AMD Cuts Prices of Radeon R9 285

[btarunr]

As the Spring PC upgrade season heats up, AMD decided to woo mainstream gamers away from NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 960, by working with retailers in the EU to introduce price-cuts on its Radeon R9 285 graphics card. The card can now be had for under 180€ (incl taxes). The GTX 960, in comparison, starts at 192€ (incl taxes). The R9 285 offers higher performance than the GTX 960. It is, however, let down by higher power consumption and noise figures. Based on the 28 nm "Tonga" silicon, the R9 285 offers 1,792 stream processors based on AMD's Graphics CoreNext 1.2 architecture, 112 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide memory interface, holding 2 GB of memory.



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[fynxer]

To little to late, AMD lost a massive amount market share because the refused to take on nVidia with force when they released GTX970/980. Now AMD is at 24% market share and nVidia 76%, you clould say that AMD graphic business is facing it's eleventh hour. If the new 390X cannot generate sales or if there will be a shortage AMD may very well be facing a market share in to the single digits.

Why this is a possible reality is because nVidia will go in with full force to disrupt AMD new release of the 300X series with the new 980Ti and heavy price cuts on high and medium end cards. AMD is down for the count and nVidia smells blood so they are going for the kill, they will do what ever they can to try to finish of AMD's discrete graphic card business. If you think you seen a graphic card war in the past, it will be nothing compared whats coming around the corner starting this summer.

Cheack out 10 year of AMD vs. nVidia battle pictured in a graph at Sweclockers:
http://www.sweclockers.com/nyhet/20...vidia-visualiseras-i-lattoverskadligt-diagram

But AMD is a well trained underdog, if they can pull of a successful 300X series release with supply that meets the demand AMD could be a force to recon with again. I really hope AMD won't screw this up some how because i don't think they will get another chance like they have with the 300X series. When nVidia releases 14nm with second gen HMB the fun is over for AMD.

 

[ZoneDymo]

To little to late, AMD lost a massive amount market share because the refused to take on nVidia with force when they released GTX970/980. Now AMD is at 24% market share and nVidia 76%, you clould say that AMD graphic business is facing it's eleventh hour. If the new 390X cannot generate sales or if there will be a shortage AMD may very well be facing a market share in to the single digits.

Why this is a possible reality is because nVidia will go in with full force to disrupt AMD new release of the 300X series with the new 980Ti and heavy price cuts on high and medium end cards. AMD is down for the count and nVidia smells blood so they are going for the kill, they will do what ever they can to try to finish of AMD's discrete graphic card business. If you think you seen a graphic card war in the past, it will be nothing compared whats coming around the corner starting this summer.

Cheack out 10 year of AMD vs. nVidia battle pictured in a graph at Sweclockers:
http://www.sweclockers.com/nyhet/20...vidia-visualiseras-i-lattoverskadligt-diagram

But AMD is a well trained underdog, if they can pull of a successful 300X series release with supply that meets the demand AMD could be a force to recon with again. I really hope AMD won't screw this up some how.

Did you even read the article at all?
Because it just seems you were ready to burst with that, lets call it "information" you just posted.

"oh gawd finally an article about AMD gpus, sweet relief"

 

[fynxer]

Did you even read the article at all?
Because it just seems you were ready to burst with that, lets call it "information" you just posted.

"oh gawd finally an article about AMD gpus, sweet relief"

Yepp, read it alright, did you? Here is a quick reminder, it's all about AMD trying to counter GTX960 with price cuts.

Ohhh, and my reaction was to what end, why react now to a low end card like 960 when they did nothing when it really mattered when nVidia released GTX970/980.

I am not here to write what you think is proper to your opinion, i actually have my own. If you do not like it so be it, your comment was actually the one that contributed nothing to the article, go and troll somebody else.

 

[ZoneDymo]

Yepp, read it alright, did you? Here is a quick reminder, it's all about AMD trying to counter GTX960 with price cut.

