technology The Glorious PC master race thread

[Plageius 263]

AMD makes some really great GPUs, it's just that their drivers suck. Especially on Linux.

Tell me about it. 

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=443&threadid=172065

People were having this issue not only with 270x's but with 290x's, 290's, 280x's, 260x's....I think you guys got the point.

[long gone 8,929]

I can remember that AMD user friend of mine said a while back he was getting black screens randomly too. So yeah, nobody's immune to that it seems.

[Plageius 263]

I can remember that AMD user friend of mine said a while back he was getting black screens randomly too. So yeah, nobody's immune to that it seems.

the beauty of amd radeon 

[long gone 8,929]

I really like the hardware that AMD puts in their GPUs, it's actually really good and a lot of their GPUs beat nVIDIA in some way. It's just that their drivers are awful.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I can remember that AMD user friend of mine said a while back he was getting black screens randomly too. So yeah, nobody's immune to that it seems.

 

Funny story, my Wii has a big old Raedon sticker on it and has been doing the same thing when I composite cables. 

[long gone 8,929]

Funny story, my Wii has a big old Raedon sticker on it and has been doing the same thing when I composite cables. 

Nintendo has been using ATI/AMD for graphics since the Gamecube.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

Pardon my ignorance, but my main source of PC tech news nowadays is this thread, and I'm too lazy to look elsewhere.

 

So, what's going on with Nvidia?

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Pardon my ignorance, but my main source of PC tech news nowadays is this thread, and I'm too lazy to look elsewhere.

 

So, what's going on with Nvidia?

 

To but in cliff-notes:

 

Several 970s are taking a dump on the data-transfer-speed front when the card it's around 3.5GB or Vram usage and they lied about several it's specs.

Nintendo has been using ATI/AMD for graphics since the Gamecube.

 

I know, I just thought it was funny.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

To but in cliff-notes:

 

Several 970s are taking a dump on the data-transfer-speed front when the card it's around 3.5GB or Vram usage and they lied about several it's specs.

 

Is it actually the case that they lied about the specs, or is this a driver/software issue causing the problem? If not all cards are having the problem, then I wouldn't say they're lying about anything... there's probably some unexpected issue underneath all of this.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Admiral Regulus

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Is it actually the case that they lied about the specs, or is this a driver/software issue causing the problem? If not all cards are having the problem, then I wouldn't say they're lying about anything... there's probably some unexpected issue underneath all of this.

 

No one has worked that out yet.

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

No one has worked that out yet.

 

Ah. Yeah, either way, I'd be totally pissed. xD

[long gone 8,929]

Is it actually the case that they lied about the specs, or is this a driver/software issue causing the problem? If not all cards are having the problem, then I wouldn't say they're lying about anything... there's probably some unexpected issue underneath all of this.

They said it has 64 ROPs and 2048KB L2 cache when it actually has 56 ROPs and 1792KB L2 cache. As for the frame buffer issue, people haven't figured out how many cards are affected yet.

[Azure Envy 1,092]

Is it actually the case that they lied about the specs, or is this a driver/software issue causing the problem? If not all cards are having the problem, then I wouldn't say they're lying about anything... there's probably some unexpected issue underneath all of this.

 

The specifications were incorrectly listed for the GTX 970 as having 64 ROPs and 2MB of L2 cache, when in reality it has 56 ROPs and 1.75 MB of cache.

 

The issue is the way the GPU handles memory allocation, 3.5 GB of fast access, 0.5 GB of slow access.

 

Details here if you are interested: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8935/geforce-gtx-970-correcting-the-specs-exploring-memory-allocation

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

They said it has 64 ROPs and 2048KB L2 cache when it actually has 56 ROPs and 1792KB L2 cache. As for the frame buffer issue, people haven't figured out how many cards are affected yet.

