AMD Radeon R9 Nano Review by TPU...Not

[newtekie1]

I don't think AMD is trying to hide anything. Fury and FuryX are still OOS or pre-order here. BTA said simply, AMD is low on stock.

At the same time, AMD doesn't sell cards directly... their board partners do. SO the idea that AMD doesn't have stock makes a lot of sense, since all ASICs are going to meet orders by those board partners... probably direct from whomever is assembling the packages. AMD probably doesn't get any dies themselves other than what they already had on-hand.

The sites they have chosen to give cards to, who cares? The point of the news post is educational... you guys want our review, but we will not have one. So on launch day, please go look at other sites for reviews. No big deal, and this saves us having to deal with all of this on launch day.

Why not TPU? How about our lack of a social media presence, and lack of youtube presence? That's enough reason...

I definitely agree with AMD just not having enough to go around. The news hit that Fiji had gone into full production, what was it, like a month after Fury X launched. And I'm guessing it takes a really good bin to qualify for Nano. So there just isn't a lot of them.

That being said, it really shows how desperate they are to try to make any money they possible can. They had to launch as early as possible and sell of anything they could to try to generate some cash.

 

[Vulpesveritas]

Let's see, HardOCP and TPU both denied review samples, and tomshardware having no word on it that I'm aware of?..

Well AMD, I am disappointed. I may not have been looking at getting one, but this is just.. one hell of a BS paper launch.

 

[ShurikN]

The sites they have chosen to give cards to, who cares? The point of the news post is educational... you guys want our review, but we will not have one. So on launch day, please go look at other sites for reviews. No big deal, and this saves us having to deal with all of this on launch day.

Why not TPU? How about our lack of a social media presence, and lack of youtube presence? That's enough reason...

Why not write that instead of the War and Peace from the original post

 

[tabascosauz]

Because many TPU reviews are far too nice. Ratings over 8 or 9 for so-so products. I've looked at them and seen many noting some glaring issues with a product, then that product getting a TPU recommendation/etc. It's like...seriously TPU? You state it has some major issues then you highly recommend it? I thought they might be getting some pay for good reviews but I've just seen it too many times that it is clear some of the people are just too lenient here.

The content of the reviews are good, but the TPU rating system and such is often crap. If a product has a major issue, it should reflect greatly in the score and also not garner a recommendation.

So...what you're saying is that you should come and do the reviews instead. Because according to you, the reviewers' opinions are invalid and you consider their highly-rated products to be so-so. You know, you could just read the review here and then go sample some reviews from other sites. No one's forcing you to make a decision based on what w1zzard or dave is saying about the product. Reviewers try to be objective, but there's always a certain degree of opinion mixed in there as well. I, for one, love Noctua coolers. Am I going to go around and condemn @crazyeyesreaper because he criticizes every Noctua product for its colours? No.

 

[abundantcores]

Its going to be about similar performance to a GTX 980 with similar or better power consumption, be that as it may whats wrong with that?

AMD are often expected to be much cheaper than Nvidia by reviewers, regardless of performance, they are often treated as the punch-bag among reviewers, yes AMD are not always perfect by Nvidia suffer a lot of problems with their products too and yet every little thing on the AMD side is pulled up and pastured all over the internet while Nvidia are seemingly always perfect, being an ex 290 owner and now a GTX 970 owner i know they are not, they have a lot of driver problems ecte and yet reviewers never tell you about any of it.

AMD are about to go bust, there will be no more competition, just one GPU Vendor in Nvidia.

AMD have them selves to blame for a lot of it but i also think reviewers have some responsibility in AMD's impending demise and they need to take a long hard look at themselves.

Lets hear about some Nvidia shit when it happens, including Windows 10 Driver problems, DX12 issues, random stuttering in their current drivers... if this was AMD it would be the biggest story on the net.
I have found a lot of what are to me some very unkind things said about AMD, and some very unfair reviews.... in the past yeah, i'm pointing not a finger at TPU i happen to think you are one of the better reviewers... but some of the reading around AMD in this past year looks almost like trolling, and this from apparently professional reviewers. its not good.

 

[HumanSmoke]

That being said, it really shows how desperate they are to try to make any money they possible can. They had to launch as early as possible and sell of anything they could to try to generate some cash.

It is a timing thing, but I don't think the (basically inconsequential in the greater scheme of things) revenue from the cards is the reason. AMD basically paper launched the Fury X just before the end of Q2. AMD is now doing basically the same thing with Nah,no now that the end of Q3 looms close. The company seems pretty desperate to keep to their announced timetables - whether it is a pride thing (unlikely), or whether the company is trying to turn around its unwanted "Master of the Missed Launch Date" title (vendor confidence), or contract fulfillment (OEMs including Origin and Maingear would want a secure supply) - who knows...but AMD is putting itself under a lot of undue pressure if it were just about selling a few cards. I suspect that gross margins on the Fury line are pretty slim, so I doubt the revenue does little in that regard.

