RX 6800 XT vs. RTX 3080. Part 2/2: Non-gaming tests

Methodology: heat tests

Without application/computational tests, graphics card tests would be incomplete. Therefore, we will focus on this area outside of gaming that most hardware magazines neglect. We understand the reasons, there are several of them, but even so, it is possible with a little effort to make at least a few measurements. So hopefully they will also help multimedia creators in choosing the right graphics card.

Methodology: heat tests

We will also bring you heat tests, too. You are at HWCooling after all. However, in order to make it sensible at all to monitor temperatures on critical components not only of the graphics card, but anything in the computer, it is important to simulate a real computer case environment with healthy air circulation. The overall behavior of the graphics card as such then follows from this. In many cases, an open bench-table is inappropriate and results can be distorted. Therefore, during all, not only heat tests, but also measurement of consumption or course of graphics core frequencies, we use a wind tunnel with equilibrium flow.

Two Noctua NF-S12A fans are at the inlet and the same number is on the exhaust. When testing different system cooling configurations, this proved to be the most effective solution. The fans are always set to 5 V and the speed corresponds to approx. 550 rpm. The stability of the inlet air is properly controlled during the tests, the temperature being between 21 and 21.3 °C at a humidity of ±40%.

We read the heat from the internal sensors via GPU-Z. This small, single-purpose application also allows you to record samples from sensors in a table. From the table, it is then easy to create line graphs with waveforms or the average value into bar graphs. We will not use the thermal camera very much here, as most graphics cards have a backplate, which makes it impossible to measure the PCB heating. The key for the heating graphs will be the temperature reading by internal sensors, according to which, after all, the GPU frequency control also takes place. It will always be the heating of the graphics core, and if the sensors are also on VRAM and VRM, we will extract these values into the article as well.


  •  
  •  
  •  
Flattr this!

FSR 3.1 improves quality, can add frame generation to DLSS

At GDC 2024, AMD unveiled the 3.1 version of its FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) game upscaling. This is an evolution based on last year’s FSR 3.0 and is designed to improve image quality, but also brings an interesting change. Previously, a frame generation technology (analogous to Nvidia’s frame generation in DLSS 3 and 3.5) was introduced in FSR 3. In FSR 3.1, it can now also be used separately, even combined with DLSS. Read more “FSR 3.1 improves quality, can add frame generation to DLSS” »

  •  
  •  
  •  

Ray tracing on AMD RDNA 4 will be twice as fast thanks to BVH8

A few days ago, information was leaked about Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro console, which will feature upgraded hardware with a significantly more powerful GPU and AI acceleration to enable AI-based PSSR upscaling. Other details have now emerged, however, with implications for the upcoming Radeon RX 8000 graphics, as they talk about the capabilities of RDNA 4 architecture’s GPUs in ray tracing. They are set to improve by quite a bit. Read more “Ray tracing on AMD RDNA 4 will be twice as fast thanks to BVH8” »

  •  
  •  
  •  

Radeon RX 7900 GRE now available worldwide, new models added

The Radeon graphics lineup is getting a new SKU slotted between Radeon RX 7800 XT and the Radeon RX 7900 XT. AMD launched the Radeon RX 7900 GRE into that gap last summer even ebfore the launch of the RX 7800 XT, but initially it was a China specific SKU. The cards started to be available in the western markets later though and AMD has now made this official – the Radeon RX 7900 GRE is coming out globally and with a larger selection of models. Read more “Radeon RX 7900 GRE now available worldwide, new models added” »

  •  
  •  
  •  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *