Video Cards & GPUs News - Page 4

AMD has yet to announce or even formally hint at when we might see the proper mid-range options for its new RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 line-up. It's not hard to understand why there has been a delay, as sales for discounted Radeon RX 6700 and RX 6800 GPUs have made them an excellent choice for many new PC builds in recent months.

Navi 32, the GPU that will power the Radeon RX 7700 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT.

Still, we got our first look at Navi 32, the GPU that will presumably power the Radeon RX 7700 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT, via a new Forbes interview with AMD CEO and President Lisa Su. As part of the b-roll footage in the video (which you can see at the end of the article at around the 1:30 mark), we got a glimpse at Navi 32 sitting alongside other AMD chips, and it provides some insight into what to expect.

The image confirms a similar multi-chip or chiplet design seen with the Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX, albeit with a single GCD (Graphics Compute Die) in the center measuring at around 200mm squared with four MCDs (Multi-Cache Die) measuring at approximately 37.5mm squared each.

AMD recently launched its new Radeon RX 7600 GPU, an 8GB GPU targeting the mainstream 1080p gaming segment. Based on our in-depth review, the USD 269 price point presents a pretty good deal when you're getting better than GeForce RTX 3060 performance. Not to mention around 25% more performance than its predecessor, the Radeon RX 6600.

The ASRock Radeon RX 6600 8GB GDDR6 can be yours for USD 179.99, image credit: ASRock.

But, with new GPU launches sitting alongside massive discounts to previous-gen models (where it seems like now's the right time to purchase something like the Radeon RX 6700, RX 6800, or GeForce RTX 3060 Ti), it looks like AMD's new mainstream RDNA 3 card has effectively dropped the price of the previous-gen RDNA 2 model.

And with that, over at Newegg (link at the end of this article), the ASRock Radeon RX 6600 8GB is currently being sold with a $20 off promo that puts its price down to USD 179.99. This represents a 33% discount when you compare the price to the new Radeon RX 7600 though you're getting something less powerful.

Bright and colorful PC components aren't exactly new, and we've seen some impressive designs over the years - including licensed stuff that adds a bit more flair to the usual black or monotone look we see for the most part. And there's the rise in popularity and presence of white hardware, from GPUs to motherboards, cases, and everything else.

This new GPU from Chinese company Zephyr, the Zephyr GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ITX, looks like a small form-factor GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in white. Taking a closer look at the pink fan, you might notice that the PCB is also pink - which is a first.

The "Sakura and Snow" color scheme of white and pink is the main drawcard alongside the mini-ITX form factor, which means this GPU could be slotted into pretty much any build. Unfortunately, Zephyr is an unknown quantity outside of China, so we don't think this one will get a wide release.

UPDATE: NVIDIA has confirmed the June 29 launch date for the GeForce RTX 4060 and is now listing the date on the GPU's product page.

GeForce RTX 4060 specs, image credit: NVIDIA.

With rumors pointing to a potential early release for the new GeForce RTX 4080 8GB from July to late June, today comes confirmation from Videocardz.com, citing release plans and embargo information from NVIDIA's partners, that this is indeed the case.

According to the leaked info, reviewers will get their hands-on the new mainstream GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU around June 21, with MSRP model reviews set to drop on June 28, with non-MSRP model reviews coming on June 29. And with that, the global launch for the GeForce RTX 4060 is happening on June 29, before July though pretty much on the cusp.

GIGABYTE is refreshing its GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE graphics card with the new GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE V2 24G, and the most interesting change looks to come from moving the 12VHPWR power connector to the backside of the GPU. It's still a part of the board but is now positioned facing outward with ample space for cabling via a single cable or a 12VHPWR to 8-pin adaptor.

The new GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE V2 24G is smaller, moves the power connector, and redesigns the bracket too, image credit: GIGABYTE.

For those looking at the GeForce RTX 4090 and rightfully concerned about having to bend cables, this design should alleviate those fears, and we wouldn't be surprised if it becomes GIGABYTE's standard design for massive GPUs going forward. And as an added bonus, the new V2 WINDFORCE RTX 4090 is smaller than the original - coming in at under 3 slots!

No matter the model, the GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster in terms of the 4K performance it delivers and the physical size of the cooling it requires - so it's great to see this revision shrinking the overall size of the GPU. Dimension-wise, the new V2 is 331 x 136 x 55.5mm compared to the original's 331 x 150 x 70mm.

