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  • edzieba - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    While only a single datapoint, if other sites start putting up unofficial bundles then it could indicate an unexpectedly sudden desire to clear stock prior to a new product line. If the rebadges in the OEM like of 3xx series cards carry through, a sudden desire to dump effectively the same cards could indicate AMD are pricing the non-HBM 3xx cards aggressively.
  • Peichen - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Does it matter? Everyone love GTA 4 and since it is Newegg, that's like half the US online computer parts sale.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Yeah GTA 5 is awesome, its too bad they didnt' bundle them pre-launch but honestly shouldn't matter too much since GTA 5 will be a very relevant title until at least the holiday season, when it might start seeing some price drops.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Also, as a side-note, a massive retailer like Newegg catching wind and working directly with partners to clear the channel is a pretty solid indication that new parts are coming from AMD.
  • Manch - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    I bought 2 290X 8GB cards from New Egg and they were supposed to have the never settle game bundles. I didn't receive the bundles and they wouldn't honor them either. They said they ran out of codes even though they had codes when I ordered. New Egg can suck themselves.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Doing your part I see, honestly that is good. I've always said if every pro-AMD poster here bought an AMD card or two and "voted with their wallet" as they love to claim, it would go a long way in helping them out, and they certainly need the help more than ever.

    I do have to take exception to the anti-Newegg comment though, they've been great with these codes. Probably more of an issue with AMD not having enough codes to give out. Newegg has been great with providing the codes even to people who ordered before a promotion was offered (happened 2x recently with Nvidia bundles).

    If you didn't open them though, you should just get a refund. Even if you opened them you have a legitimate reason to return for full refund since the codes will show up in your invoice, if you didn't get them they should take them back.
  • Manch - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Oh you the NVIDIA puppet again. Trolling again are we? I bought the cards bc they suited my needs and I got a great deal on them. @ $275 a piece.

    You can take exception all you want. They may have done you a solid but they did me no favors.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Who said I was trolling? Sheesh, relax lol. I know its hard to be an AMD fan nowadays, but I was just commending you on putting your money where your mouth is, unlike so many of your fellow AMD advocates. AMD needs people buying their products now more than ever, and this promotion is obviously geared in that direction, so hopefully it is working for them. By your purchases, it looks like that's the case!

    Again, in the case of Newegg, you have recourse. If they sold you the cards and the bundles were advertised, you should be able to return them and rebuy another one that has the promotion. That to me just makes sense and I've found them more than reasonable and accomodating as thousands of others on the internet have regarding these gaming bundles.
  • dotpex - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    chicow is an nvidia bot, a.k.a Jason Chow
    here is a picture of him: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/2917202787/85...
  • silverblue - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Now, now, no need to get (as) personal.
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Wrong as usual, no surprise for AMD fanboys. Fine pic though, selfie? lol.
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    I'm not sure how Manch's purchase quantifies "doing your part". Maybe it's the cheapest method of getting a specific level of performance, and Manch happened to have the PSU and cooling to handle them.

    The fact they ran out of codes when they had them at time of order isn't AMD's fault. I know you want him to take them back and get something that isn't from the red team, that's clear to see, but the retailer shouldn't offer something it cannot provide. Fact.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Sorry didn't mean to ring the AMD Butthurt Patrol hotline, but now that you've answered, there's nothing to get your panties in a bunch about.

    I simply said that's great that he is actually a person of action, because far too often you get these AMD cheerleaders and activists screaming from the rooftops about how great a value and yada yada AMD is and how everyone should be buying and then when you ask how many of those cards they own they tell you they are waiting for a better deal to upgrade their 5850. lol.

    And then they wonder why AMD is getting slaughtered in the marketplace and can't turn a profit. Just sayin.
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    It's just that you are starting to get a bit of a reputation, chizow (some say that horse may have already bolted, taking its stablemates with it). I think you do need to bear in mind that even if somebody doesn't buy a product, they can still use information from various sources as well as retailers to make an informed opinion about performance/dollar. You have an issue with Creig, obviously, justifying your argument with the fact that you have recently bought a pair graphics of graphics cards. This isn't a political argument - just because somebody may not have bought something recently doesn't disqualify them from having an opinion in the same vein as somebody who didn't vote cannot complain about who is in power.

