Radeon 7900 Reviews

[Stuka87]

Will update this list as more come along.

ArsTechnica:
(Ryzen 5800X3D, Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero, 64GB DDR4-3200, Windows ???)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...0-gpus-are-great-4k-gaming-gpus-with-caveats/

Gamers Nexus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We71eXwKODw

Guru3D:
(Ryzen 5950X, ASUS X570 Crosshair VIII HERO, 32 GB (4x 8GB) DDR4 3600 MHz, Windows 10)
https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-review,1.html

Hardware Canucks
(Ryzen 7700X, Asus X670E ROG Crosshair hero, 32GB DDR5-6000, Windows 11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3XPNr506Dc

Hardware Unboxed:
(Ryzen 5800X3D, MSI MPG X570S Carbon Max WiFi, 32GB DDR4-3200, Windows 11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UFiG7CwpHk

Igor's Lab:
(Ryzen 7950X, MSI MEG X670E Ace,32GB DDR5 6000)
https://www.igorslab.de/en/amd-rade...giant-step-ahead-and-a-smaller-step-sideways/

Jay's Two Cents:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq6Yp2Zxnkk

KitGuruTech:
(Intel 12900K, MSI MAG Z690 Unified, 32GB DDR5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qThrADqleD0

Linus Tech Tips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBJ-vo6Ri9c

Paul's Hardware:
(Ryzen 7950X, Asus X670E ROG Crosshair Hero, 32GB DDR5-6000, Windows 11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q10pefkW2qg

PC Mag:
(Intel 12900K, Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero, 32GB 5600MHz, Windows 11)
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx

Tech Power Up:
(Intel 13900K, ASUS Z790 Maximus Hero, 2x 16 GB DDR5-6000 MHz, Windows 10)
AMD: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx/
ASUS: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/asus-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-tuf-oc/
XFX: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/xfx-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-merc-310-oc/

Tech Spot:
(Ryzen 5800X3D, MSI MPG X570S, 32GB of dual-rank, dual-channel DDR4-3200 CL14, Windows ???)
https://www.techspot.com/review/2588-amd-radeon-7900-xtx/

TechTesters:
(Intel 13900K, ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 HERO, 32GB DDR5-6000, Windows 11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uQh4GkPopQ

 

[Ranulf]

I am curious, what is today's market without crypto mining? You think about that and in 6-8 months we can all see how the market looks. Where is the demand for graphics cards in 6 months time? In the toilet.

I agree that it is likely but I doubt Nvidia of all companies would ever give its customers a good value such as a 4060 16GB card for $200. Then again at the rate they're going that 4060 may be a 64bit memory bus card with DDR4 on it.

 

[Aapje]

Memory is too expensive for that to happen. $300 is what they could do.

 

[fleshconsumed]

... no.

Vapor chambers work based off of Capillary action, not gravity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_action

fyi the nvidia cards also use vapor chambers along with everyone else.

Your just wrong.

There are other card manufacturers that use vapor chambers, but they typically use much smaller vapor chambers that only cover the die and memory at the most and use heatpipes to carry heat through the finstack. Reference AMD cards are the only cards that use full PCB sized vapor chamber to carry heat throughout entire finstack.

It has been shown that orientation plays a huge role for reference AMD cards:
Amd please make a statement on rx6000 series
Are my rx6800xt temps normal
6800xt card orientation seems to make a difference

 

[biostud]

Evidence of memory downclocking at high core clocks with manual overclocking.

 

[coercitiv]

Evidence of memory downclocking at high core clocks with manual overclocking.

Looks like evidence of enforced power limit to me.

 

[Stuka87]

... no.

Vapor chambers work based off of Capillary action, not gravity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_action

fyi the nvidia cards also use vapor chambers along with everyone else.

Your just wrong.

Vapor chambers are very much effected by orientation.

The GN video with nVidia's engineer on the 4090 actually talked about how orientation actually impacts their performance. Heat pipes are not effected by it. But vapor chambers certainly are.

 

[PhonakV30]

Evidence of memory downclocking at high core clocks with manual overclocking.

It's very clear that Maximum power is 400w. , Just look close at Power 397w , always stuck below 400w.

 

[Stuka87]

Evidence of memory downclocking at high core clocks with manual overclocking.

I have trouble believing anything he says when it comes to testing. He is always jumping to conclusions and will post a video before he has proved anything.