 

[tabascosauz]

Its going to be about similar performance to a GTX 980 with similar or better power consumption, be that as it may whats wrong with that?

AMD are often expected to be much cheaper than Nvidia by reviewers, regardless of performance, they are often treated as the punch-bag among reviewers, yes AMD are not always perfect by Nvidia suffer a lot of problems with their products too and yet every little thing on the AMD side is pulled up and pastured all over the internet while Nvidia are seemingly always perfect, being an ex 290 owner and now a GTX 970 owner i know they are not, they have a lot of driver problems ecte and yet reviewers never tell you about any of it.

AMD are about to go bust, there will be no more competition, just one GPU Vendor in Nvidia.

AMD have them selves to blame for a lot of it but i also think reviewers have some responsibility in AMD's impending demise and they need to take a long hard look at themselves.

Lets hear about some Nvidia shit when it happens, including Windows 10 Driver problems, DX12 issues, random stuttering in their current drivers... if this was AMD it would be the biggest story on the net.

That's pretty funny. You own a GTX 970 (and actually went from a 290 to the 970), but the 3.5GB controversy wasn't big enough for you? If I remember correctly, it was plastered all over tech news sites. Pasture is not the word you're looking for.

Also, your signature banner is not working properly.

 

[abundantcores]

That's pretty funny. You own a GTX 970 (and actually went from a 290 to the 970), but the 3.5GB controversy wasn't big enough for you? If I remember correctly, it was plastered all over tech news sites. Pasture is not the word you're looking for.

Also, your signature banner is not working properly.

Whats so funny about it? i have had the 290 for nearly two years and fancied a change, a GTX 980 or R9 Fury is above my pay grade so i opted for the GTX 970.

 

[Darller]

Exactly zero people were surprised by this news.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Whats so funny about it? i have had the 290 for nearly two years and fancied a change, a GTX 980 or R9 Fury is above my pay grade so i opted for the GTX 970.

That's not much of an upgrade.

 

[Aquinus]

That's pretty funny. You own a GTX 970 (and actually went from a 290 to the 970), but the 3.5GB controversy wasn't big enough for you? If I remember correctly, it was plastered all over tech news sites. Pasture is not the word you're looking for.

Interesting. Given the option between a 970 and a 390, I took the 390. I'm sure that in 1080p that the 970 would be a clear winner but, I think the 390 has more umfph in surround. It will be interesting to see how that 8GB pans out going forward. The fact that Far Cry 4 is playable at full graphics and SMAA blows my mind. So depending on what you're going to use the card for, one or the other might be better. The whole 3.5Gb debacle really turned me off though with the 970 and I didn't really want to get a 980 for the price I could get a 390 at with more VRAM.

Whats so funny about it? i have had the 290 for nearly two years and fancied a change, a GTX 980 or R9 Fury is above my pay grade so i opted for the GTX 970.

That's kind of like a side-grade though. If I was in that position, I would have got a second 290. In fact that's what I did with my 6870s and what I'll probably end up doing with the 390. Video cards are too expensive to keep buying the fastest single GPU card. It's not like NVidia is without driver issues as well. I think I recall someone mentioning the number of hotfixes they've done since March.

Either way, hopefully the GPU is treating you well but, with that kind of money CFX starts getting incredibly enticing for the kind of performance is can give you back.

 

[abundantcores]

That's not much of an upgrade.

Its no upgrade, its a side grade but what else is there for the same money the 290 cost me 2 years ago? this is ridiculous. just think what will happen once AMD are completely out of it.

 

[Nkd]

what fuckin pr nightmare. I used to cheer for amd as an underdog. Although I am sure there are some good folks working hard there but heir Marketing department is a PR nightmare. New CEO is sleeping at the wheel, if there is one thing you can do when you are failing already is to get the pr right and get on the good side of the people that wanna support you as company. I really think they should be cheering at their design for the nano, but I do truly believe fury is just a test product for them and they are pricing it so unlike their previous products. I dont think they plan on making many or selling many but to make an excuse that they don't have enough for press is pure bull. I hope they get their shit straight before they launch zen and hbm 2 based cards. They should be proud of their product and their achievement being the first with HBM even if they cant destroy the competition. But to deny press a sample is just a big failure on its own. I already knew they are pricing these high because they plan on selling only so many. But this just makes me hate amd's marketing team and I hope someone is strong enough to make a change when it comes to this mess.

 

[abundantcores]

what fuckin pr nightmare. I used to cheer for amd as an underdog. Although I am sure there are some good folks working hard there but heir Marketing department is a PR nightmare. New CEO is sleeping at the wheel, if there is one thing you can do when you are failing already is to get the pr right and get on the good side of the people that wanna support you as company. I really think they should be cheering at their design for the nano, but I do truly believe fury is just a test product for them and they are pricing it so unlike their previous products. I dont think they plan on making many or selling many but to make an excuse that they don't have enough for press is pure bull. I hope they get their shit straight before they launch zen and hbm 2 based cards. They should be proud of their product and their achievement being the first with HBM even if they cant destroy the competition. But to deny press a sample is just a big failure on its own. I already knew they are pricing these high because they plan on selling only so many. But this just makes me hate amd's marketing team and I hope someone is strong enough to make a change when it comes to this mess.