    By the way, 2004 called, they want your vocabulary back. Seriously, even "douchebag" is less stomach-turning.

    I'm not going to engage in a flame-fest, so if one looks to be starting, I'll just go and do something else more interesting.
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Been having some trouble with this keyboard to the point of frustration... superfluous 'graphics' in the third sentence.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Uh, right, again nothing to get all butthurt about, certainly a touching moment to see you come rushing to his aid though! I was simply pointing out how refreshing it was that someone who advocated all the benefits of this amazing price:performance AMD offered actually putting their money where there mouth is and actually acting on their own advice (since you see so much of this teeth-gnashing and angst when referring to Nvidia's "anti-consumer" methods, with inevitable threat to vote with their wallet).

    Just saying, if more people did as this person did and voted with their wallet in favor of AMD, they wouldn't be left for dead in their current financial situation because all their fanboys are waiting to save a few pennies before they maybe crack open that dusty wallet and buy something.

    Its not just Creig though, its pretty much every AMD fan that loves AMD for being the inferior, value option that they know they can get for a lot cheaper if they just wait a few months. He's just one of the worst offenders, because he has repeatedly demonstrated he's willing to recommend products he has no experience with without remorse or hesitation, despite some very real and serious concerns about their functionality.
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    I doubt that most of the people who buy graphics cards even care about NVIDIA's methods. As for my Prince Charming moment, I was simply reading the article. I doubt Manch needs help and it would be a little patronising to suggest that it was required to begin with.

    AMD's current financial situation is partly down to poor management, and partly down to being late with a new product line. Meeting the Maxwell 2.0 launch head on would've negated some of its effect.

    Be careful now, just because you got your 980s for full price doesn't make you a different breed or class of enthusiast. Most people don't have the money and opt to wait for the inevitable price drops. As regards Creig, it sounds like you simply don't agree on a point. You've not given much indication of any sort of favourable opinion towards the 2XX series or FreeSync, which is your right, but to actively discourage people from buying into either whilst at the same time owning brand new high-end products from the competition is going to make people butt heads with you. Not everybody has the best part of $2000 to throw at a pair of 980s and a high-end GSync display, yet they feel they're only entitled to an opinion if they do the same. Do you get where I'm coming from?
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Really? You'd be surprised, all I see I guess are the vocal minority crying about how Nvidia is competing too hard making it difficult for AMD to flourish by offering great new features for people who buy Nvidia products. As if they should care! Then they turn around and try to downplay those features as if they don't care about them because they suck.

    Man, those people sure do waste a lot of energy crying about features they don't care about or don't seem to think exist!

    I never said I was a different breed of enthusiast, but as I've said many times, I am someone who actually owns and uses these products, so differentiating features ARE important to me. The ones who seem to dismiss and claim the differences are irrelevant or worst, equivalent, more often than not are speaking ignorantly about products they don't use, or don't have any experience with. When someone then tries to claim these products or features are equivalent, of course I'm going to take issue, especially when that results in a dishonest account.

    AMD and their users are often forced into these predicaments simply because AMD loves to run their mouth rather than present solutions. Creig is just one example of this type of AMD fan. I mean he was actually claiming FreeSync was better than G-Sync MONTHS ago specifically citing that bogus AMD specsheet frequency of 9-240Hz. And that is just one example. He systematically tried to apologize for a laundry list of AMD BS during this whole FreeSync run-up.

    NONE of that would have been necessary if AMD didn't run their mouths until they had an actual spec and product, see the difference? One company produces product, solutions, results and shows it when it is ready. The other produces slide decks, bullshit, excuses, and dishonesty. I don't buy into the latter, and I wouldn't recommend it with my own money either, especially when we are talking what I consider, very minor differences in cost of ownership for similar raw performance, and a lot more features in favor of G-Sync.
  • silverblue - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Hmm. AMD does appear to see something that NVIDIA has and, on occasion, look to provide an alternative, though you need to ask yourself whether we should be paying an extra sum for something like GSync when the monitor manufacturers should've thought of something like this a long time ago, and implemented it. As it is, they didn't, and NVIDIA have gleefully jumped into that niche to fix a glaring issue, and whilst it's not perfect, it's certainly an improvement over what came (or rather, didn't come) before. FreeSync is a different take on things, and both technologies appear to have their upsides and downsides. AMD should've been more heavy-handed with the manufacturers in terms of adhering much closer to the adaptive sync spec; it's not FreeSync's fault that nobody is providing panels that work below 40Hz. To be honest, it feels a little bit like the treatment AMD gets from OEMs when they throw APUs into trash laptops and then wonder why they don't sell. Personally, I don't see why I should have to pay a premium to NVIDIA to fix somebody else's daft bug.

    From my point of view, AMD said that consumers shouldn't need to pay for adaptive sync, but not because it was doing everybody a world of good, but because it was designed to show NVIDIA up. Had the displays appeared at launch that actually fully adhered to the spec, they might actually have achieved that. Like frame pacing, they were late to that particular party because somebody else showed it to be a problem, though admittedly this time they didn't sit around waiting for the complaints to build up.

    You can blame AMD for running its mouth, you can blame them for not properly supporting VCE and TrueAudio, and you can blame them for developing things like TressFX when they should've been working on something a little more productive, but I'm not sure FreeSync deserves quite the same level of bile. As for AMD not baking in something into their drivers to resend frames when the framerate drops below threshold, well, I'll give you that one.

    I'm still not in agreement about the very minor differences in cost of ownership for similar raw performance as you've mentioned. A pair of 290Xs is far, far cheaper than a pair of 980s, frame pacing is much more under control now for the former, and CrossFire scaling has generally been equal to or slightly ahead of SLi for a bit now. Better FreeSync monitors will appear down the line that actually do adhere much closer to the spec instead of providing a small window of operation, and don't show anywhere near the level of ghosting, but you don't have to take my word for it - just keep an eye on the market.
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    And the first paragraph is a lot of what is wrong with AMD and their user's mentality. AMD don't want to hold their partners accountable for product THEY sign off on, its anybody's problem but their own. AMD user's don't hold AMD accountable and thus, they get away with this behavior and mentality repeatedly. Ask yourself this, who is the driving force behind bringing these FreeSync panels to market? AMD probably begged these companies to bring them to market promoting the same BS of being cheaper, industry standard, widely adopted but now that actual products hit the market and are riddled with bugs and high RMA rates. You think these partners are going to trust AMD again when they turn around and throw them under the bus at the drop of a hat? LOL.

    And the bit about the tech should've been on the market by mfgs decades ago? Seriously. That's an incredibly naive point of view. I guess it doesn't tike resources and some strokes of briliance to innovate and invent new tech huh? It should just spring out of a hole in the ground for free and once it graces us with its new tech presence, everyone should just get it, for essentially free? No. That's why the meme regarding competition being necessary is a farce, especially in capital and R&D intensive markets like technology. Money and manpower drives innovation, and multiple weak companies struggling to make a profit do not have the kind of money to take risks and invent new tech like G-Sync. But I guess we can keep wondering why Matrox or 3Dfx or Realtek didn't invent this tech a decade ago.

    But thank you for admitting AMD jumped the gun and was dishonest/misleading with their entire FreeSync run-up. The point of it was they were trying to steal Nvidia's thunder and didn't have anything to show in its place, because as Nvidia has said many times, getting VRR right is hard. AMD's only reason to do so was to try and slow adoption until they had a solution on the market, which is actually the opposite of what Nvidia does by just unapologetically innovating and inventing new tech, and bringing it to market. The biggest problem however was they did so dishonestly so now, even today, you get their army of fanboys repeating all the nonsense they've said and you know they will for YEARS, it just doesn't go away. So yeah, you can see its easy to get behind the company that constantly brings this new tech to market, vs. the one that is constantly making excuses and trying to catch up.

    As for last paragraph, Nvidia is always going to charge a premium. The 980 costs more than 290X CF, but it is also faster, draws much less power, and has of course, Nvidia's entire ecosystem of features as additional benefits. And let's not forget that at launch, the 980 cost only 10% more at $550 than the 290X at $500. Of course the real AMD killer is the GTX 970, which is what you should be comparing it to at $330. While it is slightly slower, it is generally faster in newer games while still using much less power, still enjoying the benefits of Nvidia ecosystem. And of course all these considerations are before Nvidia sweetened the pot significantly with their 2 game bundle. The unofficial AMD/Newegg bundle with GTA5 is good, but still not even close to what Nvidia is offering.