Ohhh, and my reaction was to what end, why react now to a low end card like 960 when they did nothing when it really mattered when nVidia released GTX970/980.

I am not here to write what you think is proper to your opinion, i actually have my own. If you do not like it so be it.

Comprehensive reading and less assuming, your opinion matters not to me, what matters is that this article is about AMD dropping prices on the 285 to combat the 960.
The 970 or 980 or what happened in the past has nothing to do with anything here.
You are just assuming things with your "when it really mattered", you have no inside information on which sales matter more.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

so, now it's roughly the same price, while still being a little faster, and using much more power.

When will AMD learn that this strategy does not work? It didnt work for the 290x vs. the geforce 970, it wont work for this.
just give us the 300 series already.

 

[NC37]

Heh, must be desperate to dump these crap chips. Now if they'd only cut the 290X. Finally saw some sub $250 on promos at Egg. Course I'd want the newer 8GB model.

Doubt 980Ti will take any thunder from the 390X if the performance rumors are true about it. Heck if things remain on track with Win 10 and running AMD + NV as Physx, I've no problem going back to Radeons. All this proprietary physics stuff is getting tiresome. If Win 10 forces NV to get the thumb out of it's butt then I'll be glad to keep one of my 460s for that stuff and get a Radeon for the rest. Will miss the SLI tho. Really gotten good longevity out of these.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

To little to late, AMD lost a massive amount market share because the refused to take on nVidia with force when they released GTX970/980. Now AMD is at 24% market share and nVidia 76%, you clould say that AMD graphic business is facing it's eleventh hour. If the new 390X cannot generate sales or if there will be a shortage AMD may very well be facing a market share in to the single digits.

Why this is a possible reality is because nVidia will go in with full force to disrupt AMD new release of the 300X series with the new 980Ti and heavy price cuts on high and medium end cards. AMD is down for the count and nVidia smells blood so they are going for the kill, they will do what ever they can to try to finish of AMD's discrete graphic card business. If you think you seen a graphic card war in the past, it will be nothing compared whats coming around the corner starting this summer.

Cheack out 10 year of AMD vs. nVidia battle pictured in a graph at Sweclockers:
http://www.sweclockers.com/nyhet/20...vidia-visualiseras-i-lattoverskadligt-diagram

But AMD is a well trained underdog, if they can pull of a successful 300X series release with supply that meets the demand AMD could be a force to recon with again. I really hope AMD won't screw this up some how because i don't think they will get another chance like they have with the 300X series. When nVidia releases 14nm with second gen HMB the fun is over for AMD.

Feckin A troll this one, its intel that's stomping the gpu charts for a start ,,but now we do at least Know who you're fave companiy is eh.

 

[john_]

In Greece, 285 starts at 228 euros (7+ days or after ordering it) with shops that really have it available (1-3 days delivery) from 243 euros. 960 on the other hand starts at 204 euros. Funny isn't it?

 

[newtekie1]

The R9 285 was a pretty big disappointment. I'm surprised it took them this long to cut the price. There really is no need for the R9 285 with the 280 and 280X in the product stack.

 

[GhostRyder]

The R9 285 was a pretty big disappointment. I'm surprised it took them this long to cut the price. There really is no need for the R9 285 with the 280 and 280X in the product stack.

I guess it depends on how much more 280's are in the market, looks like they miscounted how the sales on those were going or how many were still out in the wild because it was supposed to completely replace it.

Well either way, its not a bad trade since it is a better card than the GTX 960 in pure performance which at that range your already able to go pretty small on the PSU and looking for the most bang to yo9ur buck.

 

[human_error]

The R9 285 was a pretty big disappointment. I'm surprised it took them this long to cut the price. There really is no need for the R9 285 with the 280 and 280X in the product stack.

I think the problem with the 285 is the fact the 280 didn't sell out. If you take the 280/280x out of the equation it makes a lot of sense, even more with support for freesync.

I do wonder if this price cut is really a move to better position against the 960 or if it is to start clearing stock of 285s before a potential product line update (where existing 285s could be rebranded?)

