The PC Thread - Tips, Benchmarks, Specs, Laptops, Custom Desktops, Pre-Builds and more.

[daze23]

AnandTech has a good write-up on Mantle

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7371/understanding-amds-mantle-a-lowlevel-graphics-api-for-gcn

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

lol, you had to watch the whole conference to understand. they were going on and on about audio, some skyrim knock-off, and a bunch of other awkward stuff. by the time Raptr came along, it was like "ok, their version of Nvidia Experience... NEXT!" the presenter also said some things about bringing the community together, and pretty much downplayed Steam in the same breath

basically the whole thing was a disaster up until the point they dropped the Mantle bomb. I know that sounds like typical internet hyperbole, but it really was bad (to be fair, I guess this was the first time AMD did something like this)

we'll have to see how the Mantle stuff works out, but it's definitely already a controversial subject. older PC gamers remember 3dfx's Glide API and all the fragmentation it caused. and how DX was seen as a good thing coming out of that, since everyone could use it

plus it seems they are going in a different direction from Valve and Nvidia. AMD hinted at a Linux announcement, but really didn't deliver (I think they said something about "cross platform", but nothing really specific). and people worry about the further fragmentation that could cause

things in the PC gaming universe have been pretty simple for a minute. the most someone had to worry about was the minimum specs, and maybe if they could use stuff like Physx. but things look like they're gonna get a little more complicated...

Mantle is supposed to be open though. Can you imagine the theoretical boosts dudes like Crytek will get working on Mantle + SteamOS if they make a linux version...

 

[daze23]

Mantle is supposed to be open though. Can you imagine the theoretical boosts dudes like Crytek will get working on Mantle + SteamOS if they make a linux version...

it's a dubious claim to being "open" IMO. I've seen the "we've been told at the GPU14 Tech Day event that the Mantle API is open..." quote. first of all, I find the wording kinda weak as far as being a real confirmation (and there can be a few interpretations of what "open" means). but beyond that, this would be a low level API designed from the ground up to work with a specific family of AMD cards. it kind of goes without saying that the more specific something like that is, the less compatibility it will offer. so although it may be "open" for nvidia to try to use it, there's a good chance it wouldn't be compatible at all with their architecture, and they'd probably be better off doing their own thing (aka a similar low level api for their cards, and even more fragmentation). that's something AMD will have to deal with as well, as it won't be compatible with their older cards, nor any future cards if/when they move to a different architecture

there's nothing really new about these concepts. but I think the PC getting away from a lot of these compatibility issues is what has helped PC gaming become more popular. if they start to pop up again, a lot of people might go back to consoles... maybe that's what AMD had planned all along

(I'm not an expert. I just play one on the internet)

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

it's a dubious claim to being "open" IMO. I've seen the "we've been told at the GPU14 Tech Day event that the Mantle API is open..." quote. first of all, I find the wording kinda weak as far as being a real confirmation. but beyond that, this would be a low level API designed from the ground up to work with a specific family of AMD cards. it kind of goes without saying that the more specific something like that is, the less compatibility it will offer. so although it may be "open" for nvidia to try to use it, there's a good chance it wouldn't be compatible at all with their architecture, and they'd probably be better off doing their own thing (aka a similar low level api for their cards, and even more fragmentation). that's something AMD will have to deal with as well, as it won't be compatible with their older cards, nor any future cards if/when they move to a different architecture

there's nothing really new about these concepts. but I think the PC getting away from a lot of these compatibility issues is what has helped PC gaming become more popular. if they start to pop up again, a lot of people might go back to consoles... maybe that's what AMD had planned all along

(I'm not an expert. I just play one on the internet)

Right, it only works on GCN cards so there is basically no reason to support it. I see Nvidia as dragging this all into the mud and releasing their own low level API. The developers that dont have the fancy abstraction layer in their engines(indie poors lol) will probably settle on OpenGL because of how popular it seems to be on mobile stuff. The only clear loser here so far is Microsoft, though I'm afraid of DirectX completely dying because it will mean the end of backwards compatibility. I see this as AMD's attempt to take console momentum into the PC market, but who knows how that will play out, given this point:

I dont know shyt either

 

[Ciggavelli]

How much better is dual 780s over the 690? I'm thinking about selling the 690 if the difference is substantial. Or maybe I'll just wait For a 790?

