Question 2060S or 5700 XT?

[mwforrest7]

Hi all! I've been doing some research for a new gaming build that I plan to put together by mid November and the one component that has me conflicted at this point is the GPU. I've narrowed it down to the $400-ish dollar range which leaves me with two primary choices: 2060 SUPER or 5700 XT.

After reading about half a dozen reviews on either of these options I feel confident saying that the 5700 XT would be the better choice in terms of raw performance. However, I've heard an alarmingly large number of complaints from people in forums and product reviews having all sorts of troubles due to bad 5700 XT drivers. So I am not sure if I should play it safe with the 2060S or take a gamble on the 5700XT and hope that I don't have to deal with a bunch of issues. Can anyone here speak to the current situation with drivers? Which would you pick?

 

[ao_ika_red]

I believe we will have major annual Radeon driver update by the end of the year so hopefully it will be sorted out by then.

AMD promises New Radeon Software features this December - OC3D

AMD promises New Radeon Software features this December AMD’s Frank Azor has confirmed that new Radeon Software features will launch this December. This will add to Radeon’s already feature-rich software/driver suite, creating what could be a successor to Radeon Software Adrenalin.  Major...

www.overclock3d.net

 

[Kenmitch]

Have you chosen a monitor yet? If so does it support freesync, freesync 2, g-sync, g-sync compatible, adaptive sync? I'd lean towards the card that pairs up with the monitor as far as the sync option goes.

Are there specific driver issues that your concerned with? A lot of issues can be cured with a fresh OS install.

 

[guachi]

The biggest issues I've seen with AMD drivers is related to setting custom fan curves. As long as you don't change them a lot you'll likely be frustrated once. And even then, you can restart your computer and it should be fine. Buying one isn't a gamble and you won't have lots of issues.

Performance-wise, the 5700XT is faster for the same money. To me, that makes the choice obvious.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

In terms of raw performance, the 5700XT is definitely the way to go. I wouldn't worry too much about driver performance, the Navi arch is at the start of its life and AMD has demonstrated that its pretty good at getting things stable quickly over the last several years.

I've owned a lot of AMD/NV cards over the years and the only place I can really say AMD has really struggled against NV was in those edge case scenarios where NV can focus more money than AMD can for a very small but vocal subset of their users. Otherwise, everyone's drivers have problems and its usually on a more game by game basis.

Lastly, I actually really like AMD's actual driver package and frontend compared to NV's. When I went from my 7950 to my current 980Ti I was shocked at how antiquated NV'S control panel is (in terms of reporting features, OC tools, presentation and layout etc). Not that its a huge thing because you really only go in and set some stuff up once, but it was striking.

If you are planning to buy a monitor, both brands work with "Freesync" and both brands work with "G-sync Compatible" (basically NV's branding for adaptive sync). Only NV's cards will work with a G-sync only panel (NV's proprietary Adaptive Sync feature) although I personally wouldn't put money toward this solution at this point.

Good luck and enjoy your new rig!

 

[Guru]

Hi all! I've been doing some research for a new gaming build that I plan to put together by mid November and the one component that has me conflicted at this point is the GPU. I've narrowed it down to the $400-ish dollar range which leaves me with two primary choices: 2060 SUPER or 5700 XT.

After reading about half a dozen reviews on either of these options I feel confident saying that the 5700 XT would be the better choice in terms of raw performance. However, I've heard an alarmingly large number of complaints from people in forums and product reviews having all sorts of troubles due to bad 5700 XT drivers. So I am not sure if I should play it safe with the 2060S or take a gamble on the 5700XT and hope that I don't have to deal with a bunch of issues. Can anyone here speak to the current situation with drivers? Which would you pick?

Nvidia drivers are way worse! The control panel is literally from the 90's, they don't have any sort of info panel or monitoring panel or setup panel, it's just plain, old control panel from the 90's. Nvidia drivers also come bundles with tons of unneeded and outright spyware stuff like forced telemetry and all sorts of monitoring tools.

Finally Nvidia has been very slow to update and fix even major bugs that have plagued games for YEARS! In fact the Doom and Gears of War 4 bugs were only recently fixed after YEARS of issues, and still some people report that these bugs have not been fixed.

