AMD had the world on its heels when they revealed the RX 480, a card aimed to bring high-end performance at a low cost. Priced at USD 200, it may just be the cheapest VR ready card in the market, with the best performance/dollar spent. Take a look at the specs.
| RADEON™ RX 480 GRAPHICS | |
|---|---|
| GCN ARCHITECTURE | 4th Generation |
| COMPUTE UNITS | 36 |
| STREAM PROCESSORS | 2304 |
| CLOCK SPEEDS (BOOST / BASE) | 1266 MHz / 1120 MHz |
| PEAK PERFORMANCE | Up to 5.8 TFLOPS |
| MEMORY SPEED (EFFECTIVE) | 7 Gbps or higher |
| MEMORY BANDWIDTH | 224 GB/s or higher |
| MEMORY INTERFACE | 256 bit |
| MEMORY TYPE | GDDR5 |
| BOARD POWER | 150W |
| AMD FREESYNC™ TECHNOLOGY | Yes |
| DIRECTX® 12 SUPPORT | Yes |
| VULKAN™ SUPPORT | Yes |
| VIRTUAL SUPER RESOLUTION | Yes |
| HDMI VERSION | 2.0b |
| DISPLAYPORT VERSION | 1.3 HBR / 1.4 HDR Ready |
The reference version of the RX 480 is a single fan radiator design cooler with a single 6-pin power connector. Based on Polaris 10 architecture, the card places a strong focus on 1440p gaming and VR experience. It features a simplistic dark, block design with the signature red Radeon logo on the fan as well as the card itself, which seems to work quite well for the card. It does lack a backplate, though, which is not very suprising for graphic cards in this range.
For display connectivity, the card offers three DisplayPorts and one HDMI port. The HDMI port is now version 2.0b and DisplayPort has been updated to 1.4 HDR ready, which enables support for 4K at 120 Hz and 5K @ 60 Hz, or 8K @ 60 Hz with two cables. For effective cooling, the display ports are accompanied by an array of vents.
Coming with a 6-pin power connector and a TDP of 150 W, it does not leave a lot of room for overclocking. The card comes in two variants, 4GB and 8GB, both versions running DDR5 memory.
The card sits at an idle temperature of about 35 degrees, which is the best in class as we’ve seen until now. However, the card maxes out at about 82 degrees under heavy gaming. We tested out several latest titles for benchmark purposes, and the numbers are quite impressive as you can see for yourself.
First we tested DOOM (Vulkan API) at ultra settings. The framerates maxed at a whopping 126 FPS, with an average of 102. At 1440p as well, we had an average steady rate of 82 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS.
For Rise of the Tomb Raider, the card offered an average of 65 FPS at 1080p and 46 FPS when run at 1440p (ultra high settings, Pure Hair On).
Fallout 4 performance is impressive as well, with the card running at an average of 86 FPS at 1080p and 58 FPS at 1440p.
Finally, we tested FarCry Primal for which the card offered an average framerate of 65 FPS at 1080p and 46 FPS at 1440p.
At the first look, the card may feel a little light or plasticky, but at the price tag of USD 200, it is a terrific card. Same goes for the performance. It is a card that competes with the GTX 970, and at times even the 980 at almost half its price. Moreover, it is the only GPU in the price range that offers premium VR experience, making it the perfect choice for those looking for a high end gaming experience without having to spend a buttload of money.
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