    Also, if you're going to bring CrossFire scaling into the equation you must of course acknowledge FreeSync CrossFire is still broken, and that AMD users still fully rely on driver updates in order for profiles to address multi-GPU compatibility. They haven't released a WHQL update since December, so yeah, that kind of shows you where you are if you are fully dependent on their profiles to manage CF.
  • silverblue - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    I don't think it's naïve to assume monitor manufacturers could have developed a power-saving function of reducing framerate to match graphics card output. Doesn't that sound like it would reduce power usage? Yeah, it would've probably meant extra expense, but then we wouldn't end up with a vendor lock-in as we are starting to experience now.

    Be careful here - I only said AMD were being dishonest about their intentions, not about the resulting monitors that came out. FreeSync needs a killer panel to come out to silence the critics. In a perfect world, the software would've been ready for launch, and the monitor manufacturers less eager to throw any old kit out. Having said that, there seems to be a split in the media between those who are mildly critical of FreeSync, and those who are mildly enthusiastic about it, so from somebody's point of view, it's not a bad start. Doesn't make them AMD fanboys. Personally, I have no opinion on the matter, but you do, so...

    The difference between 980 SLI and 290X CF isn't night and day, but far closer at points than I think you're prepared to accept. You can throw in an extra 980 to match the power usage of the 290X CF, sure, but you hit diminishing returns with three cards.

    Bundles come and go. NVIDIA's have been better for a year or so. They weren't as good before.

    I'd be surprised if FreeSync CrossFire wasn't fixed within the next month or two. As for WHQL... AMD did stop monthly driver updates a while back and this seems to have taken a back seat.
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Sorry, to sit here and think the monitor mfgs would've just developed this on their own volition is incredibly naive. Why was it never invented in the decade+ of LCD technology since this became a problem compared to CRTs? What benefit would they have derived in providing the tech, it would have carried very little premium and value as just a power saving technique, ask Intel that drove the original power saving tech how much money they've made on eDP V-Blank tech. We can cry all we like about vendor lock-in but that is certainly better than vendor vaporware, sorry. Bottomline is if it comes to proprietary innovation and invention vs. hopes and dreams of someone coming along with an open standard solution years, decades later, I am going with the proprietary solutions every time even if it comes at a premium.

    Again, what difference is it here when both their intentions and the resulting monitors were deceptive, falling short of what they claimed? FreeSync needs a killer panel sure, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, FreeSync needs ANY of the monitors to do the very BASIC claims AMD made when they said FreeSync would not only be as good as G-Sync, but BETTER. Why dream about perfect worlds and launches when you already have a company that provides solutions that just work as they advertise from the outset? Honestly, why should you have to consider something like this a perfect world instead of just demanding better and buying better from a company that delivers the product they promise you from the outset? And last bit about the Fanboys, yes anyone who is willing to perpetuate the lies and myths AMD set out about FreeSync, months before they even had product, and even now after they've launched products that fall short of those claims, is indeed an AMD fanboy.

    The difference between the 980 SLI and 290X CF isn't night and day in terms of raw performance, no, I've already acknowledged this numerous times, but there is a massive difference in heat and power consumption, and that's of course, before we start getting into additional features. For example, 980 SLI is going to be a huge difference once you start tacking on additional Nvidia-only features, like G-Sync, or DSR, or GameWorks or PhysX. Especially in the case of G-Sync where SLI is supported, while Crossfire implementation of FreeSync is still broken!

    As for bundles, Nvidia bundles have always been better except for a brief period where the Never Settle Bundles were clearly better in early 2013. But that marketing money clearly dried up when AMD went full in on Mantle and BF4, which clearly backfired on them as their Never Settle bundle is and has been pretty mediocre. Can't fault them for trying though, but it is obvious their current financial situation isn't allowing them much flexiblity, while Nvidia is "making it rain" PC gaming nerd-style with their recent bundles.

    And the AMD driver fix? Don't hold your breath, you do realize they still haven't fixed CF framepacing or SSAA/VSR for DX9 yet, right? If it was as simple as AMD and their apologists claimed it was, they would've fixed it pre-launch, and they would've certainly fixed it in the 2 months (yes its already been that long!) since they "launched" FreeSync.

