Overall and Final Verdict

Being so far after the original launch I think most people know about most of the pros and cons of Vega 64. I’m really excited to see AMD back in the high-end GPU market even if they didn’t manage to match the performance of the relatively old GTX 1080 Ti. The Vega 64 LQ did run with the GTX 1080 in most situations, sometimes outperforming the GTX 1080 11Gbps as well. So anyone who has been holding on to their RX480 similar waiting for something to push their 1440p or 4k display from AMD can finally have something.

The limited edition card design both with and without the water cooling looks amazing. The metal shroud doesn’t have the same thick metal construction of the Founders Edition cards, but it is a premium construction and it is begging for a crazy all silver build using MSI’s Titanium motherboards.

Now to get that performance AMD did have to crank things up and this card with a TDP of 345 watts is going to make some power supplies run and hide. The water cooling, however, managed to keep all of that heat under control and other than the rattle that our pump started to develop the noise was also quiet as well.

So what it really comes down to is the price, it doesn’t matter if it isn’t as fast as a GTX 1080 Ti if it is priced right. But that’s where things get really difficult. From the launch of Vega, cards have been extremely hard to find, especially at the suggested pricing. This card should have an MSRP of $699, at that price it is below the 1080 Ti but the GTX 1080’s are selling as low as $509. To be fair, those aren’t water cooled though. But with limited availability, if you can even find a Vega 64 card you are most likely going to be paying even more. The Liquid Cooled model tested today was last sold for $799 on Newegg and $759 on Best Buy but it is out of stock all over.

So where does that leave us? Well frankly, as it sits the Vega 64 just doesn’t compare to the GTX 1080 at those prices. AMD exclusive fans are still going to pick them up because what other option do they have if they game at higher resolutions. The only deviation from this is if you already own a Freesync monitor or are looking to get a G-Sync or Freesync monitor along with your new video card. G-Sync monitors cost more than similar Freesync monitors and that difference helps even out the price gap between the Vega 64 and the GTX 1080. Is it enough to swing things? If Vega 64 cards were available at their suggested prices, maybe. Lucky for us it looks like aftermarket cards are on there way soon but those of you looking to get a card for Christmas might be left waiting.

fv5

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

Log in to comment

We have 1751 guests and no members online

supportus