I’ve been focusing on Nvidia a lot recently, but that’s only because they’ve been the ones actually launching products over the past few months. That’s going to slow down drastically now, which leaves the stage open for AMD to come and show off what tricks they have up their sleeves. And according to their CEO, we won’t have to wait long at all.
AMD CEO Lisa Su has confirmed the launch window for the new Rx 300 graphics cards in a Q4 earnings call with shareholders. The new batch of cards from the red side of the curtain will land in Q2 this year, with most launches taking place between April and June. AMD has several product launches planned, including the introduction of their next-generation Carrizo APU.
The new RX 300 series will come in a variety of flavours, ranging from the lower end of the mid-range class to absolutely enthusiast machines. Leaks have already pointed towards the existence of the Fiji XT GPU – a GPU with a brand new type of stacked memory that will surpass GDDR5 and delivers 9 times the speed. There are also rumors floating around about standard liquid cooling, but again take it all with a grain of salt.
It’s important that AMD finally nailed down a launch window for the new series, because up until now no one had any idea what their plans were. With Nvidia showing their hand and focusing more on efficiency rather than overly powerful leaps forward, it will be interesting to see what AMD does in reply. Especially with this new stacked memory that has everyone talking already.
Are you waiting until AMD shows up to the party to make your upgrading decisions? Or has Nvidia already swayed you?
Last Updated: January 22, 2015
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 12:03
Red team!
Lord Chaos
January 22, 2015 at 12:08
There’s another team?
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 22, 2015 at 12:15
GREEN TEAM!
Lord Chaos
January 22, 2015 at 12:21
Hippie…
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:22
Editing out. That was too harsh.
Lord Chaos
January 22, 2015 at 12:26
Hmmm… I thought the Red came from blood of the unworthy?
Lord Chaos
January 22, 2015 at 13:48
But now I feel bad…
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 13:52
Nah yours is still fine, while you’re describing blood as red which is a common association, mine took it a step too far. 🙂
Quo Vadis?
January 22, 2015 at 12:26
Seriously, its like watching the movie “Nerds” in real life with you lot *silently sitting waiting for death threats*
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:31
YO WANT YO FACE KICKED IN WIFF DIS PLANK?!
Quo Vadis?
January 22, 2015 at 12:38
KEYBOARD RECCE!
Renata HAguillard
January 22, 2015 at 12:34
??? ????????? I simply got paid $8580 operating off my laptop this month. And if you’re thinking that that is cool, my single friend has twin toddlers and revamped $9k her 1st month. It feels thus sensible creating a lot of|such a lot|most} cash once others need to work for thus much less. this is often what I do,………….
Quo Vadis?
January 22, 2015 at 12:36
ADMIRAL! BANHAMMER NEEDED!
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 12:52
OUT SHE GOES!
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:40
Can’t fap to half a face sorry. Now you need to be banned for it XD
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 12:53
Euch, I might just ban you for THAT comment
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 22, 2015 at 19:35
*throws an old Voodoo card*
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 22, 2015 at 13:05
Green Team pffft. Teams work together, like the reds. Green is just a mob.
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:11
As always, it’ll be about Price vs Performance + Features.
I’m probably still going to buy Nvidia, but we’ll see how this launch goes. 🙂
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 22, 2015 at 12:13
With the nVidia cards dropping in price with the 900 series price vs performance is going to become a non issue. It’s literally going to be price alone heh
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:18
AMD has historically been the cheaper option, so if Nvidia drop their prices then it’s actually performance + features that’ll be the deciding factor.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 22, 2015 at 12:12
TL;DR
960 will kick its arse
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:41
I dono man the 7 series still has alot of firepower don’t you think? XD
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 22, 2015 at 19:34
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
32Devlin1
January 24, 2015 at 21:54
The 960 benchmarks show that the 960 sucks, it can not even beat a AMDs 280 and cost more now the 970 that’s a nice card but the 960 blows chunks.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 25, 2015 at 12:44
Lol. Fail. Where have you been checking your benches? It performs the same as a 770 and is cheaper than it too. It’s in the same range as the amd cards of the same caliber as the the 770s too and cheaper. Check your facts
32Devlin1
January 29, 2015 at 01:40
AMD 280 $199 on new egg Nvidia 960 $199 on new egg and it’s faster in 1080p and cf vs sli benchmarks so you go look up you facts.
CaptainJakes
January 22, 2015 at 12:26
I have A R9295 X2 and can tell you its a dam good card and am very happy with it.
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:35
Just a shame it needs a shit ton of power which will be extinct in SA if Eskom keeps doing such a “great” job.
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:36
That’s currently my big draw to the 970. It uses slightly less power under load than my current 560. For about double the pixel pushing power, maybe more.
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:39
For SA PC enthusiasts it’s all about the power now, and worst is the AMD side is battling against Nvidia due to their GameWorks being used on most games. AMD is struggling to optimize.