They denied SOME press Fiji Samples because the articles that press wrote about AMD and Fiji before it was even released was nothing short of cringe worthy trolling.

 

[etayorius]

I don`t blame them TPU tend to give much lower scores to AMD GPU`s.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Its no upgrade, its a side grade but what else is there for the same money the 290 cost me 2 years ago? this is ridiculous. just think what will happen once AMD are completely out of it.

Blame TSMC. NVIDIA and AMD have been pretty much twiddling their thumbs for the past two years because process tech hasn't improved.

 

[cadaveca]

They denied SOME press Fiji Samples because the articles that press wrote about AMD and Fiji before it was even released was nothing short of cringe worthy trolling.

So, AMD said that where, exactly? And we did that where? That's the puzzling part...

 

[abundantcores]

I don`t blame them TPU tend to give much lower scores to AMD GPU`s.

I think TPU are one of the better reviewers, i don't think they are unfair to AMD and they tend to stay out of all the mud slinging on both sides, i also like the large list of games they test and the combined results at the end.

 

[Pill Monster]

Impartial isn't posting AMD-only marketing, like the mantle review Hilbert did. AMD's only using marketing-friendly companies for reviews it seems. We have a larger reach than GuRu3D (according to the public info available by Alexa), so this definitely isn't about AMD getting the widest exposure for their products, it's about getting the reviews they want. Tech Report not getting one is not surprising, since the whole frame pacing stuff, and HardOCP not getting one is weird, since I think HardOCP has always been very AMD-friendly.

So the idea that sites with anti-AMD bias aren't getting cards seems wrong, to me. There's another reason why only certain sites are getting cards for launch day.

BTA posting this news item isn't about complaining about it for W1zz... something very weird is going on for sure.

I meant to reply but forgot...

The Mantle review (if it's the one I'm thinking of) came about after AMDMatt started a thread which was basically a copy of AMD's Marketing Blog on Mantle..
I told Hilbert who immediately removed it then said he would do his own review, which he did about a week later. Make of that what u will.........

 

[abundantcores]

On Mantle, not one reviewer tested that properly, some even went as far as to use the most powerful overclocked CPU they could find and test the least CPU intensive scenario they could and then concluded "Mantle doesn't do anything"

i mean really????????? quite obviously being deliberately dumb for an uneducated reader because they didn't want to upset Intel, Nvidia or Microsoft, or all.....

Mantle doesn't do anything? check this out.....

 

[Pill Monster]

Btw TPU is the only reason I got a 7950, after seeing the overclocking headroom in Wizz's review I could hardly believe it. After spamming his results all over the forum I bought a VaporX a week later and wouldn't shut up about it. I maybe convinced 5 people to go Tahiti?

My point is it was only because of Wizzard and TPU that happened, so I find it ironic people would think this site was bias against AMD... I def don't think so....or Nvidia.

 

[abundantcores]

To be clear i made my feelings about TPU clear on post #143, i have no issue with TPU.

but i do think some in the reviewers world are partly responsible for what is about to happen with AMD.

Like many great GPU vendors of the past we will soon be reminiscing about another and what they did for the industry and how much of a loss they are to us all, by then its too late.

 

[tabascosauz]

To be clear i made my feelings about TPU clear on post #143, i have no issue with TPU.

but i do think some in the reviewers world are partly responsible for what is about to happen with AMD.

Like many great GPU vendors of the past we will soon be reminiscing about another and what they did for the industry and how much of a loss they are to us all, by then its too late.

I don't think it's time for that yet. Although I am sure that Apple can switch GPU vendors whenever they want, I believe that the switch to all AMD GPUs in all their products wasn't a small decision. I think they've got a bit of fight left in them. All the better for Hackintoshers like me.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

but i do think some in the reviewers world are partly responsible for what is about to happen with AMD.

Don't hate the reviewer, hate the product (or lack of product in this case) that warrants poor reviews.

 

[abundantcores]

Don't hate the reviewer, hate the product (or lack of product in this case) that warrants poor reviews.

Unquestionably AMD have had problem, made mistakes. deserved to be at the wrong side of a reviewers conclusion.....

Yet Nvidia's problems are far less reported, they have issues with Drivers right now, you would not know it outside of their own forums which has been going crazy about issues these past few months.

Aside from that AMD have put a lot of work and money into a lot of good things, HBM and Mantle to name the most recent, As i have already said Mantle (Now Vulkan) was a pretty big and important thing and yet its reception among almost all reviewers was conspicuously underwhelming or outright dismissive of it.