The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 & RX Vega 56 Review: Vega Burning Bright
by Ryan Smith & Nate Oh on August 14, 2017 9:00 AM ESTGrand Theft Auto V
The other veteran from our 2016 GPU game suite, GTA V is still graphically demanding as they come. As an older DX11 title, it provides a glimpse into the graphically intensive games of yesteryear. Originally released for consoles in 2013, the PC port came with a slew of graphical enhancements and options. Just as importantly, GTA V includes a rather intensive and informative built-in benchmark.
Like its previous appearances, we follow those settings, as GTA V does not have presets. To recap, for "Very High" quality we have all of the primary graphics settings turned up to their highest setting, with the exception of grass, which is at its own very high setting. Meanwhile 4x MSAA is enabled for direct views and reflections. This setting also involves turning on some of the advanced rendering features - the game's long shadows, high resolution shadows, and high definition flight streaming - but not increasing the view distance any further.
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MatthiasP - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
Only poor people buy the air cooled Vega and not the liquid one.FreckledTrout - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
LOL I care about power consumption because it makes my computer loud. Did you see how loud t he Vega 64 is, way way to many db's for me. So some not "poor" people care.Aldaris - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
Freckled, did you not pay attention to that graph? It's basically as loud as Nvidia's offerings.sorten - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
If by "basically as loud" you mean that the AMD cards are 10% louder, then yes. Power draw translates to heat and, typically, noise. I would never buy the AMD cards given the power draw, but to each their own.Brett Howse - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
dB is a logarithmic scale. 3dB means twice as much sound, although we don't perceive it as that much. Closer to 10 dB would be perceived as twice as loud. Vega 64 vs 1080 FE is about 7 dB difference, which isn't "basically as loud" it's going to be perceived as a lot louder.Lazacom - Tuesday, August 15, 2017 - link
Nope, logarithmic sound scale means 3dB is around 23% larger amplitude of sound waves. 10dB is perfect 2 times more. But our ears usually don't register 1-3dB difference. On the other hand, 7dB should be heard as difference, but again depends what frequencies are most loud, around 1kHz are most noticeable. If they wrote it basically as loud, probably there are lower frequencies spikes contrary to 1080Ti...bcronce - Tuesday, August 15, 2017 - link
Decibel is base 10. 10dB is 10x more energy. 3dB is about 47% more energy.Dug - Tuesday, August 15, 2017 - link
Anyone that deals with audio, knows that 3db is noticeable. 1db is perceivable, but not usually noticed if it's constant. The issue with sound from a case is that it can actually be like a speaker, so just because the card is 3db more at 1m in free air, it can become quite a bit louder due to cabinet size and materials. Just like putting a case under a desk can sometimes be louder than if on top of the desk. Last is heat. If case fans have to operate at higher levels to keep heat from video card down, then this will add to perceived loudness.Exodite - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
While the power consumption of the cards, Vega 64 in particular, is disappointing I'd await 3rd party cooling systems before judging.The stock AMD cooling solution has been terrible since, well, forever really. And while I prefer AMD GPUs I've learned to avoid stock cards like the plague.
mapesdhs - Monday, August 14, 2017 - link
Exodite, 3rd party coolers can help with the noise, but I can't see them doing much about the power behaviour.