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This isn’t the primary time we’re reviewing or testing AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 GRE. That truly occurred about six months in the past, however technically that is nonetheless a brand new GPU launch… as a result of now you possibly can truly purchase it. Round mid-last 12 months, AMD quietly launched the GRE as a Chinese language unique for what amounted to $650.
For these curious, the distinctive title is a nod to Chinese language tradition, particularly the Golden Rabbit Version, as 2023 marked the 12 months of the Rabbit. Initially, the Radeon GRE was meant to be a Chinese language unique, and for probably the most half, it was. Nonetheless, an Australian PC elements retailer managed to supply it inside one in all their pre-built programs, and as you may need guessed, we bought that system.
So, because the proud homeowners of an AMD reference-designed 7900 GRE, we started benchmarking and supplied that assessment six months in the past. Since then, a lot has modified. A number of new Radeon GPUs have been launched, making the $650 GRE a very dangerous deal. Consequently, AMD has formally lowered the MSRP to $550 and, for causes unknown to us, has now launched it globally.
In the event you’re and also you missed our initial review, what precisely is the 7900 GRE? This GPU is actually a hybrid 7800 XT. It options 4 MCDs, one lower than the 7900 XT, however every MCD has considerably extra lively cores. As an illustration, the 7800 XT has 960 cores lively per MCD, whereas the 7900 GRE has 1,280 cores, surpassing even the 7900 XT and XTX.
This configuration ends in a 33% enhance in cores in comparison with the 7800 XT, an enormous enhance. Nonetheless, there is a bottleneck within the reminiscence subsystem. Just like the Radeon 7800 XT, the 7900 GRE is supplied with a 16 MB VRAM buffer and a 256-bit large reminiscence bus, but it surely makes use of barely slower 18 Gbps reminiscence, whereas the 7800 XT makes use of 19.5 Gbps reminiscence. Which means the GRE’s bandwidth is lowered by 8%, presenting an uncommon configuration with 33% extra cores however 8% much less reminiscence bandwidth.
Furthermore, the cores are clocked 8% decrease, and there is a 16% discount in Infinity Cache bandwidth. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see how the 7800 XT and 7900 GRE evaluate, particularly contemplating the GRE’s MSRP is simply $50 extra, forming an odd lineup. It can even be attention-grabbing to match the GRE towards the RTX 4070 Tremendous, which is at the moment priced at $600, making it $50 costlier than the GRE. These direct comparisons shall be made.
What’s additionally new on this assessment, in comparison with our protection six months in the past, is that we now have fashions from board companions for testing, together with the Asrock Metal Legend, Gigabyte Gaming OC, PowerColor Hellhound, and Sapphire Nitro+. In direction of the tip of this assessment, we are going to look at the working habits of all 4 fashions.
For testing, we’re using our Ryzen 7 7800X3D take a look at system with 32 GB of DDR5-6000 reminiscence, and the latest display drivers. All information has been validated and up to date for this assessment, and all GPUs have been examined at their base specs. This strategy ensures consistency throughout all fashions examined. We have examined 12 video games in whole however will give attention to particular person outcomes for just a few earlier than analyzing the 12-game common and, in fact, the price per body information. Let’s dive into the findings…
Benchmarks
First up, now we have Cyberpunk 2077, the place the GRE managed a median of 97 fps, matching the RTX 4070 Super precisely, regardless of being solely 2% sooner than the 7800 XT. This represents a modest enchancment for an extra $50.
At 4K, the GRE continued to match the 4070 Tremendous whereas being simply 2% sooner than the 7800 XT. We hope to see extra important good points in a few of the different video games we have examined.
In Starfield, at 1440p, the GRE’s efficiency was barely disappointing, being solely 2% sooner than the 7800 XT and seven% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
At 4K, efficiency was similar to the 7800 XT, making it 9% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
For The Last of Us Part I, the GRE solely managed to match the 7800 XT, leading to it being 6% slower than the 4070 Tremendous at 1440p.
