AMD Radeon Pro Duo Preview

[lanceknightnight]

I have had over 4 290x cards and think AMD really makes some great products but there is one thing they need to address. HDMI 2.0 This article does not include if it is still using the old standard or if it is updated. If is is then wow. if not then how professional can a card be that does not output the colors of modern media?

 

[Hiryougan]

I have had over 4 290x cards and think AMD really makes some great products but there is one thing they need to address. HDMI 2.0 This article does not include if it is still using the old standard or if it is updated. If is is then wow. if not then how professional can a card be that does not output the colors of modern media?

It would be surprising if it has HDMI 2.0 since it is basically two Fury Xs.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

The only reason they wouldn't send W1zzard a sample by now is that if the card has so many driver issues it isn't worth even $800. AMD is most likely hoping to rope in a few thousand early adopters before the complaints start rolling in. Don't be a victim, wait for a proper review.

If I had any AMD stock I would definitely sell ASAP. I don't think AMD will pull out of it's nosedive any time soon. One bad decision after another unfortunately. A company needs to buy the intellectual property and start a new company with it that is free of AMD's massive debts. There are many ways to solve the problem. The longer they are stagnant, the worse it will get.

 

[GhostRyder]

The only reason they wouldn't send W1zzard a sample by now is that if the card has so many driver issues it isn't worth even $800. AMD is most likely hoping to rope in a few thousand early adopters before the complaints start rolling in. Don't be a victim, wait for a proper review.

If I had any AMD stock I would definitely sell ASAP. I don't think AMD will pull out of it's nosedive any time soon. One bad decision after another unfortunately. A company needs to buy the intellectual property and start a new company with it that is free of AMD's massive debts. There are many ways to solve the problem. The longer they are stagnant, the worse it will get.

Doubtful, its a dual GPU Fiji which means it uses the same CFX profiles so unless there is an inherent flaw or a problem with the cooling system/performance of the chips its going to be the same as 2 Nano's about. They are not banking on selling these by the boatload, they are using it to get rid of the extra Fiji chips because next generation is around the corner and to release a dual GPU card like they tend to do. They certainly are not going to lose a ton of stock price over this card.

asking price is the same as Titan Z.... really AMD? If I were to choose a high end dual-GPU card, it will be their R9 295X2 since it's the one card that kills most of the competition out of the water for under $700 across 1440p & up while being a little cheaper than the R9 Fury X.

Titan Z's price dropped awhile back from 3k, and that's if you can find one anymore for sale new from a major retailer. Its overpriced but so are all dual GPU cards in this day and age.

Exactly why Nvidia didn't sample their Titan Z turd in a box.

Yep, its sad but neither seem fond of sampling the dual GPU cards anymore. Then again since we all can make a guess that its the same as two of the chips its based on that could almost make it pointless (Its not, but since we know the performance its most for just the cooling, noise, or things like that). Maybe they are both thinking like that now?

I have had over 4 290x cards and think AMD really makes some great products but there is one thing they need to address. HDMI 2.0 This article does not include if it is still using the old standard or if it is updated. If is is then wow. if not then how professional can a card be that does not output the colors of modern media?

If it has HDMI 2.0, I think we all would be surprised. The only way your going to get that on those cards is using the DP adaptor to HDMI 2.0.

 

[Hiryougan]

If it has HDMI 2.0, I think we all would be surprised. The only way your going to get that on those cards is using the DP adaptor to HDMI 2.0.

Actually it would be really cool if AMD decided to add the adapter to the Pro Duo.

 

[raghu78]

This card is meant to sell off the remaining Fiji GPUs and clear the way for Polaris later this year. This card is also being used to seed VR developers and academic institutions who are going to have VR courses. Crytek will be using the Radeon Pro Duo in their VR First program

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/268107/Cryteks_VR_First_initiative_adding_7_new_university_labs.php

 

[Hiryougan]

Well, this card gives also as much power as you can get in small amount of space. You could get two Fury X instead, but not if you have only space for one card(low/short cases). By the way putting the aio cooling aside, the card is actually really short for an enthusiast segment. Most powerful gpus are around ~29cm.*

*of course i don't include blowers. Comparing blowers and such aio is like comparing amd stock cpu cooler with custom loop.

 

[brian111]

Yeah, so what is the reason? Nothing new in that article.

Whether the reasons were valid, they did list them in the article.

The larger point was that very few, if any, cards were sent out. While I can understand the frustration from the previous Nano fiasco, at least this time it appears that there was no singling out anyone.

 

[Gin]

Why would anyone invest in a dual 28nm chip card now. This card should have been out long ago. But personally I'm done with multi GPU..

Because Pascal won't properly support async compute and Polaris will run almost like a Fury X/980Ti, no real performance improvement, only lower TDP.
If you want to play at 4K 60fps and almost ultra settings you need a multigpu or dual chip setup.
I have a R9 390 CrossFire and I'm fully enjoying the 4K, now almost every game has a CrossFire/SLI profile. I would never change my CrossFire for a single 980Ti or Fury X.

 

[Suka]

http://www.hwbattle.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=hottopic&wr_id=2040
Going against 980TI sli

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

@GhostRyder pretty much the sad reality IMO.... but there's always cheaper alternatives, as usual.