Lord Chaos
January 22, 2015 at 12:36
If Green can still run with power cuts I’m switching sides. 😛
32Devlin1
January 24, 2015 at 22:00
When building a monster gaming rig I could care less about power as long as I get performance, running 3 290s now so I might spend an extra $50 a year on my power bill big deal I can just change out a few of those 60 watt bulbs I have for some 15 watt fluorescent bulbs and problem fixed.
HairyEwok
January 26, 2015 at 08:31
You speak in dollars so i take it your not from South Africa so therefore your argument is invalid.
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 12:45
Compared to the GTX 970. It’s double the performance, but almost 3 times the power draw and 5 times the price.
Not worth it… 2 x 970s will be better, in every way, with the same performance output. Cheaper, less power required, and cooler.
http://www.hwcompare.com/18025/geforce-gtx-970-vs-radeon-r9-295×2/
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:48
Also just remember the R9295 is dual GPU so a SLI from Nvidia side would win like you show in price power usage and performance. Hell a Crossfire would kill it too on price, performance and power consumption.
ToshZA
January 22, 2015 at 13:10
I just did some math (I know, hard) – for the same price as an upgrade to the 295X2 (including the PSU upgrade I’d need), I can buy a full i7 system with 8GB ram and 2 x 970’s. Full box, all included. Just no monitor, kb/mouse and OS.
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:10
o_0
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 14:11
Yeah like the 295×2 isn’t expensive enough you have to have a PSU for it with a certain amount of amps and pins… People that buy these equipment for gaming are ones with deep pockets and no research. The Titan, TitanZ and R295x2 are used for rendering and professional work, that’s why their prices are so ridiculous.
32Devlin1
January 24, 2015 at 22:05
Why not buy 2 290x and spend less.
32Devlin1
January 24, 2015 at 22:04
Yea win like in shuttering and frame piercing with there sli now.
HairyEwok
January 26, 2015 at 08:34
I take it you have a 295×2 since your defending the card to all mean that you can. Fact of the matter is no sensible working class person would buy the card due to power consumption and price.
32Devlin1
January 29, 2015 at 01:27
Nope 3 290s but the 295×2 is not a bad card just not my cup of tea.
32Devlin1
January 29, 2015 at 01:31
It would win if the fix the sli problem not hating on the cards yell my wife runs 3 of the 970s in her rig but she is really upset with the shuttering and lack of scaling on the 3rd card but as for someone who just uses one card they are a great card.
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:09
Those 970s are probably the best bang for buck the green team has. Epic cards
32Devlin1
January 29, 2015 at 01:28
They are nice single cards and would buy one my self but until they fix there sli problem not going to touch them.
CaptainJakes
January 22, 2015 at 15:13
Remember that song nothing compairs lol
Ryanza
January 22, 2015 at 20:21
HairyEwok
January 22, 2015 at 12:33
Dat power usage though and with Eskom failing the question will be, can your gennie run it XD
geel slang
January 22, 2015 at 12:37
This is welcome news, might cause a drop in Green prices once Red starts to launch.
Ghost In The Rift
January 22, 2015 at 12:52
Is it really worth switching from Green to Red??
Does AMD still have driver issues and bugs ext?
Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event
January 22, 2015 at 12:53
Only with BF4 and only because it is BF4. 😛
Their drivers are massively stable with the exception of crossfire. but I hear SLI also suffers sooo.
Edit: Just a small note. Heat can be an issue as they run quite hot. Nothing watercooling can’t fix though.
Ghost In The Rift
January 22, 2015 at 13:00
i like the raw power behind it but to scared for driver issues and bugs forever lol
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 12:53
Not in the least, green team on the other hand….ewww
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:01
Hasn’t your 7870 burnt out yet?
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 13:01
Still running like a baws!
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:02
Must be all the solitaire you play
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 13:05
Nope, my old CPU was the bottleneck, recently upgraded (after 6 years) and now running all on max
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:06
I saw. Nice all red setup. 7870 FTW. I only sold mine to play Unity on max. Shouldn’t have bothered TBH.
Ghost In The Rift
January 22, 2015 at 13:02
i got a GT 740 and im maxing out DA:I but only in 1360×768, thats goos enough for me:-(
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 13:05
Eina
Ryanza
January 22, 2015 at 13:08
768p better than the Xbox One.
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:08
hahaha
Admiral Chief
January 22, 2015 at 13:14
HAHA
Ghost In The Rift
January 22, 2015 at 13:51
LOL
But Need GTX 970 cuz?
The Witcher is Coming!
32Devlin1
January 24, 2015 at 22:08
nope not really there drivers are a lot better and in cf they scale better then sli with no shuttering or frame piercing like Nvidia is have with there cards in sli now.
RinceThis
January 22, 2015 at 13:02
DAPHUQ is that thing?
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:04
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 with Asetek liquid cooling
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 22, 2015 at 13:06
Don’t get technical with him.
Rince, what he means is “it mak gamez go faster!”
Spaffy
January 22, 2015 at 13:07
My bad. 😀
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 22, 2015 at 13:07
I’m waiting. Quite partial to AMD for the old gfx.