The brand new line of AMD GPUs are upon us, with the release of AMD RX Vega along with a new AMDGPU-PRO Driver.
To enable Vega to play nicely on Linux, you either need the PRO driver with it's limited distribution support, or a custom kernel with the AMD DC patches, which Vega requires. I really don't think that's a good state, since Mesa is generally better supported than the PRO driver now and getting a custom Kernel isn't exactly user friendly. Hopefully it won't be too long before the patches AMD needs get accepted, so we don't have to mess around with any of that nonsense.
Vega currently comes in three flavours:
I should note, that only Vega 64 is available to buy now as the Radeon RX Vega 56 doesn't launch until August 28th, but the embargo has lifted on all of it today.
We don't have any benchmarks, since we have no AMD contacts. However, Phoronix has a few since AMD sent him hardware. Seems like they perform pretty well in most cases, but their Vulkan performance was a little underwhelming.
Will you be getting one? I'm still totally unsure who I will be going with next, but the performance does seem enticing. Luckily my 980ti will likely last until the generation after this. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
To enable Vega to play nicely on Linux, you either need the PRO driver with it's limited distribution support, or a custom kernel with the AMD DC patches, which Vega requires. I really don't think that's a good state, since Mesa is generally better supported than the PRO driver now and getting a custom Kernel isn't exactly user friendly. Hopefully it won't be too long before the patches AMD needs get accepted, so we don't have to mess around with any of that nonsense.
Vega currently comes in three flavours:
- Radeon RX Vega 64 (liquid cooled): 8GB HBM2 VRAM, clock speed of 1406MHz (boost 1677Mhz) TDP 345 watts
- Radeon RX Vega 64 (air cooled): 8GB HBM2 VRAM, clock speed of 1247MHz (boost 1546MHz), TDP 295 watts
- Radeon RX Vega 56: 8GB HBM2 VRAM, clock speed of 1156MHz (boost 1471MHz), TDP 210 watts
I should note, that only Vega 64 is available to buy now as the Radeon RX Vega 56 doesn't launch until August 28th, but the embargo has lifted on all of it today.
We don't have any benchmarks, since we have no AMD contacts. However, Phoronix has a few since AMD sent him hardware. Seems like they perform pretty well in most cases, but their Vulkan performance was a little underwhelming.
Will you be getting one? I'm still totally unsure who I will be going with next, but the performance does seem enticing. Luckily my 980ti will likely last until the generation after this. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
*Scratch that, they've finally started appearing. Just not coming up on google shopping the last time I checked.* I'm thinking of picking up the 56 with a custom cooler if it isn't ridiculously overpriced. I think there is quite a bit more to come with optimisations and features to be enabled.
Last edited by lejimster on 14 August 2017 at 4:31 pm UTC
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I intended to buy an RX 580, but they are completely sold out, or sold at prices not much lower than Vega. So I will get Vega instead. But I think I will wait for 56, because 64 seems overpowered for what I need.
Available in Denmark for about €540, which is quite reasonable. https://www.komplett.dk/kampagne/41019/amd-vega
Available in Denmark for about €540, which is quite reasonable. https://www.komplett.dk/kampagne/41019/amd-vega
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Plintslîcho Aug 14, 2017
Should I move close to a power plant with a direct connection I might consider getting one of those new AMD GPUs. But for the time being I'm fine with my nVidia GTX 970.
Seriously, there aren't enough games that I play that would justify getting such a powerful (and power guzzling) graphics card. Besides, I just build myself a new computer around a Ryzen CPU and that was quite a rough ride. I definitely have had enough of trying something "new" and AMD for now.
Last edited by Plintslîcho on 14 August 2017 at 6:51 pm UTC
Seriously, there aren't enough games that I play that would justify getting such a powerful (and power guzzling) graphics card. Besides, I just build myself a new computer around a Ryzen CPU and that was quite a rough ride. I definitely have had enough of trying something "new" and AMD for now.
Last edited by Plintslîcho on 14 August 2017 at 6:51 pm UTC
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slaapliedje Aug 14, 2017
Quoting: operaTDP of 345 Watts is just insane.
Good god, isn't the idea of new tech to take less power, but be more powerful?
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Luke_Nukem Aug 14, 2017
Quoting: operaTDP of 345 Watts is just insane.
That's more than my house water pump uses. That's more than *all* the LED lights in my house. That's more than my TV and PS4 combined. That's more than 3x the usage of my current PC. That's almost as much as our house uses at night with gf watching TV and me coding.
That's a fucking insane amount of power to be drawing! I sure as shit won't be getting one.
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natewardawg Aug 14, 2017
I might get one in a few months if I have the cash to spare. Sounds exciting! :)
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TheRiddick Aug 14, 2017
In all they perform at 1070 levels, neglecting bioshock inf which has special sauce optimizations which 99.99% of other games don't get. VEGA certainly doesn't impress me because I'm a 4k gamer, but those at 1080p and 1440p should be happy with them, BIG cards however, needs a BIG PSU!
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I was going to enjoy my new RX580 that arrived today and watch with anticipation if/when Vega matured for Linux use, perhaps even hope for it to become a viable upgrade... but the RX580 was frikkin DEAD on arrival.
Like mentioned above, they are stupid hard to get a hold of.
So my day was good... ish... /cry :(
Maybe a Vega then, if prices aren't stupid and you can actually get one. :S:
Like mentioned above, they are stupid hard to get a hold of.
