iMac 5K GPU Performance

[Serban]

Even a special build...for 5k gaming i think you need dual 980 desktop gpu's

 

[koyoot]

If one believe in m295x to be great then he can start believing in unicorns as well.

Wake up people, enable logic in your brains, m295x is Tonga chip, which a bit weaker than Tahiti (7970) chip in every game benchmark out there. (Tahiti has 384-bit memory bus, Tonga - only 256-bit, crucial point for hires, even texture delta compression doesn't help much)

We don't know yet if m295x in imac gonna bring 1792 or full 2048 shader cores, either way it's weaker than ONE D700 (full, 2048 cores Tahiti chip) at same clock speed. And imac's gpu usualy have lower clocks.

First actual data proves such point, m290x are very weak in 3d load (unigine fps above) according to pcmag.

For getting 3.5 Tflops from 850 MHz you have to have 2048 GCN Cores.

D700 is based on Tahiti. Tonga, with same core count, even with narrower VRAM bus will a bit faster than single D700.

Those benchmarks that we seen are testing single GPU, even if in computer there are recognized two of them. CF is not enabled somehow for those benchmarks, made by our forum member.

Still - M295X in that way of looking will be faster than GTX980M. Thats for general purpose.

For gaming? That really depends on games...

 

[Charlemagne]

How important would it be to get the 295 over the 290 if you're just doing Photoshop / Lightroom and music production via Pro Tools / Logic? As long as the display doesn't lag with the 290, is the 295 more for video editing games?

 

[w00tini]

For getting 3.5 Tflops from 850 MHz you have to have 2048 GCN Cores.

D700 is based on Tahiti. Tonga, with same core count, even with narrower VRAM bus will a bit faster than single D700.

Those benchmarks that we seen are testing single GPU, even if in computer there are recognized two of them. CF is not enabled somehow for those benchmarks, made by our forum member.

Still - M295X in that way of looking will be faster than GTX980M. Thats for general purpose.

For gaming? That really depends on games...

thanks for this articulate, quantifiable and reasonable post.

 

[Gav Mack]

For getting 3.5 Tflops from 850 MHz you have to have 2048 GCN Cores.

D700 is based on Tahiti. Tonga, with same core count, even with narrower VRAM bus will a bit faster than single D700.

Those benchmarks that we seen are testing single GPU, even if in computer there are recognized two of them. CF is not enabled somehow for those benchmarks, made by our forum member.

Still - M295X in that way of looking will be faster than GTX980M. Thats for general purpose.

For gaming? That really depends on games...

If you or any others didn't know - netkas disassembles Mac GPU hardware code for a living and a hobby enabling boot screens on Mac Pro GPU cards for the older 1-5,1 towers. Is currently working on the GTX 980. Probably forgotten more about Mac GPU's insides than practically anyone outside Cupertino never mind just these forums.

He therefore really knows what he's talking about - big time

 

[theSeb]

How important would it be to get the 295 over the 290 if you're just doing Photoshop / Lightroom and music production via Pro Tools / Logic? As long as the display doesn't lag with the 290, is the 295 more for video editing games?

Not very important at all.

 

[w00tini]

If one believe in m295x to be great then he can start believing in unicorns as well.

Wake up people, enable logic in your brains, m295x is Tonga chip, which a bit weaker than Tahiti (7970) chip in every game benchmark out there. (Tahiti has 384-bit memory bus, Tonga - only 256-bit, crucial point for hires, even texture delta compression doesn't help much)

We don't know yet if m295x in imac gonna bring 1792 or full 2048 shader cores, either way it's weaker than ONE D700 (full, 2048 cores Tahiti chip) at same clock speed. And imac's gpu usualy have lower clocks.

First actual data proves such point, m290x are very weak in 3d load (unigine fps above) according to pcmag.

too bad you inject poor social skills into what could have been an otherwise constructive post. you lost me after the first two sentences.

 

[theSeb]

For getting 3.5 Tflops from 850 MHz you have to have 2048 GCN Cores.

D700 is based on Tahiti. Tonga, with same core count, even with narrower VRAM bus will a bit faster than single D700.

Those benchmarks that we seen are testing single GPU, even if in computer there are recognized two of them. CF is not enabled somehow for those benchmarks, made by our forum member.

Still - M295X in that way of looking will be faster than GTX980M. Thats for general purpose.

