AMD Radeon R9 Nano Review by TPU...Not

[remixedcat]

hey guys.... dare me to get pikachu involved?? I'll do it...

 

[remixedcat]

Hurricane Roy will hit landfall on 9.11.15 prepare yourselves!

 

[Mussels]

his ROYal highness has spoken.

 

[cadaveca]

LOL, he says "Amen"? Does he not see or not understand the irony in that statement? They are making up rules to play the game by manipulating how games are tested (no AF).

I think you're taking Roy's statement the wrong way. He knows launch coverage can't be fair. So no real reviews, just publicity. I'm fine with that.

 

[Cataclysm_ZA]

I think you're taking Roy's statement the wrong way. He knows launch coverage can't be fair. So no real reviews, just publicity. I'm fine with that.

I see it this way as well. As much as Roy may agree that reviews should be fair and unbiased, AMD wants the Nano launch to go a specific way, which is why they're picking and choosing who gets a card for review carefully.

 

[EarthDog]

Im not sure how you hoovered that meaning out of his reply, Dave.

Regardless if that is true, there is irony ooozing out of it!


EDIT: Fair is testing it as users generally run it.... WITH AF. Again, this isn't 2004.

 

[dorsetknob]

I think you're taking Roy's statement the wrong way. He knows launch coverage can't be fair.

I think your find that the general opinion over the web is Roy has royally fucked up
yes he is getting Publicity for his Product but its turning nasty over the way he has handeled it

Its becoming a shitstorm of bad tasting Publicity that he could have avoided for AMD

 

[GhostRyder]

I think you're taking Roy's statement the wrong way. He knows launch coverage can't be fair. So no real reviews, just publicity. I'm fine with that.

It probably could still have been phrased a bit better though. Any word used on the internet without being specific can be interpreted the wrong way in this day and age.

Seems kinda odd as it is, but they really are trying to make the Nano a "Feature Presentation" of their products so they want a specific image of it.

 

[cadaveca]

Im not sure how you hoovered that meaning out of his reply, Dave.

Regardless if that is true, there is irony ooozing out of it!


EDIT: Fair is testing it as users generally run it.... WITH AF. Again, this isn't 2004.

Life's not fair though, so whatever. I mean, I'd love for W1zz to get a sample, since that's my only hope of getting my hands on one myself, but if AMD wants to market their products in a specific way, that is their right to do so.

They could be more transparent and various other things, but I still love AMD for being AMD.

I think your find that the general opinion over the web is Roy has royally fucked up
yes he is getting Publicity for his Product but its turning nasty over the way he has handeled it

Its becoming a shitstorm of bad tasting Publicity that he could have avoided for AMD

Meh, I kind of like an AMD that stands up for itself.

It probably could still have been phrased a bit better though. Any word used on the internet without being specific can be interpreted the wrong way in this day and age.

Seems kinda odd as it is, but they really are trying to make the Nano a "Feature Presentation" of their products so they want a specific image of it.

Yeah, my words have been twisted more times than I am comfortable with. But again, oh well. ASUS didn't send me a Z170 ROG board, and MSI never sent me the X99 GodLike. Biostar doesn't return my emails, Corsair and Kingston stopped sending samples... such is the life of a product reviewer. I find other samples to keep me busy.

 

[EarthDog]

Yeah, life isn't fair, but we are not talking about pouting children (but adults and website, LOL!).

We are talking about how the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY runs their video cards (using AF) and AMD not doing that. This, to me, is a bit more than simply 'marketing their products in a specific way'. I mean, it is that, yes, but, they are going against what the majority uses, to make their card look better than it is when the 'overwhelming majority' uses them. It is misleading. If you expect 60 FPS because a review said so, now you are getting 45 because they don't use an incredibly common setting...... how is that OK?

Settings will differ from review to review, no doubt, but no AF? Come on....

 

[remixedcat]

http://remixedcat.blogspot.com/2015/09/amd-denies-techpowerup-review-sample.html and here's another link for yah ha ha

 

[arbiter]

Yeah, life isn't fair, but we are not talking about pouting children (but adults and website, LOL!).
We are talking about how the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY runs their video cards (using AF) and AMD not doing that. This, to me, is a bit more than simply 'marketing their products in a specific way'. I mean, it is that, yes, but, they are going against what the majority uses, to make their card look better than it is when the 'overwhelming majority' uses them. It is misleading. If you expect 60 FPS because a review said so, now you are getting 45 because they don't use an incredibly common setting...... how is that OK?
Settings will differ from review to review, no doubt, but no AF? Come on....

Most review sites tend to use default setting profiles in games so really settings don't diff that much. Usually its high, very high or ultra. So settings don't differ that much from one site to another. But AMD was one using that diff massively from reviewers but selectively turning off any setting that doesn't make use of the cards shaders. AMD trying to rewrite the rules on how tests wouldn't shock me given the whole story what they did for trinity(posted below). If they tried to pull that same thing now it would be pretty sad that they think reviewers would re-test ALL their cards to fit what benifits AMD's PR and not what Real world end users use.

The issue is the way AMD is massaging the launch and message. You could argue that AMD has a long history of doing this ( remember the Trinity launch for example), but it doesn't make it any more palatable.

 

[EarthDog]

But AMD was one using that diff massively from reviewers by selectively turning off any setting that doesn't make use of the cards shaders. AMD trying to rewrite the rules

THIS............!

