Who bought/is buying a Radeon RX 480?

[guachi]

The XFX is only $10 over MSRP and it comes overclocked and with a backplate. Not the worst deal.

Looks like there were a pile of cards in stock earlier in the day or yesterday.

For me, AMD is still the best deal at $250 or less as I can get FreeSync basically for free. The $150-300 surcharge for GSync is a total deal breaker.

 

[railven]

I am frustrated and this is the first time AMD has failed me...Enough is enough, when I get a job and I'll vote for nVidia from now on.

I'm starting to see this more often in casual forums. AMD either didn't account for the miner factor or demand for their new mainstream product.

From AMD's point of view - as long as someone buys it, I don't think they care.

 

[YBS1]

I'm starting to see this more often in casual forums. AMD either didn't account for the miner factor or demand for their new mainstream product.

From AMD's point of view - as long as someone buys it, I don't think they care.

The thing is, it's not been impossible to get a 480 if you want one. It's only been difficult if you're looking for a very specific one, they go in and out of stock pretty much daily. I was able to get one without pulling an F5 marathon, have had multiple opportunities since if I so desired, and had I realized earlier I would be fine with a reference card, I could have gotten the XFX OC w/ backplate version the first day or two they were released but I passed on it at the time. Shoot, I didn't even end up paying MSRP, took advantage of the PayPal deal and got the 8GB for $215, so I'm going to end up with a custom waterblock cooled 8GB RX 480 for a total of $280, all in all, not bad.

 

[sze5003]

I don't think these cards have been as hard to buy if you set up now in stock notifications through text.

I did that for a few 1070's and at one point the texts stopped coming because of some carrier mix up. Eventually the one I wanted to buy was out of stock by the time I decided to order. But in the mean time I had been keeping alerts for 480's as well and they came in stock almost every other day.

 

[Madpacket]

480's are pretty easy to get now. Just setup the alerts and you'll get the opportunity if you really want one.

 

[RussianSensation]

Given that I'm a broke college dude with my HD 6950 on life-support, I can't afford a GTX 1070...If XCOM 2 isn't that demanding and/or poorly optimized, I would have went with the $199.99 RX 470...
I read the 480 is pretty close to the R9 390 performance, which struggles to reach average 60 FPS in XCOM 2, so I expect the 480 Nitro can give me a few more frames to close that gap and maintain 60 FPS.

I called Amazon 2 days ago regarding the shipping estimate, and apparently the representative doesn't know when they will received the 480 Nitro from Sapphire. But the Rep has kindly offered me a 1 day shipping when they do get the shipment from Sapphire.

Here's my speculation on next Quarter AMD earnings:

-Gamers that have the money and can't wait for the custom 480 already jumped ship to the green side.

-Gamers like me who's on government's food stamp will continued to wait and stuck with AMD...

Most people born in the U.S./Canada are politically correct but I won't be. I came to Canada and learned English from scratch. My story is not unique and I am grateful to have been given an opportunity to succeed under democracy. I also know what it takes to come from a household where monthly income was $100 U.S. Once you put things into perspective, video games are not a necessity in life and something that can be sacrificed temporarily for greater personal/human capital rewards in the future. Add up the tuition costs, rent (if applicable) and all other ancillary costs (books, transportation, going out expenses, etc.), and the opportunity cost of foregone earnings/salary during 3-4 years while in college, it soon becomes evident that a $200-1000 videocard is THE last thing you should be thinking about. What you should be doing is striving to be at the top of your class, network with your classmates and others who may later help you advance in life, and participate in as many clubs as possible. By the time you are close to graduation, you have lined up a great job offer and left college with a handful of brilliant alumni that have potential to help advance your career (or start a business with you in the future). Every hour spent playing video games during this point of your life is every hour lost doing those things that will get you closer to making 6-figures and being able to easily afford $500 GPUs.

College/university also gives one an opportunity to challenge oneself without serious repercussions from failure. Ever wanted to try downhill skiing? There are trips for that. Ever wanted to learn programming/investing into stocks? There are clubs for that. Ever wanted to learn a new language? There are international and diverse student body for that available at your finger tips. Ever wanted to learn how to present better, debate, etc.? There are clubs for that. You don't realize how much college/university experience has to offer until you no longer have easy access to all of the resources that many take for granted at the time.

Video cards are not on this list.

Verdict,

AMD still wins BIG, from miners buying 20+ ref cards and picking up losers like me.

