Last year, if our friends asked us about building a PC or a gaming rig for themselves, we would have said that it is not a good time. We would have also told them to maybe get a gaming laptop instead, especially with prices of parts soaring out of control,
Fast forward to 2022 though and the PC component market has shown signs of recovery. Prices of GPUs and CPUs have dropped by 20-25%. While components are still sold above recommended retail prices, situations are not as bad as before and stocks are slowly becoming more available.
Source: ASUS
In terms of current component prices, it is a better time now to build your own PC. In the current market climate, there has never been a better time to build a PC because new components are launching left and right. It is an especially good time to build budget gaming rigs thanks to ASUS releasing the latest AMD Radeon GPU.
It is called the AMD Radeon RX 6400, and just as its numbers suggest, it is an entry-level GPU. It is still a modern AMD GPU though, and they say that it will do 1080p gaming rather well. We trust them on this and recommend that you stick to a 1080p gaming build on this.
It is meant for a budget rig, so you cannot expect miracles out of it. Still, you get 4GB of GDDR6 memory out of the card. You also get HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which should allow you to have two monitors working simultaneously. It is also a PCIe 4.0 card, which also means that it should perform better than some of the AMD Radeon RX 5000 series GPUs.
Source: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUS
Of course, the GPU comes with AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture on the 2039 MHz clocked chip. The GPU can be boosted up to 2321 MHz when you need maximum power for your games. When the GPU consumes little to no power, its fans turn off for silent operation. The Radeon RX 6400 also comes with support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD Fidelity FX technology, AMD Radeon Super Resolution, and AMD’s Smart Access Memory technology for even better gaming experiences.
ASUS’ AMD Radeon RX 6400 comes in two flavours – ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 and ASUS Phoenix Radeon RX 6400. The Dual variant comes with two fans for maximum cooling performance while the Phoenix comes with a single fan design. Currently only the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia for MYR 960. There are no confirmations on when the more affordable single-fan Phoenix Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia. More information on the AMD Radeon RX 6400 can be found on AMD’s website.
A few months ago, Lisa Su took the stage to introduce a few new things for AMD. They launched their new line-up of GPUs, the Radeon RX GPUs that is set to rival the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series cards. In that announcement, they have also introduced a new standard for gaming laptops. Where Intel has their Intel EVO platform for their thin-and-light notebooks, AMD has the AMD Advantage.
If you have not known what AMD Advantage is just yet, let us quickly get you acquainted with AMD’s ‘Gold Standard’ in gaming laptops. The AMD Advantage standard is simply AMD’s own standards in gaming laptops. It simply means that the gaming laptop you are going to buy is powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 series CPU that is also paired with an AMD Radeon RX series GPUs.
‘AMD Advantage’ does have a nice ring to it. There is a problem however, not every manufacturer was ready to jump on board. Plenty of them have stuck to the model of a high-performing AMD processor that is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series GPU. Until now that is with MSI.
MSI has just launched their new Delta 15, Alpha 15, and Bravo 15 line-up of gaming laptops. You might have guessed it; these are AMD Advantage certified gaming laptops. Yes, they are all AMD.
MSI Delta 15
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
The Delta 15 is the newest addition to MSI’s family of high-performance gaming laptops. It will also be MSI’s highest end AMD Advantage gaming laptops available at this point. You can spec it with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU. Graphics is handled by AMD’s own Radeon RX 6700M, as promised by the AMD Advantage moniker. The 15-inch display pushes Full HD resolution to your eyes at 240Hz refresh rate. This also means that the AMD powered Delta 15 will be the most powerful AMD Advantage 15-inch gaming laptop there is currently.
MSI Alpha 15
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Below the high-end Delta series comes the Alpha 15. Instead of AMD’s all-powerful Ryzen 9 or 7 series CPUs though, the Alpha 15 comes with a humble and powerful AMD Ryzen 5 5600H CPU. While it may not sound like much, the AMD Ryzen 5 still packs a lot of punch. That is especially when it is paired to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M GPU handling graphics out of the 15.6-inch Full HD display that refreshes at 144Hz.
MSI Bravo 15
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
Source: MSI
For the mode budget conscious, you can get your hands on the MSI Bravo 15 series. It is no slouch though. You still can get the power of AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800H CPU. You are not getting the Radeon RX 6000M series graphics prowess though. Instead, graphics is handled by a humble AMD Radeon 5500M GPU instead. You still get Full HD out of the 15.6-inch display as well.
Price and Availability
The new AMD Advantage gaming laptops are already available in Malaysia. You can get your hands on one from their website. The all-new MSI Delta 15 starts at MYR 7,899, the updated Alpha 15 starts at MYR 5,299, while the Bravo 15 starts at MYR 3,949.
