Radeon VII vs. GeForce RTX 2080 at 3,440x1,440 (WQHD)

Conclusion

AMD finally has a credible graphics card in the >£500 space with the introduction of the Radeon VII. Harnessing the innate power available in the Radeon Instinct MI50 accelerator, AMD uses a brute-force approach to lock horns with Nvidia's second-rung RTX 2080.

Both GPUs carry enough silicon artillery to play games lovely and smoothly at my favourite resolution: 3,440x1,440. Most times, even with in-game settings at maximum, the minimum framerate is handsome enough to run VSync at 60Hz on these ultrawide monitors typically produced in 34in or 35in sizes, for those that can't justify the extra premium associated with adaptive-framerate technology.

The results show that Nvidia's RTX 2080 Founders Edition is, on average, about seven per cent faster at this resolution; a difference that becomes more important when the framerate dips down in GPU-heavy games such as Metro Exodus. It's cooler and much quieter, too, and has forward-looking technologies that AMD doesn't, so it continues to get the nod in a straight-out battle of these premium GPUs.

All that said, I believe that it shouldn't be this way. The gaming enthusiast shouldn't have to spend £700 to attain this level of performance. Pitched against the backdrop of such price excesses in the PC space, it is little wonder that, post-crypto boom, sales are dwindling. Is it justifiable that a single card costs way, way more than the already-powerful Xbox One console? This kind of PC performance needs to be moved further down the financial stack such that it tempts Everyday Joe instead of, as is the case right now, the well-heeled enthusiast.

AMD is back in the high-end PC graphics firmament with the Radeon VII. Though it and the rival GeForce RTX 2080 are fine cards in their own right, able to play the WQHD resolution with consummate ease, both companies need to work harder in distilling this level of performance to the masses.

HEXUS.where2buy*

The AMD Radeon VII graphics card is available to purchase from Scan Computers. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Founders Edition is available from Nvidia.