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Is the RX 6800 a good upgrade from a R9 390 8GB?

Soldato
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The R9 390 and RX 6800 both support DirectX 12 (feature set 12_0 and 12_2, respectively).

The RX 6800 has just over 3 times the theoretical performance, in areas such as TFlops, Pixel Rate and Texture Rate, and has a tdp of 250w, 25w less than the R9 390.

Then, there is the RX 6800 XT, which has just over 4 times the theoretical performance, in areas such as TFlops, Pixel Rate and Texture Rate, with the same memory config and a TDP of 300w. But, it only costs 12.2% more than the RX 6800, based on the US reference model prices...

One weak spot of the RX 6000 series could be the Memory bandwidth, which is only 33.3% higher than the R9 390. However, the infinity cache could potentially double the memory bandwidth performance, if AMD's statement on this is correct.

Finally - does anyone think there will be a memory bandwidth bottleneck on the RX 6000 series GPUs?
 
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Soldato
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The only spec you need to worry about is the price. Tflops don't really mean much if the card has inherent bottlenecks that prevent it from being able to utilise it's hardware (as the case was with Hawaii).

As for 6800XT Vs the 390 your looking at a minimum of 3x to 4x performance uplift (game dependant).
 
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Soldato
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17 Jul 2005
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9,690
Easy answer is to compare cards such as the RX570 (proxy performance wise to the 390) and the 2080Ti or 3070 (both proxies for the 6800). Across all resolutions the performance jump is massive and will just as massive with the 6800.
 
Associate
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22 Oct 2020
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Is it worth replacing my 980ti for a 6800? I play at 1440p and occasionally see people selling them for acceptable prices on social media or eBay.

Or should I wait until next year for a 6800XT

My system:
GTX 980 TI
Ryzen 3600
16GB 3200mhz
SF 750
 
Soldato
OP
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in about 2 months, amd is aiming for board partners to sell at RRP value, so a similar price to reference model Graphics cards. id wait until then,or maybe try to get a rtx 3070 FE if possible...
 
Associate
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in about 2 months, amd is aiming for board partners to sell at RRP value, so a similar price to reference model Graphics cards. id wait until then,or maybe try to get a rtx 3070 FE if possible...

I wouldn't go for a 3070, that 8GB will not hold up well for next gen games. I'll just have to wait for the 6800xt stock. Next decade.
 
Associate
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4 Nov 2013
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Location
Oxfordshire
The R9 390 and RX 6800 both support DirectX 12 (feature set 12_0 and 12_2, respectively).

The RX 6800 has just over 3 times the theoretical performance, in areas such as TFlops, Pixel Rate and Texture Rate, and has a tdp of 250w, 25w less than the R9 390.

Then, there is the RX 6800 XT, which has just over 4 times the theoretical performance, in areas such as TFlops, Pixel Rate and Texture Rate, with the same memory config and a TDP of 300w. But, it only costs 12.2% more than the RX 6800, based on the US reference model prices...

One weak spot of the RX 6000 series could be the Memory bandwidth, which is only 33.3% higher than the R9 390. However, the infinity cache could potentially double the memory bandwidth performance, if AMD's statement on this is correct.

Finally - does anyone think there will be a memory bandwidth bottleneck on the RX 6000 series GPUs?


From someone looking up specs, and knowing what they are and what memory bandwith needed in general i'd expect you to look up some reviews and see there is no bottleneck, and even if there were any the 6800XT would still be not miles but lightyears faster than the 390
 
Associate
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I just upgraded from a 5700xt to a rx6800 and I've seen a nice boost at 2k gaming, must admit I did want a rx6800 xt but not many of them in existence at the moment.
 
Man of Honour
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Yes, it just about handles 1080p, chunky cooler though . its still listed here :)
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...hics-card-axr9-390-8gbd5-ppdhe-gx-178-pc.html


im considering the 6700 xt or rtx 3070 now, or maybe waiting until RDNA 3 gpus are released.

To answer your question then.

It looks like you go a long time between upgrades if you still have a 390, if you are looking to do the same again I would suggest a 16gb 6800XT in the next few months when they are more readily available and cheaper.
 
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