Is it time to buy that new GPU?
How much added performance does an RX 580 offer on a new game like Prey?
Testing commissioned by AMD. This means that AMD paid us for our time, but had no say in the results or presentation of them.
Earlier this week Bethesda and Arkane Studios released Prey, a first-person shooter that is a re-imaging of the 2006 game of the same name. Fans of System Shock will find a lot to love about this new title and I have found myself enamored with the game…in the name of science of course.
While doing my due diligence and performing some preliminary testing to see if we would utilize Prey for graphics testing going forward, AMD approached me to discuss this exact title. With the release of the Radeon RX 580 in April, one of the key storylines is that the card offers a reasonably priced upgrade path for users of 2+ year old hardware. With that upgrade you should see some substantial performance improvements and as I will show you here, the new Prey is a perfect example of that.
Targeting the Radeon R9 380, a graphics card that was originally released back in May of 2015, the RX 580 offers substantially better performance at a very similar launch price. The same is true for the GeForce GTX 960: launched in January of 2015, it is slightly longer in the tooth. AMD’s data shows that 80% of the users on Steam are running on R9 380X or slower graphics cards and that only 10% of them upgraded in 2016. Considering the great GPUs that were available then (including the RX 480 and the GTX 10-series), it seems more and more likely that we going to hit an upgrade inflection point in the market.
A simple experiment was setup: does the new Radeon RX 580 offer a worthwhile upgrade path for those many users of R9 380 or GTX 960 classifications of graphics cards (or older)?
Radeon RX 580 | Radeon R9 380 | GeForce GTX 960 | |
---|---|---|---|
GPU | Polaris 20 | Tonga Pro | GM206 |
GPU Cores | 2304 | 1792 | 1024 |
Rated Clock | 1340 MHz | 918 MHz | 1127 MHz |
Memory | 4GB 8GB |
4GB | 2GB 4GB |
Memory Interface | 256-bit | 256-bit | 128-bit |
TDP | 185 watts | 190 watts | 120 watts |
MSRP (at launch) | $199 (4GB) $239 (8GB) |
$219 | $199 |
For my testing I am using our Frame Rating capture-based performance method to see how much performance improvement we see in Prey. The target this time was to see if users going for this upgrade could reliably run at 2560×1440 resolution at the Very High quality preset.
Here are the results.
Clearly the new Radeon RX 580 8GB graphics card produces a better overall gaming experience in Prey than the R9 380 and the GTX 960. The difference between being able to run this new PC title at 60+ FPS at 2560×1440 or NOT, with high image quality settings enabled, is a mid-range graphics card upgrade.
Radeon RX 580 8GB, Average FPS Comparisons, Prey | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Radeon R9 380 4GB | GeForce GTX 960 2GB | ||||
2560×1440 | +74% | +60% |
The new Radeon RX 580 is 74% faster than the R9 380 and 60% faster than the GTX 960 in Prey, at Very High image quality settings at 2560×1440. That is not an insignificant delta!!
Prey is just one game, but this trend is something that AMD has been promoting since before the RX 500-series hit the street. Older GPUs and graphics cards based on them continue to fall behind in terms of both performance and power efficiency. If you are planning to run at resolutions higher than 1080p, or even if you want to run at higher refresh rates than 60 Hz at 1080p, then it may be time to start looking for that replacement hardware.
For the vast majority of consumers that purchase hardware in the $250 and below range, AMD’s new Radeon RX 580 family is a great choice.
Why was this not tested
Why was this not tested against a Nvidia video card of a similar price to the 580 as a comparison? Or was that part of the arrangement with AMD?
I wonder as well why a gtx960
I wonder as well why a gtx960 was used since that card is what 2 years old? Had a look a newegg just now and gtx1060’s start at 180$ so that would be better pick to compare with.
I figured the 960 as it might
I figured the 960 as it might be considered a counterpart to the old AMD card that was tested.
Still odd without a gtx1060
Still odd without a gtx1060 since that is same price point, $160(3gb) and 220$(6gb) starting on newegg.
