Smart access and ‘rage mode’ combined will add around 5 percent on average. Rage mode is good for about 1-2 %. So even if it’s on, it’s not something I’d get too excited about. But if you’re going to be fair, compare the Founder’s edition 3090 to AMD’s reference 6800XT.
Otherwise, let’s wait until we see what AIBs do with the 6000 series and then compare THAT to the AIB nvidia cards. It looks like the AMD cards have more room for overclocking, but you never know what is what until we see cards independently reviewed.
1 Like
Something to keep in mind, The AMD lower TDP may give it buffer for better overclocks
1 Like
I compared 3080 against the 6900xt instead of 3090. Pretty fair.
But, ok. I think an afterburned 3080 FE on air will equal the 6900xt with all its rage.
1 Like
I feel certain the 6900XT is the faster GPU
4 Likes
Did any one notice they are frames per second ‘up to’ not average?
6 Likes
There are on previous generations. Whether there will be on this gen, who knows, I guess that’s down to both Pimax and AMD.
2 Likes
1.Rage mode is not maximum overclocking of the GPU. It’s a bios setting to enable some overclocking of the GPU (as I understand it- and I may be wrong) and it’s very slight. It might make a 1-2% difference. It seems to have something to do with the CPU and system memory. AMD is vague on this.
2. According to the graph, the 6900xt is faster on five of the tests, slower on 3, and essentially tied on 2. The differences are very small. Turn off smart memory and rage and you might lose 5-8 percent on average. We’ll see when independent tests are done. But even if the AMD 6900xt is say, tied or slightly slower on most games, it’s a whopping $500.00 US cheaper than the 3090.
3. I imagine they used a founder’s edition 3090 for testing. That would be a fair comparison to the AMD reference card- because AIB’s are absolutely going to overclock these cards. There’s a lot more room for OC in the 6000 series than Nvidia’s 3000 series.
4. The 3090 will almost certainly be WORSE in 1440 gaming. The 3000 series do not scale well down from 4k. Certainly all the other comparisons in 1440 game show an even bigger advantage for AMD’s cards. the 6800xt, with neither smart memory or rage mode on beats the 3080 in 8 out of ten tests.
Why on earth would the same architecture on the 3090 suddenly get up and dance in 1440?
Yes, the card is cheaper. AND it will work just fine with Intel CPUs and boards And when owners are ready to upgrade, they’ll have an AMD 5000 series CPU ready to go in their new builds. Also, don’t forget that most of us who would install a 3000 series GPU in our current PC’s will also have to spring for a hundred dollars (CAD) worth of new power supply- that 3090 sucks electricity like crazy And that’s for among the least expensive PSU’s at the Nvidia stated minimum of 750 watts- if you bump up to 850watts you can expect to pay $200 or more for a good quality one. And really, do you want to put a 15 hundred dollar (US!) video card in a case with a Cheap PSU?
So… all in all…although I say wait 'til we have independent tests of the cards, I’ll be leaning towards an AMD 6800XT or if I get a bit more flush with cash, the 6900XT.
3 Likes
My feeling is that the as far raw power goes the Ampere is the more powerful architecture. But going to samsung 8nm hampered the true performance of it. Next Nvidia will move to 7nm and then will see how Ampere does. Right now they use too much power and that is a benefit to Big Navi.
Its fun having AMD being back to make things interesting again
2 Likes
HA! good one. Oh wait, are you serious? Oh man, then that’s REALLY funny.
1 Like
Yup, totally serious.
And it just gets funnier every time. 
I will probably stick with my 3090 until the next generation of graphics cards. I’ve learned that impatience only leads to terrible buying decisions.
I love that this means Nvidia and AMD are competing once again. Very exciting.
7 Likes
Very true! I’m not going to make a final choice until I see some AIB cards reviewed. Then I’ll choose the card and brand.
That’s an open question for AMD still. And we know the Nvidia dlss works really well.
We’ll see!
I’m glad to see some competition again! AMD is taking on nVidia and Intel both. They have what appears to be a great combination. While I have had AMD CPUs and GPUs in the past, I’ll probably stick with nVidia, although there’s a good chance my next CPU will be an AMD.
1 Like
On that note; what are we missing out on, Pimax-wise, if going with Radeon? Foveated Rendering and Smart Smoothing?
7 Likes
Hopefully not. During the launch event, AMD demo’ed Variable Rate Shading, which is the technique used for Foveated Rendering. AMD’s version is not as versatile (it only offers “by 2” reductions) as nVidia’s, which also offers “by 4” reductions.
Here’s are a couple of links:
3 Likes
I’d still like to know directly from Pimax… 
I would be pretty bummed if going with AMD only to find out I was missing out on all the cool features or even having to wait months after something being supported on a Nvidia to get the same/equivalent experience… 
8 Likes