New GPU, DirectX 12 support

[Krystal LeChuck]

So I'm looking into the possibility of retiring my old GPU and going for an R9 290X or a GTX970. However I am facing the following dilemma. Do(or better "will") any of these actually support DirectX 12 low level hardware instructions fully?

I know they both support DX 12 API but in regards to actual hardware level support the information I have found is internet warriors fighting over the mentioned specs ("hey it says DX 12 on the box so it supports it! ...hurr durr..."

If any of you can shed some actual technical light on the matter please do.

 

[ChenAU]

Anything with AMD's GCN technology. So that's Radeon HD 7000 Series and up will have full Support
ONLY maxwell gtx9xx cards and up will full support
gtx 6xx and 7xx will only have backwards support

to sum up if it runs DX11.1 it will run DX12 as long as you have win 10

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

Anything with AMD's GCN technology. So that's Radeon HD 7000 Series and up will have full Support
ONLY maxwell gtx9xx cards and up will full support
gtx 6xx and 7xx will only have backwards support

to sum up if it runs DX11.1 it will run DX12 as long as you have win 10

When you say backwards support you mean DX 11.3 (the fall back version of DX 12 with hardware features simulated) or no support at all?

 

[ChenAU]

When you say backwards support you mean DX 11.3 (the fall back version of DX 12 with hardware features simulated) or no support at all?

something like that

and if i was you i would wait for r93xx and the next gen nvida card

 

[vernes]

something like that

and if i was you i would wait for r93xx and the next gen nvida card

I like this advice, it fits with my lack of funding for a new game rig :P

 

[Bulloko]

Or... take a look at my R9 280x I will be selling *soon*-ish.... :-)

 

[K1NG]

Don't get a 970.

Literally just google the card and you'll see all the drama.

GTX980 is really good for the price.

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

Don't get a 970.

Literally just google the card and you'll see all the drama.

GTX980 is really good for the price.

Cheapest I can find a 980 here is €580. That is extremely expensive for a 4GB card. If there was a way to make a 970 disregard the damned 0.5GB of memory I would buy it without hesitation, or if it was just for gaming purposes I wouldn't really care. It is funny how drama spawns on the internet. Yeah people were lied to from Nvidia, now we know the facts and Nvidia should fix things.... But people complaining about poor performance????... Bleh... I saw people with SLI 970s complaining about performance like they ever got to use 7GB of VRAM in a game in a 1440p monitor...

But since I use my system for game development and I am working with unoptimised stuff most of the time I will be exceeding the 3.5GB mark and that will fuck me up when I cross over to the dreaded 0.5 area.

I could go for a 290X but the power requirements are ridiculous (300W) compared to a 970 (125W).

I might just wait for the R9 3xx or whatever the new Nvidia thing will be.

 

[DragonHeart]

Yeah I bought the gtx980 last month and loving it.
Playing AC on Very High settings and still smooth.
Its quite expensive though, about $700-800 Aus but it was worth it.
I was considering the gtx970 at around $500 but I didn't want all the 0.5g less fuss.

 

[mromutt]

Cheapest I can find a 980 here is €580. That is extremely expensive for a 4GB card. If there was a way to make a 970 disregard the damned 0.5GB of memory I would buy it without hesitation, or if it was just for gaming purposes I wouldn't really care. It is funny how drama spawns on the internet. Yeah people were lied to from Nvidia, now we know the facts and Nvidia should fix things.... But people complaining about poor performance????... Bleh... I saw people with SLI 970s complaining about performance like they ever got to use 7GB of VRAM in a game in a 1440p monitor...

But since I use my system for game development and I am working with unoptimised stuff most of the time I will be exceeding the 3.5GB mark and that will fuck me up when I cross over to the dreaded 0.5 area.

I could go for a 290X but the power requirements are ridiculous (300W) compared to a 970 (125W).

I might just wait for the R9 3xx or whatever the new Nvidia thing will be.

the .5gb is still faster than most systems ram, and then on top of that its way faster than the off putting to ram as well, its not a huge hit to performance. but i do see what you are saying for your case use.

 

[Seiivo]

The 390X (WCE) will start at about 700$, but the stats from that beast are very promising.
If you want the best bang for your bucks, you probably want to wait for that generation. The new mid-class models will probably also feature the new Fiji GPU, which means you get all the advantages of the new generation.

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

Everyone thanks for the advice. For now I just settled with an R9 290 at dirt cheap prices. This little monster handles everything I throw at it and then some so I figure I'll be ok for now. Also turns out that all GCN architecture cards will fully and natively support DirectX 12 as ChenAU already stated. Also DirectX 12 might allow for mixing various different gpus in your system even with different architectures, so I will wait to see what happens in that area before considering a further upgrade.

 

[Wolf Lord Caldersson]

The 390X (WCE) will start at about 700$, but the stats from that beast are very promising.
If you want the best bang for your bucks, you probably want to wait for that generation. The new mid-class models will probably also feature the new Fiji GPU, which means you get all the advantages of the new generation.

According to the latest rumor at fudzilla the 390x is 850 USD, and is between a 980 and a titan x for performance. The FIJI GPU will only be for 390/390x also, and will be the only one to get HBM VRAM. These are rumours though so take nothing to heart.

Then we also have the 980ti waiting in the shadows just like the 780ti did.