So my day was good... ish... /cry :(
Maybe a Vega then, if prices aren't stupid and you can actually get one. :S:
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TheRiddick Aug 14, 2017
IMO Vega is a love letter to coin miners. Gamers should look elsewhere. Seriously their 4k results for Vega are vomit inducing! (even on windows)
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Quoting: operaTDP of 345 Watts is just insane.
Yeah, that's why I'll probably get Vega 56. I don't need some crazy resolutions so far.
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ElectricPrism Aug 15, 2017
If I didn't have other expenditures I would gladly make the jump from RX 480 to VEGA, AMD has been a great ride this last year.
I think these cards could get good juice and at the right price I'd be down.
Then the other direction pulls me to look for the smallest, coolest card available for Mini ITX builds like the RX 470 Mini.
Pretty hard pick IMO. Nvidia is out of the question with their closed drivers.
I think these cards could get good juice and at the right price I'd be down.
Then the other direction pulls me to look for the smallest, coolest card available for Mini ITX builds like the RX 470 Mini.
Pretty hard pick IMO. Nvidia is out of the question with their closed drivers.
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The results in Phoronix are totally encouraging on the Linux side. Vega performance compared to Nvidia is better than on Windows. I'm probably getting one Vega 56 in a couple of months, once the third party coolers are available. It will be THE card to get considering price, power consumption and performance on Linux.
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Quoting: M@GOidThe results in Phoronix are totally encouraging on the Linux side. Vega performance compared to Nvidia is better than on Windows. I'm probably getting one Vega 56 in a couple of months, once the third party coolers are available. It will be THE card to get considering price, power consumption and performance on Linux.
I'll be waiting for Sapphire Nitro version.
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Jewgeni Filippowitsch Iwanowski Aug 15, 2017
Quoting: Luke_NukemAlright, you're running your gaming rig 24/7. You have your reasons, of course. Nevertheless...Quoting: operaTDP of 345 Watts is just insane.
That's more than my house water pump uses. That's more than *all* the LED lights in my house. That's more than my TV and PS4 combined. That's more than 3x the usage of my current PC. That's almost as much as our house uses at night with gf watching TV and me coding.
- Vega 56: 210 W
- Vega 64: 295 W
- Vega 64 LC: 345 W
And all these cards have the option to switch between silent and performance mode.
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Well a GTX 1070 is over $400 NZ (about $284 US) cheaper here at the moment, so I won't be getting a Vega 64 any time soon. It gulps considerably more power too and consequently runs hotter. I look forward to the day when AMD can compete with NVIDIA on these fronts so I get kick NVIDIA to the curb.
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I'll be sticking with my GTX 970 and i7 4790K until one of them dies but it's great to see AMD putting up some competition. This was actually my first Intel CPU, I've always used AMD in the past for value for money reasons and if they continue on this trend my next CPU will be AMD again.
My next GPU however remains to be seen. I've always used Nvidia on Linux (since 2006) but I will use what's best for me (I don't understand fanboyism of any kind). And btw, I'm very happy with the closed source driver, that's not an issue - at the moment anyway.
My next GPU however remains to be seen. I've always used Nvidia on Linux (since 2006) but I will use what's best for me (I don't understand fanboyism of any kind). And btw, I'm very happy with the closed source driver, that's not an issue - at the moment anyway.
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According to phoronix the preliminary opensource drivers work better than the closed source drivers.
Next to that: in some benchmarks it outperforms the price equivalent nvidia cards.
As such I am pretty inclined to get one, as nvidia has been anti-development by locking in game developers with stuff that only works correctly on nvidia as nvidia neglects opengl conformance in a way that forces you to buy an nvidia as other drivers do conform to opengl and just throw errors.
"It cannot be my engine as it works perfectly on nvidia".
And let's not talk about patent abuse.
So yeah, these cards and the phoronix tests are bringing tears to my eyes...
It's like voodoo3, but just let's hope ati/amd will make it.
Next to that: in some benchmarks it outperforms the price equivalent nvidia cards.
As such I am pretty inclined to get one, as nvidia has been anti-development by locking in game developers with stuff that only works correctly on nvidia as nvidia neglects opengl conformance in a way that forces you to buy an nvidia as other drivers do conform to opengl and just throw errors.
"It cannot be my engine as it works perfectly on nvidia".
And let's not talk about patent abuse.
So yeah, these cards and the phoronix tests are bringing tears to my eyes...
It's like voodoo3, but just let's hope ati/amd will make it.
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Luke_Nukem Aug 15, 2017
Quoting: GuestQuoting: Luke_NukemQuoting: operaTDP of 345 Watts is just insane.
That's more than my house water pump uses. That's more than *all* the LED lights in my house. That's more than my TV and PS4 combined. That's more than 3x the usage of my current PC. That's almost as much as our house uses at night with gf watching TV and me coding.
That's a fucking insane amount of power to be drawing! I sure as shit won't be getting one.
You do understand that that's the max power draw, and it's not drawing that much power in most scenarios, right? All high-end graphics cards have high max wattages. Why do you think they make 1200W power supplies? It's for when you're using 4 of these things in SLI/Crossfire.
Did you hear that? It was my point flying over your head. Yes, I know this. I was pointing out that it is just a bit high and drawing comparisons to illustrate this.
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