There has been tearing in certain games that hasn't been fixed for years, etc...

I don't know who spreads this literally decades old propaganda about AMD having bad drivers, but its clear its paid propaganda by Nvidia. AMD have not had any sort of systematic or major issues with their drivers in at least several years and when they do they've fixed then promptly.

The RX 5700XT is the easy choice between the two, its literally the same price as the 2600S, but is about 7% faster on average at 1440p and 10% faster in DX12 and Vulkan only titles.

AMD has the better drivers if you ask me, their control panel is modern and cool, it features all sort of goodies and options, they have great setup, customization, easy to use features, a ton of options, etc... Radeon Chill is a major component, radeon anti-lag is also amazing, much better than Nvidia's implementation, etc...

And again I'm using a GTX 1060 6GB, so I'm not some AMD fanboy, I'm literally telling you that Nvidia drivers are way outdated, way worse than AMD's.

 

[DeathReborn]

Nvidia drivers are way worse! The control panel is literally from the 90's, they don't have any sort of info panel or monitoring panel or setup panel, it's just plain, old control panel from the 90's. Nvidia drivers also come bundles with tons of unneeded and outright spyware stuff like forced telemetry and all sorts of monitoring tools.

Finally Nvidia has been very slow to update and fix even major bugs that have plagued games for YEARS! In fact the Doom and Gears of War 4 bugs were only recently fixed after YEARS of issues, and still some people report that these bugs have not been fixed.

There has been tearing in certain games that hasn't been fixed for years, etc...

I don't know who spreads this literally decades old propaganda about AMD having bad drivers, but its clear its paid propaganda by Nvidia. AMD have not had any sort of systematic or major issues with their drivers in at least several years and when they do they've fixed then promptly.

The RX 5700XT is the easy choice between the two, its literally the same price as the 2600S, but is about 7% faster on average at 1440p and 10% faster in DX12 and Vulkan only titles.

AMD has the better drivers if you ask me, their control panel is modern and cool, it features all sort of goodies and options, they have great setup, customization, easy to use features, a ton of options, etc... Radeon Chill is a major component, radeon anti-lag is also amazing, much better than Nvidia's implementation, etc...

And again I'm using a GTX 1060 6GB, so I'm not some AMD fanboy, I'm literally telling you that Nvidia drivers are way outdated, way worse than AMD's.

Yes the Nvidia drivers could use a visual overhaul but AMD's package is still a slow pain in the butt, they need to move to a codebase with more performance or just pare down the flair.

 

[mwforrest7]

Thanks for all the replies! You all are making me feel a lot better about going with the 5700 XT.

The monitor I have right now is a 2560x1440 IPS panel @ 60hz, no freesync or g-sync (it's getting old lol). I've actually been wanting to upgrade on this front as well. On that note, I've never witnessed g-sync or freesync with my own eyes. Is one better than the other?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The monitor I have right now is a 2560x1440 IPS panel @ 60hz,

I just ordered one of those, an Acer G257HU, I believe. 2560x1440, IPS, 60Hz, although one Amazon review mentioned overclocking it to 76Hz in NVidia control panel (if you have an NV card). I got it for ~$94 + tax on ebay (with "Make Offer"). A tiny bit less than $100 shipped. Only possible issue, it's a "Grade B 3rd-party refurb". So, we'll see when it gets here. 30-day return policy, which is decent.

 

[mwforrest7]

I just ordered one of those, an Acer G257HU, I believe. 2560x1440, IPS, 60Hz, although one Amazon review mentioned overclocking it to 76Hz in NVidia control panel (if you have an NV card). I got it for ~$94 + tax on ebay (with "Make Offer"). A tiny bit less than $100 shipped. Only possible issue, it's a "Grade B 3rd-party refurb". So, we'll see when it gets here. 30-day return policy, which is decent.

haha mine was $400 back when I got it... Display tech seems to be progressing a lot! I really like the sounds of the ROG Swift PG27UQ but I don't want to try and push 4K resolution. Everything else about it sounds amazing though. And I know they got a new version coming out with the mini/micro LEDS or w/e they call it.

