Stopping short of admitting that the Radeon RX 480 has a power draw problem, AMD said that the newly-launched GPU bas been observed with "select scenarios" that are non-optimal. But the company insisted that the issue can be corrected by driver update and assured users that a software fix will be out as early as July 5.
In a statement provided to AnandTech, AMD confirmed that the RX 480 might not perform as expected in specific circumstances. "Recently, we identified select scenarios where the tuning of some RX 480 boards was not optimal," AMD said.
The company added that corrective measures will be immediately applied, revealing that "we are already testing a driver that implements a fix." While not confirming that the promised patch will made available, AMD said that it will provide an update on the matter July 5 or Tuesday next week.
"We can adjust the GPU's tuning via software in order to resolve this issue," AMD assured.
The AMD statement is in response to recent reviews of the RX 480, some voicing out concerns that the card might be surpassing the ideal power limit when running, which could result to long-term problems. AnandTech noted on its report that basing on a number of samplings offered by review sites, the Radeon card was "pulling more than the standard-allowed 75W over the PCIe slot and/or 6-pin PCIe external power connector."
According to Tech Report, problems could emerge over the long term and specifically during overclocking scenarios, if the assessment offered by hardware test site PC Perspective is to be believed. "The site learned that while the traces on the board likely wouldn't be affected, the pins and connectors on lower-cost motherboards might be harmed over time by sustained operation under the highest loads from the overclocked card," the report said.
The tech site, however, made clear that during its own testing of the RX 480, the GPU mostly turned in performance to general expectations. "We didn't note any weirdness in our test systems," Tech Report said.
Yet for the peace of mind of many lured in by the affordable Radeon RX 480, which starts at $199 for the 4GB model (and $239 for the 8GB), the same report recommends the use of custom boards that likely will resolve for good not only the card's power draw issue but also the noise and temperature concerns aired by some users.
Below is PC Perspective's take on the matter: