Computers & Tablets

[vmilla2019]

When the new Radeon RX 480 releases on June 29th, will I be able to go to my local best buy and pick one up, provided that other people don't get to it first? I can't wait to have it shipped, so I'm counting on you guys to have one for me. Thanks!

[bobberuchi]

I don't even know if Best Buy will carry the RX 480.  At this time it is a very niche product and the concept is in it'sinfancy.

Conceptually by the time there is a significant amount of VR content available for PC this card will be 2nd or 3rd generation.

[vmilla2019]

Well it is a graphics card after all. I don't plan to do be with it, I just need an inexpensive upgrade from my current r9 270.

[vmilla2019]

VR

[vmilla2019 · Accepted solution]

I mean, the r9 390 was VR ready and they carried that, right? It is a big deal to a lot of gamers and I would hope being the big company that they are to have some available, let alone the fact that AMD has been building up stock since spring.

[kmisterk]

The stock at local best buy's in my area of the 3xx series Radeon cards are minimal, this is probably due to the fact that they are making way for the new 4xx series. So I wouldn't be surprised if the rx 480 is available on or shortly after the 29th launch date.

[bobberuchi]

There are so many good cards available and it seems something new and better is coming out all the time.  Kind of hard for a store to justify stocking them on the shelves with it may be the old thing in a couple of months.

[vmilla2019]

It is this way with anything electronic dude. They still want to make money so it isn't like they just won't carry a product in high demand. Do they just skip MacBook generations? No.

[bobberuchi]

Comparing a MacBook generation to an upper mid level GPU is not really logical.  

The market for MacBooks of which there are only a few to choose from is not the same as a GPU of which there are many dozens of current models to choose from.

While the 480 is going to be a good card.  And VR ready. It performance ratings already have it at the speed and performance of last years NVIDIA models.  For $10 more you could buy the GTX 960 (which is alreay a yesteryear model but faster) or for the same price the PNY version.

Long story short.  No I do not think it is a good idea for Best Buy to carry in stock every card, especially ones that are already going to be neary obsolete the day it comes out.

[vmilla2019]

Dude! Have you even seen what an RX 480 can do? It wipes the floor with a 970, let alone a 960. Because of the node shrink, you can get more out of less components. I don't see why it would be obsolete the "day it came out". It brings previous enthusiast performance to the majority of the market, making it a great option for a mass retailer like best buy.