I. Foreword: Can the strongest A card pick off the RTX 3090 as desired?
With excellent architecture design, the new generation of RDNA2 GPU for the first time in many years in terms of energy efficiency ratio surpassed the contemporary N card, such as only 100W TGP RX 6600 in performance can be comparable to the 170W RTX 3060, in terms of energy efficiency ratio, it can be said that RX 6000 so that the contemporary ampere GPU can not see the taillights.
In the face of AMD pressure, Lao Huang sacrificed the RTX 3090 Ti, this graphics card paid a huge power consumption for 10% performance improvement, TGP record reached 450W, which is the highest power consumption desktop graphics card ever.
AmD, since the strongest RX 6900 XT TGP is only 255W, Su Mama has enough space to build the RX 6950 XT.
Today's unblocked RX 6950 XT simply made 2 changes:
1, the TGP to 283W, higher than the RX 6900 XT 28W, can make the GPU more stable operation below the higher frequency.
2, the memory frequency from 16GH to 18GHz, so that the bandwidth reached 576GB/s, the previous RX 6900 XT 4K poor performance will be improved.
Compared with Lao Huang, Mama Su is much more conservative!
But don't forget ABOUT AMD's SAM technology, a practical technique that can really boost your game's frame rate with few side effects. With the blessing of SAM technology, coupled with the increase in power consumption and memory frequency, the realism of RX 6950 XT will reach what extent, and whether it can pick out RTX 3090 is worth looking forward to.
Today, in addition to the RX 6950 XT, AMD also released the RX 6750 XT and the RX 6650 XT at the same time. The following are the detailed specifications of the GPU:
Curiously, of the 3 new cards, only the RX 6950 XT boosted TGP, and the RX 6750 XT and RX 6650 XT only increased the memory frequency, but the TGP didn't change.
Since the RX 6950 XT is not available for sale, we used sapphire RX 6950 XT Ultra Platinum for the first review. This graphics card TGP 289W is slightly higher than the public version 5W, the acceleration frequency of 2324MHz is only 14MHz higher than the public version, the gap is very subtle.
Therefore, the test data of this graphics card can represent the performance of the RX 6950 XT public version to a certain extent.
2. Sapphire RX 6950 XT Super Platinum Award
Sapphire RX 6950XT Ultra Platinum features an Ultra Public design, three 10cm Aurora Edition axial fans on the front, the overall length of the graphics card is 32cm, height is 13.3cm, occupying 3 PCIe slots.
Top viewing angle, the power supply interface is more special, is a double 8pin + 6Pin, can power 375W.
The full-size metal backplane enhances the heat dissipation capacity of the graphics card while improving the overall graphics card strength.
The tail end of the graphics card is hollowed out, and the fan can directly blow out the hot air, improving the heat dissipation efficiency.
Three DP1.4 and one HDMI 2.1 interface.
Two-stage radiator with 6 6mm nickel-plated heat pipes inside, pure copper mirror base.
The power supply and memory particles of the graphics card are designed with separate heat dissipation modules and connected using 2 heat pipes.
15+3 phase digital power supply circuit, and equipped with full tantalum capacitors and integrated DrMOS.
The tantalum capacitor of the power supply circuit is placed on the back of the PCB board.
The same Navi 21 core as the RX 6900 XT, but the TGP increased from 255W to 289W, and the Boost frequency increased from the public version of 2250MHz to 2324MHz.
Samsung GDDR6 video memory, a single capacity of 2GB, a total of 8 is a total of 16GB. The memory frequency is 18GHz, the bit width is 256Bit, and the bandwidth is 576GB/s.
Third, the test platform: the strongest game processor Ryzen™ 7 5800X3D
The test platform is as follows
The strongest gaming processor, the Ryzen™ 7 5800X3D, has 96MB L3 cache.
Test the RX 6950 XT, RX 6900 XT, RTX 3090, RTX 3080 Ti is the same processor used.
The RX 6750 XT, RX 6700 XT, and RTX 3070 were tested with the Ryzen™ 7 5700X processor.
In addition, when testing the RX 6650 XT and RTX 3060, the Ryzen™ 5600 processor was used.
The motherboard uses ROG CROSSHAIR VIII EXTREME, which should be the strongest AM4 motherboard at present.
0 phase power supply circuit design, the capacitor uses the player's country ancestral Japanese Fujitsu MIL series 10K black gold solid capacitors, can work for a long time at a high temperature of 105 degrees, each phase power supply is also equipped with a MICRO FINE powdered super alloy inductor.
The MOSFET is TI CSD95410RRB DrMOS, which can current up to 90A, so the entire 20-phase theory can provide more than 1500W of power supply.
The Zhiqi Royal Halberd F4-4000C15D 8GBx4 set not only has a frequency of 4000MHz, the timing of 15-16-16-36 is also low, which is lower than most of the memory of the 3000MHz frequency, but the default voltage of 1.5V is also relatively high.
The frequency will be reduced to 3600MHz during the test. The AMD platform is 3600MHz FCLK co-frequency, and the Intel 11th Generation Core platform uses 3600MHz Gear1 mode.
