Assemble that Passes # 271
AMD is finally back to challenge NVIDIA in the high-end with performance that in the games selected for the presentation see the new Radeon RX 6000, all equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 memory and capable of up to 4K at 120Hz via HDMI 2.1, surpassing the three NVIDIA counterparts. In some titles the latter maintain a margin of superiority, but the tests shown reveal a possible advantage of the Radeon RDNA 2 in terms of bare and raw rendering. And it's an important milestone as it confirms AMD's promise not to get serious just in processors, after a couple of generations in which the company has been content to do battle in the mid-range, excluding the rare Radeon VII. Of course, it is in the so-called gaming segment that the biggest numbers move, but it is the higher one that forms the image of a product.
It is no coincidence that NVIDIA has suffered a few blows to the image with the high-end RTX 2000, decidedly expensive but initially unable to manage ray tracing, but saved with a series of refreshes and with DLSS 2.0. The latter has in fact proved capable of finally compensating the weight on the hardware of the heavy lighting, at the same time pushing even an RTX 2060 towards 4K, at least with an optimized game like Death Stranding. And that's exactly why we're holding back enthusiasm, also taking into account the growing support for NVIDIA technology.
In the case of AMD cards, the evolution of FidelityFX technologies promises to further improve the high-quality upscaling margin, using techniques such as Contrast Adaptive Sharpening and Denoiser as in the past, but given what was achieved with the first cards Navi however, we expect significantly lower results than DLSS 2.0, capable of quadrupling the resolution of an image with little or no loss of quality, at least on a 32-inch. However, it must be said that AMD has talked about the arrival of an upscaling managed by artificial intelligence and called Super Resolution. The problem is that there has been no discussion of dedicated hardware and the technology in question is destined to arrive in an uncertain future.
We can instead try ray tracing right away, official since well before the presentation and shown with a couple of games. However, there was no comparison of benchmarks with lighting based on active physics, which sparked discussions, GPU war and so on, since it seems that the new Radeons are inferior from this point to the new RTX. But we don't know how much. The technology is scalable and some benchmarks have outlined an RX 6800 10% lower than the 3070, both with ray tracing and the latter with DLSS active. But we know little about the test scenario. According to the synthetic benchmarks popped up on the net there could in fact be a 20% gap between the two series, probably important once DLSS is added to the equation, at least in non-optimized games.
But in optimized games, back to RX 6800 benchmark, the scenario may be different. On the other hand, AMD has worked on DXR with Microsoft who, now at the head of an army of developers, is committed to optimizing their titles for Xbox Series S and Series X, both with RDNA 2 GPUs, both with PC architecture and both equipped of ray tracing capability. From here we expect a strong optimization also in the Windows environment, which can bring great benefits as seen in the past, even if in this case the new generation technologies have nothing to do with the very high performance of the Radeons with Forza Horizon.
For now, however, we focus on the tangible merits of three cards which, as we have said, are all equipped with 16GB of memory and all go into boost above 2000MHz with a 30% increase in frequencies, at equal consumption compared to the previous series, with an increase of up to 54% in performance per Watt compared to the Navi series. Hence a peak of 2250MHz with the flagship card.
The least affordable would seem to be the Radeon RX 6800, at least in terms of price, which probably pays the same amount of memory as the higher models. It will in fact sell for $ 579 with an increase of $ 80 on the RTX 3070, presumably advantageous in those titles that enjoy or will enjoy the combination of DLSS and ray tracing. The Radeon RX 6800 XT will cost $ 649 and is therefore more interesting with a savings of $ 50 on the RTX 3080. However, it mounts GDDR6 memories, while the RTX 3080 mounts the fastest GDDR6X memories. The same as the RTX 3090 which, however, is at 1500 dollars against the 999 of the Radeon RX 6900 XT, cheaper than 500 euros despite being a real monster of brute power. But a comparison between the two is inevitably forced.
The RTX 3090 is not a gaming card. The 24GB of GDDR6X memory at 19.5 Gbps is also useful in the professional sphere, where many programs also take advantage of NVIDIA's proprietary CUDA cores and codecs. But this means that the 6900 XT could have a particular appeal precisely for those who are interested only in gaming and are faced with the possibility of saving $ 500 for a model with undoubtedly high brute power.
In addition, the new Radeons are offered regardless as very interesting options for those who aim exclusively at the maximum framerate and do not pay too much attention to accessory technologies. This, however, remembering that ray tracing is supported and while the promise of an upscaling based on artificial intelligence, even without dedicated hardware, is something not to be overlooked, as well as the novelties of the interface.
