Anandtech's AMD Fury X review

[Silverforce11]

Wait, we're saying the coolant hit 100C? What is the coolant - water or something else? (and it's 100C in a capture image, so the coolant is really HOTTER since the tubing is an insulator?

No, we're not saying that. Only hw.fr reviewer who has no grasps of water cooling claims that and a few silly people on here who jump onboard the negative hype train.

Not to mention other sites find it running much cooler, even under furmark. There's no way the GPU is reaching those temps unless they disabled temp throttling (not sure how), turn off the pump & fan on the rad and let it go into meltdown.

Its a case of a reviewer who has an uncalibrated FLIR camera and the lack of common sense to question his data, against every other site & end users who claims it runs cool.

As anyone who has exp with water will tell you, the loop is cooler than the CPU/GPU/Heat-source. If your GPU is reading 60C, there's no way your loop coolant/tubes are 100C. You have to be a complete idiot to publish that data.

 

[casiofx]

No, we're not saying that. Only hw.fr reviewer who has no grasps of water cooling claims that and a few silly people on here who jump onboard the negative hype train.

Not to mention other sites find it running much cooler, even under furmark. There's no way the GPU is reaching those temps unless they disabled temp throttling (not sure how), turn off the pump & fan on the rad and let it go into meltdown.

Its a case of a reviewer who has an uncalibrated FLIR camera and the lack of common sense to question his data, against every other site & end users who claims it runs cool.

As anyone who has exp with water will tell you, the loop is cooler than the CPU/GPU/Heat-source. If your GPU is reading 60C, there's no way your loop coolant/tubes are 100C. You have to be a complete idiot to publish that data.

People can't belittle 290X's loud noise and 95C operating temps anymore (which is purposely designed to run at 95C by the way), they will find other factor to belittle AMD no matter how silly and logic defying it is.
Where's the rational thought process humans have gone now?

 

[3DVagabond]

Since when did VRMs consume more electric power than GPU itself?
If you didn't study thermodynamics please don't spew out wrong facts and led others astray.
VRMs alone won't overcome GPU's heat output to heat up the coolant until 100C.

Tune your sarcasm meter a bit. Do you really think I seriously believe AMD VRM's are possessed by the Devil? I guess you were serious about the sorcery and magic?

 

[amg377]

Hmm some of those CF benches look damn impressive...anyone have any other CF benchmark links?

 

[Final8ty]

Hmm some of those CF benches look damn impressive...anyone have any other CF benchmark links?

Some more benches for ya.

Alien Isolation

5960x @4.9Ghz
4xFury X @1125/500Mhz
15.15
2160P

1x Fury X

Spoiler

2x Fury X

Spoiler

3x Fury X

Spoiler

4x Fury X

Spoiler

Dirt Rally

5960x @4.9Ghz
1x Fury X @1125/500Mhz
15.15
2160P

Spoiler

5960x @4.9Ghz
2x Fury X @1125/500Mhz
15.15
2160P

Spoiler

5960x @4.9Ghz
3x Fury X @1125/500Mhz
15.15
2160P

Spoiler

5960x @4.9Ghz
4x Fury X @1125/500Mhz
15.15
2160P

Spoiler

What happened to the minimum frame rate in Alien Isolation? The Dirt benchmark results are impressive, very nice scaling.

It's just a benchmark anomaly so nothing to worry about at all. If you look at other results in the bench thread you'll see it's fairly common. You'll never see minimum fps that low whilst playing the actual game.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=28242652&postcount=1601


You can find more here http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=34013684&page=133

 

[showb1z]

Wow, that's some spectacular scaling alright.

 

[Keysplayr]

Nice scaling. But where the heck do they put all the radiators?

 

[guskline]

Nice scaling. But where the heck do they put all the radiators?

I see one at the bottom two on the rear and I think one in the front since the cpu is cooled by a twin fan AIO mounted at the top. The AMD manual does not recommend putting the rad unit lower than the gpu.:| Also as an owner of an Intel 5960X AMD Matt must have an exclusive piece of silicon to be able to run at 4.9Ghz! Am I to assume that was only for a benchmark?

I'm a big AMD fan but sad that AMDMatt has to use an Intel cpu to get those benchies! All in all impressive. BTW, since AMDMatt has 4 FuryXs no wonder the rest of us can't find one (just joking!)

 

[3DVagabond]

I see one at the bottom two on the rear and I think one in the front since the cpu is cooled by a twin fan AIO mounted at the top. The AMD manual does not recommend putting the rad unit lower than the gpu.:|

AFAIK that's simply recommended for highest efficiency as hot coolant rises and cooled coolant falls it helps with the cycling of the coolant. That's true of any liquid cooled system.