That's part of the problem right there -- not believing in yourself at such a young age. I worked at McDonald's at 16; i.e., I was a loser to society, but not for me. Such a job taught me responsibility, time management, hard work for little financial reward (i.e., makes you appreciate money you earn later in life), customer service/treating every customer with respect, team-work, etc. There are always ways to find some positives in any situation -- it's just a state of mind and desire to succeed. If you keep believing you are a loser, how do you expect that attitude will be reflected in the eyes of others when you portray lack of confidence in yourself (think body language, how you speak in public, social skills, etc.).

Besides, if money is SO tight, it still would have made sense to buy an RX 480 and drop into our mining section and ask people to help you set it all up. This way you'd have a GPU that would have been partially or fully paid off in 5-6 months.

The thing is, it's not been impossible to get a 480 if you want one. It's only been difficult if you're looking for a very specific one, they go in and out of stock pretty much daily. I was able to get one without pulling an F5 marathon, have had multiple opportunities since if I so desired, and had I realized earlier I would be fine with a reference card, I could have gotten the XFX OC w/ backplate version the first day or two they were released but I passed on it at the time. Shoot, I didn't even end up paying MSRP, took advantage of the PayPal deal and got the 8GB for $215, so I'm going to end up with a custom waterblock cooled 8GB RX 480 for a total of $280, all in all, not bad.

True. Amazon has pre-orders available all the time. Newegg allows one to place orders for the same SKU after 48 hours. I am already at 5x XFX, 2x Sapphire and 1x PowerColor card since August 4th. Nowinstock makes it easy once you set up alerts. I still think this generation is the worst paper launch in history for both brands, and in particular the $199 RX 480 4GB seems like a marketing play. At the same time Newegg had Sapphire Nitro 4GB for $229.99 USD available for a solid hour or even 2 today.

Definitely buying one for gaming and mining but I'm waiting for the 3rd party coolers to come along.

I still have mixed feelings as far as AIB vs. reference RX 480 cards are concerned wrt to ethereum mining. The reference cards come with Samsung GDDR5 that overclocks to 2250mhz (9000mhz) and they also use less power = higher MH/watt translates into faster ROI due to lower electricity costs.

 

[poofyhairguy]

RS that post made me glad we can like posts. Totally agree on the working at McDonald's experience, plus the extra angle of the personal humility brought by cleaning what is basically a public toilet very often.

 

[sze5003]

Most people born in the U.S./Canada are politically correct but I won't be. I came to Canada and learned English from scratch. My story is not unique and I am grateful to have been given an opportunity to succeed under democracy. I also know what it takes to come from a household where monthly income was $100 U.S. Once you put things into perspective, video games are not a necessity in life and something that can be sacrificed temporarily for greater personal/human capital rewards in the future. Add up the tuition costs, rent (if applicable) and all other ancillary costs (books, transportation, going out expenses, etc.), and the opportunity cost of foregone earnings/salary during 3-4 years while in college, it soon becomes evident that a $200-1000 videocard is THE last thing you should be thinking about. What you should be doing is striving to be at the top of your class, network with your classmates and others who may later help you advance in life, and participate in as many clubs as possible. By the time you are close to graduation, you have lined up a great job offer and left college with a handful of brilliant alumni that have potential to help advance your career (or start a business with you in the future). Every hour spent playing video games during this point of your life is every hour lost doing those things that will get you closer to making 6-figures and being able to easily afford $500 GPUs.

College/university also gives one an opportunity to challenge oneself without serious repercussions from failure. Ever wanted to try downhill skiing? There are trips for that. Ever wanted to learn programming/investing into stocks? There are clubs for that. Ever wanted to learn a new language? There are international and diverse student body for that available at your finger tips. Ever wanted to learn how to present better, debate, etc.? There are clubs for that. You don't realize how much college/university experience has to offer until you no longer have easy access to all of the resources that many take for granted at the time.

Video cards are not on this list.



That's part of the problem right there -- not believing in yourself at such a young age. I worked at McDonald's at 16; i.e., I was a loser to society, but not for me. Such a job taught me responsibility, time management, hard work for little financial reward (i.e., makes you appreciate money you earn later in life), customer service/treating every customer with respect, team-work, etc. There are always ways to find some positives in any situation -- it's just a state of mind and desire to succeed. If you keep believing you are a loser, how do you expect that attitude will be reflected in the eyes of others when you portray lack of confidence in yourself (think body language, how you speak in public, social skills, etc.).

Besides, if money is SO tight, it still would have made sense to buy an RX 480 and drop into our mining section and ask people to help you set it all up. This way you'd have a GPU that would have been partially or fully paid off in 5-6 months.