Other thing is why 1440p? Most market for these cards is 1080p.
edit: as I look back at some gtx1060 reviews that show results of a gtx960, i can see why it wasn’t included.
Yeah, an 8gb card (as tested)
Yeah, an 8gb card (as tested) is overkill for 1080p. Presumably, the driving force behind a desire to upgrade for a lot of users IS moving up from 1080p to 1440p displays. Honestly, if you’re sticking with running 1080p there probably isn’t much point in upgrading from a 390/960 level card. Doubly so for people running a 60 fps capped monitor, which is still the majority of 1080p gamers. Buying a new card to get theoretical frame rates way higher than your old monitor can display is obviously silly, so not surprised they did not test that usage case.
Most modern cards are able to
Most modern cards are able to keep 60fps at 1920×1080 if you’re willing to mess around with the detail settings, but when you bring desired quality into the equation (which is a completely subjective thing) that goes out the window. I’m running a 390 at 1920×1080 and 70hz and many of the games I play, at the detail settings I wish to play them, can’t keep a minimum of 70fps or higher, and several of them are a lot lower. In my opinion even a 1080ti isn’t overkill for 1920×1080 gaming. But it all depends on what you play and how you play.
Guys, I love you but the
Guys, I love you but the point of the article is there several times:
"does the new Radeon RX 580 offer a worthwhile upgrade path for those many users of R9 380 or GTX 960 classifications of graphics cards (or older)?"
Without comparison to other
Without comparison to other cards though it boils down to, are cards of the same tier now better than cards of 2 years ago? It just seems like a pointless premise.
Maybe it makes some sense
Maybe it makes some sense based on AMD’s history of re-branding the same cards through three successive generations. They might need to convince people there IS actually some difference between their current stuff and what they were selling years ago.
I agree with this comment.
I agree with this comment. Re-branding just waters down the product and causes confusion in the hierarchy. Additional it holds very little value to the brand itself to release cards with little performance difference. Also I’d mention that there is nothing wrong with training a product name beyond 1 year as cards have a multi year life cycle anyways.
If AMD took 2 or 3 years to release a wicked card, then I’d be far happier then being spammed year after year of rebrands
Yes because you have to
Yes because you have to create alternate reality scenarios where you competitor’s current products don’t exist when the 1060 is faster in Prey. I’m an AMD fan and I’m still kind of disappointed you let AMD use you like this. Is this that big a revelation that current generation GPU’s on a smaller process node are faster than previous generation GPU’s on a 5 year old process node?
Agree with everything you
Agree with everything you said. I can’t believe this just happened to one of most reliable sources of tech news right now.
The point is to see if your
The point is to see if your old ass graphics card needs to be replaced… not unlike if you still drive a Ford Tempo.
because AMD s trying to grab
because AMD s trying to grab the TAM of old GPUs, and move them to a more DX12 compatible cards.
Look, I know you are paid.
Look, I know you are paid. But this comparison makes no f**** sense lmao.
Well when you look back at
Well when you look back at AMD released slides you will see the trend of their comparison’s like this.
@arbiter, This video
@arbiter, This video sponsored by AMD. I hope this answered your question. ;p
Yea i know ryan said AMD
Yea i know ryan said AMD didn’t have a say in results but seems like they had a say in the hardware used which is very unfortunate.
Hence, why it was CLEARLY
Hence, why it was CLEARLY labeled at the very top of the article that it is AMD sponsored.
Take a few extra moments to reread the article. I think Ryan did his best to dance around the topic of “no 1060 results included”, knowing full well that people like you are going to come out slinging conspiracy theories.
Want an example? the last sentence is a very good one:
“For the vast majority of consumers that purchase hardware in the $250 and below range, AMD’s new Radeon RX 580 family is a great choice.”
By saying this, he has alluded to the idea that there are other video cards out there that are great too.
I think you and the others are actually have your panties in a bunch for the wrong reasons. If you want to be upset, then be upset that PCPer agreed to do sponsored content in the first place. Sponsored content is always going to be skewed one way or another because the company paying for the content has a vested interest to have the content look a certain way. Again, Ryan did a great job alluding to the idea that other sub $250 cards exist without specifically mentioning the gtx 1060.