 

[Silverforce11]

Here's the other CF v SLI review, but its so few games, none of which are AMD crippling titles like the ones in hw.fr but they do have SLI Titan X, with what I suspect a custom fan profile due to non-throttling (power results suggests its being loaded well).

http://www.digitalstorm.com/unlocked/amd-fury-x-crossfire-gaming-benchmarks-vs-sli-titan-x-idnum361/

What would be very interesting is G1 980Ti or SSC EVGA's in SLI, in a closed case, versus Fury X CF. See if those open air coolers can sustain such high out of box boost in a normal system setup in SLI.

 

[rtsurfer]

NVM.

 

[Mondozei]

AT's 2015 GPU benchmark charts now include FuryX.

vs 980ti:

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1496?vs=1513

At 1080p, the resolution the vast majority of gamers are at (yes even enthusiasts), the 980(non-Ti) is basically neck-and-neck with the FuryX and that is before overclocking.

GTX 980 EVGA ACX 2.0 it is.

 

[railven]

Here's the other CF v SLI review, but its so few games, none of which are AMD crippling titles like the ones in hw.fr but they do have SLI Titan X, with what I suspect a custom fan profile due to non-throttling (power results suggests its being loaded well).

<snip>

What would be very interesting is G1 980Ti or SSC EVGA's in SLI, in a closed case, versus Fury X CF. See if those open air coolers can sustain such high out of box boost in a normal system setup in SLI.

Could they have not used any neutral games?

The power draw is interesting. AMD really curbed Hawaii's biggest flaw. I can't wait to see Fiji X2 numbers. 295X2 eat your heart out.

 

[Sabrewings]

AFAIK that's simply recommended for highest efficiency as hot coolant rises and cooled coolant falls it helps with the cycling of the coolant. That's true of any liquid cooled system.

You have a pretty weak pump if you're worried about convective currents assisting your flow.

It's probably because the expansion tank is in the radiator. Any small air bubbles that are in the system (and there will be some) will hang out in the tank since it's the highest point instead of in the GPU block where they could potentially impede cooling performance.

 

[Stuka87]

Nice scaling. But where the heck do they put all the radiators?

They are either open cooler versions, or they are in a custom loop. Well that or they are just plugged into a mobo on a bench with the radiators just sitting where ever.

 

[HellBound]

Nice scaling. But where the heck do they put all the radiators?

you get towers with 4x 120mm top and + rear. Like the Corsair Obsidian 900D etc. so no problem.

 

[steve wilson]

It's such a shame that AMD dropped the ball on the Fury X's overclocking potential. The GM200 (especially cut down as I assume the SMMs Nvidia slices are the slower ones even if they're not totally defective) can be a real screamer on OC.

The reference blower is a bit on the loud side. I used it for a couple days on my 980 TI to verify it works before ripping it off and throwing EK's Titan X waterblock and back plate on it. I've had it up to 1492MHz and below 40C load after 15 passes of Heaven 4.0. Such a beast of an overclocker that the Fury X doesn't even become an option at that point. If it had great overclocking ability with an included liquid cooler it would really be an attractive option (assuming they work on the overall smoothness through drivers).

I have no need for this kind of power at the moment (1080p 55" TV, though DSR is beautiful) so I usually run it at stock, but I plan on getting at least one (maybe more) VR headsets when they release and I don't want to compromise there. I decided to see what it could do and I'm absolutely impressed. I have no doubt the Titan X and 980 TI will still be the defacto single GPU cars when SteamVR hits the streets.

May I ask which headset you are going for and why? I've got my eye on the Oculus rift, because it's the one I've heard the most about. Are the others any better?

 

[Sabrewings]

May I ask which headset you are going for and why? I've got my eye on the Oculus rift, because it's the one I've heard the most about. Are the others any better?

My leading contender right now is SteamVR. That's a combination of the headset's capabilities (room based VR), the controllers, the company supporting it, and the headset's actual specifications. I'm also pretty pleased that it will be out first so I will get to try it first.

Oculus Rift is my old favorite before we knew SteamVR was a thing earlier this year. My first real modern VR experience was with a DK2 and it was so eye opening. I'd like to think the release version will be great, but from what I've seen of published specs I don't feel they're pushing resolution high enough in their first iteration. This is probably to keep it accessible as not everyone has a GTX 980 equivalent or higher graphics card and you won't sell headsets if people can't run them. The 970 equivalent base specs keep it accessible, though not super exciting for the rest of us. Also, it's strictly sit down and its head tracking system is nowhere near as flexible (or potentially accurate) as SteamVR (reported by Valve to be within 2mm three dimensionally). I think what will make Oculus Rift sell is brand recognition and accessibility with lower required hardware. Bundling the XBox One controller with it makes it seem more friendly to casual gamers as well.

I can't really get into Sony Morpheus. Don't know why.

