RX-480 pulling more power than spec

[chazus]

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...ing-power-draw

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphic...-Radeon-RX-480
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...10,4616-9.html

Basically, it's going a fair bit over spec on both watts and on the PCI-E line itself. Wonder if there are gonna be some claims to follow... Not everyone updates their drivers regularly.

[Artorius]

AIB models will come with 8pins and an undervolt, reference 480s with the problem can get "fixed" with a driver update although it doesn't really sound like the best way to do it. You'd normally need a new BIOS to fix this kind of thing.

After this fiasco some reviewers revisited other cards and found out that a bunch of them are violating the 75W ceiling, which isn't exactly surprising and doesn't really mean much at decent mobos. But it's not something good on the budget mobos and can cause system failure.

[Msshammy]

After this fiasco some reviewers revisited other cards and found out that a bunch of them are violating the 75W ceiling, which isn't exactly surprising and doesn't really mean much at decent mobos. But it's not something good on the budget mobos and can cause system failure.

Which is what makes the fear even more of a reality. Aside from a select few that want to "play" with the RX 480, most of the cards will be put in budget boards. The card retails at around $200.. it's focus IS budget systems. I honestly would have thought something like this would have been caught sooner. Being a budget card most people are going to assume they need the bare minimum to run these cards. Hope they get it fixed/figured out, was really looking forward to playing on this myself until 1070s are a little more available.

And no you're right.. A driver fix doesn't sound like the best way to go about the problem. From the best I could read/understand the cards will be neutered in same way (no?) to compensate for the lower power delivery.

[mrgreenthump]

Which is what makes the fear even more of a reality. Aside from a select few that want to "play" with the RX 480, most of the cards will be put in budget boards. The card retails at around $200.. it's focus IS budget systems. I honestly would have thought something like this would have been caught sooner. Being a budget card most people are going to assume they need the bare minimum to run these cards. Hope they get it fixed/figured out, was really looking forward to playing on this myself until 1070s are a little more available.

And no you're right.. A driver fix doesn't sound like the best way to go about the problem. From the best I could read/understand the cards will be neutered in same way (no?) to compensate for the lower power delivery.

This is not the first budget card to do this. Also people have overclocked their cards for god knows how long and it hasn't melted the pins on their motherboard. Not saying this is not bad, but it ain't really going to much above the limit and it's only happening when all the memory of the card has been taken if am not wrong(or overclocked), hence it's likely nobody on a budget will run into the problem, because they do not own a 1440p or 4k monitor.

About the fix, it doesn't really lower any performance, because the driver also increases performance of the card.

[Evildeffy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq47qmwcus8

Watch that and you'll see it's not really a problem.

[Jtbrig7390]

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...ing-power-draw

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphic...-Radeon-RX-480
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...10,4616-9.html

Basically, it's going a fair bit over spec on both watts and on the PCI-E line itself. Wonder if there are gonna be some claims to follow... Not everyone updates their drivers regularly.

Ya it seems its pulling 95w when its suppost to at max be 75w.

Until this is fixed I personally can not recommend the card.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq47qmwcus8

Watch that and you'll see it's not really a problem.

It is a problem because its a budget video card. Most People are not going to be using them on top of the line mobo's they are going to be using them on budget mobo's.

[Evildeffy]

Ya it seems its pulling 95w when its suppost to at max be 75w.

Until this is fixed I personally can not recommend the card.

- - - Updated - - -

It is a problem because its a budget video card. People are not going to be using them on top of the line mobo's they are going to be using them on budget mobo's.

You have not watched the video in the space of 30 seconds.

Watch it, there's a very well known guy who tells you that unless you have an extremely über budget board this will NOT be a problem.
He goes into explaining why that is so no people with a budget for this graphics card will not be in the budget for cheap shit boards.

[Jtbrig7390]

You have not watched the video in the space of 30 seconds.

Watch it, there's a very well known guy who tells you that unless you have an extremely über budget board this will NOT be a problem.
He goes into explaining why that is so no people with a budget for this graphics card will not be in the budget for cheap shit boards.

Its one guys opinion vs many others. I watched bits of it and he even added that the card consumed 260w and around 50% was from the PCIE. Once again this is a budget video card and yes this card will be put into a lot of cheap ass mobo's.

Kinda why its called a budget. Your not going going to spend $300 on a mobo when your video card is $200. This is a problem like it or not, I hope AMD fix's it but a driver update is a poor way to do it.

AMD rushed out the video card.

[Evildeffy]

Its one guys opinion vs many others. I watched bits of it and he even added that the card consumed 260w and around 50% was from the PCIE. Once again this is a budget video card and yes this card will be put into a lot of cheap ass mobo's.