 

[moonbogg]

The prices AMD is charging for a clearly inferior product makes me see them as totally delusional and capable of only making bad choices. They won't last long in the market doing this crap. These 7900 cards aren't worth anything near $1000. They should be $600 and $700, not $900 and $1000, lol. Totally ridiculous. After the launch, people suddenly started buying 4080s because these 7900 cards suck so bad they make even the 4080 look like a good deal. I expect Nvidia could completely bury AMD in a single generation by releasing high-value, big performing products but they don't only to avoid monopoly law issues, etc.

 

[biostud]

I have trouble believing anything he says when it comes to testing. He is always jumping to conclusions and will post a video before he has proved anything.

I don't know anything about bias, but he shows what happens quite openly. Then you can interpret why, and how to avoid it.

 

[biostud]

It's very clear that Maximum power is 400w. , Just look close at Power 397w , always stuck below 400w.

I think you're right, just something to be aware of if manually o/c your 7900XTX.

 

[DaaQ]

The prices AMD is charging for a clearly inferior product makes me see them as totally delusional and capable of only making bad choices. They won't last long in the market doing this crap. These 7900 cards aren't worth anything near $1000. They should be $600 and $700, not $900 and $1000, lol. Totally ridiculous. After the launch, people suddenly started buying 4080s because these 7900 cards suck so bad they make even the 4080 look like a good deal. I expect Nvidia could completely bury AMD in a single generation by releasing high-value, big performing products but they don't only to avoid monopoly law issues, etc.

The only thing AMD lowering prices would do for you is "hoping" Nvidia lowers theirs for "you"

 

[Leeea]

There are other card manufacturers that use vapor chambers, but they typically use much smaller vapor chambers that only cover the die and memory at the most and use heatpipes to carry heat through the finstack. Reference AMD cards are the only cards that use full PCB sized vapor chamber to carry heat throughout entire finstack.

It has been shown that orientation plays a huge role for reference AMD cards:
Amd please make a statement on rx6000 series
Are my rx6800xt temps normal
6800xt card orientation seems to make a difference

Vapor chambers are very much effected by orientation.

The GN video with nVidia's engineer on the 4090 actually talked about how orientation actually impacts their performance. Heat pipes are not effected by it. But vapor chambers certainly are.

Lets just take a brief moment to think about this.


Vapor chambers work by evaporating liquid on the hot part of the chamber which then condenses against the cold part of the chamber, right?


When the card is mounted in the "ideal" horizontal position, the die is located above the vapor chamber. Literally the very top of the chamber.

So if gravity is a driver, the position your claiming is ideal, horizontal, is the inverted worst case scenario.

Heat Pipe Learning Center - Advanced Cooling Technologies

An Overview of Heat Pipe Technology A heat pipe is a two-phase heat transfer device with a very high effective thermal conductivity. It is a vacuum-tight device consisting of an […]

www.1-act.com

 

[Shmee]

Evidence of memory downclocking at high core clocks with manual overclocking.

Is this power limit on all cards, or just the reference ones?

 

[Stuka87]

Is this power limit on all cards, or just the reference ones?

The NITRO+ has a BIOS with a much higher limit (3x8pin). The Reference cards only have two 8 pin connectors, so they have a rated max of 375W.

 

[biostud]

The NITRO+ has a BIOS with a much higher limit (3x8pin). The Reference cards only have two 8 pin connectors, so they have a rated max of 375W.

But as @PhonakV30 pointed out it seems that all the cards hit a limit @400W. But lets see when more examine if the can reproduce it.

 

[coercitiv]

But as @PhonakV30 pointed out it seems that all the cards hit a limit @400W. But lets see when more examine if the can reproduce it.

They don't, in the same video you posted the Powercolor card goes to 430W as it has slightly higher power limit. This allowed it to reach max clocks and crash before throttling the memory.

 

[leoneazzurro]

I don't think that is the case. Now that people have started testing their cards I've seen that others are also reporting high junction temp and almost 3K fan rpm speeds. I guess we'll see how things go when more people receive their cards.

One example:

https://bbs.io-tech.fi/threads/radeon-rx-7900-xtx-7900-xt-ketju-navi-31.426159/post-11911932

I was more referring to his claims of drivers crashing all the time. High temperatures may come from a number of factors.

 

[biostud]

They don't, in the same video you posted the Powercolor card goes to 430W as it has slightly higher power limit. This allowed it to reach max clocks and crash before throttling the memory.

Ok, thought it was the same for all the cards. Then you have to find the individual power limit to each card, and o/c accordingly.