Also consider, PCPer needs to get paid. Take a look around the comment section these days, the anon posts/ bot posts are gone and that actually helped drive return traffic(although I have no idea how much $ it made, but still)
Anyway, Ryan I think you did a good job, keep up the good work!
As already mentioned, the
As already mentioned, the hardware used in this article is indicative of the title of the article.
the purpose being to prove that the 580 is a valid upgrade path for those running older video cards.
If the whole point of the
If the whole point of the article is meant to show why you should upgrade, however it does not show what you should upgrade to when you have a much better option for running this game on a slightly cheaper pricepoint – 1060. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d84gqMzPs2U
AMD sponsored review, I
AMD sponsored review, I looked at some history and if you looked you can see why gtx1060 wasn’t included. Just by me saying that you can take a wild guess.
As an owner of an HD7950
As an owner of an HD7950 running 25×14 resolution, I found this article very informative. I would be gaining double the frame rate of my existing GPU.
With VEGA to drop around the corner, it’s difficult to justify the upgrade to the RX580 now. However, this may change once the pricing model for the VEGA is released.
Thanks for providing the RX580 for consideration.
Ryan I don’t pretend to know
Ryan I don’t pretend to know the vision or business model of the site but with this arrangement you have effectively become a 3rd party marketing agency for AMD. I know the site evolved from an AMD fan site and I am personally ok with it going in that direction but if not this has probably damaged your credibility as neutral independent source of product reviews.
agreed
agreed
I don’t agree. The results
I don’t agree. The results are factual and what’s wrong with saying that the 580 is valid upgrade path from older GPUs?
here steam videocard
here steam videocard survey
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/videocard/
i don’t see r9 380x most people use GTX970…
just to spoil AMD VEGA is slower than GTX 1080 TI even in 4K sniper elite 4 DX12 by 10%
spoil what? you mean spoil
spoil what? you mean spoil rumors with even more rumors? GTFO here!
well not rumors it base on
well not rumors it base on amd demo yesterday you can see the result for yourself…
btw funandjam i well GTFO here! to stop by your MOM 🙂
can you include the 290/390
can you include the 290/390 and the x variants
Why don’t you compare them
Why don’t you compare them yourself?
Rational person sees –
Rational person sees – “Testing commissioned by AMD. This means that AMD paid us for our time, but had no say in the results or presentation of them.” – and then reads article in that context.
Irrational delicate snowflake sees article showing AMD in positive light and jumps straight to comments accusing author/website of being shills.
Some people’s kids. Yeah, I know this is nothing new but that doesn’t mean it’s still not obnoxious and annoying.
Ryan (and crew), thanks for writing stuff on this website that I am currently viewing for completely free.
There is nothing unethical
There is nothing unethical about what they are doing but they are essentially doing paid contract marketing for AMD now. AMD paid them to basically do a contrived review/product demo. I have no problem with this if PCPER is basically going down the path of becoming an AMD fansite but let’s call it what it is a paid product showcase masquerading as a review. If this is the kind of thing that they need to do to keep PCPER financially viable I can live with it but you can’t expect people to not say ‘bias’ every time they do an Nvidia review now given they are taking money from AMD to promote their products.
Wait, so not long ago they
Wait, so not long ago they were accused of being paid by Intel to give Zen unfairly negative reviews. So which is it, are they working for or against AMD?
And what do you mean ‘now’? They’re already accused of being biased pretty much anytime they do a Intel/AMD/Nvidia review.
I think it’s pretty cool how they are apparently taking bribes from all these companies at the same time to trash them all at the same time. It’s such a perfect scheme it might actually work.
Indeed just a few weeks ago
Indeed just a few weeks ago dang near every comment was about how we are NVIDIA shills :-(. I've come to terms with the fact that we will never win and that's okay. Being acused of being biased for/against every side might just mean we are doing something right after all ;-). It is clearly marked as sponsored content and people can repeat the tests themselves if they want to verify them.