Shifting to 4K, the GRE was solely 2% forward of the 7800 XT, whereas it was simply 2% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
Dying Mild 2 presents extra attention-grabbing outcomes: at 1440p, the GRE was 11% sooner than the 7800 XT. Whereas not an enormous margin given its 33% extra cores, it is an enchancment over the earlier titles.
At 4K, the efficiency remained 11% sooner than the 7800 XT, although 7% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
The GRE carried out even higher in Fashionable Warfare 3 at 1440p, being 14% sooner than the 7800 XT and a major 25% sooner than the 4070 Tremendous, highlighting this title’s choice for Radeon GPUs.
At 4K, it was 21% sooner than the 7800 XT and 31% sooner than the 4070 Tremendous, even outpacing the 4070 Ti Tremendous by 16%.
In Alan Wake 2, the GRE intently resembled the efficiency of the 7800 XT. At 1440p, it was 3% sooner, averaging 63 fps, which additionally made it 6% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
The sample continued at 4K, with the GRE being 3% sooner than the 7800 XT and 6% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
Lastly, taking a look at Resident Evil 4’s rasterization efficiency at 1440p, the GRE surpassed the 7800 XT by an 8% margin, a notable enchancment given the development of the outcomes.
This margin barely elevated to 9% at 4K, the place the GRE additionally managed to outperform the 4070 Tremendous, beating it by a 5% margin.
Common Efficiency
Throughout all 12 video games examined at 1080p, the GRE was, on common, 6% sooner than the 7800 XT and just one% slower than the 4070 Super when focusing solely on rasterization efficiency. Whereas these outcomes usually are not excellent, it is vital to notice that some 1080p outcomes could also be restricted by CPU efficiency. Subsequently, we’ll look at the 1440p outcomes for a clearer image of GPU efficiency.
At 1440p, the GRE was nonetheless simply 6% sooner than the 7800 XT on common, delivering 105 fps in comparison with 99 fps for the extra reasonably priced mannequin. It was additionally 3% slower than the 4070 Tremendous, indicating a minimal distinction. Nonetheless, this locations the GRE in an odd place out there.
At 4K, the GRE managed to match the 4070 Tremendous, regardless of solely surpassing the 7800 XT by a 5% margin. This efficiency is underwhelming, contemplating it’s presupposed to be 10% costlier. We’ll talk about the price per body in additional element shortly, however let’s first assessment some ray tracing efficiency figures.
Ray Tracing Efficiency
In our ray tracing checks with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora at 1440p, the GRE was 9% sooner than the 7800 XT however 13% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
The outcomes for Spider-Man Remastered are noteworthy, because the GRE was a major 26% sooner than the 7800 XT. Although we’ve not detailed the rasterization efficiency for Spider-Man, the GRE was simply 5% sooner in these checks. Enabling ray tracing considerably advantages the GRE on this title, although it stays 11% slower than the 4070 Tremendous, which is a extra favorable comparability than with the 7800 XT.
As anticipated, Radeon’s ray tracing efficiency in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is missing. With a median of 39 fps at 1440p, the GRE was 11% sooner than the 7800 XT however nonetheless a considerable 43% slower than the 4070 Tremendous.
Throughout the ten video games examined with ray tracing enabled, the GRE was 10% sooner than the 7800 XT, which is a good enchancment. Nonetheless, it was, on common, 28% slower than the 4070 Tremendous, which is disappointing, particularly contemplating it’s priced solely 8% decrease. With this context, let’s now look at the price per body information.
Price Per Body
When analyzing the price per body primarily based on the 1440p rasterization information, we discover that the GRE is definitely extra pricey than the 7800 XT, with roughly a 4% premium per body. It additionally gives only a 6% higher worth than the 4070 Tremendous, putting the GRE in a difficult place.
At 4K, the scenario stays comparable, with the GRE being 4% extra pricey per body in comparison with the 7800 XT and providing solely barely higher worth than the 7900 XT. When in comparison with the 4070 Tremendous, the financial savings are round 8% per body, which is favorable, however we’re not satisfied it is enough to discourage avid gamers from selecting the competing model.
