Graphics, graphics, graphics! If it wasn't for the humble graphics card and the pursuit of improved gaming visuals, we probably would be playing board games. Instead, since the concept and initial applications of a graphical interface and "moving pictures" in electronic games began, the consumers demanded more, and in general the engineers in the respective hardware and software companies have tried to deliver. Fast forward to 2019 and finally in consumer game titles and graphics hardware, here is a mainstream attempt at Ray Tracing, a long standing visual effects promise that's just about to come true.
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It's the end of an era..... or is it? Well, yes it is, the dawn of the new Nvidia RTX GPU bringing ray tracing to the masses, it has to be seen as a milestone in the computing and GPU world. Just like the features we take for granted, such as transform and light technology, the RTX technology signifies the start of a new generation of features and we should be excited.
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Cast your mind back to the last couple of major AMD GPU releases, the Fiji range, and branded as the Fury range. Other than the interesting cooling setups and the fantastic glimpse into the future with HBM memory, the range had a couple of downfalls. For us, the lack of HDMI 2.0 forcing non DisplayPort users to 30Hz at UHD resolutions was a big issue. Also, other launch issues such as the failing cooler pump on the Fury X, which affected us as well, and a lock down on the reference boards with AMD basically manufacturing all the boards for the brand partners, at least for the Nano and Fury X. All of these just seemed to take the edge off the Fiji range.
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With all the fanfare around the AMD Radeon RX 480 release and the driver and power issues, we have put our review on the back burner in anticipation of the new drivers which resolve these issues. They have arrived so we’ll get that posted as soon as possible, but in the meantime we have something a little different, the Sapphire ITX Compact Radeon R9 380 graphics card.
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We are not sure the dust has settled around the latest Nvidia Pascal GPU architecture launch, not even the AMD's new R9 480 graphics card has managed to steal the stage entirely. We remember the original GeForce 256 which replaced the Riva TNT2 and basically started the graphics world you know today. It introduced phrases such as transform and lighting to gaming and advertisements. We loved the Riva TNT2 and Riva 128, Matrox, S3, the Voodoo 3DFX range, Rendition and giving Nvidia a run for its money over the past 17 years, ATI.
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This will probably be our last GTX 980 Ti review before the next generation of cards from Nvidia are released. The speculation is they will be named the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 continuing the product naming convention Nvidia have been using for quite a while now. If you forget the GTX Titan cards, out of the budget of most the natural flagship card is the Ti, at least judging by the GTX 980 Ti range and its performance. The production run has now been stopped, and less than a year after it started.
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Hardwareslave, like most of the older websites started out of the desire to make amazing rigs, better than anyone else, with the best components in chassis that looked amazing. Of course we are also pro gamers and will dominate everyone with our gaming rigs and our superior skills (cough cough). Ok, we can be owned online like the best of them, but we are part of that very same community that’s now a global empire, but some things never change, like why we do this in the first place and that’s components like a graphics card.
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We have the third flagship class graphics card up for review today, and if you have had your head in the sand for about two months, this one is a little different. Previously we tested the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X, the Fury and now the Nano. We didn't really like the Fury X, though we did have a fault with it, and it has been replaced, we will follow the review up with a second part. We then reviewed the Fury, and we liked it, it seemed a lot more focused and graphics card like. Now we have the Nano, and it is nothing like it!
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AMD tried something daring with the Fury X, HBM, heavily compacted PCB design and an AIO cooler. The card is pretty cutting edge and the first of a new generation of designs and technologies centered on shaking off old news such as GDDR5. The launch of the Radeon Fury X caused a lot of stir across the internet, not only because of AMDs balls to push innovation, but because the cards are also in short supply, with some review samples, including our own, having some issues.
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If you watched the AMD R9 300 Series release broadcast, you may have picked up a certain amount of enthusiasm from the AMD presenters. Yeah you could say it was all an act, presentations always are, right? This was a little different, they genuinely seemed excited about what they are dong with their GPU range, and it rubbed off. AMD are trying something different with the Fury X and the internet is a storm of interest about it just now. We have a lot of graphics cards in the office just now, but we have put them aside for the XFX Radeon R9 Fury X, we need to see this for ourselves.
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With the PC graphics world in a fizz about the new AMD Radeon Fury X and our sample being lost in the world shortage, we have turned our attention to one of its main rivals, the Nvidia GTX 980 Ti. Nvidia are not sin free when it comes to shortages at launch, we wrote on our old site of the global shortage on the launch of the GTX 680, and wondered why you would launch something that is not going to be available?
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We recently reviewed the Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X Tri-X in preparation for the AMD Radeon R9 300 Series release and to be honest, we were a little underwhelmed by the card. Still a strong contender in the high end graphics market but in the shadow of the GTX970 from Nvidia, not to mention the GTX980 or GTX980 Ti. So a couple of days ago we tuned into the live broadcast and we got a sense of excitement from the event, it seems like AMD are really proud of the R9 300 Series release and the supporting product ranges they launched on that day.
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On the eve, quite literally, of the AMD Radeon 300 Series release, we are looking at the card it is going to replace. However, the internet is full of speculation that this re-branded GPU will not be a significant enough release to justify a new generation of cards, we take a look at the R9 290X in the context of the new generation launch or whether with the pending price drops, the R9 290X is the card to get.
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For many years now NVidia graphics releases have been the source of much anticipation and controversy with most of us expecting to recapture the massive FPS boosts and feature rich graphics performance we see on occasion. The environment for high powered and 'glow in the dark' heat properties of some releases are probably a thing of the past or at least most manufacturers are feeling the environmentally friendly elephant in the room.
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NVidia’s 700 series is almost on its way out with the imminent release of the 800 series next month but there are some strong and inexpensive cards out there still worth a look. If like us you have a few Mini ITX rigs kicking about, heat and space are going to be on your mind when thinking of an upgrade to your graphics power house.
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