 

[SPBHM]

I personally would go with the 2060S due to RTX, better OGL on windows (for emulators) and DX11MT/overhead

but they are both as valid I guess, even the specs are very similar, should be mostly the same experience.

 

[amrnuke]

I personally would go with the 2060S due to RTX, better OGL on windows (for emulators) and DX11MT/overhead

but they are both as valid I guess, even the specs are very similar, should be mostly the same experience.

Use-case is extremely important - this is the right answer I believe. But with a few notes.

Reference vs reference, you can get a 5700XT for $375 now, and it beats the 2060S. The margin of victory is ~5% at 1440p in major titles (see image below). The cheapest 2060S is still $399 as best I can tell. So ~8% less money, 5% more performance.

It would be worthwhile to consider third-party cards from each, especially for AMD, given the cooling solutions, because if you can snag a third-party 5700XT for $399, it will probably beat the 2060S by 6-7% or more.

But if you're using OGL for any reason, it makes sense to consider Nvidia.

Regarding RTX, on a 2060S, it's just not going to be worth it for the frame rates you'd get at 1440p...

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Read this thread for some of our experiences with Navi http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=threads/rdna-builders-thread-5700-xt-5700-etc.2567377/

I would not own the reference XT again. If it were given to me, I'd sell it immediately. Some of the software issues I had seem to have been addressed, since having it back in July. Others persist. All of the hardware issues have been fixed with great 3rd party cards. I will buy the Red Devil or Nitro + once I have confirmation all of the media playback issues are resolved. And, older games like Fallout 4 will work correctly out of the gate. I saw the guy from tech deals on youtube comment he is having issues with Navi drivers too.

When I returned the XT, read the thread linked for why, I then bought the 2060S. $400 for the EVGA Super with control and youngblood. OOB it has been flawless thus far. Killer bang for buck card, and backed by one of the best companies to deal with on RMAs.

Hopefully this big driver update will get Navi where my Red Devil Vega 56 is i.e. rock solid in every area, and a tremendous bang for the buck product.

 

[alexruiz]

RX 5700 XT.

Even the regular PowerColor dual fan (not the red dragon) is already a huge improvement in temps and acoustics over the reference card. The better part of the story? That card is the same price as the reference 5700xt.

If you can spring an added $30, pick the Red Devil. The best all around RX 5700 XT.

Edit: Even the reference blower is not that bad as far as temps and noise, but you need to know what you are doing with your case ventilation. If you have one of those overrated heat traps NZXT H500 or similar, even an RX 550 gets hot in there.

 

[alexruiz]

Read this thread for some of our experiences with Navi http://www.portvapes.co.uk/?id=Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps&exid=threads/rdna-builders-thread-5700-xt-5700-etc.2567377/

I will buy the Red Devil or Nitro + once I have confirmation all of the media playback issues are resolved.

What playback issues did you have?
What drivers versions did you install?

Non WHQL drivers are NOT HDCP compliant, so there will be playback issues of some sort.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Non WHQL drivers are NOT HDCP compliant, so there will be playback issues of some sort.

Good to know! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Justinbaileyman]

So are 5700-XT Gpu's HDCP compliant at this point?
This info alone will make my mind up about purchasing a 5700-XT as well!!

 

[Shmee]

For gaming in general, a good 5700XT is an obvious choice, being faster. Sapphire and powercolor are best, as mentioned. Also, with sapphire cards, the trixx boost setting can be used to get better frame rates for competitive games, by reducing resolution and then using RIS to enhance quality. (note this can be used on other sapphire cards such as the Vega 64 Nitro and the polaris cards.)

Also some 5700s can be flashed to 5700XT, for added performance. Another perk.

That said, the 2060S has RTX tech, if that matters to you, and geforce drivers are always WHQL afaik, whereas for whatever reason only some of the updated drivers from AMD are WHQL. A lot of time, as mentioned, the latest AMD driver is a beta, and while it may fix previous issues or add new features or even be more stable, it lacks HDCP due to not being WHQL.

 

[guachi]

If you are considering a 5700XT the excellent Gamers Nexus did a roundup of all the 5700XT cards they've tested and gave recommendations. Video came out only yesterday (10/21). Check it out on YouTube.