Edit: did a little research. We're looking at like 10fps on average, but sometimes up to 20.

@2gunsup what are the real world differences?

 

[Malta]

Seen this posted on neogaf, good lord

 

[2gunsup]

How much better is dual 780s over the 690? I'm thinking about selling the 690 if the difference is substantial. Or maybe I'll just wait For a 790?

Edit: did a little research. We're looking at like 10fps on average, but sometimes up to 20.

@2gunsup what are the real world differences?

This is the Valley spreadsheet over @ OCN which is pretty much the best way of putting cards up against each in terms of performance as CPU/Memory used has little affect on scores for the benchmark nor is it synthetic.

https://docs.google.com/a/wholeeo.c...qqkKVAqPdEtHVEpQMkxMdHpaaUw3UExoWnpvdEE&gid=2

http://www.overclock.net/t/1360884/official-top-30-unigine-valley-benchmark-1-0/0_100

The highest scoring 690 is 107 fps. Highest scoring SLI 780 is 146.1. The 780s and Titan's really break away from the others at 1440P and up. At 1080p I believe they run into a cpu bottleneck if you don't have a good overclock. My 690 was choking in some games @ 1440p hence why I even made the jump.

 

[Ciggavelli]

This is the Valley spreadsheet over @ OCN which is pretty much the best way of putting cards up against each in terms of performance as CPU/Memory used has little affect on scores for the benchmark nor is it synthetic.

https://docs.google.com/a/wholeeo.c...qqkKVAqPdEtHVEpQMkxMdHpaaUw3UExoWnpvdEE&gid=2

http://www.overclock.net/t/1360884/official-top-30-unigine-valley-benchmark-1-0/0_100

The highest scoring 690 is 107 fps. Highest scoring SLI 780 is 146.1. The 780s and Titan's really break away from the others at 1440P and up. At 1080p I believe they run into a cpu bottleneck if you don't have a good overclock. My 690 was choking in some games @ 1440p hence why I even made the jump.

Thanks breh. Yeah the 1440p and up thing is really something to consider, especially if 4K is gonna be the new standard here in a year or so. It'll be interesting to see what AMD has in store

 

[2gunsup]

In my opinion I think that 4K has a few years before it becomes mainstream / affordable. Yeah, watching them closely in case i have to toss the 780's in the bushes.

 

[Liquid]

In my opinion I think that 4K has a few years before it becomes mainstream / affordable. Yeah, watching them closely in case i have to toss the 780's in the bushes.

I can't view the doc right now, but don't you need 2 titans to basically play any game at 4K?

 

[2gunsup]

I can't view the doc right now, but don't you need 2 titans to basically play any game at 4K?

At the minimum dual 780s however you can rock with other "high-end" cards. Just depends on how low of an average FPS you can bear and settings. At that level I'd be worried about frame dips, game going down to 5 fps wouldn't be whats hot in the streets,

 

[Type Username Here]

Going to go with that R-280X coming out next month.

First non NVIDIA GPU.

Thoughts?

 

[2gunsup]

Going to go with that R-280X coming out next month.

First non NVIDIA GPU.

Thoughts?

The 280x is a 7970 GHZ re-badged. May as well get a 7970 GHZ since it will prob be cheaper when the 280x drops.

 

[Fatboi1]

Would it be worth switching to a R9 280X from a 7870??

 

[Liquid]

Would it be worth switching to a R9 280X from a 7870??

probably not man. You dudes have that crazy upgrade bug right now.

what resolution are you playing at?