I have been here 6+ years now and not once have I been told to write something a certain way to make something look good or bad when it isn't. If I had I would not still be here.
Look, if Ryan didnt take the sponsored content (which is going to help keep the site and its indepemdent content running) some other site would have and they might not have been as forthcoming that it was sponsored content. At the end of the day you can choose to trust PCPer or not, that is for you to decide. All I can offer is that we will continue to do our best to earn and retain the trust of our readers without whom we wouldn't be here!
Like the late great poet
Like the late great poet George Washington famously said, ‘haters gon hate’.
Dammit Tim, don’t mention
Dammit Tim, don't mention NVIDIA or Matrox will cut us off!
Did you even read the first
Did you even read the first sentence of the article, where they (to their credit) disclosed AMD paid them to write this article? This is not some tin hat conspiracy…
All they did was a review on
All they did was a review on the upgrade path from an old card to a 580.
There is no biases involved as only two conclusions could be derived from the review:
1) yes it’s a good upgrade bath
2) no it’s bad upgrade path.
Great article.
I am currently
Great article.
I am currently considering upgrading from a 280x so this was right on point. I am also looking to get a new monitor.
I am considering both the 580 and 1060, but am waiting for info on Vega.
I am leaning 580 over 1060 because of FreeSync. The cards are comparable price and performance wise, but G Sync monitors are often $150+ more than an equivalent FreeSync. I may end up being able to get the cheaper Vega and a FreeSync monitor for what it would cost to get a 1060 and a G Sync monitor.
great card and great
great card and great value
thanks for the article
I can’t believe some of the
I can’t believe some of the complaints! Of course they’re going to posit RX 580 in the best light possible. It’s a sponsored post and they clearly said so. They need to pay bills somehow in order to bring us all the other exciting content we love. Would you refuse to eat meals prepared by your mother just because she paid for groceries by dancing at a strip club?
I actually lol’d at this 🙂
I actually lol’d at this 🙂
“Such BIOS, much wow.”
“Such BIOS, much wow.” Personally, clearly marked sponsored content doesn’t bother me.
The article was interesting for me at least. I have a R9 280, bought in ’14 as part of my summer build, so seeing where the 380 (close to 280) compares to the 580 is certainly interesting. A decent upgrade, but I think I’d rather wait to see what a 680 or 780 will look like and/or if we will see any x90 variant cards.
I believe only the topic (key
I believe only the topic (key story line) was sponsored. The content was not, as the article explains.
So many comment for a
So many comment for a sponsored article that only matter to people that own a GTX 960 or R9 380 and where also thinking of being a Rx 580, only to play Prey…. and playing only at 1440p
Do ANYONE actually fall into that category ?
Also, this leave question like… the 580,on paper, not tested, uses 65w more then the GTX 960 ? So do you also need to upgrade your PSU to go RX 580 ?
Also what CPU was used ? could it be possible that the GTX 960 owner have i5-2500k, and moving to a RX 580 . they are actually CPU limited at 1080p ?
etc…
Look, this is really simple –
Look, this is really simple – it wasn’t meant to be a fair fight, but that’s okay.
All Ryan did, at the request (and payment) of AMD, is compare their current top card to cards from 2 years ago that cost the same amount. All that is meant to show is that we aren’t talking about a few FPS difference, rather an upgrade would net the user over 50% more frames.
There’s no point in comparing the RX 580 to the GTX 970 in this scenario since a person who owned a 970 2 years ago likely spent over $350 on that card so the comparison isn’t right. This was about comparing todays $250 card to the $250 cards from 2 years ago.
Why did AMD approach PCPer for this? Because PCPer is an *independent* and *trustworthy* source for information like this. They wanted the results to be legit, so they came here. That’s all there is to it.
Seriously, I doubt I’ve changed anyone’s mind, but everyone who is going crazy over this, just chill out. This is a small, independent site, so they need to raise money to keep things going. This is one way. Want to keep them from ever having to do this again? Toss em a few dollars through Patreon. Otherwise, criticize the content without throwing around unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.