At Computex 2023, one of the big recurring stories and advances that we witnessed first-hand from all the major players was a shift towards cable management and making fundamental design changes to motherboards, graphics cards, cases, and even fans to minimize the number of cables you see and make the whole building process smoother and more manageable.

The new GeForce RTX 4070 AX eSports from Inno3D, image credit: MyDrivers.

At first glance, the new GeForce RTX 4070 AX eSports and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti iChill X2 White from Inno3D look to follow in the footsteps of concept GPUs that pretty much remove the PCIe power connectors.

The clever design touch puts the connector on the back for a hidden approach to make new PC builds cleaner with no noticeable cables plugging into the GPU. Having the power cables routed via the back of the GPU is an excellent idea, and based on the number of companies looking to make significant changes to how cables connect to GPUs, it's the sort of design idea we can see becoming more prevalent as time goes on.

Some more troubling news from the GPU world, with many GIGABYTE GeForce RTX owners - covering the GeForce RTX 30 Series (Ampere) and potentially GeForce RTX 40 Series (Ada Lovelace) too - reporting catastrophic cracking on the PCB.

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX PCB cracking, image credit: Louis Rossmann/eBay.

With the cracking close to the power connectors, the graphics cards are non-functioning and in need of critical repair or replacement. This is troubling because GIGABYTE is an established and trusted brand in the PC gaming space, which has seen its graphics cards, motherboards, and other hardware components receive critical acclaim and commercial success.

In Australia, my homeland, it's one of the go-to brands for GPUs and motherboards for new builds - so a widespread PCB cracking issue is not the sort of news you want to hear about.

Recently we reported on the seemingly dire state of the discrete graphics card market, with a report from Jon Peddie Research stating that total AIB shipments decreased by around 40% in Q1 2023 compared to the same quarter from last year.

GeForce RTX 40 Series "sell through" revenue is up 40% compared to Ampere, image credit: NVIDIA.

Well, NVIDIA's SVP of Gaming, Jeff Fisher, has presented a somewhat different story at the recent Bank of America Global Technology Conference, stating that the Ada Lovelace generation and the new GeForce RTX 40 Series are performing exceptionally well in terms of revenue and sales. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% for the GeForce segment of NVIDIA's business through FY23, Jeff Fisher specifically highlighted the success of the GeForce RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti models.

Of course, with higher MSRPs compared to their Ampere generation equivalents, the idea of higher revenue and growth beings to make sense, with Jeff Fisher noting that the GeForce RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti have generated revenue 3X faster than the GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3070 Ti - or 40% faster.

When NVIDIA lifted the lid on the new GeForce RTX 40 Series of GPUs - and so far, the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is already available starting from USD 399 - we got word that the baseline mainstream GeForce RTX 4060 was set to launch sometime in July 2023.

GeForce RTX 4060 performance, image credit: NVIDIA.

NVIDIA is changing its plans, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB now set to launch in late June 2023, as per insider leaks. The information comes via MEGAsizeGPU, a well-known and established leaker in the GeForce space, who said to expect the GeForce RTX 4060 in June.

The good news is that the GeForce RTX 4060 is set to launch with a price-point of USD 299, cheaper than the GeForce RTX 3060's launch price of USD 329. As far as performance is concerned, NVIDIA has already provided information noting that it will deliver a raw 20% or so bump over the GeForce RTX 3060 with the added benefit of being considerably more power efficient thanks to the new Ada Lovelace architecture as well as making full use of cutting-edge techs like DLSS 3 and Frame Generation.

When Intel introduced its new line-up of discrete Intel Arc graphics for PC gamers, it also introduced the AI-based Intel Xe Super Sampling, which is similar to NVIDIA's DLSS and AMD's FSR in that it's all about upscaling and boosting performance with minimal impact to visual fidelity.

Intel Arc A750 XeSS Super Sampling benchmark results, image credit: Intel.

Today comes word that XeSS (which is also compatible with non-Intel GPUs though tests showcase that it works best when leveraging Intel Arc's dedicated AI hardware) is now available in over 50 games.

The good news is that adoption for XeSS covers many popular PC titles, including the recently released Diablo IV from Blizzard and other high-profile releases like Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, Returnal, and others.