Kinda why its called a budget. Your not going going to spend $300 on a mobo when your video card is $200. This is a problem like it or not, I hope AMD fix's it but a driver update is a poor way to do it.

AMD rushed out the video card.

It's also a fact of electrical engineering.

He states it correctly but if you prefer to believe that it is an opinion... well I can't stop you from not willing to be informed properly.

If you want to be technical I'm pretty sure that the card you have in your slot commits the same "crime" as the RX 480.
It was just never documented prior to the RX 480 properly.

The GTX 960 is a far worse offender than an RX 480.

In summary: We're talking 40 USD boards that he comments on or lower, this is not a budget board this is a board that isn't in the budget for the RX 480 game systems.

[Jtbrig7390]

It's also a fact of electrical engineering.

He states it correctly but if you prefer to believe that it is an opinion... well I can't stop you from not willing to be informed properly.

You ignore the links provided above and say I am not informed properly. You also make claims that the video card won't be used in cheap ass mobo's when in fact it will.

Once again.....one guys opinion vs many others who say different. Will this be a problem for all mobo's? Nope but it will be a problem for some and that makes it a problem that needs to be fixed.

Also my video card nore the GTX 960 has anything to do with this. To be 100% clear and not to seem like a fanboy if it was nivida I could bitch about it as well. Just like I bitched about the 80% slower speed on the last 500mb of the GTX 970.

[mrgreenthump]

You also make claims that the video card won't be used in cheap ass mobo's when in fact it will.

I've yet to see a motherboard that can't exceed 1.1 A through their PCI-E power pins, even the cheapest ones take more than 2 A average current to burn out.

[Jtbrig7390]

I've yet to see a motherboard that can't exceed 1.1 A through their PCI-E power pins, even the cheapest ones take more than 2 A average current to burn out.

As I said its not a issue that will effect all MOBO's (Even if many) but its still a issue. A drive update is a poor way to fix it and this shows the card was rushed.

Edit: Also to the comment about the GTX 960
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphic...-Radeon-RX-480

PDATE (7/1/16): I have added a third page to this story that looks at the power consumption and power draw of the ASUS GeForce GTX 960 Strix card. This card was pointed out by many readers on our site and on reddit as having the same problem as the Radeon RX 480. As it turns out...not so much. Check it out!

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphic...-GTX-960-Strix

One of the first responses from the AMD community when we posted our story about the power draw concerns on the new Radeon RX 480 was to point out that apparently the ASUS GeForce GTX 960 Strix card had a similar issue. Keep in mind that the GTX 960 reference specifications put the TDP of this product at 120 watts, 30 watts lower than the RX 480, though it still utilizes a single 6-pin power connection in addition to the motherboard supplied power.

I have an ASUS GTX 960 Strix so I wanted to see if the claims made were accurate. I fired up our advanced power testing hardware this morning and ran through the worst-case tests we had come up with over the last 48 hours, including running Metro: Last Light at 4K in both stock and overclocked settings

At stock clock speeds under Metro: Last Light at 4K, the total power draw on the GTX 960 Strix card never exceeds 110 watts, motherboard supplied power never exceeds 30 watts and the 6-pin PCI Express power cable never exceeds 80 watts. This is interesting - even though the 6-pin cable is technically rated at just 75 watts, ASUS decided that rather than draw more power over the motherboard interface it would prefer to depend on the over-built power delivery of the power supply itself.

With our ability to measure voltage and current, we return back to Metro: Last Light at 4K to find that amperage draw over the motherboard's +12V line stays right at 2.5A. That is a drastic difference compared to the RX 480 hitting more than 7A over the same line, especially considering the 5.5A limit from the PCI Express specification.

So there you have it - while I cannot say for certain that NO previous graphics card in recent memory hasn't behaved in the same fashion that the new AMD Radeon RX 480 does, I can categorically discount the notion that the ASUS GTX 960 Strix is somehow equivalent in its power delivery. I know that many of you still look at the spike wattage output numbers provided by the Tom's Hardware testing methods, but I encourage you to re-read what I posted on the first page of this story

[Evildeffy]

You ignore the links provided above and say I am not imformed properly. You also make claims that the video card won't be used in cheap ass mobo's when in fact it will.

Once again.....one guys opinion vs many others who say different. Will this be a problem for all mobo's? Nope but it will be a problem for some and that makes it a problem that needs to be fixed.

I've read all those links as I tend to remain as informed as I can.
But I've also done a bit of electrical engineering during my time working with Noratel and I can tell you that in general even with budget boards it's not an issue.
For every PCIe slot that your PC has it MUST be able to deliver 75W to each and every slot present even if it's a simple PCIex 1x slot.