Gigabyte #1.
Pulse #2.

Red Devil and Nitro+ had better cooling solutions but the extra cost wasn't deemed worth it over the cheaper cards mentioned above.

Also, the excellent Hardware Unboxed has a 41 game test of the 5700XT and 2060S with the latest drivers. Video came out yesterday. Also on YouTube.

 

[amrnuke]

If you are considering a 5700XT the excellent Gamers Nexus did a roundup of all the 5700XT cards they've tested and gave recommendations. Video came out only yesterday (10/21). Check it out on YouTube.

Gigabyte #1.
Pulse #2.

Red Devil and Nitro+ had better cooling solutions but the extra cost wasn't deemed worth it over the cheaper cards mentioned above.

Also, the excellent Hardware Unboxed has a 41 game test of the 5700XT and 2060S with the latest drivers. Video came out yesterday. Also on YouTube.

Surprising that Gigabyte did well with GN. They've had so many issues, they have some work to do in the enthusiast GPU community before garnering back respect. Glad to see them working hard to do that!

 

[mwforrest7]

What playback issues did you have?
What drivers versions did you install?

Non WHQL drivers are NOT HDCP compliant, so there will be playback issues of some sort.

I am also curious about these playback issues. And what is the impact of AMD's drivers not being WHQL and therefore not HDCP compliant? Does that translate into not being able to watch YouTube, Netflix, etc? Or is it more like not being able to read a DVD?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

For gaming in general, a good 5700XT is an obvious choice, being faster. Sapphire and powercolor are best, as mentioned. Also, with sapphire cards, the trixx boost setting can be used to get better frame rates for competitive games, by reducing resolution and then using RIS to enhance quality. (note this can be used on other sapphire cards such as the Vega 64 Nitro and the polaris cards.)

Also some 5700s can be flashed to 5700XT, for added performance. Another perk.

That said, the 2060S has RTX tech, if that matters to you, and geforce drivers are always WHQL afaik, whereas for whatever reason only some of the updated drivers from AMD are WHQL. A lot of time, as mentioned, the latest AMD driver is a beta, and while it may fix previous issues or add new features or even be more stable, it lacks HDCP due to not being WHQL.

Too true, I’m a little pissed off right now because I’ve been messing with my machine for nearly 3 hours and have work to do on it.
Simply put amd video driver failure and it doesn’t allow me to boot in safe mode. I need to hope & pray my old gtx260 will work with Windows to to hopefully start and delete the offending driver.

Video TDR Failure (atikmpag.sys) on Windows 10 [Solved] - Driver Easy

atikmdag.sys Windows 10, atikmpag.sys Windows 10, igdkmd64.sys Windows 10, video_tdr_failure blue screen of death BSOD solved in Window 10.

www.drivereasy.com

I’ve had 3 major driver issues with anti/amd over 15 years or so. Never had show stopping driver issues with any other vendor. Minor issues like a game prefers one driver vs another but none have ever prevented the machine from starting.

Edit: appears I may have damaged the card see below

 

[VirtualLarry]

That's in "Safe Mode"? Or in POST? That looks... really bad. Like, underpowered / bad PSU, or bad card, maybe.

 

[happy medium]

overclock the 5700xt and the 2060super its a virtual tie, but the 2060S uses less power, runs cooler and is more quiet on average.
Add the RT effects and better drivers, the 2060 is my choice.
Cheapest decent 5700xt on Newegg is $400.

EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER SC ULTRA GAMING for $400 AR with free Call of Duty Modern Warfare would be the card to get.
Newegg link to card.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

 

[Fanatical Meat]

That's in "Safe Mode"? Or in POST? That looks... really bad. Like, underpowered / bad PSU, or bad card, maybe.

Yeah I’m not sure, safe mode is unattainable. Maybe card got damaged from moving it to new machine however per my googling others have had this problem. Driver gets corrupted during a windows update, I have had numerous windows updates since reinstalling
Too irritated to deal with it tonight.
Same error as the link atikmpag.sys
Had a similar amd driver issue during windows 8 to 8.1, black screen. GTX260 bailed me out there, had another similar issue with vista or XP, I forgot which one. Forgot how I fixed it too.