And it is here that we find the rumored Infinity Cache which increases the bandwidth by 2.16 times and is similar to that used by Ryzen 5000 CPUs. It thus allows CPU and GPU to communicate, making it possible for the first time to shared overclocking of the whole system, called Rage Mode, with just one click. A good paw from the smallest of the three competitors, even if we expect responses to the height from NVIDIA and also from Intel which as we know has already taken the field with the first Intel Xe GPUs and could follow a similar path, working at the same time on chip-based scalar systems with different CCXs, so you can use the same GPU for all models.
Budget configuration
The budget configuration is the one aimed at saving but it is not certain that there is no room for an upgrade where interesting prospects arise. The proposals in this range include solutions designed for low-profile games and 1080p-oriented builds.The Ryzen 3 3100 does not move from its place, guaranteeing excellent performance for a quad core that, especially pushed by some megahertz, it also gets along very well with gaming. We combine it, among other things, while saving money, with a B550 card that guarantees the possibility of using fourth generation PCIe SSDs and extends the potential longevity of the system. for weeks. While the prices of the RX 500 have soared, after a season in which AMD cards have stood out in terms of price / performance, the GeForce GTX 1650 super has dropped in price, with some models costing less than 160. euro.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR Ryzen 3-3100 3.6-3.9 GHz 95,00 € ASRock B550M-HDV MOTHERBOARD 85,00 € VIDEO CARD Palit GeForce GTX 1650 Super StormX 4GB 155 , 00 € RAM G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 3200MHz CL16 65,00 € POWER SUPPLY EVGA 450 BR 80+ Bronze 50,00 € HARD DISK Crucial P1 500 GB 65,00 € CASE Kolink Nimbus RGB Mid Tower 50,00 € TOTAL 565,00 €
Gaming Configuration
In the gaming segment there are usually those components that allow you to face the game on the PC without fear and to hold on for some time. The frame rate showdown is just around the corner but, with a good foundation, it's always possible to sell the old GPU before it devalues too much so you can buy a new one just in time to take on the next hardware smashing blockbuster.In the mid-range we return to alternate with the Core i5-10400F, a processor that we like a lot when we think about a configuration without overclocking. In fact, it clearly surpasses its direct predecessor in terms of raw power, thanks to Hyper-Threading, and guarantees more than good in-game performance.
Even in the mid-range, GPU side, it is not easy to move. For now we don't see new video cards destined for this segment, but we know they will arrive in the coming months, perhaps even before Christmas. This is why we do not recommend hasty purchases, unless you have essential needs, preferring an expensive 3070, provided you find it, to cards destined to lose value in a very short time. In the meantime, as a placeholder, we stay on the Radeon RX 5600 XT, great for those looking for high framerates in 1080p or 1440p for competitive or other titles where ray tracing, when implemented, is superfluous.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5 10400F 2.9-4.3GHz 160,00 € ASUS PRIME B460M-K MOTHERBOARD 95,00 € PowerColor Radeon ™ RX 5600 XT 6GB VIDEO CARD 290,00 € RAM Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB 3600MHz CL16 75, 00 € POWER SUPPLY FSP Hydro PRO 600W 80+ Bronze 85,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SATA III 70,00 € CASE Corsair R275 Airflow Mid Tower 80.00 € TOTAL 855.00 €
Extra Configuration
The pushed configuration makes sense only for those who aim for high resolutions, aware that luxury often doesn't go hand in hand with rationality. On the other hand, let's face it, who doesn't like having a nice engine under the hood even if you have to respect the speed limit?Waiting for the Ryzen 5000, this week we focus on the Core i9-10900K which, unless you look only at 4K, is undoubtedly one of the most suitable processors to get the most out of the new GPUs. Of course, it also requires a good heatsink, but on the other hand we are talking about a luxury configuration.
At the moment, waiting for the RX 6900 XT, the top of the consumer segment is occupied by the unobtainable GeForce RTX 3080 , a card that can easily measure itself with 4K and that thanks to DLSS 2.0 has proven to be able to push it up to over 100fps. In addition, in combination with a high-frequency processor, it is able to push different games up to over 300fps, offering the possibility of exploiting competitive monitors at very high refresh rates.
EXTRA Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i9-10900K 3.7-5.3GHz 565.00 € Noctua NH-D15 Chrome Black Heatsink 80.00 € ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G MOTHERBOARD 255.00 € NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition 8GB 720.00 € RAM G. Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 € 190.00 ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold € 150.00 HARD DISK Sabrent Rocket 1TB M.2 € 150.00 CASE Corsair Obsidian 500D Mid Tower € 165.00 TOTAL € 2275.00
