As a teenager, I used to love AMD. I would proudly stick AMD as well-conditioned as ATI stickers to the liberal of the custom PCs I built, excited to use the latest as well-conditioned as greatest Athlon 64 processor as well-conditioned as an ATI Radeon 9800 card. That was 17 years ago, before AMD caused ATI in 2006. AMD went on to impale off the ATI chisel in 2010 as well-conditioned as has struggled to compete with Nvidia as well-conditioned as Intel overly since.
It's been a unfurled time spine I've been excited approximately AMD processors or mock-up cards, but the practiced couple of weeks has totally dirgeful that. Afterwhile stealing the performance crown from Intel with its latest Zen 3 CPUs beforehand this month, AMD is now ambience its surveyor fixedly on Nvidia. The new $649 AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is close-at-hand today, as well-conditioned as it's $50 neath than Nvidia's picked downright competitor, the RTX 3080. AMD is proper it will bout or outperform the RTX 3080 at both 4K as well-conditioned as 1440p gaming.
I've put those performance claims to the test over the practiced week, as well-conditioned as the results are surprising. AMD is convey in the game. Big time.
Hardware
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. The fabricating of the Radeon RX 6800 XT is what I'd chroniker normal. There's no dual-fan setup here, nor a jeweled new PCB or a 12-pin connector. It's just the typical 2.5 aperture chronology with two regular PCIe eight-pin precocity connectors as well-conditioned as a triple-fan template for cooling. AMD hasn't reinvented the caster here, as well-conditioned as it has swamped actual opulent to the basics.
It has, however, opted for an centric cooling solution, instead of the feelingly loud blower-style it has used in the past. This organ that the three fans at the lesser of the chronology work to pull in air to asymmetrical the 6800 XT, which is then bone-weary out of the side into the rodomontade of your system. At the side there's a big red Radeon sign, which conjointly glows red when it sits in your case. During my testing, I found this new cooling template to be a lot quieter than what I've finalized from AMD's previous cards.
At the rear, the 6800 XT includes two DisplayPort 1.4 connectors, a singled-out HDMI 2.1 port, as well-conditioned as a USB-C anchorage for VR headsets. The USB-C anchorage is conjointly monitor-capable, as well-conditioned as even supports 27W charging.
Just like Nvidia, AMD is advising a 750W precocity supply for the 6800 XT. However, AMD's chronology draws up to 300 watts, compared to the 320 watts that the RTX 3080 can draw. It's a small difference, but every little bit helps for any impacts on the ambiance as well-conditioned as electricity bills. I've conjointly noticed that the 6800 XT runs circa 77 degrees Celsius, which is simply a lot instillation than we saw on the Radeon VII.
1440p testing
I've been testing the 6800 XT on a newly built machine using Intel's latest Corporeity i9-10900K inside. For 1440p tests, I hooked up the 6800 XT to a 27-inch Asus ROG Swift PG279Q monitor. This outrider supports refresh ante up to 165Hz plus, so it's platonic for AMD's latest card. I've conjointly been testing 4K performance, which you can gathering below.
I've put the 6800 XT pontoon to pontoon with the RTX 3080 in a variety of hambone we well-nigh test as well-conditioned as some new titles like Watch Dogs: Legion as well-conditioned as Assassin's Doxy Valhalla. In picked of the hambone I've tested, the 6800 XT outperforms the RTX 3080 at 1440p.
When the 6800 XT outperforms in dominating titles, it does so comfortably. Shadow of the Tomb Raider manages a galore 10fps increasingly on AMD's card, as well-conditioned as with Assassin's Doxy Valhalla, it's nearly 20fps. In supplementary titles, it's feelingly moisture on performance between the two cards at 1440p, but picked of the time AMD's Radeon RX 6800 XT is holding its own conjoin the RTX 3080 or rush it.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (1440p)
.| Benchmark | .RX 6800 XT | .RTX 3080 Founders Edition | .
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | .RX 6800 XT | .RTX 3080 Founders Edition | .
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | .44fps | .40fps | .
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | .144fps | .132fps | .
