Lovelace vs. RDNA 3

  • If you're seeing this post, then odds are you are doing so from a PC. What goes into your PC has never been more competitive, be it the CPU(and its corresponding Motherboard) or the GPU which has now come down to the latest battle between NVidia's Lovelace(RTX 4000 series) and AMD's RDNA 3(7000 series). Reviews for AMD have yet to come out(so take the following with a grain of salt) but I find the following analysis of both Architectures to be objectively non-partisan.


    Nvidia Lovelace:


    Pros: Arguably the best GPU on the Market. Ray Tracing, if that matters to you, is second to none. DLSS 3.0 is 3rd generation upscaling Technology that is second to none. NVEC Encoder is second to none.

    Cons: Founders Edition and AIB models are so big they don't even fit into typical Mid-Tower cases. Performance uplift on AIB models is marginal compared to Founders Edition. Energy consumption is enormous with 4090 pulling at minimum 450 Watts at stock settings. Due to that power requirement, 4090 users have had Power adapter cables melt on them. It's also extremely cost prohibitive with Founder Editions of 4090's starting at $1600(AIB's more than that). Only has Display Port 1.4, which for a 4090 is embarrassing given that 2.1 is the latest and greatest.


    AMD RDNA3:


    Pros: Best Performance/Dollar spent(particularly on RDNA2). Fits into Mid-Tower and perhaps even smaller form factor cases. Equal or better Rasterization at 1080p(perhaps even 1440p). Extremely Power Efficient with 7900XTX only taking 355 Watts(which matters with power cables). AIB Models have considerable room for performance uplift. Much cheaper than competition($600 dollar price difference on flagships). SAM(Smart Access Memory) can improve performance if paired with a Ryzen CPU. Comes with Display Port 2.1(gives it a bit of future proof flair once 4k 144Hz or better Monitors come onto the market).

    Cons: 4k Rasterization could be better. Ray Tracing is underwhelming(albeit it is 2nd Generation). Drivers and Encoder are still major question marks.


    Overall Winner: RDNA 3 unless price is no object to you. At the end of the day, being able to afford a Graphics Card is ultimately what wins. The fact AMD kept prices the same compared to previous Generation while upping what they offered in spite of rampant inflation speaks volumes to their desire to grab marketshare. Their overall cost to manufacture even leaves them room to lower prices further if they must as well while NVidia is going to struggle to corral costs going forward while they offload gobs of Ampere stock(so good luck getting a 4070 any time soon).