AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, 6800 XT, And 6800 – 14 Features You Need To Know
AMD has announced its much anticipated Big Navi graphics card, with the Radeon RX 6800 priced at $579 and the top-end 6900 XT at $999, around 50% less than the similarly performing GeForce RTX 3090. While the performance seems solid, more or less on par with the competing RTX 30 series parts, there are a few things you ought to know about the new GPUs before you decide which one to buy:
Big Navi Performs Better at 1440p Compared to 4K
Although the Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards are capable 4K parts, they generally perform more consistently at 1440p compared to the rival GeForce RTX 30 series offerings. That is primarily because NVIDIA's GPUs feature a wider bus (320-bit for the RTX 3080 and 384-bit for the 3090) and GDDR6X memory, both of which together offer significantly more bandwidth than the Navi 2x parts. Bandwidth matters more at higher resolutions as you're constantly buffering in large texture assets to and from the VRAM buffer.
The Radeon RX 6800 XT is the Sweet Spot and Likely the Next Bestseller
While all three GPUs are decent products, in terms of the price-performance ratio, the RX 6800 XT takes the cake. You're getting RTX 3080 levels of performance and perhaps a bit more for $50 less at $649. Furthermore, the lack of availability of the RTX 30 series cards means that most RTX 3080s will sell $50-60 more than the MSRP of $699. The RX 6900 XT isn't a poor choice if you aren't strapped for money, but the RX 6800 is hard to recommend. You're getting an RTX 3070 competitor for potentially worse or similar ray-tracing performance for an additional $79.
Infinity Cache is the Secret Sauce and the Substitute for a Wider Bus Width, As Well as Better Ray-tracing Performance
No one believed that AMD would pack a whopping 128MB of L3 cache AKA Infinity Cache with its Big Navi graphics cards. There were rumors, sure, but it seemed way too out there. This massive cache buffer is similar to the GameCache on the Ryzen 3000 CPUs. By caching large amounts of data, it reduces the stress on the relatively smaller 256-bit bus and GDDR6 memory. It is also instrumental in ray-tracing as ray/box intersection data tends to be quite substantial, often choking the smaller L0 and L1 caches that are private to one or more Compute Units.
The Radeon RX 6000 Graphics Cards Will Work Best When Combined With the Ryzen 5000 CPUs, Thanks to Smart Memory Access (SAM)
The Radeon RX 6000 GPUs feature something AMD called Smart Memory Access or SAM. AMD Smart Memory Access improves gaming performance by up to 11%. But how does Smart Memory Access work? When you are using an all-AMD system with a Ryzen 5000 CPU and a Radeon RX 6000 graphics card, the CPU has direct access to the GPU's memory sub-system via the PCIe 4.0 lanes. The exact functioning isn't clear, but it would seem that this is a proprietary solution similar to AMD SmartShift on Renoir notebooks, which allows the 500 series chipsets to bring the GPU and CPU closer to each other, thereby reducing overhead and latency.
Introducing RAGE MODE (No, It's Not Auto-Overclocking- That is a Different Feature)
One of the new features introduced with the Radeon RX 6000 GPUs is Rage Mode. It boosts performance by around 5-7% by providing the GPU with higher boosting headroom. And no, it's not auto-overclocking. It doesn't affect the base or boost clocks. It simply increases the power limit of the GPU by a small amount, allowing it to boost higher and stay there for larger intervals, similar to how Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) works on the Ryzen CPUs.
NVIDIA's RTX 30 Series "Ampere" Graphics Cards Will (Likely) be Slightly Better at Ray-tracing
NVIDIA's RTX 30 series GPUs thanks to the 2nd Gen RT Cores will most likely be better at accelerating the ray-tracing algorithm compared to the Navi 2x parts. This is due to two reasons. While NVIDIA uses its RTCores for both BVH acceleration and ray-triangle intersection, AMD relies on its RT units for only the latter. The base shaders or SIMDs are used for the former. Furthermore, NVIDIA's Ampere architecture can run its RTCores, shaders, and Tensor cores asynchronously. It's unclear whether AMD's RT units can do the same but if they're anything like the Xbox Series X's GPU, they'll have a common data path with the Texture Units, meaning only one of them can run per cycle. At the same time, partner titles such as Far Cry 6 and Godfall will likely see the RDNA 2 parts perform on par or even better than the RTX 3080/3090, even with ray-tracing turned on.