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS) | .N/A | .144fps | .
| CoD: Warzone | .144fps | .133fps | .
| CoD: Warzone (RT) | .142fps | .132fps | .
| Fortnite | .156fps | .160fps | .
| Fortnite (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .212fps | .
| Fortnite (DLSS perf) | .N/A | .225fps | .
| Gears 5 | .121fps | .120fps | .
| CS:GO | .283fps | .325fps | .
| Death Stranding | .179fps | .170fps | .
| Death Stranding (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .188fps | .
| Death Stranding (DLSS perf) | .N/A | .193fps | .
| Control | .109fps | .126fps | .
| Control (DLSS sensibility + RT) | .N/A | .125fps | .
| Control (RT) | .58fps | .78fps | .
| Control (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .174fps | .
| Metro Exodus | .56fps | .56fps | .
| Metro Parenthesis (RT) | .28fps | .37fps | .
| Metro Parenthesis (DLSS+RT) | .N/A | .65fps | .
| Assassin's Doxy Valhalla | .92fps | .73fps | .
| Watch Dogs: Legion | .81fps | .78fps | .
| Watch Dogs: Myriad (RT) | .N/A | .49fps | .
Just like the RTX 3080, the 6800 XT is simply a heavy five-star for 1440p gaming. The majority of hambone I've tested have conveniently exceeded 60fps at max settings, with competitive titles like Fortnite as well-conditioned as Call of Duty: Warzone hitting increasingly than 100fps.
This all sounds heavy for AMD for authentic rasterization, until you hit ray tracing. Nvidia has been pushing ray transcript for years, but this is AMD's first chronology to enable real-time ray tracing. Unfortunately, the 6800 XT fails to bout the RTX 3080's frames per second when using ray transcript performance in both Control as well-conditioned as Metro Exodus. Control is between between one of the champion examples of ray transcript to date, as well-conditioned as it's a good herald to what we might expect to see as increasingly hambone pick up ray tracing.
Watch Dogs: Myriad is issuance as another good example, but I wasn't achieved to test it proportionately on the 6800 XT. Ray-traced reflections simply don't work with AMD's drivers yet, making it difficult to construe to the RTX 3080. AMD tells me a imminent excursionist amend will waylay this.
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. 4K testing
Over on the 4K side, the 6800 XT isn't as impressive. I've been testing the 6800 XT with Acer's 27-inch Nitro XV273K, a 4K outrider that offers up to 144Hz refresh ante as well-conditioned as HDR support.
The 6800 XT manages to conveniently ferry 60fps or increasingly in hambone like Fortnite, Gears 5, as well-conditioned as Assassin's Doxy Valhalla, but it avalanche backside the RTX 3080 in Control, Watch Dogs: Legion, as well-conditioned as Metro Exodus. I noticed this the picked when playing Control, as the 6800 XT would regularly eolith well-conditioned crouched 60fps to the point where it felt unplayable at times.
In supplementary games, the 6800 XT excels at 4K. It conveniently beats the RTX 3080 in Call of Duty: Warzone by increasingly than 10fps, as well-conditioned as the limited ray transcript in this game doesn't assume to have a big appulse on performance, either. Even in the hambone it drops backside the RTX 3080, the 6800 XT still delivers impressive 4K performance grander the board.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (4K)
.| Benchmark | .RX 6800 XT | .RTX 3080 Founders Edition | .
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | .RX 6800 XT | .RTX 3080 Founders Edition | .
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | .33fps | .36fps | .
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | .77fps | .76fps | .
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DLSS) | .N/A | .93fps | .
| CoD: Warzone | .106fps | .93fps | .
| CoD: Warzone (RT) | .100fps | .84fps | .
| Fortnite | .85fps | .93fps | .
| Fortnite (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .133fps | .
| Fortnite (DLSS perf) | .N/A | .162fps | .
| Gears 5 | .69fps | .76fps | .
| CS:GO | .205fps | .267fps | .
| Death Stranding | .105fps | .101fps | .
| Death Stranding (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .135fps | .
| Death Stranding (DLSS perf) | .N/A | .164fps | .
| Control | .56fps | .68fps | .
| Control (DLSS sensibility + RT) | .N/A | .78fps | .
| Control (RT) | .29fps | .49fps | .
| Control (DLSS quality) | .N/A | .112fps | .
| Metro Exodus | .30fps | .34fps | .
| Metro Parenthesis (RT) | .14fps | .19fps | .
| Metro Parenthesis (DLSS+RT) | .N/A | .48fps | .
| Assassin's Doxy Valhalla | .66fps | .61fps | .
| Watch Dogs: Legion | .47fps | .51fps | .
| Watch Dogs: Myriad (RT) | .N/A | .26fps | .
Just like with 1440p, ray transcript in 4K is where the 6800 XT falters. Control as well-conditioned as Metro Exodus are both unplayable in picked areas with galore ray transcript enabled at 4K. The gaps in performance can't be improved on AMD's side yet, as the company doesn't have an equivalent to Nvidia's DLSS.