True. Amazon has pre-orders available all the time. Newegg allows one to place orders for the same SKU after 48 hours. I am already at 5x XFX, 2x Sapphire and 1x PowerColor card since August 4th. Nowinstock makes it easy once you set up alerts. I still think this generation is the worst paper launch in history for both brands, and in particular the $199 RX 480 4GB seems like a marketing play. At the same time Newegg had Sapphire Nitro 4GB for $229.99 USD available for a solid hour or even 2 today.



I still have mixed feelings as far as AIB vs. reference RX 480 cards are concerned wrt to ethereum mining. The reference cards come with Samsung GDDR5 that overclocks to 2250mhz (9000mhz) and they also use less power = higher MH/watt translates into faster ROI due to lower electricity costs.

I can totally relate to all of that. Growing up I didn't have much at all and when I had my first job throughout highschool I had to sneak games into the house as my parents detested me playing any sort of video game.

It was always, why aren't you studying and wasting time in front of a TV.

Which probably explains why I still game today, since now I can pretty much buy almost anything I want if I manage finances right.

I remember when my father got me my first super Nintendo after doing so well in school. I only ever had two games for those 4-5 years lol. Never asked but I could tell they were expensive and to them it would be wasting money at the time.

 

[Ranulf]

I was very tempted by the nitro 4gb. I think it was on NE for about 70-80 minutes before it went out of stock. All the vid card drama this summer has burnt me out I think. Total paper launches for both brands indeed. The better two/three fan 1060s seem to be at 289-329. So not worth it for 970 owners.

 

[GIS]

From AMD's point of view - as long as someone buys it, I don't think they care.

The thing is, it's not been impossible to get a 480 if you want one.

I don't think these cards have been as hard to buy if you set up now in stock notifications through text.

it soon becomes evident that a $200-1000 videocard is THE last thing you should be thinking about. What you should be doing is striving to be at the top of your class, network with your classmates and others who may later help you advance in life, and participate in as many clubs as possible. By the time you are close to graduation, you have lined up a great job offer and left college with a handful of brilliant alumni that have potential to help advance your career (or start a business with you in the future). Every hour spent playing video games during this point of your life is every hour lost doing those things that will get you closer to making 6-figures and being able to easily afford $500 GPUs.

Right on, can't agree more to your comment. I'm carrying a 3.73 cumulative GPA and expected to graduate from college this fall. I major in Geographic Information System, know some programing and all that, but I hate what I'm doing. Great and genuine advice regardless. Doing well and getting straight A's doesn't mean secured financially. According to government statistics 2010, over 33,000 PhD in California are receiving Food Stamp...Surprise!!! And then there's this student debt has surpassed national credit card debt...Lucky, I'm graduating without any debt.

-------------------

Seeing there are still genuine people that shown sympathy toward the less fortunes make me think our society have not completely lost humanity. I was thinking not to say anything and come back to this forum when I need another upgrade in 3~5 years. But here’s my story for those who really understand my frustration trying to get the most-bang-for-the-buck.

I really do feel bad for giving in after waiting a month since my GPU’s breakdown started in June, slowly showing artifacts, forced reboot, and auto shut-down after playing a game in league.

So here’s a picture of my 6950 bought in May 2011, as you can see it has only 1 fan… I know nothing about GPU back then because it was my first PC build, and I’m not sure if this card is any better than the reference cooler since it only has 1 fan?

This card was running great up until May of 2016, right at the 5 year old mark, the fan would kick-in at 4000RPM+ for no apparent reason, and that’s before/after gaming. I dust-off the card regularly so the only thing I could think of is the thermal grease that needs to reapply. But I got no special screw driver to open this bad boy, and don’t think it’s a good investment to pay a few bucks ($5~10) just to open it up to replace the thermal compound. Plus I don’t have any thermal compound at home and feeling lazy to RMA to XFX for their claim of “Lifetime Limited Warranty”.

So I wait and pre-order 480 Nitro on Amazon, called them few days ago to follow-up with the update, and even I contacted Sapphire directly to check on their shipments to the US.

I contacted Sapphire Headquarter based in Hong Kong, China, and of course I wrote Chinese to speed up the process. I have to give a thumbs up to Sapphire for quick reply tho, they literally reply in 5 minutes after I send out the email.

But here’s the catch, Sapphire does not know when our Amazon RX 480 Nitro pre-order will deliver. So I will translate their first reply,

First reply,

Dear Customer:

If US Amazon have RX 480 Nitro in-stock, then you do not need to wait for the shipment from Hong Kong to US.

For detailed shipping estimate, can you please directly confirm with US Amazon?

Thank you.

Second reply,

I directly included and CC our messages to one of our US office to help assist your issue.