AMD is Working on a DLSS Alternative to Improve Performance With Ray-tracing Turned on
AMD has also informed the press that it's working on an alternative to NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling algorithm, one that will be OpenSource and likely benefit from the massive Infinity Cache on the Big Navi GPUs. From what I can tell, it will be based on DirectML. AMD is going to pair this Super Resolution technology with the rest of its FidelityFX tools such as the denoiser, CAS, optimized AO, and SSR to further improve both image quality and performance. The performance should be in line with traditional upscaling technologies allowing doubling of the input resolution. That will be sufficient to allow the RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT run even the most taxing games at 4K Ultra with ray-tracing turned on.
The Radeon RX 6800 Series Will be Available Starting November 18
The Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT will hit retail starting on the 18th of November. Keep in mind that these are the launch dates for the reference cards while third-party board partner GPUs will land sometime in December. It's worth noting that the AIB partner cards will come with higher in-game boost clocks, resulting in 7-12% better performance compared to reference models.
The Radeon RX 6900 XT Will Launch on December 8 and Will be an AMD Exclusive for a Month
The flagship card, the Radeon RX 6900 XT is slated to hit stores on the 8th of December, but we'll only see the reference cards for the time being. The board partner variants are set to launch in January 2021. As with the RX 6800 series, it may be worth waiting for these models as they'll likely be faster while costing marginally more.
The Radeon RX 6700 Series Will Land in 2021 and Come Without the Infinity Cache
The budget-range Radeon RX 6700 and 6700 XT will arrive sometime in 1H 2021, without the Infinity Cache. Knowing how expensive SRAM is and targeted resolutions for these parts are 1080p and 1440p, they'll come with a 192-bit bus and the same number of Compute Units as their predecessors (5700 and 5700 XT). They might feature a smaller Infinity Cache of around 64MB, but not the whole 128MB.
Supply for the Radeon RX 6800 Series Should be Ample
Unlike NVIDIA's RTX 3080/3090, there should be enough supply for the Radeon RX 6800 and 6800 XT in November itself, with the board partner launch in December further reinforcing inventory. As far as the Radeon RX 6900 XT is concerned, we'll only be seeing the reference cards for the time being. Supply will be somewhat constrained, but not as much as the RTX 3090. Seeing that not many people line up to buy a $999 graphics card, that shouldn't be a problem though.
The Radeon RX 6000 Series Graphics Cards are More Power-Efficient Than the Rival NVIDIA RTX 30 Series
For the first time since, well, forever, AMD's GPU lineup is more power-efficient than the rival GeForce stack. Both the RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT have a TBP of 300W while the RTX 3080 has a rated TBP of 320W. The RTX 3090 has a TBP of 350W. In reality, both the Ampere cards draw close to 400W under load. It'll be interesting to see how much the Big Navi cards draw under load.
Lower Thermals, Noise, and Fewer Complications
The Radeon RX 6000 series cards are not only more power-efficient, but they will also have lower thermals, run quieter and come in a smaller form factor. This isn't just because of the lower TDP, but the use of GDDR6 memory which runs much cooler compared to the GDDR6x standard employed by NVIDIA and Micron. Furthermore, the use of back drilling, more power phases, and other complicated techniques to reduce interlayer noise also adds to the overall thermals.
The Big Navi Graphics Cards Will Most Come in Dual-Slot Widths, With the RX 6900 XT Maxing Out at 2.5 Slot Width
Unlike the GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 which are triple-slot cards for most AIB partner cards, the Radeon RX 6800 XT won't exceed the dual-slot factor for most board partner models while the RX 6900 XT will max out at 2.5 slot width.
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition Receives Action-Packed Launch Trailer
Among the many titles coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 at launch is Capcom's Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition. It's packed full of new modes and features, prominent among them being Vergil who's now playable. Check out his various moves in the trailer below. Beware though – there are other potential spoilers for those who haven't played the game.
Of course, that's not all one can expect as the Special Edition introduces Turbo Mode and Legendary Dark Knight Mode. The former increases the game's speed for even more frantic action while the latter ups the enemy count tenfold. Along with 120 frames per second support, players can also expect ray-tracing to be implemented (though Xbox Series X players will have to wait for it to arrive in a post-launch update).
