6900xt with SAM vs 3080 10GB without SAM

[TheyCallMeBen]

Budget (including currency): $600-$900 USD

Country: United States of America

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Variety of games from Rust, Minecraft, Tomb Raider, Control, God of War, Destiny 2, Hollow knight

Other details: here's a pc part picker build that has all my current specs https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zPKXd9

My question has to do with Smart Access Memory. From what I know, SAM does not support Nvidia GPU's, and to use SAM you need a 6000 series Radeon GPU (I have a R7 5800x CPU). I'm between buying an EVGA FTW 3 10GB 3080, or a XFX Speedster 6900xt Merc 319. Does SAM create a large difference between the two options? Part of me wants to get the EVGA card since it's their last ever, and I want to support them, but on the other hand I don't want to miss out on performance from not having SAM. 

 

[ZetZet]

Terrible time to buy anything, next-gen is like right here, especially in that budget range. Even the famously bad 4080 12GB will be better value. 

[Coolmaster]

SAM is just AMD's name for ReSizeable Bar, which Nvidia GPUs support. The difference with SAM/ReSizeable Bar isn't that major and shouldn't be a deciding factor.

[Shimejii]

Its not worth fussing over. Get the card that performs the best in the games you play, SAM is a finicky Gimmick, some games like Racing games it does really well, other games it does nothing. Do the HW of which game does good with it and go from there.

 

Next gen radeon is coming next month, and nvidia cards are as well

[dizmo]

IIRC SAM resulted in little to no performance improvements.

Welcome to the forum.

[GuiltySpark_]

ReBar on AMD has much more of an impact in certain games/cards/resolutions than it does on the Nvidia side, that's about all that can be said about that.

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

32 minutes ago, ZetZet said:

Terrible time to buy anything, next-gen is like right here, especially in that budget range. Even the famously bad 4080 12GB will be better value. 

I disagree. The 4080 12gb doesn't have a Founders Edition and will be like $1149 from AIB. You can get a used 3080 10gb or 6900xt for like $550 right now. That's totally worth it. 

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

37 minutes ago, TheyCallMeBen said:

Budget (including currency): $600-$900 USD

Country: United States of America

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Variety of games from Rust, Minecraft, Tomb Raider, Control, God of War, Destiny 2, Hollow knight

Other details: here's a pc part picker build that has all my current specs https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zPKXd9

My question has to do with Smart Access Memory. From what I know, SAM does not support Nvidia GPU's, and to use SAM you need a 6000 series Radeon GPU (I have a R7 5800x CPU). I'm between buying an EVGA FTW 3 10GB 3080, or a XFX Speedster 6900xt Merc 319. Does SAM create a large difference between the two options? Part of me wants to get the EVGA card since it's their last ever, and I want to support them, but on the other hand I don't want to miss out on performance from not having SAM. 

 

OP, I would not get a card from EVGA. Despite what they say about honoring warranties etc. the fact of the matter is they are like 10% the size of ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, Etc. Without GPU's I think there is a large possibility they go under or get acquired by one of the big names.

 

The 6900xt MERC is a beast, but I'd personally get a used 3080. Preferably a recent one that wasn't mined on. Make sure you ask for the original receipt when you buy and you're golden.

 

I grabbed an open box 3080 FE for USD $575 a few weeks ago. I have the receipt too. Purchased in June of this year when mining was already dead pretty much

[ZetZet]

3 minutes ago, CHICKSLAYA said:

I disagree. The 4080 12gb doesn't have a Founders Edition and will be like $1149 from AIB. You can get a used 3080 10gb or 6900xt for like $550 right now. That's totally worth it. 

Why would it be above MSRP? 4090's from AIB's are already listed for MSRP. 

[Deadpool2onBlu-Ray]

2 minutes ago, ZetZet said:

Why would it be above MSRP? 4090's from AIB's are already listed for MSRP. 

There might be a few skus at or near MSRP, but even at $899 a used 3080 or 6900xt for $550 is a way better deal. The 4080 12gb is going to be like 10-20% than those max.

[ZetZet]

21 minutes ago, CHICKSLAYA said:

There might be a few skus at or near MSRP, but even at $899 a used 3080 or 6900xt for $550 is a way better deal. The 4080 12gb is going to be like 10-20% than those max.

Used doesn't really count. Especially after a mining boom, 3080's have super hot memory chips that do not have a good reputation. Idk about 6900XT's, they seem pretty rare on the used market where I am. 

[Mister Woof]

If you're in the states you can get a brand new 6800XT for $569 which I believe is a pretty decent deal. I'd get that over the 3080 to be honest. 

 

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-6800-xt-gv-r68xtgaming-oc-16gd/p/N82E16814932381?Item=N82E16814932381&cm_sp=Homepage_SS-_-P1_14-932-381-_-10052022&quicklink=true

[RONOTHAN##]

17 minutes ago, ZetZet said:

Used doesn't really count. Especially after a mining boom, 3080's have super hot memory chips that do not have a good reputation. Idk about 6900XT's, they seem pretty rare on the used market where I am. 

6900 XTs are fairly reliable when used (even if mined on, they're very over built VRM wise, even on the reference card, and don't have the memory overheat), and around me, while definitely less common than 3080s, are significantly cheaper, regularly going for ~$500, and I know a guy who got one for $300. Given that at worst in Ray Tracing stuff they perform ~5% worse than a 3080 and usually match a 3090, it's probably the better buy.