AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT Review: The "Affordable" RTX 3090 Alternative

[Makste]

I've used AMD and Nvidia GPUs extensively in my gaming system for this generation, RDNA2 has had far fewer issues for me where as Ampere has been a nightmare on my dual monitor setup.

Firstly I had more games crashes with the RTX 3090. Nvidia's dual monitor support is laughably bad (at least with high bandwidth panels). No matter what DP cables I used my 4K 32" 144Hz panels would randomly flicker, ShadowPlay almost always recorded the secondary screen, I'd fix and then an hour later it would be back to the second screen.

The most annoying issue was the fact that whenever I woke the system up the second screen wouldn't come on and I had to unplug the DP cable and plug it back in, sometimes this happened to both screens.

Now with RDNA2 based Radeon GPUs not a single one of these issues has ever happened and I've only had a driver crash once. It always records the primary screen and I have no issues waking the system up.

Frankly as someone who uses both brands products extensively each generation for the most part the AMD bad driver thing is BS. Yes on occasion they've had bad drivers, but so has Nvidia.

Thank you for this update Steve. Duly noted. No one here can rival your experience especially with these new cards. It therefore helps a prospective buyer with all these random unverified claims about these products. Thanks again.

 

[godrilla]

Perspective. You have to look at these cards in terms of how old the architecture is and how soon the next generation of graphics cards are coming out. I believe all these cards are a bad choice in that regard. The even 3090ti multi fold so, especially with the rumored successor right around the corner. The same consumers willing to buy the 3090ti will be the first in line for a 4090 plus or minus ti even if its double the Premium. At this point the launch of the amd 7000 series is likely the best time to upgrade now until then will probably be the worse time to upgrade unless prices fall way below msrp. For the low end the best time to upgrade would be post Intel Ark launch.
Crypto mining demand seems to be weaning off for the near future and New York will likely ban cryptomining farms soon as
well; shedding light on the silver lining of the normalcy of the DIY market this coming Black Friday. If crypto mining is banned in NY on the farm level I will be so happy!
source
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/05/new...oratorium-proceeding-through-state-house.html

 

[Sausagemeat]

I've used AMD and Nvidia GPUs extensively in my gaming system for this generation, RDNA2 has had far fewer issues for me where as Ampere has been a nightmare on my dual monitor setup.

Firstly I had more games crashes with the RTX 3090. Nvidia's dual monitor support is laughably bad (at least with high bandwidth panels). No matter what DP cables I used my 4K 32" 144Hz panels would randomly flicker, ShadowPlay almost always recorded the secondary screen, I'd fix and then an hour later it would be back to the second screen.

The most annoying issue was the fact that whenever I woke the system up the second screen wouldn't come on and I had to unplug the DP cable and plug it back in, sometimes this happened to both screens.

Now with RDNA2 based Radeon GPUs not a single one of these issues has ever happened and I've only had a driver crash once. It always records the primary screen and I have no issues waking the system up.

Frankly as someone who uses both brands products extensively each generation for the most part the AMD bad driver thing is BS. Yes on occasion they've had bad drivers, but so has Nvidia.

Garbage. Im not the only one claiming that AMDs drivers are trash. Can you explain why people overwhelmingly choose Nvidia despite being harder to get and more expensive then? Everyone has different individual experiences. It sounds to me like your experience is very a-typical.

 

[Badvok]

Yet another review on a Ryzen platform with no mention of the dodgy CPU OC tricks AMD drivers play. Would be nice if you could at least confirm that your test platform wasn't OC'd when testing the Radeon.

 

[scavengerspc]

Im not the only one claiming that AMDs drivers are trash.

And thousands of brain-deads (not you) are still claiming a stolen Presidential election, even in states where Biden won, but otherwise Republicans cleaned house. There are even a surprising number of folks that believe the Earth is flat.

Being part of a group does not disqualify delusion.

The AMD driver problems have faded greatly over the last few years, and continuing to whine about it displays either lack of knowledge, denial or lying.

 

[mxfalcon54]

Yet another review on a Ryzen platform with no mention of the dodgy CPU OC tricks AMD drivers play. Would be nice if you could at least confirm that your test platform wasn't OC'd when testing the Radeon.

...Do you know what you're talking about? The 5800x3D isn't overclockable.

 

[godrilla]

And thousands of brain-deads (not you) are still claiming a stolen Presidential election, even in states where Biden won, but otherwise Republicans cleaned house. There are even a surprising number of folks that believe the Earth is flat.

Being part of a group does not disqualify delusion.

The AMD driver problems have faded greatly over the last few years, and continuing to whine about it displays either lack of knowledge, denial or lying.

Lol why so easily triggered? Oh the fascist profile pick say it all! Lets keep it on topic.

 

[scavengerspc]

Lol why so easily triggered? Oh the fascist profile pick say it all! Lets keep it on topic.

First off, follow your own advice. How talking about drivers is off-topic is a problem you have to deal with.

Second, I get "triggered" when someone lies to me, and I always have.
Some have said excessively so, but that is my deal and Im happy with it.

Sometimes I post things that end up not true, but I never do it on purpose and I own up to it when it happens.

I never lie to people on the internet or in real life, and I don't have a problem wanting the same consideration.

 

[Gezzer]

Testing these at 1080p is nice to look at - but not really relevant. It's the 1440p and 4k resolutions that people will be gaming at with these cards.

While they might have more "value" than their nvidia counterparts, at this price point, value is thrown out the window. If you want the best, you go nvidia.

Totally agree. Anyone buying a halo GPU isn't going to run it at 1080p. If you can drop 1500 to 2 grand on a GPU, you're not going to be running a 100 dollar TN monitor. It's a waste of all that power.

 

[Tom Sunday]

Testing these at 1080p is nice to look at - but not really relevant. It's the 1440p and 4k resolutions that people will be gaming at with these cards.

Greetings from LA. Another refresh RX6950 XT opportunity but unfortunately not bringing joy in the 1440p world and where it counts by the end of the day! Out with the old and in with the new for a cool $1,100 plus! But when I 'tanked-up' this early morning at $7.95 per gallon in Beverly Center…I did not even have enough cash in completely filling-up! Next payday is a week away! Even my daily lunchbox meal increased by about 50% and I already gave-up drinking 'Mountain Dew' all-together. Before all of this inflation mess started I regularly came to visit most of the major tech-channels to dream about the fine and neverending wave of newly proffered hardware. About the absolute "must haves" and 5-star review blessings. It appears that my dreams are now over and perhaps a nightmare is settling-in for the man on the street like me! I cannot help thinking that there must be many more people like me in the same boat facing a new reality!

 

[hahahanoobs]

Thank you very much for the usual nVidia uber alles, totally expected reply!!

Especially for a product (3090TI) that is literally double the price of this AMD class- leading product!!

The second sentence cancelled out any validity the first may have had.

 

[scavengerspc]

The second sentence cancelled out any validity the first may have had.

Could you elaborate on that? I don't see anything in the 2nd line that isn't fact.

 

[hahahanoobs]

I've used AMD and Nvidia GPUs extensively in my gaming system for this generation, RDNA2 has had far fewer issues for me where as Ampere has been a nightmare on my dual monitor setup.

Firstly I had more games crashes with the RTX 3090. Nvidia's dual monitor support is laughably bad (at least with high bandwidth panels). No matter what DP cables I used my 4K 32" 144Hz panels would randomly flicker, ShadowPlay almost always recorded the secondary screen, I'd fix and then an hour later it would be back to the second screen.

The most annoying issue was the fact that whenever I woke the system up the second screen wouldn't come on and I had to unplug the DP cable and plug it back in, sometimes this happened to both screens.

Now with RDNA2 based Radeon GPUs not a single one of these issues has ever happened and I've only had a driver crash once. It always records the primary screen and I have no issues waking the system up.

Frankly as someone who uses both brands products extensively each generation for the most part the AMD bad driver thing is BS. Yes on occasion they've had bad drivers, but so has Nvidia.

And I can't remember the last time Windows Update "broke" my computer, yet every article announcing new updates are always predicting they will. Life isn't fair is it?

AMD has a bad driver reputation that may or may not be warranted. But your personal use case, no matter how many configs you've had, isn't a solid defense for AMD drivers being no worse than Nvidia's. GeForce has been outselling Radeon long before RTX, so something is keeping users away. Maybe it has been drivers for too many people to make them not want to buy it.

*shrugs*