When AMD launches their RDNA 2 GPUs earlier this year, the PC building and gamer community was thrilled. We expected great things from AMD and they delivered in GPUs that could compete with the best its competitors can offer at more reasonable prices. There was still a problem though, after the launch.
It was not about stock shortages and the chip shortage. It was more about the price category that AMD launched the RDNA 2 cards in. It was in the high-end portion of the market. While it was understandable, the GPUs were a little out of reach for most of the gaming community.
Source: AMD
If you look into Steam’s trends too, the most popular category in gaming PCs is not in the high-end market. A lot of them still work with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1060 GPUs. A lot of those GPUs also power displays at 1080p Full HD resolution. The most popular resolution in PC gaming then, is still 1080p Full HD.
For the purpose of powering Full HD displays, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6900 cards are a little overpowered, and a little overpriced. AMD understands this, of course. That is why you get the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT.
We start with the numbers first, of course. The Radeon RX 6600 XT packs 32 RDNA 2 compute units, 8 less than the RX 6700 XT. Instead of 12GB, it has 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. It is clocked a little higher than the RX 6700 XT though at a base clock of 2,359 MHz with boost speeds at up to 2,589 MHz. Of course, less cores and smaller RAM size also means lower power draw at 160W compared to 230W of the RX 6700 XT.
Source: AMD
The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is made for budget conscious users. With less total required power, your power supply unit (PSU) can be of a smaller and less powerful variant too, a 550W PSU should be enough in this case. At US$ 379 (MYR 1,603*) it is also a lot more friendly to the wallet.
The Radeon RX 6600 XT is built to take on high-framerate Full HD 1080p gaming. At the same times, different games can be a little demanding. AMD’s FideltyFX technology that comes with the RX 6600 XT should allow games to be upscaled to Full HD resolution to deliver the best experience when gaming with more demanding modern titles. With DirectX 12 Ultimate support too, games should look stunning on your Full HD displays.
Of course, it also comes with AMD’s Smart Access memory technology to allow your AMD Ryzen processors access to the ample memory of the GPU for even better gaming performance. There is also AMD’s Radeon Anti—Lag technology on-board, which means you get even better response times from your keyboard and mouse, and even controllers which gives you the extra edge in games like Call of Duty: Warzone.
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT will be available from AMD’s various board partners. You should start seeing units of the new GPU hitting shelves starting August 11th, 2021. Pre-built systems from OEMs and System Integrators are also expected to include the Radeon RX 6600 XT builds August 2021 onward. As mentioned, prices start from US$ 379 (MYR 1,603*) but will vary from one board partner to the other. More information on the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT can be found on AMD’s website.
* Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.23 on xe.com as of 30/07/2021
AMD has been on a roll with a multitude of releases and powerful innovations that are changing the landscape of the semiconductor industry. AMD is a company that has made its bets 5 years ago in high-performance computing and is now starting to see them come to fruition. With the announcement of their RDNA 2 platform and Zen architecture, they are delivering more performance to consumers for less power. These innovations continue to create waves in the industry with the company seeing its technologies adopted in gaming consoles to cars.
AMD’s recent announcements have proven that the company is making strides; not only in the consumer and gaming space but also in high-performance computing. The company has even announced their take on graphic supersampling with the FidelityFX Super Resolution. So, what’s next for AMD?
We’re sitting down with Paige Shi, Consumer Lead for Asia Pacific over at AMD to find out what’s happening at AMD and how the company is adapting to the new normal, how it has affected consumer behaviour and also what we can expect from the company in the future!
AMD announced a slew of items at their COMPUTEX 2021 keynote. One of the many things that they announced was the AMD Advantage Design framework. In this framework, AMD has outlined certain criteria which they believe will provide gamers with the best experience. One of the hallmark criteria is the utilisation of AMD’s Ryzen Mobile processors together with their newly announced Radeon RX6000M graphics processors. The new combination allows the new laptops to take advantage of smart access memory and smart shift among other optimisations that come with using a complete AMD setup.
ASUS is one of the first partners that are jumping on the AMD Advantage bandwagon with two new editions of its popular ROG Strix G line up. The new ROG Strix G15 and G17 come with AMD’s most powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX processor paired with the newly announced Radeon RX 6800M. The new GPU brings along with it AMD’s new RDNA 2 architecture which has been packing performance. It also brings AMD’s newly announced FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) which allows light to be simulated more realistically allowing for more immersive gaming.
The laptops come with up to 32GB of high performance DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 1TB NVMe SSD memory. The Strix G Advantage edition also comes with an additional M.2 slot that allows users to add more memory should the need arise. Their performance is matched with ASUS’s implementation of Liquid Metal thermal compound and the new Intelligent Cooling. The cooling system allows for better airflow without the increased noise.
Like other Strix G laptops, the ROG Strix G Advantage Edition laptops come display options for any gamer. Users can choose from options with 300Hz refresh rate, WQHD resolution with high colour accuracy. To complete the package, it comes with twin Smart Amp speakers that fire sound directly from behind the keyboard. These speakers are Dolby Atmos certified and can produce 5.1.2 channel surround sound.