    And now what? In typical AMD fashion, guns ablazing! Half-assed solution! Lots of promises! MONTHS of quiet and no solution, no updates, nothing. As I said the day those FreeSync reviews came out, if you CF FreeSync performance is important to you, wait for a fix before you buy, with AMD who fk'ing knows if/when they get around to fixing this. Because in the end, you get what you pay for.
  • D. Lister - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    FreeSync needs a killer panel to come out to silence the critics.

    I doubt that many premium products will be made available for a demographic (AMD customers) that traditionally values performance/dollar over premium features.
  • D. Lister - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    what Nvidia does by just unapologetically innovating and inventing new tech, and bringing it to market.

    lol, for a moment there, I thought Chizow was going to break into a song. Seriously though, I do agree with the points he makes.
  • chizow - Monday, May 18, 2015 - link

    Heheh thanks man, I know there are those that consider themselves "tech enthusiasts" out there that overwhelmingly agree with this mentality, but it seems like the "tech bottomfeeders" that advocate the converse of this are just overly noisy about their needs and criteria.
  • D. Lister - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    "the treatment AMD gets from OEMs when they throw APUs into trash laptops and then wonder why they don't sell."

    Budget parts end up in budget builds. Secondly IMHO, APUs target a very niche segment anyway, y‘know that kid who's still in highschool, can't afford a proper gaming build with at least an i3 and a dGPU, and hasn't heard of consoles.
  • Manch - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    These were the XFX 290X 8GB cards. They have XFX custom coolers on them. they don't get terribly hot and they do not get loud at all. For $550 total it was a great deal. Much better deal than a GTX980. I also have a GTX980 in another box and would have bought another one of those but the price/performance was too good to pass up. To return from APO is a huge PITA. I would have had to pay for return shipping, lost out on the discounts I got to get them at that price just to try and get the bundled games. It was less of a loss to just not fight with New Egg anymore.

    I spoke with AMD and they said that each retailer gets allotted XX number of bundle codes to package with their cards. The codes aren't packaged within the manufacturers box. New Egg told me that it was XFX's responsibility, then they said to contact AMD. After going full circle and endless excuses, I've decided that Ill just purchase elsewhere.

    Chizow hits up every AMD article and trolls. Its annoying. Just read thru his comments where anyone that buys an AMD product must be an uber fan bc why would you buy anything other than NVIDIA or Intel?
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Cool yeah that is a great deal! Enjoy the cards, I think more likely than not though, you will see my assessment was spot-on, and that Nvidia cards are worth the premium if you do have a 980 to compare against. ;)

    As for Newegg it sounds like AMD didn't give them enough codes, which is too bad. I guess its certainly case by case basis but I've also read of people getting ~$20 credits for similar instances. Bottomline is if the promotion was advertised when you purchased, you should get some credit or the code one way or another.

    And again, who said I am trolling? I'm holding AMD and their fanboys accountable for the stupid things they say. If AMD fans actually held AMD to this standard, I highly doubt they would continue to engage in the types of tactics they continually get away with. Demand better and you will get better, that is how you let your wallet speak, imo. :)
  • Manch - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    It's always the same theme in your posts and its tiring. The article is about New Eggs promotions which I commented on and you've posted a dozen rants against AMD.
  • chizow - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    Yawn, again, it was the AMD Butthurt Patrol that took issue with my innocuous compliment that you have done what thousands of AMD fans before you have failed to do: Put your money where your mouth is, buy, and support the products you claim are better for your needs. Again, I've complimented you on doing so multiple times.

    I took issue however, with your complaints regarding Newegg because as I have personally seen, and as have thousands of other games across the US have seen, Newegg has done them right far more consistently than other retailers regarding game codes. But, as usual, AMD who is responsible for providing the codes to vendors isn't at fault right?
  • chizow - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    Also, you haven't considered for a second that while you may be reading the same comments and viewpoints over and over again, I may be replying to some new AMD fanboy that needs these fundamental concepts and points explained all over again?
  • silverblue - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link

    Dear me. Company A gives Company B some codes. Company B sells more than they have. Company A is at fault. Nice logic.