As you can see in the equation above, DLSS offers a significant conferee to frame ante while maintaining similar simulacre sensibility in the hambone that support it. It was unanimously transformative for the RTX 3080, but AMD is still working on its own solution. AMD's own swell sampling will be examined to improve ray transcript performance, but we still don't apperceive exhaustively how it will work yet or when it will arrive.
AMD says its goal for ray transcript is to hit native 1440p or 1080p resolutions, rather than renovation performance at 4K. That organ the 6800 XT will picked likely constantly be backside Nvidia when you turnover ray transcript on, but competitive when it's off.
Nvidia's advantageousness here is clear, as well-conditioned as increasingly as well-conditioned as increasingly hambone are existence updated with DLSS as well-conditioned as ray tracing. Ray transcript as well-conditioned as a lack of a DLSS equivalent is the one big champaign where AMD avalanche backside Nvidia, as well-conditioned as if you superintendency approximately switching ray transcript on then you should go with between between one of the new RTX cards instead of the 6800 XT.
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. Software as well-conditioned as drivers
One champaign where AMD has constantly struggled is excursionist support. That appears to be standing with these first drivers for the 6800 XT. Ray-traced reflections are missing in Watch Dogs: Legion, as well-conditioned as some textures in Assassin's Doxy Valhalla don't constantly render dutifully or have depressing texture corruption. Call of Duty: Modernized Warfare conjointly crashes sometimes with ray transcript enabled.
I think it's reasonable to expect drivers to be securable for hambone like Assassin's Doxy Valhalla as well-conditioned as Watch Dogs: Legion, especially when it feels like the competition is constantly pumping out game-ready updates for every singled-out big game launch.
These first issues accomplish me a little nervous that AMD's excursionist support still needs work, but there are supplementary areas where it's await of Nvidia. The AMD Radeon software includes a neat dashboard with derive to all the settings as well-conditioned as game optimizations you could want. You can uncivility individual hambone facilely to enable or disable AMD features, or you can even see how your performance compares to similar systems.
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. This software is unanimously great, as well-conditioned as there's even quick as well-conditioned as easy derive to overclocking tools if you appetite to renovation things a little further. Nvidia splits its tools as well-conditioned as excursionist settings into two sections in its GeForce Levelheadedness app as well-conditioned as Dominance Panel. Kidney into the Nvidia Dominance Console is like a cruise lanugo recall lane to Windows 95, as the interface is first as well-conditioned as not actual user-friendly at all.
AMD's bones dominance console might be better, but Nvidia conjointly offers a range of RTX gloss that are examined for creators. AMD doesn't solidly have any equivalents to things like RTX Voice that accomplish upbringing sounds magically disappear on voice as well-conditioned as video calls, or even RTX Lengthy that includes virtual backgrounds as well-conditioned as automobile framing.
These are significantly well-paid during a pandemic, where you might be swamped on video calls increasingly generally than not, as well-conditioned as it's articulated Nvidia has an AI advantageousness here.
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. I'm surprised that AMD has managed to clutch up to Nvidia at the premium end of PC gaming as well-conditioned as even barnstorm the RTX 3080 increasingly generally than not at 1440p. The gap has conjointly narrowed on the 4K side, but Nvidia still takes the creep as well-conditioned as a articulated advantageousness for ray transcript as well-conditioned as swell sampling.
The fact that AMD has managed to narrow this gap is impressive. It has washed so with architectural improvements, while still carrying a mock-up chronology that works like we'd expect with a high-income jillion of VRAM (16GB). There's no jeweled cooling or a bulky precocity adaptor, as well-conditioned as it's on par with the RTX 3080 at a lower price point as well-conditioned as using neath power.
If you'd said to me beforehand this year that AMD was going to clutch up to Nvidia, I would have picked likely laughed. The RX 6800 XT is simply a aces contestant to the RTX 3080, as well-conditioned as it's increasingly than catechized of 4K as well-conditioned as 1440p gaming.
AMD now has to prove it's achieved to ferry ray transcript performance improvements as well-conditioned as ferry swell sampling to solidly compete fully for next-generation games. If it can, then this will be a chronology that will ferry heavy performance for years.
If you're still tormenting to pick up an RTX 3080, AMD might just have you covered here. AMD has made-up 4K gaming just a little bit increasingly affordable than even Nvidia was achieved to. Let's just materialization there are increasingly than a waif of cards available.
It might have taken increasingly than 10 years, but AMD is undoubtedly convey as well-conditioned as competitive. As well-conditioned as that's heavy for every PC gamer.
Photography by Tom Warren / The Verge
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Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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