Pricing & Availability
The ASUS ROG Strix G Advantage edition will be making its way to the market in the third quarter of 2021. No pricing has been announced just yet.
ASUS has no plans at this time to bring the ROG Strix G Advantage edition to Malaysia.
Taiwan’s biggest tech exhibition is back for 2021 season, and it is a unique one. Last year COMPUTEX 2020 had to be cancelled because, if you remember correctly, the pandemic situation that is COVID-19 broke out earlier in 2020 and disrupted the entire world. This year, COMPUTEX 2021 is back but without physical presence. It is now fully online.
AMD has been a keen participant of COMPUTEX and they are not going to miss the 2021 season of COMPUTEX. They took the center stage of COMPUTEX this morning, well via YouTube, to launch their latest APUs and Mobile GPUs. They introduced the AMD Ryzen 5600G and AMD Ryzen 5700G APUs and AMD Radeon RX 6600M, AMD Radeon RX 6700M, and AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile GPUs.
AMD Ryzen 5000G Series
Since the Zen 3 architecture with the AMD Ryzen 5000 series was introduced last year, one of the biggest requests from gamers and enthusiasts was a Zen 3 architecture APU (Accelerated Processing Unit). AMD has answered with the AMD Ryzen 5600G and AMD Ryzen 5700G. Now, you have a choice of building a modern system without a dedicated GPU.
First, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G. The 5600G is sort of the budget option for builders and gamers. It still features 6 CPU cores like the regular 5600X. Additionally the 5600G packs 7 Radeon VEGA GPU cores within the same die.
Of course, there are some trade-offs to be made with the integrated GPU cores. Boost clock goes up to 4.4 GHz only rather than 4.6GHz. The APU also only has 16MB in L3 cache compared to 32MB.
If you need a little bit more power for the long run, you want the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G. It is sort of comparable to the other Ryzen 7 that is built for desktops, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X. Both has 8 Zen 3 architecture cores to boot. The 5700G though has 8 more cores than the 5800X in the form of Radeon VEGA graphics cores.
Again, with graphics cores integrated onto the processing die, there are some trade-offs to be made. The maximum boost clock on the 5700G is down to 4.6GHz, from 4.6GHz. The L3 cache is also halved at 16MB compared to 32MB. The benefit of having integrated GPU though would be a blessing to budget constrained builders.
AMD Radeon RX 6000M Series
At COMPUTEX 2021, AMD also introduces their new mobile based GPUs as well – the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, AMD Radeon RX 6700M, and AMD Radeon RX 6800M. If you are wondering what the equivalent competitor’s mobile GPUs are, those would be the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, GeForce RTX 3070, and GeForce RTX 3080. Alongside the AMD Radeon RX 6000M series too, they introduced a sort of guideline of AMD’s version of the ultimate gaming laptop they call the “AMD Advantage”.
The AMD Radeon RX 6600M is the entry-level choice from the AMD Radeon for mobile GPU line-up. You get 28 compute units and 8GB of GDDR6 RAM with clock speeds at 2.1GHz. Going up from there is the Radeon RX 6700M with 36 compute units clocked at 2.3GHz and 10GB of GDDDR6 RAM. The top-of the line Radeon RX 6800M packs 40 compute units clocked at 2.3GHz with 12GB of RAM.
All of the Radeon RX 6000M mobile GPUs comes with RDNA 2 technology, of course. They also brought AMD’s Smart Access Memory, or resizable bar in more common terms to the mobile computing market with the introduction of the Radeon RX 6000M series. They also introduced the AMD Radeon Chill technology with the mobile GPUs alongside AMD FidelityFX for all AMD based system, even if they are running a non-AMD GPU platform.
AMD Radeon Chill
AMD Radeon Chill is a clever technology that is supposed to minimise a problem that has been plaguing gaming laptops forever. AMD says that it is a power-regulation technology that is supposed to extend the battery life of a gaming laptop without sacrificing too much performance. At the same time AMD’s SmartShift technology also regulates power power consumption and processing power between the CPU and GPU to always optimise gaming and productivity performance.
AMD FidelityFX
At the same time, there is AMD FidelityFX technology that upscales your games from a lower resolution to a higher one. If it sounds familiar to another competitor technology, it is because they are basically the same things. But there is some good in upscaling contents, despite not getting all the high-definition detail. You get more performance out of your system at least. The best news is that it is coming to all AMD based systems. It even works on older non-AMD GPUs if you want it to.
AMD Advantage Design
AMD also introduced the AMD Advantage framework for gaming laptops fully based on the AMD processors. They introduced ASUS’ ROG Strix G15/G17 and HP Omen 15 alongside the announcement too.
