AMD Radeon RX 480 review

AMD claims the middle ground once again, but for how long?

AMD Radeon

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If 14nm and 16nm FinFET have shown us anything, it's that this generation of GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia provide an exceptional leap in graphical grunt compared to the last series. The Radeon RX 480 certainly hasn't disappointed, providing gaming bang for your buck.

We liked

When it comes to price to performance here, the Radeon RX 480 is astronomical. On top of that this card runs smooth and quiet and decimates at 1080p. With aftermarket cards coming featuring more intuitive power designs, we'll be highly surprised if we don't see 3DMark Firestrike figures well into the 12,000s during benchmarks.

We disliked

Honestly, it's quite hard to pick flaws here. Our biggest gripe would be the potential for movement in the RX 480's price. Although the tech market is in particular flux right now, we'd be surprised if this card didn't drop in price should Nvidia's GTX 1060 race out of the traps soon. While useful, WattMan is a little rough around the edges at this moment in time.

Final verdict

AMD, the kings of value, have returned with a killer card. The Radeon RX 480 holds 60 fps at 1080p with ease, and is a comfortable and fun experience at 1440p. Couple this with a 120 fps FreeSync monitor, and you'll be well on the way to an absolutely fluid gaming experience. There's lots to like here for anybody who isn't looking to game in resolutions higher than 1440p.