SFF.Network AMD Radeon RX 460 series review roundup

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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Still waiting on that ITX version...

Yeah, I'm not sure what's the point of touting the power efficiency and then they release nothing but dual-slot, full height, and long cards :\
 
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CC Ricers

Shrink Ray Wielder
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Nov 1, 2015
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It beats the GTX 950 in Vulkan and DX12 at least. This card's been disappointing with DX11 but AMD wants to put more of their R&D efforts towards optimizing for the newer APIs.
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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Feb 1, 2016
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It feels like AMD just aimed low with this card. They've basically taken square aim at a last generation card which is going to be replaced with the 1050 like next month. Bummer AMD.
 
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flacman

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2016
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It feels like AMD just aimed low with this card. They've basically taken square aim at a last generation card which is going to be replaced with the 1050 like next month. Bummer AMD.

Perhaps they'll release a Polaris 11 XT card at one point.
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
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The funny thing is there are 2/14 compute cores disabled on this card. Makes me wonder if you can hack this card for a roughly 14% improvement in performance?
 

IntoxicatedPuma

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Feb 26, 2016
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So we will get an RX460X or an RX465 soon? I guess it will come out when Nvidia drops a 1050. Sadly the RX460 performs so much more lower than expected, Nvidia doesnt need to be in a hurry to release anything under the 1060.
 

flacman

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Feb 23, 2016
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My view is that Nvidia will probably release a 3 GB GTX 1060 with some more cores turned off as a 'GTX 1050 Ti.'

An RX 460X is likely, but I'm not sure where it's going to be placed against Nvidia - excluding the Titan XP/1080/1070:

1060 / 980 <> RX 480
1050 Ti/ 960 <> RX 470
950 OC <> RX 460X ??
750 Ti <> RX 460
 

Josh | NFC

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Jun 12, 2015
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I don't think the 950 is a better choice for many reasons, and if I had to choose I would go with the 460 for double the VRAM (in sff) and DX12 A.C. but then again I don't think the 950 is a CHOICE with other options we have UNLESS:

1. It is single-slot
2. It is ~$100
3. It doesn't require a power connector

The 460, although it could on paper fulfill all three of those requirements, doesn't. Vendors have gone out of their WAY to ruin this card's purpose, and I don't know why I feel insulted, but I do.
 

NateDawg72

Master of Cramming
Aug 11, 2016
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The 460, although it could on paper fulfill all three of those requirements, doesn't. Vendors have gone out of their WAY to ruin this card's purpose, and I don't know why I feel insulted, but I do.
This launch is definitely off. Now, I do like the dual slot cards for the ability to have a card that is extremely quiet even under full load. But what's with these RX 460s with relatively large, overkill dual fan coolers, a 6 pin, and pre-overclocked nearly to their limits? Seriously, most of the reviews I've seen from my go-to tech websites have been for that Asus card. And I don't think they're really doing themselves any favors. Maybe it's just me, but when a reviewer goes to overclock a card and says "I give up, there just isn't anything to be gained, it's not stable beyond stock" that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me.

You'd think at least one manufacturer would try a single slot full height card, or a half height dual slot card, but nope. It's all regular old dual slots without 6 pin and a few oversized "overclocking" focused 6 pin equipped cards. And it's not like it even overclocks well - it overclocks pretty badly.

Well, even if no one delivers a more compact GPU then at least I can look forward to Nvidia delivering a much faster GPU without a power connector.
 
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flacman

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2016
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The RX 460 is positioned for 'eSports' gaming - the large, overkill dual fan coolers make the card attractive to the Overwatch/CSGO/MOBA players who are looking for cheap upgrades beyond integrated/APU graphics.
 

NateDawg72

Master of Cramming
Aug 11, 2016
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Positioned for eSports gaming is just marketing speak for "It's not very fast, but it's cheap". And there happens to be a large market that doesn't need a fast video card. It [positioned for esports]* isn't worth mentioning. It's no different at all from the other cards in it's performance bracket that have come and gone over the past few years. The only thing that has changed is the games.

Just because it can play CS:GO doesn't make it a good card. What makes it a good card is how it performs relative to the performance and price of other cards.

Big overkill coolers are cool and all - quite literally - but this card clearly didn't benefit from it when it hits a wall on its clockspeed so quickly.

*edit for clarity
 
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IntoxicatedPuma

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Feb 26, 2016
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If Nvidia releases a Pascal card with the exact same specs as the 950 (core count, memory bandwidth, etc) but running at 1.5-1.7ghz....

They can price it back at $150 the 950 had started at and clobber the 460.