Yangtze River storage titanium PC005 Active 512GB SSD, sequential read and write speeds of 3500MB/s, 2900MB/s, respectively. It can maintain a stable write speed of 550MB/s without relying on the analog SLC cache, while the lifespan is much higher than most TLC SSDs on the market.
Seagate Coldplay 2TB SSD, one of the strongest PCIe 4.0 SSDs, can reach sequential read and write speeds of 7000MB/s, as SSD running score easily over 12000.
Cool Extreme T612 radiator, from the fins to the heat pipe, from the base to the fan, as well as the buckle, fan, fan clip or screw, shock pad, etc. These have been fully blackened, and the entire radiator is blackened so thoroughly that it is relatively rare on the market.
ASUS Gamer Nation PG27UQ ROG 27 inch IPS esports monitor.
4K UHD (3840*2160) resolution, 4ms response time, 144Hz refresh rate, G-Sync technology, IPS+ quantum dot panel, 10bit color, Display HDR1000 certification. It is still the top esports display on the market at present.
Iv. Theoretical performance test: 5% ahead of RX 6900 XT
1、3DMark Fire Strike
In the 2K resolution 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme test, the RX 6900 XT graphics score reached 29112 points, the core temperature was up to 77°C, the core operated at the highest frequency of 2483MHz, and the GPU maximum power consumption reached 290W.
In the 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra test, the RX 6900 XT had a graphics score of 14578 points, a maximum core temperature of 77°C, a core operating frequency of 2492MHz, and a maximum graphics card power consumption of 291W.
2、3DMark Time Spy
In the 3DMark Time Spy test, the RX 6900 XT graphics score reached 20942 points, the core temperature was up to 79°C, the core operated at a maximum frequency of 2368MHz, and the maximum power consumption of the graphics card reached 290W.
In the 4K resolution 3DMark Time Spy Extreme test, the RX 6900 XT graphics score is 10224 points, the core temperature is up to 77 °C, the core operation frequency is 2413MHz, the stable operating frequency is about 2330MHz, and the maximum power consumption of the graphics card reaches 291W.
5. 2K game performance test: significantly ahead of the RTX 3090
1、GTA V
2. Assassin's Creed: Hall of Heroes
3. German Headquarters: New Bloodline
4. Horizon: The Dawn of Zero
5. Age of Empires 4
6. Far Cry 5
7. Tomb Raider: Shadow
8. Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5
9. Cyberpunk 2077
10. Wizard 3
11. Borderlands 3
12. Gears of War 5
The RX 6950 XT graphics card is not intended for 1080P or 2K, but we tested the number of frames at these 2 resolutions, and the data is summarized as follows:
At 1080P resolution, the RX 6950 XT has an 8% increase in performance with SAM on, and has a huge advantage over the RTX 3090 in multiple games, such as Assassin's Creed: Valleine is almost 50% ahead, and Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5 also has a 32% lead.
Overall, at this resolution, the RX 6950 XT is 12% stronger than the RTX 3090.
Next is a summary of the data in 2K resolution.
At 2K resolution, the RX 6950 XT is only 4% faster than the RTX 3090 if sam is not turned on, but after turning on SAM, the lead has reached 11%, except for GTA V and Age of Empires 4, which are slightly behind by 3%, and the other 10 games are ahead of their opponents.
Sixth, 4K game performance test: counterattack!
1、GTA V
2. Assassin's Creed: Hall of Heroes
3. German Headquarters: New Bloodline
4. Horizon: The Dawn of Zero
5. Age of Empires 4
6. Far Cry 5
7. Tomb Raider: Shadow
8. Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5
9. Cyberpunk 2077
10. Wizard 3
11. Borderlands 3
12. Gears of War 5
The test data is summarized as follows:
At 4K resolution, the RX 6950 XT achieves a 5% performance boost after turning on SAM, when its performance surpasses the RTX 3090 for the first time, leading by about 3%.
Comparison of SAM and Resizable BAR acceleration performance: NVIDIA still needs to refuel
While the game is running, the CPU cannot access all the video memory at once, such as the RX 6950 XT has 16GB of video memory, while the CPU can only access 256MB of it. As a result, a large amount of data will be returned to the memory and then completed by the CPU processor, and then transferred to the video memory, which not only wastes bandwidth but also causes unnecessary waste of resources.
Smart Access Memory (SAM) allows the AMD 400/500 series chipset to access all the video memory in full when equipped with the Ryzen™ 5000/3000 CPU and RDNA2 RX 6000 GPU, and the bandwidth is still PCIe 4.0 speed, theoretically can improve game performance by up to 13%.
SAM OFF
SAM ON
For example, in Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5, after turning on SAM, the frame rate of the RX 6950 XT at 1080P directly increased from 119FPS to 159FPS, an increase of a staggering 34%.
In the Intel/NVIDIA platform, similar technology is directly called Resizable BAR, which can currently support the entire range of RX 6000 graphics cards, NVIDIA can only support RTX 3060, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3080 12GB and other new models of graphics cards for the time being, and other models of the RTX 30 series need to be supported by each AIC manufacturer after releasing a new BIOS.
