price (it's currently...
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The million dollar question on every gamer's mind is when the heck will NVIDIA finally launch its next-generation GPU, presumably called Turing. There have been plenty of rumors and speculation, most of which point to this summer. However, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang may have thrown cold water on the chatter when he said at Computex that the next generation of GeForce will not arrive for a long while. If you listen closely, you can hear the collective groan of gamers who are anxious to see NVIDIA finally put its Pascal architecture in the rear view mirror as it hits the ground running with a new architecture. The good news in that regard is that Jensen's answer is not exactly clear, and could mean...
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Following the recent launch of AMD's second generation Ryzen processor family, the company is gathering up its first generation chips and packaging them into 'Combat Crates', which are like PC starter kits for enthusiasts. There will be at least two different versions, each one containing a first generation Ryzen processor bundled with a Radeon RX 500 series graphics card and a motherboard. What has been seen so far seems to suggest a partnership with MSI, at least for the first couple of Combat Crates. The folks at Videocardz posted a pair of press renders, one of which outlines the contents of that particular bundle—an AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor, MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor 8GB OC graphics...
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We have been hearing rumors of ASUS introducing an AREZ sub-brand for its graphics cards, and specifically for its AMD Radeon Series, and sure enough a visit to the company's website reveals that AREZ is real. While there are no cards listed under the new sub-brand at the moment, it seems pretty clear that ASUS will relegate its AMD cards to AREZ so that it can align is Republic of Gamers with NVIDIA's GeForce Partner Program (GPP). In case you have not been following that whole situation, there is a bit of controversy surrounding GPP, which provides additional marketing and sales support to vendors who choose to join. As for consumers, NVIDIA last month explained that it designed GPP "to ensure...
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For the most part, graphics card pricing has been out of whack for the past several months, due to both a memory chip shortage and a boom in cryptocurrency mining. It's been depressing for gamers, but the good news is there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. While graphics cards are still selling for above MSRP, prices are trending downward, and in some cases are significantly lower than just a few months ago. This is true of both AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards. Mid-range and high-end options from both sides are cheaper now than they have been, and hopefully the trend continues towards normalization in the marketplace. That will depend in part on supplies continuing to...
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Well, it's official folks—ASRock, the former ASUS subsidiary that grew to become a veritable rival in the motherboard market, has expanded its reach into the graphics card sector as previously teased with the launch of its Phantom Gaming series. At least initially, ASRock's focus is on "a strong line of AMD Radeon RX 500 series cards," among them the Phantom Gaming X Radeon RX 580 8G and Radeon RX 570 8G, and Phantom Gaming Radeon RX 560 4G/2G and Radeon RX 550 4G/2G. ASRock's entry comes at a time when there is controversy over NVIDIA's GeForce Partner Program, which provides additional marketing support and other perks in exchange for companies aligning their gaming brands exclusively...
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ASRock, the former spin-off of ASUS, is best known for its extensive line of motherboards, many of which come crammed with a boatload of features at attractive price points. The company also dabbles in a few other products categories, such as networking and mini PCs. Rumor has it that ASRock will add graphics cards to its products arsenal next month, with a focus mainly on AMD-based products. This is not a foregone conclusion by any means. The rumor originates at Digitimes, which itself is citing unnamed "market watchers," whatever that means. However, it does not take a giant leap of the imagination to envision ASRock getting into the graphics card game. Many companies that compete in the motherboard...
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Sapphire is one of AMD's premier hardware partners, so it makes sense that one of the first photo shoots of a Radeon RX Vega graphics card by a third-party belongs to the company. And unlike most pre-release photos, these are not blurry snapshots that look like they were taken with a Fisher Price camera in the middle of an earthquake—they're crisp, clear, and show the card from multiple angles. The photos were taken by a member of the Chinese-language Chiphell forum. We do not typically dwell on packaging, though one thing that is immediately interesting to note is that the retail box simply states "Radeon RX Vega," as opposed to distinguishing the Radeon RX Vega 64 from the Radeon RX Vega 56....
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In just a little over a week from now, AMD's Radeon RX Vega lineup for consumers will be launch to retail. Sometime after, ASUS will bring to market custom cooled solutions under its Republic of Gamers (ROG) branding. However, the most interesting card that might come from ASUS is a dual-GPU variant of the Radeon RX Vega 64.The ASUS Ares II was a dual HD 7970 graphics card and a powerhouse for its timeUnlike the other cards that ASUS announced last week, the dual-GPU Vega model has not been officially tipped. That said, rumor has it the card is already in development and will hit store shelves sometime before the end of the year. If true, it will be interesting to see what the power requirements...
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At long last, AMD over the weekend finally unveiled its Vega graphics card lineup for consumers, announcing both air cooled and liquid cooled variants. With the official announcement out of the way, AMD's hardware partners are now free to unveil their own custom designs, and ASUS did not waste any time doing so. ASUS has four Vega cards on tap through its Republic of Gamers (ROG) division. All four are the faster Radeon RX Vega 64 variety, as opposed to the slower (and lower cost) Radeon RX Vega 56 that AMD also announced at SIGGRAPH on Sunday. They include air cooled and water cooled SKUs, along with a couple of "Gaming" models with overclocked specs. There are actually five cards in all, if...
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Like winter in Game of Thrones, Vega is coming. It is already here for professionals, but on the consumer side, AMD is planning to unveil its Vega lineup for gamers at SIGGRAPH Capsaicin on July 30, which is just over two weeks from now. AMD has done a pretty good job in keeping mum about its gaming lineup leading up to the unveil. If you are curious, however, the latest leak suggests that AMD will launch Vega to gamers with three different SKUs. At the top of the stack is the Radeon RX Vega XTX. This one will feature 64 shader clusters (4,096 stream processors), 8GB of second generation high bandwidth memory (HBM2), and a power draw of 300W for the GPU (375W of board power). The Radeon RX Vega...
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AMD has been hyping its Vega graphics architecture for a long time. It is fair to say that many enthusiasts are frothing at the mouth in anticipation of what Vega might bring to the table, and that anticipation grows higher each time AMD provides more information about its next-generation graphics cards, as was the case at Computex earlier this week. The wait is nearly (finally) over, unless you're holding out for a mid-range card based on Vega. Vega is already official with AMD having announced the Radeon RX Vega Frontier Edition for developers. That card is decked out with 64 next-gen compute units, 4,096 stream processors, and 16GB of high-bandwidth cache. According to AMD, it is capable of...
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Just as Ryzen made AMD competitive in the high-end processor market for the first time in about a decade, there is an expectation that the company's forthcoming Vega launch will do the same in the GPU arena. Of course, right now there are more questions than answers. Some of those are starting to be answered, as least speculatively, as leaks become bigger and more frequent leading up to Vega's release. The most recent leak gives us a supposed glimpse of of Vega's specifications. A member of reddit extracted some interesting details from a Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) update for Linux that was submitted by AMD. According to what is contained in the driver package, AMD's Radeon RX Vega will feature...
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The future of high-end graphics cards might still belong to high bandwidth memory (HBM) technologies such as HBM2 and HBM3, but do not count out good old fashioned graphics double data rate (GDDR) DRAM. SK Hynix has not—the memory chip maker today announced what it claims is the world's fastest 20-nanometer class 8-gigabit (Gb) GDDR6 DRAM for upcoming high-performance graphics cards. GDDR6 is a next-generation graphics memory solution that Hynix expects to quickly supplant both GDDR5 and GDDR5X, at least among faster graphics card solutions. The 8Gb part announced today operates with an I/O data rate of 16 gigabits per second (Gbps) per pin, which is a DRAM industry record. According to Hynix,...
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