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition is out digitally on Xbox Series X/S tomorrow while PS5 gets it on November 12th. A physical version launches on December 1st while Vergil will be available as $5 DLC for Xbox One, PS4 and PC owners on December 15th. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
PSVR Exclusive Blood and Truth Details PS5 Visual Enhancements
Though PS5 games will not feature native support for PSVR, virtual reality will still very much be brought over into the next generation of PlayStation thanks to backward compatibility, with select titles also benefitting from enhancements– and one of the best first party exclusives released for PSVR has received some impressive enhancements in preparation for the console's launch.
SIE London studio recently took to Twitter and confirmed that their VR exclusive first person shooter Blood and Truth, which launch last year, has received a new update that adds several enhancements to the game. These includes higher frame rates of upto 90 FPS, improved resolution, highest detail assets being used at all times, and improved texture detail.
Other first part PS4 exclusives have also been receiving similar enhancements in the lead-up to the PS5's launch. God of War and Days Gone, for instance, will both run at 60 FPS on the upcoming next-gen console.
Blood and Truth is currently available on PS4. In our review of the game, we called it "a rewarding, action-packed romp fully equipped with a great crime story and movie-quality acting from its lovable characters". You can read our review through here.
Higher resolution
…this is across the whole game, as well as all our FREE DLC!
— PlayStation London Studio (@LondonStudioHQ) November 9, 2020
FIFA 21 Tops UK Charts Fifth Week in a Row
The latest weekly charts for boxed video game sales in the UK are in, and FIFA 21 has nabbed the top spot for the fifth consecutive week, starting with its launch (via GamesIndustry). Overall, physical software sales in the UK have gone up 13% week-on-week, what with lockdown restrictions being imposed once again, and Nintendo Switch games in particular have seen boosted sales.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has climbed back to second place with a 22% week-on-week increase in sales, and other Switch titles have enjoyed similar increases. That includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in third place (with a 41% week-on-week boost), Minecraft's Switch version in fifth place (39%), Super Mario 3D All-Stars in sixth place (24%), and Ring Fit Adventure at No. 7 (69%).
Watch Dogs: Legion, which debuted in second place last week, has dropped 58% week-on-week in sales, dropping down to No. 4. Meanwhile, the recently released Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered and DiRT 5 both failed to break into the top 10, debuting at No. 35 and No. 38 respectively.
You can check out the top 10 for the week ending November 7 below.
- FIFA 21
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- Minecraft (Switch)
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Minecraft Dungeons
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- L.O.L Surprise! Remix: We Rule The World
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Launch Trailer Revealed
Peter Parker is still Spider-Man but in the coming days, it'll be Miles Morales time to shine as the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales launches on November 12th. To celebrate, a new launch trailer is now available – check it out below.
Along with highlighting the conflict between Roxxon and the Tinkerer's army, the trailer focuses on Miles himself. As the new Spider-Man, Miles must establish his own identity and protect the city. In terms of gameplay, that means using Venom Blast attacks, camouflage and other cool moves.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be available for PS4 and PS5 when it launches. Next-gen players have quite a bit to look forward to with 4K and HDR support, quick loading times and support for the DualSense's haptic feedback. Ray-tracing is also showcased in incredible detail, though fans of 60 FPS performance can opt for that instead. Stay tuned for more details on the title in the coming days.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light's Raid Teased in Mysterious New Clip
Bungie's Destiny 2: Beyond Light is out tomorrow, offering another major expansion for series' fans to jump into. The story takes players to Europa to stop Eramis, the Kell of Darkness, from rising in power. However, it also offers a look into the various Clovis Bray experiments that occurred in the past, particularly in the Deep Stone Crypt raid.
A new clip on Twitter highlights the clean labs of the raid with some brief shots of destroys Exos. "Deep Stone Crypt" in the Destiny-verse is known as the subroutine that brought about the first Exo consciousness. This tweet seems to indicate that we'll learn more about how the race was created and the resulting fallout from the same.
Beyond Light is out tomorrow for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Google Stadia. The Deep Stone Crypt raid goes live on November 21st. Another race for World's First completion will occur with the Contest Mode modifier capping players at 20 Power below each encounter. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
"The human mind in a mechanical body…We are at the cusp of major breakthroughs in making this a reality."