AMD Advantage outlines the guidelines of what an AMD gaming laptop should work like. For example, the minimum requirement for an AMD Advantage certified laptop is featuring a display with at least 144Hz in refresh rate. Display has to be either an IPS or OLED display that can push above 300nits in brightness. They also are required to last more than 10 hours when you watch movies as well. To ensure smooth and fast operation, and AMD Advantage laptop has to have at least one NVMe PCIe Gen3 M.2 SSD. Of course, they have to pack an AMD Ryzen processor with an AMD Radeon RX GPU.
The first AMD Advantage Gaming laptops are expected to come as early as June 2021. For more information on AMD’s new APUs and mobile GPUs, you can head over to AMD’s website.
Just not too long after NVIDIA pushes their latest GeForce RTX 3060, AMD answered with their latest AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. Before we go on though, we are not going to be doing many comparisons between the two. This is a good one though.
AMD touts the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card to be your 1440p gaming buddy. 1440p as in the display resolution, if you did not get it. In that case also, the RX 6700 XT might be the best value for money card AMD can offer with RDNA 2 and Smart Access Memory features out of the box. Considering that Smart Access Memory function is now available for AMD’s Ryzen 3000 series processors, this could be time for you to upgrade your GPU to an RX 6000 series.
Source: AMD
The headline numbers are 7nm process technology, 12GB of RAM, 40 compute units, clock speeds up to 2581 MHz (Boost), 196 bit of memory interface, and 96 MB of infinity cache. All this at a maximum power draw of 230W. You can undervolt the card as well to optimise heat management and reducing power draw.
All this results in supposed gains in 1440p resolution gaming. In that sense, the RX 6700 XT is really made for the most popular gaming segment in the PC gaming industry. The best-selling gaming monitors are 1440p gaming monitors at this point and that has not come with a lot of surprise given the value that 1440p monitors offer for their prices.
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
Source: AMD
AMD claims to boast more than 165fps consistently in selected esports titles. You do need every inch of advantage when it comes to eSports and you can really appreciate the extra fps whenever you get into an intense battle with another player. A few fps could be the difference to winning that battle, or losing your cool. But of course, there is also AMD’s Radeon Anti-Lag feature to really boost your advantage in eSports.
Source: AMD
The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT will be available 18th March 2021 onward from board partners like ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE, and XFX. The card should start at US$ 479 (MYR 1,942*). Of course, prices and stock availability varies from each board manufacturer. There are no official word yet on local availability from the board partners but we assume that they will make some form of announcement closer to the release date later this month. More information on the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is available through their website.
*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.05 as of 04/03/2020 on xe.com
AMD has recently announced their new Ryzen 5000 series processors and their new Radeon RX 6000 series graphics processors. However, with the components being slightly more expensive and possibly limited during the launch window, we looked to the previous generation to see if it was still viable to build a gaming setup which was a little bit “outdated”.
AMD’s Zen architecture has proven over and over again that they are capable of outdoing their competition in benchmarks. Benchmarks aside, we wanted to do some tests, regular people, like us, would look at to determine whether the setup is worth the investment. We looked at simple things like how the build performed in some of the more popular games and also some of the more recent ones. We also looked at everyday workflow items like video editing and even processing complex excel spreadsheets.
The only thing that remains is to answer the question: Is it still worth investing in a Ryzen 3000 and Radeon 5000 series build. Our frank answer: You could do worse; But we’re not going to leave with such a vague answer. We’ve broken down our experience with the rig with all the details we thought you’d need to make the decision.
When it came to this build, we tried to build a full MSI build while keeping the price as competitive as possible with one caveat – we had to keep to the latest parts available in the Malaysian market. That said, we had another thing on our minds when it came to the build: it needed to be able to do some video processing and play some of the latest games at the highest settings. Of course, we wanted to build a gaming PC, so the our main concern, aside from price, was its gaming performance.
We decided to go with the newer Ryzen 5 3600X for the processor cause the newer 3000 series processor is clocked slightly higher at 3.8 GHz which meant it has marginally better performance. That said, the sub MYR300 (USD$73.32) price difference between the Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 5 3600X is what decided it for us. With that little bit more performance from the hexacore (6-core) processor, we could, in theory, get better performance from intensive programs which meant more gaming prowess. We also decided to invest in an AiO liquid cooling solution to squeeze even more performance from the CPU.
For the GPU, it was a hard decision between an NVIDIA RTX GPU and the RADEON. However, in the interest of being thrifty and also building a full-on AMD rig, we decided to go with the RADEON RX 5600XT which was a little more recent and didn’t have a gigantic price difference. That said, we were also taking into consideration the performance gains over the RX 5500XT and the significant price difference between the RX 5700 and the RX 5600XT.