 

[Casecutter]

this article is about AMD dropping prices on the 285 to combat the 960.

While this article portrays that... it doesn't seem like enough discount and coming way late to be a defense against the 960. Appears more just clear the European stock, and to adjust the value to "correlate" better to the upcoming price point of their new release.


I honestly don't think AMD ever had that big of gelded Tonga's to really field a price war with a 285. In the states we saw some deals 4-6 weeks back, like a nice P-C version getting down to $160 after rebates and a code. Others have worked down to $170-180 in those same weeks, but as of late the number of available 285 SKU's seemed to have been drying up and prices are like $180-200. Nvidias' AIB's seem to be pushing the 960 price down the last 2 weeks with "in cart" pricing and small $10 rebates, there was a Gigabyte Windforce for $185 the other day and include a copy of Wicther. So there's movement from both sides.

I think most Tonga/Amethyst production is robust but AMD basically purchases wafers to meet Apples requirement for the R9 M295X, while whatever is binned goes to make a 285. I think the yield was not great at first, but now they just don’t bin enough to do any sort of battling and this is just a sell-off in Europe before the new release.

I think AMD has been signaling that they should have a card (rebrand 285) that's possibly less gelded than what the 285 is now and higher clocks as the Pro part, while there will be an XT version (similar as what was the 270/270X twins). As to power I think it will be improved, though not earth-shattering or to the level of the 960's. I might say a reference spec Pro that bests most 960 OC customs, with power that's a tad better than it was with Tonga.

I see this level of card that was 'mainstream' being the new "above entry" $160-170 price point for AMD. To offer 1080p the performance to play most previous title's with high and ultra-settings. While still newer Dx12 title's seeing playable results from the average build.

 

[Batou1986]

The 285 is a pointless card why would anyone would want a 2gb card when the 280/280x have 3gb and near identical performance is beyond me.

 

[alwayssts]

Maybe I'm totally wrong, but price cuts often mean a replacement is incoming pretty quick.

Now, don't get me wrong, but I find it amusing the replacement for the 1792sp Tonga will probably be a slightly different version of Tonga (named something else). Fact of the matter is it's placed completely wrong. If that's because of yields (probably, given such low clocks, high voltages, and only salvage parts released) who knows. They could make it work, though.

285 was clearly their take 680 with some slight improvements...but a couple years late and the market had shifted. It would seem to make sense to do something like the 270 (non-x), and clock it down to be more similar to 960 in performance and power. I think the key would be to get it under 150w....but we'd likely be talking 8xx/5000-5500 and .9v-.95 vcore and 1.35v ram. On one hand that would seem to be a waste of chips, but on the other they could probably use almost everything while actually being relevant.

On the other side of the coin, when is the full part coming? Obviously we shouldn't expect miracles....but do we really have to wait for nvidia to launch a 960ti (3/4 gm204) for them to find it relevant, at which point it will be in the exact same situation (probably a 225w part vs a 150w part with similar performance)? Is Tahiti really doing that well against 770-780, or more likely (as GhostRyder wrote), are their still that many Tahiti gpus (280x) on the shelves?

I find this game of price roulette and sku chicken (or whatever you choose to call what AMD is doing) most-annoying, and seemingly incomprehensible.

 

[arbiter]

To little to late, AMD lost a massive amount market share because the refused to take on nVidia with force when they released GTX970/980. Now AMD is at 24% market share and nVidia 76%, you clould say that AMD graphic business is facing it's eleventh hour. If the new 390X cannot generate sales or if there will be a shortage AMD may very well be facing a market share in to the single digits.

Rumor is already spreading that 390(x) will be short supply due to low yields of HBM chips so that + retail sites jacking up prices could very well do that. Could push a lot of people to a 980ti. Its all just rumors but rumors that could be true given new memory they are using.

 

[Folterknecht]

The 285 was a fail from the start at that price point considering the 280 and 280X were offering the same or more performance with 1GB more RAM for only a small price premium.

