AMD Vega Frontier Edition Unboxed and Benchmark

The typical engine clock is 1382, the peak clock is 1600. As for the IPC difference, it could be from a number of different things. Early drivers probably the largest, but AMD made a significant number of changes with the underlining design of Vega, parts of them could impact performance negatively. Tile Rasterization for example is a big one - Ryan Smith/David Kanter talked about how Nvidia would have had to overcome some serious problems getting it implemented correctly - mostly because no PC games were designed for it. Tom Peterson said that it actually hurts performance in some titles, they dynamically enable/disable it depending on the application. AMD could be having problems overcoming those issues.

Mixed Math Ops is another one. I don't know much about the hardware implementation, but there is a reason why Nvidia chose to only use the FP16v2 cores on the GP100 and not the GP102/104. I'm going to assume it's either die space/power - but it's possible that they just perform worse in gaming workloads. Vega uses a similar implementation with it's mixed math - so it's definitely possible these cores just have a lower IPC per clock. Like with the HBM, I don't know if AMD has the money to start doing split designs like Nvidia does for different markets.

But then there are a bunch of other changes that should improve performance and create a more balanced architecture and cancel some of those negatives (if they exist) out.

Either way I'm like 90% positive that drivers are the biggest factor here. I'd wait for RX Vega before concluding anything on the hardware.

 

Over-saturating available bandwidth can act as a ceiling, in which clocking GPU core alone higher does not produce expected performance gains.

1080Ti is +42% compared to 980Ti
Vega FE is -% compared to Fury X

That's more important than 1080Ti~Vega FE. Just throwing it out there...

 

Yes. That is what I am waiting for RX Vega to make any judgement currently because it seems so out of place.

Also what I read that one of the guys whom tested FE changing between pro and the game mode did nothing to game performance at least.

 

You are correct RX VEGA will be the gaming variant and VEGA frontier edition is suppose to be in competition with quadro cards. It is really annoying to see people comparing this to 1080/1080ti when this card isn't meant for gaming at all. It is like the Titan XP sure it can game but it is suppose to be used for machine learning and why would you buy it for gaming when the 1080 ti is usually within 1-2 fps and at half the price.

 

Not really wrong. It's AMD marketing being derp. Also not against Quadros that would be upcoming WX9100. This is a weird card for a weird place and that is machine learning which they absolutely did not even bench it.

 

WHo told you Titan XP is the machine learning card. It's a GeForce family product, aka Gaming product. Comes with gaming drivers.

But here is another card that is NOT meant for gaming.
But this time it's a true pro workstation card, not some prosumer mishmash with no app certifications or ECC.

Spoiler

In the end it doesn't matter what AMD/NV say. Arent we free to use the hw how ever we choose?

 

That's because the driver for deep learning is not ready.

 

Radeon "Pro" Software is'nt Gaming Software, Vega Frontier is'nt gamer card

Vega Frontier is´nt a Gaming card, Radeon Pro Software is´nt Crimson

 

Awesome to release a card for deep learning without a driver eh?

 

The 1060 is not cheaper. Not even close. Any price increase if the RX 4xx is the resale due to mining. MSRP is the 480 is 30% lower than the lowly 3GB 1060. Go up to the 6GB 1060 and it's 48% more $$. Pretty sure the 1060 isn't 48% faster.... Do you think it is?

Then try to combat fringe framerate with an Adaptive Sync monitor.... Guess which company charges a hefty royalty for that which is passed on to us? Give you a hint, it's not AMD.

 

Indeed they can. Otherwise, why would AMD/nVidia bother to release them every month?

 

im so confused why so many are moaning about a card for business i never new so many on here used them tbh

 

Where are these percents coming from? My friend got a 6GB 1060 for $245... Are you taking the highest ever priced 1060 and comparing to the lowest ever priced 480? That's not a fair comparison. Try taking 2 of same aib cards and compare prices. For instance an MSI or Gigabyte card of the same series (gaming x, g1 gaming, etc.). That is a fair comparison and you will not see anywhere close to the percents you listed.

 

That is what people with an ax to grind do. The best way to compare is usually take say a 480/580 MSI gaming and compare it to a 1060 MSI gaming. However comparing now is fruitless as the prices are sky high due to mining.

 

Shows the launch msrp

And just as you say, the AIB boards are much more expensive from both sides.

 

It doesn't have ECC memory, how are you going to put the Vega FE into most HPC applications? Not to mention it isn't certified for any applications:

 

WTF? I'm taking it from Newegg prices as of TODAY. Or is Newegg not reputable any more?

 

What are you babbling about? My card in my gaming rig is an MSI 1070. The only one with an axe to grind is fanboys like you.

 

Have you been under a rock or are you daft? Not a single 480/580 is avalible to purchase on Newegg as of right now and the 1060's are way above MSRP due to mining.

BTW it feels so nice to be called a fanboy by a low post count new user enjoy your stay here.

 

This shows $239 vs $249... that's really far from 48%. So... math?