1080p, 4K, VR: AMD's most powerful graphics card will handle just about anything you throw at it.
Radeon RX Vega 64 at a glance
How powerful is the RX Vega 64? The RX Vega 64 has no trouble running the latest games maxed out at 1080p and 1440p, and is even capable of stable gaming at 4K.When did the RX Vega 64 come out? AMD launched the RX Vega 64 on 14 August 2017.
How much does the RX Vega 64 cost? You can find the RX Vega 64 typically selling for between $1099 and $1199.
What is the RX Vega 64?
The RX Vega 64 is AMD's top contender in the high-end graphics card space. Like its slightly pared-down sibling, it is more than capable of delivering excellent gaming performance at resolutions of 1080p and 1440p along with a smooth and stable experience in virtual reality. It is also one of the few graphics cards currently available that can provide reliable 4K performance in the latest 3D games.
This places the RX Vega 64 on a similar performance footing to Nvidia's GTX 1080 graphics card. However, the two aren't quite so comparable from a price perspective with AMD's card typically selling at a premium of a couple hundred dollars over its Nvidia rival.
That gap isn't a case of price gouging, but rather a result of the technology AMD has incorporated into its RX Vega cards. Where most modern graphics cards feature GDDR5 RAM, the RX Vega 64 uses HBM2 RAM instead. This High Bandwidth Memory enables more data to be shuttled between the graphics card and the rest of the PC simultaneously by stacking RAM chips on top of each other rather than spreading them out on a single horizontal plane. However, due to the complexity of this technology using HBM2 memory adds a significant cost to the manufacturing process.
AMD has outfitted the RX Vega 64 with 8GB of HBM2 RAM running at 1.9Gbps. This may seem slow compared to the 7Gbps+ memory speeds of Nvidia's GTX 10 cards, but when combined with the larger 2048-bit memory bus afforded by HBM2, the overall memory bandwidth hits an impressive 484GB/s. Coupled with a base GPU clock of 1247MHz and a boost clock of 1546MHz, the RX Vega 64 is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Nvidia's flagship card.
That said, the RX Vega 64 doesn't stack up quite so well in the efficiency department. Standard power draw sits at a steep 295W, limiting the card to systems with power supplies rated at least 750W or higher. Additionally, the RX Vega 64 requires two free 8-pin power connectors and an extra empty slot on the motherboard to accommodate its dual-width bulk.
What features does the RX Vega 64 support?
As you'd expect from a high-end graphics card, the RX Vega 64 supports a wide array of extra features designed to both enhance and complement your gaming experience. Key among these are:
- Radeon Chill
- Eyefinity multi-display technology
- Virtual Super Resolution
- Vulkan API support
- Radeon WattMan
- Radeon ReLive recording software
- FreeSync 2
- LiquidVR
- DirectX 12
- HDCP 2.2
- HDMI 2.0b
- DisplayPort 1.4 HDR
- AMD CrossFire
How powerful is the RX Vega 64?
As AMD's most powerful graphics card, the RX Vega 64 is no slouch. Not only does it average frame rates of 90fps or higher at 1080p in most modern games, it manages a similar level of performance at 1440p too. This holds true no matter how high you push the graphics settings.
The RX Vega 64 doesn't disappoint at 4K, either. While it doesn't have the chops to consistently hit 60fps at max settings – only Nvidia's GTX 1080 Ti has proven capable of that – it happily maintains 30fps with little trouble and can reach 60fps by turning down just a few graphics settings here and there.
If you prefer to game from the inside of a visor, you'll be happy to know that the RX Vega 64 quite capably handles the latest virtual reality titles on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. However, it is worth noting that the GTX 1080 tends to outperform the RX Vega 64 in most VR games, so you may want to consider Nvidia if your interest lies predominantly in the world of virtual reality.
RX Vega 64 availability and price
AMD's RX Vega series kicked off with the launch of the RX Vega 64 on 14 August 2017. At retail, you'll find different variants of the card typically going for between $700 and $900 depending on their brand and extra features.
RX Vega 64 specs
- Base clock speed
- 1247MHz
- Boost clock speed
- 1546MHz
- Memory
- 8GB HBM2
- Memory speed
- 1.9Gbps
- Memory bus
- 2048-bit
- Card length
- ~280mm
- Card width
- Dual slot
- Card height
- ~127mm
- Power draw
- 295W
- Recommended system power
- 750W
- Power connectors
- 2 * 8-pin
- No. HDMI ports
- 1
- No. Display Ports
- 3
- No. DVI ports
- 0
- DirectX support
- 12
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