Guru3D posted their 'final' review for the Strix RX Vega 64 today, and the card is a huge disappointment. The only benefit the custom cooler and PCB has over the original is it is quieter. While that's a big deal, it's not enough, and it may be the straw that broke the camel's back.
So I quickly searched prices on GTX 1080's, and a Gigabyte Aorus 1080 can be found for around €540-580. That's probably slightly more than Vega, but custom Vega is two months away, draws a lot more power, doesn't overclock to the same degree, isn't supported by most games as well, and will be a hotter and louder GPU.
So then I quickly tested the two games I'm playing right now with my current setup: Batman Arkham Knight and Mad Max. I spent about fifteen minutes trying to decide whether Freesync at the FPS I play at (70-90 as a minimum range; 90-120 as an ideal) was noticeable. I could barely tell the difference. In fact, unless someone gave me a blind test, I don't know if I could confidently say there was any difference.
So (another 'so'), my question is:
1) Buy an Aorus 1080 now (it's the cooler I want)
Pros:
Greater out of the box performance in the majority of the games I play now and intend to play
A lot more out of the box performance with overclocking
Cooler
Quieter
I can finally be able to start my constantly delayed build
Nvidia deserve props for Pascal
Cons:
Ever-so-slightly more money than I'd like to spend
No Freesync
Volta is not that far away
Vega could improve with drivers
I'd rather support AMD
2) Wait for Aorus RX Vega 64
Pros:
Freesync support
Might be slightly cheaper
More room for improvement in performance down the line
Fun to tweak
I want to support AMD
Cons:
Consumes more power
Could potentially be louder
Exhausts more heat into the case
Less overclocking headroom
Mediocre performance in many games
Might never come
If it does come it could take another 2-3 months
Volta is around the corner
I'm frustrated with AMD
3) Wait for Volta or Vega to improve
I really don't want to do this as I've already waited for months and months, but I guess it is an option.
So I quickly searched prices on GTX 1080's, and a Gigabyte Aorus 1080 can be found for around €540-580. That's probably slightly more than Vega, but custom Vega is two months away, draws a lot more power, doesn't overclock to the same degree, isn't supported by most games as well, and will be a hotter and louder GPU.
So then I quickly tested the two games I'm playing right now with my current setup: Batman Arkham Knight and Mad Max. I spent about fifteen minutes trying to decide whether Freesync at the FPS I play at (70-90 as a minimum range; 90-120 as an ideal) was noticeable. I could barely tell the difference. In fact, unless someone gave me a blind test, I don't know if I could confidently say there was any difference.
So (another 'so'), my question is:
1) Buy an Aorus 1080 now (it's the cooler I want)
Pros:
Greater out of the box performance in the majority of the games I play now and intend to play
A lot more out of the box performance with overclocking
Cooler
Quieter
I can finally be able to start my constantly delayed build
Nvidia deserve props for Pascal
Cons:
Ever-so-slightly more money than I'd like to spend
No Freesync
Volta is not that far away
Vega could improve with drivers
I'd rather support AMD
2) Wait for Aorus RX Vega 64
Pros:
Freesync support
Might be slightly cheaper
More room for improvement in performance down the line
Fun to tweak
I want to support AMD
Cons:
Consumes more power
Could potentially be louder
Exhausts more heat into the case
Less overclocking headroom
Mediocre performance in many games
Might never come
If it does come it could take another 2-3 months
Volta is around the corner
I'm frustrated with AMD
3) Wait for Volta or Vega to improve
I really don't want to do this as I've already waited for months and months, but I guess it is an option.