Thus if you're looking at 3 slots your bus must be able to handle 225W of power.
Making the problem seriously exaggerated and not really a problem.

But if you want to be purely technical than yes super uber budget boards generally not found in any mobo other than OEMs can have issues.

Also my video card nore the GTX 960 has anything to do with this. To be 100% clear and not to seem like a fanboy if it was nivida I could bitch about it as well. Just like I bitched about the 80% slower speed on the last 500mb of the GTX 970.

The point is that a great deal of cards do the same thing often enough.
Also I never called you a fanboy at any point.

I bitch often enough at AMD as well as nVidia as I do not give 2 shits which is better, all I want is competition and choice.
If I upgrade then I always pick whatever's best.. if that's AMD that's AMD, if it's nVidia it's nVidia.

[Jtbrig7390]

Also I never called you a fanboy at any point.

To be clear not saying you did, just saying it before someone does.

To ur comment about the GTX 960 read my edit above. Like I said is this a problem for all mobo's? Nope, Is it even a problem for a majority...Maybe not.

But its still a problem that needs to be fixed and AMD has knowledge it as well.

I bitch often enough at AMD as well as nVidia as I do not give 2 shits which is better, all I want is competition and choice.
If I upgrade then I always pick whatever's best.. if that's AMD that's AMD, if it's nVidia it's nVidia.

For the most part I agree but I do want away from Nivida....

As long as nivida gives me the better bang for my buck I am stuck with them lol.

[Evildeffy]

To be clear not saying you did, just saying it before someone does.

To ur comment about the GTX 960 read my edit above. Like I said is this a problem for all mobo's? Nope, Is it even a problem for a majority...Maybe not.

But its still a problem that needs to be fixed and AMD has knowledge it as well.

Regardless of where it draws it from, it's drawn it over the limits so it's a violation of the spec regardless.
Don't see many PSUs catching fire either.. but the point is made.

It's not really a problem is my point but AMD will appease the market regardless which is fine.
It's marketing at work.

Edit:
I'd be curious to see the same check done across a large range of graphics cards from both brands.

[Simca]

If you want to be technical I'm pretty sure that the card you have in your slot commits the same "crime" as the RX 480.
It was just never documented prior to the RX 480 properly.

The GTX 960 is a far worse offender than an RX 480.

This is actually debunked by the pcper article in the OP, at least for a specific GTX 960 AIB card (the ASUS Strix).

[Jtbrig7390]

This is actually debunked by one of the articles in the OP, at least for a specific GTX 960 AIB card (the ASUS Strix).

I provided info on that in my edit above

[Evildeffy]

This is actually debunked by the pcper article in the OP, at least for a specific GTX 960 AIB card (the ASUS Strix).

Yes and no, in the same mention there is the point of where it exceeds the PCIe cable specs as well even though the PCIe slot power is "debunked".

Also as I said before it's also curious to see a wide variety of cards tested and show as such.

[mrgreenthump]

As I said its not a issue that will effect all MOBO's (Even if many) but its still a issue.

And I just said from electrical PoV as long as the pins themselves don't melt, it is not an issue. It's like building a bridge, define the maximum weight it can carry and then overbuild the shit out of it.

[Vash The Stampede]

I've dealt with a number of people on this issue and there's a lot of questionable things going on. Firstly, there's a YouTuber who tested the RX 480 on a budget AMD build with a AM2 Foxconn motherboard. This machine would shut down as if too much power was being pulled. He did the same test on the 980 Ti, and no problems. This is a really old motherboard, like 2006 old. He bought it used of course. While Foxconn does make everything, but their brand boards are built on the cheap. Worst quality stuff, with worst designed motherboards. You never buy them. Secondly, a 10 year old motherboard is going to have weak components. Capacitors age, and so do VRMs. I asked the YouTuber to find another AM2 motherboard but of brand name quality like Asus or Gigabyte, with the same chipset. That way you can be sure to say it wasn't the RX 480, but low quality motherboard. The YouTuber didn't have nice things to say to me, and this is a guy with 50k subscribers.

Another person had yellow goo on the board on what looked like an exposed case. You know a PC with missing metal PCI Slot covers. Looks like someone spilled a drink near the PC, and some liquid splashed inside onto the motherboard.

Also, why now people are interested in PCIE power consumption? When did people start testing for this, right when the RX 480 was released? Just seems like people are stretching this very far like they're reaching for something. I'd also like to see other graphic cards tested as far back as 5 years to see if the RX 480 is the only graphics card doing this, cause I really doubt it. I know why AMD is pulling so much power, because they wanted that 6-pin connector, but the situation is exaggerated.