    I'm done with this. Such a waste of time.
  • chizow - Monday, May 18, 2015 - link

    Dear you. Company A says they will commit to 2000 codes to Company B, but only supplies 1500. Company C does the same and never seems to have a problem over-selling their allotment of codes for that company. Company A is probably at fault, but given their current financial predicament this is a surprise to anyone why?

    And of course, there's also the possibility the poster may have fallen outside of the promotion window and is blaming Company B wrongly.
  • Nagorak - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Newegg customer service is actually quite bad. Years ago they used to be really good, but at some point they turned into a cutthroat corporation.

    I purchased a "SanDisk Extreme 32 GB" SD card from someone selling through their marketplace, and it turned out it was a fake. It actually was some slow, no-name card that was only 3 GB in size. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until months later (was just using it for photos and didn't fill it beyond the fake size).

    I contacted Newegg about it and they just gave me the run around and refused to do anything about it. I'm not sure that CS even understood the problem as their responses did not even match what I was saying. Eventually I was just forced to eat the cost.

    I had thought anyone selling through the Newegg marketplace would have been vetted, and that they would stand behind their sellers, but I was obviously completely wrong. Had this happened at Amazon, I have no doubt they would have sorted it out.

    Anyway, I can totally believe that Newegg would pull that sort of shady business. I still shop with Newegg now, but I have no loyalty to them. I'll only buy if I am getting the lowest price, and otherwise I'll buy elsewhere.
  • Alexvrb - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    I refuse to buy anything from Newegg's marketplace sellers. When I buy from Newegg it must be sold by Newegg, otherwise I'll get it from Amazon instead. Amazon is better about dealing with problems presented by their sellers.

    Oh and while I still consider Newegg to be "good" overall, I would agree that they aren't quite as awesome as they used to be. They're still my #1 source for PC parts, however.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    "I purchased a "SanDisk Extreme 32 GB" SD card from someone selling through their marketplace"

    That's all that needs to be said. Sure in a perfect world Newegg, Amazon, Ebay didn't have shady marketplace vendors, but in an imperfect world, people should know better than to buy from shady unknown sources. I guess I had the luxury of learning during the internet boom in the late 20th century and early 21st century to know better, but I guess not everyone had this luxury.,
  • silverblue - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    That's more than a tad presumptuous. It's not like they are going through eBay, is it?
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    No, it's not. If they go through the marketplace, it really is no different than going through Ebay. Sorry I see people getting similary scammed and duped on Amazon (who originated this whole marketplace concept) and I just don't have much sympathy because it clearly states its some random 3rd party vendor.
  • Vayra - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Man are you annoying. Get a life.
  • chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    And I feel the same way about AMD and their fanboys. :)
  • nathanddrews - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    $240 for OC 290s with 2 games?? It's almost sweet enough to strike! I doubt there's a better performance/dollar ratio anywhere else.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Nope probably not, you're big on AMD, you SHOULD strike. Chances are prices are only going to go up with AMD's Rebadgeon 300 series line-up. Same thing happened with 7950B and 7970GE, prices actually went up when they were rebadged to R9 280/X.
  • Crunchy005 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Rebadgeon lol. AMD rebadged their OEM line, thats done by both AMD and Nvidia like crazy. Nvidia also rebadges their cards especially their current 950m, 960m. Lets wait for those consumer cards to come out before we judge. At least AMD customers aren't GeForced into a highly proprietary system with software that gets turned off if something nvidia doesn't like is detected.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Yeah it completely makes more sense to Always Settle for less features by going with the Open, unsupported option that leaves you as the end-user with nothing but slide decks full of hopes and dreams and self-support options. :)

    Both sides rebadge when it makes sense, sure, but in this case its almost the entire full stack that has already been rebadged numerous times before, on the eve of a new desktop stack. It just doesn't bode well for the desktop line, because if the desktop line is significantly different, it will really hurt the perception and sales of the OEM parts they just launched.
  • Crunchy005 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    http://anandtech.com/show/9077/nvidia-launches-gtx...