 

Wait... *thinks quietly to self*

 

That explains the context for something I read and didn't understand earlier. xD

 

Okay, so yeah, that's a pretty shitty move on their part. Even if it is an honest, legit mistake by their marketing team, and even if an average consumer wouldn't notice the difference... I would think they'd do something to make up for this. I dunno, maybe offer refunds or offer to replace the cards with 980s for free. That's what I'd do.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Admiral Regulus

[long gone 8,929]

I'd imagine that they'd offer compensation in the form of letting you pick a free game.

[YouAreWorthSoMuch 102]

Or - you know - refund or replace the card with one that isn't part dead.

[long gone 8,929]

nVIDIA has responded to the GTX 970 specifications error and VRAM issue.

 

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nvidia-admits-to-error-in-gtx-970-specs-and-memory/1100-6424915/

 

According to them, the RAM is partitioned in such a way to counter the reduced ROPs and you would see the worst effects in 1440p. So, if you want to go for 1440p you should drop the extra $200 on a 980.

 

1440p monitors are pretty expensive anyway, so I'd expect most people buying them would have big budgets for hardware. At least they acknowledged the issues.

nVIDIA's gonna change the memory allocation in the GTX 970 with a driver update.

 

http://www.techpowerup.com/209369/nvidia-to-tune-gtx-970-resource-allocation-with-driver-update.html

[Plageius 263]

This is probably the most unbiased video on the PC vs Console debate so far.

[Celli 4,338]

Got my tax return today, and ordered my parts! I can't wait to put it together

About $1250 Not too shabby for my first.

[Yourmomsponies 444]

 

And now nVIDIA fully discloses the actual 970 spec.

 

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-Discloses-Full-Memory-Structure-and-Limitations-GTX-970

 

As it turns out, they lied about how much L2 cache and ROPs it has. It actually has less L2 cache (1792KB) and ROPs (56) than the 980 (2048KB L2 cache and 64 ROPs). Wow, nVIDIA, lying about the specifications of one of your GPUs to make it seem better.

It still fast as hell. so really idc this card is pretty dope.

Is it actually the case that they lied about the specs, or is this a driver/software issue causing the problem? If not all cards are having the problem, then I wouldn't say they're lying about anything... there's probably some unexpected issue underneath all of this.

Turns out its more of a firmware or bios issue than anything as openGL games are not affected by this issue. Besides I cant make it use 3.5 gb of Vram in my Uber modded realvision ENB skyrim with 4k textures rendered at 1440p. So unless you do play at 4k thats the only time you'll run into the issue. Besides, in all reality if you're going to play at 4k you're going to be using something more like a pair of SLI 980's. It's still shitty that Nvidia lied to us but its really less of an issue than people are making it out to be.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Yourmomsponies

[Celli 4,338]

So, bad news, for some unknown reason, my newegg order was voided. Super pissed right now. I have no idea what the hell happened. But it'll take 3-5 days to get refunded.

 

EDIT: Problem solved. When I moved, I didn't change my billing address and I put the same billing address that was my shipping address, so they voided it. After I get my parts, I'll need to change my billing address.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Anyone else having trouble getting transactions to go through on Steam?

[long gone 8,929]

Haven't tried yet.

 

Anyway, AMD's firing so many shots right now.

 

https://twitter.com/Thracks/status/560511204951855104

https://twitter.com/amd_roy/status/560462075193880576

[Celli 4,338]

Haven't tried yet.

 

Anyway, AMD's firing so many shots right now.

 

https://twitter.com/Thracks/status/560511204951855104

https://twitter.com/amd_roy/status/560462075193880576

Wait, what's happening with Gtx cards that people need to return them?

[long gone 8,929]

Wait, what's happening with Gtx cards that people need to return them?

GTX 970 memory controversy. nVIDIA's accepted full responsibility and will be adjusting how the 970 uses its RAM in a driver update (but that won't fix the whole issue as the last 512MB can't be unified with the rest of the RAM through software) and has even committed to help dissatisfied users get refunds. AMD's taking advantage of the situation and offering discounts on 4GB Radeon cards for people who returned their 970s.