An uncut Tonga with 3-4 GB RAM at the 200-230$ price range would have a much easier time dealing with the GTX960. Atm you re paying the same price for 285 and 960 at roughly the same performance, while the 960 offers much better power consumtion, heat + noise values.

No thanks, even with a rebate I wont touch that card.

 

[Casecutter]

Is Tahiti really doing that well against 770-780, or more likely (as GhostRyder wrote), are their still that many Tahiti gpus (280x) on the shelves?

I find this game of price roulette and sku chicken (or whatever you choose to call what AMD is doing) most-annoying, and seemingly incomprehensible.

Well, here in the states 770-780 dried up by the end 2014. Even then the 285 was a good wedge card, but honestly was just another wedge between the 760 and 770. But since the beginning of 2015, till the 960 showed AMD has owned everything between the GTX 750Ti up to the 970.

As for Tahiti they're kind of gone just a few 280's for as low $150 (with code/rebate), while 280X are I think pretty-well gone it's hit or miss on availability and good prices... there was Sapphire Vapor-X TRI-X for $190 (C/R). The 290/290X are still fairly prevalent, but more often dealing $240-280 still have a place to keep some buyers contemplating.

Now AMD had to do two things in the first half of 2015; sell off all channel inventory and amass a war-chest of good Fiji, HBM and get them on interposers. Yes it been annoying watching AMD the last 8+ months, but them clearing channel is something that they had to do, while it's not great for their performance, it was a good move to get it off their back now. Fiji/HBM I think they'll have a full supply in channel, but if as good as folk feel (I'm tempering my enthusiasm), AMD I think will have inventory to fill the initial demand for several weeks, at least better than they did with Hawaii.

 

[Lionheart]

The R9 285 was a pretty meh card to begin with, I had the same reaction with the GTX 960 as well but the 960's power consumption / performance makes it more attractive.

 

[Octavean]

The R9 285 was a pretty meh card to begin with, I had the same reaction with the GTX 960 as well but the 960's power consumption / performance makes it more attractive.

I agree.

This all adds up to what we already know of the GTX 960 which is its simply a more modern product then the R9 285. So the GTX 960 isn't a barn burning screamer but it wasn't intended to be. If people actually look up from game performance for a second they'll also note that the GTX 960 has the same HDMI 2.0 support (HDCP 2.2) as well as H.265 / HEVC encode (like the GTX 980 / 970) as well as H.265 / HEVC decode (unlike the GTX 980 / 970). So there is more to take advantage of then just the rated gaming performance.

 

[vega22]

£250 gpu are low end and you should get one not for the gaming performance but for its advanced 2d abilities xD

i have heard it fucking all now xD

 

[Tomorrow]

I only wish 285 would be available for under 180€ inc. taxes because currently in my country in Estonia (Eastern EU) it starts from 236€ (a 56€ or more price premium) while 960 starts from 200€ (only 8€ price premium).

 

[rav]

To little to late,


Dx12: is it the best friend that AMD has?



About a month ago Anandtech ran some extensive 3dMarkv1.5 API Overhead benchmarks. They tested both dGPU and integrated APU's and IGP.



http://bit.ly/1GCjLzU



Here is an interesting fact.



Using DX11 as a baseline to compare the performance delta the following was undertood.



Intel i7 4960 and GTX980 can produce 2.2MILLION draw calls running DX11.



i7-4960 has 6 cores and 12 threads.



Intel i7-4960 = $1200


nVidia GTX-980 = $540
Total = $1740



Of course DX11 is the API that all benchmarks have been running up until now.



However when you run 3dMark API Overhead test using DX12 something interesting happens.



AMD's A6-7400 APU can produce 4.4 million draw calls.



AMD A6-7400 costs $90-150 depending upon outlet.



A6-7400k has 2 cores. Hmmmmm..... 2 cores vs 6 cores? $100 vs $1200?