    talk about an entire product stack rebadged. The only ones in the mobile lineup not rebadged are the 970m, 980m. AMD rebranded less than that and that was OEM. We don't even know what the consumer line is yet and your spouting shit about rebranding. Nvidia did that same shit if not worse and you fail to mention it every time.
  • Crunchy005 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    It just doesn't bode well for the Nvidia desktop line, because if the desktop line is significantly different, it will really hurt the perception and sales of the OEM parts they just launched.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Except it doesn't deviate for Nvidia's desktop line, which is why there is no harm in the few rebrands they did. Desktop is still significantly faster than laptop/mobile, and oh, OEM is the same as desktop (Reference 970 and 980 match desktop, exactly).
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    LMAO, truly retarded as usual, you link but don't even bother to read. All but one of the chips is on their most relevant, newest architecture Maxwell and yes, they introduced two completely new SKUs at the top based on GM204.

    The concerns about rebranding are just based on common sense. *IF* you think the desktop line is imminent, as most do believe, then any major departure from that OEM nomenclature is going to cause a lot of market confusion at best, or a lot of harm to your OEM line at worst. Who is going to buy an OEM desktop with an R9 380 for example when AMD has just launched an R9 480? No one. That's the whole point of OEM rebrands to begin with, they need to keep the product designations in-step with the desktop line-up. So do you honestly think AMD is going to rebrand again as OEM R9 400 series if AMD departs from OEM 300 series with the desktop parts? Of course not!
  • Crunchy005 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    They aren't using R9 400 in any way, that is something you made up. Talk about retarded, you are making shit up and then trying to pass it off as fact. If they were going to use 400 for consumer and 300 for OEM ya that would be stupid but that is not the case. Stop making things up to try and make yourself look good.
  • Alexvrb - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Actually they could use 300 for OEM and 400 for the new retail lineup. I wouldn't really mind either way. They did it with the 8000 series vs 200 series. No big deal. Just ignore the OEM parts, it's silly to bring them up. They're OEM. They don't affect real nerds. :P
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    It's actually quite different, AMD rebadged 8000 series some 9 months before rebadging again to R# series designations. In this case, we are talking only a few months.

    It is certainly possible AMD does this, but I doubt they will given so many parts will be shared. I mean jumping another 100 series in a few months would be a lot of rebadging even for AMD. Keep in mind, there is a cost to rebadging, I mean look at the fire sale and burn off going on now for AMD 200 series. It is cheaper for them to sell those cards at say, $30-50 less than to recall them from the channel and physically re-box/re-badge them as new. We saw the same exact thing with the 7950B and 7970GE.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Uh, its called a hypothetical situation genius. I am asking you HYPOTHETICALLY if you think anyone would buy Rebadgeon OEM 300 series if AMD launched the 400 series next month. You obviously don't think that's going to happen either, which leaves us with a high likelihood that they launch the desktop line as 300 series. So again, this leaves them in another difficult situation because the rebadged parts relative to their SKU designation (x70 Pitcairn, x80 Tonga etc) are sucky/underwhelming, which leaves very low expectations for the only part # that is left over, the x90 part.

    So, final question is, do you think AMD is going to launch an x90 part that is MUCH faster than the rest of the rebadged parts? Or do you think AMD is going to push all those parts down ANOTHER SKU and leave them as 300 series, and thus, still confuse the market?

    Basically they are damned if they do, damned if they don't, any non-retard understands this because their designations and ASICs for the OEM line suck, simply put.
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    NVIDIA provided the following Fermi parts in the 700 series:

    GeForce GT 730 (DDR3, 128-bit)
    GeForce 705M
    GeForce 710M
    GeForce GT 720M

    The first and fourth are particularly interesting. The GT 730 comes in two Kepler flavours (DDR3, 64-bit and GDDR5), whereas the GT 720M also comes as Kepler. To the best of my knowledge - and I'm happy to be proven wrong - AMD haven't released two cards with the same model number on different architectures.

    The 800M and 820M are also Fermi, but the 800M series features THREE architectures. What's more, throughout the examples above, there are 40nm and 28nm flavours.

    I suppose you'll turn this into something positive?
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Cool yeah as already covered, those are the lowest of the low-end as rebrands, old arch, not top to bottom like AMD's rebrands. Not a single new chip in either the OEM or mobile line-up. Indeed, their entire mobile line-up is GCN 1.0!!!