Dear Tony:

Please help me on this request from our customer in USA.

Thanks.

Of course, I checked the email address he send to one of the Sapphire US office, you are right, it is America Support (Althon).

So here’s my guess,

a) Sapphire does not allow giving out ETA time or shipping estimate

OR

b) Sapphire does not know when we will get our shipment, at all.

I left a message at Althon with no reply yet, and called Amazon few days ago with the representative insisting she does not know when Amazon will receive the RX 480 Nitro.

Then I laughed at myself, what does Althon supposes to know when Sapphire headquarter and Amazon don’t even have a shipping day…

I really should apologize for giving-in/giving up, and running out of my patience. Deep from my heart I truly want AMD succeed and gain market share from the gaming community.

I can’t, after all these and I can’t even play indie game such as The Banner Saga without forcing reboot/blackout, I sadly have to admit I contribute to future GPU inflation by picking up a GTX 1060 from MSI. ($300 after tax and all that, used the Visa check-out promo code to cut the cost by $15). That’s $50 premium over the 480 Nitro 4GB I ordered.

Congratulations to AMD and I, we both played ourselves. GG. Hopefully, I will get to pick the best performance-per-dollar card from you, AMD, in the next 4~5 years.

Edit: It's nobody's fault, I think. I would pick up a reference Powercolor 480 that has stayed in stock for at least 24 hours, except that I don't want because I don't feel comfortable gaming above 80 C.

Second, 480 Nitro had restock twice at Newegg but sold out in minutes, I was out and the cards came in odd time. I've signed up for NowInStock...

----------[Sapphire Update]--------------------------------------
For those who pre-order the 480 Nitro, I seriously advise to wait if your GPU still working fine, it's undoubtedly one of the best performance-per-dollar card if not the best.

Update from Sapphire Althon regarding the Amazon RX 480 Nitro:

Good Luck!

 

[Bacon1]

feeling lazy to RMA to XFX for their claim of “Lifetime Limited Warranty”.

You were too lazy to start the RMA, but had the time to call Amazon, Sapphire and others?

Finish that RMA and get a new card from XFX, it could end up being a 300 series due to them not having the older cards anymore.

If nothing else you can sell it to make up for buying a new card.

 

[sze5003]

You were too lazy to start the RMA, but had the time to call Amazon, Sapphire and others?

Finish that RMA and get a new card from XFX, it could end up being a 300 series due to them not having the older cards anymore.

If nothing else you can sell it to make up for buying a new card.

I agree with this logic. If you can send emails to Amazon and sapphire you can send an email and type up some inputs into a webpage to process an rma for your xfx card.

You mail it to them, they see it is faulty and most likely will give you something comparable and it will be new. Since you already have a card, sell what they send back and save that money.

 

[Stuka87]

I would start by cleaning the metric ton of dust out of the heat sink. A GPU is not going to run well when its packed full of dust like that.

 

[IEC]

XFX warranty is quite good in North America. Just be polite and clear in your communications with them and you should eventually get a defective card returned for a (likely newer generation) replacement.

 

[Ranulf]

He should've gotten the nitro 470 that was on NE last night.

 

[guskline]

Rocking a Sapphire RX480 8G

 

[cytg111]

Quick detour : If you were sporting haswell+gtx780(not ti)+vive .. would you consider the 480? .. looking at the anand bench its sort of almost .. though kepler is only gonna get worse from here on and... thoughts?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Quick detour : If you were sporting haswell+gtx780(not ti)+vive .. would you consider the 480? .. looking at the anand bench its sort of almost .. though kepler is only gonna get worse from here on and... thoughts?

No, AMD is behind in VR.

Honestly I wouldn't pair a Vive with anything less than a 1070.

 

[guskline]

Having fun withthis new setup. Was able to snag a Sapphire RX 480 8g ferrnce from newegg. Decide to pair it with a 6700k when I found an almost new one with an Asus Z170i mini mb.
Was up all night putting it together.

 

[railven]

I really should apologize for giving-in/giving up, and running out of my patience. Deep from my heart I truly want AMD succeed and gain market share from the gaming community.

I find it odd that you felt the need to apologize. Buy whatever suits your needs at whatever point in time you find yourself. If AMD lost yet another sale, that's on them.

Grats on the new card. I'd still try to complete the RMA on the old card just to have a working back up or a gift to pass on to someone else as less fortunate.

Money is finite, eventually we're going to die. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure can bring a giant smile to your face here and there. (I too grew up dirt poor, however, I went the trade-school route in the end. Now that I'm in the field, them certificates will booster my position/pay. Don't ever give up on your goals/dreams.)