For gaming? That really depends on games...

How would I ensure that CrossFire is enabled for 3d mark in Windows? I have enabled CrossFire in the AMD app and ticked the box to do it for all applications. 3d mark itself says that there are two? Any ideas?

 

[Winter Charm]

3D Mark scores...

Here's the 3D Mark score (free test) for the

**R9 M295X** - http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/8832926
Graphics Score: 15270
Physics Score: 6591
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 11491

**R9 M290X** - http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R9-M290X.108643.0.html
Graphics Score: unavailable
Physics Score: unavaiblable
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 6817

**GTX 780m** - http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6776187
Graphics Score: 8290
Physics Score: 7968
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 8112


Tl;Dr: The R9 M295X is SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the 780m. AVOID The R9 M290 X at ALL COSTS if you want to run at 5K smoothly.

 

[Gav Mack]

too bad you inject poor social skills into what could have been an otherwise constructive post. you lost me after the first two sentences.

He isn't English but with largely his help the Mac community have GTX 780 and AMD R9's running with boot screens in 4-5,1 Mac Pro systems. He goes right over my head too cos I am strictly a child being told something by a professor and I'm a Mac engineer for over 20 years

 

[theSeb]

Here's the 3D Mark score (free test) for the

**R9 M295X** - http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/8832926
Graphics Score: 15270
Physics Score: 6591
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 11491

**R9 M290X** - http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R9-M290X.108643.0.html
Graphics Score: unavailable
Physics Score: unavaiblable
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 6817

**GTX 780m** - http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6776187
Graphics Score: 8290
Physics Score: 7968
3DMark 11 Score: (Performance) 8112


Tl;Dr: The R9 M295X is SIGNIFICANTLY faster than the 780m. AVOID The R9 M290 X at ALL COSTS if you want to run at 5K smoothly.

I don't think that the R9 M290X will struggle with something so relatively simple, in graphics terms, like the UI, even at such a high resolution.

 

[w00tini]

He isn't English but with largely his help the Mac community have GTX 780 and AMD R9's running with boot screens in 4-5,1 Mac Pro systems. He goes right over my head too

actually, I was referring to him being a tool, English or otherwise.

 

[Gav Mack]

actually, I was referring to him being a tool, English or otherwise.

If it upsets you being told something that he knows from the board and disassembler level about a GPU then that's your problem. Me - I choose to learn from my peers, respect their vast knowledge despite how rude they seem. If I had to learn about Mac GPU he is one of only two people outside Apple who I would ask. Even Anand and his gang aren't anywhere close.

Or you can believe those who look at stats and ignore those who actually have real life knowledge of how these GPU designs work.

 

[w00tini]

If it upsets you being told something that he knows from the board and disassembler level about a GPU then that's your problem. Me - I choose to learn from my peers, respect their vast knowledge despite how rude they seem. If I had to learn about Mac GPU he is one of only two people outside Apple who I would ask. Even Anand and his gang aren't anywhere close.

Or you can believe those who look at stats and ignore those who actually have real life knowledge of how these GPU designs work.

I'm all about collaboration and learning, but read his delivery. That dialogue would not last one day in a real company on a high performance team. One needs to have respect to earn respect. The rude-coder-in-his-basement mentality doesn't translate in the real world.

 

[koyoot]

If you or any others didn't know - netkas disassembles Mac GPU hardware code for a living and a hobby enabling boot screens on Mac Pro GPU cards for the older 1-5,1 towers. Is currently working on the GTX 980. Probably forgotten more about Mac GPU's insides than practically anyone outside Cupertino never mind just these forums.

He therefore really knows what he's talking about - big time

Im not questioning his knowledge about GPUs. If you didnt read my post carefully, Nowhere did I said M295X would run perfectly well EVERY game in 5K resolution. Some of games will be able to run at 5K.

For the rest 1440p should be in range, even 4K should be possible, but for be 100% sure we have to wait and see.

@theSeb, Im sorry, but I really have no idea how tu run Crossfire for 3DMark. I just dont believe that two D700 would be as fast as single R9 280X, on which they are based.

 

[Gav Mack]

I'm all about collaboration and learning, but read his delivery. That dialogue would not last one day in a real company on a high performance team. One needs to have respect to earn respect. The rude-coder-in-his-basement mentality doesn't translate in the real world.

