AMD's Radeon RX480 GPU is VR ready for just $199

4.5

For its upcoming Polaris GPUs, AMD doesn't just want to entice hardcore gamers. Instead, it's aiming to bring virtual reality-capable PCs to just about everyone with its new Radeon RX480 video card, which will retail for a mere $199. The RX480 is capable of more than five teraflops of computing power, whereas NVIDIA's new GTX 1070 packs in over six teraflops for $380, and the high-end GTX 1080 sports around nine teraflops for $600. On paper alone, AMD's new card is an astounding value -- and one that NVIDIA can't yet counter without lowering prices.

The RX480 is based on AMD's new Polaris architecture, and it'll be available in 4GB and 8GB memory configurations. It will support AMD's Freesync technology to smooth out frame rates, as well as HDR gaming with DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 support.

Really, though, the key selling point of the RX480 is its price. Currently, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift require video cards costing around $300 at the minimum. By delivering a $199 card that's VR capable, AMD has dramatically lowered the cost of entry to VR for consumers. It's also a smart strategy for AMD, since NVIDIA has sewn up the high-end and mid-range market with the GTX 1080 and 1070.

Posted: Jun 01, 2016 5:21 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/31/amds-radeon-rx480-gpu-is-vr-ready-for-just-199/

Comments

SpirePosted: Tue. Jun 28, 2016

This seems like a pretty reasonable deal. If I was into PC gaming I would purchase this for myself.

QTPosted: Thu. Jun 16, 2016

this is okay.. I guess not too interested in this kind of stuff..

piPosted: Tue. Jun 14, 2016

Whenever the custom 1070s and 1080s come out, as well as custom Polaris GPUs, with some real-world beachmarks, I'll make a decision on a new GPU.

21Posted: Wed. Jun 08, 2016

gtapro151 wonder what they have in terms of power to take out the 1080 and 1080 ti. I wanna go amd for a change but idk.

Rx 480 is a GTX 1060(Ti) competitor. If you want GTX 1080 or even GTX 1080Ti(assuming they release a 1080Ti) level performance, you're looking at an Rx 490(x), or maybe even 2nd gen Fury card.

Potion They'll probably unveil the RX 490 soon

Not quite sure about that. Rx 490 may be Vega, and not Polaris 10, but AMD's lineup this time round is more confusing than ever IMO, just need to wait and see. I'm almost certain they'll be getting 480x, and then lower end cards out before their higher end stuff though.

Toxicator Thats £130. Well im not getting nvidia gpu then.

No, it isn't. $199 may equal £130, but that's not how pricing will work. It'll be closer to £150 for the Rx 480, maybe even more. Still should be a ridiculously well priced card, but we won't know until we see some actual benchmarks and pricing from AIB partners.

Eternity Yea, this is great and all. But until we see some real-world performance in many titles, I am still set on a custom 1080. Other sites have pointed out that the 480 is positioned right between the Titan X and 1070.

I will agree, the price is a very compelling point. If I buy two of them, I am above the performance of a single 1080. This card is a very, very good choice for the mid-range market. But again, without rigorous testing results we have seen with the 1080 and 1070, I don't really have a reason to consider at this point, especially because I don't want to stick around at 1080p.

Spot on. All we've seen so far is some slides from AMD, obviously they'll hype their own hardware up. No one should be making any decisions until they see benchmarks, including thermals etc.

The 480 definitely isn't positioned between a Titan X and GTX 1070 though, no chance. The RX 480 wasn't made to compete with the 1070, it was meant to take the lower end part of the market. The RX 480 is IMO, going to be about 390(x) performance, maybe slightly better for $199. The GTX 1070, however, out-performs the Titan X. GTX 1080>GTX 1070>GTX 980TI>Titan X>R9 Fury X>R9 Nano>R9 Fury>390x>390. I imagine the 480 could slot in anywhere between the 390 and maybe the R9 Fury, or R9 Nano. The GTX 1070 will still be a considerable performance increase over an Rx 480 though.

The pricing of the 480 is absolutely ridiculous and if it does offer better than 390x performance for $199, it might not make sense to buy any high end card until big Pascal and Vega release. Also, 480 won't be a 1080p card, 1440p for sure. GTX 1070 smashes 1440p, Rx 480 should be a good 1440p card, but maybe not max 1440p.

iCampPosted: Wed. Jun 08, 2016

I've been planning on either buying a new pc or building one from scratch - definitely will want this!

322Posted: Tue. Jun 07, 2016

Eternity Yea, this is great and all. But until we see some real-world performance in many titles, I am still set on a custom 1080. Other sites have pointed out that the 480 is positioned right between the Titan X and 1070.

I will agree, the price is a very compelling point. If I buy two of them, I am above the performance of a single 1080. This card is a very, very good choice for the mid-range market. But again, without rigorous testing results we have seen with the 1080 and 1070, I don't really have a reason to consider at this point, especially because I don't want to stick around at 1080p.

yea it is a good card for the price. Thought the only problem with running two is that you are using two. A lot of games don't like crossfire/sli and it can cause troubles. Another issue is that 2 gpu's which added up to the same power as a single one is that is just isn't as better as the single.

bsmPosted: Mon. Jun 06, 2016

Might be time to get rid of my 280X.. Been needing an upgrade

RareparrotPosted: Sun. Jun 05, 2016

idk about this sounds fair for the price but idk how to work these things

XboxPosted: Sat. Jun 04, 2016

I might have to pick this up.