 

[gasolina]

Because Pascal won't properly support async compute and Polaris will run almost like a Fury X/980Ti, no real performance improvement, only lower TDP.
If you want to play at 4K 60fps and almost ultra settings you need a multigpu or dual chip setup.
I have a R9 390 CrossFire and I'm fully enjoying the 4K, now almost every game has a CrossFire/SLI profile. I would never change my CrossFire for a single 980Ti or Fury X.

well i do have a 3 R9 290 unlock to 290x and overclock crossfire and trifire i must say i cannot run the witcher 3 and Tomb raider + etc.......to me the 390/390x just a overclocked out of the box 290 sadly

 

[EarthDog]

Just an FYI on sampling...(your conclusion)....

We were told the same thing (not sure yet on timing). Then this came out and we don't have one either (reviewed the 295x2, and also not and Fury/Nano product). I talked to their PR firm who handles that stuff and was told they are not seeding it to places like us... in that we do not really cover what its 'made for', the VR content and VR content creation.

That said, its interesting to see people's perspective on this card and they focus on, rightfully so, the gaming aspect of it, when this is, at least how AMD wants to frame it, more of a workstation card that can game.

EDIT: The article Brian linked is what we were told as well.

 

[medi01]

Free PR for AMD in a preview?

Claiming that it can beat dual Titan X only under "ideal condition" is hardly AMD PR... (and rather dubious statement too ). E.g.

http://iyd.kr/753

if the card has so many driver issues

What year it is, FFS, to complain about AMD drivers? Jesus...

One bad decision after another unfortunately.

Name a couple.

Stock went up, because:
* They think AMD has good product that will hit soon and AMD will re-gain market share
* AMD semi-custom is about half of its business already
* Semi-custom business keeps ramping up. PS4k, likely XBone bump, likely Nintendo NX
* Deal with Chinese
* Likely IP deal with Intel (as NV is ruled out for some reason)

 

[Casecutter]

I think brian111 gave the right link we should all go to the Techgage write-up by Rob Williams.

AMD Isn’t Sampling Its Radeon Pro Duo To Reviewers – But It Has A Good Reason

http://techgage.com/news/amd-isnt-sampling-its-radeon-pro-duo-to-reviewers-but-it-has-a-good-reason/

His line of "if you’re a gamer, you should research the card before you commit." is articulate. More than the tantrum we got here.

AMD indicates Pro Duo is “specifically designed for gamers who create and creators who game” it's a card that targets professionals more than gamers. Honestly no different than the category the Nvidia TITAN Z was looking to target.

As raghu78 offers...

This card is meant to sell off the remaining Fiji GPUs and clear the way for Polaris later this year. This card is also being used to seed VR developers and academic institutions who are going to have VR courses. Crytek will be using the Radeon Pro Duo in their VR First program

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/268107/Cryteks_VR_First_initiative_adding_7_new_university_labs.php

Yeah, so what is the reason? Nothing new in that article

I take it its some lack of comprehension thing?

Stock went up, because:

I have an inkling Apple is getting into V-R and offering content to view (similar to how iTunes dovetailed iPods). Apple will offer complete V-R systems and RTG graphic's will be inside, and provide exclusive content from their storefront.

 

[HumanSmoke]

Claiming that it can beat dual Titan X only under "ideal condition" is hardly AMD PR... (and rather dubious statement too ). E.g.

...or you could you some actual Pro Duo vs GTX 980 Ti SLI and Nano CFX benchmarks (Courtesy of PC Per)

4K

2560x1440

Lordy! that GTA V 4K graph looks more like San Andreas....the Dwayne Johnson movie, not the GTA game.

So much for AMD's internal benchmarking...probably easy to see why the company wasn't too keen for gaming reviews. A couple or more of these games in the benchmark suite would strip the gloss clean off.

 

[EarthDog]

Don't rent HS, pwn.

 

[medi01]

Infamous "we don't bend over... even though we bent over... somehow" from Anand.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3988/the-use-of-evgas-geforce-gtx-460-ftw-in-last-nights-review


I still find it hilarious, sorry if it annoys you guys.

Article that we are commenting on mentions "ideal conditions" Dual Pro needs to beat SLI Titan X, namely, concrete single game which is needed for that to happen (I stress it, single one, not only that, DX12 one, oh with async compute, how freaking unfair).

Let me cite it:

AMD is also claiming the Radeon Pro Duo to be faster than two GTX TITAN X cards in SLI under "ideal conditions" (4K Ultra HD "Ashes of the Singularity," with DirectX 12 Async Compute, a feature NVIDIA chips currently lack).

What a freaking shame, eh?


Yet there is a bunch of games (see charts above) with vastly superior CrossFire vs SLI scaling, clearly, dual Nano won't have problems beating Dual Titan X at, for instance, Metro Last Night.

This is somehow "countered" by charts from review with a handful cherry picked (using which criteria, poor dual GPU scaling?) games.
Amazing discussion.

So much for AMD's internal benchmarking.

Oh, DGLee is "AMD's internal benchmarking". Who would know.
http://iyd.kr/753

 

[EarthDog]

That pot... that kettle... black.

 

[Xavier Gonzalez]

You ever going to benchmark this card?

 

[W1zzard]

You ever going to benchmark this card?

Probably not, definitely not gonna buy one, so unless AMD sends me one, no review.

Plenty of custom 1080 and 1070 reviews coming in the next weeks, and AMD's new stuff too.

 

[mroofie]

Meh 1080 TI will be lacking about 25 - 50 compute performance while consuming less power and being a single gpu solution

rip Radeon Pro

rip money's

 

[Caring1]

I knew I should have saved that benchmark I saw , 4 Radeon Pro Duos in CF, and not that much better than a 1080 or SLI 980Ti's.
Perhaps poor scaling or drivers caused that.
That will teach me to screenshot them for later, just in case.

 

[mroofie]

This card is DOA xD

Should have released it last year