Review AMD Radeon R9 Fury X reviewed!

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-R9-Fury-X-4GB-Review-Fiji-Finally-Tested

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/R9_Fury_X/29.html

Don't have time to read the review right now but I skipped to the power consumption figures and doesn't look like two of these things are happening with an SFF PSU anytime soon

 

[Phuncz]

Because you referred to "aftermarket" coolers (from OEMs) and my point wasn't about OEMs, because they can make huge cards if they want as per my example.
The cards you mentioned (Strix, Windforce, etc.) are all examples of OEMs taking a run with the reference design specs to make seemingly more ostentatious cooling which have limited compatibility, especially with SFF.

But the GTX 760, or 670 where it is based upon, is a good example of a card with a too large reference design:

And that's why I like the R9 Nano and the R9 Fury, I believe it's important for the SFF world that these cards come from AMD or Nvidia themselves, not just an OEM's projects lab.

And although yes, the second card is a behemoth, it will undoubtedly run much cooler and quieter than the first. So I think that it still has its place in the market.

Mind you, I'm not saying large cards shouldn't exist. My opinion is they shouldn't be the norm.

 

[iFreilicht]

Can I just say that I think the R9 Nano just needs 4 "real" GB of RAM to have something to offer over the GTX970? That reveal was a small disaster for nVidia, and if AMD can offer 4GB of HBM as compared to the 3GB of GDDR5 (+ 0.5GB backlog cache), that would be a huge thing already.
Also, SINGLE SLOT I/O!!! Can we talk about that for a moment? I've been absolutely disappointed by the amount of cards that still have stacked DVI-ports with the Maxwell GPUs. That completely destroys the point of having single slot WC blocks exist, you couldn't use two cards next to one another anyway. But with the new reference designs all using that layout on the back, you not only get better airflow for aircooled cards, but will also be able to put watercooled ones closer to each other. If we see mDTX boards happen, you could maybe have a quad-crossfire (2x Furx X2 with custom loop) in a Sugo SG13. How cool would that be?

I also have to agree Phuncz on the reference design argument. While the GTX970 reference PCB was already ITX sized, the cooler wasn't, so there was little incentive for aftermarket versions to go the same route. With the R9 Nano, we'll hopefully see a LOT of mITX sized cards with different cooler designs. We need choice in that regard, right now there are 4 mITX sized GTX970s and about 10 GTX960s. If the R9 Nano is on par with the GTX970 regarding performance, mITX GPUs will finally reach a state where they aren't a product for a small niche anymore.

 

[Phuncz]

I doubt that Nvidia is worried with anything AMD has released, their customer loyalty is astoundingly robust. It'll take years of AMD to perform >20% better consistently while being cooler, quieter, cheaper and have better drivers for this loyalty to break. But I am very glad AMD is addressing the market gap that is ITX GPUs.

 

[Vittra]

When I mean bigger and hotter cards, I am referring to the reference designs, because the OEMs can build their cards how they want.

Case in point:

MSI GTX 760 mini ITX
170mm long dual-slot card with standard height (I think)

And that's why I applaud AMD for releasing small cards as reference to show the consumers AND manufacturers there is more to the GPU world than bloat to put inside huge ATX cases.

This is not standard height, I actually owned this specific card for some time. Look at how much further the PCB extends beyond the PCI bracket, this is the exact problem I was referencing with respect to Asus and MSI cards. It only gets worse with their top range stuff. Compare it to the reference 760 PCB pic you posted, and you will see the PCI and PCB are not so different in height.

 

[Phuncz]

Ah yes, I was in doubt if it was according to reference or a smidge over. It's still minor when looking at some of the ASUS and MSI cards which seem to extend over 20%.