If you want to participate I suggest registering on the netkas.org forums where he and the Mac EFI boot community live. Reading just his posts is an eye opener and you may be able to relate to why he is how he is. Worth even a browse to comprehend, I did years ago but GPU's are not my thing but boy his finished products sure are for my Mac Pro clients.

I have a similar friend who is an unparalleled genius at RF transmission and he's even ruder and would be banned if he ever used an internet forum!

 

[steve62388]

If you want to participate I suggest registering on the netkas.org forums where he and the Mac EFI boot community live. Reading just his posts is an eye opener and you may be able to relate to why he is how he is. Worth even a browse to comprehend, I did years ago but GPU's are not my thing but boy his finished products sure are for my Mac Pro clients.

I have a similar friend who is an unparalleled genius at RF transmission and he's even ruder and would be banned if he ever used an internet forum!

Stop sucking up, I'm sure he is more than capable of defending himself.

Please get back on topic.

 

[robertojorge]

Thanks Steve, was about to point that out!!

Please remain of focus guys. We are just trying to get as much info as possible so we can make an educated purchase.

At least that was my intention when i created the thread.

Keep it clean

 

[Altis]

I don't think that the R9 M290X will struggle with something so relatively simple, in graphics terms, like the UI, even at such a high resolution.

I like to think you're right, because I want to believe that Apple would have some level of standard for releasing a high-end (and somewhat ground-breaking) machine.

However, how it performs at things that aren't just browsing the app store, using Pages, and navigating the OS remains to be seen.

More critically... how will it hold up over time?

From what I can tell, the m295x seems to be worth the money for the upgrade if you're going to get the 5K at all.

 

[Gav Mack]

Stop sucking up, I'm sure he is more than capable of defending himself.

Please get back on topic.

I'm afraid playground taunts will be dealt with accordingly. Use your imagination with my reply sunshine I suck up to no-one. Respecting a peer is something very different.

Where were we- the topic of whether the stats about the architecture about the GPU are smoke and mirrors or are there blind sheep jumping on the marketing bandwagon before chipworks gives us empirical schematics?

 

[AlphaMF]

If you want to participate I suggest registering on the netkas.org forums where he and the Mac EFI boot community live. Reading just his posts is an eye opener and you may be able to relate to why he is how he is. Worth even a browse to comprehend, I did years ago but GPU's are not my thing but boy his finished products sure are for my Mac Pro clients.

I have a similar friend who is an unparalleled genius at RF transmission and he's even ruder and would be banned if he ever used an internet forum!

Just a completely useless string of posts about a childhood hero long past. If someone wishes to convey an idea, they damn well better try to convince people. You can't (on the ******** internet) "force" an idea upon people.
Your merits carry no weight here. Not with me atleast. Thoughtful, rational, enlightened arguments, however, might.

 

[steve62388]

From what I can tell, the m295x seems to be worth the money for the upgrade if you're going to get the 5K at all.

Definitely this. Different architecture for one. I would be concerned about the longevity of the M290X.

 

[Gav Mack]

Just a completely useless string of posts about a childhood hero long past. If someone wishes to convey an idea, they damn well better try to convince people. You can't (on the ******** internet) "force" an idea upon people.
Your merits carry no weight here. Not with me atleast. Thoughtful, rational, enlightened arguments, however, might.

Marking ones card is useless? Similarly useless points about products that have yet to have x-rays confirming their architecture. Try empirical first sometime I have seen very little for the last few pages...

 

[666sheep]

Few notes: how you can trust some "Generic VGA" benchmark? If drivers for M295X aren't public, how result of the card unsupported by current drivers can be considered even half-trustworthy?
Why one, who can test the card not released to the market, uses Catalyst 14.500 instead of 14.7 Beta ones?

I don't believe that this "M295X" score is legit and can reflect actual performance of iMac 5K GPU.

 

[AlphaMF]

Yes we lack emperical data. Thats the most obvious point to make after 4 pages. We are all waiting for empirical data. Noone would be more delighted for empirical data. It's just not here, so we're waiting, hoping and speculating. Feel free to "not know" anything somewhere else.

ANYWAY. I wonder if anand etc received a m295x version on launch, or they had to order and wait like the rest of us. If they got a quick set, what is taking them so long ? Are they even doing the full review ?