-Clovis Bray EXOSCIENCE, recovered backlogs pic.twitter.com/4gJRxkbqXr
— Destiny 2 (@DestinyTheGame) November 6, 2020
Monster Hunter Rise Shows Off More Concept Art Of Companions And Monsters
Capcom's monster slaying franchise was brought to new heights with 2018's Monster Hunter World. Next year, however, it'll be time for the series to once again return to the realm of the handheld with Monster Hunter Rise. This go around will see you have some familiar and new companions, and we got some new concept art to get you excited about murdering some monsters with your cute friends.
You can see the concept art from the official Twitter below. One of them is pretty adorable and has the cat-like Palico that's a staple of the series riding on the series newcomer, the dog-like Palamute. It's pretty cute, and don't forget you can custom both of them. What's a little less cute is the art for what looks to be the game's flagship monster, Magnamalo. Two different pieces has the nasty looking beast in both sunset as well under moonlight.
Monster Hunter Rise will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch March 26th, 2021.
Monster Hunter Rise Concept Art: Magnamalo under moonlight.
#MHRise pic.twitter.com/dMLLCtzvj5
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) November 5, 2020
Monster Hunter Rise Concept Art: Magnamalo at sunset.
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) November 4, 2020
Monster Hunter Rise Concept Art: your Pals going for a stroll. #MHRise pic.twitter.com/xz9PHJhZXc
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) November 6, 2020
Much like other industries, subscription services are quickly becoming a key part of the gaming industry. While Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass was by no means the first, it's the one that has been pushed the most by the platform holder and one that has highlighted the potential future hold it and other services like it will have in the future. However, not everyone is sold just yet on that future.
In an earnings call, Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff spoke about the idea of subscription services. While he thinks they definitely have a place in the industry as a whole, he isn't so sure that it will be the primary way of distribution for gaming. He points to the way in which consumers actually buy titles, the low entry point of video games, and says subscriptions are going to be more about delivering older catalog titles (thanks to VG24/7 for transcribing the call).
"We're highly skeptical that subscriptions will be the only way or the primary way that interactive entertainment is distributed," said Slatoff. "And that's because of the way people consume it. And the price point for owning a title, which is very reasonable and very, very low, actually, on a per hour basis.
"So I think it's unlikely that subscription sort of plants from my video game, failed as the primary business model. Subscriptions can play a role in delivering catalog. We've supported numerous subscriptions, subscription offerings with catalog titles, I imagine we'll continue to do so. And in any case, at the end of the day, the consumer will decide and we will be where the consumer is."
Take-Two Interactive's CEO has also said similar things about cloud gaming, so it seems like they and Microsoft are on too different tracks about where the future of the industry is headed. Only time will tell who ends up being right in the end, and regardless of how it looks, the games industry is clearly changing rapidly.
PS5 – "New Worlds To Explore" Ad Highlights System's Planned First Year Lineup
Over the next two weeks the world will finally get their hands on Sony's new console, the PS5. Sony is getting people prepped on the basics of how to use the system now, but of course, in the end its all about those games. Today Sony released a brand new ad that gives you a taste of what to expect for the system's first year, and it doesn't look too shabby.
The ad, called "New Worlds to Explore," focuses on Sony's first party offerings from now until the second half of 2021. There's the launch titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls, and also confirms that Gran Turismo 7 is planned for the first half of 2021 alongside Returnal and Ratchet and Clank: Rifts Apart. Horizon: Forbidden West is also here stated for the second half of next year. Combine this with all the third party titles and it looks to be quite the first year for the new console.
The PS5 will launch in select regions on November 12th with a full international release coming one week later on the 19th.
PS5 Remote Play App Pops Up Unexpectedly On PS4
It's hard to believe, but this week is the week of the launch of Sony's PS5 (well, next week is actually the week depending on your region, of course). Sony has more or less lifted the veil on most of the system, including some of its new features as well as features that PS4 players will be very familiar with. Speaking on the PS4, apparently something new and expected is popping up on them now.
As reported via VGC, a new PS5 remote play app has appeared on PS4s. It's not clear if this is universal as of now or if it's rolling out by region, but you can see the pictures they provide to see the app. This wasn't expected or announced, and as of writing this no one has tested this just yet since it did come out of nowhere, but it should allow you to remotely play your PS5 through your PS4 via internet.
The PlayStation 5 launches November 12th in select regions and November 19th on a full worldwide rollout. The PS4, of course, is available now.