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

He's a ROYal pain in the arse for me... How can he stoop that low & say TPU is "biased"? He obviously thinks that enabling AF & AO is considered as "unfair". Bzzt. Turning that off for AMD & enable it for Nvidia cards isn't.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

hey guys.... dare me to get pikachu involved?? I'll do it...

better not... Pikachu isn't gonna be happy with it xD

 

[remixedcat]

better not... Pikachu isn't gonna be happy with it xD

yeah and charizard'll roast his ass

 

[GhostRyder]

Most review sites tend to use default setting profiles in games so really settings don't diff that much. Usually its high, very high or ultra. So settings don't differ that much from one site to another. But AMD was one using that diff massively from reviewers but selectively turning off any setting that doesn't make use of the cards shaders. AMD trying to rewrite the rules on how tests wouldn't shock me given the whole story what they did for trinity(posted below). If they tried to pull that same thing now it would be pretty sad that they think reviewers would re-test ALL their cards to fit what benifits AMD's PR and not what Real world end users use.

Ok dude, you need to get off the high horse preaching about AMD as being the worst thing when it comes to marketing their cards. I am pretty sure lying about specs on a card is at least as bad to running settings that benefit your card...

Yeah, my words have been twisted more times than I am comfortable with. But again, oh well. ASUS didn't send me a Z170 ROG board, and MSI never sent me the X99 GodLike. Biostar doesn't return my emails, Corsair and Kingston stopped sending samples... such is the life of a product reviewer. I find other samples to keep me busy.

I know that feeling, anything you say can and will be held against you in the court known as the internet where people judge first and ask questions later

Though what matters is why in the end and it sounds still like it could very well be low supply mixed with choice of marketing. It won't matter in the end, cards will surface and we will see the benchmarks which in the end will give us the chance to judge all we want. Its unfortunate since I do appreciate seeing so many different scenarios with TPU's/wizards reviews but there is nothing we can do about it now unless someone gets one early and sends it over to him or buys him one.

 

[EarthDog]

I am pretty sure lying about specs on a card is at least as bad to running settings that benefit your card...

Not to nit pick, but was it a lie? It has 4GB of vRAM. 500MB are slower than the rest. Perhaps they were not as forthcoming as they should have been, but its not the first time that you saw the split memory configuration either.

Regardless, I hear where you are coming from.

 

[HumanSmoke]

his ROYal highness has spoken.

...and inserts foot into open mouth. Not an unusual occurrence - remember when he shot his mouth off about AMD and Intel's processors?

"Basically the CPU is dead. Yes, that processor you see advertised everywhere from Intel. It's run out of steam. The fact is that it no longer makes anything run faster. You don't need a fast one anymore. This is why AMD is in trouble and it's why Intel are panicking," Taylor claimed [...] However, Nvidia claims that the above message does not reflect any official stance whatsoever. According to the company's spokesman Brian Burke, the message is not a public statement and "the views in Roy Taylor's e-mail do not mirror the views of Nvidia."

which resulted in his demotion from VP Content Relations to VP for a whole new division that involved chatting to telephone systems operators, and of course the truly golden...

"The UK is the only place in the world where anyone talks about AMD or ATI". To prove his point, [NVIDIA’s Roy] Taylor went as far as showing us a graph representing the entire market for GPUs last year, both discreet and integrated. Astonishingly, ATI did not feature at all.
Where was ATI among the 366 million graphics chips which had apparently been split exclusively between NVIDIA and Intel in 2007? "No one cares," Taylor says.

AMD discrete desktop graphics market share in 2007: 37-40%.....
AMD discrete desktop graphics market share in Q2 2015: 18%

Nvidia had the common sense to show Roy the door. AMD have already effectively demoted him from chief of global channel sales to VP of Alliances (whatever that translates to). Take the voluntary redundancy Roy, you don't have a leg to stand on if you take it to employment arbitration!

 

[GhostRyder]

Not to nit pick, but was it a lie? It has 4GB of vRAM. 500MB are slower than the rest. Perhaps they were not as forthcoming as they should have been, but its not the first time that you saw the split memory configuration either.

Regardless, I hear where you are coming from.

True but I still count it as a lie. If it was no big deal they would have been up front about it which is why to me it was a lie. Plus if I recall the performance hit on the 660ti (I believe that is what you are referencing, correct me if not) was not near as bad on the last bit of the 2gb card.

I think what we need is the card to show itself in public to get the truth, nothing is going to satisfy until that happens. I think we have been waiting far to long at this point to see something

 

[remixedcat]

he worked for NV?

...and inserts foot into open mouth. Not an unusual occurrence - remember when he shot his mouth off about AMD and Intel's processors?

which resulted in his demotion from VP Content Relations to VP for a whole new division that involved chatting to telephone systems operators, and of course the truly golden...

AMD discrete desktop graphics market share in 2007: 37-40%.....
AMD discrete desktop graphics market share in Q2 2015: 18%

Nvidia had the common sense to show Roy the door. AMD have already effectively demoted him from chief of global channel sales to VP of Alliances (whatever that translates to). Take the voluntary redundancy Roy, you don't have a leg to stand on if you take it to employment arbitration!

 

[EarthDog]

I dont think any testing was done on the 660ti (excellent job there remembering!). When we reviewed it, I don't think we broke 1.5GB or wherever the threshold was at the time. There are complaints abound about the 660ti, more so after the info about the 970 came out...

 

[HumanSmoke]

he worked for NV?

Oh yes. Did you think that Roy limits his public embarrassment antics to just a single company?

A lot of industry names tend to swap positions on a regular basis. The PR variety tend to garner more attention being more visible. AMD's other resident shoutcaster, Richard Huddy (thankfully muzzled at the moment) also did a stint at Nvidia, as well as Intel.

 

[remixedcat]

jees.... -_- What fuckery did he do at NV?

 

[HumanSmoke]

jees.... -_- What fuckery did he do at NV?

It is probably no exaggeration to say that AMD's biggest marketing advantage occurred when Roy was given a speaking role at Nvidia. Roy seems ready to prove that lightning can indeed strike twice in the same exec.