So that E9550 is pretty much exactly the same specification as the 150W RX 480 (except the memory is a bit slower), except it's rated for 95W. Slightly slower memory isn't going to explain the difference. And we all know that the 480 draws slightly over 150W in real world use...
Ditto the E9260 - 50W instead of 75W, and higher turbo (2.5 TFLOPS, not 2.2).
What's going on here? A new power-efficient stepping of Polaris? Or embedded cards that never go above their base clocks despite the advertised boost?
Hmm the E9260 PCIe card looks compelling as a possible replacement for a half height GT 730. It'd probably be a pain to get your hands on one through retail channels though and there's probably a hefty markup over the RX 460.
An "RX480 MXM" card inside a small NUC enclosure would be pretty awesome and should be relatively affordable, I think.
Zotac did make the Zotac Zbox EN970 which used a GTX 980 MXM card, but the custom watercooling solution led to a high end-cost for the consumer, increased size and complexity, and most importantly, led to the high cost of the final unit...
I think NUCs are well priced for what they are. If they could get an MXM module slot for a cheaper discrete graphics from an RX480, and the GPU and CPU were both air cooled, we'd have a small, portable PC-console, capable of doing anything at 1080p, at about $1000 or less, which is exactly what a top-of-the-line Steam Machine needs to be.
Well, low-end NUCs are well priced, anything in the higher range is overpriced. And those with dedicated GPUs aren't that much smaller as well though out mini-ITX case with regular components.
That being said, I'd buy a double stack sized Intel Skull Canyon NUC with a dedicated GPU in an instant.
One last thing to wish then would be low noise. Perhaps some server-like arrangement with a crossflow fan pulling air through whole unit with heatsinks both right on CPU and GPU and a large common heatsink near the fan, running along whole chassis.
I'm just thinking out loud, but these MXM graphics cards could be used in laptops that have older MXM cards as long as the cooling system could handle the replacement. After all, NUCs are nice, but they're still chained to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse which might rule out using them in certain situations.
I could see plucking out an older/hotter MXM GPU and replacing it with something that has a lower TDP (the 50W E9260). Even if its not a performance-oriented upgrade, using a laptop cooling system designed for a hotter card on a more modern and cooler one seems like it might be worth exploring.
Okay can someone tell me if these are new versions of the rx 480 and rx 470 line up but with lower power consumption or is it something else? I'm all new to this and I'm confused.
These appear to be MXM and/or low-profile PCI-e versions of Polaris 10 (RX480) and Polaris 11 (RX470/RX460) GPUs. Polaris10 is only available in MXM form factor, Polaris11 is available in both low-profile PCI-e and MXM form factor.
They're most likely binned and aggressively throttle down to keep within the comparatively very limited power constraints, so it's very likely that they perform worse than the full PCI-e card equivalents for Polaris10 (RX480) and Polaris11 (RX470/RX460).
I think of them as small form-factor and heavily underclocked RX480 and RX470 equivalents.
And by "underclocked" I mean dynamically "underclocked", so as to keep within the power spec once it approaches its power limit(s). They're still very likely to be clocked over 1GHz throughout operation, which means they aren't slouches, just don't expect the same level of performance as an RX480 and RX470, respectively.
Think "suitable for laptops", MXM is the slot type for discrete GPUs in laptops and these small form factor computers. Where your 480 for the desktop is probably around 9-10", these are significantly smaller, thinner, and are designed for tight spaces with far lower thermals than a desktop environment allows. They are typically priced around double their desktop counterpart so unless you NEED this form factor, you can ignore it.
They posted the preview 3 months ago, so right around the time Vega is released we will find out about Polaris. That's the new Anandtech way (so long as it isn't an Apple product).
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psychobriggsy - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
So that E9550 is pretty much exactly the same specification as the 150W RX 480 (except the memory is a bit slower), except it's rated for 95W. Slightly slower memory isn't going to explain the difference. And we all know that the 480 draws slightly over 150W in real world use...Ditto the E9260 - 50W instead of 75W, and higher turbo (2.5 TFLOPS, not 2.2).