The motherboard was a tough dilemma. We were tossed between a better full ATX motherboard and a mini-ITX. However, after much deliberation, MSI and AMD challenged us to use their mini-ITX board with built-in WiFi. Little did we know that the board would be on the higher end of the spectrum when it came to price. That said, if it was solely up to us, we would have gone with a more full-featured full ATX motherboard with more expandability.
With our key components decided on, we let pricing decide the rest of the build. Accessories and the monitor were provided courtesy of MSI and we had our Razer Basilisk lying around to complete the build.
Performance
With all the parts put together, we’re finally at the most important part – how did the build perform? To be very honest – it actually did really well. The build was powerful enough to handle pretty much everything we threw at it and running it overnight didn’t seem to affect our electricity bill by much. However, the biggest downside to the Radeon GPUs was the lack of proper ray tracing support which led to slightly less detailed graphics in games such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Monster Hunter.
While the overview is pretty broad, we’re here for the itty-bitty details. We’re breaking down the build’s performance over three main categories – video and graphic work, gaming and high load processing. That said, we won’t be going into detail on 3D rendering work as it’s a niche area which we think doesn’t really reflect what a majority of us will be using the setup for gaming and day to day work.
AMD’s big play when it comes to their processors and graphics is a being made for gaming. We decided that since gaming and work are the mainstays of any computer system, we’d jump into the nitty-gritty when it came to gaming and some of the finer points of our work as well. During our review of the rig, we tested games such as Overwatch, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Monster Hunter Worlds and Horizon Zero Dawn. We also tested it with Adobe Premiere Pro and some large excel files.
Gaming
Gaming is essential when it comes to us gamers. So we took a gander at how the build performed on some of the more recent titles as a test. Overall, it didn’t do too bad when it came to graphics and it was pretty consistent across the board in hitting around 60fps during gaming – which is sufficient for most games.
The first game we tested on the rig was Blizzard’s Overwatch – not the most graphically challenging game out there. But, when it comes to games like this, chaos can ensue when there’s a throwdown which can affect the game’s frame rate. That said, testing the game on a 55-inch 4K display was pretty amazing. There was little to no tearing or frame rate drops. However, the TV we tested it on didn’t have support for high refresh or frame rate so it maxed out at about 50 to 60 fps. On a monitor with support for 240Hz, the experience was similar with aiming and quick response becoming even easier.
In story-driven games such as Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Horizon Zero Dawn, the graphics quality was pretty commendable. In both the textures were crisp and detailed and the colours were deep and realistic. Battles were smooth with minimal frame drops and response time from the input was pretty good when it came to tense situations; there was hardly any lag between input and response. The same rang true when we tested it with Monster Hunter World.
For all the games we tested, the graphics settings were maxed out. The only thing that was missing compared to the competition was support for Ray Tracing which would have allowed for a more realistic experience when it came to the behaviour of light in the games. That said, the lack of ray tracing didn’t take too much away from the overall experience.
Video Editing
For content creators, video processing and editing would be one of the more important aspects of any build. We tested the setup rendering and editing videos on Adobe’s Premiere Pro. In a nutshell, the setup was able to handle pretty complex rendering with 4K footage – which is a good thing. However, it may be a little more challenging dealing with 8K footage.
Anyone that uses Adobe Premiere Pro will readily attest that, while the program is one of the best on the market, it can be a pain on both the processor and GPU. The program is notorious for sending fans into overdrive as it processes the many frames and effects you utilise to get the perfect video.
In our tests, we used 4K UHD video with multiple tracks for both audio and video as well as multiple overlays. Scrubbing the timeline with the preview set to full resolution was pretty smooth with little lag. Rendering complex effects and overlays in the footage for preview and export didn’t take too much time too. The 10-minute clip took about 25 minutes to render in full.
High Load Processing
To test this one out, we use a complex excel sheet – something a person dealing with large amounts of data would be using on a daily basis. The excel sheet was pretty huge – coming in at about 1GB with tables and charts that contained large, complex formulae. We manipulated the values in the sheet to test how long it would take the system to run the computation.
We were pretty impressed. The updates were done near instantaneously in tables while charts took slightly longer to update. This was one of the tests that actually impressed us when we performed it.
Final Verdict
AMD’s future proofing of their motherboard chipsets weighed pretty heavily in the consideration of whether the build is worth the time. The fact that they’ve promised support until 2020 for their current 400 and 500 series motherboards allows end users to bump up the power when they need it.
That said, you’d expect that system running “outdated” or older hardware had a lot lacking in terms of performance. However, as Dr Lisa Su mentions over and over again, it looks like, unless you’re in dire need of a top of the line system, AMD’s Ryzen and Radeon hardware does stand the test of time or in her words, “..ages like fine wine”. Performance in gaming, video editing and even high load processing was consistent and while it may be slower than newer ones, it didn’t have much to make up.
All in all, the build is a very capable one with at least another two to three years left in the higher levels of performance. Best part, you can create a similar one for about the same budget or you could go cheaper too.
AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series launched just a few weeks ago wowed the world with not just improved performance. It wowed the world by beating Intel in their own game. With their new Zen 3 architecture, they somehow managed to catch up to Intel’s gaming prowess in their processors and now team Red is an even better CPU choice for creators around the world. Even we want an AMD Ryzen build for our gaming PCs now.
In that launch as well, they teased something else that we all knew was coming along. They teased their new AMD Radeon RX6000 series GPUs. In their demo from the Ryzen launch, the GPUs look to be very promising too running Borderlands 3.
Still, nothing compares to the real thing, and so AMD launches their AMD Radeon RX6000 platform. The internet world calls the new GPU “Big Navi”, as a succession to the Navi based Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT. AMD also thinks that this new GPUs will take the fight to their biggest GPU competitor, NVIDIA and their new platform, Ampere.
Source: AMD
Here are the headline figures; 80 compute units clocked at a maximum of 2,250MHz (Boost Clock) with 128MB of cache, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, all at 300W power draw. Welcome to RDNA 2 on AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XT. Welcome to the new standards in gaming GPU.
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
Source: AMD
As mentioned, the headline figures are quite impressive. This is a comparable GPU to NVIDIA’s RTX 3090, if you need the nearest comparison baseline. There are some interesting figures from the headline figures you see above though.
For one, AMD’s Radeon RX 6900 XT is only using GDDR6 technology while the NVIDIA card works with a GDDR6X technology which is, in theory, faster. The AMD card also has less RAM at 16GB compared to 24GB. The AMD card’s GDDR6 RAM also only features a 256-bit memory interface, and its direct competitor uses a 384-bit interface.
The AMD Radeon is clocked faster though at about 2GHz in base clocks and a maximum of about 2.2GHz in maximum clock. Even its base clock is much faster than its direct competitor’s 1.7GHz boost clock. All of that while drawing 300W, 50W less than its competitor.
There are differences in the cards, which are quite expected. Which card might perform better in different situations can be arguable as well thanks to the differences in specs. From the presentation by AMD’s Lisa Su though, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT is more powerful that its direct competitors in up to 4K gaming conditions. Oh yes, the NVIDIA RTX 3090 is no longer the most powerful GPU in the world. NVIDIA is no longer the only choice when it comes to high-performance gaming. Did we also mention that the RX 6900 XT is the same size as the RX 6800 XT?
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Source: AMD
To be fair, we should have started with this GPU since AMD started their presentation with this card. It is just one step down from the all-powerful and mighty AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT. It features mostly the same headline figures with 8 less compute units, bringing a total of 72 Compute Units.
That does not mean that the RX 6800 XT is a huge compromise over the almighty RX 6900 XT. It is less powerful thanks to less Compute Units. But it is still more powerful than its closest competitor the NVIDIA RTX 3080.
How do we know? We do not. We can only take the words of AMD as truth for now, until independent reviewers pick up the cards to test out.
AMD Radeon RX 6800
Then they brought out a slightly more budget conscious choice of the AMD RX 6800. This consumes less power than the big RX 6800 XT at 250W, 50W less. But that is also because it is clocked at a lower speed.
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 is clocked at about 1.8GHz at the base and pushes 2.1 GHz at maximum clock. It also has 128MB in Infinity Cache (like the RX 6800 XT and RX 6900 XT), and 16GB GDDR6, also like its bigger brothers. But it has 12 less Compute Units compared to the RX 6800 XT at 60 Compute Units.
RDNA 2
Source: AMD
The new AMD Radeon RX 6000 series cards come with what AMD calls the RDNA 2 architecture technology. What does it mean for you? It means a 65% performance increase from the RX 5000 series of Radeon GPUs (RDNA). But that is still a little general, to be honest. The RX 6800, for example, is more powerful than the NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti, and even more powerful than AMD’s older Radeon RX 5700 XT. The RX 6800 is also a very different GPU compared to the RX 5700 XT. In fact, the RX 6800 XT is twice more powerful than the RX 5700 XT
So the only way to measure this difference is in the performance of other computational capacities. For example, memory access. While the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT has a smaller memory bandwidth at 256-bit and less memory at 16GB of RAM and 128MB in cache (a very fast cache, if I might add), it could outperform its closest competitor. That is thanks to something they call Infinity Cache.
The Infinity Cache, in an oversimplified form, is basically a memory sharing technology. That is an oversimplification to the technology. To say that the GPU can draw some compute power via accessing a super-fast cache is still oversimplifying it. But that also means that AMD could get up to twice more memory bandwidth from just 128MB cache, 16GB RAM, and a 256-bit interface compared to 384-bit 24GB RAM system while also drawing less power.