 

[Modeeper]

Nvidia cards are only Dx12 tier 2 support while AMD is tier 3 Dx12. Also, http://wccftech.com/nvidia-responds-witcher-3-gameworks-controversy/

Nvidia is using some pretty dirty business practices lately and the consumer is who pays the price.

 

[Wolf Lord Caldersson]

Nvidia cards are only Dx12 tier 2 support while AMD is tier 3 Dx12. Also, http://wccftech.com/nvidia-responds-witcher-3-gameworks-controversy/

Nvidia is using some pretty dirty business practices lately and the consumer is who pays the price.

Can you give proof of that dx12 info. AFAIK dx12 tier 2 was all cards except the 300 series because it came out after it was developed. The 900 series is older and was released before dx12 was developed/or given trial runs, so doesnt have full dx12.

Im not going to get into the whole gameworks thing. Both AMD and Nvidia have done shitty practices. Remember the 290x price rise that AMD said they werent behind but newegg and others then said they were told to raise the price of 290x by AMD. Nvidua at sone point offered both Physx and gameworks to AMD who refused it but that was long ago. Nvidia is in the limelight because they are the big giants right now. I try not to lean sides but lately nvidia has had the better cards in nuetral games and even some of AMDs games.

 

[Modeeper]

Can you give proof of that dx12 info. AFAIK dx12 tier 2 was all cards except the 300 series because it came out after it was developed. The 900 series is older and was released before dx12 was developed/or given trial runs, so doesnt have full dx12.

Im not going to get into the whole gameworks thing. Both AMD and Nvidia have done shitty practices. Remember the 290x price rise that AMD said they werent behind but newegg and others then said they were told to raise the price of 290x by AMD. Nvidua at sone point offered both Physx and gameworks to AMD who refused it but that was long ago. Nvidia is in the limelight because they are the big giants right now. I try not to lean sides but lately nvidia has had the better cards in nuetral games and even some of AMDs games.

I'm having trouble finding my sauce for that info. I was deep in some tech forums when I read that. Take it lightly until I can find it I guess.

 

[Annitias]

Cheapest I can find a 980 here is €580. That is extremely expensive for a 4GB card. If there was a way to make a 970 disregard the damned 0.5GB of memory I would buy it without hesitation, or if it was just for gaming purposes I wouldn't really care. It is funny how drama spawns on the internet. Yeah people were lied to from Nvidia, now we know the facts and Nvidia should fix things.... But people complaining about poor performance????... Bleh... I saw people with SLI 970s complaining about performance like they ever got to use 7GB of VRAM in a game in a 1440p monitor...

But since I use my system for game development and I am working with unoptimised stuff most of the time I will be exceeding the 3.5GB mark and that will fuck me up when I cross over to the dreaded 0.5 area.

I could go for a 290X but the power requirements are ridiculous (300W) compared to a 970 (125W).

I might just wait for the R9 3xx or whatever the new Nvidia thing will be.

970 SLI would not give you 7GB of VRAM. Vram is mirrored so it remains 3.5GB useable. (4GB if you want the crap performance issues)

I run 290Xs. At one time, quad fire so I know the feeling of power draw.

From working with NVIDIA and AMD so far I can say the 970/980/Titan X will support DX12 with all or nearly all functions as well as 7950/7970/280/280x supporting most and 290/290x supporting all from what I've seen so far.

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

970 SLI would not give you 7GB of VRAM. Vram is mirrored so it remains 3.5GB useable. (4GB if you want the crap performance issues)

I run 290Xs. At one time, quad fire so I know the feeling of power draw.

From working with NVIDIA and AMD so far I can say the 970/980/Titan X will support DX12 with all or nearly all functions as well as 7950/7970/280/280x supporting most and 290/290x supporting all from what I've seen so far.

You are right, I realised that I was wrong shortly after the post was done, that memory stacking is a future feature of DX 12.

I am very happy with my 290 and I don't plan on upgrading soon. It is overclocked and watercooled and I don't have excessive power draw from it (at 1.14Ghz core / 1.4Ghz mem I see a max power draw of 220Watts in xNormal, Knald and other graphics rendering applications, and an average consumption of 28Watts).

Way to go AMD. You disappoint me no more.

 

[NKato]

When you say backwards support you mean DX 11.3 (the fall back version of DX 12 with hardware features simulated) or no support at all?

Haegemon, aka CIG Matt Sherman, also generally confirmed what ChenAU said. I interrogated him about DX12 support for my 7970, and he says that the card should support it, just that Windows 10 will be required.

I recently acquired a second 7970, so I'm gonna stick it into my computer sometime soon in a CrossfireX setup. :)

 

[mromutt]

Haegemon, aka CIG Matt Sherman, also generally confirmed what ChenAU said. I interrogated him about DX12 support for my 7970, and he says that the card should support it, just that Windows 10 will be required.

I recently acquired a second 7970, so I'm gonna stick it into my computer sometime soon in a CrossfireX setup. :)

Once you have windows 10 on your computer you wont need to crossfire/sli :D the new way will be through the pcix bus. Which is cool because this method also will allow the use of all the cards ram. And if a game developer chooses to support it you can use an AMD and Nvidia at the same time using both companies special features, but you can use both cards at the same time even if they do not support it, you will just only have the others raw power though ;) oh well right?