My favorite under dog at the moment is StarVR. The field of view is insane and I like how the company does business. I believe 100% that they won't release unless they're totally pleased with the product. Plus, they are going to use Steam's OpenVR initiative which makes them quite compatible in the long run. The down side is they're using massive displays relative to the other guys so you're going to need serious hardware to run them with acceptable frame rate and lag. Probably a Pascal halo card to really enjoy this.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on them at the moment. It's always changing as it comes. I didn't include HoloLens because it's AR, not VR. I do plan to have one anyway since it's unique. I will probably buy a SteamVR first, consider an Oculus Rift (probably decide it's a downgrade, but might buy for interesting exclusives), and when StarVR hits it can be the Ferrari of headsets.

No, I don't care if I buy all four.

 

[Makaveli]

At 1080p, the resolution the vast majority of gamers are at (yes even enthusiasts), the 980(non-Ti) is basically neck-and-neck with the FuryX and that is before overclocking.

GTX 980 EVGA ACX 2.0 it is.

Unless you have a 144hz screen who buys a $650 gpu to play at 1080p?

 

[chimaxi83]

Unless you have a 144hz screen who buys a $650 gpu to play at 1080p?

Settings crankers, VSR/DSR-ers, super samplers, etc.

 

[tential]

Settings crankers, VSR/DSR-ers, super samplers, etc.

Using vsr you're not really playing at 1080p though so using 1080p benches is utterly idiotic for that too.

 

[steve wilson]

My leading contender right now is SteamVR. That's a combination of the headset's capabilities (room based VR), the controllers, the company supporting it, and the headset's actual specifications. I'm also pretty pleased that it will be out first so I will get to try it first.

Oculus Rift is my old favorite before we knew SteamVR was a thing earlier this year. My first real modern VR experience was with a DK2 and it was so eye opening. I'd like to think the release version will be great, but from what I've seen of published specs I don't feel they're pushing resolution high enough in their first iteration. This is probably to keep it accessible as not everyone has a GTX 980 equivalent or higher graphics card and you won't sell headsets if people can't run them. The 970 equivalent base specs keep it accessible, though not super exciting for the rest of us. Also, it's strictly sit down and its head tracking system is nowhere near as flexible (or potentially accurate) as SteamVR (reported by Valve to be within 2mm three dimensionally). I think what will make Oculus Rift sell is brand recognition and accessibility with lower required hardware. Bundling the XBox One controller with it makes it seem more friendly to casual gamers as well.

I can't really get into Sony Morpheus. Don't know why.

My favorite under dog at the moment is StarVR. The field of view is insane and I like how the company does business. I believe 100% that they won't release unless they're totally pleased with the product. Plus, they are going to use Steam's OpenVR initiative which makes them quite compatible in the long run. The down side is they're using massive displays relative to the other guys so you're going to need serious hardware to run them with acceptable frame rate and lag. Probably a Pascal halo card to really enjoy this.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on them at the moment. It's always changing as it comes. I didn't include HoloLens because it's AR, not VR. I do plan to have one anyway since it's unique. I will probably buy a SteamVR first, consider an Oculus Rift (probably decide it's a downgrade, but might buy for interesting exclusives), and when StarVR hits it can be the Ferrari of headsets.

No, I don't care if I buy all four.

Thanks for the info, you must have some serious spare cash to be buying all 4. I think anandtech should start a VR forum/sub forum soon. Things are going to start to get interesting really soon. I'll look into the steam VR a bit more as that sounds like the best one for me.

 

[Creig]

Settings crankers, VSR/DSR-ers, super samplers, etc.

Also people who may be building a new system but can't afford a high end monitor right away or are waiting for the "right" monitor to be released. After all, it doesn't hurt anything to have your system run at high FPS all the time.

 

[exar333]

Also people who may be building a new system but can't afford a high end monitor right away or are waiting for the "right" monitor to be released. After all, it doesn't hurt anything to have your system run at high FPS all the time.

Some new (poorly coded) games also seem to require a $650 card to max 1080P these days anyways.

Question - Why do people put a $2500 exhaust system on a 100hp econobox? Because they can...

 

[Sabrewings]

Thanks for the info, you must have some serious spare cash to be buying all 4. I think anandtech should start a VR forum/sub forum soon. Things are going to start to get interesting really soon. I'll look into the steam VR a bit more as that sounds like the best one for me.

I just got out of a very expensive hobby and got back into computers. For the cost of the suspension overhaul I was looking at for my STI before I sold it (parts only, I do all my own labor), I built the computer in my sig with plenty of money to spare. Computers are a much cheaper hobby. Plus, having the sales proceeds from a car in your bank account can burn a hole if you're not careful.

The downside to SteamVR is that it will be more expensive. I'd peg Oculus to come out around $299-399, and Steam VR might be $200 on top of it. Though, SteamVR launches first so they might have to set their own pricing and adjust accordingly later. On the other hand, we might have solid Oculus pricing before SteamVR launches if they start the preorder soon enough. I don't mind preordering an Oculus, but I won't do it until I've had my hands on a SteamVR to see if I think I'll even want one. SteamVR will definitely be the premium headset of the two.