Source: AMD
Mind you, you might get even better performances if you are using an AMD Ryzen 5000 CPU paired to the Radeon GPU. This one is called Smart Access Memory, which is also another word for memory access sharing between an AMD Ryzen CPU and an AMD Radeon GPU. This also means that there is an even higher memory throughput from the PC to give workloads more speeds to work with. That might mean a bigger performance boost on games or other workload processes.
But having both AMD’s CPU and GPU does not just add performance on your screen. It helps you improve your competitiveness in games. With AMD’s Radeon latency boost combined with FreeSync, it reduces your input lags up to 40ms. This also means that in games like Counter-Strike, or Dota2, or Valorant, or even Overwatch, your clicks converts to an action even faster and more instantly.
There is more to RDNA 2 as well. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is quite expected. But more than that, it works with DirectX to enable Ray Tracing and something called Super Resolution. We are guessing that it is AMD and Microsoft’s version of DLSSS technology.
All these are under the surface though. On the surface, there is a new control app for the AMD GPUs. On that new app, there is something called RAGE mode for the GPUs. This is a one-click overclock mode built-into the GPUs. You do not even need to know how to overclock to under-volt GPUs or CPUs to do this. You just needt to hit RAGE mode and let the GPU rip apart every game you play.
Pricing and Availability
The AMD Radeon RX 6800 will be available from 18th November 2020 onward for US$ 579 (MYR2,407.81). The Radeon RX 6800 XT will be available also on the same day onward for US$ 649 (MYR2,698.91). The more powerful and extreme AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT will be available 8th December 2020 onward for US$ 999 (MYR4,154.41). These are extremely attractive prices compared to its competitors. These prices are also for reference cards from AMD and may not reflect the prices of Radeon GPUs from OEMs.
Thin and light and affordability don’t usually go hand in hand. However, Acer’s Swift 3 has always been one of the best value for money options when you’re looking at getting something affordable, thin and light. However, unlike previous years, the Swift 3 comes with an AMD Ryzen option which promises top notch performance while maintaining a lot of the features of the popular laptop.
We’re going to be asking the hard questions when it comes to the Swift 3 in this review – should you buy it? Is it worth your money? And does the Ryzen variant hold up to the hype AMD has built around their silicon offerings?
Design
Let’s start by taking a look at the overall design of the Swift 3. Overall, the design approach that Acer took to this laptop is more utilitarian compared to the rest of the Swift line up (barring the Swift 1). In fact, you’d be hard-pressed in finding any of the design finesse of the 5 or 7; which is, to be honest, expected at the price point that the Swift 3 sits at.
The laptop is a rectangular slab which tapers gradually from the hinge to the tip. That said, the larger, thicker back of the hinge area allows it a better, more stable footing when it is open. There were rarely times when the display ended up rocking back and forth on a rocky, uneven surface during the review period. The thickness also allows ample space for Acer to equip the Swift 3 with a full array of ports from HDMI to USB Type-C.
While this also means that the laptop lacks in design flair, it makes more utilitarian sense. Its ports are readily accessible while minimising its footprint. However, unlike its siblings, the Swift 3 is a whole lot heftier; coming in at 1.2kg. Yes, I did call 1.2kg hefty. Keep in mind, the rest of the Swift series come in at below 1kg. That said, Acer’s decision to have the Swift 3 in purple a touch of pizzaz that keeps the Swift 3 fresh. It’s also one of those colours that seems to grow on you.
Hardware
The Acer Swift 3 may be a little lacking on the design flair but it’s utilitarian approach to the thin and light has spurred the company to pack a formidable punch when it comes to the hardware. Coming with the Ryzen 5, the laptop is no slouch when it comes to performance. It clocks in a respectable 2.3Ghz with 6 cores for better multicore processing; enabling it to undertake more demanding tasks.
Specifications
Acer Swift 3 | SF314-42-R43G
As tested
Processor (clock)
AMD Ryzen 5-4500U Hexa-core 2.3 GHz
GPU
AMD Radeon Vega 6 Graphics
Display
14-inch Full HD TFT LCD 1920×1080 pixels
Memory
8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Networking and Connections
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax Bluetooth 5.0 HDMI 1 USB 2.0 Type-A 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A 1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery
3-cell Lithium Ion 11 Hours battery life (claimed)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Miscellaneous
Fingerprint Reader Backlit Keyboard Stereo Speakers Microphone DisplayPort over USB-C USB-C charging 5 V; 3 A DC-in port 19 V; 65 W
Features
While the Swift 3 may not be as feature packed as it’s siblings, the laptop comes with features that make sense and fit the utilitarian and functional approach that Acer has taken for it. The laptop comes with a full array of ports including a USB-C, a USB-A with support for USB2.0, a USB-A with support for USB3.1, an HDMI port and even a 3.5mm headphone jack which its competition seems to be missing. The full array of ports should ensure that users are well equipped to handle any connectivity hurdles that may come their way. However, like most laptops nowadays, the Swift 3 is powerless when it comes face to face with a dreaded VGA port; you will be resigned to the dongle life for VGA. In addition, the laptop also doesn’t come with an SD card reader.