For these fascinated by ray tracing efficiency, the GRE gives the identical worth because the 7800 XT, which is common. In comparison with the 4070 Tremendous, the GRE is 27% extra pricey per body, making it a much less enticing possibility for fans of ray tracing efficiency, who would possible choose a GeForce GPU.
AIB Testing: Temperatures, VRM
Inspecting the brand new AIB variations of the 7900 GRE compared to AMD’s reference mannequin, which recorded a peak GPU hotspot temperature of 90°C, the Asrock and Sapphire fashions each maintained round 80°C, marking a major enchancment. In addition they achieved round a 7% increased clock velocity, and notably, the Sapphire Nitro+ operated nearly silently as a consequence of its low fan velocity.
The Gigabyte Gaming OC mannequin showcased a peak hotspot temperature of 75°C. Nonetheless, its 1700 RPM fan velocity meant it was audible over our case followers.
The standout performer was the PowerColor Hellhound, peaking at simply 72°C at a fan velocity of just one,100 RPM, whereas sustaining a core clock velocity of two,140 MHz, clearly main the pack.
Concerning reminiscence temperatures, the AMD reference mannequin ran sizzling at 96°C, with the Sapphire Nitro+ displaying a marginal enchancment at 94°C, albeit with a low fan velocity.
The Asrock Metal Legend recorded 88°C, putting it within the mid-tier vary, whereas the PowerColor Hellhound and the Gigabyte Gaming OC excelled at 82°C and 78°C, respectively. The latter’s increased fan velocity of 1700 RPM didn’t detract from its prime efficiency, making the Hellhound’s consequence particularly commendable.
Lastly, for VRM temperatures, the AMD reference mannequin was the least environment friendly, with a temperature of 80°C, with the Sapphire Nitro+ solely barely cooler at 79°C. The Gigabyte Gaming OC, whereas the loudest, achieved the good VRM temperature.
Nonetheless, the PowerColor Hellhound’s VRM temperature of 68°C, achieved with a lot much less noise, was probably the most spectacular, demonstrating a stability between cooling effectivity and operational noise.
What We Realized
The Radeon RX 7900 GRE has at all times been a little bit of an odd product, and successfully re-launching it as we speak for international consumption at $550 does not make it any much less odd. The hole between the 7800 XT and 7900 XT has by no means actually made sense; even as we speak, the 7900 XT prices nearly 50% more, leaving a moderately giant $230 hole. It might appear AMD hoped to fill that hole with the 7900 GRE.
Nonetheless, the GRE is simply too much like the 7800 XT when it comes to efficiency and would actually profit from sooner reminiscence to totally leverage these additional cores. Talking of which, reminiscence overclocking is sort of completely restricted on the GRE, as AMD solely permits the frequency to be elevated by a most of three% to 2,316 MHz, leading to a throughput of 18.5 Gbps.
When in comparison with the 7800 XT, you are additionally getting the identical 16 GB VRAM buffer, so there’s nothing additional on provide with the GRE, that means for many, the $500 7800 XT goes to supply extra worth.
Then, when in comparison with Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Super, you do get an additional 4 GB of VRAM, which is good however not essentially helpful proper now, not less than within the overwhelming majority of use circumstances. It is not clear when 12 GB will begin to turn out to be inadequate.
When it comes to efficiency, the 4070 Tremendous and 7900 GRE are just about similar for rasterization, however in relation to ray tracing, the GeForce GPU is usually far forward. So, for those who’re largely fascinated by RT efficiency, then the 4070 Tremendous is a no brainer. Nonetheless, for primarily rasterization efficiency, the selection may go both method.
However once more, we predict if rasterization is the precedence, then you definately’re higher off both spending rather less on the 7800 XT or fairly a bit extra on the 7900 XT. Not that we essentially counsel avoiding the GRE, however primarily based on the outcomes now we have right here, it is solely price a really small premium over the prevailing 7800 XT.
That concludes our re-review of the 7900 Golden Rabbit, although this time we had the chance to have a look at extra board associate fashions, with the PowerColor Hellhound being significantly spectacular.
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