 

[psolord]

All it takes from Nvidia is a 4060 with 16GB of Vram at $200 to bury AMD. They have all that TSMC silicon and nowhere to put it.

You mean 200$ LESS, I believe?

Less than the 7900XTX?

xD

 

[Kaluan]

Ok, thought it was the same for all the cards. Then you have to find the individual power limit to each card, and o/c accordingly.

Don't forget undervolting.
Ancient Gameplays does just that, he usually gives good hands-on data with all kinds of GPUs he can get his hands on, especially Radeon:

The prices AMD is charging for a clearly inferior product makes me see them as totally delusional and capable of only making bad choices. They won't last long in the market doing this crap. These 7900 cards aren't worth anything near $1000. They should be $600 and $700, not $900 and $1000, lol. Totally ridiculous. After the launch, people suddenly started buying 4080s because these 7900 cards suck so bad they make even the 4080 look like a good deal. I expect Nvidia could completely bury AMD in a single generation by releasing high-value, big performing products but they don't only to avoid monopoly law issues, etc.

And the NPC award goes to...
🤣🤣🤣

 

[igor_kavinski]

Then you have to find the individual power limit to each card, and o/c accordingly.

I wouldn't OC a brand new card. If I have to do that, it means I made a bad decision on a card that is inadequate for my needs. My OC policy is to do it when the card has dropped enough in value that I don't care about losing it. At that point, I won't have any qualms about torturing it.

 

[biostud]

I wouldn't OC a brand new card. If I have to do that, it means I made a bad decision on a card that is inadequate for my needs. My OC policy is to do it when the card has dropped enough in value that I don't care about losing it. At that point, I won't have any qualms about torturing it.

Everyone to his taste. O/C or undervolting, if you can tweak your card to your preferences, I see no problem. Some prefer to pay extra for a factory o/c, others dont.

 

[Kaluan]

Everyone to his taste. O/C or undervolting, if you can tweak your card to your preferences, I see no problem. Some prefer to pay extra for a factory o/c, others dont.

Back in the day there was a chunky subset of GPU buyers who bought purely out of the added value OC brings to SKU x or y.

Never had one but I remember the gamer magazines overclocking the $190 GeForce Ti 4200 into a $400 Ti 4600.
Or the Radeon 9550 XT... good times!

 

[KompuKare]

The prices AMD is charging for a clearly inferior product makes me see them as totally delusional and capable of only making bad choices. They won't last long in the market doing this crap. These 7900 cards aren't worth anything near $1000. They should be $600 and $700, not $900 and $1000, lol. Totally ridiculous. After the launch, people suddenly started buying 4080s because these 7900 cards suck so bad they make even the 4080 look like a good deal. I expect Nvidia could completely bury AMD in a single generation by releasing high-value, big performing products but they don't only to avoid monopoly law issues, etc.

What this launch says to me is that AMD are not interested in volume or clawing back marketshare. Even when they have lower costs (the whole point of chiplets), they want to continue dream about high margins.

The Radeon group has been loosing marketshare for years now, and while there was a time when they were going for volume where what mostly happened is that people bought Nvidia cards for less.

However, 10% of the market it not viable but undercutting NVidia by 5-10% is not going to gain them much marketshare.

While we have no idea if they are production limited with packing chiplet GPUs, it seems more likely that the obsession with margins is behind it.

Irony being that has happened for a few gens is basically this:

1. The launch a card. Drivers are not yet polished or there is some other issue*.
2. The card is priced about 10% less than the similar Nvidia card.
3. The card sells poorly.
4. Drivers improve and the card might move one or more tiers up compared to the competition.
5. The card still sells poorly.
6. AMD swallow their pride and reduce the price.

Rinse and repeat.

The price cuts often take a long time to materials and are not official.

So what has often happened is that they have high margins at launch but little volume.
high margins * low volume = not much profit.
Later they have lower margin and a but more volume.
Lower margins * medium volume = not much profit.

Seems to be a predicable cycle.

But to generate profit? Well you either need high margins or high volumes. Now that consoles are not (yet) competing for the same wafers, and assuming that AMD is actually interested in getting a return for the huge fixed costs of designing RDNA3, I can't help but think that lower margins and far greater volumes would have made sense.

That Nvidia is okay with killing the golden gamers will buy anything at any price goose, destroying the PC gaming market by over-pricing everything doesn't sound like a successful long-term strategy.

* I freely admit that some of these issues do seem to get blown up a lot and suspiciously follow very similar talking points - almost exactly what we would expect if some PR company was using influencers to drive the narrative.