Of course when you run the same benchmark on A6 using DX11 API the Draw Call Overhead drops to 513,000. When compared to the Intel/nVidia system costing $1700 the justification becomes clear. You spend the money for 2.2 million draw calls or a 4x performance increase over a $100 cpu!!!



Seriously? $1700 just for a 400% performance increase over a $100 APU?



Mantle and DX12 has changed the game.



Last year the media was comparatively benching very expensive dGPU silicon just gain a few percentage points for a score that NOW can be achieved with a $100 AMD APU.


Hmmm…. NOT ONLY achieved but can gain a 100% increase in performance over the more expensive system.



Still think DX12 will have no impact?




Intel and nVidia has been ripping off the consumer using DX11 when a much better API; Mantle and now DX12 makes low priced and low performing $100 APU's OUTPERFORM the "BEST ON THE MARKET".



Now that XBOX will be adopting DX12 the gain in performance will be far better than ANY combination of Intel CPU and nVidia GPU you can put together and currently running DX11.



In otherwords.....


...if you are happy and satisfied with the performance of your current DX11 $2000 gaming system then you should be ecstatic to achieve 2x the performance with a $400 DX12 AMD gaming system.

 

[rav]

The 285 is a pointless card why would anyone would want a 2gb card when the 280/280x have 3gb and near identical performance is beyond me.

The performance of this Radeon card when using DX12 is staggering. About 18million draw calls. The best that Intel and nVidia GTX 980 can do is 2 million draws calls with DX11.


You can no longer consider DX11 benchmarks when making an intelligent decision regarding dGPU purchase.

In fact in DX12 the 3dMark API Overhead test produces 4million draw calls on an AMD A6-7400 APU ALL BY ITSELF!!!!!

In other words a sheap little $100 AMD APU in DX12 can absolutely CRUSH an Intel i7-4960 + nVidia GTX 980 when the Intel system is running DX11.

With DX12 the gloves come off.!!!!

 

[rav]

Dx12: is it the best friend that AMD has?



About a month ago Anandtech ran some extensive 3dMarkv1.5 API Overhead benchmarks. They tested both dGPU and integrated APU's and IGP.



http://bit.ly/1GCjLzU



Here is an interesting fact.



Using DX11 as a baseline to compare the performance delta the following was undertood.



Intel i7 4960 and GTX980 can produce 2.2MILLION draw calls running DX11.



i7-4960 has 6 cores and 12 threads.



Intel i7-4960 = $1200


nVidia GTX-980 = $540
Total = $1740



Of course DX11 is the API that all benchmarks have been running up until now.



However when you run 3dMark API Overhead test using DX12 something interesting happens.



AMD's A6-7400 APU can produce 4.4 million draw calls.



AMD A6-7400 costs $90-150 depending upon outlet.



A6-7400k has 2 cores. Hmmmmm..... 2 cores vs 6 cores? $100 vs $1200?



Of course when you run the same benchmark on A6 using DX11 API the Draw Call Overhead drops to 513,000. When compared to the Intel/nVidia system costing $1700 the justification becomes clear. You spend the money for 2.2 million draw calls or a 4x performance increase over a $100 cpu!!!



Seriously? $1700 just for a 400% performance increase over a $100 APU?



Mantle and DX12 has changed the game.



Last year the media was comparatively benching very expensive dGPU silicon just gain a few percentage points for a score that NOW can be achieved with a $100 AMD APU.


Hmmm…. NOT ONLY achieved but can gain a 100% increase in performance over the more expensive system.



Still think DX12 will have no impact?




Intel and nVidia has been ripping off the consumer using DX11 when a much better API; Mantle and now DX12 makes low priced and low performing $100 APU's OUTPERFORM the "BEST ON THE MARKET".



Now that XBOX will be adopting DX12 the gain in performance will be far better than ANY combination of Intel CPU and nVidia GPU you can put together and currently running DX11.



In otherwords.....


...if you are happy and satisfied with the performance of your current DX11 $2000 gaming system then you should be ecstatic to achieve 2x the performance with a $400 DX12 AMD gaming system.