Ports aside, the Swift 3 does have many other features. However, it does come with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The former allows the laptop to take advantage of the faster 802.11ax WiFi bandwidth which gives it an edge over other laptops in a similar price range. That said, not many networks use WiFi 6 just yet – but getting ready for the future is always a plus now, isn’t it. Bluetooth 5.0 allows you take advantage of wireless earbuds and other peripherals without sacrificing too much battery life.
However, the biggest advantage that the laptop over its competitors is the fact that it’s lightweight. The Swift 3 is definitely a contender for one of the lightest laptops in its price range. Coming in at slightly over 1kg, it will definitely be one of the go-to laptops for people looking for one which they can easily take on the go without worrying about overloading the bag or breaking your back from carrying it around.
Performance
Since the Swift 3 is so utilitarian and focused on keeping you productive, it comes as no surprise that Acer has chosen to offer an Ryzen 5-4500U processor option in the Swift 3. AMD’s new processors have outperformed its competition in benchmarks consistently over the past few years since the release of AMD’s Zen architecture. The same holds true for AMD’s mobile processors which is being used here in the Swift 3. However, benchmarks are only part of the story, we’re focusing on the overall user experience when it comes to using the laptop.
The Swift 3 is definitely a capable power house when it comes to everyday tasks. Word processing, working with PowerPoint and even large excel files are definitely not a problem for the laptop. What did stand out was the laptop’s ability to edit 1080p video in Adobe Premiere with ease. In fact, it could even handle 4K video editing with limited overlays and additions. However, if you’re going to be doing massive video editing this isn’t the laptop for you. The Ryzen 5 is good, but it is let down by the limited RAM and lack of graphics processor in the laptop.
This was made pretty clear when we tried to game on the Swift 3. On older games, it was able to handle settings at medium. It ploughed through Diablo 3 without much noise but when it came to games like Overwatch or even No Straight Roads, the laptop ran a little hot and had quite a lot of stuttering and screen tearing to keep up. It could hardly keep 30fps even with low settings. This isn’t really surprising for us as the gaming capabilities of the laptop are severely limited even though there is the built in Radeon Vega 6 graphics. The laptop also performs well with multimedia. However, the audio experience on the laptop could use some polish as the speakers sound tinny and distorted when the volume is pushed. However, at lower volumes, the audio lacks body and is, to be frank, incredibly soft. You only start hearing it audibly after the indicator passes the 40% mark in Windows.
That said, the laptop isn’t really built for gaming. In fact, it’s built for productivity on the go and the Swift 3 comes with ample battery life. Acer claims 11 hours of battery life on the Swift 3. During our time with the laptop, we easily got about 13 hours of active use time. On standby, the laptop was able to last well over a day. In fact, when we opened it about 8 hours later, the laptop had slightly more than 40% battery remaining. Even editing 1080p video on battery, the Swift 3 lasted about 3-4 hours before it needed to be plugged in.
Display
When it comes to the display of the Swift 3, it has a pretty good one for it’s price point. It comes with a 13.5-inch, 1080p Full HD display which is more than enough for a laptop of its size. The screen is crisp and the colour is relatively accurate. While it doesn’t have a touch display like the Swift 5, the screen fulfils its purpose. It allows you enough display real estate to get things done without straining your eyes too much.
The display is also near bezel-less. There is about 1-3mm of bezel on either side of the display with about 5mm on the top and bottom. The slim bezels allowed for a pretty immersive visual experience. You don’t have much pulling you out of your work or multimedia.
An unremarkably affordable laptop that does only slightly more than the basics
Overall, the Swift 3 is an unremarkable device. It’s not a jack of all trades, but it’s a thin and light laptop for those on a budget. It packs as much performance it for the price point it’s at. That said, it is a device geared for productivity and it does deliver on its promise of keeping you productive on the go. In fact, I would say it excels in it given the extra feats it accomplished. Editing 1080p video on the Swift 5 was also a feat, to see the Swift 3 able to do it without much problem is a definite plus. However, we also have to keep in mind that the Swift 3 is playing in an arena which is quickly getting crowded with similarly spec’d devices. It needs to find a way to stand out from the crowd; and, in all honesty, if it boils down to the brand, Acer is looking at an uphill battle with the Swift 3. That said, the AMD powered Swift 3 holds a peg above the competition with its performance right now – whether this holds true in the near future; we’ll have to see. All-in-all, the Swift 3 delivers on all its promises and excels further than its competition on certain fronts. However, when considering this device, it would be prudent to see if other, more powerful devices with a dedicated graphics card could serve you better. That said, if you’re looking for a slim and light productivity machine for everyday tasks, you don’t have to look further for a package that’s both affordable and give you some really good value for the money you invest in it.