This time we will compare the performance of Smart Access Memory (SAM) and Liberated BAR, A/N participated in the battle of RX 6950 XT and RTX 3080 Ti, the test game is all the previous 12 games, the test resolution is 1920 * 1080, 2560 * 1440 and 3840 * 2160.
1. Resizable BAR performance comparison
The RTX 3080 Ti has improved overall performance by about 1% after turning on Resizable BAR, but there are still some game frame rates that will decrease.
2. AMD SAM performance comparison
The performance of AMD SAM technology is amazing, after the RX 6950 XT turned on SAM technology, it achieved an 8% performance improvement at 1080P resolution, a 7% performance improvement at 2K resolution, and a 5% frame rate improvement in 4K resolution.
For A card players, after the graphics card is bought home, the brainless OPEN SAM is on the line, and the performance improvement given by the white is why not!
Eight, temperature and power consumption test: the roaster 2 hours temperature 76 degrees Power consumption is much lower than RTX 3090
1. Temperature test
The RX 6900 XT was tested with a grill using Furmark at a room temperature of 26 degrees.
Furmark's parameters are set to 1920*1080 resolution and 0AA. After 2 hours of operation, the temperature of the Platinum Version of the RX 6950 XT is stable at 76 degrees, the Temperature of Hot Sport is 91 degrees (this is not to be afraid of 110 degrees), the operating frequency is 2098Hz, the GPU power consumption is 288W, and the fan speed is 1648RPM.
2. Power consumption test
We retested the power consumption of all graphics cards using the ASUS ROG STRIX SnowHawk 850W Gold Power Supply, testing the overall power consumption performance of standby, gaming, and FurMark roasters.
Standby power consumption is the advantage of AMD graphics cards, and the RDNA2 GPU has a lower standby power consumption than the NVIDIA GPU participating in the test.
In terms of grill power consumption, the RX 6950 XT is higher than the RX 6900 XT, but far lower than the RX 3090's 501W.
As for game power consumption, the game power consumption of the A card has always been slightly higher than the power consumption of the grill, while the N card is the opposite. But even so, the RX 6950 XT still consumes 24W less power than the RTX 3090 when running The Witcher 3.
Summary: SAM technology helps the RX 6950 XT surpass the RTX 3090
1. Why the results of SAM technology are used as default data to participate in performance comparison
SAM technology is a technology that simply increases the frame rate of the game, which is fundamentally different from DLSS/FSR. DLSS is played in a low-resolution analog high resolution, which improves the gaming experience to some extent, but at the expense of image quality.
When SAM technology was first introduced, only some of the AMD models on the market could turn on SAM technology, and Intel motherboards were completely unsupported.
Now 2 years later, the current mainstream model of the motherboard on the market basically does not support SAM/Resizable BAR, so there is no saying that SAM cannot be turned on.
For AMD GPUs, after turning on SAM technology, the frame rate increase is very large. Taking the RX 6950 XT as an example, after turning on SAM, the game frame rate can be increased by 8% at 1080P resolution, and the 2K resolution can be increased by 7%, even if it is 4K resolution, there is also a 5% improvement.
Another more important point is that AMD GPUs can get frame rate increases in almost all games after turning on SAM technology, and only a few games will reduce the frame rate by 1%.
That is, buy the latest AMD GPU, as long as the brainless turn on SAM, do not worry about what side effects will be brought.
Why not the performance improvement given by SAM technology!
2. About NVIDIA's Liberatable BAR technology
NVIDIA's ResibilityABLE BAR technology comes from the same source as AMD's SAM technology, but the effect is very different.
First of all, there are not many NVIDIA GPU models that support Liberated BAR technology, and manufacturers need to release the BIOS to manually refresh the upgrade.
Secondly, the performance improvement that Resizable BAR technology brings to NVIDIA GPUs is very limited. For example, the RTX 3080 Ti can only increase the game frame rate by 1%, and there will be a decrease in the frame rate in multiple games.
For NVIDIA users, a different game is needed to decide whether to turn on Liberated BAR technology.
3. Performance of RX 6950 XT
After turning on SAM technology, the RX 6950 XT can lead the RX 3090 by 12% at 1080P resolution, and the 2K resolution still has an 11% advantage.
As for the 4K resolution, the previous AMD top GPUs are not the opponents of the same level of N cards. With the blessing of SAM technology, the frame rate of the RX 6950 XT at 4K resolution can exceed the RTX 3090 by 5%. This is also the first time that the RDNA2 GPU has been able to beat the top N card at 4K resolution.
4. Power consumption
The RX 6950 XT has improved performance at the expense of power consumption, but it still consumes much less power than the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3090.
When the grill is measured, the power consumption of the RX 6950 XT platform is 40 watts lower than that of the RTX 3090, and the game power consumption is also more than 20 watts lower.
5. Price
The official retail price of the RX 6950 XT is 8399 yuan, compared with the RTX 3080 Ti with lower performance and smaller memory capacity at 8999 yuan, while the RTX 3090 sold for 12999 yuan.
Finally, FSR 2.0 technology! AMD will unblock the latest FSR 2.0 technology on the 12th of this month, and we will also conduct a detailed review, so stay tuned.