EDIT: Mother of god so many typos. I clearly need more coffee. :/

 

[TeknoBug]

Most people born in the U.S./Canada are politically correct but I won't be. I came to Canada and learned English from scratch. My story is not unique and I am grateful to have been given an opportunity to succeed under democracy. I also know what it takes to come from a household where monthly income was $100 U.S. Once you put things into perspective, video games are not a necessity in life and something that can be sacrificed temporarily for greater personal/human capital rewards in the future. Add up the tuition costs, rent (if applicable) and all other ancillary costs (books, transportation, going out expenses, etc.), and the opportunity cost of foregone earnings/salary during 3-4 years while in college, it soon becomes evident that a $200-1000 videocard is THE last thing you should be thinking about. What you should be doing is striving to be at the top of your class, network with your classmates and others who may later help you advance in life, and participate in as many clubs as possible. By the time you are close to graduation, you have lined up a great job offer and left college with a handful of brilliant alumni that have potential to help advance your career (or start a business with you in the future). Every hour spent playing video games during this point of your life is every hour lost doing those things that will get you closer to making 6-figures and being able to easily afford $500 GPUs.

College/university also gives one an opportunity to challenge oneself without serious repercussions from failure. Ever wanted to try downhill skiing? There are trips for that. Ever wanted to learn programming/investing into stocks? There are clubs for that. Ever wanted to learn a new language? There are international and diverse student body for that available at your finger tips. Ever wanted to learn how to present better, debate, etc.? There are clubs for that. You don't realize how much college/university experience has to offer until you no longer have easy access to all of the resources that many take for granted at the time.

Besides, if money is SO tight, it still would have made sense to buy an RX 480 and drop into our mining section and ask people to help you set it all up. This way you'd have a GPU that would have been partially or fully paid off in 5-6 months.

I also grew up with my family struggling financially since we grew up in Vancouver, and guess what, me living in Vancouver it's getting that way again even with a decent job- cost of things in Vancouver are climbing at an alarming rate while wages barely change in the past 12 years. And to think I JUST moved back a year ago from living in Calgary for about a decade which was a cheaper place to live, may even move back there again (or Edmonton) in a couple years or so since my family is slowly migrating to Alberta.

 

[YBS1]

Wheeeee! It's happening!
I said earlier in cases & cooling I didn't mind working in the small confines of the M1....I meant it, that is until I started working with compression fittings within the small confines of the M1. I can't get a good grip on them and unfortunately I'm the type of person who likes to crank 'em till they bleed, they are wearing me out. Overlook the wiring it's all been pushed toward the front and out of the way of the area I'm working on ATM, I'm not sure there is anyway I can end up making it actually look neat though once everything is in here, going to be tight no matter how you slice it.

 

[guskline]

WOW, YBS1, my Asus Z170i mb is as tiny as yours but I have a ton more room in my Fractal Define S case. The only reason I have the mini-atx mb is it came as a combo with a 6700k for $400 so I jumped on it.

I used a Corsair H110i GT AIO cooler for my cpu and have a SOLID 4.6Ghz OC. My Sapphire RX 480 is a 8gig reference card so I kept it stock. Have 2-8G GSkill Ripjaw 3200 sticks.

Yours will be COOL literally and figuratively.

 

[YBS1]

My reference doesn't hit the raised power limit ever while running 1335/2250, which was my biggest concern settling for a reference board. I was afraid I'd be badly limited by temps, the power limit, or the lone 6 pin. Right now I'm limited by either the gpu itself or the temps (1350 is unstable), once I get a block on it I'll get to see where it stands.

Temps, it was temps. Went from 1335 air stable to 1370 no throttling with the water block, that's as far as I've tried so far. The biggest bonus is the missing mini tornado though.

WOW, YBS1, my Asus Z170i mb is as tiny as yours but I have a ton more room in my Fractal Define S case. The only reason I have the mini-atx mb is it came as a combo with a 6700k for $400 so I jumped on it.

I used a Corsair H110i GT AIO cooler for my cpu and have a SOLID 4.6Ghz OC. My Sapphire RX 480 is a 8gig reference card so I kept it stock. Have 2-8G GSkill Ripjaw 3200 sticks.

Yours will be COOL literally and figuratively.

I was wondering why you opted for a mini-itx board when you said you were putting it in that Fractal. My CPU temps actually went up slightly going from the Corsair, at idle anyway (probably due to the heat added to the water by the GPU). Peaks are virtually identical though, looks like I need that delid after all to get a drop.

 

[guskline]

YBS1, what clockspeed do you have the 6700k set at?