What's going on here? A new power-efficient stepping of Polaris? Or embedded cards that never go above their base clocks despite the advertised boost?
Ryan Smith - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Keeping in mind that these are derived from the mobile parts, which are binned to begin with, it's likely that there's more aggressive throttling.medi03 - Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - link
What about clock?Considering you can downclock/volt Fury to >100w levels...
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Hmm the E9260 PCIe card looks compelling as a possible replacement for a half height GT 730. It'd probably be a pain to get your hands on one through retail channels though and there's probably a hefty markup over the RX 460.JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
An "RX480 MXM" card inside a small NUC enclosure would be pretty awesome and should be relatively affordable, I think.Zotac did make the Zotac Zbox EN970 which used a GTX 980 MXM card, but the custom watercooling solution led to a high end-cost for the consumer, increased size and complexity, and most importantly, led to the high cost of the final unit...
I think NUCs are well priced for what they are. If they could get an MXM module slot for a cheaper discrete graphics from an RX480, and the GPU and CPU were both air cooled, we'd have a small, portable PC-console, capable of doing anything at 1080p, at about $1000 or less, which is exactly what a top-of-the-line Steam Machine needs to be.
FMinus - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Well, low-end NUCs are well priced, anything in the higher range is overpriced. And those with dedicated GPUs aren't that much smaller as well though out mini-ITX case with regular components.That being said, I'd buy a double stack sized Intel Skull Canyon NUC with a dedicated GPU in an instant.
Nevod - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - link
One last thing to wish then would be low noise. Perhaps some server-like arrangement with a crossflow fan pulling air through whole unit with heatsinks both right on CPU and GPU and a large common heatsink near the fan, running along whole chassis.BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
I'm just thinking out loud, but these MXM graphics cards could be used in laptops that have older MXM cards as long as the cooling system could handle the replacement. After all, NUCs are nice, but they're still chained to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse which might rule out using them in certain situations.I could see plucking out an older/hotter MXM GPU and replacing it with something that has a lower TDP (the 50W E9260). Even if its not a performance-oriented upgrade, using a laptop cooling system designed for a hotter card on a more modern and cooler one seems like it might be worth exploring.
IAEInferno - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Okay can someone tell me if these are new versions of the rx 480 and rx 470 line up but with lower power consumption or is it something else? I'm all new to this and I'm confused.JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
These appear to be MXM and/or low-profile PCI-e versions of Polaris 10 (RX480) and Polaris 11 (RX470/RX460) GPUs. Polaris10 is only available in MXM form factor, Polaris11 is available in both low-profile PCI-e and MXM form factor.They're most likely binned and aggressively throttle down to keep within the comparatively very limited power constraints, so it's very likely that they perform worse than the full PCI-e card equivalents for Polaris10 (RX480) and Polaris11 (RX470/RX460).
I think of them as small form-factor and heavily underclocked RX480 and RX470 equivalents.
JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
And by "underclocked" I mean dynamically "underclocked", so as to keep within the power spec once it approaches its power limit(s). They're still very likely to be clocked over 1GHz throughout operation, which means they aren't slouches, just don't expect the same level of performance as an RX480 and RX470, respectively.Lolimaster - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
An off the shelf RX480 draws near 120w when undervolted. AMD cherry picked chips should do better than that.fanofanand - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
Think "suitable for laptops", MXM is the slot type for discrete GPUs in laptops and these small form factor computers. Where your 480 for the desktop is probably around 9-10", these are significantly smaller, thinner, and are designed for tight spaces with far lower thermals than a desktop environment allows. They are typically priced around double their desktop counterpart so unless you NEED this form factor, you can ignore it.Lolimaster - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
I really hope AMD and partners start selling cherry picked for low voltage chips as "eco line". RX480 with 95w should be really frosty.VulkanMan - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
So, where is the Polaris 480/70/60 review anyway?fanofanand - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - link
They posted the preview 3 months ago, so right around the time Vega is released we will find out about Polaris. That's the new Anandtech way (so long as it isn't an Apple product).