    Obviously that is where comparisons end with Nvidia's mobile line-up, and there is no distinction at all with their OEM desktop line-up (it is one and the same with reference cooler), as they may introduce a few custom SKUs but they will be based on the latest top tier chips.

    How you would try to align Nvidia's situation with AMD's 8000 series and current rebranding is simply laughable and shows to what level AMD fanboys will try and defend their behavior. And for what? Are you happy with the news every single part announced so far is a rebrand?
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Not at all, but as already pointed out, the 8000 series was an OEM line. I'd prefer a single line, but still.

    As for the 300 series, it's looking increasingly clear that the vast majority of the 300 series, aside of the top and bottom parts, will be rebrands. It's not ideal for anybody and I wish AMD would develop a completely fresh series like with the HD 4xxx desktop series but while their finances are this bad, it's hardly likely. However, as NVIDIA have mountains of cash, I'm not sure why they aren't releasing a completely new series, either.

    The situation with the GT 730 was amusing. Why should a potential buyer need to check which architecture they're buying? It's bad enough having different memory types, and both companies are as bad as each other here.

    You have already touched upon why rebrands are necessary, but Rebadgeon? In any case, I don't think you'll find many AMD "fanboys" championing the 8000 series.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Rebadging at the low-end is honestly quite simple, there's no need for anything faster because you can only slice the pie so many times before you are left with virtually no difference, and certainly, nothing worth building a new ASIC for. Look at it like the GeForce MX of the mobile era, you just need to satisfy the demand for something better than IGPU and you basically give it away at $40 added cost at retail.
  • dragonsqrrl - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Wow, you keep trying to draw some sort of equivalency between the 960m/950m and AMD's current rebadging streak. Do you ever go back to your old comments? I can recall at least 3 separate times when you were thoroughly shut down on this issue.
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    They don't expect anyone to remember from post to post, they are just posting for dim-wits who aren't going to know any better or think critically on their own. Any non-idiot can see there is really no comparison between the rebrands on the low-end that both parties will necessarily partake in compared to the full top to bottom rebrands AMD has done twice now with virtually identical parts (8000 and now 300 series).
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    We don't have official confirmation of the entire 300 series yet, however it's most likely the case that the majority of the stack will be rebadges. At the very least, I'd like to see an end to the GCN1.0 parts, but that's unlikely to happen this time around.

    I wouldn't keep harping on about the 8000 series. It's not as if you could go into a shop and buy one to put into your PC. Regardless, the series should never have existed.
  • Crunchy005 - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Like I said chizow is being his usual biased Prejudice self. I feel it carries over to how he deals with people as well.

    *chizows childish voice I have made up* I don't know you so therefore your an AMD fanboy and you disagreed one one tiny point. AMD FANBOI stop spreading lies!
  • chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    lol usual biased and prejudice self? You're the one that got called out AGAIN for defending AMD's rebranding by trying to draw comparisons with Nvidia, when Nvidia hasn't done anything remotely as egregious as rebranding an entire DESKTOP (even if it is OEM) line-up not once, but twice!

    Worst rebranding ever that hints at a lot of disappointment for their desktop line-up also, but as an AMD fanboy anyone that states common sense or disagrees is a fanboi spreading lies lol.
  • ImSpartacus - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    I remember that. It was so weird to see effectively the same gpu selling for more.
  • extide - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Kinda strange that the 290/x get GTA IV but not the 295x .. hrmm
  • silverblue - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link

    Definitely weird, considering it'd be cheaper to get two 290Xs. Newegg could just have a surplus of 290s they want rid of.

    I wouldn't completely trust Amazon for computer hardware anyway, they still think the 8320E and 8370E are hexacore CPUs on the UK site.
  • Leonard Emery - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link

    Dirt games kinda suck anyway. Useless bundles.
  • D. Lister - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link

    The car rally genre is, by and large, an acquired taste. I think Codemasters should have stuck with working on the Grid franchise and integrated rally racing as a part of it, instead of getting greedy and splitting one potentially great franchise into two mediocre ones.
  • chizow - Monday, May 18, 2015 - link

    Seems to be appropriate on the dawn of these Rebadgeon cards. Codemasters has basically rebranded this game like 5x since Dirt 2 made a big jump in graphics to DX10/11 era. Now its basically a reskinned game with map packs.

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