RX5700XT 8GB or Radeon VII 16GB?

[Namok88]

I've read lots of threads about these GPUs and as I'm planning to upgrade my 2-year-old FCPX station (that runs flawlessly) from Mojave to Catalina that currently runs on a Sapphire RX580 8GB, I really can't make up my mind on which one I should get.

My Clover EFI is so perfectly setup (thanks to all the geniuses here) that installing Catalina on another SSD went smooth as a real Mac and everything worked right away.

Now for the GPU update, I have the budget (I've saved for months) for any of these cards.

Which one would you go for and why? Which one would perform best in FCPX?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Note for the moderators: I think I posted in the wrong section. Feel free to move it to Buying Advice if that's necessary. Thanks!

 

[jaymonkey]

@Namok88,

The Radeon VII is a compute monster on MacOS, it's also been around a bit longer than the Navi based GPU's so the MacOS drivers are more mature and are relatively stable at this point. The Radeon VII is still the king of the hill in terms of GPU's on Hackintosh systems ... it should also be noted that the Radeon VII uses the same architecture as the VEGA 2 based GPU's that can be specified for the new MacPro so Apple will have put extra effort into them.

The only downside to the Radeon VII is that it can use a fair bit of power when under max load so you need a good PSU, lots of power means more heat to deal with in your system case, but it's relatively easy to fix with a good / clean internal layout and plenty of fresh air being drawn into the system.

The RX 5700 XT offers very good performance for it's price and has vastly improved compute and video encode/decode features due to the new RDNA architecture ... however if you read the Navi threads there are reports from users who are having issues such as the VRAM filling up and not releasing and random reboot's / KP's. These issues are also happening on real Mac's (as reported on the official Apple forums) which tends to point to issues/bugs with Apples current Navi drivers. It is hoped that these issues will be resolved soon it a future MacOS update.

AMD will be releasing the BIG Navi soon (known as Navi 21 or Navi 2X), at which point it will surely be the new king of the hill on MacOS .... once Apple get the Navi drivers stable.

AMD Next-Gen RDNA 2 'Navi 21' GPU Powered Radeon RX & RDNA 1 'Navi 10 Refresh' GPU Powered Radeon RX Graphics Cards Leaked

AMD seems to be readying several Radeon RX graphics cards based on its next-generation Navi 2X (RDNA 2) and Navi 10 Refresh (RDNA 1) GPUs.

wccftech.com

We already know that Apple will be supporting BIG Navi based GPU's as Navi 21 product ID's are already included in the MacOS Navi drivers so it might be worth waiting to see what price point they come in at.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Namok88]

Thanks for the detailed explanation and the helpful link!

I currently have a Corsair RM650X PSU, which seems to be enough for the RX5700XT according to reviews.

My current system is running pretty stable (I would have had months of uptime if it wasn't for installing apps and updates that required a restart).

It does 10 seconds for HEVC and 12 seconds for H264 in Bruce 5K test and skimming is also pretty smooth (especially in proxy media mode).

I use FXFactory stuff and a little extra boost in rendering and encoding would be more than welcome and if reports from users are correct, the 5700 is about 3 times as fast as my 580.

I'm just concerned about stability issues, so VII sounds like the perfect match for my needs. I might have to buy another PSU though.

 

[pastrychef]

My Radeon VII consumes much less power than my Vega 56.

 

[Namok88]

Interesting. What PSU is powering your VII?

 

[pastrychef]

Interesting. What PSU is powering your VII?

Seasonic 850W Gold

 

[Namok88]

Thanks, noted.

Edit: looks like I won't have to get another PSU

We rate this card at a ~300 Watt TDP in it's out of the box configuration. Here is our power supply recommendation:

• Radeon VII - On your average system we recommend a 650 Watt power supply unit

AMD Radeon VII 16 GB review (updated)

We review the new AMD Radeon VII. A product that has been talked about for quite a while. The basis of this high-end graphics card is VEGA64. However with a die-shrink towards a 7nm fabricated packa... Hardware setup | Power consumption

www.guru3d.com

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks, noted.

Edit: looks like I won't have to get another PSU

My 850W is overkill.

When running the Basemark GPU benchmark, total power consumption is under 300W (from the wall) and my 9900K is overclocked. Specs for my system are below in my signature.

 

[Namok88]

I'm gonna get the VII then.

Any recommendation on the brand?

The one I can get is made by XFX.

Thank you guys!

 

[pastrychef]

I'm gonna get the VII then.

Any recommendation on the brand?

The one I can get is made by XFX.

Thank you guys!

All Radeon VIIs are the same. All are reference.